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CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - Aug 7, 2013) - TransUnion today announced results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2013. This is a combined announcement that includes consolidated financial statements for TransUnion Holding Company, Inc. ("TransUnion Holding," and together with its consolidated subsidiaries, the "Company") and TransUnion Corp., a direct 100% owned subsidiary of TransUnion Holding(1). Total revenue for the second quarter increased 6.2%. Weakening foreign currencies accounted for a decrease in revenue of 1.3%, while acquisitions accounted for an increase in revenue of 0.8%. Revenue in International emerging markets increased 6.7%, driven by constant currency growth in Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Weakening foreign currencies accounted for a decrease in emerging markets revenue of 10.1%. Acquisitions accounted for an increase in emerging markets revenue of 7.0%. Revenue in the Interactive segment increased 13.9%, driven by an increase in the average number of subscribers and volumes in the indirect channel and higher average revenue per subscriber in the direct channel. Revenue in USIS Online Data Services increased 5.3%, driven by an increase in online credit report volumes in the financial services and reseller markets. Revenue in USIS Decision Services increased 2.9%, driven by growth in financial services and healthcare. Adjusted EBITDA(2) was $94.4 million, a decrease of 5.6% compared to the prior year, due to investments in new initiatives to drive long-term revenue growth and more efficient operations. "In the second quarter, we generated solid organic constant currency revenue growth," said Jim Peck, the Company's president and chief executive officer. "As exhibited in the second quarter, we are directing near-term earnings into the business to drive long-term growth and value creation. This will result in a well-diversified business with a healthy, and sustainable, growth and margin profile." The Company reported revenue of $300.8 million, an increase of 6.2% compared to the second quarter of 2012. Weakening foreign currencies accounted for a decrease in revenue of 1.3%. Acquisitions accounted for an increase in revenue of 0.8%. Operating income was $39.5 million in the second quarter of 2013 compared to an operating loss of $29.3 million in the prior year. The second quarter of 2013 was impacted by a $2.3 million loss on the disposal of a small operating company in Africa and a $2.9 million one-time adjustment for tax expense related to prior years. The second quarter of 2012 was impacted by $90.7 million of accelerated stock-based compensation and related expenses resulting from the acquisition of TransUnion Corp. by TransUnion Holding on April 30, 2012 (the acquisition and related transactions being referred to herein as the "2012 Change in Control Transaction"). Adjusted Operating Income of $44.7 million, compared to $61.5 million in the prior year, was negatively impacted by an $8.9 million increase in depreciation and amortization, resulting primarily from purchase accounting adjustments to record tangible and intangibles assets at fair value due the 2012 Change in Control Transaction. Adjusted EBITDA was $94.4 million, a decrease of 5.6% compared to the prior year, due to investments in new initiatives to drive long-term revenue growth and bottom-line savings. Non-operating expense was $47.5 million in the second quarter of 2013 compared to $71.5 million in the prior year. The second quarter of 2013 included a $6.1 million increase in interest expense related primarily to the issuance of $600 million and $400 million principal amount of senior unsecured PIK toggle notes in the second and fourth quarters of 2012, respectively. The prior year included $28.3 million of acquisition expense primarily related to the 2012 Change in Control Transaction. These factors contributed to a net loss attributable to the Company of $7.8 million in the second quarter of 2013 and a net loss of $68.6 million in the second quarter of 2012. USIS revenue was $187.9 million, an increase of 4.1% percent compared to the second quarter of 2012, with increases in all three operating platforms due to improved market conditions and growth in financial services and healthcare. Online Data Services revenue was $132.0 million, an increase of 5.3%, driven by an increase in online credit report volumes in the financial services and reseller markets. Credit Marketing Services revenue was $30.9 million, an increase of 0.3%, due to higher batch activity in financial services. Decision Services revenue was $25.0 million, an increase of 2.9%, driven by growth in financial services and healthcare. Operating income was $37.3 million in the second quarter of 2013 compared to $10.8 million in the prior year. The second quarter of 2012 was adversely impacted by $41.1 million of 2012 Change in Control Transaction related expenses. Conversely, the second quarter of 2013 was impacted by a $2.6 million one-time adjustment for tax expense related to prior years. Excluding these items, Adjusted Operating Income was $39.9 million in the second quarter of 2013 compared to $51.9 million in the prior year. This comparison was negatively impacted by $5.9 million of additional depreciation and amortization, resulting primarily from purchase accounting adjustments related to the 2012 Change of Control Transaction. Excluding depreciation and amortization, USIS Adjusted Operating Income decreased 7.8% compared to the second quarter of 2012, due to investments in new initiatives to drive long-term revenue growth and bottom-line savings. International revenue was $61.3 million, an increase of 6.6% compared to the second quarter of 2012. Weakening foreign currencies accounted for a decrease in revenue of 6.4%. Acquisitions accounted for an increase in revenue of 4.2%. Developed markets revenue was $24.5 million, an increase of 6.5%, as constant currency growth in Hong Kong was offset by weakness in Canada. Weakening foreign currencies accounted for a reduction in revenue of 0.9%. Emerging markets revenue was $36.8 million, an increase of 6.7%, driven by constant currency growth in Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Weakening foreign currencies accounted for a reduction in revenue of 10.1%. Acquisitions accounted for an increase in revenue of 7.0%. Operating income was $4.1 million in the second quarter of 2013 compared to an operating loss of $6.4 million in the prior year. The second quarter of 2012 was adversely impacted by $14.4 million of 2012 Change in Control Transaction related expenses. Conversely, the second quarter of 2013 was impacted by a $2.3 million loss associated with the disposition of a small business in Africa. Excluding these items, Adjusted Operating Income was $6.4 million in the second quarter of 2013 compared to $8.0 million in the prior year. This comparison was negatively impacted by $1.9 million of additional depreciation and amortization, resulting primarily from purchase accounting adjustments related to the 2012 Change of Control Transaction. Excluding depreciation and amortization, International Adjusted Operating Income increased 1.9%. Interactive revenue was $51.6 million, an increase of 13.9% compared to the second quarter of 2012, driven by an increase in the average number of subscribers and volumes in the indirect channel and higher average revenue per subscriber in the direct channel. Operating income was $15.9 million in the second quarter of 2013, an increase of 12.0% compared to the prior year. The second quarter of 2012 was adversely impacted by $2.3 million of 2012 Change in Control Transaction related expenses. Excluding these one-time items, Adjusted Operating Income was $15.9 million compared to $16.5 million in the prior year. This comparison was negatively impacted by $0.6 million of additional depreciation and amortization, resulting primarily from purchase accounting adjustments related to the 2012 Change of Control Transaction. Excluding depreciation and amortization, Interactive Adjusted Operating Income was flat compared to the second quarter of 2012. The Company reported revenue of $591.3 million for the first half of 2013, an increase of 4.9% compared to the first half of 2012. Weakening foreign currencies accounted for a reduction in revenue of 1.3%. Acquisitions accounted for an increase in revenue of 0.7%. Revenue for U.S. Information Services was $371.6 million, an increase of 2.9% compared to the first half of 2012. Revenue for International was $117.0 million, an increase of 2.5% compared to the first half of 2012. Weakening foreign currencies accounted for a reduction in revenue of 6.4%. Acquisitions accounted for an increase in revenue of 3.5%. Revenue for Interactive was $102.7 million, an increase of 16.0% compared to the first half of 2012. Operating income was $83.6 million in the first half of 2013 compared to $36.3 million in the first half of 2012. The first half of 2012 was adversely impacted by $90.7 million of 2012 Change in Control Transaction related expenses. Conversely, the first half of 2013 was impacted by a $2.9 million one-time adjustment for tax expense related to prior years and a net $1.2 million loss associated with the disposition of a small business in Africa and small product line in our USIS segment. Excluding these items, Adjusted Operating Income was $87.7 million in the first half of 2013 compared to $127.0 million in the prior year. This comparison was negatively impacted by $32.3 million of additional depreciation and amortization, primarily resulting from purchase accounting adjustments related to the 2012 Change of Control Transaction. Adjusted EBITDA was $186.6 million, a decrease of 1.9% compared to the first half of 2012, due to investments in new initiatives to drive long-term revenue growth and bottom-line savings. Non-operating expense was $97.6 million in the first half of 2013 compared to $113.2 million in the first half of 2012. The first half of 2013 included a $23.7 million increase in interest expense related primarily to the issuance of $600 million and $400 million principal amount of senior unsecured PIK toggle notes in the second and fourth quarters of 2012, respectively. The first half of 2012 included $41.3 million of acquisition fees related primarily to the 2012 Change in Control Transaction. These factors contributed to a net loss attributable to the Company of $14.2 million in the first half of 2013 and a net loss of $66.9 million in the first half of 2012. Cash and cash equivalents was $130.2 million at June 30, 2013 and $154.3 million at December 31, 2012. Year-to-date cash provided by operating activities of TransUnion Holding was $47.3 million. Other year-to-date cash activity of TransUnion Holding included: $30.2 million used for cash capital expenditures; $24.2 million used for other investing activities; $12.2 million used for financing activities; and $4.8 million used from the effect of exchange rate changes on cash. On July 18, 2013, TransUnion Holding Company announced an exchange offer for its outstanding unregistered 8.125%/8.875% Senior PIK Toggle Notes due 2018, Series A. These notes were originally issued on November 1, 2012, in a private placement exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, in an aggregate principal amount of $400 million. Holders of these notes may exchange them for an equal principal amount of a new issue of 8.125%/8.875% Senior PIK Toggle Notes due 2018, Series B pursuant to an effective registration statement on Form S-4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Terms of the new notes are substantially identical to those of the original notes, except that the transfer restrictions and registration rights relating to the original notes do not apply to the new notes. We base these forward-looking statements on our current expectations, plans and assumptions that we have made in light of our experience in the industry, as well as our perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate under the circumstances and at the time such statements were made. Although we believe that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could affect our actual financial results or results of operations and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may materially affect such forward-looking statements include: macroeconomic and industry trends and adverse developments in the debt, consumer credit and financial services markets; our ability to maintain the security and integrity of our data; our ability to deliver services timely without interruption; our ability to maintain our access to data sources; government regulation and changes in the regulatory environment; changes in federal, state, local or foreign tax law; litigation or regulatory proceedings; our ability to effectively develop and maintain strategic alliances and joint ventures; our ability to make acquisitions and integrate the operations of other businesses; our ability to timely develop new services; our ability to manage and expand our operations and keep up with rapidly changing technologies; our ability to manage expansion of our business into international markets; economic and political stability in international markets where we operate; fluctuations in exchange rates; our ability to effectively manage our costs; our ability to provide competitive services and prices; our ability to make timely payments of principal and interest on our indebtedness; our ability to satisfy covenants in the agreements governing our indebtedness; our ability to maintain our liquidity; our ability to protect our intellectual property; our ability to retain or renew existing agreements with long-term customers; our ability to access the capital markets; further consolidation in our end customer markets; reliance on key management personnel; and other factors described under "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of TransUnion Holding and TransUnion Corp.'s combined Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2013. Many of these factors are beyond our control. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements, to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. 1 Due to the acquisition of TransUnion Corp. by TransUnion Holding, TransUnion Corp.'s financial statements are prepared on a Predecessor and Successor basis. In this earnings release, we present the TransUnion Holding consolidated results for the three months ended June 30, 2013, and compare this to the combination of TransUnion Holding consolidated results for the three months ended June 30, 2013, and the TransUnion Corp Predecessor consolidated results for the one month ended April 30, 2012, (combined results for the three months ended June 30, 2013). To facilitate comparability with the prior year, we present below the TransUnion Holding consolidated results for the six months ended June 30, 2013, and compare this to the combination of TransUnion Holding consolidated results from inception through June 30, 2013, combined with the TransUnion Corp Predecessor consolidated results for the four months ended April 30, 2012, (combined results for the six months ended June 30, 2013). TransUnion Holding and TransUnion Corp. operate as one business, with one management team. Management believes combining the earnings release of TransUnion Holding and TransUnion Corp. provides the following benefits: enhances investors' understanding of TransUnion Holding and TransUnion Corp. by enabling investors to view the business as a whole, the same manner as management views and operates the business; provides a more readable presentation of required disclosures with less duplication, since a substantial portion of the Company's disclosures apply to both TransUnion Holding and TransUnion Corp; and creates time and cost efficiencies through the preparation of one combined report instead of two separate reports.

2019-04-19T22:38:53Z

https://newsroom.transunion.com/transunion-reports-second-quarter-2013-results/

I was nervous, but I did it! I told my friends at dinner last night that we're expecting and it was so much fun. The 2 of them jumped up and hugged me so tightly at the same time I felt like I was in a love sandwich. I can't tell you how amazing it was to share the news with friends who were so close to us, knew our struggles and had been rooting for us for the last 3 years. I feel like they may even take a piece of victory away for themselves and I truly think they deserve it. While it's near impossible to endure infertility, it also takes a lot to stand-by infertile couples. We don't always act rationally, we cancel on you last minute, we miss outings/events and we might not be there for you during your own pregnancy. But we thank you for standing by us every step of the way to let us cry and share our joy. I truly believe this victory will be shared and SHOULD be shared by the many friends and family who have held our hands along the way. We couldn't have done this without them. I am still scared that this will not work out of course, but knowing that if it doesn't - I have a whole team waiting to help pick us up - makes me feel a little better. Last night a close friend of E's called to catch up while I was at dinner so E got to share the news to someone as well. Tomorrow, we'll tell my sister-in-law and my niece and nephew who are here visiting for just a few days. Sunday, we'll tell my parents and my sister - then my cousins and Aunt and Uncle who are coming for dinner. This is definitely the fun part - it is helping me believe in the reality of what's happening. It gets a little bit better each day, but I still have a long way to go. And I'm terrified. Today's the day I had said I would tell my 2 college friends over dinner our big news. But I find myself going through a list of white lies about why I'm not drinking instead of wondering how I can reveal this news. What is wrong with me? I think part of it is because E and I got in a huge fight last night and this morning again about couples therapy. I am not averse to going, it's just that they way E talks about the reasons I won't like this therapist make me not want to go even more. I'm not sure why he would tell me I wouldn't like her if he genuinely wanted me to go with him. It doesn't make very much sense. I know he's afraid I won't like what she'll have to say and frankly, the way E has relayed this information to me (not so diplomatically by the way) I don't feel like I'd like to spend 30 seconds with this woman, let alone 50 mins. But I'm tired of fighting about the same things over and over again and I want to move past these issues. That is something I can commit to. I have control issues which I know I need to work on, but when your entire life seems to be out of control, I feel myself trying to control things maybe I shouldn't. I think there are issues E had before we met that he needs to work on and that I shouldn't be blamed for all of this which is likely my biggest concern. I also feel as if he's painted a picture of a monster to this woman...Also, we have some trust issues that need to be worked through. And now I'm supposed to go to dinner with friends and tell them this wonderful news and I'm so terribly sad. Monday's appointment was fine - I heard the little heartbeat on the doppler -- so I know there's a baby in there. But I've been having cramping and strange feelings in that area since last night which make me feel like something could be wrong. I wish I could take a magic pill that would make all of these feelings just disappear. I am incredibly nervous something is going to go wrong after we make our announcement. The thought of telling my friends on Wednesday has turned from exciting to terrifying. I am so scared that I will jinx this pregnancy by saying things out loud. Also, I'm terrified that I won't have just had a US prior to the announcement...my next appointment isn't scheduled until July 6th which seems like an eternity to me. And then I was having a sad day on Sunday because I'm upset with myself that I can't just be happy and trust in this. I don't want to be terrified any longer. I want to be happy and excited but it's just not coming so naturally. I guess I continue to have good days and bad days and we'll have to make this announcement soon because I'm hibernating from friends and neighbors who invite us for drinks or want us to come jump on their brand new trampoline. Seriously!?!?! I secretly hoped for an excuse to go into the doctor this week. To have one more peek before we do the big reveal. Well, I got my wish - yay - I am pretty sure I have a yeast infection. So uncomfortable but at least I have an appointment today for an exam and they can tell me what to use. I'm afraid to use much without the doctor telling me what's OK and what's not. So I'll go in today and hopefully, they'll let me see the baby too if I ask. My new doc said I could come in to see the heartbeat whenever I wanted so I guess I could have called this week anyway, but at least now I have a legitimate and likely non-threatening excuse to come in. What do we do when those small percentage risks associated with ART actually land in our laps? We aren't prepared for them although every waiver we've signed, nurse we've met with or doctor that's treated us has reminded us of the risks associated with ART. Here's what we do - we look them dead in the eye and sign right there on the dotted line without another thought in our minds because OUR desire to have a child is more important than any of the risks the doctors have just explained - multiples, miscarriage, abnormalities, risks to our lives or other fetuses lives. I've done it - you've done it. I found myself sick to my stomach after reading a post about reducing multiples being a "no-brainer" decision. How can this be? I would have hoped no matter how many babies were in there, that this was the hardest decision one might ever have to make. I simply don't get that sense at all from the author and that's the part I really can't grasp. E and I decided against transferring even 2 embryos because we were not comfortable with even the risks associated with twins although it effectively lowered our success rate. Now I realize there are a 100 medical decisions that have to be considered with multiple reduction and appreciate the honesty of the blogger - but this is my blog - a place where I can express how I feel and I hope others will respect that as well. I only hope that I will never have to go through what she's going through, but I know if I did, it would absolutely be the most excruciating decision I would ever make in my entire life. And something that I likely might never fully be at peace with. Yesterday was my first appointment with the OB. This is a brand new doctor to me because I refuse to go back to the practice I was just getting my routine paps done at for the last 8 years. It was a huge practice (15-20 docs) and I thought the few OBs that I had seen were condescending to my IVF journey. No more going to doctors that I don't like. So, while I researched the heck out of new OBs, I ended up going with a practice with 2 doctors recommended to me by my RE and a close friend now pregnant with twins after IVF. E and I arrived 15 mins before our scheduled appointment as instructed and ended up waiting 45 mins to see the doctor. Now, this practice has routinely been applauded for running on time so first impressions were not looking so good. Forty-five minutes in an OB waiting room to a infertile person was surreal. There were visibly pregnant women, babies and kids EVERYWHERE. It felt very strange - like the twilight zone or something. I was so glad E was there with me. We read through all the NT Scan and cystic fibrosis materials they handed us after checking in - which took all of 10 mins. Then, just the wait. Wait to see the baby - wait to ask the doc questions - wait, wait, wait. I was nervous something had gone wrong over the weekend because I was having these intermittent cramps so that made the wait even more difficult. Then, they finally called us. I had to give a urine sample and step on the scale. Honestly, I was pretty nervous for the weigh-in. I know that I can only gain about 25 pounds and I've already used about about 3 of those - I'm just nervous of really letting my weight get out of control so I'm trying to be very vigilant on what I eat and what the scale says. Anyway, I hopped off the scale and was let into the US room. A few mins later, a knock on the door and this thin, older man burst in and yells, "You're pregnant!" I have to say that it took me by surprise - not so much the whole action itself but the words - someone congratulating me on pregnancy. I am simply not used to that yet. Dr. E then took a look at the paperwork from my RE's office and asked how many attempts this took us. I took a deep breath and explained the gory story - short version of course. Dr. E looked genuinely concerned and patted my leg telling me that we'd worked so hard to get here and we deserve the utmost of congratulations. He actually used the words, "We've climbed mountains to get here." I thought I might cry. He said we could come in at any time to see the heartbeat if we wanted and that he completely understood our anxiety. He was also thrilled to hear that we had 4 frozen embryos too. I told him we hoped to keep him busy for a few years. We did the US and baby was measuring right on schedule with a heart rate about 140. It seemed a little low to me but the doc said that's totally normal as it will go down after 9 weeks and can vary depending on my mood too. So I guess I was more relaxed than I thought. We got to hear the heartbeat as well which was absolutely incredible. Gosh, I do love modern science. He did some cultures and I got to skip the blood work! Woo hoo -- since I had a physical back in February for the home study, I had done all the necessary blood work and didn't need to get poked again. I was so excited about this. We told him about being excited to tell our families and he said that after the NT scan I should be good to go. This scan and blood work will measure our risk for Downs Syndrome. My appointment isn't until July 6th. Honestly, we still plan to tell family next Sunday ahead of the scan because no matter what, this kid is coming home with us. Also, I'm at the point where I am really needing support here and if something goes wrong, I want friends and family around to help me. Each day I get a little stronger in my resolve to think happy thoughts. It's tough, and sometimes I "relapse" but this may be the only time in my life that I'm actually pregnant and I'm trying to enjoy whatever little moments I can. I am 10 weeks today and it's my last official day of Estrace and Endometrin. I am thrilled to finally be crossing this milestone. I have to take the milestones where I can, right? I am of course nervous like most infertiles, that stopping these medications will automatically mean that I'll lose the baby. I still can't trust yet that my body is capable of sustaining life. It's a tough one to grasp. I am comforted by the fact that we have our first OB appointment tomorrow and I can go over all the rest of the meds I'm still taking with him - Metformin, baby aspirin, Folgard and prenatals of course. Tomorrow is scary and exciting all at the same time. We still haven't told any family or friends outside of our support group about our news. If all goes well tomorrow, then I'll be able to tell 2 of my girlfriends from college who I'm having dinner with next week. It will be absolutely impossible to make up a good excuse as to why I'm not drinking with them (as I've already seen the 1 friend and had to use another excuse). So E and I have discussed and I will be able to share the news with them as long as I swear them to secrecy. No emails to anyone else, no facebook congrats etc. I am sure I can trust them. I just can't trust my mom not to tell EVERYONE which is why we've waited to tell my parents. They proved they couldn't handle keeping the news to themselves at our Ireland vacation last year when my sister told us she was 8 weeks along. My parents told everyone at the rehearsal dinner despite my sister's instructions to keep it to immediate family only! We plan to tell our families next Sunday when I'll be 11.5 weeks along. It will be my mom's birthday and E has come up with this really cute way of telling my mom. I hope I'm not jinxing things by saying how excited I am to tell people but - I truly am. Also, part of me wants to tell because if anything goes wrong, I will need their support. Thought I'd share this little FAQ I came across while I researched my leave under the FMLA. Q23. An employee with difficulty getting pregnant is going to have fertility treatments. Can she invoke FMLA for these treatments? UUMMMMM - I beg to differ. Any condition that requires the amount of blood draws, therapy, needle pokes, surgeries, doctor's visits and procedures is most certainly a serious health condition. Wondering how we work to change these laws!?!?!? So E went to see a therapist today. He's been battling some depression almost since we met and I finally convinced him to go see someone on the recommendation of my therapist. Now today was only the first session, but right off the bat, he tells me she thinks we need marriage counseling. Seriously, who doesn't!?!?! I mean I'm already in therapy, E's going and now we need more. I don't think so. I hate these therapists where all they do is tell you you need more therapy. Well, no kidding because that means I'm paying you! Seriously, if we went to 3 therapy sessions, we'd be spending all of our time and money in therapy and I think we've done pretty good all things considered. I love my therapist, but I fully intend on stopping or spacing out my appointments in the near future. I don't think I need continuous therapy. One of the reasons I like who I see is because she gives credit where credit is due - meaning, she tells me it's great that we still have such a supportive relationship through all this infertility stuff and then gives me concrete things to work on. UGH - I'm just really annoyed at this lady E saw who also told him to discontinue his weight loss regimen during this time. I can't help but feeling like this is a huge mistake because I'm afraid E will gain the weight he's worked so hard to lose. That would be devastating because his health effects our family so much. Anyway, this is just a vent this morning. Really, what did we do without therapy - oh yea, there's wine! We graduated from our clinic this morning! I am so thrilled. Our little one is measuring right on time at 9 weeks 1 day. Phew - he/she caught right up. Heartbeat is going strong at 182 and we even saw a leg move which was absolutely amazing! I have my first appointment with the OB next Wednesday. I decided we're going to go to 2 appointments and then decide who we like because I don't want to just jump into this decision - so we'll go to one OB on Wednesday and the other on Thursday and decide after the second appointment. I still really can't believe this was happening. I was nervous for today's scan but not as nervous as before. Course it didn't help that I had lunch with one of my dearest college friends yesterday who relayed the story of her friend's miscarriage at 17 weeks! I swear - do any of you have friends you love to death but really, they say the wrong thing all the time?!?! That's how my friend is - she doesn't know what she's saying and I think I'm really going to need to have a chat with her. Now she doesn't know I'm pregnant as we aren't ready to share yet, but there are just some things you don't tell someone who's been trying to have a baby for the last 3 years!?!?! Anyway, really trying to forget about that story for now. I have plans to go to prenatal yoga with my friend on Saturday morning which I'm super excited about. I have really missed yoga and exercise other than walking. E is always hounding me not to jump around, walk too fast or whatever. I have always been an active person so I'm definitely missing the workouts. Thought I'd share something fun today rather than bore you with regular updates. On Saturday I ventured into the lingerie section at Nordstrom to purchase some items for friends' bridal showers coming up this summer. I had some items in my hand and the saleswoman asks if she can start me a room. I said sure, thanks (FYI - helps me gauge which size to purchase friends if I try things on first - then I know to go up/down a size if needed). Then she asks, have you been measured? You look like you're about a "D" cup. Wait, what!?!? Did she just saw D cup? I almost laughed out loud, but realized she's probably exactly right. Before pregnancy, I was a C cup and now I'm totally spilling out of my bras so it makes sense that I would be a D cup. But that just sounds ridiculous to me! Anyway, E got a kick out of that when I got home and asked if I purchased anything for me. To his disappointment, I didn't mainly because I don't know if I'll get bigger. I sure hope not because these are big enough, but good lord - never thought I'd be a D! I'm counting the hours and minutes until our next US. Hoping and praying that our little one keeps on growing and sticks around for another 7 months so we get to meet him or her. Each day is a struggle to remember that I'm in a good place. Everything is OK. I literally have to repeat this to myself on an hourly basis. Three years of infertility is tough to get over and I just haven't done it in 8 weeks. I really would like to tell my sister my good news, mostly because I have a zillion questions I need help with. The first being, how on Earth will I choose an OB? I know first had not all doctors are alike but when I go in on Wednesday to hopefully graduate from the RE, I'm going to have to tell him who I've chosen. I'm thinking of doing consults with 2 OBs to at least get a better feel before I commit. I mean, I have consulted over 8 doctors in our infertility journey, it seems a little ridiculous to just go with the first OB who I can get in with. I'm still dealing with anxiety over miscarriage and overwhelming feelings with regards to all the choices that have to be made for our near future. Hopefully, Sunday with my pregnant infertile friends will help me feel a little better. Seriously, this would be me unless we hadn't just seen our baby with a gorgeous heartbeat of 154 at 8 weeks! Unfortunately, I'm still not entirely convinced that we'll get our take home baby come January. I am exactly 8 weeks today, but the CRL (crown to rump length) only measured 7 weeks, 4 days which is making me a little uneasy. The gestational sac is measuring right at 8 weeks and the yolk is measuring at 8 weeks 2 days. The doctors were thrilled with the results and said definitely not to worry. Things were progressing wonderfully. Right, don't worry. Not things an infertile woman does easily. E is a little annoyed with me I can tell, that I'm not jumping for joy. I know the doc said everything is fine, I know these measurements aren't entirely accurate at this stage in the game but I'm still nervous. We were given the choice to graduate to an OB today or to do one more US with our RE and of course I opted for one more US next week. I think I'm putting off going to the OB because I'm so scared they'll treat me like any other regular patient. And I don't feel like a regular patient at all. Thankfully, I am having lunch with some pregnant friends from my support group on Sunday so I'll be able to talk with them about all my craziness. We still have not told anyone outside of our support group that we're pregnant. I really would like to tell my parents first and in person but I don't think we'll be able to see them until mid-July - when I'm about 14 weeks along. That will be a long time to wait but we'll see. I wish it were July! No more spotting today so far which is excellent news. I am having a few friends over tonight and am going to have to figure out how to hide the fact that I'm not drinking. With 8 extra people in the house, hopefully no one will notice if I just carry around a glass of wine. I also feel like, as the hostess, I'll be running around and it will be easy to misplace my glass. Heck - I do that half the time anyway when I am drinking so nothing out of the ordinary there. The only problem I see, is that I really do want a glass. I just want one - I want to chill out - feel normal again. Instead I'm a ball of anxiety all day every day. Though we're getting close to Tuesday it still seems so far away. I can't shake this feeling that my body isn't doing what it's supposed to. This has to work because I truly don't think I can go through this waiting again.

2019-04-22T04:23:26Z

http://babiesforj.blogspot.com/2012/06/

Your mouth can be prone to gum disease and cavities due to aging, you can also start experiencing tooth loss as you get older. Therefore, older adults could be at an increased risk for oral diseases. The functionality of our body changes with age, thus, it is important to be extra cautious regarding your general as well as dental health. An unhealthy mouth and a few bad habits can give rise to oral cancer and the disease is quite common among older adults. Today, we will talk about some of the useful tips which can help seniors achieve a healthy mouth. Medications and aging go hand in hand and taking a lot of medicines can certainly cause dry mouth. You can have difficulties in swallowing your food due to lack of saliva and a dry mouth can also trigger bad breath. Therefore, it is very important to drink an adequate amount of water every day. Eating a lot of cheese, cucumbers, celery and carrots can help escalate the formation of saliva in your mouth. Smoking tobacco not only affects your oral health but, also gives rise to several other general health issues. The habit is extremely harmful for the geriatric population. You are already at a heightened risk for oral diseases when you age and smoking can elevate the risk. Tobacco plays a major role in causing gum disease. The tar and the nicotine give rise to a dental plaque which eventually leads to gum disease. Suffering from periodontal disease can be very painful during old age, it can even be one of the main reasons for tooth loss, thus, giving up on tobacco will be a wise decision. You may feel lethargic to brush and floss properly every day but, avoiding it can lead to several dental diseases. The trapped food particles may increase the formation of bacteria which can trigger tooth decay, periodontal disease, dental abscess and so on. However, a proper dental hygiene can help prevent your mouth from uncalled oral diseases. Along with brushing and flossing twice a day, also remember to keep your tongue clean because it is one of the common places for bacteria to reside. Good nutrition can definitely give your oral health a boost, thus, eating a lot of foods rich in nutrients and natural minerals can be very beneficial for an aging mouth. Try to avoid processed foods and cut down on having anything sugary. You can get in touch with Long Falls Dentistry 315-497-6316 to book your appointment. Experience our affordable and effective dental services today. Every parent wants to provide the best possible care to their little ones, therefore, you might pay utmost heed to your child’s dental health as well. Children won’t understand the importance of maintaining a healthy mouth until and unless they are told about it. Some of you may think twice before letting your kid swish with a mouthwash, but you must know that the rinsing liquid is safe for children if you choose the right one. Also, you can try these 8 exciting ways to teach your child good dental habits. Here’s how you must select the right mouthwash for your little ones. Refrain your child from using a mouthwash if the little one falls under age category of 6. They might not be able to spit out the liquid properly after rinsing due to underdeveloped muscle reflexes. And swallowing the mouthwash can be harmful for them. Cosmetic mouthwashes certainly control bad breath, but temporarily. It may keep your child’s mouth fresh for a short period of time and might not wash away the bacteria. However, therapeutic mouthwashes not only help prevent bad breath but also keeps the mouth healthy and restrains tooth decay and gum disease from emerging. It also prevents plaque formation. Therapeutic mouthwashes could consist of chlorhexidine, fluoride, essential oils and cetylpyridinium which are beneficial for the mouth. Antibacterial mouthwashes play a big role in preventing bacteria and it can be used by children above the age of 6. So, don’t get perplexed while choosing an antibacterial mouthwash for your little one because it hinders plaque buildup, fights gum disease and prevents other dental diseases from affecting the mouth. Sometimes kids throw a lot of tantrums due to which they might not want to swish their mouth. But, a kid-friendly mouthwash can attract them and they may get the urge of rinsing their mouth with it. You might come across mouthwashes in the market which have pictures of cartoons labeled on them. They also come in different flavors, opting for such mouthwashes for your child could be a good choice. A mouthwash that has the approval of ADA needs no other confirmation. Therefore, your child can certainly use it. Along with rinsing with a mouthwash, a child must also brush and floss twice a day to keep cavities away. Call us today 315-497-6316 if to seek dental care for your little one. A healthy mouth restrains dental diseases from emerging. We seldom pay the maximum amount of heed to our general health amid which we forget to take care of our oral health. Eating right and concentrating on dental hygiene can not only help achieve a strong set of teeth but can also prevent them from stains and tartar. Today we will be discussing what to keep in mind to prevent discolored teeth because all of us must sport a smile without any inhibitions. Following this will prevent plaque from forming near your gum line and making your teeth look discolored. But, you must also know the right technique of brushing because doing it vigorously can wear off the enamel which can further expose the dentin and make teeth sensitive. Also, remember to floss between your teeth to remove food particles. You should not long for a set of white teeth if you are a heavy alcohol drinker or a smoker. Both smoking and drinking lead to a dental plaque which can turn into tartar. There could be stains in between your teeth due to smoking and that is the primary area for tartar buildup. Therefore, you must give up on such habits immediately. The bacteria that live in your mouth also give rise to dental plaque. But, using an antibacterial mouthwash to rinse your mouth daily can help keep those bacteria away. This way, gum disease can also be prevented because plaque buildup is one of the main reasons behind periodontal disease. Your teeth have pores like your skin, so, the coffee or anything acidic that you drink gets absorbed into those pores which further causes discoloration. Thus, it is better to curb down on acidic beverages. Many of you might not follow this, but it is very important to see your dentist at least twice a year to prevent dental diseases from emerging. You might be asked to get a whitening treatment done if your teeth are discolored and the dentist can figure out beforehand if an oral disease is about to rise. We at Long Falls Dentistry give free dental consultation to our patients. So, call us today 315-497-6316 to schedule your appointment. Dental veneers play a huge role in restoring your smile. It not only mends a broken tooth but also alters the state of a discolored set of teeth. But did you know that the prosthetic device could wear off if you don’t take care of it? The dental layer is no doubt durable, but it could be only possible if you try your best to make it sustainable. The quality of anything would diminish if not does not receive much heed. You can go through the tips that are given in this post, they are some of the best ways to take care of your veneers. Do Not Eat Anything Hard: Say no to foods such as pretzels, steaks, nuts, candies and so on or else the veneer can get highly affected. Therefore, avoid hard food items to save it from getting chipped. However, you can eat mashed potatoes, eggs, bread without the crust and other soft foods. Do Not Chew or Smoke Tobacco: Tobacco can affect our overall health and that is one of the primary reasons for quitting it. Smoking or chewing a lot of tobacco leaves us with stained teeth and it also leads to oral cancer. Your dental veneer can also get discolored due to it and the dental layer won’t be of any use if it becomes stained. Don’t Use Your Teeth for Opening Bottle Caps: A lot of people have this habit, but it is not good for your teeth especially if a dental veneer is placed on them. Habits such as chewing pen cap or biting your nails could also damage the dental layer. Try Not to Grind Your Teeth: Teeth grinding can cause major damage to your veneers, thus, consult your dentist if you do it often. It’s better to get it treated on time rather than waiting for something crucial to take place. The Basic Oral Hygiene: Regularly brushing and flossing twice will keep the quality of your dental veneers intact. So, follow it religiously. Visit the Dentist When it’s Required: In order to maintain your veneers, you must also see the dentist when it’s required. He/she will let you know if anything goes wrong with it. If you reside in Watertown and have any questions regarding dental veneers, call us today 315-497-6316. We are located at 40 Franklin St #3, Carthage, NY 13619. A tooth extraction session could be troublesome for a lot of you but the relief that you get after the completion of the procedure is nothing short of great. However, you may not experience the comfort immediately after the surgery and it is essential to follow certain measures during that time period. There could be an emergence of tooth sensitivity or some other discomfort due to which you need to be extra cautious after the extraction. If you are about to go through a surgery, then do consider the points which are listed in this write-up. Be Careful with the Sutures While Brushing: We make sure that the bristles reach everywhere possible when we brush but this theory might not work after a tooth extraction surgery. First of all, do not brush with all your force and also avoid the sutures because it could bleed if the stitches are disturbed. And another dental issue might arise if this takes place. Use Ice Packs to Diminish Swelling or Pain: A pain may emerge around the gum area after the surgery but do not fret if that happens. Take an ice pack and place it on your cheek or on the side where the pain has occurred, gradually the uneasiness will diminish and you feel start feeling better. Don’t Bite on Anything Hard: Not getting a chance to gorge on pizzas, steaks, dark chocolates and so on after the tooth extraction is definitely going to make you sulk. However, try to avoid those sorts of food items for a few days as munching on something hard can be risky after the surgery. You can eat anything soft though, mashed potatoes, chicken soup or minced meat mixed with soft boiled rice could be great options. Don’t Sip from a Straw: Using a straw could be convenient for most of you out there but do not even try to sip from it after a tooth extraction session. It could poke the gums and lead to bleeding, which may worsen the condition and extend the healing period. Restrain Yourself from Having Tobacco: Tobacco not only affects your body but also sabotages the condition of your oral health. And it should be totally avoided after any kind of dental surgery and not just tooth extraction. Call us 315-497-6316 today if you are having a tough time after a tooth extraction surgery. We will give you a proper guideline on how to deal with it, so do not wait for the state to escalate. Sometimes it gets hard to teach kids about certain things, especially the ones who fall into the age category of 3 to 4. But children get intrigued if something consists of a lot of fun. Then why not make the dental activities exciting as well? There are innumerable games which you can make up for the preschoolers, this way; they will not only have an idea about how to get robust teeth but also enjoy the games at the same time. Draw the Difference between Good and Bad: You can make two teeth-like structures out of a chart paper and draw all the beneficial things on one cutout and the harmful ones on the other. The kids will surely show an interest in it. Figure Out the Healthy Foods: Get pictures of several food items from newspapers, magazines and so on, then get the same to the classroom the next day and place it on a surface or a table. Ask the children to spot the healthy foods from those pictures, it would be quite exhilarating. Put the Correct Number Game: Draw quite a few pictures of mouth without teeth with crayons or watercolor and then give a number to each. The kids would require putting marshmallow crumbs in the place of the missing teeth, if the number is 4 then they have to place four marshmallow crumbs in it. Outline the Necessary Things for Gums and Teeth: In order to have an idea about dental health, it is necessary to know about the things which are needed. First, draw a set of bright teeth and then outline the pictures of floss, toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash. This will portray the way of getting decay free teeth. Make Lower and Upper Jaws Using Dough: Get some play dough and make lower and upper jaws along with teeth using it. Keep it on a desk and ask the kids to take a look at it, all you need to do is, use a brush and show them the ways of brushing the teeth. Also, tell them why it is important for the bristles to reach every corner. Write About Cavity on a Cutout: Go for something unconventional and use a big tooth cutout instead of a blackboard to write. You can state about cavity and why it is harmful to our teeth on that cutout, this will attract the children more. A Depiction on Usage of Teeth: Children should know the importance of teeth, therefore, take some sticky notes and jot down the things which we do with our teeth. For example, you can write chew, talk, bite and smile on those sticky notes and pin it against the soft board. Scrub the Figurines: Accumulate few fun figurines like puppies, dinosaurs and monkey; drop them in a pool of mud so that they get dirty. Then arrange for a bowl of water mixed with liquid soap and ask the children to clean the figurines with the soapy water and brush. This will help them to understand why it is important to clean the things which are mucky. It’s better to take good care of your teeth from an early age, so, don’t compromise on your child’s dental condition. Call us today 315-497-6316 to get free consultancy. A dentist alone cannot mend your teeth. You also need to follow what he/she says thoroughly, hence, you must do whatever is required before heading to the clinic. A lot of you might be visiting your dentist every month but that is certainly not enough. Right from the medications to a proper food diet, everything is quite crucial. So, here are a few tips which can ameliorate your teeth and prepare you for your next dental visit. Use a Power Toothbrush: An electric or a power toothbrush can bring a lot of positive changes to your teeth. It creates automatic bristle motion and cleans the teeth quite well. Power toothbrushes are way better than the manual ones. Go for Fluoride Toothpaste: Fluoride toothpaste is highly recommended by dentists these days. It protects your teeth from decaying and also makes them robust. Clean Your Tongue Properly: We often miss out on cleaning our tongue after brushing which is not good at all. So, make sure you do that before your next dental checkup. Don’t Forget to Floss: The hours or minutes spent in a dental clinic can reduce if you floss every day. Your doctor won’t take much time to clean your teeth or make the session tedious. Thus, flossing is an important part of dental cleaning. Do Not Eat Foods Which Contain Sugar: Don’t eat chocolates, custard or anything which contain sugar for the time being if your dentist asks you to do so. This will be beneficial for you and could help in improving your oral health. Increase the Time Span of Brushing: Brushing once a day would not help you in any way. A person should brush at least twice or thrice a day in order to fetch stronger teeth. And it’s a must for all those who go for dental checkups often. Don’t Get Your Tongue Pierced: Your dentist might not like if you get your tongue pierced as it has all the chances of infecting your mouth. Imagine going through a good dental cleaning session on the very first day and then entering into the clinic with a pierced tongue the next month. Sounds really bad right? So, don’t get carried away. Frequent Change of Toothbrushes: This is one of the mandatory things to do if you want a set of robust and healthy teeth. Using a toothbrush for four to five months at a stretch would not be effective for your teeth. Therefore, try replacing it after every two to three months. You should have the urge of getting an insight into the things that make our teeth stronger. A thorough research on the internet may also help or else contact us 315-497-6316 for free consultancy. Ever felt so embarrassing to talk to your closed one? Blame your bad breath for this. How is bad breath caused? Brushed quiet a lot more time and used too many mouthwashes but bad breath can still linger if you have halitosis. Breaking down of food particles around the teeth can increase the growth of bacteria and increase the pungent odor in your mouth. After digesting this kind of food like garlic or onion goes into the blood and affect your breath, hence causing bad breath. If you have skipped your meal for day long then you are sure to fire bad breath. Skipping meals not only causes the problem but the same time triggers many health harms. If you’re into smoking or nurturing any other unpleasant habits like drinking, then the smell lingers in the mouth. Maintenance of poor oral health or skipping oral hygiene can increase the growth of bacteria. A sticky film of bacteria, we call it as dental plague will eventually settle into your mouth. Saliva is the cleansing agent in your mouth, but some people have a tendency of decreased saliva, which results in dry mouth. Chronic dryness in mouth or xerostomia causes the problem in salivary glands and other diseases. Infections in your mouth sometimes can cause bad breath, which has been caused due to gum diseases, tooth decay or mouth sores. Diseases like pneumonia, diabetes, acid flux or chronic strain can give you bad breath. Maintaining proper oral hygiene, like brushing teeth with fluoride toothpaste. Don’t forget to brush your teeth, before you go to sleep. Stop smoking or in taking any tobacco based product in your mouth. Stay hydrated by drinking lots of water, sucking on candies that will help to generate saliva and hence curbing dry mouth. If you still feel the persistence of bad breath then Long Falls Dentistry will diagnose to curb your problem. Let the words of your mouth remain fresh. The natural cure for the dental issue is always preferable besides brushing and flossing. Are you seeking a solution that is not only effective but also will refurbish your oral health? Natural cures are wrapped with astringent properties, antiviral agents that heal the pain at much faster pace. This active agent will not only help to fight tooth decay but this can restrict the growth of bacteria in the mouth. Mix the peroxide with water to weaken the paste, if the ratio of water is not in right amount it can burn your gum. Green tea extract will help your teeth from getting damaged. If you have a habit of in taking a large number of starchy foods then ask someone who regularly drinks green tea, you’ll get to know that this not only heals your gum but protects a tough shield in your enamel. Have faith in these oils, it not only helps in killing all the bacteria but at the same time it will protect the gum from getting inflamed. Clove oil has antibacterial properties. Clove oil has eugenol extract that you can get from clove bud. It is a natural analgesic agent, which heals dental pain. This has been used by many for centuries, add a pinch of salt to ginger paste and if you can chew additionally a clove then you can find the best result. This is the best which prevents bacteria to settle in your mouth. Studies have shown that if you’re suffering from gum diseases then this is the best effective solution. Eggs, fishes, tuna, salmon and orange juices are rich in Vitamin D. Dental problem can sprung up anytime; try to mitigate any dental issues by having this homely and natural diet. But not always your problem has the above solution. Sometimes the pain becomes unbearable. Long Fall Dentistry will assist you under their professional care. Call us 315-493-1581 to schedule an appointment. The other side of yellow teeth lays, despair. 60 % people are reporting of the discolored tooth and feel unhappy about the fact. Instead of seeking harsh chemicals you can try out some of the foods that will help you to whiten your teeth and will gift you with the best smile. 6 foods can bring back the original shade of the teeth. Eating fruits daily is the best way that can help you to achieve white teeth. Strawberry has the secret to whiten your teeth and return it back to its original shade. This juicy treat contains natural bleaching agent in it, which helps to remove the streak. Cheese has a lot of lactic acid in them which helps to protect your teeth from decay and helps you to get ten times brighter shade. This dairy product has an excellent source of calcium in them which helps in keeping your teeth and gum healthy. Toss some of these green florets and have them, instead of cooking green veggies this will not only act as a scrubber but at the same time will protect a shield in your enamel and will not allow bacteria to settle. Crunchy fresh fruits are always an excellent source to remove stains and to give you a brighter smile. The acid in the apple works as a mild astringent to get rid of plague and clean gums. Mushrooms have a compound called lentinan that hinders the growth of bacteria in the mouth. It helps to reduce plaque and is one of the smartest ways that you can eliminate unwanted cavity. Water helps you keep your Ph level inside your mouth to reduce the acid level in your mouth. Staying hydrated is the best thing that you can do to keep your skin and your dental health on point. It will not only clear your unwanted food particles but at the same time will prevent stain in your teeth. Teeth start to become yellow; the hard protective layer starts to decay, exposing the dentin. With aging teeth also goes under wear and tear and the yellow layer gets exposed. If you’re the smoker; then stains won’t really go away from your mouth, instead it will start to darken more. If you see that your teeth have a yellow hue since your birth, then it is in your gene. This kind of yellowish hue cannot be fixed naturally instead you must visit your dentist. Embarrassed to smile with yellow teeth, you can try the above remedies to whiten up. But if all these cannot prevent your discoloration then Long fall Dentistry will assist you in cleaning up your stains and giving you back the natural color.

2019-04-21T04:28:58Z

https://longfallsdentistry.com/category/oral-hygiene/

The query [[Category:ENS Notification]] [[Site::Dresden]] was answered by the SMWSQLStore3 in 0.2841 seconds. ENS 53851 30 January 2019 17:41:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 At 0910 (CST) on January 30, 2019, the Dresden Station Heater Boiler 'B' tripped while placing the station Heater Boiler 'A' in service. With colder temperatures, the density of the supply air increased and contributed to a greater quantity of air entering the Reactor Building than what was previously being supplied with heating steam in service. The Reactor Building differential pressure (DP) degraded and dropped below 0.25 inches water column vacuum. This condition represents a failure to meet Technical Specification (TS) Surveillance Requirement 3.6.4.1.1. Entry into TS 3.6.4.1 Condition A was made due to Secondary Containment becoming inoperable. Standby Gas Treatment System was initiated to assist with Reactor Building DP control. Reactor Building DP was restored to greater than 0.25 inches water column vacuum. TS 3.6.4.1 Condition A was exited. This event is being reported under 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(C), 'Any event or condition that at the time of discovery could have prevented the fulfillment of the safety function of structures or systems that are needed to ... control the release of radioactive material.' The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified." ENS 52098 18 July 2016 22:07:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 Testing of the Everbridge ERO (Emergency Response Organization) notification system identified that the system cannot notify all ERO individuals. This constitutes a loss of offsite communications capability. Compensatory measures (ERO phone lists) were put in place. The Everbridge system capability loss for Dresden Station was identified at 1500 CDT on July 18, 2016, due to an undetermined loss of system communications. Emergency Response Data System (EROS) capability was not lost. This event is reportable under 10 CFR 50.72(b)3(xiii) as a major loss of communication capability. On July 18, 2016 at 1957 CDT, an Everbridge ERO call in drill was initiated and verified successful at 2030 CDT. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. Some of the ERO personnel did not receive a test page. The requirement is to have all ERO personnel receive the page within ten minutes and to be fully staffed within one hour. At 1050 CDT, (on 6/27/16), an Alert was declared at Dresden Unit 3. The Alert is due to Unit 3 experiencing a fire in the HPCI (High Pressure Coolant Injection) system, auxiliary oil pump motor. The fire is out. This notification is being made per 10 CFR 50.72(a)(1)(i). Dresden Unit 3 is stable and continues to operate at 100% power and HPCI has been declared inoperable. There is no impact on Dresden Unit 2. The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector Notified DHS SWO, FEMA, USDA, HHS, DOE, DHS NICC, EPA, and FEMA National Watch Center, FDA EOC, NuclearSSA via email only. Termination of MA-5 (Alert). Fire in HPCI room verified extinguished. HPCI system is inoperable. (Technical Specification) TS 3.5.1 condition G in effect, per 10 CFR 50.72(c)(i) - notification of termination of Alert. Dresden Unit 3 terminated the Alert at 1319 CDT, on 6/27/16. Dresden Unit 3 continues to operate at 100% power. The licensee will notify the NRC Resident Inspector. Notified R3DO (Kunowski), NRR (Miller), IRD (Grant), DHS SWO, FEMA, USDA, HHS, DOE, DHS NICC, EPA, and FEMA National Watch Center, FDA EOC, NuclearSSA via email only. At 1042 (CDT) on 6/27/16, the U3 High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) system was declared inoperable after the Auxiliary Oil Pump failed. This event is reportable per 10CFR50.72(b)(3)(v)(D); any event or condition that at the time of discovery could have prevented fulfillment of the safety function of structures or systems that are needed to mitigate the consequences of an accident. This is an eight hour reporting requirement. The Dresden NRC Resident (Inspector) has been notified. Notified R3DO (Kunowski). ENS 51934 16 May 2016 19:56:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 1457 (CDT) on 5-16-16, U-2 (Unit 2) High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) system was declared inoperable after isolation of the system due to a steam leak on the HPCI steam inlet drain pot drain line. The event is reportable per 10CFR50.72(b)(3)(v)(D), Any event or condition that at the time of discovery could have prevented the fulfillment of the safety function of structures or systems that are needed to mitigate the consequences an accident. This is an eight hour report requirement. The Dresden NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. ENS 51913 9 May 2016 17:34:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At approximately 1430 CDT on 5/9/2016, the Dresden Station Main Control Room was notified by Exelon Corporate Emergency Preparedness of the inadvertent actuation of all 27 Full Sounding Sirens in Will County, Illinois. Exelon Emergency Preparedness was notified at 1309 CDT on 5/9/2016. The inadvertent actuation occurred on 5/7/16 at 2350 CDT during a training activity performed by Wescom (Western Will County Communications Center). This event is reportable per 10 CFR 50.72(b)(2)(xi), News Release or Notification of Other Government Agencies. This is a 4-hour reporting requirement. The Dresden NRC Resident has been notified. ENS 51721 10 February 2016 02:17:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 2142 (CST) on February 9, 2016, Reactor Building differential pressure did not meet the required 0.25 inches of vacuum water gauge due to failure of the control system. At 2205, the Unit 3 Reactor Building Ventilation System was secured and manually isolated. The Reactor Building differential pressure returned to (greater than or equal to) 0.25 inches of vacuum water gauge at 2207. This condition represents a failure to meet Surveillance Requirement 3.6.4.1.1. As a result, entry into Technical Specifications 3.6.4.1 condition A was made due to Secondary Containment being inoperable. This event is being reported in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(C) as a condition that could have prevented the fulfillment of a safety function. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. At 0400 CST on Wednesday, January 20, 2016, the Dresden Nuclear Power Station (DNPS) Technical Support Center (TSC) emergency ventilation system will be removed from service for planned maintenance activities. During the maintenance, the TSC Ventilation will be shut down. The TSC air filtration fan and dampers will be non-functional, rendering the TSC HVAC accident mode non-functional. This maintenance is scheduled to minimize out of service time. The planned TSC ventilation outage is scheduled to be completed in approximately 43 hours. Contingency plans are in place so that if an emergency is declared requiring TSC activation during this period, the TSC will be staffed and activated using existing Emergency Planning (EP) procedures and checklists. If radiological or environmental conditions require TSC facility evacuation during ventilation system restoration; the Station Emergency Director will relocate the TSC staff in accordance with station procedures. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. At 2223 CDT on 1/21/16, Dresden TSC Ventilation was restored. The Dresden TSC Ventilation is functional at this time. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. Notified R3DO (Cameron). ENS 51509 30 October 2015 17:38:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 1429 CDT, Dresden Nuclear Power Station (DNPS) notified the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) of an upset condition involving the loss of power to the DNPS lift station. The lift station power was lost at approximately 1350 CDT, and in response, DNPS entered abnormal operating procedures to limit hot canal levels. Power was restored to the lift station at approximately 1500 CDT. There was no impact to the health and safety of the public or to the environment. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. ENS 51421 24 September 2015 05:52:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 During surveillance testing of the U2 HPCI (High Pressure Coolant Injection) system, the HPCI motor gear unit (MGU) was positioned from 100 percent to 75 percent demand to satisfy operability testing. The motor gear unit did not respond as system demand was returned to 100 percent. This indicated a failure of the MGU which requires declaration of inoperability of the HPCI System. This is a 14 day LCO. HPCI is a single train system and reportable under SAF 1.8 'Event or condition that could have prevented fulfillment of a safety function.' The licensee will be notifying the NRC Resident Inspector. ENS 51374 5 September 2015 17:24:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 1010 (CDT) on September 5, 2015, Reactor Building differential pressure did not meet the required 0.25 inches of vacuum due to an open inspection hatch. At 1018 (CDT), an inspection hatch was found to have fallen open and (was) subsequently closed (manually) on the Reactor Building exhaust fan damper access hatch. The damper is outside of the Reactor Building secondary containment isolation boundary. Following closure of the hatch, Reactor Building differential pressure returned to greater than or equal to 0.25 inches of vacuum water gauge. This condition represents a failure to meet Surveillance Requirement 3.6.4.1.1. As a result, entry into Technical Specifications 3.6.4.1 condition A was made due to Secondary Containment being inoperable. This event is being reported in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)c as a condition that could have prevented the fulfillment of a safety function. The NRC Senior Resident Inspector has been notified. ENS 51371 4 September 2015 14:36:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 0810 (CDT) on September 4, 2015, two Secondary Containment doors in one access opening, were opened simultaneously. The interlock mechanism preventing both doors from operating simultaneously at the Unit 2 570 foot elevation Turbine to Reactor Building interlock did not operate as expected. This condition represents a failure to meet Surveillance Requirement 3.6.4.1.2. As a result, entry into Technical Specifications 3.6.4.1 condition A was made due to Secondary Containment being inoperable. Secondary Containment differential pressure was maintained within specification. This event is being reported in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(C) as a condition that could have prevented the fulfillment of a safety function. The NRC Senior Resident Inspector has been notified. At 0004 (CDT) on Wednesday, July 15, 2015, the Dresden Nuclear Power Station (DNPS) Technical Support Center (TSC) emergency ventilation system will be removed from service for planned maintenance activities. During the maintenance, the TSC Ventilation will be shut down. The TSC air filtration fan and dampers will be non-functional, rendering the TSC HVAC accident mode non-functional. This maintenance is scheduled to minimize out of service time. The planned TSC ventilation outage is scheduled to be completed in approximately 24 hours. Contingency plans are in place so that if an emergency is declared requiring TSC activation during this period, the TSC will be staffed and activated using existing Emergency Planning (EP) procedures and checklists. If radiological or environmental conditions require TSC facility evacuation during ventilation system restoration; the Station Emergency Director will relocate the TSC staff in accordance with station procedures. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. At 1347 CDT on July 17, 2015, Dresden TSC Ventilation was restored. The Dresden TSC Ventilation is Functional at this time. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. Notified R3DO (Orth). ENS 51173 23 June 2015 10:26:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 0342 (CDT), as a result of severe weather conditions in the area, Exelon Generation Company, LLC (EGC) identified that the Emergency Notification System (ENS), Health Physics Network (HPN) phone systems, and their associated back-up system, the commercial phone system, had failed at Dresden Nuclear Power Station (DNPS). A loss of the primary phone system concurrent with the loss of the associated back-up system is a reportable condition in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72 (b)(3)(xiii) - Major Loss of Emergency Preparedness Capabilities. As a result of the failed communication systems, DNPS contacted the NRC to notify them of the issue and provided an alternate phone number for the Shift Manager for use until the systems were restored. As of 0743 (CDT), ENS, HPN, and the commercial phone systems were restored and verified to be working properly. The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector. ENS 50792 6 February 2015 16:53:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 1227 CST on 06 Feb 2015, Dresden Unit 2 automatically scrammed due to a Reactor Water Level transient. Set up activities for weekend maintenance were being performed on the feedwater system at the time of the event. All rods inserted to their full-in positions. Systems operated as expected. Reactor vessel inventory and pressure are being maintained in normal control bands. The ultimate heat sink was maintained. The source of the transient was a loss of Feedwater Level Control and the reactor automatically scrammed on low reactor water level. Cause of the failure is under investigation. All three feed pumps tripped as a result of the transient. The 2B reactor feed pump was restored following the transient in accordance with station operating procedures. Level is being maintained with normal feedwater. High Pressure Coolant Injection initiated on a valid low-low reactor water level. Manual operator action was taken to prevent unneeded injection into the reactor coolant system. Group 2 Primary Containment and Group 3 Shutdown Cooling and Reactor Water Clean-up system isolations occurred as expected. Unit 2 and 2/3 (swing diesel) EDGs started as expected, but did not load onto their associated busses as offsite power was maintained. The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector. At 0355 (CST) on Monday, January 26, 2015, the Dresden Nuclear Power Station (DNPS) Technical Support Center (TSC) emergency ventilation system was removed from service for planned preventative maintenance activities on the TSC air handling unit, air compressor units, and TSC air filtration unit. During the maintenance, the TSC Ventilation will be shut down. The TSC air filtration fan and dampers will be non-functional, rendering the TSC HVAC accident mode non-functional. This maintenance is scheduled to minimize out of service time. The planned TSC ventilation outage is scheduled to be completed within 38 hours. Contingency plans are in place so that if an emergency is declared requiring TSC activation during this period, the TSC will be staffed and activated using existing Emergency Planning (EP) procedures and checklists. If radiological or environmental conditions require TSC facility evacuation during ventilation system restoration; the Station Emergency Director will evacuate and relocate the TSC staff in accordance with station procedures. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. At 1740 CST on January 27th, 2015, Dresden TSC Ventilation was restored. The Dresden TSC Ventilation is functional at this time. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. Notified the R3DO (Dickson). ENS 50733 13 January 2015 22:10:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 1904 Central Time 13 Jan 2015, Dresden Unit 2 was manually scrammed by Operators due to a Reactor Water Level transient. All rods inserted to their full-in positions. All systems operated as expected. Reactor vessel inventory and pressure are being maintained in normal control bands. The source of the transient was a failure of both controllers in the Feedwater Level Control system. Cause of the failure is under investigation. This condition is being reported pursuant to 10 CFR 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B), any event or condition that results in actuation of the reactor protection system (R) when the reactor is critical. There was no on-going work or testing during this time which could be attributed to the failure of the level controllers. Unit 2 is in a normal post scram electrical line-up and maintaining pressure and temperature. RHR cooling is available if required. Unit 3 was unaffected by this transient. The licensee informed the NRC Resident Inspector. At 0525 (CDT) on Monday, July 21, 2014, the Dresden Nuclear Power Station (DNPS) Technical Support Center (TSC) emergency ventilation system was removed from service for planned preventative maintenance activities on the TSC air handling unit, air compressor units, and TSC air filtration unit. During the maintenance, the TSC Ventilation was shut down. The TSC air filtration fan and dampers are non-functional, rendering the TSC HVAC accident mode nonfunctional. This maintenance is scheduled to minimize out of service time. The planned TSC ventilation outage is scheduled to be completed within 48 hours. Contingency plans are in place so that if an emergency is declared requiring TSC activation during this period, the TSC will be staffed and activated using existing Emergency Planning (EP) procedures and checklists. If radiological or environmental conditions require TSC facility evacuation during ventilation system restoration; the Station Emergency Director will evacuate and relocate the TSC staff in accordance with station procedures. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. At 1540 CDT on July 22, 2014, Dresden TSC Ventilation was restored. The Dresden TSC Ventilation is functional at this time. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. Notified R3DO (Orth). This notification is being made pursuant to 10 CFR 50.72(b)(2)(xi) because Dresden Nuclear Power Station is in the process of informing the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (lEMA) and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) of recent groundwater monitoring results at Dresden Station. Additionally, the station intends to issue a press release. As part of the Station's extensive environmental monitoring and sampling program, sample results from an onsite sampling well near the 2/3 contaminated water storage tank (CST) indicate elevated levels of tritium. This is an on-site leak, requiring the notification of the State of Illinois. Based on sampling data obtained, the tritium is currently confined to Exelon property. The IEPA/lEMA regulation requires notification when a release to soil, groundwater or surface water goes offsite at greater than 200 pCi/L or remains on-site greater than 0.002 Curies. Based upon the sampling results from the monitoring well near the 2/3 CST with a concentration of approximately 0.0000013 Curies/liter it is likely that the 0.002 Curie on-site threshold has been exceeded. The Station continues to track this issue by monitoring the existing wells and initiation of mitigative actions to contain any release and ensure it remains on-site. At this time, the source of the tritium has not been identified. Investigation continues to determine if an off-site release occurred. The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector. At 1830 (CDT), the station notified IEPA/IEMA, pursuant to 35 ILL. ADM. Code 1010.202, that from the time period of April 2, 2014, to June 8, 2014, elevated levels of tritium existed at the discharge of the plant. As part of the site investigation that was done in response to the event reported in EN 50180, it has been determined that no greater than 0.1 Curies were discharged from the site. The majority of this discharge was to the Kankakee River via the sewage treatment plant effluent. A small amount, determined to be less than 2%, was discharged to the Morris Illinois sewage treatment facility. This release is associated with the elevated tritium levels discovered on June 7, 2014 and reported to the IEPA on June 8, 2014. The system is currently isolated, and is not discharging to the Kankakee River. The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector. Notified the R3DO (Daley). ENS 50085 3 May 2014 15:15:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 1209 CDT on 3 May 2014, Dresden Unit 2 automatically scrammed on a Generator-Turbine Load Mismatch signal following a main generator trip. All rods inserted to their full in positions. All systems operated as expected. Reactor vessel inventory and pressure are being maintained in automatic. The cause of the scram was due to a main generator trip that occurred during a voltage regulator channel transfer. Troubleshooting is in progress to determine the exact cause of the generator trip. This condition is being reported pursuant to 10CFR50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B), any event or condition that results in actuation of the reactor protection system (RPS) when the reactor is critical. The plant is in a normal shutdown electrical lineup. Main feedwater is being used to maintain reactor vessel level and decay heat is being removed by the main condenser via the turbine bypass valves. There was no impact on Unit 3 which remains stable at 100 percent power. The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector. ENS 50030 12 April 2014 13:24:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 1012 CDT on April 12, 2014, Dresden Unit 2 automatically scrammed on TR-2 sudden pressure relay actuation. All rods inserted to their full-in positions. Following the reactor scram, the 'A' reactor recirculation pump did not run back to minimum speed automatically. Operators took action to run the recirculation pump to minimum speed manually. All other systems operated as expected. Reactor vessel inventory and pressure are being maintained in automatic. The cause of the scram was due to a trip of the sudden pressure relay for Main Power Transformer 2. Troubleshooting is in progress to determine the cause (of the trip of the sudden pressure relay). This condition is being reported pursuant to 10 CFR 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B), any event or condition that results in actuation of the reactor protection system (RPS) when the reactor is critical. Normal offsite power remains available. There was no impact on Unit 3. The NRC Resident Inspector has been informed. ENS 49963 27 March 2014 09:42:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 0151 (CDT) on March 27, 2014, indication was received in the Control Room that two Secondary Containment doors, in the 2/3 Diesel Generator Interlock, were opened simultaneously. An equipment operator, in the field at the time of the event, reported that while opening the reactor building side interlock doors, individuals were able to open the diesel side interlock doors. The interlock mechanism preventing both doors from operating simultaneously did not operate as expected. This condition represents a failure to meet Surveillance Requirement 3.6.4.1.2, since two doors in a singular access opening were allowed to open. As a result, entry into Technical Specification 3.6.4.1 Condition A was made due to Secondary Containment being inoperable. The doors were open for approximately 5 seconds and were immediately secured. Secondary Containment differential pressure was maintained throughout the event. This event is being reported in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(C) as a condition that could have prevented the fulfillment of a safety function. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. At 0043 (CST) on Monday, February 3, 2014, the Dresden Nuclear Power Station (DNPS) Technical Support Center (TSC) emergency ventilation system was removed from service for planned preventative maintenance activities on the TSC ventilation system condensing unit. The TSC air handing and filtration units will be non-functional, rendering the TSC HVAC accident mode non-functional. This maintenance is scheduled to minimize out of service time. The planned TSC ventilation outage is scheduled to be completed within 88 hours. If an emergency is declared requiring TSC activation during this period, the TSC will be staffed and activated using existing Emergency Preparedness (EP) procedures and checklists. If radiological conditions require TSC facility evacuation during ventilation system maintenance; the Station Emergency Director will evacuate and relocate the TSC staff in accordance with established procedures. The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector. At 1800 CST on February 4, 2014, Dresden TSC ventilation was restored. The Dresden TSC ventilation is functional at this time. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. Notified R3DO (Orlikowski). ENS 49732 16 January 2014 15:50:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 The following 60-day report is being made under 10 CFR 50.73(a)(2)(iv)(A) for an invalid actuation of the Unit 2, Division 1 and Division 2, Emergency Diesel Generators (EDG) that occurred on November 17, 2013, at 1000 CST. As allowed by 10 CFR 50.73(a)(1) this notification is being made via telephone. (a) The specific train(s) and system(s) that were actuated. On November 17th, during the required twenty-two year replacement of the ATWS (anticipated transient without scram) level transmitters, the Unit 2, Division 1 and Division 2, Emergency Diesel Generators (EDG) auto-started as a result of maintenance activities. The failure to remove trip relays, in addition to the sequence for the timing of the replacements, resulted in an unexpected and invalid low water level trip. Subsequently, this resulted in an automatic initiation of the Unit 2, Division 1 and 2, EDGs. (b) Whether each train actuation was complete or partial. Upon receiving the invalid low water level signal, both divisions of EDGs responded as expected for existing plant conditions. Therefore, the actuation was considered a complete actuation of both Division 1 and Division 2 EDGs. (c) Whether or not the system started and functioned successfully. Both Divisions of EDGs auto-started, achieved rated speed, and idled based upon offsite power being available to the safety related busses. Therefore, this is being considered a successful actuation of the Division 1 and Division 2 EDGs. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. ENS 49591 30 November 2013 22:43:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 1553 CST on November 30, 2013, during the performance of the High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) fast initiation test, HPCI did not produce the required flow rate as specified by Technical Specification Surveillance Requirement 3.5.1.6. The HPCI subsystem is designed to ensure adequate core cooling when operated with other available Emergency Core Cooling Systems (ECCS), and during this event, all other ECCS systems remained operable. The cause of this event is currently under investigation. This event is being reported in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(D) as a condition that could have prevented the fulfillment of the safety function of structures or systems needed to mitigate the consequences of an accident. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. The flow rate achieved during the test was 3000 gpm and the required minimum flow rate is 5000 gpm. ENS 49590 28 November 2013 10:56:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 0258 CST on November 28, 2013, two individuals were removing materials from the main steam isolation valve room (X-Area) and defeated an interlock which allowed them to open two secondary containment doors simultaneously. The X-Area personnel access doors connect secondary containment to the turbine building and are part of the secondary containment boundary. At the time of this event, Dresden Unit 2 was in Mode 4 and secondary containment was not required. However, Dresden Unit 3 was in Mode 1 which requires secondary containment to be operable. Throughout this event, secondary containment differential pressure was maintained within technical specifications surveillance requirement 3.6.4.1.1 limits, and the individuals remained in the area with the capability to close the personnel access doors. This condition represents a failure to meet surveillance requirement 3.6.4.1.2, since both doors in a singular access opening were allowed to open. As a result, entry into technical specification 3.6.4.1 condition A was made, for Unit 3, due to secondary containment being inoperable. The doors were secured at 0311 and secondary containment was declared operable. This event is being reported in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(C) as a condition that could have prevented the fulfillment of the safety function. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. ENS 49585 26 November 2013 19:02:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 On November 26, 2013, with Unit 2 shutdown for refueling, leakage was identified on the 2-0203-3C Electromatic Relief Valve (ERV) during a Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) pressure test. The leak is located on the line connecting the ERV main body to the pilot valve, and is approximately 1 drop per second. Each unit is designed with relief valves which actuate to control reactor coolant system pressure during transient conditions and are located on the main steam lines between the reactor vessel and the first isolation valve within the drywell. The cause of this event is under investigation. The condition is being reported under 50.72(b)(3)(ii)(A) given the defect was associated with the primary coolant system pressure boundary. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. ENS 49543 16 November 2013 17:53:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 10:19:02 (CST) on November 16, 2013, indication was received in the Control Room that two Secondary Containment doors, in one access opening, were open simultaneously. The interlock mechanism preventing both doors from operating simultaneously did not operate as expected. A worker was staged in the interlock to operate the doors as an interim action while a modification to prevent additional failures was being developed. The worker reported that while opening the reactor building side door the Turbine Building side door opened several inches. Both doors were immediately closed and the interlock was removed from use. Secondary Containment differential pressure remained within Technical Specification required values during the short time both doors were open. This condition represents a failure to meet Surveillance Requirement 3.6.4.1.2. As a result, entry into Technical Specification 3.6.4.1 Condition A was made momentarily due to Secondary Containment being inoperable. The doors were secured at 10:19:07 (CST) and Secondary Containment was declared Operable. This event is being reported in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(C) as a condition that could have prevented the fulfillment of the safety function. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. ENS 49535 14 November 2013 11:01:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 On November 14, 2013, both the 2-220-58B Feed Water Inboard Check Valve and the 2-220-62B Feed Water Outboard Check Valve failed Local Leak Rate Testing (LLRT) acceptance criteria. These valves are considered primary containment isolation valves and, as such, are required to ensure that an adequate primary containment boundary is maintained. Technical Specification (TS) 5.5.12, 'Primary Containment Leakage Rate Testing Program,' establishes limits for Primary Containment leakage. Based upon the results of the LLRT, Dresden, Unit 2, may not have met the limits for primary containment leakage during the last operating cycle as specified in TS 5.5.12.c. Dresden Unit 2 is currently in Mode 5 for a refueling outage and per Dresden TS 3.6.1.1, 'Primary Containment,' Primary Containment is not required in the current mode of operation (i.e., Mode 5). However, in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(ii)(A), this event is reportable as a condition that resulted in a principal safety barrier being seriously degraded. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified (by the licensee). ENS 49503 5 November 2013 15:50:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 08:42 (CST) on November 5, 2013, indication was received in the Control Room that two Secondary Containment doors, in one access opening, were opened simultaneously. The interlock mechanism preventing both doors from operating simultaneously did not operate as expected. A worker in the field reported that the Turbine Building side door was opened, and simultaneously the Reactor Building side door opened several inches and then quickly re-closed. This condition represents a failure to meet Surveillance Requirement 3.6.4.1.2. As a result, entry into Technical Specification 3.6.4.1, Condition A, was made momentarily due to Secondary Containment being inoperable. The doors were secured at 08:42 and Secondary Containment was declared Operable. This event is being reported in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(C) as a condition that could have prevented the fulfillment of a safety function. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. See similar events 49153 and 49379. The licensee is tracking the failure as Incident Report 01581320. ENS 49379 23 September 2013 22:13:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 16:55:59 (CDT) on September 23, 2013, indication was received in the Control Room that two Secondary Containment doors, in one access opening, were opened simultaneously. The interlock mechanism preventing both doors from operating simultaneously did not operate as expected. This condition represents a failure to meet Surveillance Requirement 3.6.4.1.2. As a result, entry into Technical Specifications 3.6.4.1 condition A was made due to Secondary Containment being inoperable. The doors were secured at 16:56:04 and Secondary Containment was declared operable. This event is being reported in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(C) as a condition that could have prevented the fulfillment of a safety function. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. At 1600 CDT on Sunday, July 14, 2013, the Dresden Nuclear Power Station (DNPS) Technical Support Center (TSC) emergency ventilation system will be removed from service for planned preventative maintenance activities on the TSC air handling unit and air compressor units. During the maintenance, the TSC ventilation will be shut down. The TSC air filtration fan and dampers will be non-functional, rendering the TSC HVAC accident mode non-functional. This maintenance is scheduled to minimize out of service time. The planned TSC ventilation outage is scheduled to be completed within 48 hours. Contingency plans are in place so that if an emergency is declared requiring TSC activation during this period, the TSC will be staffed and activated using existing EP (Emergency Preparedness) procedures and checklists. If radiological or environmental conditions require TSC facility evacuation during ventilation system restoration, the Station Emergency Director will evacuate and relocate the TSC staff in accordance with station procedures. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. The planned TSC ventilation outage, for maintenance activities on the TSC air handling unit and air compressor units, has been extended and is now scheduled to complete on Saturday, July 20, 2013. During this maintenance, the TSC air filtration fan and dampers will continue to be non-functional. The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector. R3DO (Hills) has been notified. At 1135 CDT on July 19, 2013, Dresden TSC ventilation was restored. The Dresden TSC ventilation is functional at this time. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. Notified R3DO (Hills). ENS 49153 28 June 2013 14:18:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 0749 CDT on June 28, 2013, indication was received in the Control Room that two Secondary Containment doors, in one access opening, were opened simultaneously. The interlock mechanism preventing both doors from operating simultaneously did not operate as expected. This condition represents a failure to meet Surveillance Requirement 3.6.4.1.2. As a result, entry into Technical Specifications 3.6.4.1 Condition A was made due to Secondary Containment being declared inoperable. The doors were secured at 0749 CDT (total time with both doors open was 7 seconds) and Secondary Containment was declared operable. This event is being reported in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(C) as a condition that could have prevented the fulfillment of a safety function. The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified. Control Rod Drive (CRD) Check valves 3-0399-593 and 3-0399-594 are installed on the CRD supply header inside the reactor building to prevent unfiltered radiological release from primary containment past secondary containment through the CRD supply header. The (Design Basis Accident) DBA (Loss of Coolant Accident) LOCA dose analysis does not postulate the CRD supply piping as a release path. These valves were added in response to NRC IN 90-78. Their function is described in the Dresden UFSAR section 4.6.4.6. CRD check valves 3-0399-593 and 3-0399-594 failed their as found In Service Testing (IST) seat leakage test during refuel outage D3R22. Based on the condition of as-found failed seat leakage tests, Engineering determined that CRD check valves 3-0399-593 and 3-0399-594 would not have been able to perform their design functions as described in the UFSAR to maintain the offsite dose and control room dose within regulatory limits. The valves were repaired in D3R22 and successfully retested. The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector. Based on an evaluation of the current plant design and the overly conservative assumptions made in the 1996 dose estimate, the dose that would be experienced as a result of a DBA LOCA with LOOP (Loss of Offsite Power) due to back leakage through the control rod drive system to the condensate storage tanks (CST) has been reassessed. The initial estimations of dose did not consider the as-built piping configuration of the CRD system. The backflow would be greatly reduced due to the lower differential pressure between the Drywell and CSTs that would exist following a DBA-LOOP. This differential pressure experienced following a DBA-LOOP would not result in a significant backflow due to excess flow check valves and restricting orifices in the current CRD piping configuration. Additionally, in the event that any backflow did occur, the volume of water in the CST would provide a high decontamination factor and dilution. Therefore backflows that could be experienced following a DBA-LOOP would not produce doses that would exceed current limits. Based on this assessment, the unanalyzed condition that was reported on March 22 (EN 48845) is being retracted. The Licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector. Notified R3DO (Kozak). ENS 48635 28 December 2012 18:02:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 On December 28, 2012, at approximately 1410 hours CDT, Dresden Station was informed by Station Security that a Contract Supervisory (non-licensed) individual had a confirmed positive Fitness-For-Duty test for a controlled substance. This event affects both Dresden and Braidwood Stations. The individuals access to both Dresden and Braidwood Stations has been terminated. The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspectors. ENS 48426 20 October 2012 15:09:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 The notification is being made pursuant to 10 CFR 50.72(b )(2)(xi) due to the fact that Exelon Nuclear has informed the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (lEMA) and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) of the discovery of a hole in the 'A' Waste Sample Tank resulting in a potential inadvertent release of tritium at Dresden Station. Any release is currently contained within the plant's restricted area. The notifications to lEMA and IEPA were made at 1340 hours CDT on October 20, 2012. The tank was out of service and had been emptied for internal inspection. Therefore at the time of discovery, there was no active leak. The IEPA/lEMA regulations require notification when newly occurring, event-related unpermitted releases of radionuclides are identified. A release has not been confirmed but is suspected. A review of the historical groundwater monitoring well data trends and trending analysis from wells in proximity to the tank indicates no impact on groundwater. Further investigation of the groundwater in the area of the tank is ongoing to determine if an actual release has occurred. The potential leak was not released to an unrestricted area; therefore there is no anticipated adverse impact to the health and safety of the public. Since there was no release to an unrestricted area, 10 CFR Part 20 limits were not impacted. The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector. The Waste Sample Tank normally contains processed rad waste water. The hole was found at the bottom of the tank. ENS 48361 30 September 2012 23:22:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 1804 hrs. CDT on Sunday, September 30, 2012, security personnel reported a fire in the mechanical maintenance shop. Fire Brigade responded and due to the severity of the fire, Coal City Fire Department was called for assistance. The fire was successfully extinguished at 1834 hrs. There were no personnel injured in the fire. The fire did not affect any structures, systems, or components that are required to provide for nuclear safety. At no time was the health and safety of the public adversely affected by this condition. The maintenance shop is not attached to safety related structure of the operating units; therefore Dresden Station Unit 2 and Unit 3 were not affected by the fire. At approximately 1930 hrs., information was released to the media due to fire in the mechanical maintenance shop requiring Coal City Fire Department assistance. This condition is reportable under 10 CFR 50.72(b)(2)(xi) due to a release of information to the media. No official press release was made. The cause of the fire is under investigation. The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector. ENS 48080 10 July 2012 10:30:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 0236 CDT on Tuesday, July 10 2012, the Dresden Nuclear Power Station (DNPS) U3 Isolation Condenser System automatically isolated due to a inadvertent partial Group 5 Primary Containment Isolation System (PCIS) isolation, causing the inboard isolation valves to close. The PCIS isolation was caused during the performance of DIS 1300-07, 'U3 Isolation Condenser Steam/Condensate Line High Flow Calibration,' due to a failed test switch. The test switch failed to bypass the PCIS signal generated during the surveillance. All valves responded as expected due to this condition. The isolation condenser was declared inoperable and Technical Specification 3.5.3, Condition A was entered. HPCI was verified to be operable to satisfy the requirements of TS 3.5.3, Condition A.2. This condition is reportable under 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(B) due to a condition occurring that could have prevented fulfillment of a safety function needed for residual heat removal. The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector. ENS 48009 10 June 2012 10:00:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 On Sunday June 10, 2012 at 0112 (Central Time), a through-wall leak was discovered on a piping elbow upstream of the High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) Inlet Drain Pot Inboard Drain valve to the Main Condenser, AOV 3-2301-29. This piping elbow is safety-related, ASME Code Class 2 piping. Dresden Technical Requirements Manual 3.4.a, Condition B requires the leak to be isolated which renders the HPCI system inoperable. The Unit 3 HPCI system was isolated and declared inoperable at 0300 (Central Time), and Technical Specification 3.5.1 Condition G has been entered. The HPCI system is a single train system. The event is being reported pursuant to 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(D), any event or condition that at the time of discovery could have prevented the fulfillment of the safety function of structures or systems that are needed to mitigate the consequences of an accident. The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector. ENS 47951 23 May 2012 09:34:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 On May 22, 2012, at approximately 1013 hours CDT, access was denied to an individual who is licensed under Part 10 CFR Part 55 to operate a power reactor. The denial was due to the individual violating the company's Fitness for Duty policy. This condition is being reported pursuant to 10 CFR 26.719(b)(2)(ii). The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector. ENS 47947 22 May 2012 17:53:00 Dresden NRC Region 3 GE-3 At 1055 hours (CDT) on 5/22/2012, a through-wall leak was discovered on the Unit 2 High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) inlet drain pot piping. This is a safety-related, ASME Code Class 2 piping. Dresden Technical Requirements Manual 3.4.a, Condition B requires the leak to be isolated which renders the HPCI system inoperable. The Unit 2 HPCI system was isolated and declared inoperable at 1141 CDT and Technical Specification 3.5.1 condition G was entered. The event is reportable pursuant to 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(D), Any event or condition that at the time of discovery could have prevented the fulfillment of the safety function of structures or systems that are needed to mitigate the consequences of an accident. The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

2019-04-23T01:05:43Z

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ARMONK, stout apple--(Marketwire - July 30, 2008) - IBM (NYSE: IBM) these days announced a new suite of integrated information insurance blueprint options designed to assist valued clientele of everyone sizes deal with ever-expanding volumes of advice and improved force to hold and rapidly recuperate information to fulfill prison and regulatory requirements. in line with IDC, 161 exabytes of digital content become created, captured, or replicated in 2006 -- satisfactory information to stack books from the earth to the moon a dozen times -- and the quantity is expected to multiply by route of 11 instances to 1,800 exabytes by route of 2011. IBM's new Tivoli Storage manager FastBack software -- the first new products resulting from IBM's recent acquisition of FilesX -- can deliver consumers with greater traffic continuity and comprehensive restoration of data and applications, as neatly because the capability to tackle compliance throughout consumer information facilities and remote offices. portion of IBM's Tivoli Storage supervisor line, the new application expands IBM's existing traffic facts insurance policy solutions with new capabilities to hearten protect statistics that resides outdoor managed servers, on far off networks. "The explosion of records coupled with expanding compliance requirements is riding the want for valued clientele of everyone sizes to maintain, offer protection to and acquire better counsel," said Kelly Beavers, director, IBM storage software. "These new options complement their existing information insurance policy utility portfolio by means of offering backup and healing facets tailor-made for remote workplace and mid-market shoppers." "As an suggestions know-how issuer, they require a erudition protection solution in order to assist be sure enterprise continuity whereas likewise presenting us the potential to hold and straight away recuperate consumer guidance," illustrious Jason Waldrop, CEO, CWPS. "IBM's new offerings deliver a finished records protection solution in order to aid us comfortable their personal enterprise statistics, in addition to, supply catastrophe restoration services for their shoppers." -- IBM Tivoli Storage manager FastBack for continuous facts protection and near-fast recovery know-how for home windows file servers and purposes including Microsoft change, Microsoft SQL, Lotus Domino, Oracle, DB2 and others. The software gives information coverage and restoration for purposes in statistics centers or far off fork offices, agencies and minute enterprise customers. Tivoli Storage supervisor FastBack can dispose of backup home windows by using always shooting statistics alterations at the shroud stage with minimal impact to the techniques it protects. Its coverage-based mostly strategy to information protection allows directors to ameliorate recuperation provider ranges -- in particular restoration point targets (RPO) and recuperation Time goals (RTO) on a per- software foundation. Tivoli Storage manager FastBack likewise gives a virtually instantaneous restore means that allows for purposes to be up and operating inside minutes after facts recuperation is initiated, while information healing is performed in the background. -- IBM Tivoli Storage supervisor FastBack for Microsoft alternate for short and smooth fix of particular person trade objects comparable to e-mail messages and attachments, contact lists, calendars, tasks and journal entries. Tivoli Storage supervisor FastBack for Microsoft trade uses an intuitive interface that could slash back downtime and enhance productiveness. -- IBM Tivoli Storage supervisor FastBack for naked desktop healing to aid clients with no catastrophe recover complete systems to a similar server, to a brand new server with diverse hardware or to a digital desktop. Tivoli Storage manager FastBack for naked computing device recovery gives customers with a implement for performing server migrations, and offers a incredibly low-budget company resilience solution for faraway department places of work. -- IBM Tivoli Storage supervisor FastBack middle which combines the three Tivoli Storage supervisor FastBack items prerogative into a single, handy package. "IBM's rapid integration of the FilesX solutions illustrates the complementary nature of each businesses' statistics insurance policy solutions," observed Lauren Whitehouse, analyst at commercial enterprise approach group. "With the FilesX acquisition, IBM saw an opening to extend its enterprise records coverage portfolio to encompass remote workplaces and target the mid-market. 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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., March 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- STORServer® (@STORServer) announced it is now shipping its award-profitable backup home rig manufacturing facility-put in with the latest unlock of IBM® Tivoli® Storage supervisor (TSM) statistics coverage utility. The more desirable STORServer backup home rig powered by route of TSM extend STORServer's commitment to bring simplicity, energy and trusted support for enterprise records insurance plan, enabling purchasers to start company-vast backup operations in under one day. The mixture of a simple-to-use STORServer-developed interface and IBM utility are designed to boost facts availability and automate global deduplication, advanced replication and optimized virtualized backup capabilities. purchasers with existing software upkeep contracts can upgrade their IBM Tivoli Storage supervisor environments to the latest version, release 7.1.1.one hundred, at no further can charge. "STORServer and IBM proceed to present the most efficient constructed-to-order commercial enterprise backup home rig with assured facts insurance policy and healing," referred to bill Smoldt, president at STORServer. "by simplifying the management of backup, archive and catastrophe recuperation with STORServer's proven architecture, businesses can promptly conform and respond to unexpectedly altering company needs." "The evolution of the statistics heart toward convergence and cloud-scale require information administration solutions that will likewise be trusted to protect useful facts these days and expand reliably sooner or later," observed Rob Didlake, CEO of Dataedge, a STORServer reseller partner. "The next-technology STORServer appliance in line with the TSM engine provides better infrastructure and software availability while increasing their opportunities to assist consumers superior solve their virtualization and company continuity challenges." STORServer presents 5 rig fashions powered by means of the latest unlock of TSM edition 7.1.1.one hundred. The TSM BA641 rig is sized for corporate departments or department workplaces. The 4 enterprise Backup rig models -- EBA852, EBA1502, EBA2502 and EBA3502 -- are model for better organizations with numerous petabytes of data to protect. STORServer Console – STORServer provides price-brought elements that boost ease-of-use for daily administrative projects and enrich manageability at scale for huge TSM deployments. STORServer takes the guesswork out of TSM with signals and customizable electronic mail reports on customer actions, administrative actions, storage pools and more with out logging into the management server. digital computing device Backup – STORServer gives an intuitive interface to acquire it effortless for each VM admins and storage experts to manipulate VM backups. Auto-discovery, factor-and-click scheduling and different elements acquire sure VMs are everyone the time included whilst they are newly created. The TSM release comprises large updates for Microsoft virtualized server environments, similar to an option to repair a file, disk or total Hyper-V VM from a single-circulate incremental continually VM backup. suggestions on TSM points is purchasable on the STORServer blog. The more advantageous STORServer appliances powered with the aid of IBM Tivoli Storage supervisor unencumber 7.1.1.100 can be found immediately from STORServer and its community of resellers. 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Customers with existing software maintenance contracts can upgrade their IBM Tivoli Storage Manager environments to the latest version, release 7.1.1.100, at no additional charge. "The evolution of the data heart toward convergence and cloud-scale require data management solutions that can be trusted to protect valuable data today and expand reliably in the future," said Rob Didlake, CEO of Dataedge, a STORServer reseller partner. "The next-generation STORServer appliance based on the TSM engine delivers greater infrastructure and application availability while expanding their opportunities to hearten customers better solve their virtualization and traffic continuity challenges." STORServer Console – STORServer provides value-added features that enhance ease-of-use for daily administrative tasks and ameliorate manageability at scale for large TSM deployments. STORServer takes the guesswork out of TSM with alerts and customizable email reports on client activities, administrative activities, storage pools and more without logging into the management server. Virtual Machine Backup – STORServer provides an intuitive interface to acquire it smooth for both VM admins and storage specialists to manage VM backups. Auto-discovery, point-and-click scheduling and other features ensure VMs are always protected even as they are newly created. About STORServer STORServer, Inc., headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, offers the only enterprise backup appliance that is built-to-order. Each appliance solution is tailored to the customer's unique environment to hearten simplify complexity and feature best-in-class data backup, archive and catastrophe recovery software and services that can expand reliably. Enterprises of everyone sizes confidence in STORServer's proven appliances and world-class services and support, offering the best money-back guarantees in the industry. www.storserver.com. IBM's Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) software has protected traffic data for 20 years and is a major market share player and an enterprise touchstone in the backup, recovery, and catastrophe recovery space. IBM's innovations in this region are well known and recognized throughout the IT industry as the "go to" solution for stout data, database backup, recovery, and data resiliency. Gartner published its 2014 Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup Software and Integrated Appliances (June 16, 2014), acknowledging that IBM's toil to apply analytics to data back-up and storage management enables businesses to deliver more intelligent, global data availability. These features enable employees and customers to access the information they need, when they exigency it. edifice on the recent launch of software-defined storage products, IBM continues to hearten organizations build smarter ways to employ their data to its fullest potential. Through 2015, despite the climb of disk-to-disk (D2D), disk-to-disk-to-tape (D2D2T), backup will remain the predominant strategy for large enterprise. By 2017, 70 percent of organizations (up from 30 percent today) will maintain replaced their remote-office tape backup with a disk-based backup solution that incorporates replication. By 2018, the number of organizations abandoning tape for backup will double, whereas archiving to tape will multiply by 25 percent. By 2016, less than 30 percent of everyone stout data will be backed up. "I deem IBM has moved forward, while their competition has stagnated. We've continued to invest and research in backup and recovery. Gartner recognizes their innovation and vision in this space." Ian Smith, Director of Storage Software, IBM. There are a lot of claims in this space about saving money and lowering TCO. However, deem that IBM has taken the high cost out of TSM by decreasing the amount of required hardware, by reducing installation time from five days to five minutes, and by decreasing management frustration by redesigning the management interface; there's proof of lower TCO with a Tivoli Storage Manager software solution. TSM Entry is an entry-level backup and restore product for minute to medium-sized businesses that gives you that same enterprise backup capability as its touchstone counterpart. TSM Entry is the same software, but without the scalability — designed specifically for smaller environments. This entry-level product likewise features a significant license fee savings as well to further hearten SMBs with adoption. IBM's Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) offers very broad platform support across many OSs, file systems and applications. IBM has over 23,000, predominantly large enterprise customers for TSM, and has partnerships with MSPs to offer recovery services. While IBM has leveraged its large direct sales force, the portfolio generates the majority of its revenue from worldwide traffic partners. Customers cite the portfolio's ability to scale to wield very large recovery requirements, and the vendor's service and support continue to receive high marks. Through its acquisition of Butterfly Software, IBM now claims to maintain profiled over 2,000PB of backup environments running competitive solutions, and states that, overall, TSM has demonstrated 53 percent lower total cost of ownership (TCO) over the competition. In 2Q14, a new product was released, TSM Entry, which protects up to 50 Windows and Linux servers. While TSM offers many compelling benefits, the perceived administrative challenge of managing the product has been an issue for many years; however, the TSM Operations heart GUI, released in 2Q13, has a multi-release blueprint to offer more modern management capabilities, with the third release planned for later this year. A major market share player, IBM TSM offers midsize to large enterprise end-to-end recovery capabilities, from a separate machine to the largest enterprises. Customers and references cite the portfolio's scalability, code property and solid support staff as major reasons for choosing, and remaining with, the solution. While recent references cite improvements, the length of time to fully address the exigency for a refreshed management console has been a concern. Low understanding and exploitation of many recent features, combined with a large portion of the installed ground running aged versions of the products, maintain led customers to switch to other products. Prospects and customers express a want for EMC Data Domain Boost integration. TEMPE, AZ, Jan 14, 2014 (Marketwired via COMTEX) -- enChoice(R), Inc. announced today that its CYA Extender implement for CYA SmartRecovery(TM) now supports EMC(R) Documentum(R) customers using IBM(R) Tivoli(R) Storage Manager (TSM). CYA Extender reduces storage costs by enabling content backups performed by CYA SmartRecovery to bypass expensive disk storage and be streamed directly to TSM or Symantec NetBackup(TM). CYA SmartRecovery performs hot, consistent backups of repository content and metadata. It is the only solution enabling organizations to quickly recover from operational incidents such as user errors, programmatic errors, and metadata corruption by quickly recovering just the affected information to its original state in the repository without taking Documentum offline. CYA SmartRecovery likewise improves recovery point objectives by working seamlessly with enterprise backup solutions to reduce the Documentum data loss window to just 15 minutes in the event of a replete system failure. "Enterprise content management systems are being used to wield unprecedented volumes of data, and as a result, storage costs are rapidly rising," said Mike Fernandes, vice president, products, enChoice. "By using CYA Extender in conjunction with CYA SmartRecovery, Documentum customers can significantly reduce the storage costs associated with CYA content backups by leveraging economical storage on their existing enterprise backup systems." enChoice(R), Inc. deploys, supports, administers, maintains and protects enterprise content management (ECM) solutions. They deliver solutions for Underwriting, Accounts Payable, Claims and Human Resources that can be deployed on premises, hosted, or via the cloud. enChoice likewise provides ECM-aware seared backup and operational recovery solutions that toil seamlessly with system-level backup systems to optimize efficiency, facilitate compliance and protect against information loss. The company offers remote system administration, as well as single-point-of-contact support for current and legacy systems.

2019-04-21T16:36:50Z

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2019-04-22T01:00:35Z

https://totalwebdesigns.com/whmcs/terms-of-service.php

本発明は、画像センサが撮像した撮像データから明るさを検知する明るさ検知システムに関する。 The present invention relates to an image sensor relating to the brightness detection system for detecting brightness from the image data captured. 従来からＣＣＤ(Charge Coupled Device)から成る画像センサを用いて明るさを検知する照明制御装置が知られている（例えば、特許文献１参照）。 Lighting control apparatus is known which detects brightness by using an image sensor comprising a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) conventionally (e.g., see Patent Document 1). 図５は、このような画像センサによって撮像された撮像データの例を示す。 Figure 5 shows an example of the imaging data captured by such an image sensor. 画像センサによって撮像された撮像データは、多数のピクセルから構成され、各ピクセル毎に明るさデータを有している。 Imaging data captured by the image sensor is composed of a large number of pixels has a brightness data for each pixel. 撮像データのうち明るさ検知範囲として指定した範囲について、その範囲の全ピクセルの明るさデータの平均値を算出することによって明るさが検知される。 The range specified as the brightness detection range among the imaging data, the brightness is detected by calculating the average value of the luminance data of all pixels of the range. 照明制御装置は、検知された明るさに基づいて照明器具をフィードバック制御する。 Lighting control device, the lighting apparatus performs feedback control based on the brightness sensed. 全ピクセルの明るさデータの平均値は、従来は算術平均が一般的であり、全ピクセルの明るさデータを加算して、全ピクセル数で割る演算によって算出される。 The average value of the luminance data of all pixels is conventionally is arithmetic mean general, by adding the luminance data of all pixels is calculated by a calculation divided by the total number of pixels. このため、ピクセル数が増えるほど演算量は多くなる。 Therefore, the amount of calculation increases as the number of pixels is increased. また、本願出願人の研究によれば、人の感覚に近い、空間の明るさ感に合った指標を幾何平均を用いて得られることが見出されている。 Further, according to the applicant's research, closer to the sense of human has been found that obtained using geometric averaging suits indicators brightness sensation of space. そのため、照明器具によっては、明るさデータの平均値に前述の算術平均ではなく、幾何平均が用いられる。 Therefore, the luminaire is not an arithmetic average of the aforementioned average brightness data, geometric mean is used. しかし、幾何平均は、全ピクセル数をｎとすると、全ピクセルの明るさデータを乗算して、ｎ乗根を求める演算によって算出されるので、算術平均と比べて演算量が膨大になる。 However, geometric mean, when the total number of pixels is n, by multiplying the brightness data of the total pixels, because it is calculated by the calculation for obtaining the n-th root, the calculation amount becomes enormous as compared with the arithmetic mean. また、画像センサ用いる照明器具では、明るさデータの平均値を組込み用マイコン（Micro Controller）によって演算することが望まれる。 Further, in the lighting fixture using the image sensor, it is desirable to calculate an average value of brightness data by the embedded microcomputer (Micro Controller). 組込み用マイコンは、小型であるという利点があるが、大型のコンピュータと比べて演算速度が遅い。 Embedded microcomputer has the advantage that it is compact, operation speed is slow compared to the large computers. そのため、例えば、汎用の組込み用１６ｂｉｔマイコンで、１００万ピクセルから成る画像センサの全ピクセルの明るさデータから幾何平均を演算した場合、演算時間に１時間以上要することもある。 Therefore, for example, in 16bit microcomputer purpose built, when calculating the geometric mean from the luminance data of all pixels of an image sensor comprising 1 million pixels, and may require an hour or more computing time. このため、画像センサが撮像した撮像データを演算して明るさを検知する従来の明るさ検知システムは、演算量が膨大であるため、例えば、照明器具組込の明るさ検知システムを構成しようとしても、演算時間が長くなり、照明器具のリアルタイムのフィードバック制御に用いることが難しい。 Therefore, the conventional brightness detection system in which the image sensor detects the brightness by calculating the imaging data captured, since the calculation amount is enormous, for example, an attempt to configure the brightness detection system of the luminaire embedded also, computation time increases, it is difficult to use in real-time feedback control of the luminaire. 本発明は、上記問題を解決するものであり、画像センサが撮像した撮像データを演算して明るさを検知する明るさ検知システムにおいて、演算時間を短縮し、リアルタイムでのフィードバック制御を可能とする照明器具組込みの明るさ検知システムを提供することを目的とする。 The present invention is intended to solve the above problems, in the brightness detection system in which the image sensor detects the brightness by calculating the imaging data obtained by imaging to shorten the calculation time, to allow feedback control in real time and to provide a brightness detection system of the luminaire embedded. 上記目的を達成するために請求項１の発明は、画像センサと、前記画像センサが撮像した撮像データを演算して撮像対象の明るさを得る演算部と、を備えた明るさ検知システムであって、前記演算部は、撮像データを構成するピクセルのうち、明るさを検知する範囲として予め指定された範囲内の全ピクセルの中から、選択された任意のピクセルについてのみ演算を行うものである。 The invention of claim 1 in order to achieve the above object, there in brightness detection system including an image sensor, a calculation unit for obtaining the brightness of the imaging target the image sensor by calculating the imaging data obtained by imaging, the Te, the arithmetic unit, of the pixels constituting the imaging data, is performed from the pre all pixels within the specified range as a range for detecting the brightness, the operation only for any selected pixels . 請求項２の発明は、請求項１に記載の明るさ検知システムにおいて、前記の選択された任意のピクセルは、その辺を介して互いに隣接しないように選択されるものである。 The invention of claim 2 is the brightness detection system of claim 1, wherein the selected arbitrary pixels are those selected so as not to adjoin to one another on their sides. 請求項３の発明は、請求項１に記載の明るさ検知システムにおいて、前記の選択された任意のピクセルは、その各ピクセルの明るさデータが予め定められた一定値以上のものである。 A third aspect of the present invention, in the brightness detection system of claim 1, wherein the selected arbitrary pixels are more than a predetermined value the brightness data is predetermined for that respective pixel. 請求項１の発明によれば、選択された任意のピクセルについてのみ演算を行うので、演算量が軽減されて演算時間が短縮される。 According to the present invention, since only performs calculation for any selected pixels, the calculation time is shortened amount of calculation is reduced. 従って、リアルタイムでのフィードバック制御を可能とする照明器具組込みの明るさ検知システムを提供することができる。 Therefore, it is possible to provide a brightness detection system of the luminaire embedded to allow feedback control in real time. 請求項２の発明によれば、略同じ明るさである隣接ピクセルについて演算することがないので、演算量の増加を抑えつつ広い範囲の撮像データを演算することができ、演算量の軽減と演算精度の維持を両立させることができる。 According to the invention of claim 2, approximately since no operating on a is adjacent pixel same brightness, image pickup data of a wide range while suppressing an increase in calculation amount can be calculated, and the calculation amount reduction calculation it is possible to achieve both the maintenance of accuracy. 請求項３の発明によれば、明るさデータが予め定められた一定値以上のピクセルについてのみ演算を行うので、外光の影響がある範囲のピクセルについては演算を行い、それ以外の範囲のピクセルについては演算を行わず、演算量の軽減と外光補正に必要な演算精度の維持を両立させることができる。 According to the invention of claim 3, since only performs a calculation for the pixel above a certain value the brightness data is predetermined, performs a calculation for a range of pixels that are affected by external light, the other range of the pixel without operation for, it is possible to achieve both the maintenance of calculation accuracy required for the operation amount of reduction and the outside light correction. 本発明の第１の実施形態に係る明るさ検知システムを図１（ａ）（ｂ）及び図２を参照して説明する。 The brightness detection system according to a first embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIG. 1 (a) (b) and FIG. 2 will be described. 図１（ａ）は本実施形態の明るさ検知システム１のブロック構成を示す。 Figure 1 (a) shows a block diagram of a brightness detection system 1 of the present embodiment. 明るさ検知システム１は、画像センサ１１と、画像センサ１１が撮像した撮像データ１２を演算して撮像対象の明るさを得る演算部１３とを備える。 Brightness detection system 1 includes an image sensor 11, image sensor 11 and a calculation unit 13 for obtaining the brightness of an object by calculating the imaging data 12 captured. 画像センサ１１は、ＣＣＤやＣＭＯＳ等の撮像素子から成り、撮像対象から受けた光を光電変換して撮像データ１２を出力する。 Image sensor 11 is composed of an imaging element such as a CCD and a CMOS, and outputs the imaging data 12 light received from the imaging object by photoelectric conversion. 演算部１３は、組込み用マイコン等から成り、撮像データ１２を演算して撮像対象の明るさを得て、その明るさのデータを出力する。 Computing section 13 is made of embedded microcomputer or the like, with the brightness of an object by calculating the imaging data 12, and outputs the brightness data. 図１（ｂ）は撮像データ１２の構成を示す。 Figure 1 (b) shows the configuration of the imaging data 12. 画像センサ１１は、多数の受光素子を有しており、撮像データ１２は、各受光素子に対応するピクセル１４（画素）から構成され、各ピクセル１４毎に明るさデータ（Ｙ値）を有している。 Image sensor 11 has a plurality of light receiving elements, the imaging data 12 is composed of pixels 14 corresponding to the respective light receiving elements (pixels) has a luminance data (Y value) for each pixel 14 ing. 各ピクセル１４は、例えば矩形であり、複数のピクセル１４が格子状に配列されている。 Each pixel 14 is, for example, a rectangular, a plurality of pixels 14 are arranged in a grid pattern. なお、ピクセル１４の数は、限定されるものではなく、図１（ｂ）では説明用としてピクセル１４の数を少なく図示しているが、実際には、撮像データ１２は、同図に示すものよりも多くのピクセル１４から構成されている（図２（ａ）（ｂ）、図４についても同様）。 The number of pixels 14 is not limited, but with less illustrates the number of pixels 14 for the description, FIG. 1 (b), the actual imaging data 12 are those shown in FIG. and a number of pixels 14 than (Fig. 2 (a) (b), also applies to Figure 4). 演算部１３は、撮像データ１２を構成するピクセル１４のうち、明るさを検知する範囲として予め指定された範囲内（検知範囲１５内）の全ピクセル１４の中から、選択された任意のピクセル１４についてのみ演算を行う。 Calculation unit 13, among the pixels 14 of the imaging data 12, out of all the pixels 14 previously specified within the range of (within the detection range 15) as a range for detecting the brightness of any selected pixel 14 only perform the operation on. 検知範囲１５は、明るさ検知システム１によって明るさを検知する範囲であり、明るさ検知システム１が組込まれた器具が設置される際等に指定され、演算部１３を構成するマイコンに記憶される。 Detection range 15 is a range for detecting the brightness by the brightness detection system 1 is specified when such installed brightness detection system 1 is incorporated instrument, is stored in the microcomputer constituting the operation unit 13 that. なお、検知範囲１５として、撮像範囲の全体を指定してもよい。 As the detection range 15 may specify the entire imaging area. 図２（ａ）（ｂ）は、検知範囲１５内のピクセル１４の選択例を示す。 Figure 2 (a) (b) shows a selection example of the pixels 14 within the detection range 15. 検知範囲１５内の全ピクセル１４の中からピクセル１４ａ（斜線を印したピクセル）が選択され、演算部１３は、選択されたピクセル１４ａについてのみ演算を行う。 Selected pixels 14a from among all the pixels 14 in the sensing range 15 (pixels marked with oblique lines) is, the computing unit 13 performs an operation only for the selected pixels 14a. 選択されなかったピクセル１４ｂ（斜線を印していないピクセル）については演算が行われない。 Operation is not performed for the unselected pixel 14b (pixels not marked with diagonal lines). すなわち、選択されたピクセル１４ａが演算対象のピクセル１４ａとなり、選択されなかったピクセル１４ｂが演算対象外のピクセル１４ｂとなる。 That is, the selected pixel 14a is next to the pixel 14a calculation target pixels 14b that is not selected is excluded from the calculation of the pixel 14b. 本実施形態では、ピクセル１４ａは、その辺を介して互いに隣接しないように選択される。 In the present embodiment, the pixel 14a is selected so as not to adjoin to one another on the sides. 例えば、図２（ａ）に示すように、演算対象のピクセル１４ａと演算対象外のピクセル１４ｂが交互に並ぶように選択される。 For example, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), the pixel 14b of the outside pixels 14a candidate operation calculation target is selected so as to be arranged alternately. また、図２（ｂ）に示すように、演算対象のピクセル１４ａを交互以外の等間隔で選択してもよい。 Further, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), may be selected calculation target pixels 14a at equal intervals other than alternating. 演算対象のピクセル１４ａは、辺を介して互いに隣接しなければ、選択する間隔が限定されるものではない。 Calculation target pixels 14a are to be adjacent to each other through the sides, do not interval selection is limited. 演算部１３は、選択された複数のピクセル１４ａについて演算を行なって検知範囲１５の明るさを得る。 Calculation unit 13 obtains the brightness of the detection range 15 by performing an operation for a plurality of pixels 14a that are selected. この演算は、例えば、選択されたピクセル１４ａの明るさデータの算術平均又は幾何平均である。 This operation is, for example, an arithmetic mean or geometric mean of the brightness data of the selected pixels 14a. 得られた演算結果は、検知範囲１５の明るさのデータとして出力される。 The obtained calculation result is output as the brightness data of the detection range 15. 演算時間は、演算対象のピクセル１４ａと演算対象外のピクセル１４ｂとの比率を変えることによって、短縮することができる。 Operation time, by changing the ratio of the calculation target pixels 14a and the calculation target pixels outside 14b, can be reduced. 例えば、演算対象のピクセル１４ａと、演算対象外のピクセル１４ｂとを交互に選択する場合（図２（ａ）参照）、検知範囲１５内の全ピクセル１４について演算する場合と比べて演算時間は半分になる。 For example, the calculation target pixels 14a, when selecting alternately and data out of calculation object pixel 14b (see FIG. 2 (a)), the calculation time in comparison with the case of calculating for all pixels 14 in the detection range 15 Half become. 演算対象のピクセル１４ａと演算対象外のピクセル１４ｂとの比率を１：９に配分すれば、演算時間は１／１０になり、すなわち、演算速度は１０倍になる。 The ratio of the calculation target pixels 14a and the calculation target pixels outside 14b 1: If distributed to 9, computation time is 1/10, i.e., operation speed becomes 10 times. 実空間では、各ピクセル１４毎に全ての明るさデータが異なるという状態は無く、互いに隣り合ったピクセルの明るさデータは略同じであるため、演算対象のピクセル１４ａを全ピクセル１４の１／１０にしても、演算によって得られる明るさの平均値は、殆ど変わらない。 In real space, the state that all the brightness data for each pixel 14 are different not because the brightness data of the pixels adjacent to each other is substantially the same, the calculation target pixels 14a of all pixels 14 1/10 even if the average value of brightness obtained by the calculation is almost unchanged. 図３は、本実施形態の明るさ検知システム１を組込んだ照明器具２のブロック構成を示す。 Figure 3 shows a block diagram of a lighting fixture 2 incorporating the brightness detection system 1 of the present embodiment. この照明器具２は、照明負荷２１と、照明負荷２１を調光する電流制御部２２と、明るさ検知システム１と、明るさ検知システム１が検知した明るさに応じて電流制御部２２への制御信号（ＰＷＭ信号）を生成する制御部２３とを備える。 The luminaire 2 includes an illumination load 21, a current control unit 22 to the lighting load 21 dimming, the brightness detection system 1, to the current control unit 22 according to the brightness of the brightness detection system 1 detects control signal and a control unit 23 for generating a (PWM signal). 照明負荷２１は、交流電源等の電源によって点灯する、電流制御による調光が可能な白熱球、蛍光灯、ＬＥＤ等の光源である。 Lighting load 21 is turned on by a power supply such as the AC power supply, dimming by current control capable incandescent bulb, a fluorescent lamp, a light source such as an LED. 電流制御部２２は、照明負荷２１の負荷電流を制御する調光回路である。 The current control unit 22 is a dimmer circuit for controlling the load current of the lighting load 21. 負荷電流の制御は、例えば、位相制御又は振幅制御である。 Control of the load current, for example, a phase control or amplitude control. 明るさ検知システム１は、画像センサ１１と、演算部１３とを備え、画像センサ１１の受光側にレンズ１１Ｌを有する。 Brightness detection system 1 includes an image sensor 11, and an arithmetic unit 13, the lens 11L on the light receiving side of the image sensor 11. 画像センサ１１は、レンズ１１Ｌによって視野範囲が決定され、その視野範囲を撮像して撮像データ１２を演算部１３に出力する。 Image sensor 11, field of view is determined by the lens 11L, and outputs the imaging data 12 to the computer 13 by imaging the field of view. 制御部２３は、組込み用等マイコン等から成り、演算部１３の機能を含む。 Control unit 23 comprises a built-in such as a microcomputer or the like, comprising a function of the arithmetic unit 13. 上記のように構成された照明器具２は、明るさ検知システム１によって明るさを検知し、検知した明るさが、制御目標値よりも明るい場合には負荷電流を減らし、制御目標値よりも暗い場合には負荷電流を増やすフィードバック制御を行う。 Luminaires 2 configured as described above detects the brightness by the brightness detection system 1, the brightness was detected, when the brighter than the control target value reduces the load current, darker than the control target value It performs feedback control to increase the load current if. 外光の影響がある設置環境における照明器具２では、このフィードバック制御により、外光が明るい場合は調光率を下げ、外光が暗い場合は調光率を上げる外光補正が行われる。 In the lighting fixture 2 in an installation environment with influence of external light by the feedback control, when the outside light is bright lowers the dimming rate, external light correction when the outside light is dark to increase the dimming ratio is performed. このように、本実施形態の明るさ検知システム１では、演算部１３は、選択された任意のピクセル１４ａについてのみ演算を行うので、演算量が軽減されて演算時間が短縮される。 Thus, the brightness detection system 1 of the present embodiment, the arithmetic unit 13, since only performs calculation for any pixel 14a that has been selected, the operation time is shortened amount of calculation is reduced. 演算量が軽減されることから、演算を組込み用マイコンで処理するとができる。 Since the calculation amount is reduced, treatment operations in an embedded microcomputer can. このため、リアルタイムでのフィードバック制御を可能とする照明器具２組込みの明るさ検知システム１を提供することができる。 Therefore, it is possible to provide a brightness detection system 1 of the lighting fixture 2 built to allow feedback control in real time. また、演算部１３は、略同じ明るさである隣接ピクセルについて演算することがないので、演算量の増加を抑えつつ広い範囲の撮像データ１２を演算することができ、演算量の軽減と演算精度の維持を両立させることができる。 The arithmetic unit 13 is approximately since no operating on a is adjacent pixel same brightness, the imaging data 12 of broad range while suppressing an increase in calculation amount can be calculated, calculation accuracy and calculation amount of mitigation it is possible to achieve both the maintenance of. 本発明の第２の実施形態に係る明るさ検知システムを図４を参照して説明する。 The brightness detection system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 図４は本実施形態の明るさ検知システムの検知範囲１５内のピクセル１４の選択例を示す。 Figure 4 shows an example of selecting pixels 14 in the detection range 15 of the brightness detection system of the present embodiment. 以下の説明において、第１の実施形態と同等の箇所の説明は省略する。 In the following description, description of portions equivalent to the first embodiment will be omitted. 本実施形態の明るさ検知システムは、演算対象のピクセル１４の選択において、撮像データ１２を構成するピクセル１４のうち、検知範囲１５内の全ピクセルの中から、さらに特定範囲内のピクセル１４ｃを選択するようにした。 Brightness detection system of the present embodiment, the selection in the selection of the calculation target pixels 14, among the pixels 14 of the imaging data 12, out of all the pixels in the detection range 15, further pixels 14c in a specific range It was way. 演算部１３は、この特定範囲内のピクセル１４ｃについては演算を行うが、それ以外のピクセル１４ｄについては演算を行わない。 Calculation unit 13 performs the calculation for the pixels 14c in this particular range, it does not perform an operation in the case of other pixels 14d. 演算対象のピクセル１４ｃと演算対象外のピクセル１４ｄとの比率を変えることによって、その比率に応じて演算部１３による演算速度を高めることができる。 By changing the ratio of the calculation target pixels 14c and the calculation target pixels outside 14d, it is possible to increase the operation speed of the arithmetic unit 13 in accordance with the ratio. 図４に示す例では、全１１７ピクセルに対して２４ピクセルを選択して演算対象のピクセル１４ｃとしているため、全ピクセル１４について演算する場合と比べて、演算時間は２４／１１７倍に短縮され、演算速度はその逆数の１１７／２４倍に高まる。 In the example shown in FIG. 4, since you are selected and calculation target pixels 14c to 24 pixels for all 117 pixels, as compared with the case of calculating for all pixels 14, the calculation time is shortened to 24/117 times, calculation speed is increased to 117/24 times its reciprocal. 演算対象のピクセル１４ｃが選択される特定範囲内では、その各ピクセル１４ｃの明るさデータが予め定められた一定値以上のものとされる。 Within certain ranges calculation target pixels 14c are selected, the brightness data of each pixel 14c is a more than a predetermined value. 例えば、明るさを検知する検知範囲１５内で、外光が入る範囲を撮像データ１２の位置で予め選択して、その選択された範囲内のピクセル１４を演算対象のピクセル１４ｃとしてもよい。 For example, in the detection range 15 for detecting the brightness, the extent to which external light enters in advance selected by the position of the imaging data 12, may be a pixel 14 within the selected range as calculation target pixels 14c. また、黒い家具や家電製品などの黒い物体は、外光があっても無くても、ほぼ黒い色を保つため、黒い物体が撮像される範囲を演算対象から除外してもよい。 Also, black object, such as black furniture and household appliances, or without a external light, to maintain a substantially black color, black object may be excluded from the scope to be imaged from the calculation target. また、画像センサ１１を設置し、照明器具を点灯した状態で、画像センサ１１による明るさデータ（Ｙ値）が２５５段階で５０以下のピクセル１４を演算対象外とする等、一定の閾値を設けることで演算対象外とするピクセル１４ｄの選択を判断してもよい。 It has also established an image sensor 11, in a state where the lighting apparatus is lit, luminance data (Y value) by the image sensor 11 is equal to 50 or less pixels 14 excluded from the calculation in 255 steps, providing a certain threshold it may determine the selection of the pixels 14d which excluded from the calculation by. 演算部１３は、検知範囲１５内の全ピクセルの中から上記のように選択されたピクセル１４ｃについてのみ演算を行なうことによって、検知範囲１５の明るさを得る。 Calculation unit 13, by only performing an operation for the selected pixels 14c as described above from all the pixels in the detection range 15, to obtain the brightness of the detection range 15. このように、本実施形態の明るさ検知システムでは、演算部１３は、明るさデータが予め定められた一定値以上のピクセル１４ｃについてのみ演算を行うので、外光の影響がある範囲のピクセル１４ｃについては演算を行い、それ以外の範囲のピクセル１４ｄについては演算を行わず、演算量の軽減と外光補正に必要な演算精度の維持を両立させることができる。 Thus, in the brightness detection system of the present embodiment, the operating section 13, since only performs a calculation for a constant value or more pixels 14c brightness data is predetermined, the range of influence of external light pixels 14c performs an operation for not perform an operation in the case of other ranges of pixel 14d, it is possible to achieve both the maintenance of calculation accuracy required for the operation amount of reduction and the outside light correction. なお、本発明は、上記の実施形態の構成に限られず、発明の要旨を変更しない範囲で種々の変形が可能である。 The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, however, various modification are applicable within the scope of the invention. 例えば、第１の実施形態と第２の実施形態とを組み合わせ、ピクセルの明るさデータが予め定められた一定値以上である特定範囲内で、演算対象のピクセルを等間隔で選択するようにしてもよい。 For example, the combination of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, within a specific range brightness data of the pixel is greater than a specific value predetermined so as to select the calculation target pixels at equal intervals it may be. （ａ）は本発明の第１の実施形態に係る明るさ検知システムのブロック構成図、（ｂ）は同システムにおける撮像データのピクセル構成図。 (A) the first block diagram of a brightness detection system in accordance with one embodiment, (b) the pixel configuration diagram of imaging data in the same system of the present invention. （ａ）は同システムにおけるピクセルの選択例を示す図、（ｂ）はピクセルの別の選択例を示す図。 (A) shows a selection example of the pixels in the same system, (b) is a diagram showing another example of selecting pixels. 同システムを組込んだ照明器具のブロック構成図。 Block diagram of a luminaire incorporating the same system. 本発明の第２の実施形態に係る明るさ検知システムにおけるピクセルの選択例を示す図。 View showing a selection example of the pixels in the brightness detection system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 従来の照明制御装置における画像センサによる撮像データ例を示す図。 It shows an imaging data example by the image sensor in a conventional illumination control system. 前記演算部は、撮像データを構成するピクセルのうち、明るさを検知する範囲として予め指定された範囲内の全ピクセルの中から、選択された任意のピクセルについてのみ演算を行うことを特徴とする明るさ検知システム。 The arithmetic unit, of the pixels constituting the imaging data, from among the previously all pixels within the specified range as a range for detecting the brightness, and performing an operation only for any selected pixels brightness detection system. 前記の選択された任意のピクセルは、その辺を介して互いに隣接しないように選択されることを特徴とする請求項１に記載の明るさ検知システム。 Brightness detection system of claim 1 wherein the selected arbitrary pixels, for being selected so as not to adjoin to one another on their sides. 前記の選択された任意のピクセルは、その各ピクセルの明るさデータが予め定められた一定値以上のものであることを特徴とする請求項１に記載の明るさ検知システム。 Brightness detection system of claim 1 wherein the selected arbitrary pixels, characterized in that brightness data of the respective pixel is more than a predetermined value.

2019-04-19T23:25:16Z

https://patents.google.com/patent/JP2010091869A/en

A sort of behind the scenes look at how Google is experimenting with the mobile world. Seems they prefer phones with good browsers and flat-rate data plans. Me too. I never cease to be amazed at how quickly wikipedia updates articles...within minutes of Eartha's passing being announced. I know some people laugh at its accuracy - but on subjects that I am researching I find it an excellent source (along with others). Gave up on EBrit years ago. Blast! Just seen the documentary I have wanted to make myself. Every since I went to northern Finland in 1995, I have wanted to go back to see the Northern Lights, and find out more about the scientific research going on in northern Norway. Playing around with the HD tuner the other night, I bumped into a truly super HD production which starred British actress Joanna Lumley. I see the photographer and Aurora Chaser Kjetil Skogli has been doing well every since. He makes a small business in Tromso taking people out to see the lights in small groups. The lights have always fascinated me, although if you are long distance radio listening, their appearance is actually a bad thing, causing tremendous amounts of noise on mediumwave. I have seen them in the US and Canada, but the show in Norway is truly special. I think the documentary with Joanna is just superb. I hope they issue it on Blu-Ray. On board Norway's real-life version of the Polar Express heading north out of Trondheim towards the Arctic Circle, Joanna Lumley takes out a favourite childhood book. Turning the pages of Ponny The Penguin, she points to the simple black and white illustration that inspired in her a lifelong ambition to see the Northern Lights, writes Tony Matthews. Born in India and raised in the steamy heat of Malaysia, Joanna's childhood experience of snow was limited to fairy stories and pictures such as that of the little penguin gazing into the night sky. "We never even needed to wear cardigans, so the idea of cold, snow and ice was alien," she says. "I couldn't think what it would be like. I suppose you always want what you've never had and the Northern Lights hung in my mind as something I thought I would never see and yet, as I got older, longed to see with all my heart." In a new film for BBC One, Joanna Lumley In The Land Of The Northern Lights, the actress at last realises her ambition, having been approached by film-makers Takeaway Media who'd heard her mention it during her appearance on Desert Island Discs. The result is an Arctic odyssey by train, light aircraft, ferry, dog sled and snowmobile across Norway's spectacularly rugged winter landscape. As the film's director Archie Baron says: "It's hard to find a more enjoyable travelling companion than the clever, charming, indefatigable Ms Lumley." Joanna in turn is charmed by the Norwegian people and their tales of life in the far north, its myths and legends, and their experiences of the Aurora Borealis. She visits the remote fishing town of Å, spends a night inside an igloo hotel and meets the reindeer herdsmen of the Sami, Europe's last indigenous people, where she receives a snowmobile riding lesson from a four-year-old boy. "I loved meeting the Norwegian people," says Joanna. "They were so courteous, such good fun and so kind, and they had a Viking way of staring right into your eyes. There was a wonderful artist who darned his clothes in bright colours so he looked like a little raggedy patchwork pixie and I found the Sami people very gracious. To be treated to a yoik, a traditional Sami song, by one of the community's elders was extraordinary. I think there's a real pioneer spirit running through the country – they have to be able to ski and skate from a very early age just to get about; they're tough little children. From the age of six they start learning English and by the time they're 11 they speak three languages." Although Norway is a country well equipped for Arctic conditions, Joanna says parts of the journey proved tough going. "There were only five of us – camera, sound, director, producer and me – in masses of clothing, lumping 35 pieces of equipment everywhere, which was very good for your waistline. When we were outside, filming in minus-26 degrees, the cold was so intense it took your breath away." Joanna describes the majestic snowfields, mountains and fjords as a "fairytale vision, savage, sublime and quite overpowering", but its greatest glory comes not from Earth but from space where particles, carried on solar winds, are attracted by the magnetic poles. As these particles hit the top of the atmosphere, their energy is converted into the most astonishing light show – the Aurora Borealis. "We saw a bit of a showing on another night, but not enough to film and, because we were on a tight schedule and all had other jobs lined up, we were stuck. It was almost our last night and we were getting a little bit tense when this extraordinary man, Kjetil Skogli – an Aurora expert – came to assist us. He told us that conditions where we were would be bad again, but he had a feeling that if we went to a particular fjord we might have a good chance. So we drove like mad to set up the equipment and get into our survival kit. "We stood on the foreshore shivering, it was so cold. The moon was bright, the wind was quite hard and the stars were very bright, the water was glittering. We stood there thinking what are we looking for, what is it? Then just above one of the hills was this extraordinary bloom, like a kind of algae, just growing, like a weird fence or curtains or snakes. It began to throb and pulsate into a very vivid green and then it began to split up and change. For about the next hour and a half it was just mind-blowing, we were all shouting to each other, sometimes lying on our backs like babies, it was like nothing I'd ever seen. "It's not earthly light, these are solar atoms hurtling past and getting sucked in by the magnetic force of the world, you have to slow the camera apertures right down to get enough of this extraordinary light in. I had to stand as still as a rock, with the wind blowing and buffeting, so that they could film and then later show it in real time; it's a weird way of filming, but there's no other way of doing it. I think it may well be the best film the world has ever got of the Lights, they are phenomenally hard to capture." Labels: "Northern Lights" "Joanna Lumley" I am always amazed by Nokia sales people in that they can show you products (like the new N97) but can never say when its going to be on the market. Late 2009 "based on previous experience". The N97 is same size and weight as my N95 but fold-out keypad which is way better than the N95. Bigger screen too. Still think Nokia is behind in navigation. Getting ready for tomorrow. It's really looking good! This is the parallel session room in Paris where start-ups can pitch..and get feedback from peers. I'm curious to see how this works. I saw some great pitches in Palo Alto and Geneva earlier in the year...and some awful ones in Amsterdam. The ones in Holland are not prepared or produced, and as a start-up you gain nothing from the advice of the panel-members. If you see the amount of prep work that goes on behind the scenes to make this into something interesting, then you see why it doesn't work (yet) in the Netherlands. I'm looking forward to Le Web in Paris tomorrow. It's courageous of the organizers (Loic le Meur) to attempt something of this scale (1500 people), especially at the moment. But it is exactly at the moment of a major slump that some of the best ideas are born. Leweb looks like its attracted many of the best ones from Europe, Middle East and North America. This has more chance of coming up with great ideas (and deals) than some of the traditional broadcast/new media conferences and festivals. Can't fault the LeWeb program this year...everything's set for this to be the best yet. I'm impressed by the way LeWeb learns from its participants. If they don't take up an idea, there's usually a good reason. Compare that with some other conferences (like Broadcast Asia in Singapore) who are deaf to any form of critique, having developed a format in 2001 and just repeating the same old thing, year after year. Let's hope the slump clears out the rubbish and stupid business models in the conference business too. I've started a service for clients reviewing conferences rather like the Consumer Association. How do they rate in terms of networking value, content, exhibition, etc? When some of the conferences still demand 1500 Euro and more for what is a series of panels, my advice is to be very, very choosy about what's worth attending in 2009. In the train to Paris and experimenting with the wifi on board. Its painfully slow for most of the journey....some sort of satellite system. Getting around 33k throughput, which is bad dial-up speed. Thalys used to be top, but in the last few years the budget cutbacks are noticeable with rolling stock that is in need of refurbishing. Catering has also been reduced to cold snacks. What I still find strange is that they work with paper tickets (which means you can book on the Internet, but they send you paper tickets through the post within 3 days). If you buy a ticket online and then want to pick it up at the station they charge you a fee. The other challenge is that you have no idea where you're sitting (I want a window seat to be near a power socket for the laptop) and so if a colleague has made a separate booking there's no way to sit next to them. Thalys needs to move into the 21st century. I am working on a robust solutions for a reporter working in Africa and having to record audio on the road under difficult conditions, i.e. lack of mains power. These guys in the US are developing waterproofing films to make it possible to keep damp (and dust) out of the equipment. Wonder if they can do it for mini PC's? Yes, the Pure Evoke seems to be a nicest new wifi capable set on the UK market and I'm curious to see whether it has a better selection of stations than their competitors at Reciva, who seem to be plodding along in the same market with much less exposure these days. This Evoke set is indeed brilliant for diaspora listening. So how come the male journalist at the Telegraph/ITN in the UK in the video above seems to take rather stupid examples to demonstrate the radio's capabilities. Who will pay 150 quid to listen to Iranian folk music in the bathroom? But it is brilliant to be able to follow Radio Australia or Radio 702, South Africa when there's a breaking story in that part of the world. Of course, the same streams are available on any laptop, but the trick is that the radio fits in the kitchen and its amazing what you hear by accident. "According to industry figures, compiled by market research firm Gfk, sales in the UK have doubled in recent months, with the number of radios sold increasing by 105 per cent between June and October. Compared with 17,000 sets sold last year, the industry expects about 110,000 to be sold this year. This will still make them a relatively niche product compared to Digital Audio Broadcasting Radios, but experts believe they will ultimately overtake DAB radios." The Mobilaria guys in Hilversum have come up with a very useful simple app for the iPhone and iPod Touch which wakes you up in the morning to your favorite Internet radio station. Costs a massive 0.75 cents in the Apple Store, although when I tried a few minutes ago I could get the Store to work. More details later. But the interface is clearly a useful step in the right direction. Radio's current interface is rubbish! Very impressed with the new newsroom at VRT in Brussels. Boy, have they thought about how to make cross-media news. Giving a couple of presentations today as part of the VRT's Technology day for programme makers. I'm curious to see how they will interest the creative staff in relevant technology. Labels: VRT "Flemish Public Broadcaster" I must confess I switched the radio off this morning and came downstairs to consult the webpages of the same station. It was truly an awful story out of India today. But the reporting and analysis on the radio was truly awful too. I have seldom heard so much muddled story-telling and pure speculation. There was even a piece about the possible effects on the entire Indian business community. The context to the disaster was totally lacking on the radio and they were spinning out 4 minutes of news into an entire half hour. Yes, I learned they had a reporter outside one of the hotels and no, he didn't know any more than the agencies that there were people inside who'd been taken hostage. But I wasn't told how this had affected travel in(to) the city. All the other news didn't exist in the hope that there would be more breaking statistics to "switch live to". There was so much confusion on the wireless, I switched it off. In contrast the web gave relevant facts about previous incidents of this type, all the statements from international leaders, maps, and travel advice from people in the region. Al Jazeera English has the best TV coverage out of the region at the moment. Again, context is so important. Radio used to have the best "pictures" and analysis. Not any more. Labels: Mumbai Bombay "Poor radio reporting" Great stuff. Old - but suddenly rather topical again looking outside my window. So, Mobuzz TV is history, after nearly 4 years of trying to produce daily tech lifestyle shows, about 4-5 minutes, Mon-Fri in 3 languages. The clue to their failure likes in the slogan at the top - Television 2.0. After the initial enthusiasm died down, they turned it into a studio based compilation of stuff found out on the web. So there didn't seem much added value when compared with the shows coming out of Silicon Valley. They didn't succeed in empowering their audience and when things went bad (like presenters resigning) they made classic communication mistakes in going dark and into a wall of silence. So the fans realised they were being broadcast at (like TV 1.0) and the community on the site shrank to a handful. Conclusions - studio based stuff with "presenters" making mash-ups of stuff the audience probably already has access to is not going to work, especially if the production costs are so high (50,000 Euro a month towards the end). There are clearly formats that will work on these new platforms. But learn from Mobuzz what not to do. Their own routine killed it in the end. Delighted to see the Youtube player has just been reformatted to accept Widescreen 16 by 9 material. That has stopped me posting stuff in the past. Twitter is alive this morning with the news that Nigel Chapman is leaving the BBC after nearly 31 years service. I first knew him when he was Deputy Director of World Service back in 2001, but he since went on to fill the Director's post for four years. He's to become the CEO of the children's charity, Plan International, early next year. Nigel has presided over a turbulent shift in emphasis at the BBC World Service, as 11radio language services have closed to make way for new on-line and TV activities. It's not easy to explain the reasons for these changes to creative staff, especially when audiences are remote and each country has a different political and media structure. But, having been a judge at the recent AIB awards 2008 and seen a lot of WS entries, it would appear that the short term pain is now resulting into visibile gain - especially in the non-English language services out of Bush and Broadcastingg House. I for one wish him well. Since Plan supports a lot of programme production in developing countries, I don't think he's going to lose sight of the international broadcasting scene very soon. Labels: "Nigel Chapman" "BBC World Service" "Plan International" Looks like the Koreans (Samsung) are ahead when it comes to flexible displays for the next generation mobile phones. The video just in was shot in Tokyo and spotted by Marc Canter on his blog. Wonder if this stand-alone video phone works on the internal battery or whether it always needs AC power. If it runs on batteries, it might have applications for radio stations in Africa. An increasing source of income is providing chat services between their listeners and their family and friends abroad. Probably need to wait until the price drops, sorry, tumbles below 75 bucks. I am bit worried about investing in a proprietary system - we've all learned the lessons from the Worldspace radio fiasco. Labels: "Skype videophone" "Asus AiGuru" Local traffic authorities in Holland putting out warning's that tomorrow's commute is going to be challenging. This snow has crept up on us. It is bitterly cold - by West European standards. This sign hangs on the door of an old ironmongers at Skansen in Stockholm. They show you how Swedes lived in times gone past and the traditional crafts. Whilst I can understand they don't want buggies, icecream and cigarettes inside, it seems strange there is a ban on photography. If they don't allow visitors to spread the word, it will definitely die out. Someone's been busy at the train station in Schiphol. Looking outside that's exactly what your buying. With delays because of leaves on the line. In the spirit of what's happening at the BBC and some of the other public media institutions across Europe, Dutch public broadcasting (NPO) has opened a test lab where they are openly testing new ideas, formats and technologies. At the moment they are experimenting with technologies to help people in the Netherlands find more of the output from what is still a very complex broadcasting system. But there are some creative people behind the initiative and they have great plans for 2009. There are hundreds of events for broadcast managers, promoters, and investors. But only one NPOX, a one-day festival of great ideas for programme makers. Cleverly done. Just finished a couple of weeks of conferences and an awards ceremony in London. Big shakeouts coming in the conference world, especially those connected with broadcast. A digital radio conference in London at the end of October attracted just 15 participants - the rest were speakers. A case of serious bad planning which made me wonder why they didn't cancel it. Contrast that with Radio at the Edge held in London on 10th November. There were several thought-provoking sessions there with some really original case studies. I recommend the 13 minute podcast on the Radio Academy website. My son Christopher is studying media in Amsterdam, but doing all kinds of projects alongside. Since there is so much competition in this field, it's essential to get experience as soon as possible. He's currently doing great things for the MarketingFacts blog in the Netherlands, building concepts for their next generation site. And its all his own initiative which is great. These guys won an AIB award in London last week for their efforts through the Serious Request programme to raise 8 million Euro for drinking water projects in Africa. These guys are passionate about their work - and it shows. Labels: NPOX 3FM "Serious Request" A truly excellent location - home of the London Symphony Orchestra. Over 300 entries - standards for TV and cross media were well up on last year. There were some great radio entries from independent producers such as Ruth Evans and 3FM Serious Request. But there were also entries from radio stations who have clearly lost their way in this "new media" biz. Overall, budget cuts to radio are showing up much faster than I expected. The place was packed out to capacity. Labels: "AIB" "AIBAWARDS", "AIBAWARDS" LSO "LSO ST LUKES" London "Old Street" Food from Fifteen Events was brilliant. Very difficult to do lamb for 215 people and get it right. Labels: "AIBAWARDS" LSO "LSO ST LUKES" London "Old Street" Have great respect for what Headshift are doing on the edge of broadcast and social media. Had the chance to have a great conversation with Robin Hamman at the AIB Awards in London. It's all lit up on the night....busy inside as this is happening. I think this is truly a brilliant idea. Currently, the recaptcha team are helping to digitize books from the Internet Archive and old editions of the New York Times. The Fortis slogan for this Belgian/Netherlands Bank looks a bit silly at the moment. Should read - Here Today, Gone Tomorrow. Having seen recent quotes for a website for a client, I got curious about the world of Cascading Style Sheets for my own holding page. It is amazing what great ideas are out there on the Interwebs...and how easy it is to make something engaging. Labels: "jonathan marks" "Critical Distance" What can you afford to miss in this recession? I help to drive several global knowledge networks of media and creative professionals. After some extensive comparing of notes, we've concluded that one way to avoid economic meltdown is to critically examine your participation in all conferences and festivals. Not only are there far too many, they often boast that they are "unique" in providing a platform for speakers and specialists to find each other and do business. It is strange that there's not yet a "consumer guide" to this multi-million dollar business. So we have been asking the questions: What would happen if conference X didn't happen next time? What opportunities would be missed? Which conferences are worth the hassle of an airport frisking? Why can so few conferences give a clear picture of their return on your investment? For our clients we have now compiled an independent short-list of what is hot - and what is definitely not. The precise short-list depends on your interests and role in the media, but it is a short list. We will spare you the long list of conferences-going-nowhere and hype festivals for the newly rich and famous. This global economic meltdown in late 2008 is affecting the media industry as much as the financial sector. However, remember that there will be winners as well as losers. In the previous dot-domb era just after September 11th 2001, several great media companies did very well. Why? They understood the needs of their audience and had a clear, sustainable focus on what they wanted to do. They prospered in difficult times. It is no different now. My most recent commissions have been helping companies restructure their ways of being creative. Forget the term "new" media. We live in an era of now media...for most of us digital switch-over has happened! There have already been plenty of experiments with emerging technology to know what works, what has potential for success and what should be shut down as soon as possible to save resources for better ideas. The problem for most companies is not introducing new ideas. Instead many media companies are drowning in their legacy, trapped by self-imposed routines. This weighs them down to the point of disaster by an inability to shake off the old ideas. Looks like the results on the stock market are inversely proportional to the quality of entries to the Association for International Broadcasting Media Excellence Awards this year. Some really brilliant ideas amongst over 300 entries. Here's a sneak peak of the venue in central London on November 12th. Hope to see you there. I think the current economic crash will also halt the development of 3D movie making. Having watched Journey to the Centre of the Earth at IBC, I was grateful for the experience, but escaped with thanks to the world of HD production. The depth doesn't add anything to the story, except when they artificially push something towards the audience as part of some forced storyline. Compared to films like Incredible India on a 4K digital projector, I know immediately which is the more pleasurable experience. And you don't need the glasses. Wandered around Skansen this morning, a mixture of a living history museum and a zoo (featuring animals found in Sweden). Skansen turns out to be the world’s oldest open-air museum, situated on the island of Djurgården within the Stockholm city limits. You can go by tram - or grab a ferry which costs 30 Kr and takes just 7 minutes from the centre of town. Visitors meet a miniature historical Sweden reflected both in the buildings and their surroundings – from the Skåne farmstead in the South to the Sami camp in the North. The buildings are life-size, it is just the distances that have been shrunk. The venues illustrate the different social conditions in which people lived in Sweden between the 16th century and the first half of the 20th century. The majority of houses and farmsteads are from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. The colours of the trees this time of year are stunning. Lucky with the weather on Saturday morning...in the afternoon it clouded over. WorldSpace, Inc. (NASDAQ:WRSP) has announced (at last) that it, along with its U.S. subsidiaries WorldSpace Systems Corporation and AfriSpace, Inc. have filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The WorldSpace Board of Directors unanimously determined that Chapter 11 reorganization was necessary for the Company to engage in an orderly process to raise sufficient funds to repay its senior secured and convertible notes by means of either a sale of the Company or its assets, or a recapitalization of the Company. WorldSpace says it will continue to operate its business and manage its assets as a ”debtor-in-possession” under the jurisdiction of the court and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and the orders of the court. The holders of the Company’s existing senior secured and convertible notes have agreed to provide, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, a “debtor-in-possession” financing facility of up to $13 million for a period of 90 days in order to facilitate a sale transaction. The financing facility is expected to enable the Company to continue to pay salaries of critical employees and continue operations which are critical to preserving the value of its core assets through the term of the facility. So who's going to buy it and how did anyone value this system as worth 13 million? Lets face it, since launch, Worldspace has done nothing but enjoy a long slow decline. They provided an audio-only platform too late to many markets where video was already dominant, and pay-radio to areas with no-tradition for paying for radio. Perhaps the biggest failure was their inability to provide an electronic programme guide of what was on. The marketing hype in the early days "serving 3.2 billion people of the world" and claiming the satellite could be received in cars was just beyond belief. They made an aborted attempt to service Africa with Pay-Radio, but the radios they offered were too expensive (10-30 times an analogue FM set), and the mini-satellite dishes had to be on window-sills or outside on a balcony. If you put the dish outside the sun either destroyed the plastic (UV made it brittle) or the rain got it. I am using the past tense. In theory, 1worldsapce can pay its bills and get out of this mess. I cannot see this happen in practice. Show me one successful radio station that has built its business plan on distribution via 1Worldspace! Please! Sadly, there isn't one, because the business model was flawed from the start. There is no such thing as international local commercial radio. WORLDSPACE expects that, beginning in late 2008, it will begin broadcasting throughout Italy with 40-50 channels of commercial-free music, news, entertainment and sports programming, 24 hours a day. WORLDSPACE plans to use the most advanced digital audio technology available today (MPEG-4 aacPLUS v.2) and the service will be promoted extensively via all the media as well as other in-market activities. WORLDSPACE's programming will include an innovative, unique channel exclusively dedicated to FIAT GROUP AUTOMOBILES, its dealers and customers. For the first time ever, an automobile manufacturer will have a radio channel through which it will offer both promotional and customer-assistance services. Beginning in late 2009, FIAT GROUP AUTOMOBILES will introduce WORLDSPACE satellite radios as factory-installed (OEM) optional equipment on certain of its Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia models. In addition, FIAT GROUP AUTOMOBILES will be able to offer WORLDSPACE portable satellite radio receivers to its customers through its aftermarket channel. Oh, and I see Sirius has let 50 staff go this week as the credit crisis rips into the US tech and entertainment sector. That was on the cards for some time.....but Sirius is another story. Would I recommend anyone to invest in the satellite radio business? No. Have not met any project yet that did the proper market assessment and provided people with what they wanted at the right price. Labels: "1Worldspace" "Noah Samara" Worldspace "Worldspace Bankrupt" Is it just me,or has anyone else noticed the quiet demise of many podcasts? They have either migrated into the video vodcast or you're hearing an on-demand piece of radio that aired previously. Yes, there are some exceptions, like This Week in Tech, but in other sectors there's a lot of podfading going on. Making good audio that engages people in a conversation does take skill. In others news, I am still amazed there is a 1Worldspace ( wow look at the stock plunge to under a dollar) and that anyone believes that DRM, digital radio below 30 MHz, has a hope of catching on. It seemed rather obvious that the EBU-WorldDMB statement about the future of digital radio did not mention DRM at all. Despite cutbacks at Seesmic as a result of the economic downturn, there was some light in the form of great candid responses to questions put to John Cleese. Normally, the public wouldn't get access to the great actor/comedian, but this is a new social experiment and John played ball. He's also been playing around with podcasting too. Getting access to people like John may be the clue to the future business model for Seesmic. They promote themselves as making video conversations possible. But people like John give you a great subject matter to talk about. Labels: "John Cleese" "podcasting" "Seesmic" The UK's Channel 4 has scrapped plans to launch three DAB/online radio stations - music and entertainment station E4 Radio, speech station Channel 4 Radio, and music station Pure4. Doing so will yield 10 million of a total of 100 million pounds it needs to save to stay around. 15 jobs will go..although that doesn't seem a lot of people to make high quality radio channels. I guess all the content would have been commissioned, so this news is really bad news for the UK independent radio production sector. That will make it a lot more difficult for the fellow shareholders in 4 Digital Group, which has announced plans to roll out the second UK national commercial digital radio multiplex. The future expansion of commercial-funded DAB digital radio in the UK has already been clouded with the closure of a number of stations by GCap Media, citing high distribution costs. According to today's Media Guardian, commercial radio groups have been reluctant to invest further in the platform because, despite encouraging takeup of digital audio broadcasting (DAB) radio sets, they have been unable to make it pay. The big problem with radio remains its inability to tag interesting content or to send a great bit of radio to a friend. Yes, there are groups working on solutions, but meanwhile the commercial side of the biz is in trouble. Labels: "Channel 4" "DAB Radio" "E4 Radio" I can see the Blackberry Storm is not going to be a device for me. The screen has a clickthrough method of entering data. Navigation up and down is done by press and hold, not the sort of touch and flick idea you see on the iPhone. Only ever send short SMS's, so the keyboard is going to be wasted on me. Blackberry has definitely got the business market, but the consumer market will be tough going. Never been a fan of iRiver, the Korean flashplayer iPod wannabe company. Whilst their designs have been quite nice in the past, the user interface on their smaller flash players has been truly awful. Only geeks could operate the dam things. Added to that their European sales office has no clue on how to work with journalists. Now Engadget is showing the new iRiver Spin, though they don't seem to be making much of the DMB capability on the new player. That's cause DMB isn't rolling out in the US I guess. The prices are outrageous in the US - bearing in mind the cost of flash memory these days. We get 4GB (US$249.99) and 8GB (US$289.99) varieties. The 4GB version looks outdated before it launches...you can't sell a player with that kind of memory these days. The device has a 3.3-inch, 480 x 272 AMOLED display, support for MP3, WMA, OGG, APE, FLAC, AVI, and WMV files, DMB tuner (in the US, FM I guess), and Bluetooth 2.0. No support for Mac (or AAC files), and perhaps more importantly, won't work with iTunes. So nice design, but watch for it in the remaindered section of Curry's/Dixons at the start of next year. Its the wrong mix of technologies at clearly the wrong price. Yet again, Despair is proud to unveil another Brilliant addition to the Demotivators Canon- one perfectly suited for such times as these. For most of us, these are days of white knuckles and dark prospects. But for the select few who enjoy the commanding heights of industry, they are instead times of polished fingernails and golden parachutes. How did it come to this? How did the nation that once repudiated aristocracy and celebrated meritocracy become a place where financial gains were privatized while financial losses were socialized? What are you asking me for? Like I know. I dropped out of community college. I make a crap salary and work in a dingy cubicle that smells like phenol and fish curry (thanks I.T. guys!). And I've got about as much chance at upward mobility as Leonard Bast- and that's after he quit the Porphyrion! But here we are. In a capitalism married to socialism while flirting with plutocracy and considering an affair with kleptocracy. And no, I'm not a Marxist. I just want a system that's fair. I just want less corruption- or more opportunity to participate in it. Plaxo is a great idea. A community that started with a simple way to keep business cards up to date. Except that a growing number of people don't know their own phone number. The problem is that people are updating their phone numbers in Plaxo with the wrong format phone number, which means they no longer work when dialled from a smartphone or from within Outlook. Goodness knows who started it, but it isn't helpful. James O'Neill started a campaign for real numbers last year. Let him outline the problem. International calls to the UK don't use the 0. If you call me from abroad you dial your local code for international, followed by 44 for the UK, 118 for reading, 9093080 for my phone at Microsoft. And convention - an ITU standard called E164 - says you write this +44 118 909 3080. The standard doesn't care if I write +441189093080 or +44 (118) 909-3080 spaces dashes and brackets are ignored. E164 numbers dial correctly from mobile phones - even when they've roamed to other countries so to facilitate use outside their home country numbers should be stored in E164 format. People in Britain have started writing +44 (0) to mean "Dial international followed by +44 outside the UK, and 0 in Britain". Nobody who lives in Britain needs to be told this any more, but it's actually messing up databases. +44 (0) 118 909 3080 looks like a valid E.164 number to people or computers which expect one. Foreigners will dial the 0 and not connect and Smartphones and so forth in the the UK will turn the number into 0 (0) 118 909 3080 - which won't work. The sickness has spread to other European countries too. The Dutch often use such a notation in business cards. Its coming to a point where I think I'll switch off Plaxo because it is polluting an otherwise correct database. Sadly, this pollution is coming from my own colleages and friends. How do I persuade them to stop it? When "Subscriber Trunk Dialing" was introduced into Britain the Post Office came up with a simple system for long distance codes. A leading zero told the it was calling another exchange. Most of the codes (with exceptions like 01 for London) used names of the telephone exchanges, A, B and C were on 2 on the phone dial so, Bath, Cardiff, Carlisle had codes 022x. R was on 7 so, Bristol Brighton and Bradford had 027x codes. Some were a bit odd - Oxford had 0865 - for university. There have been various re-vamps of the numbering system. London codes split into 071 and 081, then 0171 and 0181, then 020 7 and 020 8. Reading (among others) lost its identifiable number and became 0118 But 0 still tells the system that what follows is an area code. Labels: "E164" "Plaxo Number Pollution" I've been curious to watch how Nokia et al have reacted to the Apple Applications store for the iPhone. I know where to get stuff for the iPod Touch, but where do you go for cool N95 apps? There are sites, but nothing like the store that Apple has created. I have a N95 8GB which is a great phone, but the navigation is nothing like as straightforward as the iPhone. A few days ago, I discovered a little application from Joiku, a Finnish mobile software house. For 10 Euro you can turn the N95 into an iPhone, well sort of. The buttons make navigation in the phone SOOOOO much easier, although the N95 doesn't have a touch sensitive screen. If you're willing to shell out 15 Euro more, you can turn your Nokia N or E series phone into a WifiHotspot. Forget your dongle, just connect your laptop via wifi to the 3G phone. Great if you already have a fixed rate for the mobileweb. Also available for the RIM’s Blackberries. The lite version is free, but I wanted a version that allows more types of downloads, like Flash. Clever stuff. One of my clients, Vizrt, is doing some fascinating development of 3D graphics for websites, allowing TV stations to reuse the graphics they have already made for TV. You need to the get the plug-in from www.vizky.com - doesn't work with the Mac just yet. But it really rocks in Firefox and IE7. I believe this is one of a new set of tools stations will use to counteract Google's move into the radio and TV advertising. Today if you happen to be in the Seychelles, you're invited to an open day being organised at the BBC's East African relay station. They're 20 years old this month. Interesting to read the discussions in Hansard that happened in the UK House of Lords in 1984. This goes back to the days well before the place was built. Despite the discussion, I would have thought that the BBC's Lesotho and Ascension Island relay stations were providing good coverage into apartheid South Africa. South Africa was indeed busy with an extensive VHF (sic)- FM radio service for all languages, so as to encourage listeners to switch off shortwave and flood the market with cheap FM radios. My Lords, the British Broadcasting Corporation's signal to the Republic of South Africa is less strong than we would wish. But we are satisfied that on the whole those who wish to listen to the British Broadcasting Corporation in the republic are able to do so without excessive difficulty. Steps are being taken to improve reception in East Africa, which should also lead to some improvement in South Africa. My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his Answer, which I think is disappointing. Would he not agree that the Republic of South Africa should be a priority target for the BBC not only because of the differences with the South African Government that we have and that the South African press have, but also because in South Africa there are very many people in all the communities who are sympathetic towards, and are anxious to have news of, this country? Would it not be possible to resume the broadcasting in Afrikaans? My Lords, as I think the noble Lord knows, the BBC's former Afrikaans service was terminated in 1957. I have to say that there are no plans for its reintroduction. It is worth noting that broadcasts such as this on the short-wave band require the listener to have a short-wave receiver and that, generally speaking, the people in South Africa appear to prefer the VHS service of the local system. My Lords, the noble Lord said that reception in Southern Africa is not as good as the Government themselves would wish, but that some improvement has been made. Can he tell the House precisely what steps are being taken towards improved reception and what are the obstacles in its way, in view of the very strong arguments advanced by the noble Lord, Lord Greenhill —arguments which are shared, I believe, by the great majority of noble Lords in this House to the effect that South Africa occasionally should hear the truth from the BBC. My Lords, I believe that they can hear the BBC signals even now; but we are in negotiation with the Government of the Seychelles to build a relay station on those islands, and that relay station, though intended primarily for East Africa, will bring benefits as far south as South Africa. Looks like they didn't really understand what was going on then. Launched in October 1988, and currently run on behalf of BBC World Service by VT Communications, the station transmits BBC World Service programmes on shortwave to an estimated audience of up to nine million listeners across East Africa. The BBC Indian Ocean relay station in the Seychelles broadcasts BBC World Service in a range of languages including the BBC's English-language output for Africa as well as programmes in Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Somali and French. Labels: "BBC World Service" "Indian Ocean Relay" "Seychelles" "Male"

2019-04-21T09:28:37Z

https://criticaldistance.blogspot.com/2008/

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Please note: This is a summary and not the original book. If you're living through the 21st century, but feeling like the pace of life has picked up beyond what you can handle, Thank You for Being Late will help you understand why. Renowned journalist Thomas L. Friedman has returned to what he does best in this fascinating field guide to modern life - though many of the conclusions he comes to might leave you feeling anything but optimistic. What to Do When Machines Do Everything is a guidebook to succeeding in the next generation of the digital economy. When systems running on artificial intelligence can drive our cars, diagnose medical patients, and manage our finances more effectively than humans, it raises profound questions on the future of work and how companies compete. Platforms connect two types of users in order to exchange something of value. This is different from the traditional pipeline model of business where something of value is created by transferring it from producer to producer with the consumer receiving it at the last step. Platforms are dominating production processes particularly because they reduce the costs of value creation, consumption, and quality control. In his most ambitious work to date, Thomas L. Friedman shows that we have entered an age of dizzying acceleration - and explains how to live in it. Due to an exponential increase in computing power, climbers atop Mount Everest enjoy excellent cell phone service, and self-driving cars are taking to the roads. A parallel explosion of economic interdependency has created new riches as well as spiraling debt burdens. Meanwhile, Mother Nature is also seeing dramatic changes as carbon levels rise and species go extinct, with compounding results. How do these changes interact, and how can we cope with them? To get a better purchase on the present, Friedman returns to his Minnesota childhood and sketches a world where politics worked and joining the middle class was an achievable goal. Today, by contrast, it is easier than ever to be a maker (try 3-D printing) or a breaker (the Islamic State excels at using Twitter) but harder than ever to be a leader or merely average. Friedman concludes that nations and individuals must learn to be fast (innovative and quick to adapt), fair (prepared to help the casualties of change), and slow (adept at shutting out the noise and accessing their deepest values). With vision, authority, and wit, Thank You for Being Late establishes a blueprint for how to think about our times. Summary: Three increasingly fast movements are unsettling the world. Friedman, without minimizing the danger, gives an optimistic account of how we can survive and thrive. I am broadly a fan of Thomas Friedman's general worldview. He is a progressive (by the definition of Jonathan Haidt's The Righteous Mind's understanding). He is a globalist (in a non-pejorative sense.) He is fascinated with technology, and while not universally trusting in it, he thinks that technology is the way that many of the problems of our world have been and will be solved. He also thinks that government has a role is cushioning the problems of the global markets and regulating those markets for the benefit average person. He does not easily fit into a left/right dichotomy on issues of economics, social safety net, foreign policy or many other issues. But it has been a few years since I have read one of his books and I am not a regular reader of the New York Times or his columns. Friedman is a bit of an outsider at this point. He falls into the general charge of technocrat and the problems with that label. He is deeply knowledgeable about world politics and for more immigration and more international cooperation, which again, is unfashionable. And Friedman is generally writing as an optimist with wonder about the world in an age that is more cynical and pessimistic. Thank You for Being Late is broadly about the increasing (and Friedman uses the term exponential often) growth of three area, computing (especially the movement toward big data), global market forces (and this is broad to include trade, immigration and migration and ideas) and climate change. Friedman is not shy about the fact that the world is scary. We know more about the world know than at any other time and we cannot and should not hide from that knowledge. But we also have limited capacity to absorb and process and change. "The ancients believed there is wisdom in patience, and that wisdom comes from patience. Patience wasn't just the absence of speed, it was the space for reflection and thought. We are generating more knowledge than ever before...but knowledge is only good if you can reflect on it." I like Friedman's writing style, but he can tend to overwhelm the reader with examples and stories to make his point. So there is far too many fascinating stories and examples that prove his point to really mention. But starting in about 2007, there has been an exponential growth in the ability of technology to collect and harness data. Part of this is felt in the always connected worker. But it is also felt in the slightly too targeted ads that feel like someone is always watching you, and they are. The use of big data, and the continued shrinking of tech so that iPhones and small sensors and drones can do things that were not really even imagined just a few years ago has cooperated with increasing global markets to make the world seem very, very fast and not particularly friendly to the average small business or worker. Jobs are being gained on the whole, but many of those that are being lost are being replaced by automation or lower wage replacement workers (either locally or somewhere else.) The markets have not been friendly to the working class and/or lower skilled worker, especially in some particular parts of the economy. So for the first 2/3 of the book I alternated between wonder and terror. Innovation and technology can be amazing. But the implications of innovation and technology can be terrifying. Globalization can and has driven many people from the lowest part of world poverty, but also is knocking many previously middle class people back into poverty. And climate change is almost solely terrifying. Friedman suggests that history is driven by contacts with those around them. The innovative adapt and incorporate, and the more brittle resistant cultures resist and reject the other. Part of the implication of this is that they learn less from others and lose the ability to contribute new ideas to the mix that come about because of adaptations and innovations. Friedman does not explicitly draw on Haidt's Moral Foundations Theory. But it is hard not to see the problem with inherently conservative values of loyalty (to the local group and culture) and purity (against innovative and outside views) being a weakness to globalization, technological change and climate change. Looking within the US, many rural, or to a lessor extent the White working class that is non-rural, are reacting against innovation, globalization and pluralism with both the election of Donald Trump and the rise of Bernie Sanders. Those conservative values are positive according to Haidt's theory (because that loyalty and purity and other conservative values have positive aspects as well as negative.) But according to Friedman's theory of globalization, there is an inherent negative aspect to it. With the exponential growth of computers (requiring continuous education and retraining) and the exponential growth of globalization (requiring cultural pluralism) these conservative principles have a real negative impact on job growth and wealth creation. And many in the US still deny that climate change even exists as a real problem. Approximately the last 1/3 of the book is Friedman's own reflections on his life, his community and how he has experienced change. Friedman is 63 years old. When he started as a journalist, he was typing with manual typewriters. He described how his job as a foreign journalist changed over the years, continually dealing with new technology and changing expectations for the job. And he has a long section about the suburban Minneapolis community of St Louis Park, where he grew up. That community was one of the few suburban areas open to Jewish residents and in a small period of time generated a remarkable number of world famous people. Friedman posits that it was the forced pluralism and integration of ideas that helped to generate people as widely known as the Coen Brothers, Senator Al Franken, Marc Trestman (NFL) and more. Friedman walks through that long autobiographical and community section to suggest that if we create good pluralistic environments (not just on acceptance of the other, but a pluralism based on trust and respect of the other), we value strong, continuous education, local innovation in government and industry, we do the hard things, just not the expedient or easy things, we work on including the whole population, not just those that want to be included, etc, then we can come out of this perfect storm as a storm of opportunity and not disaster. The weakness of the book is that it does not seriously address the problems of the parts of the world that are resistant to change or actually against increasing change. Friedman views resistance to change as not only a weakness, but a rejection of reality. He isn't dismissing the pain of change or the unequalness of who is forced to change. But this is already a long book and I do not think that Friedman has the psychological or sociological chops to really deal with that weakness. The positive of the book is that it really is an optimists guide to subjects that are actually pretty scary. Excellent but with some reservations. Likewise his assessment of Climate Change is, if anything, understated. Our collective unwillingness to address this issue is something future generations will hold their ancestors accountable for although one could doubt that there will be a rosy future if climate trends continue on their current slope. Parts of his third theme are harder for me to accept as presented. Driven by Technology and Climate aberrations an increasing number of societies and governments have either collapsed (Libya, Somalia) on the edge of collapse (Venezuela, Afghanistan) or increasingly repressive (Syria, Iran). Millions of people can not enjoy the benefits of modern civilization and some, aided by technology, have turned to violence and terrorism as seen in contemporary Europe. Population growth shows no indication of abating which further exacerbates the social, political and civil discourse problems. My issue with a relatively small part of the book is where he drifts back to his Norman Rockwell childhood in Minnesota and to me it seemed a non sequiter to the rest of the book. The book was completed before the U.S. elections but rather that be an objective observer of the domestic trends and anxieties Friedman allowed his antipathy towards our now president-elect spill into his book where he calls him out by name. That is fine for NY Times opinion page but I personally was offended that he took this otherwise outstanding book to criticize just one candidate without addressing some of the flaws of the other candidate or the underlying issues. On balance, despite my comments above, I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the increasingly interconnected world of technology (for good or evil), Climate change and its implications and, finally, how all of this accelerating change is impacting everyone from localities to the greater global community. Time is not our friend as these issues manifest leaving entire swaths of different societies adrift. This book did little to assuage my concerns about the future that will be presented to my four year old grandson. I should have known that “Thank You for Being Late” is not for me, and not just because I’m not an optimist when it comes to our “Age of Accelerations”. The book has an interesting premise in that idea (the need for a “Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations”), and borrows perhaps its strongest metaphor for it from a Brandi Carlile song, The Eye: “You can dance in a hurricane / But only if you’re standing in the eye.” However, the fundamental flaw in the book is not its sheer ambition (“A field guide to the twenty-first century, written by one of its most celebrated observers”, something that could be admired had it been successful) but the ego behind that ambition (apparent in that blurb) which eventually trips it, as is often the case. Friedman knows that his core values are not only deeply personal but contradictory, too. Hey, whose aren’t, right? The thing is, though, most of us that are aware of that (and have normal size egoes) don’t claim to have written a “field guide to the twenty-first century” nor bill ourselves as “its most celebrated observers”. (If you’re looking for something closer to that, check out instead “Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow” by Yuval Noah Harari.) And most who do, would not dismiss philosophers so blithely. However, Friedman is somehow not bothered by the inconsistencies in his thought brought about by the idiosyncrasies of biography. Instead of trying to address them, learn from them and transcend them (something that would have been laudable, perhaps even valuable), he instead tries to force them together into an grotesquely incoherent mishmash of platitudes held together only by that formidable ego. He obtusely tries to throw these incoherencies upon humanity, not caring much how well they may fit, let alone stick. Not only does he borrow metaphors left and right (from folk rock song lyrics and systolic and diastolic blood pressure, to Hollywood movies and studies on NPR about dance coordination), but he then squeezes them beyond their endurance, resulting in a text that would be funny had it not been so pretentious. And then he has the temerity to wax poetic about transforming the “other” to a more inclusive “all”. We — the other chaotic Arabs that do not adhere to American-Israeli dictum — have a saying for that: “He killed him and walked in his funeral procession” and “If you have no shame then do whatever you want.” They’re meant as warnings, not challenges. But we live in a shameless world. Being so demoralized, disheartened, and dismayed at the results of our recent election, I needed something to lift me out of the metaphorical mud pit in which I find myself. I was inspired by Charlie Rose's recent interview with Thom. Freidman. Here comes a voice of reason from among the morass of ignorance that so pervades our country and politics today. Freidman' clarity of vision helps explain the inexplicable. He goes a little overboard about the Minnesota Way that cemented the early development of his value structure, but points out that there is cause for hope if only our leaders (and followers) take some of those values to heart. "Thank You For Being Late" should be required reading for our entire population. Proof of such should be mandated of all in leadership position. It's a new era. The cheese has indeed been moved. Get on board or you'll never again clear the dust from your nostrils! An excellent book, full of ideas that might help our society move in a better direction and an interesting way to try to understand the times we live in. I leaned so much I didn't know about modern technology -- fascinating and hopeful. I also gained an understanding of how countries can't really not participate in our global society at this point, because climate change, over population, unstable governments, and lack of opportunity are causing people to migrate because there is no hope where they live and this is and will effect all parts of the world. If you could sum up Thank You for Being Late in three words, what would they be? What was one of the most memorable moments of Thank You for Being Late? The novel is full of examples and stories that bring the point home. Some of the more memorable have to do with the technological advances we are dealing with, how chickens can change lives in a big way, and how a political party would behave if it was like mother nature. I am new to audio books so this was my first time listening to Oliver Wyman. He did a fine job with a very fact heavy book. It was not an earth shattering performance but it was solid and kept me engaged. There are several moments that made me chuckle due to the ironic humor the author has. At other times you can't help but wonder "why is this not happening?". If you follow current events this book goes in depth into many of them facing society today. This is a superbly written book. I enjoyed listening to it but I feel like this one would be better read in hard copy. I plan on purchasing it so that I can make notes and highlights. There is so much information to digest that being able to annotate would enhance the experience. Relevant and appropriate today - a guide to impactful forces. Liked his breadth and depth of analysis of key impactful forces- Friedman develops some themes he's written about before. His worldview has been modified since 2007 - the year iPhones were invented. His premise - so much has changed since 2007 - a 'new' book is warranted. Should be of interest to Friedman fans and those who read about large changes impacting society. Friedman remains hopeful/optimistic - well written. He shows a great snapshot of the world today. Uses great examples to show his readers where the world is heading. Great book! A little fluff. I really loved reading this book and have thought about sending it to friends with small children so that they can at least read the first two sections. I know I would have raised my kids a little differently if I'd had it back then. The section on Moore's law was exceptional and only omitted the mention of quantum computing taking us on a joyride that Moore never anticipated. The climate change section was heartbreaking, and my great fear is that that cow has already gotten out of the barn. Time will tell. My only minor complaint is that the last three chapters essentially amount to an autobiographical rendering of the author's childhood in Minneapolis and, while I understand his point, I think it could've been shrunk to one third the size he gave it and still made the point adequately. I also very much like the reader. Readers have funny affectations in their voice that show up even more dramatically when you are at 1.25 or 1.5 speed. This one had great diction and clarity at all speeds.

2019-04-24T16:19:17Z

https://www.audible.com/pd/Thank-You-for-Being-Late-Audiobook/B01M8JOLZL?qid=&sr=

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Martial arts have traditionally been the domain of the strong male. Despite the stories of mythic woman warriors who rode with the boys and fought alongside them as equals and even superiors, this was always the exception rather than the rule. Samurai women were taught to protect themselves and their families yet how many of us can name any of these fighting women? No, it's pretty much a boys club and the few females who get let in are the ones able to play as the boys do. There are probably more women doing Aikido on a percentage basis than any other martial art, although that would be just a guess, I have never seen figures on this. Despite their wide participation, which goes back to the early days in the 1930's in Aikido's development, women are notoriously absent from positions of prominence in Aikido. I know of no female instructors who have regularly taught at the Aikikai Honbu Dojo. In it's hard to find any woman acting in the capacity of dojo cho in Japan, regardless of what organization one is referring to. The contribution of the wives of the prominent instructors are sometimes alluded to when the Shihan recount their young days as uchideshi but then only in reference to their caretaking roles even though many of these wives trained as well. One almost never hears reference to women in terms of their skill on the mat. Not until one leaves Japan does one encounter significant female presence in the ranks of those teaching the art. But even overseas, the leadership of virtually all Aikido organizations is almost entirely male. Woman may have significant responsibility, and in fact be indispensable to the various organizations, but their efforts are largely in support of the male leadership of these organizations. I believe that Aikido should be different. I think that few would maintain that its raison d'etre is imparting fighting skills to the public yet we continuously use a performance standard which places, not just women, but the less athletic, and the elderly of both sexes at a disadvantage when compared with the young male practitioners of the art. Recently a book on Aikido appeared in which the author, a senior Aikido practitioner, stated that any fourth kyu male in his dojo could take any woman in Aikido in a fight. The sheer lack of sensitivity it took to make such a statement tends to hide the fact that it also shows a complete misunderstanding of what Aikido is all about. First of all, Aikido is not a combat art as normally taught. The techniques of our art are derived from a system which was taught to members of the samurai class and only make real sense when considered, not as a comprehensive empty-hand fighting system, but as part of a wider system which assumed that both the practitioner and his enemy were armed. When the equalizing effects of weaponry is removed as a factor, a distinct advantage is had by the student who is more physically powerful and can over power his adversary. This advantage exists until the opponent reaches a very high level of technical skill at which time attempts to use that type of physical power would no longer have any advantage but would rather be a detriment to the strong but not as skilled practitioner. If one were to look at Aikido from a true combat standpoint in which the practitioners were armed there would be a great equalizing factor between men and women and pure physical power would be secondary to smooth and quick movement and an understanding of openings. Since normal practice of Aikido is done empty handed (unless one is doing actual weapons training), a distinct advantage is had by those of larger stature and more aggressive disposition in terms of overcoming their partners. The problem here is, of course, that Aikido isn't primarily about overcoming one's partner. Masakatsu Agatsu is the term the Founder used to describe the point of Aikido training. "True Victory is Self Victory" is clearly not about how to defeat some outside enemy but rather it's about dealing with our own internal demons. When O-Sensei said Aikido is the True Budo, he didn't mean that Aikido was the most bad-assed fighting system. He meant that Aikido was, in his mind, the fullest expression of the aspect of Budo which teaches us how to live fully, to see ourselves as caretakers rather than destroyers. The Dan system was originally set up in an attempt to assure that a certain quality level was maintained in the art. The real problem with this was that the system tended to focus on only one set of criteria, the technical, martial side of the art has been greatly favored over other factors and not to the overall benefit of the art. We are all familiar, I am sure with various high-level teachers who, while having a certain relatively high level of technical expertise and martial ferocity in no way embody the basic values which we would like to incorporate into our lives. Just as in the case of measuring intelligence in which the focus on the IQ has given way to a recognition that there are actually multiple types of intelligence and that a given individual could excel in one and be quite ordinary in another, our Aikido hierarchy needs to better reflect the different contributions one can make in an art which has so many facets. I met a woman just recently who had started Aikido well after her fiftieth birthday. She has now been training for well over ten years and feels that Aikido has changed her life. In an Aikido world which only values strength of technique and difficult ukemi this person has no real status. Yet her age, while making it difficult to train as physically as the young folks do, gives such a depth to her practice that she is in a position to address in a meaningful way all sort of folks for whom instruction from someone like myself would have less relevance. There are all sorts of Aikido teachers out there who are quite capable of going toe to toe with some hypothetical aggressor but who lack the ability to speak in any meaningful way to the hearts of a group of students whose needs don't really encompass daily requirements for self defense techniques. There are a quite large and growing number of teachers who, while not being terribly interested in the martial application side of the art, are taking technique into whole new realms of exploration and can provide great insight into the connection between physical technique and the spiritual side of the practice. Many of these teachers are female instructors who have run dojos for years and have a tremendous depth of teaching experience, often bringing students into the art who would never have been interested in training in the more macho world of traditional martial arts including much Aikido. This is not to say that there aren't women who have successfully gone toe to toe with the men in their training and succeeded. Virginia Mahew, Pat Hendricks, Mary Heiny, Lorraine Dianne, Patty Saotome, etc. all managed to get ahead in the male dominated hierarchy of Aikido. But this shouldn't be how we measure success. Women should not have to measure their worth according to their ability to be "like the guys." To insist on this is to place only secondary emphasis on the contributions which they make well in excess of what their male counter parts often make. It has been my experience that women are generally more interested in the social/relational aspects of the art than in the martial. The community bond between dojo members is often created more through the efforts of a group of female students within a dojo than by those of the men. It has been my experience that the women within a dojo are far better at nurturing students who are emotionally damaged or are physically less confident. In the absence of a different way of recognizing the wide-ranging nature of accomplishments and contributions, the Dan system should be administered in such a way that equal recognition is given to those that are contributing to the growth of the art in any such substantial way. The female instructors who have well over thirty years of experience in both training and teaching but who still find themselves down a rank or two below their equally experienced male counter parts should be brought up to parity. There should be more female instructors on the seminar circuit. The high-level teachers should go out of their way to include senior females as well as males as ukes. It makes a strong and very public statement about the support they can expect from their organizations. No more should we encounter the dojo which places the male students at the top of the technical and hierarchical heap while the women, all ranked in the second tier, do all of the organizational and administrative work thereby actually keeping the school going for the men. No more should we recognize the accomplishments of women only to the extent that they resemble those of the men but also for the unique contributions they can make which perhaps most of the men can't or won't. Aikido must be inclusive to accomplish what the Founder saw as its essential mission of bringing people together. People may have exceptional talents teaching children, they may be exceptionally nurturing to those of us who have been damaged in various ways. We will find those individuals who have great insight into the spiritual side of the art and they may not be the ones who are best able to show how to handle a roundhouse kick to the head. Instructors should make it a priority to create a new generation of instructors both male and female, young and old, who are empowered to make their own explorations of what Aikido can become and our organizations should support these teachers in following their visions. It is only by doing this that Aikido can grow in such a way that it is both inclusive and has the elements which a widely divergent group of practitioners requires. Couldn't agree more with your thoughts posted on the Aikido Journal site or here on Aiki-Web. My deepest compliments and appreciation. I would think that many of the things you write would equally pertain to valuing what the older male beginner brings to the art. "No more should we encounter the dojo which places the male students at the top of the technical and hierarchical heap while the women, all ranked in the second tier, do all of the organizational and administrative work thereby actually keeping the school going for the men." This should be posted on bulletin boards, not just in aikido dojos, but in many places people congregate to work and play together! that was an amazing article! i totally agree with all of it!!! I certainly meant to include men when I said "and everybody else". There is a great contribution to be made by everyone, not just the young, athletic, and tough young males. From the standpoint of empowerment one would like to see everyone attain all that they are capable of. But it's a recognition that the methods may need to be different that is important for the teachers. I made the mistake for many years of thinking that simply training the women exactly as I did the men was the answer. But I have seen that this doesn't work for the avarega e female student. The ones that hung in there have their own dojos now but the numbers who stayed were always small. It's clear to me now that I can make the training far more accessible and in the long run turn out far more strong female students if I pay attention to the different reuirements which men and women have. This should also hold true for older students and students of smaller stature etc. Everyone needs to be brought along in ways which support their own requirements. Not just using a cookie cutter approach which worked with small groups of exceptionally tough males in Japan. Frankly, looking at how far many Aikido teachers seem to be from what I believe O-Sensei had in mind for his art, the old way of training may not have really worked at all. And how is this statement exclusively about aikido? It seems to be the pervasive attitude on most of this planet. About everything. Cmon, look at what women have acheived in the past hundred years as compared to all of history before that. Granted that women have accomplished far more than the average (male) published historian can say, at least now we are being recognised by, and are writing our own history. I always hear that Change Takes Time. The more we support and encourage Change, in whatever society or community we refer to, the quicker it will come. I couldn't agree more. But the key to change sooner rather than later is for those who have the power to create change to work for it. For instance I am one of the beneficiaries of the system as it has been. I have rank , certain status within my organization, and two forums for my views (Aiki Web and Aikido Journal). Plus I have my own students for whom I am responsible. I see it as part of the way in which I repay my teachers for all I have received for me to try to leave Aikido better than when I found it. Some of that is by contributing my own take on technique and how to teach it. But another part is by trying to create a more functional Aikido society than the one we first encountered thirty years ago. Ellis Amdur Sensei was kind enough to steer me towards Yoshiko Shindo Sensei, 6th Dan, who has a dojo in Tokyo and I looked up Miyako Fujitani, 6th Dan, whose dojo is in Osaka using the dojo search. THANK YOU for writing this article - I'm so glad that you are happy to stand up and say what many of us feel - that Aikido should be about many things, not just how to do technique harder! Regrettably it has been my experience that the young macho male attitude is still very prevalent, even in dojo where the chief instructor is a strong supporter of women in Aikido. These young men may be able to throw each other around very hard, but they can't teach anybody anything. They are poor training partners, as their measures of success are solely based on their own selfish goals. A large part of Aikido is helping others, and these guys just don't get that. Can you tell me who the author is, and the name of the book? PM me if you'd rather not say on the forum! Very interesting! Thank you for bringing up this subject. I agree on many points, but I worry about "train women like this and train men like that" as Anne Marie said. Each individual is different…by way of personality, body structure, motivation, psychology, etc. I am attracted to the idea of harmony of mind and body. I am also interested in the martial aspect of the ability to avoid violence or protect if I have to. Another man or woman might be interested in Aikido for different reasons. I would want all aspects available to me when training. I think the lack of women recognized in Aikido must have to do with cultural and historical traditions. I wonder what O'Sensei's philosophy was on this. I remember seeing film footage of women ukes working with him. Hmm. Now I wonder what happened to them? And, of course, it is not just in Aikido that women have been excluded. An example close to me is the history of women in painting. As you said George, regarding women samurai…how many women renaissance painters can you name? They existed. It really hasn't been until the early to mid 1900s that we see the O'keeffes and Kahlos being given the spotlight. That wasn't long ago. Similarly, it is amazing for me to think that it was only just in my grandmother's lifetime that women won the right to vote in the U.S. As in any minority situation, I think as more women break through the ranks, young women will see themselves reflected in the Aikido image. Then Aikido becomes a more realistic and attractive option. A young girl or a woman can say YES! that CAN be ME! But I think that it will take not only women breaking through the ranks but also taking positions of authority in organizations. Those, I imagine are few and far between. Cheers, and many thanks to the women pioneers in Aikido who are blazing the trail! Thanks for writing the article - very interesting and very timely I think. Granting that one actually wants to keep the dan grading system as part of their Aikido training (which I don't), and being quite accepting that discrimination against women goes much deeper than such a system, if one wants to address these abuses across the board, then isn't the flip-side of all of this NOT GRADING/PROMOTING FOLKS who can only demonstrate physical prowess in the technical application of forms under highly artificial and/or controlled environments? Though we are an independent dojo, we make use of a grading system, however that grading system only goes up to shodan. The system is used primarily to show folks what they don't have - rather than what they do have. Personally, I can see no other reason for having it. Someone that can only demonstrate physical prowess in the ideal phases of the art can at best maybe be only reach sankyu or nikyu. In our system, you can't even be considered for nikyu if you don't participate fully in things like zazen, prayer, etc., and fully demonstrate at least a will to developing a nurturing and caring nature to those inside and outside of the dojo. People can do whatever kind of aikido they would like, but the institution of the dojo has its own position on what aikido is and is not and what it should and should not be. Part of that position is that technical skill in ideal phases ain't worth crap. A person can train how they want, when they want, for how long they want, and they will always be welcome, always be a part of the dojo, but the dojo will never see anyone that gets stuck in the techniques, stuck in the trivia of aikido, as moving beyond an immature practice. The same, however, goes for folks that cannot demonstrate this physical prowess. While a developing mature spirit may make them eligible for ranks like nikyu and perhaps even ikkyu, the absence of such physical proficiency would prevent the dojo from recognizing them as shodan. Underneath all of this, it goes without question that folks should all be respected and treated decently for how they are opting to relate to their own practice. It is understood that there own practice is indeed a meaningful part of their lives and of their self-identity (at whatever level that may be). So it is understood that their contribution to the dojo is alway a very real and vital one. I've started this system, rejecting rank entirely for myself, precisely because of things that are in the subtext of your article. It is my personal position, that at some moment, when Aikido reaches a deep enough place in one's life, such institutional frameworks have to come under enough scrutiny that they may actually be rejected by the individual or at least totally revamped. In some very real ways, the institution is precisely that thing that prevents all of us from going deeper in our practice. I think that is one reason why you always see some very real protests against institutions whenever you see some very real and potent spiritual systems develop - throughout human history. It is the nature of the two beasts - they are antagonistic to each other. Whereas the valid spiritual system addresses what is most real in human beings, the institution thrives on what is the most unreal in human beings. Last edited by senshincenter : 01-31-2005 at 07:39 AM. Steve Miranda was kind enough to write me about Chizuko Matsu who is Rokudan under Terada Sensei in Yokosuka. This is within the Yoshinkan organization. If I remember correctly, Ah Loi Lee sensei who trained under Tomiki sensei is 7th dan. I always start with "What is Aikido to the dojo you train in?" In my dojo, aikido is a martial art; I learn with greater emphasis on the principles of combat and training. Some dojos are not as physical, and create a greater sense of the budo of Aikido. When I interview prospects that I see are less interested in the physical aspects of aikido, I send to to a dojo that can satisfy that need. When I interview prospects that I see are more interested in the physical aspects of combat, I send them to a judo dojo or karate dojo that can satisfy that need. My job is to give students the best aikido for them, and if I can't do it I will find someone that can. There is a swedish golfer that is a major tournament winner. This golfer is intimidating, inspiring and photogenic - a great catch for the press. This golfer is very knowledgeable about the sport and can be found in major golf magazines instructing better methods to drive, putt, chip, and play. This golfer is simply an all-around great role model that has invigorated golf. In 2003, this golfer missed the men's PGA Tour final cut by only four strokes. Her name? Annika Sörenstam. We are an independant orginazation with a high percentage of women. 80%. We used to belong to an organization where sexism and objectifacation (sp?) of women was commen. Women were regurlarly rejected for uke during testing for their own "protection". When my teacher announced we were leaving the oganization we lost three men.....the women were all estatic that we would no longer be going to camps. Our new orginazation is very respectful of the indivudual. We believe anyone can train....with respect and patience. In my language ignorance, I could go to this person's seminars and never know the difference. Women in budo should be a non-event. I will consider us "there" when it becomes so. At about 70 centimeters short of two meters and slightly over 70 kgs, I'm the same size, and (due to manual labor, disposition, and sheer tenacity) very close to as strong as, the average male. I just have more options. Should I be disappointed, that it takes a prominent male teacher to bring the subject of Invisible Women up? What the hell are we doing, as female budoka? What helps us survive and evolve? How can instructors cultivate female budoka, objectively? I don't mind not being "marketed" that way lies ruin, but where is the common-sense commentary? I mean, besides "The Mirror" here on Aikiweb (waves to Janet et al). Setting as good example as I can. I'm doing what I can. I take responsibility for my survival and evolution. I would like instructors who are sensitive to some of the issues I bring to the mat (the knee, general aging) but frankly don't feel I need to be "cultivated" on account of being female. Just not have my femaleness count as a negative in anybody's eyes. And have me AS AN INDIVIDUAL taken into account. Every dojo I"ve been a member of called women up for ukemi and women who train regularly are able to advance as quickly as men who train regularly. I'd just like to mention my teacher, Lia Suzuki Sensei,(5th dan, Aikikai). Nine of her 25 years or so of training were in Japan with Takeda Yoshinobu Shihan. Her main dojo is in Santa Barbara, CA. Her skill and dedication to aikido are inspiring to me. Her energy seems boundless. I know very few men who can keep up with her in training. My sensei is Eve Aitkenhead, who runs the Glasgow Ki Aikido Club - link in my signature. Thanks! I have added her name to my list of teahers world wide who are 7th Dan and up. I must say it's a big deal for anyone to get that highly ranked, I would think your website would have a bit more about her. I had to dig before I found her name in there..

2019-04-23T14:44:32Z

http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7447

Human killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) play a critical role in governing the immune response to neoplastic and infectious disease. Rhesus macaques serve as important animal models for many human diseases in which KIRs are implicated; however, the study of KIR activity in this model is hindered by incomplete characterization of KIR genetics. Here we present a characterization of KIR genetics in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). We conducted a survey of KIRs in this species, identifying 47 novel full-length KIR sequences. Using this expanded sequence library to build upon previous work, we present evidence supporting the existence of 22 Mamu-KIR genes, providing a framework within which to describe macaque KIRs. We also developed a novel pyrosequencing-based technique for KIR genotyping. This method provides both comprehensive KIR genotype and frequency estimates of transcript level, with implications for the study of KIRs in all species. The results of this study significantly improve our understanding of macaque KIR genetic organization and diversity, with implications for the study of many human diseases that use macaques as a model. The ability to obtain comprehensive KIR genotypes is of basic importance for the study of KIRs, and can easily be adapted to other species. Together these findings both advance the field of macaque KIRs and facilitate future research into the role of KIRs in human disease. Killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) are a highly polymorphic family of cell surface receptors expressed on natural killer (NK) cells and a subset of T-lymphocytes [1–3]. KIR mediated signaling plays a key role in the identification of foreign cells and the antiviral response [4–9]. The best characterized KIR ligands are major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecules, although ligands have not been identified for all KIRs [10, 11]. Because both KIRs and MHC-I are highly polymorphic, host genotype plays an important role in KIR function. KIR genetic diversity can be described in terms of polymorphism and polygenicity. To date, there are 15 KIR genes described in humans . The number of KIR genes varies between individuals, with 7-12 genes per haplotype [13, 14]. Because the protein product of each KIR gene generally binds a unique set of ligands, the subset of KIRs encoded by an individual dictates the potential KIR interactions that can occur. In addition to variation in gene content between haplotypes, there is allelic polymorphism within each KIR gene . Broadly speaking, the allotypic variants encoded by a KIR gene bind the same subset of MHC-I ligands, although exceptions do exist . Distinct KIR allotypes can have differing binding affinities for particular MHC-I allotypes. These differences in KIR/MHC-I binding affinity can alter KIR signaling and NK cell activity . In addition to KIR genotype, MHC-I genotype must be considered since it determines the set of available KIR ligands and since it is possible to express a KIR with or without its cognate MHC-I molecule [10, 17]. Specific KIR/MHC-I genotypes have been implicated as a factor contributing to the immune control of multiple human diseases including hepatitis C virus, human papilloma virus, malaria, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) [6–9, 18]. One of the best-studied examples of KIR/MHC-I genetics and disease is that of KIR3DL1/KIR3DS1 and HLA-Bw4 in HIV infection. Individuals who express specific KIR3DL1/KIR3DS1 alleles in combination with certain HLA-B alleles containing the Bw4 motif show slower progression to AIDS [8, 9]. This genetic association has more recently been supported by functional data demonstrating that NK cells expressing KIR3DS1 have increased anti-HIV activity against target cells expressing HLA-Bw4, although the underlying mechanism remains to be elucidated . Despite advances in our understanding of KIR biology, the mechanisms through which specific KIR/MHC-I combinations influence disease progression are not fully understood. This is at least partially due to the complexity of KIR/MHC-I genotypes and difficulty in identifying KIR/MHC-I matched cohorts. Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) are an established and widely used experimental model system for many human diseases, including immunodeficiency virus . The advantages of studying infectious disease in rhesus macaques include the ability to manipulate the dose, route, and strain of the infectious agent, as well as the ability to analyze specimens from defined time points. For the study of KIR activity, perhaps the most important advantage is the ability to select subjects based on genetics. This benefit is evidenced by the work in macaques to elucidate the role of the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response in immunodeficiency viral infection, which is also heavily dependent on host genetics [21, 22]. Macaque KIRs have received less study than human KIRs. While previous work shows that macaque KIRs have structure and genomic organization similar to human KIRs, and suggests that they play a similar functional role, these studies also demonstrate that there has been considerable evolution within macaque KIRs since the species diverged . While 15 genes have been described in humans, the number and identity of the KIR genes present in macaques is distinct. Developing an understanding of the KIR genes present in this species and an overall assessment of KIR genetic diversity is a matter of practical importance for the use of macaques as a model for KIR function. Using cDNA sequences, an initial model for macaque KIR genetic organization was formed containing 18 putative KIR groups [23, 24]. In addition to the sequence of KIR transcripts, the genomic sequence of one rhesus macaque KIR haplotype has been described . More recent studies have added to the total number of described macaque KIR sequences [23, 24, 26–28]. With more sequence data available, phylogenetic relationships became clearer, and the model of macaque KIR genetics has been refined. This body of work has been used to create a model for macaque KIR genetic organization and to develop a formal system of nomenclature (Guethlein et al, in preparation). Here we present the results of a survey of rhesus macaque KIR genetics. Using full-length cloning, we identified 47 novel full-length rhesus macaque KIRs, substantially increasing the library of known sequences. Using this expanded library, we performed phylogenetic analysis supporting the existence of 22 rhesus macaque KIR genes. Together with previously published KIR sequences, this provides a framework with which to describe KIR genetics in this species. In addition to improving our understanding of macaque KIRs at the population level, we developed a novel pyrosequencing-based approach for KIR genotyping. This technique provides both comprehensive KIR genotyping and frequency estimates for expression of each KIR transcript. The findings presented here, along with the novel techniques set forth, should serve as a foundation for further research on rhesus KIR genetics and for defining KIR function in this important animal model. Animals used in this study were housed and cared for by the trained veterinary staff at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center (WNPRC) or the New England Primate Research Center (NEPRC). All procedures were approved by the host institution's Animal Care and Use Committee. Nucleic acid was obtained from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) or purified natural killer (NK) cells, as indicated. RNA purification was accomplished using either the MagnaPure LC Total Nucleic Acid Purification kit (Roche, Branford, CT) or the DNA/RNA Allprep Kit (QIAGEN, Valencia, CA) according to the manufacturer's instructions. NK cells were isolated from whole PBMC by negative magnetic bead fractionation. First, PBMC were incubated for 20 minutes at room temperature in 0.1% BSA/PBS with a cocktail of cross-reactive human monoclonal IgG antibodies composed of the following: anti-CD3 (clone SP34-2, BD Biosciences, La Jolla, CA), anti-CD14 (clone M5E2, BD Biosciences), anti-CD40 (clone 5C3, BD Biosciences), and anti-CD66/CEACAM (clone TET2, AbCam, Cambridge, MA or Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA). Next, antibody-coated PBMC were washed and resuspended in 0.1% BSA/PBS then incubated for 35 minutes at room temperature with Pan-IgG Dynabeads (Dynal Biotech, Norway) at a 4:1 bead-to-cell ratio. The suspension was then placed on a Dynal magnet and the unbound cells were collected. Purity was assessed by flow cytometry with >90% of collected cells routinely bearing an NK cell phenotype of NKG2A+CD8+CD3-. All acquisitions were made on a FACSCalibur (BD Biosciences) and analyzed using FlowJo software (Tree Star Inc., Ashland, OR). First-strand cDNA was synthesized using the Superscript III First-Strand One-Step RT-PCR kit (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) according to the manufacturer's instructions. PCR amplification was performed using Phusion high-fidelity polymerase (New England Biolabs, Ipswich, MA) and the following external primers: 5'-CAGCACCATGTCGCTCAT-3' and 5'-GGGGTCAAGTGAAGTGGAGA-3'. PCR conditions were: 98°C for 30 s, 28 cycles of 98°C for 5 s, 63°C for 1 s, 72°C for 20 s, and a final extension at 72°C for 5 min. PCR products were cloned into pCR-Blunt TOPO (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) and bidirectionally sequenced using DYEnamic ET Terminator cycle sequencing kit (GE Healthcare, Piscataway, NJ). Internal primers used in sequencing were 5'-AACCTTCCCTCCTGGCC-3 and 5'-TTGGTTCAGTGGGTGAAGGCCAA-3.' CodonCode Aligner (CodonCode Corporation, Dedham, MA) was used for sequence analysis, and in order to minimize error introduced by PCR artifacts, novel alleles were only included when three or more identical full-length cDNA clones were observed. Novel sequences have been deposited in Genbank (Additional file 1, Table S1). Novel full-length sequences were assigned formal names through the Immuno Polymorphism Database . The cDNA sequences obtained in this analysis and from previous studies [23, 25, 27, 28, 30] were aligned using Clustal X and manually corrected in BioEdit (Ibis Therapeutics, Carlsbad, CA). Phylogenetic trees for the complete dataset were made using both neighbor-joining (1000 replicates, pairwise deletion, Tamura-Nei, in MEGA4) and parsimony (1000 replicates in Paup). These trees were used to divide the sequences into Mamu-KIR3DL20, -KIR2DL04, -KIR1D, and -KIR3D (lineage II) groups. Subsequent analysis was restricted to the lineage II dataset using the same methods. Alleles of Mamu-KIR3DL11, -KIR3DS01, -KIR3DS03, -KIR3DSW07, and -KIR3DSW08 were not obtained in this study and sequences for these genes were taken from GenBank [23, 27, 30, 32]. A dataset containing consensus sequences for each of the lineage II KIR genes was constructed using all known sequences to compute the consensus sequence. For groups containing only two allotypes, one of the allotypes was chosen to represent the consensus. The sequences used are indicated in Additional file 1, Figure S1. The individual extracellular Ig domains (D0, D1, and D2) were analyzed separately using the methods described above. The stem, transmembrane and cytoplasmic tails were not included in this analysis as previous reports have shown that the stem, transmembrane, and tail of macaque activating KIRs share similarity to KIR2DL4 and are distinct . As with our full-length products, cDNA was synthesized using the Superscript III First-Strand One-Step RT-PCR kit (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA). cDNA-PCR amplicons spanning 623 base pairs of the D1 and D2 domains were synthesized using Phusion high-fidelity polymerase (New England Biolabs, Ipswich, MA). Each PCR primer contained a target-specific sequence, an MID tag, and an adapter sequence (Additional file 1, Table S2). PCR conditions were: 98°C for 30 s, 28-33 cycles of 98°C for 5 s, 61°C for 1 s, 72°C for 20 s, and a final extension at 72°C for 5 min. cDNA-PCR product purification was accomplished using Ampure XP beads (Agencourt, Beverly, MA) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Amplicons were then normalized to equimolar concentrations and grouped into pools of twelve samples for Titanium amplicon pyrosequencing. Emulsion PCR, Roche/454 Titanium amplicon pyrosequencing, image processing, and base calling were performed according to the manufacturer's instructions (Roche/454 Life Sciences, Branford, CT) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign High-Throughput Sequencing Center. Each pool of twelve samples was sequenced in one-sixteenth of a 70 × 75 PicoTiterPlate. Pyrosequencing flowgram data was processed using a custom analysis pipeline. Briefly, data were trimmed by sequence quality and aligned against a reference database of all known macaque KIR sequences using the Mosaik aligner (http://code.google.com/p/mosaik-aligner/). The reference library of KIR sequences was obtained from the Immuno Polymorphism Database . Polymorphisms between reads and the reference sequences were scored with custom scripts that utilized Samtools and BioPerl [33, 34]. The source code for this pipeline can be obtained from a subversion repository (https://hedgehog.fhcrc.org/tor/stedi/trunk/server/customModules/SequenceAnalysis). The pipeline itself has been integrated into the LabKey Software platform as the SequenceAnalysis module, which provides a graphical, web-based platform to initiate analysis pipelines and view results. LabKey is a free, open source software package available at http://www.labkey.org. Sanger sequence data was analyzed using CodonCode Aligner (CodonCode Corporation, Dedham, MA). In order to reduce errors introduced by PCR artifacts, KIR sequences were only considered to be present in an animal if they represented one percent or more of total KIR sequence reads from that animal. In order to identify novel alleles not present in the reference library, unaligned sequences were then assembled in CodonCode Aligner at 100% identity. BLAST analysis was performed for the resulting contigs against a database of published Mamu-KIR sequences. Unaligned sequences were deemed novel when they represented at least one percent of total sequence reads from at least one animal and did not represent a potential insertion/deletion error in the pyrosequencing base-calling. KIR genotype has a significant influence on NK cell activity. Studying the role of macaque KIR genetics in disease pathogenesis first requires an understanding of total diversity within the population and a framework within which to describe it. To date, 149 distinct full-length Mamu-KIR sequences have been deposited in Genbank. By comparison, there are more than 615 distinct KIR alleles identified in humans--more than four times as many alleles as have been identified to date in rhesus macaques . Thus, the previously catalogued alleles likely represent only a fraction of total Mamu-KIR diversity. In order to expand the repertoire of known Mamu-KIR alleles, we performed full-length cloning and sequencing of KIR alleles from 17 Indian rhesus macaques. These animals yielded 47 novel KIR alleles, a substantial expansion of documented rhesus macaque KIR diversity (Additional file 1, Table S1). The novel sequences have been assigned names following the KIR genes and nomenclature conventions established in the Non-human Primate KIR Nomenclature Report (Guethlein et al, in preparation)1. As a first step in the analysis of the rhesus macaque sequences recovered from cloning, phylogenetic trees based on the full-length sequences were constructed. Human KIRs have been divided by phylogenetic analyses into four lineages2. Macaque KIRs assorted into groups matching these lineages. The sequences assorted into Mamu-KIR2DL04 (lineage I), -KIR3D (lineage II), -KIR1D (lineage III), and -KIR3DL20 (lineage V), with the majority of sequences resembling human lineage II, in accordance with previous publications [25, 30, 36]. Relatively little allelic variation was observed within the Mamu-KIR2DL04, -KIR3DL20, and -KIR1D groups (data not shown). In contrast, the Mamu-KIR3D lineage II sequences were highly diverse. Our sequences assorted into 19 distinct groups corresponding to 19 of the rhesus macaque lineage II genes (Figure 1 and Additional file 1, Figure S1). An important point to note is that rather than increasing the number of detected KIR genes, most novel sequences share strong similarity with established macaque KIR genes. Therefore, while there are likely a large number of undiscovered macaque KIR alleles, the most common macaque KIR genes may now have been identified. Rhesus macaque lineage II KIR alleles form 19 distinct groups. Neighbor-joining and parsimony analysis was performed using predicted amino-acid sequences for the dataset comprising the lineage II sequences obtained in this study. The neighbor-joining tree is shown, which was not significantly different from the parsimony tree [data not shown]. Bootstrap support of greater than 50% is indicated. Representative hominoid lineage II KIR were used as an outgroup. For each gene, the numbers in parentheses indicate the total number of alleles discovered in this study compared with the total number known. There is evidence for extensive recombination among the Mamu-KIR sequences described here. To identify recombination events affecting individual alleles, sequences were analyzed with the RDP (recombinant detection program) package and inspected manually (data not shown). In addition, domain-by-domain phylogenetic analysis using consensus sequences for each gene revealed extensive domain sharing between macaque KIR genes (Figure 2). This suggests that the genes are themselves products of ancient duplication and recombination events. This mechanism for the generation of KIR genes is consistent with observations of KIRs in other species . Pairs of KIRs with similar extracellular domains but differing cytoplasmic tails have been observed in other species, with human KIR3DL1/3DS1 being a notable example . In this analysis we also found such pairing, with the best-matched pair being Mamu-KIR3DLW03 and Mamu-KIR3DS05. Other pairs were identified that were similar in two of the three extracellular Ig-like domains, for example Mamu-KIR3DL07 and Mamu-KIR3DSW09. Cytoplasmic domains were not included in this analysis, although it should be noted that macaque long and short cytoplasmic tails are phylogenetically distinct, with the latter resembling the tail of human KIR2DL4 . Domain shuffling has acted to form rhesus macaque KIR genes. The results of a domain-by-domain phylogenetic analysis are shown schematically. Predicted amino-acid consensus sequences for each of the genes were used to form both neighbor-joining and parsimony trees as described in the Methods section. The sequences encoding the three extracellular Ig-like domains were analyzed separately. Boxes are colored for the D0, D1, and D2 domains where the grouping was supported by >50% bootstrap support in the phylogenetic analyses. Boxes that are not completely colored represent cases where support of >50% was only found in the neighbor-joining analysis. Long cytoplasmic tails are colored red and short tails are colored green. The domains colored white were not resolved into any group in the analysis and should not be interpreted as being closely related to each other. The stem, transmembrane and cytoplasmic tails were grouped as either long or short by inspection of the alignment. D0, D1, and D2 denote the Ig-like domains. ST/TM/CYT denotes the stem, transmembrane, and cytoplasmic tail domains. The expanded library of macaque KIR sequences described in this publication and others has enabled the creation of a framework to describe macaque KIRs, and its phylogenetic analysis suggests that the most common KIR genes have been identified [24–28, 30, 32]. For the study of KIRs in disease pathogenesis, one of the most basic requirements is the ability to identify the KIRs expressed by individual subjects. KIRs pose many challenges for genotyping: each subject expresses a distinct number of KIRs, there is extensive sequence homology between KIR transcripts, splice variants may be functionally significant, and pseudogenes are common. The cloning-based strategy we employed for allele discovery can be used to provide genotypes of individual subjects; however, this method is labor intensive and will frequently miss low-abundance transcripts due to the limited number of clones examined. Techniques such as sequence-specific PCR (SSP) can be used to identify the presence or absence of a particular gene or allele; however, sequence homology between KIRs complicates primer design, and a large number of primer pairs would be required for comprehensive genotyping. To overcome these limitations, we developed a novel sequence-based typing approach. Recent developments in Roche/454 Titanium pyrosequencing technology have enabled sequencing of cDNA-PCR amplicons with high sensitivity and throughput. To adapt this approach for KIR genotyping, we first identified primer sites that are highly conserved across all published Mamu-KIR3D sequences (Figure 3). These primers amplify a region of 623 bp spanning the majority of D1, all of D2, and part of the stem region. This amplicon was selected to span a polymorphic region of the transcript and to maximize conservation of primers. These primer sites are also conserved amongst most published Mamu-KIR1D alleles--although they will not amplify Mamu-KIR2DL04 sequences, as these lack the D1 region and therefore the 5' primer-binding site. These primers were used for PCR on cDNA derived from total RNA, producing amplicons representing the distinct Mamu-KIR3D and -KIR1D transcripts expressed by each subject. Pyrosequencing of these amplicons produces clonal sequence reads corresponding to individual input transcripts. Collectively, these reads represent the KIRs expressed by the subject, with the exception of Mamu-KIR2DL04. A schematic of this process is shown in Figure 4. KIR 454 Titanium Amplicon Primer Design. A) Schematic representation of macaque KIR3D and KIR2D molecules showing domain structure. B) Variability plot for a cDNA sequence alignment of all published KIR3DL alleles. PCR primer sites are indicated along with the region amplified by PCR. Note that 454 sequencing reads span the D1, D2, and stem (ST) regions. The signal sequence (SS), D0, transmembrane region (T), and cytoplasmic region (C) are not amplified by our PCR primers. Outline of KIR genotyping strategy. The input material is isolated RNA, which will represent all KIRs transcribed by the subject. PCR is performed using conserved KIR-specific primers that add adapter tags. The PCR products are pyrosequenced, producing 1000s of reads, with each read representing a single input molecule. These reads are compared against a reference database of macaque KIR sequences. This analysis produces a list of all KIRs detected per subject, including the relative frequency of each KIR. Using this approach, we genotyped PBMC samples from 61 animals. We detected an average of 1836 total sequence reads per animal, representing an average of 10.7 distinct transcripts per animal. The KIR genotypes of three half-siblings are shown in Figure 5. For each animal, the distinct KIRs detected are shown, along with the relative frequency of each KIR. In most cases, each sequence read unambiguously matched a single KIR allele, providing typing resolution to the allele level. When reads were identical to more than one known KIR, the result is presented either as a set of alleles (ie. Mamu-KIR3DL10*001/004, meaning the animal is positive for either Mamu-KIR3DL10*001 or *004) or as positive for a gene (ie. Mamu-KIR1Dg, meaning the animal has an allele of this gene). The latter is comparable to the level of resolution commonly provided by sequence specific PCR. To validate this technique, we compared the results of pyrosequencing with cloning data (Figure 5 and Additional file 1, Table S3). Because pyrosequencing examines hundreds or thousands of clones, as opposed to the tens of clones generally examined in conventional cloning, the former is able to detect more transcripts per animal, providing a more comprehensive genotype. An example is seen in r95061 with Mamu-KIR3DS06, which was detected by pyrosequencing, but was not detected by cloning. While the 623bp amplicon used in pyrosequencing was frequently able to provide allele-level typing, there are examples for which full-length cloning provided higher resolution typing, as we observe for KIR3DL01*001 and KIR3DL10*004 in r95061 (Figure 5). Differential KIR expression between subjects with a common KIR haplotype. A) KIR genotypes obtained by pyrosequencing are shown for three rhesus macaque half-siblings. The relative expression level of each detected KIR allele is shown. Striped bars indicate alleles present on their shared KIR haplotype. The number of pyrosequencing reads is shown to the left of each graph. B) For r95061, the KIR alleles detected by cDNA cloning are shown. A total of 101 clones were examined. If indicated, the allele detected is listed. A plus sign indicates the genotyping resolution obtained by cloning is identical to the resolution obtained by pyrosequencing. A key advantage of pyrosequencing is that it provides estimates of the relative transcript frequency for each KIR. This is a dimension not usually captured by genotyping techniques. The three animals in Figure 5 share a KIR haplotype containing Mamu-KIR1D, Mamu-KIR3DL1*001, Mamu-KIR3DL10*004 and Mamu-KIR3DS04*002 (Figure 5, striped bars). KIR expression is influenced by the complete KIR and MHC genotype of the subject [10, 17, 39]. Work in humans has shown that KIR genotype is only loosely predictive of KIR RNA expression . While the animals in Figure 5 share one KIR haplotype, their second KIR haplotypes are distinct, and none are MHC identical (data not shown). We observe considerable differences in the expression level of the KIRs on the shared haplotype, which is likely attributable to differences in KIR/MHC genotype. While these findings are not unexpected given the complex regulation of KIR expression, they do underscore the need to examine factors beyond the simple presence or absence of a given KIR. To validate this technique, we examined the reproducibility of KIR expression levels. We performed two independent NK cell preparations from four animals, and two independent PCRs from each cell preparation. The resulting PCR amplicons were pyrosequenced. A graph of the relative expression level of each KIR is shown in Figure 6, with the full data in Additional file 1, Table S4. The frequency of each KIR was highly reproducible between sample preparations and PCR replicates. In every instance for which the average expression of a KIR was greater than 3% of total reads, that KIR transcript was detected in all replicates, demonstrating high sensitivity. It should be noted that transcripts present in less than 3% of total transcripts were missed in some reactions. There was also greater variability in detected expression levels among lower frequency transcripts. Of interest, in three of four animals, a single KIR transcript was dominant, representing greater than 60% of reads. Animal 225-97 was an exception, where four distinct KIRs comprise between 15-20% of the population each. Pyrosequencing produces reproducible frequency estimates for KIR transcripts. Pyrosequencing results from four animals are shown. Per animal, two independent cell preparations were performed, and two independent PCRs were performed per cell preparation. For each replicate, the expression of each KIR is graphed as a percentage of total reads. Bars represent the average and standard deviation among replicates. For animal 225-97 (asterisk), only one cell pellet was available, so only two data points are shown. Another advantage of sequence-based typing, as opposed to techniques such as sequence-specific PCR, is that it is not limited to previously described alleles. From this data we were able to characterize an additional 44 novel partial-length rhesus macaque KIR sequences, 32 of which were found in multiple animals. As was the case with our novel full-length sequences, most novel KIR sequences showed significant sequence homology to the phylogenetic groups defined in Figure 1 (Additional file 1, Table S5), further supporting these putative gene groupings. While the majority of novel sequences were similar to these groups, we also identified two novel sequences, KIRnov03 and KIRnov04, that are similar to Mamu-KIR3DS03, but with a distinctive sequence motif in D1 (Figure 7). These sequences are of interest because they share this motif with a sequence previously found only in cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) (EU419113). The unique residues for these sequences (186-193) correspond to predicted MHC class I binding sites . These sequences may represent an additional macaque KIR gene, or a lineage within KIR3DS03. Novel rhesus macaque KIR sequences share homology with cynomolgus macaque KIRs. Amino acid differences between the consensus sequences for the lineage II Mamu-KIR genes, KIRnov03, KIRnov04 and the Mafa-KIR sequence EU419113 are shown. The amino-acid position is indicated above the amino-acid sequences. The positions in the novel sequences that vary from the consensus are highlighted. Residues predicted to be involved in MHC-binding or alpha-helix loops are indicated below the sequences with B or L respectively. Black shading indicates residues for which no sequence coverage was available. Obtaining comprehensive KIR genotypes from this large cohort allowed us to examine the relative frequency of each KIR gene at the population level (Figure 8A). We combined the pyrosequencing data with full-length cloning data to form a 69-animal cohort. While no KIR gene was present in every animal, Mamu-KIR3DL01 was present in approximately 84% of the cohort, making it the closest approximation to a framework gene in this population. While Mamu-KIR3DL20, -KIR3DL11, and -KIR3DSW08 have been proposed as framework genes for this species, each was present in less than 25% of this cohort . It should be noted that our approach will identify transcribed KIRs only, while Kruse et al. employed sequence-specific PCR from genomic DNA. Our previous work in cynomolgus macaques suggests that Mafa-KIR3DL20 is commonly found as a pseudogene , which would be detected from gDNA, but not mRNA. It is possible some rhesus macaque haplotypes also have Mamu-KIR3DL20 as a pseudogene. While differences in technique may explain some discrepancies, it is also possible that the distinct breeding populations of rhesus macaques have distinctive genetic compositions. Mamu- KIR2DL04 has also been suggested as a framework gene in macaques , although -KIR2DL04 was only identified in 2 of 8 published cynomolgus macaque haplotypes . As noted previously, the primers used in this study select against Mamu-KIR2DL04 transcripts, so we could not determine the presence or absence of this gene. Frequency and relative expression of KIR genes in the rhesus macaque cohort. A) Y-axis indicates the percentage of animals within the cohort (n = 69) that express the indicated KIR gene. Genes not listed were not present in any animal within our cohort. Mamu-KIR2DL04 was excluded since it is not amplified by our pyrosequencing amplicon. B) Graph illustrates the percent of total pyrosequencing reads per animal (n = 61) for each KIR gene. Averages and SEM are represented by error bars. Each animal included had at least 100 sequencing reads. Genotyping results representing less than 1% of total reads in an animal were excluded to mitigate the influence of PCR artifacts. Ambiguous reads matching more than one KIR gene and splice variants were also excluded. Using the pyrosequencing data generated from our cohort of 61 animals, we compared the relative contribution of each KIR gene to the total KIR transcripts identified in each animal (Figure 8B). Although pyrosequencing provides information about the KIR allele, genotyping results were condensed to the gene level for this comparison. The error bars representing the mean and SEM for each gene demonstrate highly variable expression levels for most genes between subjects, with a few KIRs consistently expressed at either high (i.e. Mamu-KIR3DL08) or low (i.e. Mamu-KIR3DSw09) levels. As observed in Figure 5, the expression level of a given KIR gene can differ even between genetically similar subjects and is likely influenced by the complete KIR/MHC genotype of that subject. While it would be interesting to examine the relative expression of each KIR in the context of MHC genotype, macaques can express up to 20 distinct MHC class I transcripts and only a handful of macaque KIR/MHC binding partners have been identified [42, 43]. Therefore this analysis is not practical until physiological macaque KIR/MHC interactions are better understood. While not all members of this cohort had pedigree information available, there were five distinct pedigreed families within the cohort for which segregation analysis was possible, with a total of 46 animals. By performing segregation analysis using genotypes obtained from cloning and pyrosequencing data, we were able to infer the KIR gene content of 9 haplotypes (Figure 9). Because these haplotypes were defined using segregation analyses, the linear order of KIR genes cannot be conclusively determined and the physical map of gene order shown in Figure 9 is arbitrary. It should be noted that this analysis allows only for definition of the minimum number of genes on a given haplotype, as heterozygosity versus homozygosity is sometimes not possible to rigorously determine, and low-level transcripts may not be detected in all animals with a given haplotype . Among our 9 haplotypes, each was unique as compared to previously published rhesus macaque KIR haplotypes, with an average of 4.6 genes present per haplotype (Range: 3-7) [25, 27, 28, 30]. In accordance with previous studies, we noted one incidence of a duplicated KIR3DL gene (Mamu-KIR3DL10) [27, 30]. As described above, there is a notable absence of framework genes among these haplotypes. Mamu-KIR3DL01 represents the most common KIR in our cohort, yet it is present in only 7 of the 9 haplotypes. Novel rhesus macaque KIR haplotypes. KIR genes are indicated along the top axis. The identity of the allele is indicated within the schematic boxes if it was determined. Because data were generated from cDNA expression, only expressed KIRs are shown, and the physical map of gene order is arbitrary. Brackets indicate gene duplication. Since Mamu-KIR2DL04 cannot be amplified by our pyrosequencing amplicon, dotted boxes indicate haplotypes in which a false negative typing for this locus is possible. Killer immunoglobulin-like receptor signaling is implicated in the immune response to numerous human pathogens, yet elucidating the role of KIR mediated signaling in disease pathogenesis is difficult in human subjects. The results of this study advance our understanding of macaque KIRs, enabling the study of KIR activity in this important non-human primate model for many human diseases. This study identified 47 novel full-length rhesus macaque KIRs, a substantial increase in the number of published sequences. Combined with previously published data, our results confirm the existence of 22 common macaque KIR genes, with extensive allelic variation within each gene (Guethlein et al, in preparation). This model of macaque KIR genetics provides an essential framework within which to describe and characterize macaque KIRs. In addition, among the novel sequences found using pyrosequencing, two sequences provide evidence for the existence of either a divergent lineage of Mamu-KIR3DS03 or an additional gene. While no KIR gene was present in all subjects, Mamu-KIR3DL01 was expressed in 84% of subjects and 8 genes were present in >50% of the cohort. This frequency information may be useful to prioritize KIRs for further functional characterization or the design of cohorts. The comparative lack of expressed framework genes is a distinction from human KIR haplotypes, which may be related to differences in MHC-I genetics. Humans express a maximum of six distinct HLA molecules, from 3 genomic loci. Macaques lack MHC-I C, but can express as many as 20 distinct MHC-I A/B alleles . The expansion of macaque lineage II KIR3D loci, with a larger number of loci and few dominant genes, likely mirrors the expansion of macaque MHC-I A/B. We also present a novel pyrosequencing-based approach for KIR genotyping. While this technique was developed in macaques, it could easily be applied to other species, including humans. The ability to characterize the KIR genotype of individual subjects is a basic requirement for the study of KIR function; however, the KIR region presents many challenges for genotyping. The approach we present comprehensively identifies the expressed KIR transcripts and provides a semi-quantitative measure of the relative expression level for each KIR. Our data demonstrate that even subjects sharing a KIR haplotype can have widely different expression levels of these shared KIRs. NK cells undergo complex regulation of KIR expression [10, 17]. NK clones expressing fewer distinct KIRs can have a reduced activation threshold under certain conditions, resulting in enhanced NK cell activity . The relative expression of each KIR therefore provides potentially important functional information. While this and other recent studies have advanced our understanding of the genetic organization and diversity of macaque KIRs, KIR activity must be understood in the context of MHC genotype. The limited knowledge of functional KIR/MHC binding partners remains a key obstacle. Recent work has identified multiple macaque KIR/MHC-I interactions, including allotypes of Mamu-KIR3DL05, -KIR3DLW03, -KIR3DL11 and -KIR3DS05 [43, 46]. Preliminary evidence suggests the residues of the Bw4/Bw6 motifs influence KIR/MHC binding in macaques, although the important residues differ from those in humans. Expanding the number of identified KIR/MHC partners and further defining the motifs necessary for macaque KIR/MHC interaction remains essential for the advancement of the field. The data and techniques presented here have implications for the study of many diseases using rhesus macaques as a model system and for the KIR field as a whole. The ability to study KIRs in a nonhuman primate model creates an opportunity for significant advancement in our understanding of KIRs in human disease. The novel high-throughput KIR genotyping method we developed has implications for many species, including potential application in humans, and the approach could be adapted for other polymorphic immune loci. 1 A note on nomenclature: KIR nomenclature reflects both the domain structure and gene designation of the sequence. For example, an allele named "KIR3DL01*001" denotes a KIR with 3 extracellular immunoglobulin-like domains (3D). The "L" indicates that this allele's protein product has a long, inhibitory cytoplasmic tail, while an "S" would instead indicate that the protein product had a short, activating cytoplasmic tail. The next two digits refer to the gene, in this case KIR3DL01. Finally, the digits after the asterisk, "001" in this example, refer to the specific allele. 2 Human KIRs are divided into four lineages. Lineage I includes KIR2D genes having a D0 (immunoglobulin-like domain 0) plus D2 configuration such as KIR2DL4 and KIR2DL5; lineage II includes the KIR3DL genes that bind MHC-A and -B epitopes; lineage III includes KIR3D or KIR2D genes with a D1 plus D2 domain configuration that bind MHC-C epitopes, and lineage V is represented by KIR3DL3. Lineage IV, which included Mamu-KIR3DL01 and Mamu-KIR3DL10, was originally described in Rajalingam, et al. . Further work has instead grouped these KIRs into lineage II and removed lineage IV . We thank Roger Wiseman and Simon Lank for advising on technical aspects of this study and for thoughtful comments on this manuscript. We also thank Chris Wright and the staff of the University of Illinois High Throughput Sequencing Center. Finally, we thank Jon Warren and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for support. The contents of this manuscript are solely attributed to the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the research sponsors. This publication was made possible in part by grants P51 RR000167 and P51 RR000168 from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the NIH, to the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center and the New England Primate Research Center, respectively along with R24 RR021745 to D.H.O., AI071306 to R.P.J. and AI24258 to PP. Development of KIR pyrosequencing was also supported by the NIH/NIAID Reagent Resource Support Program for AIDS Vaccine Development, Quality Biological, Inc., Gaithersburg, MD. The project was also supported by CHAVI/HVTN Early Career Investigator award, grant number U19 AI 067854-04, to R.K.R. AJM was involved in data collection, data analysis and writing the manuscript. LAG and PP performed data analysis and assisted with manuscript writing. RKR performed NK cell sample preparations and was involved in the experimental design. KWB performed statistical analysis of pyrosequencing data. RPJ and DHO provided grant support and were involved in the experimental design. BNB was involved in experimental design, data collection, data analysis and manuscript writing. All authors have read and approve the final manuscript.

2019-04-19T17:12:13Z

https://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2164-12-295

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Witness the spectacular and unique landscape of the Red Centre, and discover its rich cultural history, including Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon.Kata Tjuta Uluru And Kings Canyon. Red Rocket Alice Springs To Darwin - 4WD Safari Tour with Adventure Leader. Combining all the wonderful attractions of the Northern Territory, visit the World Heritage listed Uluru National Park, the fascinating top end parks, gorges and waterfalls and enjoy a true Australian outback experience. Red Rocket Alice Springs To Darwin. Red Rocket Darwin To Alice Springs - 4WD Safari Tour with Adventure Leader. Combining all the wonderful attractions of the Northern Territory, visit the World Heritage listed Uluru National Park, the fascinating top end parks, gorges and waterfalls and enjoy a true Australian outback experience. Red Rocket Darwin To Alice Springs. National Parks Explorer - Luxury Coach Tour with Adventure Leader. Explore the National Parks of Central Australia and discover an amazing landscape rich in cultural history.National Parks Explorer. Red Centre Small Group Experience Adventure - Luxury Small Coach Tour with Activities. This is the perfect introduction to the Australian outback with an opportunity to experience amazing natural wonders and cultural activities giving you a good insight into the ‘Red Centre via a small group luxury coach experience.Red Centre Small Group Experience Adventure. Red Centre Small Group Explorer - Luxury Coach Tour with Informative Commentary. This is the perfect introduction to the Australian outback with an opportunity to experience amazing natural wonders and cultural activities giving you a good insight into the ‘Red Centre.Red Centre Small Group Explorer. Cloud 9 Alice Springs To Darwin - Adventure Tour with Activities. Explore the unique ‘Red Centre and the Northern Territory top end. 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Explore the unique ‘Red Centre and the Northern Territory top end. Visit flourishing National Parks that are home to gorgeous waterfalls, vast gorges, and amazing landmarks such as Ayres Rock. Darwin To Alice Springs. Territory In Depth Alice Springs To Darwin - 4WD Adventure Tour with Activities. Explore the unique ‘Red Centre and the Northern Territory top end. Visit flourishing National Parks that are home to gorgeous waterfalls, vast gorges, and amazing landmarks such as Ayres Rock. Territory In Depth Alice Springs To Darwin. Kimberley And Outback Ex Broome - Luxury Coach and Camping Tour with Activities. Voyage inland from the beautiful beaches of Broome, meandering your way through the breathtaking landscape of the Kimberley and the outback, camping in unique towns along the way, before arriving in Ayers Rock. Kimberley And Outback Ex Broome. Around Alice And The Rock - 4WD Safari Tour. An extended tour around Alice Springs with an experienced guide.Around Alice And The Rock. Red Centre Premium Touring - Luxury Coach Tour with Informative Commentary. This is the perfect introduction to the Australian outback with an opportunity to experience amazing natural wonders and cultural activities giving you a good insight into the ‘Red Centre.Red Centre Premium Touring. Outback Adventure - Adventure Tour. Experience the true Australian outback as you journey from tropical Darwin to to Uluru, the heart of the Red Centre.Outback Adventure. Outback And Kimberley Ex Ayers Rock - Luxury Coach Tour with Cruise and activities. Journey through the impressive countryside of the Northern Territory and Western Australia on a camping adventure, from Ayers Rock to Broome, visiting all the unique towns and attractions along the way. Outback And Kimberley Ex Ayers Rock. Spirit Of The Outback - 4WD Tour with Informative Commentary. The perfect tour to see the sights of the Australian Outback.Spirit Of The Outback. Outback And Kings Canyon Explorer - Adventure Tour with Activities. Explore the unique ‘Red Centre visiting the celebrated Ayers Rock, the vast MacDonnell Ranges and the amazing, sheer walls of Kings Canyon. Be amongst nature as you witness marvellous sunsets and flora and fauna in its natural habitatOutback And Kings Canyon Explorer. Nor West Adventure - Luxury Coach and Cruise Tour with Informative Commentary. See the best of the dramatic North-West frontier region on this luxury coach tour. Nor West Adventure. Uluru Odyssey Tour - Adventure Tour with Guide. Explore the unique ‘Red Centre visiting the celebrated Ayers Rock, the vast MacDonnell Ranges and the amazing, sheer walls of Kings Canyon. Be amongst nature as you witness marvellous sunsets and flora and fauna in its natural habitat.Uluru Odyssey Tour. The Red Centre Tour - Adventure Tour with Guide. 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This tour encapsulates the beauty of the Australian Outback with a focus on experiencing breathtaking landscapes and natural wonders as well as a host of educational and entertaining activities.Outback Panorama. Central Australia And Longitude 131 Explorer - Adventure Tour with Guide. Experience luxury in the outback, as you stay at comfortable resorts nestled amongst the inspiring nature of the ‘Red Centre. Learn about Aboriginal pastimes and culture and visit picturesque gorges, National Parks and many more attractions.Central Australia And Longitude 131 Explorer. Outback Wonders Adelaide To Darwin - Luxury Coach Tour with Informative Commentary. This comprehensive bottom to top tour of Australia will introduce you to some unique nature, towns and cultures as well as a host of fun and entertaining trip activities run by experienced professionals.Outback Wonders Adelaide To Darwin. Dreamtime Artists - Scenic flight and tour . 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Extended tours can include accommodation and transport where indicated, tours may be available travelling to or from Alice Springs one way, as well as Alice Springs start finish return to base. Discover Australia has the deals!

2019-04-25T00:45:21Z

https://www.discoveraustralia.com.au/northern_territory_holidays_visiting/alice_springs_tours/

Brian Uzzi and Shannon Dunlap tell an introductory story in their study in the Harvard Business Review article, “How to Build a Network,” about the well known Paul Revere as an historic figure in America. They then ask the question about the reader’s familiarity with William Dawes. Apparently, he and Paul Revere rode from Boston on April 18, 1775 in separate directions with the same goal of letting everyone know about the beginning of the Revolutionary War. I say apparently because I had no idea who William Dawes was. The point the authors were making was how much more effective Paul Revere was in his networking ability. Our society and culture have a great willingness to socially network through Facebook, LinkedIn, texting, and many other means. We have exponential links to good friends and colleagues, and are even willing to connect with many people we barely know—and in many cases people we don’t know at all. However, social networking has evolved into its own culture and comfort level for people of all ages. When it comes to networking within your own company, I have found an uncomfortable hesitation among the employee base. We are willing to socially network with virtually millions, but we do not go beyond our own boss or our boss’s boss when it could help our career immensely. When discussing and presenting networking, I often ask how many are in mentor relationships. I usually get a decent response. When I ask the question, “How many of you have met with your mentor within the last month?” most hands go down. I think we feel the comfort of saying we have mentors, but many of these relationships quickly become inactive or dormant. We should maximize all mentor relationships as a networking springboard. Specifically, we should not only be gleaning advice and learning during these sessions, but we should always be asking questions, such as, “Who do you think I can meet with to learn about (fill in any subject here)?” and, “Do you think (fill in leader’s name) knows who I am?” If you have a mentor, make it an active relationship and use it to build your network. Why can’t we use the same tenacity for professional networking that we might with social networking? I am not naïve enough to think that company employees do not sit around the water coolers and conference tables talking about people. Much of this conversation is comparing one person to another. Whether the judgments are performance based, potential based, or skills based, these conversations are happening daily all around us. This comment is not to make you paranoid about interacting with others or about being yourself. The comment is to make you realize that each day presents an opportunity for you to promote yourself in the eyes of the people making decisions. It does not mean doing cartwheels up and down the aisles to get someone’s attention, but it should cause you to realize that you have a professional obligation to represent the company well, and also present yourself in a way in which you can be recognized and grow. First impressions are lasting. Lasting impressions may be all someone has when your name comes up in a conversation. The key message is to take a proactive approach to building your network and making others aware of what you have to offer. During one of my mid-year conversations, my manager told me about a conversation that had taken place around a conference table when names were being discussed for future positions. She asked me, “How many of the fifteen leaders around the table did you know?” I thought I did well when I said I knew about twelve of them. She said, “That leaves three leaders you don’t know.” She then asked, “Of the twelve people you do know, do you truly know them, do you know of them, or do you just know their names?” I said I truly knew maybe half of them. Therefore, my revised number was six out of fifteen people who could adequately make decisions about my future. She said I had work to do. We continued the conversation. She reversed the questions and asked, “How many around the table know you well enough to speak intelligently about you and what you’ve accomplished?” The number was embarrassingly low. She emphasized a point I already knew: I had work to do. I instantly built time into my calendar to meet with a senior leader once a month. Every time I have done this, I ask who else I should talk to, and every time I seem to get at least three more names. My list is long, but the effort is worth it and has been extremely beneficial in my growth. I received more calls from senior leaders in the first year of doing this than I had in the previous nineteen years. My boss shared this story because she was almost burned herself. Her mentor was in on one of those conversations about future moves and my boss’s name came up. When her name was mentioned, her immediate manager said nothing. An extremely bright and talented individual was about to have her moment in the sun dismissed either because the manager did not like her, was in a bad mood, was intimidated by her own peers, did not hear the question, or simply just because. We can continue with the excuses all day long, but the point is that none of us can leave all of our eggs in our manager’s basket, even if we have the highest regard for that manager. The mentor stepped in and sang her praises. Do you know what your manager would say about you if he or she had a chance? Are you sure? If you do not know that answer, or you are not sure, get to know the answer. There should be no surprises (good or bad). Communicate with your manager…often. What if your manager called out sick that day? Make sure he or she is talking with others about you, too. It is all right to ask this question, if you have built a strong relationship. You need to set the tone for yourself on these types of settings to significantly increase your control of your own career. Most people are not doing enough to network because they are unsure of the value or definition. Networking is not “kissing up,” as some people like to put it. Networking is not even intentional job searching. Networking allows you to understand how to better maneuver through the complexity of the business and the culture by improving partnerships, building bridges, finding integration points, and sharing best practices. Additionally, networking is making you stronger in the eyes of the decision makers and leaders. Unfortunately, all of this takes time and energy. I have found that people begin this trek only after they see a potential job opening arise. By this time, it is often too late. When I started my first job in which I had no one reporting to me, I enjoyed the freedom of being on my own—until I realized that I had limited power to influence unless I networked and built partnerships. My job was the task force to assess employee attrition. I had no choice but to see the value of networking to achieve my goals to retain more people. I had to hit the circuit and speak to as many managers and frontline people as possible to ensure that I understood their opinions and feelings. Networking was beginning to get fun. There were points of views I would have never come up with on my own. I needed networking, and together with the management team, business partners, and frontline associates in other areas of the company, we were making a collective dent in reducing people voluntarily leaving our company. So, after you come to the realization that networking is beneficial, the natural question is, “How do you start a conversation with someone you don’t know? They’re going to think I am crazy. How do I start?” The answer is simple. Be honest and straightforward. Explain what goal you want to accomplish in the meeting. The person you want to network with should understand if your goal is to learn a different part of the business, to meet someone new, to job shadow, or to job search. The reasons may vary, and all are good for your growth. The constant, however, is always coming back to building an exponentially expanding network—make sure this is clearly stated to the person with whom you are meeting. Networking, if done right, can and should work for you after the meeting has ended. Two things made the difference for me when I first started networking. The first two people I spoke with told me to contact them in a few months to give them progress reports. I didn’t believe them or think it was a real request. When that incredible but nagging boss of mine asked if I had followed up with them yet, I said that I had not. I called them both later that week, and found out they had truly meant it. When I did it, one of them said, “You made my day,” while the other said that he was excited about my progress and had already heard about some of my successes. The second thing that made a difference for me was when I thanked one of the people I networked with for his time and told him how much I had learned. He stopped me and said “thank you” to me for investing time with them. He told me that he got just as excited meeting someone new and adding them to his contact list. In addition, he told me how excited he was to share his business story with others. One of my first network contacts said to this person, “You should talk to Tom at some point. I think he may have something to offer to you.” He said, “I already did, and I hired him.” I was not shopping for a job. I now understand that the nature of one person talking to another is really one person talking to many others. It is funny how things work when you are proactive and assertive, and even push yourself outside your comfort level just a little bit. Dots quickly get connected and people in your network connect with people outside your network to become a part of it. Compelling research shows that people most often leave their manager, not the company. I spent almost two years solely dedicated to researching the topic of employee retention. I served on a one-person task force with a mission to “fix the attrition problem” we were having in our department of over two thousand people. As a call center, high voluntary turnover is somewhat expected, but my research found far too many easy ways to keep people. I invested a significant amount of time with management in the ten different sites in which we worked at the time. The goal was to ensure that I understood the root causes, and they understood the potential countermeasures to retain their people. It was clear that some managers needed to truly understand how delicate their relationships were with the people they worked with and how easily we lost good people. As an immature manager in my earlier days, I could empathize with a lack of understanding to the criticality of a strong bond. Sometimes, managers of the people on the front line who deal directly with customers, for example, look only at their immediate team. If someone leaves, it’s no big deal—they will get someone new and move on. Outside of the investment expense and effort to retrain, however, we are at risk of losing the knowledge a person leaving had, and, worse, are allowing many of these great people to potentially move on to a competitor. According to Leigh Branham in the book The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave, she writes, “89% of managers said they believe that employees leave and stay mostly for the money. Yet, my own research, along with Saratoga Institute’s surveys of almost 20,000 workers… and the research of dozens of other studies, reveal that actually 80 to 90 percent of employees leave for reasons related NOT to money, but to the job, the manager, the culture, or the work environment.” Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans stated in the book, Love ’Em or Lose ’Em that, “A 25-year-long Gallup Organization study based on interviews with 12-million workers at 7,000 companies also found that the relationship with a manager largely determines the length of an employee’s stay.” Both references clearly indicate how much impact a manager has on retaining an employee. During my research, I found that employees typically don’t leave over an event, but add up multiple “little” events prior to making the decision to go. An employee may claim she left over a performance appraisal score, but it was most likely just the straw that broke the camel’s back. She was most likely formulating thoughts to leave long before that discussion. The decision to leave typically festers over time as people gradually change their thoughts of leaving into taking action. The time it takes varies from days to weeks to months, and is contingent on many factors, including the economy, presence of a reliable back-up plan, and the employee’s tolerance level with what is going on. The employee often disengages from work responsibilities, culture, and management. This disengagement time frame will vary based on the severity of what the employee is up against, both personally and professionally. The responsibility clearly resides with the manager to identify the warning signs as far in advance as possible prior to a person making the commitment to communicate his or her intentions to leave. Once that announcement is made, it is most likely too late to save them. This is a key factor in knowing the people you work with and knowing when to intervene. The organization has the obligation to invest the time and make the effort to save people who want to be there (and are performing or have the potential to perform). They obviously were good enough to hire, and deserve the effort. Sometimes, the person may just be in the wrong position. How many managers are willing to invest the time to find the right fit in the company? As an inexperienced leader, I remember saying, “Who needs that person anyway?” The company does. I have heartburn every time I think of the number of potential people who left the company on my account. I don’t think the number is too large, but anything more than zero is too many. Once, a young woman said to me that she was having personal issues and needed to talk. I said that I would be glad to talk after I got back from my meeting. She said it was important, but I chose not to listen. When I got back from the meeting—which was not very important—the person quit, and I never heard from her again. She had been a consistent performer and needed someone to listen to her issues. I saw the obvious sign but did not attach the appropriate urgency to it. I’m sure a couple of minutes could have saved her. I vowed to never let that happen again. A couple of years later, I received a message that a woman who had worked for me for a short period of time had quit without notice. She had come in to let us know and had already left. I took a chance and ran down to the Human Resources office and found she was wrapping up with them. I asked for a couple of minutes with her—a couple of minutes I could not have bothered with years earlier, when I chose to ignore another pleading person. We spoke for a while. She was having personal issues at home and also felt she lacked the appropriate support at work, since she was only an average performer. I knew she could perform well if she was focused. I asked her to go home and commit to coming back the next day, and we would work out a plan together. The honest and mutually direct conversation built a bond that grew as time went on. She became a consistent performer and eventually moved on to another line of business in which she became a top performer. I see her in the halls every once in a while and I burst with pride. I am proud of her staying with the company for an additional twelve years and still going. I am proud that I refused to allow my stubbornness, at the time, to allow her to leave. She was good for the company then, and is great for the company now. I just didn’t know how much at the time. Whether it is moving the person to another area, moving them to another manager, or working on building the relationship between yourself or an employee, the tough part is being attentive enough to see the signs and courageous enough to take action to save them. It is too easy to say he or she is just having a bad day and we’ll talk later or, worse, we’ll get another good person. Before you say, “Oh, well, ” you might want to first contact the people who need to invest in the recruiting to get them, the trainers who will teach them, and all of their new surrounding teammates who will invest time in bringing them up the learning curve. Make the effort to retain and save good people. The relationship between managers and employees is critical to everyone’s success. Ask yourself if what you are so worried about at this very moment is the highest priority? Priorities are funny things. There are differences between urgent and important matters. There are fires that have to be put out, and people are busy and stressed and have to get stuff done yesterday. I worked with a manager peer once who was obsessed with what people were wearing to work. He was the unofficial dress code monitor. At the time, we had a dress guideline, and not necessarily a dress code. However, he managed his work environment with the unwritten code of men being required to wear ties. He kept bringing the same person into his office to address why the employee wore a sweater over his dress shirts as opposed to wearing a tie. He had this conversation many times with the same individual. The sweater guy either chose not to conform, could not afford to conform, or just didn’t understand the feedback (I doubt this was the case). The person was dressed nicely, but was not dressed the way his manager felt he needed to be. The amount of time and energy spent on monitoring what was worn and the wasted conversations could have been targeted toward higher priority issues. For example, there were employee dissatisfaction concerns and morale issues caused by being micro-managed for lower priority things. The person he was hounding was a decent performer and could have done without this type of counseling. Sweater Guy had no desire to move up from where he was and was content with coming into work every day, apparently prepared to mentally torment his manager. The irony is that the dress code changed a few years later to casual dress, including jeans. Now the person who received the feedback is overdressed compared to his colleagues. I once had a boss who gave me a goal to recruit and hire twenty people per month for our department. I lived in a somewhat sparsely populated area and recruiting was often difficult. My team managed to hire about fifteen to eighteen highly qualified people per month and felt proud of our efforts. I realize the importance of goals and the need to exceed them. However, this particular goal was set because it was a nice round number, not because it mathematically met the business needs. Each month my pride would be crushed because I was a couple of people short. The number twenty became my manager’s priority, and he lost his perspective relating to the quality of the hires and the impact his aggressive goal would have on stealing recruits from other departments we worked with. I had to make marginal hires to meet the number. These couple of extra hires per month met the goal, but caused heartache for the trainers because of some borderline attitudes, marginal performance, and higher attrition that had to be dealt with. As recruiters, we became overly competitive and were internally fighting to make sure we got a candidate that was breathing. The extra pressure we put on achieving our own goals soured our relationships with other recruiters and our HR partners. I wish I was strong enough at the time to set the appropriate priorities by setting the appropriate goal based on our actual business need and capacity. I also could have stood up to my manager by presenting these facts and ensuring he noticed the teamwork needed to accomplish the goal, and emphasized the quality of the people hired was first and foremost the top priority. I identified what our priorities were, but I needed to effectively communicate them to my manager. Alternatively, one of my favorite managers was considered a leader in the industry in his field. He was bright, communicated effectively, and was clearly leading his team to many wins. He found out that his mother was dying and only had a few months to live. During those few months, I was amazed at his willingness to drop everything to ensure that her last days were happy. He flew her on a long journey to visit with family for the last time, and made many visits during work hours to her home and hospital—both were over an hour away. I instantly gained more respect for his ability to realize that the job would go on without him. He made himself available for urgent matters, but knew he would never get that time back with his mother. By making himself available for urgent matters but giving us a clear direction to keep the business moving, we knew he trusted us to get the job done and that he was there for us. His mother died with dignity and respect, and with the pride that she raised a great son. He had the right perspective to not just say that his family was important, but lead by example for all to see. He taught us to set the right priorities and to have the right perspective. Built to Last is a book about eighteen “visionary companies.” These admired companies were recognized for their ability to “prosper over long periods of time, through multiple product life cycles and multiple generations of active leaders.” The authors, James Collins and Jerry Porras, wrote, “Indeed, all of the visionary companies in our study faced setbacks and made mistakes at some point during their lives…Yet…visionary companies display a remarkable resiliency, and ability to bounce back from adversity.” Companies that failed to exhibit flexibility may have had short-term success, but lacked sustainability. I’m sure it’s not hard to forget the dot-com era. My father worked for Sears Roebuck & Company for over twenty-five years. I grew up with the story of the stability of a company that thrived in the retail business for many years. I remember growing up with my Christmas holidays revolving around the Sears catalog. I remember conversations with my father about the history of the catalog and how it was here to stay. I also remember how long they took to adapt to using credit cards outside their Sears card or making decisions to sell other brands besides their own. Their inability to change with the times and their insistence on sticking with tradition cost them profits and many people lost their jobs as business models changed in the 1970s and 1980s in the retail space. Their business model was caught up in tradition and lacked the flexibility to adapt with the times. Sears has since adapted in many ways, but they are in a much more competitive retail environment with the likes of Walmart, Target, and now Amazon and other online retailers everywhere. I personally have averaged about a year and a half per position within my own company. I always wondered if people really wanted me or if they just wanted me to move away. I have come to the realization that it was a little of both, depending on where I was in my maturity, my job knowledge, and my ability to help the business. In my constant changing of positions, I always found my adaptability to be one of my strengths. As a child growing up, my family moved out of state on eight occasions. My ability to integrate myself into a new environment grew easier over time—first in school, and then professionally. When someone recommended The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins, I was instantly hooked on the idea of how methodical Watkins’s message was with respect to what needs to be accomplished when taking on a new role. According to Watkins, it is important to “promote yourself,” “accelerate your learning,” “secure early wins,” and many other key tenets. I realized that I was forced to transition so many times in my life that I had gotten used to living in a flexible manner, but probably not in the most efficient or effective way. I liked having the reference at my fingertips, so I pinned the book description up in my office, which contains a “roadmap for creating your 90-day acceleration plan.” I refer to it often when I need a clear plan of attack in a new role or a new assignment, which has been often. I have recommended this book to everyone I have known who was taking on a new job. The message in the book is clear as to how much a company and an individual can lose if the transition to a new job fails. The book emphasizes the acceleration needed to be nimble as you begin your new adventure. It is sad but true that people come and go in any company. In smaller companies, there may be less movement between roles and positions over time. However, people move out of town, employees retire, some quit, some are laid off, and others are unfortunately fired. Being prepared for new situations is important for anyone’s success. As mentioned in the introduction, “Change is inevitable, growth is optional.” How you react to the employee movement—the constant movement in some cases—can make or break your ability to grow professionally. You may grow despondent because you have lost close friends, you may be frozen because there is too much work to do, and you may get tired of teaching new people what needs to be done. All of these examples are the negative approaches to change. Your personal growth comes in your ability to transform yourself to meet the challenge head-on. As you begin to ebb and flow with the changes, you, too, will be seen as a go-to person in times of crisis and change. If you have close friends who may have left the company, you can seek out their assistance as outside mentors and seek their objective point of view. If there is too much work to do, put together the business case for more resources, find efficiency opportunities, and find effective ways to delegate and spread the work. If there is a constant influx of new hires, come up with a clear plan of action to rotate the responsibilities, tighten up the training guides, and enjoy the fresh perspective staring you in the face. I have been through multiple jobs and managers. My former company has gone through multiple CEOs and has been through multiple acquisitions prior to me losing my job due to cost cuts. All were potentially traumatic events for me personally, and for any company as a whole. I know for a fact that I have come out stronger because of them, and because I adapted my attitude as the events were happening. I am convinced that if any of these events occurred in my first five years, I would have reacted differently, including overreacting with a negative approach. You may have heard the phrase often said in business, “If you are not moving forward, you are moving backward.” You have a choice to keep going with the flow, or stay behind. Your ability to be flexible and adaptable is critical to your success. I began to understand that discrepancy in what I wanted and what some people wanted to give. I wanted a top performer out of everyone. I needed to understand that everyone was giving their best and it was my job to work closely with the individuals to figure out what needed to be done to get them there. I felt obligated to maximize the effort and performance, and to drive greater consistency. As I learned over time, effort and performance are like opinions, and they will often differ. Many times, the effort and performance can be sporadic in some individuals, while you watch the solid rocks of your teams perform day in and day out. If a consistent performer is struggling on that rare day, it typically becomes very obvious. As a leader, we should work with the person to understand the root cause of these short-term struggles and offer our support. Many times, there is no need to micro-manage a person like this. The attention given asking, “Are you all right,” may be enough. Providing assistance may also be as easy as letting someone work through it on their own and letting them know you are there to help, if needed. Performance managers should not allow this to be the easy way out every time. However, if you know your people well enough, you will develop a good sense of when to interject and when to just check in. The message is to ensure that you are not blanketing everyone with the same type of feedback. You can also never go wrong with extra encouragement. It is the individual’s ability to cope and break through that may make the difference. Individuals respond to certain methods differently and how you have built the relationship is important. Please note that this does not have to be a manager-employee relationship. It can be peers we work with, in whom we have noticed a dip in performance. The key is to understand what the root cause for the variation in performance is, and what we can do to fix it. It is important to understand as early in the given day as possible if you feel someone is not performing at his or her best. Neither of you want the whole day wasted. I have seen too many managers wait until the end of the day to say something because they didn’t notice until the end-of-day statistics came out, or felt too busy to offer a simple encouraging word or tap someone on the shoulder and let them know they were there for support. In these cases, eight hours could have gone by causing a non-productive day that must now be written off. Even if the effort was there but the performance was not, the lack of attention during those troubled times may hurt the overall team, and may cause further frustration for the person and send them into a longer slump. If I am dealing with a person who consistently struggles, I need to better understand what motivates the person, what his or her skill set is, and change the way I am working with them. If I have gone to the same well over and over, I need to ask what I can do differently. Notice that I said what “I” can do differently. I may bark the same instructions or use the same canned motivation to drive the person. If it is not working, I need to change. Creativity is important. I can’t give up on them. I personally see it as my own failure if someone struggles with his or her performance, and it is my obligation to fix it. Early in my career, this perspective was because I thought I would be looked at negatively by upper management. As the years went on, I felt the challenge of breaking through with all performers and building each individual relationship as my own motivation. I banged my head on the wall about a particular individual who seemed to not get it. His frustration level and constant low performance made it look like he wasn’t trying. He simply froze when speaking with customers on the phone. He said he wanted to do well, but his efforts did not exhibit this. The individual said he felt that he wasn’t getting answers to make him better and felt he lacked direction from me. I felt like I had invested far too much time with him and it was time to put my efforts elsewhere on the team. We were at an impasse. I knew I did not want to give up on him, but I felt I could not sacrifice the rest of the team for this individual. I almost did give up. I tried to get him into another department, and asked if he really wanted to be with the company. I woke up one morning and said I was going back to basics. I decided to try a different tack. I started asking him more open ended questions. I know he mentioned that he wasn’t getting enough direction from me, but I decided to provide him with even less. I needed his buy-in. I asked what he thought his issues were by asking him simpler questions. I had previously been too targeted with my questions, many of which were assumptive in nature. I assumed I knew the issue and thought I was providing remedies to my self-diagnosed symptoms. What I failed to accomplish was getting to the real root causes. I began to ask if the struggles were in the phone conversations themselves. Was it the selling to our customers? Was it the computer system? I knew he may not be able to put his finger on it, but I could act as a detective to diagnose where to start—but only after I had his buy-in to be part of the solution. It is easy to have the poor performer sit next to other top performers and say, “Do what I do.” People learn at different paces and in different ways. Some like classroom learning, others like visual stimulation, while many just like to be thrown in and just start doing it themselves. We can’t blanketly teach each person the same way. In that case, the two of us began to rearrange how the computer system looked on the screen. We put certain applications in the front that he seemed to reference more often and placed other applications in the background that he didn’t use as much but could get to quickly, if needed. We both had an immediate epiphany. He had been overwhelmed with his own system set-up. His frustration translated into mincing words with customers because he was worried about where to go next on the screen. This impacted his ability to sell the most suitable products to meet the customers’ needs. This simple change in his screen set-up created an almost immediate superstar top performer. His confidence level climbed and he significantly exceeded his performance expectations. He was making a difference on the team and was quickly becoming a leader. He came from the verge of elimination to the top of the podium.

2019-04-22T17:06:31Z

https://www.transformationtom.com/2018/10/

Squeezing into a wobbly four-seater propeller plane is the only way to reach the tiny tribe of Tyonek, tucked deep in the roadless Alaskan wilderness. Gliding above the long mudflats and the serpentine curves of streams, I spot the fat white backs of beluga whales surfacing at the mouth of a river and an island covered by sunning sea lions. As the plane gets closer, the mudflats give way to swamps, which give way to dense evergreens. A towering mountain range materializes from the clouds, and, nestled in an inlet, the gently meandering lines of the Chuitna River come into focus. This is the place where a coal company backed by a wealthy Texas family — one whose fabled legacy of gambling on energy markets extends back to a game of cards with an oil rig at stake — wants to sink a 300-foot-deep coal mine over 30 square miles of wetlands and forest. The $700 million project, commonly called the Chuitna mine, currently masquerades under the guise of a tiny Alaskan coal company called PacRim. If the project goes forward, it would all but obliterate Tyonek tribe’s fishing and hunting grounds. With the locals deeply opposed, the controversy over the Chuitna mine raises another, deeper question: Why, in 2016, is anyone willing to go to such lengths for a dirty and dying industry? The signs of coal’s demise are everywhere, from Wall Street to the campaign trail. “The U.S. coal industry is in worse economic straits than it has been since the rise of the industry,” says Robert N. Stavins, director of Harvard University’s Environmental Economics Program. The facts are stark: Coal prices in most major U.S. producing regions have fallen about 50 percent over the past five years. In the beginning of 2016, U.S. coal production declined by 29 percent over 10 weeks compared to the same period the previous year. Exports from the U.S. plummeted by nearly a quarter last year. From the outside, it looks like the end is nigh. Three of America’s four largest coal companies — Peabody Energy Corp., Arch Coal Inc., and Alpha Natural Resources — have declared bankruptcy in the past year. Coal plants, which are the country’s largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions, are hemorrhaging employees. And natural gas is fast outpacing coal as the most popular fuel for U.S. electricity generation. But what about Asia — isn’t the continent still coal crazy as it industrializes and increases its energy needs? For many years, coal companies were counting on Asia to be their savior, but even there, projections for endless growth in coal imports have fizzled. India’s coal imports have tanked amid calls by the country’s energy minister to cut them off completely, while China’s coal consumption is slowing as the economy turns toward cleaner fuel. Japan may have brought in record-high coal imports last year, but its consumption is minuscule compared to China. “Projections are flattening as we move forward,” says Diane Kearney, an analyst who studies coal for the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The bigger geopolitical picture doesn’t help, either: The December signing of the landmark Paris climate agreement spells bad news for coal expansion in developing countries. This, coupled with the emissions restrictions coming from the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, has created a tough environment for the coal industry. Click the map to embiggen, and read more here about these controversial projects. And yet, across the United States, coal executives are pushing forward on more than a handful of new coal projects, including mines, export terminals, railway lines, and power plants. In the fight over coal’s final frontier, it’s coal-hungry billionaires in one corner, vulnerable communities in the other. If coal companies win, it’s lose-lose for the rest of us. Communities in their way will be trampled, and the planetary implications are startling: The greenhouse gases released by these coal projects could ensure that no currently feasible climate solution can ever succeed. Despite this bleak outlook, coal companies are playing the long game. “There’s still going to be a lot of coal burned in America, and an awful lot burned across the world,” says Colin Marshall, CEO of Cloud Peak Energy, America’s third-largest coal producer. It’s easy to understand why people whose fortunes depend on coal would be rooting for it to rebound. But it means that communities like the tiny Tyonek tribe remain trapped, forced to wonder what will die first: a doomed and destructive industry, or their way of life. Art Standifer is talking about the Chuitna mine project at a tribal council meeting in a log cabin in July. He’s wearing a shirt that says “World’s Greatest Papa.” There’s a gumball machine to his right, and he’s eating Pringles. If approved, the Chuitna coal mine would be a leviathan. Standifer and the rest of the council painted the scene throughout the meeting: PacRim’s power shovels and dump trucks would trundle over the grasses, pulling down the shore pines and balsams, rolling them over the river’s watery bogs. The drills would dig into 14 miles of stream and send salmon fleeing one of two ways: upriver, back toward the spawning grounds where they were born, or downriver, toward the ocean where they spend their adult lives. One group will die, trapped upriver; the other will never make it back to reproduce. Where the salmon once swam would sit an enormous coal mine, surrounded by an access road, a 10,000-foot elevated coal conveyor, an airstrip, a logistics center, and a brand new export terminal. The machines would burrow into the surface to reach a sparkling, black seam of ultra-low sulfur sub-bituminous coal — 300 million metric tons of it, to be exact. Layer by layer, the coal would tumble into trucks that would drive it to a conveyor belt to the sea. Some 500 workers in hard hats would gut the land like a salmon, and then float its innards 3,000 miles away to be burned in “countries in the Pacific Rim, Indonesia, India, and Chile,” according to PacRim’s website. The first stage of the project is scheduled to last 25 years, but that wouldn’t be the end of it. The surrounding land, leased from the Alaska Mental Health Trust property, is expected to yield 1 billion metric tons of coal. PacRim owns a total of 20,571 acres of coal leases in the area — a swath that it could continue to mine decades into the future. Tyonek is what’s known as a “closed tribe,” meaning outsiders cannot visit tribal property without signed consent from tribal leadership. But once a guest is invited onto the tribe’s land, that intimidating veneer slides right off. The residents are welcoming and friendly, though not overly eager to appease outsiders. The coastal village is pleasant and sleepy, with soft winds blowing down from the mountains, off the beach, and over the dusty roads. Members of the tribe meet at the tribal center, where women sit, share waffles, and chat about this year’s salmon run. PacRim has promised that the salmon run will be recreated decades from now, after the coal has been extracted. Mark Vinsel, executive administrator of the United Fishermen of Alaska, tells me that the project would “obliterate” the fishery, and that he is “not confident that it is possible” to restore the river after the damage is done. In the near-pristine wild of Alaska, it’s not easy to dig something up and then put it back together, as Lance Trasky, a now-retired habitat biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, wrote in an email. “I am confident that the salmon habitat that would be mined in the proposed Chuitna coal lease area could not be restored to its former level of productivity after coal mining,” he says, adding that what PacRim is proposing has never been done before. Another looming specter: The Chuitna region is one of many coal-rich sites in Alaska, and opening a mine there could open the floodgates for more down the line. The members of the tribe aren’t just worried about the immediate effects of the mine on their food sources and the coal ash dust that would invariably blanket the land. They already see the effects of climate change, they say, and they know the mine will only make things worse. “Our fish runs are coming early, our berries are coming early — we can tell that climate change is happening,” Baker says, shaking her head from side to side. Alaska is warming twice as fast as the rest of the United States. Stronger storms wallop its icy shores. In some parts of the state, permafrost holds up the foundations of houses; thaw could push these Alaskans to pack up and move. The broader climate implications of the Chuitna project would be nothing short of staggering. The first phase of digging is expected to unearth coal that would, when burned, release 650 million metric tons of CO2 — as much as 17 times the annual emissions of the entire state of Alaska. According to calculations put together by Cook Inletkeeper, if PacRim digs up all its reserves in Alaska, another 1.6 billion metric tons would be released — equivalent to all the U.S. transportation emissions annually. While the Chuitna site is located in the south-central Alaska, the gargantuan coal reserves of Arctic Alaska, the state’s real coal treasure chest, aren’t far away. William Herbert Hunt is an 87-year-old man with white hair, a slow southern drawl, and an easy command of a room. He once appeared at a news conference to address his own bankruptcy wearing a full Boy Scouts of America uniform, including the sash. Hunt, an oilman, is worth an estimated $3 billion. He’s the son of oil tycoon Haroldson Lafayette Hunt. He’s also one of the driving forces behind the Chuitna mine. “Yes, we will mine through the Chuitna out there,” Hunt growled into a microphone in front of Alaska’s Resource Development Council during a breakfast in 2014. In a grainy video, he can be seen touting the benefits of the “environmentally friendly” project. It’s the only time a member of the Hunt family has publicly addressed the Chuitna project. The mine is a gamble, a bet that coal’s value will rebound. It’s a risky bet — only the latest in a long line placed by the Hunt family. In the 1920s, as legend has it, H.L. Hunt, Herbert’s father, won his first oil rig in a game of cards. At the time, Hunt was a professional gambler. Over the next few decades, he won a lot more bets while prospecting oil in Arkansas and Texas. By 1950 he was in charge of one of the country’s grandest oil empires. H.L. Hunt kicked off the golden age of the wildcatters, a band of brazen young men with oil dripping from their fingers and dollar signs in their eyes. Now, H.L.’s son Herbert is putting his chips on coal. In 2005, he created PacRim Coal to carry out his quest for coal in Alaska. PacRim continues a long-standing family tradition of giving companies six-letter names beginning with P — supposedly a sign of luck. Several federal and state regulatory agencies began reviewing the Chuitna project, kicking off a still-ongoing process of seeking permits. Today, the Hunts keep quiet about their connection to PacRim. Both have been unwilling to discuss this project publicly or with reporters. In an email exchange with me, Joe Lucas, PacRim’s vice president, at first denied any connection to Herbert Hunt’s oil and gas exploration company, Petro-Hunt. But tax filings obtained by Grist from Delaware’s Division of Corporations, as well as PacRim’s business registration (signed by Herbert Hunt himself in 2005) and business license, all trace back to the Hunts. Even the domain for the website pacrimcoal.com was registered via an IP address belonging to an employee at Petro-Hunt. Lucas has since ignored multiple requests for clarification. Since I started asking, a passage from the Petro-Hunt website that references PacRim Coal has been removed. What I really wanted to ask the Hunts and reps from PacRim was: Why place such a large bet on a dying industry? Although the Hunts refused multiple requests for comment, I did speak to some coal company executives who flat-out denied that coal was “dying.” Vic Svec, a senior vice president at Peabody Energy, the top coal producer in the United States, says that even strict regulations and gloomy market projections can’t stop coal. Jeff Holmstead, an attorney and lobbyist for the coal industry, called coal “the lowest-cost way of bringing people out of poverty,” and says that its influence in the developing world is only growing. That was the refrain for many of the executives: Coal is a cheap way of producing energy, can stimulate local economies, and provides a better quality of life, even if it does emit pollution. PacRim has tried to sell Tyonek residents on an economic boon, too. “[T]here are very few job opportunities in Tyonek and the unemployment rate is very high,” Lucas wrote in one of our earlier email exchanges. It’s true that Alaska is in dire need of new money and opportunities. Thanks to a population drop, a budget crisis, and continued subsidies for the oil and gas industries, warnings of an economic crash on the scale of the 1980s recession keep popping up. Nearly every person I met in Anchorage, Tyonek, and small towns in between managed to somehow work the state’s financial woes into the conversation. Alaska needs jobs, and coal can (maybe) bring them. But members of the tribe I spoke with rebuffed Lucas’ offer to work on the mine. In 2011, the tribe delivered a formal resolution opposing the mine to PacRim. The resolution referred to the results of the survey of residents that showed that 98 percent of its members opposed the mine. “No matter how you look at it, no matter how rich they say we’re going to get off this — this is gonna kill us,” says Standifer, the president of the Tyonek. Could the coal market really bounce back? It’s a long shot, but there’s still a chance, says Stavins, the Harvard professor. If international demand were to pick up, or if carbon-capture technologies were to become viable on a large scale, the coal market could ramp up once again. The Chuitna mine’s proximity to Asia is where PacRim sees an opening. During the 1980s and after, coal exporters looked to developing economies to provide new markets. China, which now burns nearly half of the world’s coal, had looked like a safe bet — until China’s coal consumption peaked in 2013 and started falling. Still, other Asian markets may grow in the next few years. According to the Energy Information Administration, South Korea, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia are all expected to see an uptick in demand over the next 25 years. “PacRim is trying to get this through the permitting process now so that they have a turn-key mine and export operation ready to go the minute global markets rebound,” says Schryver of the Alaska Center for the Environment. Meanwhile, money for the Chuitna proposal keeps pouring in. A letter sent by PacRim to the mayor of Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula Borough stated that by its own calculation, the company had already spent $20 million by 2009 developing the mine plans. This July, PacRim unveiled a new website to promote the mine, promising that construction will begin in 2017. The Tyonek tribe would seem to have little chance of beating billionaires, but there is hope. Earlier this year, members of the Lummi Nation, a tribe based in the Pacific Northwest, successfully blocked the creation of the largest coal export terminal ever proposed in North America. The Lummi fought the proposal from its inception, and, citing treaty-protected fishing rights, kept the project’s developer, SSA Marine, at bay. Right now, the Chuitna proposal is sitting in regulatory limbo, awaiting a complete draft of its environmental impact statement, which is being compiled by the Army Corps of Engineers. Once the draft is submitted (the expectation is sometime in October), a comment period will allow the public to weigh in before a final statement is produced and a decision reached on whether the project can go forward. The tribe, along with a coalition of commercial fishers, sport fishers, and local activists, has vowed to fight the proposal every step of the way. Standifer, Tyonek’s president, knows what he’s up against. He told me that the river was given the name “Chuitt,” after the last name of his grandfather, decades ago. Standifer has been here a long time, he says, beaming at the mention of his grandchildren, who recently moved back to the village. Their fate, he says, is wrapped up in the proposal’s outcome. “The river has always been a part of this village, and we’ve always been a part of that river,” he says. “What kind of future are the children gonna have?” A lot is riding on that question.

2019-04-23T18:33:38Z

https://grist.org/feature/coals-last-gamble-alaska/

The Tory party are on full-out attack against the education system in England with their Free School models. John Westmoreland looks at the impact it is having for children and the education system as a whole. We in Scotland must remember that just because we have control of our own education, it doesn't mean this shouldn't be a matter of concern for us. The announcement that a future Tory government would create another 500 Free Schools came at the same time as Cameron has cut 24 per cent from the budget for Adult Learning. The cut to Adult Learning will have a devastating effect. Colleges that have built up Access to Education courses, which offer a second chance of education, are being forced to sack lecturers and close courses. There will be a knock-on effect for many working class communities. People who want to retrain or achieve personal fulfilment will be denied the chance. Many adults use education as an opportunity for meeting new and interesting people as well as rebuilding their lives, and studies show that adult education can be a refuge for women in abusive relationships too. The attack on Adult Learning is an attack on our right to education for life. Cameron's announcement of 500 free schools was a blatant attempt to take the focus off his cuts to education. Nevertheless he wants Free Schools to form the dividing line of policy between the Tories and Labour. The calculation is that Labour will offer half-hearted criticism but will draw back from threatening to take them back into local authority control, largely because the cuts have wrecked the ability of councils to run education effectively. However, the facts don't support the Tory narrative. Free schools do not improve education or provision, they damage it. The Tories have allocated £1.7bn for Free School funding for 2014-15. This is one third of the funding allocated for new school places in England overall. The Tories pet project is therefore damaging education as a whole. Thirteen per cent of teachers in Free Schools are unqualified and as Free Schools lag behind other schools in providing quality education according to Ofsted statistics. Therefore we can say categorically that the Tory arguments for Free Schools are completely wrong. However, the campaign against Free Schools has some way to go too. The problem for those of us campaigning against Free Schools is that where schools are over-crowded and staff are demoralised as a result of government cuts, a new school that seems to stand outside the chaos is still attractive to parents who are not familiar with the arguments we make. The Tories can find examples of Free Schools that seem to make a difference to the community. This often happens in towns where there is real poverty and unemployment. One such example is Blackburn with Darwen. In a town with a high level of unemployment there are thirteen secondary schools, five of which are free schools. It must be a joy to the Tories that Labour MP and corporate friend Jack Straw has played a significant role in bringing Free Schools to Blackburn. A recent article in the Guardian cited the Headteacher at the Tauheedul Educational Trust which runs two Free Schools in the town as saying, "When you have these new places and new schools, they do lead to innovation within those new schools. But it also means – and I've seen it – that schools around you raise their standards." Thus a beneficiary of privatisation becomes a Conservative spokesman on education. Straw helped set up both the Tauheedul schools. To oppose Free Schools and the privatisation of education we have to wake up to the fact that the Free School project is not simply about education. What Cameron wants to do is use the issue of Free Schools to argue that the wider values of free market capitalism are beneficial and offer a way out of the poverty his government has created. The Tory narrative around Free Schools is that state-run education has failed. Initiative and creativity have been stifled by local government bureaucracy and defensive teaching unions. In contrast Free Schools are claimed, whatever the actual evidence, to free up creativity and give parents choice and empowerment. The ideology behind Free Schools we must point out, uses the same logic that drives austerity, namely that the private sector can succeed where democratically elected bodies have failed. If working class people can be made to believe that Free Schooling is more likely to meet the needs of the community than state schooling then the Tory values of competition between schools and private management over public sector education can be used as an exemplar for further privatisation, and more cuts to schools run by local authorities. The madness of the market is presented as magic on condition that Labour fail to offer any meaningful criticism, and their record of supporting the privatisation of education makes this depressingly likely. It is not just education that will be affected. Once we get used to the idea of Free Schools, why not Free Hospitals too? To break the cycle of cuts, privatisation and more cuts we need to lock the arguments in defence of education to the arguments in defence of the NHS. The work of the Peoples Assembly is now more urgent than ever. We need to make the case that Free School logic is exactly the same as the logic for austerity. If you want to save the NHS, stop war and end inequality you have to be for a fully funded national education system free at the point of delivery. This article was taken from "http://www.counterfire.org/articles/analysis/17724-cameron-s-free-school-scam" The Point continues its policy of giving young writers a stage as SSP member Daniel Yahia Mohammed gives reasons as to why it is time to dump the monarchy like so many other nations have. Hopeless, draining and worthless. No, that was not me describing the latest Scotland match but our tainted 'Royal' Family. Truth be told, there is nothing royal about these elitists. They drain the hard working tax payers' money, they despise democracy, they encourage feudalism and are the root of many of the problems facing this country. With thousands on the streets, with the NHS on the verge of collapse and a quarter of kids in poverty surely it is time to emit the problem? Change needs to come. I'm not advocating a Bolshevik style revolution, but you don't need to be a political analytical expert to realise what is unfolding in front of our very eyes is wrong. The dictionary definition of a constitutional monarchy is "a form of national government in which the power of the monarch is restrained by a parliament, by law, or by custom". Basically that means the monarch can't interfere within the political spectrum. The UK has a constitutional monarchy. Or does it? The Telegraph revealed in January 2014 that at least 39 bills had been vetoed by senior royals in the past year or so. These were not on small issues, but highly contentious ones. I'm talking Iraq and the NHS. These bloodsuckers insisted on Middle Eastern intervention along with possibly many other important issues. Should this not be a democratic decision? That's right; a country which prides itself on dominating the developed world is living in the 9th century. Condemning Middle Eastern countries for their lack of democracy yet living without is hypocrisy at its finest. And unfortunately for the lavished lords and ladies, the tirade certainly doesn't end there. May I ask you, how many times has there been an election to designate our head of state? Here's a clue, the number is the same with how many benefits there are of the monarchy. No need for the calculator, the answer will arrive faster than Prince Charles after a mention of elephant tusks. Zero. That's right, how can we herald ourselves as modernised and democratic if we cannot choose our ruler? We lament Syria, Lebanon and China for not being able to pick their leaders. I mean, even Germany democratically elected Mr Hitler. The Diamond Jubilee and the Royal Wedding, sure they allow for days off school, but that is where the "benefits" cease, unless that it is you get a thrill out of the widening gap between the posh and the proletariat. The Diamond Jubilee cost the taxpayer the grand some of £1.3 billion. This could have given full time work to many new health workers, surely this would have been of greater benefit? Our National Health Service is crumbling. Our National Health Service is dwindling. Our National Health Service is at the end of its tether. So why are we forking out billions of pounds for an elaborate celebration of a medieval tradition? The Royal Wedding cost businesses in Scotland alone £5 billion, more than double the current education budget in Scotland. It is scandalous that one family is taking higher priority than the hard working and deprived pupils of Scottish schools. You think that is bad, I am just getting started! For what taxpayers pay to the Royal Family, 9000 nurses and 8000 policemen could be employed on full time contracts. Why is it that unemployment is less of an issue than lords, ladies and lacrosse? No need for answers on a postcard, I will do so for you. We are living in a medieval, feudalistic society, in which the millionaires matter, not the millions. Many of us agree that this island is open to folks from all backgrounds, whether that is people from different countries, people from different religions or people from different sexual orientations. Wrong. Alas, the spearhead of this great nation is gender discriminative, our ruler, or should I say our unelected ruler for centuries has prevented Catholics from taking the throne. I'm not talking about a loyalist paramilitary but in fact this very covetous family. Granted, Catholics are now allowed to marry into the Royal Family, but for hundreds of years they haven't been able to. Not the kind of barrier you would have been expected to restrain Britain as late as the 21st century. How can you expect the subjects to rid the streets of bigotry and sexism if the all mighty one cannot? That's not a typo; we are just subjects. Minor dots on a map, names on a sheet. Men will always take priority over women 'candidates' in the race for Buckingham Palace. Hardly something Great Britain should want to be associated with if it as it claims itself as a superpower and leader of the world. The Queen herself is in a position to further the cause of gender equality yet has done nothing! There will be many who claim the Monarch is a luxury, and we are lucky to have them. To these people, I shan't reject your beliefs out of respect, but I shall recommend you to some form of work in the comedy sector. These 'subjects' - remember that is what we are to Her Majesty - argue that the Queen is the catalyst for millions upon millions who visit Royalist landmarks. You know the ones, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Balmoral. To those who have visited these attractions, how many times did you actually see the Queen or other prominent members of the most out-dated and obsolete thing within this island? You didn't, of course. "But they bring in more than they take out" chant the royalists. That makes it ok does it? Does that ease the pain of the 27% of kids in poverty in this country? Does that soothe the agony of one million attending food banks every week? Do we really need the monarch for tourism to boom? Tourists can say they flock to see the Queen, but they never actually do so, yet they still delve into gift shops and museums alike. France is a country we can look up to. France is a Republic, yet Louvre, once home of its royal family rakes around 115 million euros a year, more than any monarch related tourist point in the UK. 24 million tourists gather at Louvres every year, not to gawp at walls, but to admire the paintings, portraits and pictures of the past. If Louvres brings so much in without having a royal family, why can't we adopt the same strategy? Another frequent argument made by those who hold the Queen and her cronies in high regard is tradition. Tradition, the cheek of it! By tradition do they mean sectarianism? Granted, Catholics are now allowed to marry into the Royal Family, but for hundreds of years they haven't been able to. Not the kind of barrier you would have been expected to restrain Britain as late as the 21st century. It can be concluded therefore that a Republic is the way forward for our nation. We should be putting the proletariat first, we should be doomed with discrimination and we should be encouraging equality. It's 2015, a time of missions to Mars, not needless Nobility. If we want to improve the economy, then remove the Royals as it is the first step. Even as a symbol it would have massive implications. Tourism will not fall, it will thrive! If the French can do it, why can we not? Why are we funding their frills? With one million in poverty in Scotland alone, it is time we put the people first, not the princes. Syriza and Scotland: can there be a radical coalition of the left here? Scottish Socialist Party national spokesman Colin Fox was in Athens for the Greek General Election. He reflects here on Syriza's victory, its subsequent climb-down in its debt negotiations with the Troika, and assesses the prospect of a Scottish 'Coalition of the Radical Left' contesting next year's Holyrood elections. What struck me above all in Athens amid the euphoria surrounding the election of Europe's first radical left-wing Government since the 1930's was how far we in Scotland are from such an achievement. The same socialist movement that inspired Syriza's formation back in 2004 with our cohesion and strength of purpose is today fragmented, weak and outmanoeuvred by a resurgent SNP. Marxists, anti-capitalists and radical environmentalists in Greece work together inside a 19 partner 'Coalition of the Radical Left' and on January 25th they secured mass popular support for a bold socialist programme. Here in Scotland there is no such anti-capitalist coalition and yet another neo-liberal party is sweeping all before it. Greece proves that in the right circumstances with the right approach the radical left can win elections. Syriza triumphed because Greek capitalism is weak and rotten to the core. The ruling classes borrowed 319BN Euros to bail out their banks and now cannot repay it. The economy has shrunk by 25% in five years. Greece is in a prolonged economic and social depression akin to the USA after the 1929 crash. Unemployment stands at 27% with the youth rate above 60%. One million people [out of a total population of 11million] have left the country and have been replaced by refugees from Syria, Iraq and Africa. Rough sleepers and beggars are everywhere in Athens. The majority of Greeks, ground down by 7 years of plunging living standards and insults to their dignity, had exhausted every other political option open to them. They turned to the 'Coalition of the Radical Left' because it posed an alternative to neo-liberal austerity and to further humiliation they could believe in. But politics is a serious business where difficult decisions must often be made under enormous pressure. It's a month since Syriza celebrated its famous victory but it must seem like a lifetime to Alexis Tsipras and his Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis. In signing the agreement with the Troika they have effectively rescinded their commitment to the Greek people. Their enforced u-turn was painful to watch. Much of the shine has been taken off their glittering prize. Yet the deal they agreed with the Euro-zone Finance Ministers on February 22nd achieves none of those objectives. It rules out the first two entirely. The best that can be said about it is that it buys Syriza a little time. Four months to be exact. They faced [and still face] an imminent collapse of the Greek banks. That outcome at least has been averted, if only for 4 weeks. They also secured the 3.2BN Euro loan Greece was promised under the existing 'Memorandum of Understanding' [an agreement Syriza openly despises], which allows it to pay its most urgent bills. The deal is a poor one and yet there was little alternative open to Syriza given the fragility of the Greek economy, the imminent collapse of the banks and the huge power imbalance they faced in the negotiations. None of the other debtor nations – Portugal, Ireland, Italy, or Spain - supported them in their negotiating positions. Tsipras and Varoufakis are pinning their hopes on growing the Greek economy and phasing in minor improvements in pensions paid for out of increased Government revenues secured by clamping down on tax evasion by the wealthy. Nonetheless the deal means Syriza must give up thoughts of a debt write off or of introducing significant improvements in pensions or the national minimum wage any time soon. They must also abide by all agreements signed by previous Greek Governments. This means the privatisation of state assets such as the electricity industry and their regional airports cannot be rescinded. And their hands appear to be tied over plans to sell off the lucrative Port of Piraeus to a Chinese or Danish consortium. The headline in the English language Greek Daily newspaper Kathamerni summed up the deal from a Greek perspective by announcing 'Germany gives an inch Greece gives ten miles'. For the moment Syriza has not paid much of a political price at home for its climb-down. Its popularity actually increased because it was at least seen to stand up to the Troika and restore Greek pride. This is something neither PASOK nor New Democracy – the two previous administrations - accomplished. But such ephemeral popularity does not 'put any souvlaki on the table' in poor Greek households and it will not last. You only have to listen to the criticism levelled at Varoufakis and Tsipras by their own MP's to recognise the widespread unhappiness there is with this deal within the Coalition. The Greek Communist Party [KKE], which also has a mass base in Greece, particularly among the unions was even more scathing. Describing Syriza as 'left wing capitalists' - it is not, as you might guess, part of the Coalition – they condemned the deal as a betrayal of Greek workers. Some commentators have accused Syriza of naiveté. Others of presenting a false prospectus full of promises it was clearly incapable of delivering. Such accusations may of course be valid but critics must be careful what they wish for. For if the Syriza Government falls, and most Greek Governments do not complete their 4-year terms, the far right party 'Golden Dawn' may be the biggest beneficiaries. They were third in January's election. And given the widespread disgust with the so called 'mainstream' parties PASOK and New Democracy it is not likely to be the left that gains from any Syriza collapse. And those dogmatists who abide by the hackneyed formula that demands the 'mobilisation of the Greek working class to take over the commanding heights of the economy' might reflect on the weakness of that movement in Greece today and the lack of any 'commanding heights'. Only 60% of the electorate turned out to vote and most didn't choose Syriza. The 27 General Strikes that have taken place since 2013 are signs of the weakness of the labour and trades union movement not its strength. Leaving the Euro is not something Syriza will entertain. It believes this avenue offers no better alternative and that Greece cannot cope with the economic and social 'heart attack' that would immediately follow such a course of action. Leaving the Euro is presented simplistically by most of its advocates as a way for Greece to rescind its enormous debts. That is a highly dubious scenario because if they did walk away from their 319BN Euro debt their banks would collapse and the question immediately arises where are they going to get the necessary credit to import the food and energy they rely on? Or the oil to power their ferries? Or the investment needed to improve its ailing tourist infrastructure? Greek society is close to collapse as it is. The economic, social and political ramifications of a 'Grexit' would be fatal for Greek society. The political crisis would rush throughout Europe like a contagion. It is for these reasons Greeks have overwhelmingly rejected leaving the Euro-zone. None of which should by contrast suggest their present choices offer them a 'bed of roses' either. All the options Syriza faces are bad but leaving the Euro is considered the worst. So what happens now? Syriza will try to grow the Greek economy as best it can, to increase State revenues and crack down on tax evasion. But it has now committed itself to meeting all its debt obligations in full and to make what limited improvements in living standards its revenues allow. In other words it will work within the tight financial and economic straightjacket imposed upon it while desperately trying to win concessions from its creditors. Whether this strategy holds remains to be seen. It will come under increasing political pressure in the next few weeks not least from within its own disappointed ranks as it implements economic and social conditions it has previously condemned. Politics is, as I said, a serious business where difficult decisions made under enormous pressure have consequences. So what lessons are there for the Scottish Left from Syriza's victory? First, that the economic, social and political situation in Greece today is very different to Scotland. Second, that the Left in Scotland are a million miles away from forming a radical left-wing Government any time soon. Third, that Syriza was a project that took 10 years to build. Fourth that the class struggle in Scotland today is at a low ebb. Illusions in capitalism are widespread. Strikes are uncommon and the predominant mood among many workers is the fear of losing poor jobs often on zero hour contracts. Consequently a number of 'leftists' have run off and joined the SNP. They would rather kid themselves that Nicola Sturgeon is a socialist and that the SNP is a workers party than buckle down and build the genuine left-wing mass party Scotland so badly needs! So where does that leave us? The Scottish Socialist Party will continue to offer a vital alternative to the neo-liberalism of New Labour and the SNP. We are standing candidates in the General Election in order to tap into the unprecedented rejection of the Labour Party in Scotland and to offer a socialist alternative to the all-conquering nationalists. We are under no illusions about the difficulties inherent in this approach but we are confident we can continue to build the party as a result of engaging in the election. We will also consider a request to participate in an electoral alliance for next years Holyrood elections at our conference in Edinburgh in May. We know from experience such joint work only succeeds if it is based on a clear programme, employs mutually agreed tactics and works with honesty and respect. Our participation in any alliance will, of course. come with conditions. We would want it to support Independence, anti-capitalism, anti-austerity, anti-racism and equality. We would also want it to support a radical redistribution of wealth, an orientation to the working class, measures designed to enhance workers rights and incomes, oppose war and nuclear weapons, give a commitment to workers wages for its MSPs and support a modern, democratic republic. The SSP's participation in any electoral alliance would also be dependent on democratic accountability of any elected MSPs. As the biggest force on the left we would expect full representation in the alliance reflecting our strength, and guaranteeing our right to function freely and openly as a campaigning party with our own well established programme and party structures. We take a principled and pragmatic view of broader Left alliances. We were approached for example by sections of the Scottish Green Party leadership ahead of the 2014 European elections about forming a Red/Green Alliance for that contest and we agreed. Unfortunately the Greens backed out which was disappointing for progressive advance not least because neither they nor the SNP were able to stop UKIP winning Scotland's last European seat. Any Scottish 'Coalition of the Radical Left' or electoral alliance clearly cannot succeed without the SSP. We remain the country's most successful socialist party and its biggest force on the left with 30 branches committed to building a mass base for socialism. Our invaluable experience in the working class movement in Scotland goes back decades to the Miners strike of 1984/5 and beyond. Our activists were involved in both 'Yes Scotland' and the Radical Independence Campaign at national level. In Jim Bollan we have Scotland's only Socialist Councillor. And we publish Scotland's only socialist newspaper. We are confident we will continue to grow whether we stand as the SSP in next years Holyrood elections or as part of a wider coalition. We look forward to the deliberations that unfold at our conference in May without prejudice. In the meantime we are focused on the 2015 General Election and again carrying the left's torch in Scotland. Argy-Bargy: Scottish Public Ownership of Scottish Oil? Slippery Brown calls for Brit State theft of Scots oil - a final insult? http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/gordon-brown-unveils-plan-to-keep-oil-flowing-1-3705731 might be unguardedly welcomed by some on the left – but wait a minute this is not the 'Red' Broon of the seventies but the City loving, independence hating, and PPP/PFI promoting Broon of the 21st century Blairite Labour. This is the Janus-faced Broon who told Scots before the referendum that the infamous 'Vow' would mean home rule/devo max/near federalism, then after the referendum said it meant nothing of the kind. From that perspective doesn't this just look a bit like resource colonialism? Our oil should of course be publicly owned - but by the people of Scotland in an independent or Devo Max Scotland. Anything else is just continued misappropriation of a vital national asset for foreign state interests. The polls are still looking very good for the SNP in May, but a word of caution is necessary - or rather, three paragraphs of caution, and an urge to action. Secondly, while the decisive polling shift to the SNP and away from Labour continues to look real and substantial, it would not be true to say that there has been no Murphy bounce. There has been - even if it is only very small . It's not due to manic Murphy, of course, but to a servile BBC Pacific Quay Pravda and the Daily Rancid. But - and this is what Labour's strategy is based on - it doesn't have to be a big bounce. Labour would only have to continue its current 2-3% point rate of recovery through each of the months of March and April to put a large tranche of Labour seats beyond the ability of the SNP to win. Lastly, this Labour push will be based on breathtaking lies (we ain't seen nuthin' yet), told to the least politically aware and more conservative (with a small 'c') sections of the working class community, and aimed mainly at that section of the community which still receives its information overwhelmingly from the mainstream media. That 'mainstream' media can be largely relied upon to 'do the business' for Scottish Labour and the Union. We in social media will do our best to be a counterweight to this tendency, but, frankly there are parts of the electorate we just don't reach. The solution: learn the lessons of the YES referendum where not enough money was spent PRIOR to the official twelve week period inoculating potential, but wavering, YES voters against the inevitable msm assault from the unprincipled supporters of the status quo. 'Memes' are a slippery concept to be sure..but the longer your opponents have to lay down their 'memes' in the neural pathways of a large section of the electorate, the more chance their strategy has of succeeding. Consequently, if you really, really want to seize this 'once in a lifetime' opportunity to replace Labour as the default party of choice for the mass of working class people in Scotland, do not allow the mainstream media bias to go unchallenged for a second longer. You need to be spending significant tranches of your election budget NOW and going forward - on billboard, bus stop and newspaper advertising, and really good 'through the doors' constituency and national leaflets. Don't wait till mid-April - it might be too late. Gary Fraser argues that the left in Scotland should embrace change and get organised. While there is no doubt that anyone who has ever lived finds their own times interesting, these are especially interesting times to be living in Scotland. The 'yes' campaign, which captured the imagination of so many, does not feel or act like it was on the losing side – witness the growth of the pro-independence parties, the recent rallies including Scotland's First Minister's tour of the country and the gathering of Scotland's Radical Independence Campaign at the tail end of a historic year. Yet, I sense that the referendum dust is beginning to settle and we are now entering a new phase in Scottish politics. This article is concerned with how Scotland's radical left moves forward in 2015 and beyond. Terminology is important here. By 'radical left' – and I do accept that the term 'radical' is somewhat nebulous – I am thinking of all those positioned outside the mainstream parties, including the SNP. I regard myself, reluctantly sometimes, as a part of this broad constituency. For what it's worth, I still consider myself a socialist, usually out of conviction, but sometimes, to paraphrase the late Christopher Hitchens, because no other label will do. Recently, an old Marxist friend bemoaned the fact that the Radical Independence Campaign had not defined its politics in ideological terms. This I believe, contrary to my Marxist friend, is one of RIC's strengths. In an age which some political scientists refer to as 'post- ideological', ideological labels are without doubt problematic. For example, many of the people labelled 'left of centre' are quite often, complacently uncritical of the status quo. Rather than a genuine centre-left, they constitute more what Tariq Ali refers to as an 'extreme centre'. The same can be said for much of what passes as 'social democracy', once understood as re-distribution of wealth coupled with an interventionist state. Today, the most consistent social democrats I know are those who get labelled by others as being on the 'far left'. The general point I am trying to make is that ideological pigeonholing is problematic. Moreover, I quite enjoy the fact that we live in a political world that evades capture by competing 'isms' and perhaps this is something that Scotland's new radicals ought to embrace. The referendum has been good for the left. Just how good remains to be seen. There is an argument, and I have heard people prominent in the 'movement' make this point, that radical ideas are now a part of the mainstream. I can see why people say this, but I'm sceptical. For me, despite the optimism generated, the 'yes' campaign represented what Ralph Miliband said, in describing another context, was a tactical difference within a strategic consensus. That strategic consensus, if it is to have a label, can be broadly defined as neo-liberalism. 'We are not yet done with neo-liberalism' said the late Stuart Hall commenting on the financial crash of 2008. For me, as someone influenced by the Marxist tradition, I find it interesting how the dominant narrative of Scotland's radicals in the twenty first century is the narrative of Scottish nationhood. Something significant is at work here. It is not the abandonment of socialism for nationalism as often crudely framed, but rather a response to the institutional failures and historic defeats of the traditional working class movement to change society. Since the late 1980s politics in Scotland has been filtered through the prism of national identity. Of course, inherent in this discourse is some lazy thinking. For example, the tendency to see everything that 'Westminster' does as innately bad implies that there is something inherently good about Scotland. The fact that we Scots no longer vote Tory in significant numbers has led some of us to the conclusion that this is proof that neo-liberalism is an alien ideology imposed on 'us' from elsewhere. I have heard key people on the left argue that Scottish independence would 'unleash the forces of social democracy', whilst others assert that the Scottish people are ready for socialism – all that is required is finding the correct vehicle. These assertions are problematic for a number of reasons. Firstly, they ignore the extent to which neo-liberal ideas permeate the upper echelons of Scottish society, from the mainstream parties to our public sector institutions. In regards to the latter, I am thinking about the Scottish Government's obsession with managerialism in education, health and local government or the draconian cuts to budgets in Scotland's thirty two councils. We also need to think carefully about the ways in which neo-liberal practices permeate public consciousness and behaviour, from mass home ownership to the rise of the consumer society. I often get the impression from listening to the left that neo-liberalism is something that is done to people, which forgets the fact that at root, neo-liberalism involves a complex set of internalised social relationships. Strategic thinking about the way forward requires a broad discussion about what it is Scotland's radicals stand for. The 2014 RIC conference spelt out clearly, and sometimes obviously, what we are against, and that list is endless. But I can't help but think that the Scottish left is often trapped in the language and narratives of another era. For example, the constant need to talk about how much we hate Thatcher (I was 12 when she left office!) or 'new' Labour, or to construct our own politics cloaked in a romantic nostalgia for the post-war welfare state. The 'we know what we are against narrative' can be found on many issues. It leads to a safe politics with a tendency to think in slogans. Take the issue of welfare reform for example. We know that the left is against the 'bedroom tax' or the scandal of ATOS yet the wider arguments around 'workfare' or what universalism means in a world of targeted provision are seldom discussed. Neither have we spelled out a coherent strategy on job creation, shifting the narrative from employability, a current obsession with the Scottish Government, to decent employment and the role of the state. I am, of course, making a generalisation here, and I do accept that groups such as the Jimmy Reid Foundation and now Common Weal are starting to grapple with these issues. Returning to more immediate priorities my own view is this: Scotland's radicals need to move beyond the national question and engage in a strategic discussion about how we best develop a radical policy agenda within the existing powers of the Scottish Parliament. There is a sense that it's only a matter of time before Scotland becomes independent. As someone sceptical of any claims that history is pre-determined, I'm not sure I agree. But I do know this. When compared to history our own lifespans constitute the blink of an eye. The first phase of devolution lasted from 1997 until 2014 and who knows how long the second phase can last. One way forward might be this – we need to park our current talk of 'yes alliances' and talking up spurious strategies on how we arrive at independence in five years' time. We need to get over Gordon Brown and the so-called Vow, the BBC, and the pre-occupation with 'wiping out the unionists' at the next election. Our goal should be to develop a radical and realistic (the two are compatible) policy agenda which helps to increase the electoral representation of the radical left in the Scottish Parliament in 2016. This strategy is problematic. My own view is that the constituencies of the Greens and especially the current crop of socialist groups are too narrow to achieve this aim to the full. The argument made by some in the SSP that socialists were excluded from the Smith Commission because the establishment was frightened of them is merely wishful thinking. The sad fact is that the SSP was not invited to Lord Smith's table because it has no parliamentary representation. In conclusion, I came away from the RIC conference with the nagging thought that social movements are one thing, but they bring with them the danger of creating a lifestyle politics big on opposition but lacking in influence. Furthermore, social movements without democratic structures are always in danger of developing the characteristics of what Gerry Hassan calls a 'soft vanguardism'. The issue Scotland's radicals need to address is the organisational one. If we can resolve that, then I am hopeful that parliamentary representation can follow. The reaction by Yes campaigners to the defeat we experienced in the referendum has genuinely taken me by surprise. There is an old saying that ‘victory has a thousand fathers but defeat is an orphan’. I woke up that awful Friday morning on the 19th definitely feeling like an orphan. Before discussing the result with anyone I had taken down the window poster, removed the car sticker and started to think of a life beyond the yes campaign. I had anticipated that others would experience a similar reaction to this historic defeat and would be planning their gradual retreat from political hyperactivity into a period of quiet cynicism and eventual disengagement. However, for the time being, the opposite is occurring. It seems that the Yessers are not quite ready to give up. The SNP’s membership has doubled to quite spectacular figures. The Greens and the SSP are also reporting thousands of new recruits into their ranks. Social media is buzzing with articles, papers, strategies, boycotts, meetings and planned gatherings. In addition to this, local yes groups, so I am told, continue to meet. The Common Weal project has produced an entire raft of interesting ideas. RIC is in a flurry of excitement – reporting high attendance at branch meetings and a November conference which is apparently so big that it might be impossible to find a suitable venue to house everyone. Some are arguing that we can have another referendum in six years’ time. Robin McAlpine has already provided a detailed strategy on how we arrive at another date with destiny. Only this time, we win. Meanwhile, a proposal is underway for a Yes Alliance in 2015 to ‘wipe out’ the ‘unionists’ once and for all – no easy task mind you, given that the ‘unionists’ are over 2 million strong and won a majority of support in 28 out of 32 local authorities. It seems the movement is on high alert, what military commanders call ‘war footing’. How close this is to reality I don’t know - even as I write this, I’m aware that too much time spent on Blogs distorts one’s view of reality. My own view is that we need to stand still for a moment. Scotland is fast emerging into a new political reality with the sands constantly shifting. We know that the yes campaign, without doubt the most progressive campaign in living Scottish memory, has changed the political face of modern Scotland. Yet, it’s too early to judge the lasting extent of these changes, and any conclusions based alone on what yes campaigners say should be treated with caution. I am also concerned that the hyperbole of the past few weeks cannot, indeed, will not be sustained and that despite the current buzz, the political, social, economic and psychological effects of this defeat could last a generation. Barely a week after ‘winning’ the British establishment is embroiled in another war in Iraq, in the same week that those on benefits are told that their benefits are to be frozen for two years. Meanwhile, devolution max remains as uncertain and messy as ever. The ‘vow’ looks likely to be a broken one, but then again reaching a quick solution on such a complex array of issues was always problematic. And now that Cameron has opened up the question of English votes on English laws, Britain could be discussing constitutional processes for a very long time. The nature of yes is also problematic. Hitherto, I have described it as a campaign as opposed to a movement. A movement certainly exists within yes, but its size is probably smaller than many make out. The movement is not the 45% of Scots who voted yes. The Scots faced a binary choice, and one that a majority didn’t want to make – we know that ‘devo max’ or ‘fiscal autonomy’ is the preferred option of the Scottish people. The 85% turnout is more than impressive, especially from those alienated from traditional politics. But again, a note of caution. This was a referendum of historical proportions, and there is no guarantee that people will continue to stay involved in the political process. In fact, defeat could make some even more cynical. The biggest component part of yes is the SNP, who delivered this historic moment which has transformed our political landscape. For this we owe them a great deal of gratitude. Yet, despite delivering the referendum there was always a number of problems with the SNP. The first one is obvious, namely that the SNP won power which enabled them to deliver a referendum but a vote for the SNP was a protest vote and not a vote for independence per se. The SNP is used by conservative (small C voters) in rural areas to punish the Tories and Lib Dems, and in the central belt they are seen by many as the best way to punish Labour. The SNP has played this game of political chess well, but in so doing they lost sight of the scale of the pre-figurative work that is necessary to win the masses to independence. This counter-hegemonic project, to use a Gramscian term, is unlikely to succeed in a two year campaign, although we came pretty close. The lack of pre-figurative work, was demonstrated by the fact that certain SNP policies were never popular, even amongst campaigners, most notably the currency union which was a constant headache. If there is one policy that cost us votes it was this one. Jim Sillars, ‘nonsense of stilts’ – perhaps the most memorable one-liner of the campaign, and one that helped our opponents and for that reason was probably best kept private, nonetheless summed up the mess. Too be fair it was the best of a bad option. I firmly believe and did so throughout the campaign that a country that is not confident enough to have its own currency is a country not ready for, or wanting independence. Other policies were also problematic, for example, their insistence on cutting corporation tax, their lack of clarity on the future of local government and their refusal to engage critically with the nature of Scotland’s relationship to the EU, which looked at times as if they wanted to substitute one democratic deficit for another. I’m not saying that Scotland should leave the EU, but perhaps a list of alternative options could have been provided. Moreover, the constant desire for ‘positivity’ a term I dislike, a tactic inspired from the SNPs 2011 General Election campaign, might with hindsight have been a mistake. I would have liked to have seen more substance mixed in with a more bellicose style – one of the leaflets I handed out actually looked like a travel brochure, whilst their newspapers were an exercise in banality. In the final analysis fear won over hope and perhaps we should have had our own project fear. This is a serious point. It was only towards the end of the campaign, when we played our own fear cards, the biggest being NHS privatisation, that we started to shift the polls in our direction. The post referendum SNP is going to be an interesting beast to observe and it is this beast which is going to determine the direction of the independence movement in the years ahead. The cynic in me thinks that those 70,000 or so who have joined in recent weeks and are expecting to turn the SNP into a social movement or a quick vehicle to deliver another referendum will soon be disappointed. I suspect that they will discover that the SNP is a top down machine with a professional bureaucracy that has to reach out to broader constituency for its own survival. Nicola Sturgeon has already stated that she will be First Minister for all of Scotland and not just the 45%. This strategy is not about winning the 55% to independence but reassuring them that for the time being, and it could be a long time that the SNP parks the national question. Senior figures in the party are already arguing that it would be ‘crazy’ to go into the 2016 election promising another referendum. In this context, the idea of a Scottish wide Yes Alliance in 2015 is highly unlikely. For starters, those outside the beast, despite the hype, are not in a strong enough position to demand it. Furthermore, my guess is that any hint of anything involving the word ‘yes’ will undermine the SNP’s strategy of ‘reaching out’ (Sturgeon’s words) to the 55%. In addition to this, a ‘Yes Alliance’ is fraught with difficulties because the SNP runs the Scottish Government, which in turn controls local government. This means that the SNP will inevitably become embroiled in the messy business of managing austerity which in time will allow their left critics to characterise them as ‘neo-liberal’. Too be fair to the SNP they are in a difficult position. As we said repeatedly throughout the campaign, they are in office not in power and the democracy (or lack of!) argument was the beating heart of the campaign. But there is no easy way out of the trap. The idea of demanding that local authorities set ‘needs budgets’, in effect illegal budgets, is misplaced adventurism; easy slogans to make when standing on the side-lines but simply put, it is not going to happen; besides there is no real demand from communities for such a strategy – witness the poor council election results for those anti-cuts campaigners who advocated such a position. The SNP could ‘educate’ their constituents on the nature of the democratic deficit and link this to independence. In this scenario, every single councillor could issue a statement saying that they are voting through cuts under duress. But again this is an unlikely scenario. Instead what we are likely to get is a managerial response from SNP politicians about ‘competent governance’ and ‘tough decisions’. I already know of some SNP councils who are discussing ‘buildings rationalisation programmes’, e.g. someone somewhere in a council bureaucracy near you has a list which includes on it the potential closure of your library, your community centre, your leisure centre or any other public building that could be axed. How we take forward radical politics in a practical way in the new reality is going to be a challenge. The yes campaign constructed a narrative that the British state was incapable of reform. In this simplistic narrative, everything we disliked could be blamed on Westminster. Now in the post referendum reality, there is a real danger that this narrative could lead us down a blind path to the fatalistic conclusion that no progress can be made without independence. This is a nationalist dead end. The reason, I believe, why the yes vote was impressive was not because of any set of specific policies - in fact, the policies as previously noted were problematic. The reason why almost half of the Scotland voted yes was that the campaign sparked, especially amongst the poor, a radical imagination, that ‘another Scotland is possible’, even a marginally better one. Yet, even had we won the extent to which a small country like Scotland could reverse three decades of neo-liberalism, whilst continuing to swim in a neo-liberal sea, was always a difficult proposition to make. The Nordic examples we looked too for inspiration all started from a strong social democratic base which is being constantly challenged by neo-liberalism. The idea that we could start from a neo-liberal base and work our way towards some form of social democracy, never mind socialism, always looked like a mountain that was too big to climb. In reality, what the SNP was offering was a different version of neo-liberalism from that served up by Westminster. I have heard this described in the book ‘The SNP From Protest to Power’ as ‘neo-liberalism with a heart’. It was a variation on a theme or in the words of Ralph Miliband describing another context, a ‘tactical difference within a strategic consensus’. It is in this context that we need to frame the SNPs position on the currency union, their insistence that the Scottish economy would be dominated by the Bank of England, the position on the EU, NATO and the reduction of corporation tax. I still think it was the more progressive option, principally because it opened the door to other possibilities, but we need to remember that on the fundamental issues of the day we were arguing about more about emphasis than we were substance. I want to end with some thoughts on the future of the left outside of the SNP. This referendum has been good for the radical left, which appears to have finally turned a corner. Where it goes next will be interesting. We also know who the real enemy is in Scotland; Labour. As I have written before the Scottish Labour Party is a vehicle for keeping the poor, and the poorly educated sections of the working class in line. A cursory glance at the yes vote reveals that it was those with the least stakes in the neo-liberal system who voted yes. But the left needs to talk to a broader constituency than just the poor. And it needs to talk that talk in a new language which acknowledges the diversity of modern Scotland. What form this takes I’m not sure. Common Weal sounds interesting, although slightly manic, but I do like the idea of a ‘think and do tank’ and reading between the lines the narrative has shifted beyond the stale binary socialist versus capitalist narrative, and the obsession with the word ‘class’ that has dominated radical left politics for too long. RIC may also hold the key to a new left. But if, as I believe, that the independence moment is parked, then RIC will require not just a re-branding but equally a rethinking about its core purpose. I have heard some in the RIC movement say that we need to ‘reach out’ to the poorest communities who voted yes. Okay, ‘reach out’, but what exactly are you offering them? If it’s a wish list of radical left fantasies then I pretty much guarantee you now that this will lead to nowhere. For me, the real task is to try and increase the number of lefts in the Scottish Parliament in 2016 and this requires serious thought about organisational issues. There are a number of possibilities out there – a Podemos model sounds interesting; but we need to avoid getting too carried away with the politics of what has been described as movementism. This is a politics big on opposition but lacking in influence and all too easily it descends into a life style politics that is exclusive to people who cannot devote their entire lives to politics i.e. most ‘normal’ people. Furthermore, it is quite often based on simplistic analyses and lazy slogans and quickly fizzles out leaving the activists only talking to one another. Despite its claims to be democratic the politics of movementism also contains within its own narrative what Gerry Hassan has referred to as a ‘soft vanguardism’ a point that should be carefully thought over, especially as some will inevitably position themselves for a political career. Nothing wrong in that, but they need to be accountable. I don’t see the point of creating a new party either and I don’t think the existing parties will want that either. If you are a socialist, or consider yourself too left for the SNP, then you ought to join the SSP or the Greens, although an electoral alliance or electoral pact might be worth exploring. In conclusion, I’m still not sure if we are at the end of something or the beginning of something. I hope it’s the latter. Describing the fall of Communism, the philosopher Claus Offe in a clever, and very post-modern comment, remarked that we had entered a ‘tunnel at the end of the light’. If the light was socialism then we are still crawling around in that tunnel and who knows it might be an endless one, certainly endless in terms of our own life spans. I can live with that. The age of big bang ideological politics is over. This does not mean that change cannot happen only that radical change will need to be thought out in realistic terms. I apologies for ending with an acronym from the lexicon of managerialism but we need change that is SMART, i.e. specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and targeted. The referendum contained each of these ingredients and significant sections of our country men and women demanded change. We need to respond; if we can find the right vehicles, adopt the correct strategies, and develop real policies that can be fought for in the here and now then we can keep the Scottish radical imagination alive. So the referendum is over. Let us pause. Let us consider. This is a moment for the most careful and delicate reflection. We Scots have created, in the last two years, the most extraordinary political movement this ancient nation of ours has ever seen. It has fallen just short of its first objective and so we are now faced with the question - where do we go from here? Perhaps we need to start with first principles, and ask if there are any possibilities we can easily rule out. I think there is one obvious one on which I hope we can all agree. We Scots have been in this game for a very long time. The best part of 1200 years in fact, ever since our country was formed through the historic alliance of the Picts and the Scots. Or perhaps I should say since England was formed, shortly after us. Ever since then our neighbours have been seeking to conquer and subjugate us. They have never been able to do so militarily. Bribing, blackmailing and cajoling us into the union in 1707 has been by far their most successful strategy to date. Even so, in 307 years the union has proved incapable of submerging our Scottish identity beneath some invented 'British' one. Britain is, to quote Salman Rushdie, 'a country insufficiently imagined.' If there is one thing we have learned from all of that history, it is this: it is never over. Last month we had a bad day, but we've had bad days before. We lost a battle, but the war never ends. We will return. So if you were a 'No' supporter, and are in any way tempted to think the 18th of September's result was in some way final, I'm afraid we're going to have to disappoint you. We will never give up, never go away. Why? "For so long as there shall be but one hundred of us remain alive we will never give consent to subject ourselves to the dominion of the English. For it is not glory, it is not riches, neither is it honour, but it is freedom alone that we fight and contend for, which no honest man will lose but with his life." - Declaration of Arbroath, 1320. Do not make the mistake of thinking this is somehow no longer relevant in this day and age. It is well over twice as old as the union, but it is every bit as relevant today as it ever was. This is because many of us still take it deadly seriously. Feel ourselves bound by it. And there are a hell of a lot more than a hundred of us. Upwards of 1.6 million in fact. "For so long..." It is a statement in perpetuity. "Never..." Is that clear enough for you? No matter what anyone says, or does, we will fight on. And we will raise our children to do the same. Best everyone understand that now and save us all a lot of time and trouble. It. Is. Never. Over. That's what the morning of the 19th felt like, I know, to many of us. However do not be dismayed. Since then we have licked our wounds, picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves off and got ready to start all over again. The first thing that was decided, in many cases, was to keep the teams together. All of the facebook groups, pages, websites and, most crucially, grassroots organisations on the ground, will keep going. This is important because it is vital not to lose the extraordinary levels of political engagement the referendum campaign engendered, especially amongst our young people. Let's not teach them, as many of us were taught in our youth, that politics is futile. That is what the forces of reaction want them to believe. Let's keep them involved. Not to do so would be a betrayal, not only of them but of everything we have worked for together for the last two years. Since the referendum tens of thousands of people have joined the SNP and the other pro-independence parties. This is further evidence that the movement isn't going anywhere but is here to stay. The next electoral test will be the Westminster General Election next year. There is a considerable appetite amongst grassroots 'Yes' activists, particularly those in the Labour heartland areas which returned the highest 'Yes' votes, to take this opportunity of punishing the parties (and politicians) which behaved so disreputably in the campaign. It's not just payback though. It's another chance to show those young people that participation in politics can make a difference. We are already seeing the formation of a 'YES Alliance,' intended to be a co-ordinating movement for all the local 'Yes' groups, all the pro-independence political parties and the many independent indy supporters and activists who have been a part of the campaign up to this point. What Kind Of Movement Will This 'YES Alliance' Be? So far there seem to be two schools of thought regarding how the national movement should proceed from here. Both have focused on next year's Westminster election. One which has been mentioned a lot is that we should all get behind the SNP, as the largest pro-indy party, in the hope of securing a majority of WM seats at that election. The other proposes that the alliance should take a more prominent role in co-ordinating and ensuring that the SNP and other pro-indy parties and independents do not end up fighting each other, thereby splitting the pro-Yes vote. I have been an advocate of such a broad movement, even prior to the referendum itself. Had we been successful, I argued that the nation would be best served by as many as possible of us coming together, at least initially, to guide us to independence and accomplish those things on which we could all agree. Now, given the outcome of the referendum, I believe it is even more imperative that we stand together. The movement in the lead up to the referendum was so exciting precisely because it was so broadly-based, because we were all united to a common purpose. We must not lose that now. There is still much we can accomplish. The time for parties to campaign on their differences will be in the 2016 Scottish elections. Holyrood has PR (proportional representation), which allows for a diversity of views to be represented. That is a good and healthy thing. However the point we need to make, in the first-past-the-post Westminster elections, is that our movement has not gone away and is still capable of uniting for our common goal. This means ensuring the maximum chance of victory for pro-indy candidates in all constituencies. Now while it may be true that the SNP has the best chance in the majority of seats, this will not be the case in all seats. There are some where I know the Greens believe they are better placed, and there are some in which others may stand the best chance. I am thinking, for instance, of places like my own home town of Clydebank. Let me take a moment to say a few words about Clydebank. As some may be aware I returned from a lengthy exile in Australia in order to take part in the referendum campaign. I returned to the town I was brought up in. When the referendum was first announced I thought it might be difficult for us to prevail in such places, because they constituted the Scottish Labour heartland. I was wrong. A lot of people, from many different places, liked the photograph. I like it. I was lucky with the light of course, and the Titan crane is an iconic image of the town. Clydebank people liked it too, but for them it was also tinged with great sadness. The reason for that sadness is that it's a photograph I could never have taken when I last lived in the town. Not because of what's in it, but because of what's not in it - the shipyard. The shipyard which gave birth to Clydebank! Now it's 'the famous Titan crane,' but when I was growing up it was just one of a forest of cranes. One of the former operators told me last year that to him and his colleagues it was simply 'Crane Number 6.' It wasn't even the tallest, several others reached higher to dominate the skyline. Even so, I couldn't have photographed them from that vantage point, because the southern side of the town's main street would have been in the way. All of that has gone now, the heart of the place torn out, leaving just that single memorial to a riverside that was alive with the sound of an industry that is now dead and gone. When the opponents of independence gravely warned that a 'Yes' vote would be the death of shipbuilding on the Clyde the response from Clydebank was a hollow laugh. "What shipbuilding?" However, despite all of that, what I found on returning to my home town was not despair, not a community crushed by the weight of its sadness and its loss. I found a people bloodied but unbowed, a spirit undaunted, and the flame of hope and optimism kindled anew. A sense of unity and common purpose, unknown since the UCS days, was abroad once again. It was the 'Yes' campaign that had united people and given them that hope. And how was this achieved? By 'Yes Clydebank' being a broadly-based, non-party political movement of ordinary Bankies! Not party activists, real people. Labour bussed in their people to put up posters and the like, but they couldn't compete with all the posters, stickers, signs and Saltires put up by the townspeople in their own windows, in their gardens, on their cars, and anywhere they could find to put them. The party animals returned on referendum day to hand out leaflets at the polling stations, but were greatly outnumbered by the local campaigners who of course, being locals, knew many of the voters they were canvassing. The adults proudly took and wore the proffered 'Yes' stickers, and their kids grabbed the balloons as quickly as they could be supplied. From 7am when people were waiting as the doors opened, right through until 10 when they closed there was hope and optimism and even joy in the air. After the polls closed many of us repaired to the Lucky Break snooker club, unofficial headquarters of the 'Yes' campaign, to watch the results come in. I hadn't had a chance to eat until then, so by the time I arrived the place was already packed. And what an atmosphere! Hundreds of people had packed the place, which occupies the building that was once the Woolworths store in our former high street. There was singing and dancing, flags were being waved, it was genuinely exciting and exhilarating. And all this for a vote, an exercise in democracy! I have never known anything like it in my entire life. I have literally nothing to compare it to. It was unique. You could never get such a thing for the sake of a political party, no matter how progressive or honourable it might be. This was people power, of a kind my generation, and those younger than mine, have only ever glimpsed rarely, on our TV screens, from far away places. And that is why I am urging you, wherever your political sympathies may lie, please don't throw that away! We must not return to politics as usual. We must keep that spirit alive. It is bigger than any party, bigger than any politician. We must not have Yes parties and Yes supporters standing against one another in the Westminster General Election. We must stay united, and we must do that by building on the grassroots organisations like 'Yes Clydebank' that have been the great success of the campaign. By standing together, by speaking as one next year. That is the way to nurture this movement, this thing of beauty we have created, and that is the way to send the strongest, loudest, clearest message possible to Westminster, by ensuring a strong 'Yes' majority and a rout of the unionist parties all over this land. Let's build this Yes Alliance, build it out of those grassroots movements that energised so many people who have never been involved in politics before, and then let's give it a victory! Colin Fox is national co-spokesperson of the Scottish Socialist Party and sits on the YES advisory board. With voting now underway in the Independence Referendum – the first postal votes went out this week - there can be no doubt the ‘Yes’ campaign has engaged the people of Scotland on this issue in a way never seen before. The last two years have seen Scots debate crucial political questions to an unprecedented extent. The level of political participation has been extraordinary and that is down to the ‘Yes’ side. ‘Better Together’ would rather this entire discussion was not taking place. Sitting on the ‘Yes Scotland’ Advisory Board I am privileged to observe this phenomenal grassroots movement with hundreds of energised and motivated local groups up close. Despite seventy polls over the past 2 years predicting a No vote on September 18th the result hangs in the balance because there are so many unknown quantities, not least the level of turnout in Scotland’s huge working class communities. The received wisdom has it that the higher the turnout the better it is for a Yes vote. Both sides expect 80% of voters to cast their ballots. The turnout in Holyrood elections is usually around 55%. The Scottish Socialist Party has been the standard bearer of the left in the Independence movement for the past 16 years. Together with the SNP and the Greens we founded the Scottish Independence Convention in 2005. Our case for an independent socialist Scotland has added an important political dimension to ‘Yes Scotland’ and helped to build the biggest grassroots movement this country has ever seen. The socialist case for ‘Yes’ is simple and clear. Working class people will be better off economically, socially and politically. An Independent Scotland could be the world’s 14th richest country [measured by GDP per capita]. We would finally be able to address those appalling social problems Westminster ignores; the child poverty, fuel poverty, food banks and chronic shortage of affordable homes. And there is a profoundly important democratic question at the heart of this debate. Britain is not a country. It is that most unusual phenomenon in the world today, a political union of 4 countries. Scotland on the other hand is a country. We are a nation. We are not a region or a province of anywhere else. We are therefore just as entitled to self-determination as any of the world’s other 270 nations. Supporting Scotland’s democratic right to self-determination doesn’t therefore make you a Scottish nationalist. It makes you a democrat. The SSP stands in the same democratic socialist tradition as the ‘Red Clydeside’ leader John Maclean and Edinburgh’s James Connolly executed by the British for his part in the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916. A Yes vote brings forward great opportunities for working class people. The relative balance of political forces is far more favourable to Scotland’s social democrat and socialist ‘centre of gravity’ than the ‘neo-liberal, warmongering consensus predominant at Westminster. And if we had ‘vital influence at Westminster’ as Alistair Darling suggests we would not have had Scottish soldiers killed in Iraq, or the bedroom tax imposed upon us against our will, or Trident, or the privatisation of the Royal Mail, or the poll tax before that. Of course none of the economic, social or political advances inherent in the Yes vote will happen automatically. They will need to be fought for. But a ‘Yes’ vote represents a huge political opportunity to advance the left of centre, progressive, social democratic and socialist vision the majority of Scots want to see. For the socialist movement independence is about profound change. A ‘Yes’ vote unleashes powerful forces demanding change. The SNP leadership has sought to convey the message to ‘middle Scotland’ that independence is nothing to be alarmed about, that they will preserve their way of life and their privileges. ‘We will keep the pound, keep the Queen, remain in NATO, keep the BBC, maintain the hegemony of finance capital.’ And in his proposal to assemble ‘Team Scotland’ Alex Salmond aims to pack the negotiations with ‘pro-business’ voices from the SNP and the ‘No’ camp. Needless to say he has offered no place to the SSP or the Greens despite our crucial role in ‘YES Scotland’. Despite Salmond’s wishes the left is well placed to influence those negotiations. If we can mobilise those huge new political forces energised by the ‘Yes’ campaign we can ensure all the promises of ‘prosperity, fairness and democracy’ made to the working class majority are delivered. For whilst I have no doubt the corporations will aim to pressurise the SNP after September 18th, we on the left can bring our own pressure to bear by mobilising those working class forces who will have delivered victory in the Referendum itself.

2019-04-18T19:07:41Z

http://thepointhowever.org/index.php/issues?start=50

A liquid discharge head has a substrate having an inorganic material layer, an organic material layer, and an intermediate layer contacting the inorganic material layer and the organic material layer between the inorganic material layer and the organic material layer, in which the intermediate layer contains a resin having three or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in the molecules, a photocationic polymerization initiator, a thermal cationic polymerization initiator, and an onium salt containing a cation portion structure represented by (d1) and an anion portion structure represented by (d2). 1. A liquid discharge head, comprising a substrate having an inorganic material layer, an organic material layer, and an intermediate layer contacting the inorganic material layer and the organic material layer between the inorganic material layer and the organic material layer, wherein the intermediate layer contains a resin having three or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in molecules, a photocationic polymerization initiator, a thermal cationic polymerization initiator, and an onium salt containing a cation portion structure represented by (d1) shown below and an anion portion structure represented by (d2) shown below: ##STR00020## wherein, in the cation portion structure represented by (d1), R1 to R3 independently represent an organic group having 1 to 15 carbon atoms which may have a substituent, in the anion portion structure represented by (d2), Z represents a carbon atom or a sulfur atom, and when Z is a carbon atom, k=1 is established and when Z is a sulfur atom, k=2 is established, Y represents any one of --S(═O)2--, an alkylene fluoride group having 1 to 15 carbon atoms, --O--CF2--, --C(═O)--CF2--, --O--C(═O)--CF2--, --C(═O)--O--CF2--, and a single bond, and R4 represents a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms which may contain a hetero atom. 2. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the resin having a cyclohexene oxide skeleton is a resin having four or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in molecules. 3. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the thermal cationic polymerization initiator is an onium salt containing a cation portion structure of a heterocyclic derivative represented by (c1) shown below and an anion portion structure represented by (c2) shown below: ##STR00021## wherein, in the cation portion structure represented by (c1), R10 represents a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 9 carbon atoms and, in the anion portion structure represented by (c1), i and j each represent an integer which satisfies i+j=6 and any one of i=0 to 6. 5. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the resin having three or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in molecules is a resin represented by (a1) shown below: ##STR00023## wherein, in (a1), R5 represents a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms which may contain an alicyclic epoxy group, [A]s each represent any one of --O--, --C(═O)--, and an alkyl group having 1 to 9 carbon atoms which may also contain a branched chain, [A]s may be the same or different from each other, Vs each represent a group represented by (a2) shown below and are bonded to (a1) through * in (a2) shown below, Vs may be the same or different from each other, m represents an integer of 2 or more, a coefficient (n1-nm) of [A] represents 0 or an integer of 1 or more, and when m is 2, the resin has one or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in R5, ##STR00024## wherein R21 to R29 independently represent a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 9 carbon atoms. 6. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the inorganic material layer is formed with at least one of silicon oxide, silicon carbide, and silicon carbonitride. 8. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein a content of the resin having a cyclohexene oxide skeleton in the intermediate layer is 1% by mass or more. 9. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the content of the resin having a cyclohexene oxide skeleton in the intermediate layer is 3% by mass or more. 10. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the content of the resin having a cyclohexene oxide skeleton in the intermediate layer is 70% by mass or less. 11. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the content of the resin having a cyclohexene oxide skeleton in the intermediate layer is 60% by mass or less. 12. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein a content of the photocationic polymerization initiator in the intermediate layer is 0.01% by mass or more. 13. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the content of the photocationic polymerization initiator in the intermediate layer is 0.05% by mass or more. 14. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the content of the photocationic polymerization initiator in the intermediate layer is 20% by mass or less. 15. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein a content of the onium salt containing the cation portion structure represented by (d1) and the anion portion structure represented by (d2) in the intermediate layer is 6% by mass or less. 16. The liquid discharge head according to claim 1, wherein the content of the onium salt containing the cation portion structure represented by (d1) and the anion portion structure represented by (d2) in the intermediate layer is 4% by mass or less. The present invention relates to a liquid discharge head. The liquid discharge head is used for a liquid discharge apparatus, such as an ink jet recording apparatus, and has a channel forming member and a substrate. The channel forming member is provided on the substrate and forms a liquid channel and, according to circumstances, forms a liquid discharge port. The substrate has a liquid supply port formed thereon and has energy-generating elements on the front surface side. Liquid is supplied to the channel from the liquid supply port, receives energy from energy-generating elements, and then is discharged from the liquid discharge port to be applied onto a recording medium, such as paper. On the substrate, an insulation layer and a protective layer covering the energy-generating elements are provided or an inorganic material layer is provided for other various purposes in many cases. On the other hand, it is known to form the channel forming member and the other structures on the substrate with an organic material layer. In particular, when the organic material layer is formed with a photosensitive resin, high-accuracy formation can be achieved by photolithography. However, the adhesion strength between the inorganic material layer and the organic material layer on the substrate tend to be low. For example, when the organic material layer is directly disposed on the inorganic material layer, peeling occurs between both the layers in some cases. In order to solve such a problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-348290 describes a method for suppressing peeling between an inorganic material layer and an organic material layer by providing an intermediate layer formed with a polyetheramide resin between the inorganic material layer and the organic material layer. The present invention is a liquid discharge head having a substrate having an inorganic material layer, an organic material layer, and an intermediate layer contacting an inorganic material layer and an organic material layer between the inorganic material layer and the organic material layer, in which the intermediate layer contains a resin having three or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in the molecules, a photocationic polymerization initiator, a thermal cationic polymerization initiator, and an onium salt containing a cation portion structure represented by (d1) shown below and an anion portion structure represented by (d2) shown below. FIGS. 1A and 1B are views illustrating one example of a liquid discharge head of the present invention. FIGS. 2A to 2J are views illustrating one example of a method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a mask for use in exposure. According to an examination of the present inventors, even when the intermediate layer formed with a polyetheramide resin described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-348290 is disposed, peeling between the inorganic material layer and the organic material layer has occurred in some cases. For example, when an ink in which particularly the solvent ratio is high has been used as liquid to be made to pass through a channel, peeling has occurred between the intermediate layer and the organic material layer, which has consequently led to peeling between the inorganic material layer and the organic material layer in some cases. As a result of further advancing the examination, it has been found that the intermediate layer formed with a polyetheramide resin has deteriorated due to the ink described above, and the adhesion strength between the intermediate layer and the organic material layer has decreased. The manufacture of the liquid discharge head tends to require more detailed processing, and the intermediate layer itself is required to be able to be subjected to high-accuracy patterning with high resolution. Examples of a material which is hard to deteriorate due to an ink with a high solvent ratio and also has high resolving power include a bisphenol A epoxy resin, a novolac epoxy resin, an epoxy resin having an oxycyclohexene skeleton, and the like but the resins have low adhesion strength with the inorganic material layer. Therefore, when the resins are formed into the intermediate layer, peeling occurs between the intermediate layer and the inorganic material layer under a liquid (ink) immersion environment in some cases. Moreover, these epoxy resins have high mechanical strength. Thus, when the epoxy resins are used as the intermediate layer, it has also been difficult to suppress peeling due to a linear expansion coefficient difference between the inorganic material layer and the organic material layer. The peeling due to a linear expansion coefficient difference is likely to occur particularly when the head is formed to have a long length or when the thickness of the organic material layer is large. Therefore, the present invention provides a liquid discharge head having an intermediate layer which is difficult to peel between an organic material layer and a inorganic material layer and has high resolving power. Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention are described. First, the structure of the liquid discharge head of the present invention is described with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B. FIG. 1A is a view illustrating one example of the liquid discharge head of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a cross sectional view in a surface perpendicular to the front surface of a substrate taken along IB-IB of FIG. 1A. The liquid discharge head illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B has a substrate 1 on which energy-generating elements 2 which generate energy for discharging liquid are formed at a predetermined pitch. The substrate 1 is formed with silicon, for example. Examples of the energy-generating elements 2 include an electrothermal conversion element and a piezoelectric element. The energy-generating elements 2 may be provided in such a manner as to contact the front surface of the substrate 1 or may be provided to be partially hollow with respect to the front surface of the substrate 1. To the energy-generating elements 2, a control signal input electrode (not illustrated) for causing the energy-generating elements 2 to operate is connected. On the front surface side of the substrate 1, an inorganic material layer 3 and a protective layer 4 are formed. Examples of the substrate 1 include a silicon substrate formed with silicon. The silicon substrate desirably contains a silicon single crystal and the crystal orientation of the front surface is desirably (100). Examples of the inorganic material layer 3 include silicon oxide (SiO2), silicon nitride (SiN), silicon carbide (SiC), silicon carbonitride (SiCN), and the like. In FIGS. 1A and 1B, the inorganic material layer 3 is used as a heat storage layer or an insulation layer. The protective layer 4 protects the energy-generating elements, and is formed with Ta, for example. The inorganic material layer 3 may cover the energy-generating elements. In FIGS. 1A and 1B, the inorganic material layer 3 is formed on almost the entire front surface of the substrate 1. On the upper portion of the inorganic material layer 3, an intermediate layer 7 is formed. On the upper portion of the intermediate layer 7, an organic material layer 9 is formed. The upper portion is a side where discharge ports are provided with respect to the front surface of the substrate. The intermediate layer 7 is positioned between the inorganic material layer 3 and the organic material layer 9 and contacts the inorganic material layer 3 and the organic material layer 9. The intermediate layer 7 increases the adhesion strength between the inorganic material layer 3 and the organic material layer 9. In FIGS. 1A and 1B, the organic material layer 9 is a channel forming member which forms a channel 15 and discharge ports 12 for liquid. The substrate 1 is provided with a supply port 14. Liquid supplied to the channel 15 from the supply port 14 receives energy from the energy-generating elements 2, and then is discharged from the discharge ports 12. Next, a method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head of the present invention is described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2J. FIGS. 2A to 2J are cross sectional views of the liquid discharge head in the same portion as that of FIG. 1B. First, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, the substrate 1 having the energy-generating elements 2 on the front surface side is prepared. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2B, the inorganic material layer 3 is formed on the front surface side of the substrate 1 in such a manner as to cover the energy-generating elements 2. Moreover, the protective layer 4 is formed on the upper portion of the energy-generating elements 2. The inorganic material layer 3 and the protective layer 4 are patterned as required. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2C, the intermediate layer 7 is formed on the upper portion of the inorganic material layer 3 in such a manner as to contact the inorganic material layer 3. The intermediate layer 7 is formed by, for example, application by spin coating. The thickness of the intermediate layer 7 is preferably 1 μm or more and 20 μm or less. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2D, exposure of the intermediate layer 7 is performed. The exposure of the intermediate layer 7 is performed using a mask 6 with an i-line exposure stepper, for example. Subsequently, the intermediate layer 7 is heat-treated at a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point of the intermediate layer 7. Such heat treatment is referred to as a PEB (Post Exposure Bake) process. When the intermediate layer 7 is a negative photosensitive resin, a portion which is subjected to the exposure of the intermediate layers 7 is cured. The mask 6 is one in which a light shielding film, such as a chromium film, is formed according to the pattern on a substrate containing glass, quartz, or the like which penetrates light of the exposure wavelength in such a manner as not to expose a portion which is not to be subjected to the exposure, e.g., the intermediate layer 7 on the energy-generating elements 2. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2E, the intermediate layer 7 is patterned by developing a non-exposed portion of the intermediate layer 7 with a developing solution. Examples of the developing solution include methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), xylene, and the like. Moreover, rinse treatment with isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and the like and post bake may be performed as required. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2F, a mold material 8 is formed on the front surface side of the substrate 1. The mold material 8 is a mold material for the channel, and when the mold material 8 is removed, the removed portion forms the channel. The mold material 8 can be formed with resin or metal. In particular, the mold material 8 is desirably formed with a positive photosensitive resin in terms of removability and patternability. Specifically, vinyl ketone-based photodegradable high molecular weight compounds, such as polymethyl isopropenyl ketone and polyvinyl ketone, and acrylic photodegradable high molecular weight compounds can be used. Examples of the acrylic photodegradable high molecular weight compounds include a copolymer of methacrylic acid and methyl methacrylate, a copolymer of methacrylic acid, methyl methacrylate, and anhydrous methacrylic acid, and the like. The mold material 8 is formed by applying the resin by spin coating, slit coating, or the like, and then patterning the resin. The thickness of the mold material 8 may be set to a desired channel height and preferably set to 2 μm or more and 50 μm or less. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2G, the organic material layer 9 is formed in such a manner as to cover the mold material 8. The organic material layer 9 is formed with resin, for example. In FIG. 2G, the organic material layer 9 serves as the channel forming member. In such a case, the organic material layer 9 is desirably formed with a negative photosensitive resin. The organic material layer 9 is positioned on the upper portion of the intermediate layer 7 and contacts the intermediate layer 7 in a portion where the mold material 8 does not exist. More specifically, the intermediate layer 7 contacts the inorganic material layer 3 and the organic material layer 9 between the inorganic material layer 3 and the organic material layer 9. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2H, exposure of the organic material layer 9 is performed using a mask 10. The organic material layer 9 is desirably formed with a cationic polymerization type epoxy resin composition when considering the mechanical strength, the liquid (ink) resistance, the resolution, and the like. More specifically, the organic material layer 9 desirably contains a cationic photopolymerization type epoxy resin composition containing a bisphenol A epoxy resin, a phenol novolac epoxy resin, a cresol novolac epoxy resin, a multifunctional epoxy resin having an oxycyclohexane skeleton, or the like. By the use of an epoxy resin having two or more functional epoxy groups, a cured substance forms a three-dimensional crosslinking, and therefore a desired property is easily obtained. Examples of the epoxy resins include "CELLOXIDE 2021", "GT-300 series", "GT-400 series", and "EHPE3150" (Trade names) manufactured by Daicel Corporation, "157S70" (Trade name) manufactured by Japan epoxy resin, "EPICLON N-865" (Trade name) manufactured by Dainippon Ink & Chemicals, Inc., and the like. The epoxy resin composition desirably contains a photopolymerization initiator. Examples of the photopolymerization initiator include sulfonic acid compounds, diazomethane compounds, sulfonium salt compounds, iodonium salt compounds, disulfone compounds, and the like. Specific examples include "ADEKA OPTOMER SP-170", "ADEKA OPTOMER SP-172", and "SP-150" (Trade names) manufactured by ADEKA CORPORATION, "BBI-103" and "BBI-102" (Trade names) manufactured by Midori Kagaku Co., Ltd., "IBPF", "IBCF", "TS-01", and "TS-91" (Trade names) manufactured by Sanwa Chemical Co., Ltd., and the like. Furthermore, the epoxy resin composition can contain basic substances, such as amines, photosensitization substances, such as anthracene derivatives, silane coupling agents, and the like for the purpose of improving the photolithography performance, the adhesion performance, and the like. In addition thereto, as the organic material layer 9, "SU-8 series" manufactured by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd., "TMMR S2000" and "TMMF S2000" (Trade names) manufactured by TOKYO OHKA KOGYO CO., LTD., and the like commercially available as a negative resist may be used. Examples of a method for forming the organic material layer 9 include, for example, a method including dissolving an organic material, such as a solid-like resin, in a solvent at normal temperature (25° C.), and then applying the solution by spin coating or the like. Examples of such a solvent include an organic solvent. Specific examples include alcohol solvents, such as ethanol and isopropyl alcohol, ketone solvents, such as acetone, methyl isobutyl ketone, diisobutyl ketone, and cyclohexanone, aromatic solvents, such as toluene, xylene, and mesitylene, ethyl lactate, propylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether, and the like. These substances can be used alone or as a mixture. The organic material layer 9 is a negative photosensitive resin. When exposure thereof is performed, the exposure is performed through a mask 10 having a pattern of the discharge ports using an i-line exposure stepper or the like. Furthermore, by heat-treating (PEB) the organic material layer 9 at a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point of the organic material layer 9, the exposed portion is cured. As the mask 10, the same one as the mask 6 can be used. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2I, the non-exposed portion of the organic material layer 9 is developed with a developing solution to form discharge ports 12 in the organic material layer 9. Examples of the developing solution include Methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), xylene, and the like. Rinse treatment with isopropylalcohol (IPA) or the like and post bake may be performed as required. In FIGS. 2H and 2I, discharge ports are formed in the organic material layer 9 by exposure and development. In such a case, with respect to the organic material layer 9, the thickness on the mold material 8 is preferably 3 μm or more from the viewpoint of mechanical strength and the like. The upper limit of the thickness is not particularly limited insofar as the development properties of the discharge port are not impaired and the thickness on the mold material 8 is preferably 100 μm or less. The front surface of the organic material layer 9 may be subjected to surface modification treatment, such as water-repellent treatment and hydrophillic treatment. In particular, when the organic material layer 9 forms the discharge port, the discharge port surface in which the discharge port opens is desirably subjected to the above-described surface modification treatment. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2J, a supply port 14 is formed in the substrate 1 by wet etching with an alkaline etching solution, such as TMAH or KOH, or reactive ion etching. Furthermore, the mold material 8 is dissolved and removed to form a channel 15. Finally, the organic material layer 9 is subjected to heat treatment of 150° C. or higher to be sufficiently cured to complete a liquid discharge head. The present invention has a feature in the configuration of the intermediate layer which is used contacting the inorganic material layer and the organic material layer between the organic material layer and the inorganic material layer in the above-described liquid discharge head. The intermediate layer of the present invention contains a resin having three or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in the molecules, a photocationic polymerization initiator, a thermal cationic polymerization initiator, and an onium salt containing a cation portion structure represented by (d1) shown below and an anion portion structure represented by (d2) shown below. Hereinafter, the details are described. As the resin having three or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in the molecules, a resin represented by (a1) shown below is desirably used. [In (a1), R5 represents a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms which may contain an alicyclic epoxy group. [A]s each represent any one of --O--, --C(═O)--, and an alkyl group having 1 to 9 carbon atoms which may also contain a branched chain. [A]s may be the same or different from each other. Vs each represent a group represented by (a2) shown below and are bonded to (a1) through * in (a2) shown below. Vs may be the same or different from each other. m represents an integer of 2 or more. The coefficient (n1-nm) of [A] represents 0 or an integer of 1 or more. When m is 2, the resin has one or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in R5. More specific examples of the resin having three or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in the molecules are shown below. n1 to n4 of (a1-1), (a1-5) to (a1-10), (a1-13), and (a1-14) above each represent an integer which satisfies n1+n2+n3+n4=0 to 20. n1 to n3 of (a1-2), (a1-11), and (a1-12) each represent an integer which satisfies n1+n2+n3=0 to 10. n1 and n2 of (a1-3) each represent an integer which satisfies n1+n2=0 to 5. n1 to n5 of (a1-4) each represent an integer which satisfies n1+n2+n3+n4+n5=0 to 25. Among the above, examples of commercially available one include "EPOLEAD GT301" equivalent to (a1-3) [One in which n1+n2 in Formula (a1-3) is 1, Epoxy equivalent of 185 to 205, manufactured by Daicel Corporation] and, in addition thereto, "EPOLEAD GT302" [One in which n1+n2 in Formula (a1-3) is 2, Epoxy equivalent of 225 to 250, manufactured by Daicel Corporation]. Moreover, "EPOLEAD GT401" [One in which n1+n2+n3+n4 in Formula (a1-1) is 1, Epoxy equivalent of 210 to 225, manufactured by Daicel Corporation] is mentioned. Moreover, "EPOLEAD GT403" [One in which n1+n2+n3+n4 in Formula (a1-1) is 3, Epoxy equivalent of 270 to 300, manufactured by Daicel Corporation] is mentioned. Among the resins having three or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in the molecules, a resin having four or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in the molecules is desirable in terms of peeling resistance. Among the above, (a1-1), (a1-4) to (a1-10), (a1-13), and (a1-14) are equivalent to the resin. The content of the resin having three or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in the molecules in the intermediate layer is preferably 1% by mass or more, more preferably 3% by mass or more, and still more preferably 5% by mass or more from the viewpoint of obtaining an intermediate layer having high sensitivity, good hardness, and high peeling resistance. The content is preferably 70% by mass or less and more preferably 60% by mass or less from the viewpoint of obtaining an intermediate layer having a good applied surface state. Since the cyclohexene oxide skeleton of the resin having three or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in the molecules exhibits high cationic polymerization properties and easily obtains high crosslink density, a cured substance excellent in chemical resistance can be obtained. Therefore, the resistance against an ink having high solvent ratio, for example, also becomes high. In addition thereto, due to the fact that the resin has the [A] skeleton (any one --O--, --C(═O)--, and an alkyl group having 1 to 9 carbon atoms which may also contain a branched chain), the mechanical strength of the cured substance becomes good. Therefore, peeling due to a linear expansion coefficient difference between the inorganic material layer and the organic material layer can also be suppressed. Furthermore, the adhesiveness with the organic material layer formed with an organic material becomes good. Examples of the photocationic polymerization initiator include an onium salt, a borate salt, a triazine compound, an azo compound, a peroxide, and the like. Aromatic sulfonium salts or aromatic iodonium salts are desirable in terms of sensitivity, stability, reactivity, and solubility. Examples of the aromatic sulfonium salt include, for example, TPS-102, 103, 105, MDS-103, 105, 205, and DTS-102, 103 commercially available from Midori Kagaku Co., Ltd., SP-170 and 172 commercially available from ADEKA, and the like. Examples of the aromatic iodonium salt include DPI-105, MPI-103, 105, BBI-102, 103, and 105 commercially available from Midori Kagaku Co., Ltd. and the like. In terms of sensitivity to i-lines (Wavelength of 365 nm), it is desirable to use an onium salt containing a cation portion structure represented by (b1) shown below and an anion portion structure represented by (b2) shown below and containing a 1 to 1 combination of the cation portion structure and the anion portion structure as the photocationic polymerization initiator. The cation portion structure represented by (b1) desirably contains a cyclic carbonyl structure from the viewpoint of having high i-line photosensitivity and more desirably contains a heterocyclic group including a cyclic carbonyl structure. It is desirable that at least one of R6 to R8 contains a cyclic carbonyl structure and it is more desirable that two or more of R6 to R8 contain a cyclic carbonyl structure. When the carbonyl group exists in a conjugated system, the carbonyl group greatly contributes to extend the wavelength of the absorption. In particular, due to the fact that the conjugated system contains an aromatic ring, the sensitivity to i-lines improves. In the anion portion structure represented by (b2), R9 is desirably a hydrocarbon group having one or more fluorine atoms when h=0 is established and Y is --S(═O)2-- or a single bond. When g is 2 or more, any one of carbon atoms of one of R9s and any one of carbon atoms of the other one of R9s may be bonded to each other through a single bond to form a ring structure. Examples of R9 include an alkyl group or an aryl group which may be replaced by a fluorine atom, for example. X is desirably a phosphorus atom. In the case of a Lewis acid system, i.e., when X is a phosphorus atom, the cured film (intermediate layer) to be formed tends to have excellent heat resistance. One example of the cation portion structure represented by (b1) and one example of the anion portion structure represented by (b2) are shown below. A feature of the cation portion structure represented by (b1) resides in having high sensitivity to i-lines and the like because the extension of the wavelength of the absorption wavelength of the photocationic polymerization initiator can be achieved due to containing two or more oxygen atoms. On the other hand, in the anion portion structure represented by (b2), the (b1) component is decomposed after the exposure to generate acid resulting from the structure of (b2). Thereafter, the cationic polymerization reaction of the epoxy group in the resin can be initiated and promoted by the action of the generated acid. The generated acid more desirably has acid strength which allows sufficient curing of the resin having an epoxy group. The acid strength which allows sufficient curing of the resin having an epoxy group means, in the case of Lewis acid, strong acid stronger than hexafluoroantimonate, i.e., larger than the Hammett acidity function --HO=18. In the case of Broensted acid, the acid strength means strong acid equal to or stronger than nonafluorobutanesulfonate, i.e., PKa=-3.57 or more. When the use amount of the photocationic polymerization initiator to the cationic polymerization properties monomer is small, the curing rate tends to become low. Moreover, the peeling resistance tends to decrease. Therefore, the content of the photocationic polymerization initiator in the intermediate layer is preferably 0.01% by mass or more and more preferably 0.05% by mass or more. When the use amount of the photocationic polymerization initiator is excessively large, there is a tendency for the transmittance of a coating film to decrease or for the storage stability of a solution to decrease. Therefore, the content of the photocationic polymerization initiator in the intermediate layer is preferably 30% by mass or less and more preferably 20% by mass or less. As the thermal cationic polymerization initiator, the thermal cationic polymerization initiator itself desirably does not have photosensitivity in obtaining the intermediate layer capable of performing pattern formation with high accuracy and high sensitivity. In particular, when i-lines are used in the exposure, the thermal cationic polymerization initiator itself desirably does not have photosensitivity to the i-lines. Examples of the thermal cationic polymerization initiator for use in the present invention include copper triflate (trifluoromethanesulfonic acid copper (II)), ascorbic acid, and the like. Moreover, an onium salt containing a cation portion structure of a heterocyclic derivative represented by (c1) shown below and an anion portion structure represented by (c2) is mentioned. The thermal cationic polymerization initiator is desirably the onium salt containing the cation portion structure of the heterocyclic derivative represented by (c1) and the anion portion structure represented by (c2) shown above in terms of storage stability. In particular, the onium salt containing the cation portion structure of the heterocyclic derivative in which R10 is a straight chain hydrocarbon group having 1 to 9 carbon atoms is excellent in storage stability and is desirably used for the present invention. Specific examples of such a component are shown below. (c1-1) above is a cation portion structure of a heterocyclic derivative having a straight chain hydrocarbon group and (c2-1) above is one of desirable specific examples of the anion portion structure represented by (c2). In the present invention, by the use of the thermal cationic polymerization initiator in combination with the photocationic polymerization initiator, both the initiators synergistically act, and thus the crosslinking density of the intermediate layer becomes high by a heating process after light irradiation, so that the adhesiveness with the inorganic material layer can be further increased. Examples of the inorganic material layer of the present invention include silicon oxide (SiO2), silicon nitride (SiN), silicon carbide (SiC), and silicon carbonitride (SiCN), Ta, and the like. The adhesiveness of the inorganic material layer and the intermediate layer can be particularly increased due to the action of the resin having three or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in the molecules and the thermal cationic polymerization initiator described above. When satisfying the relational expression, the thermal cationic polymerization initiator hardly reduces the patternability of the intermediate layer and also can increase the adhesion strength of the intermediate layer. Moreover, in order for the intermediate layer to demonstrate sufficient adhesion strength, it is desirable to perform heat-treatment at 140° C. or higher in the heat treatment after the patterning. By applying heat of 140° C. or higher to the intermediate layer, the effect of containing the thermal cationic polymerization initiator is further demonstrated and the intermediate layer can develop sufficient adhesion strength. An onium salt (hereinafter also referred to as a (d) component) containing a cation portion structure represented by (d1) and an anion portion structure represented by (d2) contains a 1 to 1 combination of the cation portion structure (d1) and the anion portion structure (d2) having the following specific structures. In the cation portion structure represented by (d1), R1 to R3 each represent, for example, an aryl group having 6 to 15 carbon atoms in total or an alkyl group having 1 to 15 carbon atoms in total and the groups may be replaced by, for example, at least one selected from the group consisting of the groups of an alkyl group, an alkyl fluoride group, a hydroxy group, a cycloalkyl group, an alkoxy group, an alkyl carbonyl group, an arylcarbonyl group, an arylthio group, an alkylthio group, an aryl group, and an aryloxy group and halogen atoms. More specifically, examples of the substituents include, for example, the groups, such as alkyl groups having 1 to 6 carbon atoms (e.g., a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group, an isopropyl group, and a butyl group), alkyl fluoride groups having 1 to 6 carbon atoms (e.g., a trifluoromethyl group and a pentafluoroethyl group), hydroxy groups, cycloalkyl groups having 3 to 6 carbon atoms (e.g., a cyclopropyl group, a cyclobutyl group, a cyclopentyl group, and a cyclohexyl group), alkoxy groups having 1 to 6 carbon atoms (e.g., a methoxy group, an ethoxy group, an n-propoxy group, an iso-propoxy group, an n-butoxy group, and a tert-butoxy group), alkyl carbonyl groups having 2 to 6 carbon atoms, aryl carbonyl groups having 7 to 11 carbon atoms, arylthio groups having 6 to 10 carbon atoms (e.g., a phenylthio group and a naphthylthio group), alkylthio groups having 1 to 6 carbon atoms (e.g., a methylthio group, an ethylthio group, an n-propylthio group, an iso-propylthio group, an n-butylthio group, and a tert-butyl thio group), aryl groups having 6 to 10 carbon atoms (e.g., a phenyl group and a naphthyl group), and aryloxy groups having 6 to 10 carbon atoms (e.g., a phenoxy group and a naphthoxy group), halogen atoms (e.g., a chlorine atom, a bromine atom, and a fluorine atom), and the like. R1 to R3 may be the same or different from each other. Two or more Rs of R2 to R3 may be bonded to each other directly or through --O--, --S--, --SO--, --SO2--, --NH--, --NRa--, --CO--, --C(═O)O--, --C(═O)NH--, an alkylene or phenylene group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms to form a ring structure. In the anion portion structure represented by (d2), R4 represents, for example, alkyl groups having 1 to 20 carbon atoms in total or aryl groups having 6 to 20 carbon atoms in total, and these groups may be replaced by at least one selected from the group consisting of an alkyl group, an oxo group, a cycloalkyl group, an alkoxy group, and an alkyl carbonyl group, for example. More specifically, examples of these substituents include, for example, alkyl groups having 1 to 10 carbon atoms (e.g., a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group, an isopropyl group, and a butyl group), cycloalkyl groups having 3 to 6 carbon atoms (e.g., a cyclopropyl group, a cyclobutyl group, a cyclopentyl group, and a cyclohexyl group), alkoxy groups having 1 to 6 carbon atoms (e.g., a methoxy group, an ethoxy group, an n-propoxy group, an iso-propoxy group, an n-butoxy group, and a tert-butoxy group), alkylcarbonyl groups having 2 to 6 carbon atoms, and the like. R4 may form a ring structure by bonding of two or more carbon atoms to each other directly or through alkylene having 1 to 3 carbon atoms. The cyclic structure may be a monocyclic structure or a polycyclic structure. In the anion portion structure represented by (d2), R4 is desirably a structure containing an aromatic hydrocarbon group or an alicyclic hydrocarbon group. In the case of the structure containing an aromatic hydrocarbon group or an alicyclic hydrocarbon group, the bulkiness and the carbon density thereof prevent acid generated from the anion portion structure represented by (d2) from volatilizing in the heating process to evaporate into the air atmosphere. In the anion portion structure represented by (d2), Z is desirably a sulfur atom. When Z is a sulfur atom, the anion portion structure can be further stabilized as compared with the case where Z is a carbon atom. Therefore, the nucleophilicity of the anion portion structure is suppressed, so that the decomposition of the (d) component caused by the nucleophilic attack to the cation portion structure represented by (d1) by the anion portion structure can be suppressed. Examples of (d1) and (d2) are shown below. After the exposure, the photocationic polymerization initiator initiates and promotes the cationic polymerization reaction of the epoxy group, and therefore the photocationic polymerization initiator is suitable for the exposure in this respect. On the other hand, when acid diffuses into the intermediate layer, the non-exposed portion is cured to reduce the resolution in some cases. The thermal cationic polymerization initiator is suitable for increasing the adhesion strength of the inorganic material layer and the intermediate layer. On the other hand, the storage stability of the thermal cationic polymerization initiator is low and the curing of the epoxy group gradually advances under a non-heating environment, and therefore the thermal cationic polymerization initiator is difficult to store over a long period of time. As measures for solving the problems, the (d) component is used in the present invention. When acid given, by protons, to the anion portion structure represented by (d2) is presumed, the anion portion structure represented by (d2) in the (d) component has a weak acid structure which cannot achieve epoxy polymerization or in which the acidity which causes polymerization is very low. Therefore, when strong acid which causes epoxy polymerization encounters the (d) component, salt exchange occurs, so that the strong acid is converted to weak acid which cannot achieve epoxy polymerization or which is difficult to cause polymerization. More specifically, the (d) component can function as a good quencher to acid which promotes epoxy polymerization in the epoxy polymerization. As a result, when the intermediate layer contains the (d) component, the development contrast can be increased, and thus a pattern with higher resolution can be obtained. In addition thereto, a dark reaction can be inhibited, so that the intermediate layer excellent in storage stability can be obtained. The anion portion structure represented by (d2) is desirably an anion portion structure represented by (d20) shown below in terms of storage stability. The (d) component can be used alone or in combination of two or more kinds thereof. The content of the (d) component in the intermediate layer is preferably 0.001% by mass or more from the viewpoint of an improvement of the resolution or an improvement of storage stability. The content is preferably 6% by mass or less and more preferably 4% by mass or less from the viewpoint of the polymerization and the peeling resistance of a cured substance. The content ratio of the photocationic polymerization initiator, the thermal cationic polymerization initiator, and the (d) component in the intermediate layer is desirably set to satisfy the following relational expression. When satisfying the relational expression, the content of the photocationic polymerization initiator and the thermal cationic polymerization initiator which generate acid effective for epoxy polymerization is higher than the content of the (d) component which functions as a quencher, and thus the sensitivity of the adhesion layer can be increased. The intermediate layer can be applied while containing an organic solvent. The organic solvent can be used in order to adjust the viscosity of the intermediate layer for use in the present invention, for example, and, by adjusting the addition amount thereof to a suitable addition amount, the intermediate layer with a good applied face state is obtained. The organic solvent is not particularly limited and may be a solvent which can be used when dissolving each of the components described above contained in the intermediate layer to prepare the intermediate layer. Examples of the solvent include organic solvents, such as alkylene glycol monoalkyl ether carboxylates, alkylene glycol monoalkyl ethers, alkyl lactate esters, alkyl alkoxy propionates, cyclic lactones (preferably 4 to 10 carbon numbers), monoketone compounds (preferably 4 to 10 carbon atoms) which may contain a ring, alkylene carbonates, alkyl alkoxyacetates, alkyl pyruvates, and compounds having a benzene ring. As the alkylene glycol monoalkyl ether carboxylates, propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate, propylene glycol monoethyl ether acetate, propylene glycol monopropyl ether acetate, propylene glycol monobutyl ether acetate, propylene glycol monomethyl ether propionate, propylene glycol monoethyl ether propionate, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate, and ethylene glycol monoethyl ether acetate are desirably mentioned, for example. As the alkylene glycol monoalkyl ethers, propylene glycol monomethyl ether, propylene glycol monoethyl ether, propylene glycol monopropyl ether, propylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, and ethylene glycol monoethyl ether are desirably mentioned, for example. As the alkyl lactate esters, methyl lactate, ethyl lactate, propyl lactate, and butyl lactate are desirably mentioned, for example. As the alkyl alkoxy propionates, 3-ethoxy ethyl propionate, 3-methoxy methyl propionate, 3-ethoxy methyl propionate, and 3-methoxy ethyl propionate are desirably mentioned, for example. As the cyclic lactones, β-propiolactone, β-butyrolactone, γ-butyrolactone, α-methyl-γ-butyrolactone, β-methyl-γ-butyrolactone, γ-valerolactone, γ-caprolactone, γ-octanoic lactone, and α-hydroxy-γ-butyro lactone are desirably mentioned, for example. As the monoketone compounds which may contain a ring, 2-butanone, 3-methyl butanone, pinacolone, 2-pentanone, 3-pentanone, 3-methyl-2-pentanone, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, 2-methyl-3-pentanone, 4,4-dimethyl-2-pentanone, 2,4-dimethyl-3-pentanone, 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-pentanone, 2-hexanone, 3-hexanone, 5-methyl-3-hexanone, 2-heptanone, 3-heptanone, 4-heptanone, 2-methyl-3-heptanone, 5-methyl-3-heptanone, 2,6-dimethyl-4-heptanone, 2-octanone, 3-octanone, 2-nonanone, 3-nonanone, 5-nonanone, 2-decanone, 3-decanone, 4-decanone, 5-hexene-2-one, 3-pentene-2-one, cyclopentanone, 2-methylcyclopentanone, 3-methylcyclopentanone, 2,2-dimethyl cyclopentanone, 2,4,4-trimethyl cyclopentanone, cyclohexanone, 3-methyl cyclohexanone, 4-methyl cyclohexanone, 4-ethyl cyclohexanone, 2,2-dimethyl cyclohexanone, 2,6-dimethyl cyclohexanone, 2,2,6-trimethyl cyclohexanone, cycloheptanone, 2-methyl cycloheptanone, and 3-methyl cycloheptanone are desirably mentioned, for example. As the alkylene carbonates, propylene carbonate, vinylene carbonate, ethylene carbonate, and butylene carbonate are desirably mentioned, for example. As the alkyl alkoxyacetates, 2-methoxyethyl acetate, 2-ethoxyethyl acetate, 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl acetate, 3-methoxy-3-methylbutyl acetate, and 1-methoxy-2-propyl acetate are desirably mentioned, for example. As the alkyl pyruvates, methyl pyruvate, ethyl pyruvate, and propyl pyruvate are desirably mentioned, for example. As the compounds having a benzene ring, benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, orthoxylene, metaxylene, and paraxylene are desirably mentioned. When indicated as xylene, a mixture of orthoxylene, metaxylene, paraxylene, ethyl benzene, and the like may be acceptable. Examples of the organic solvent which can be desirably used include solvents having a boiling point of 110° C. or higher under normal temperature (25° C.) and under normal pressure. Specific examples include cyclopentanone, γ-butyrolactone, cyclohexanone, ethyl lactate, ethylene glycol monoethyl ether acetate, propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate, 3-ethoxy propionate ethyl, ethyl pyruvate, 2-ethoxyethyl acetate, 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy) ethyl acetate, propylene carbonate, and xylene. In the present invention, the solvents may be used alone or in combination of two or more kinds thereof. The content of the (d) component in the application to the substrate in the intermediate layer is preferably 5% by mass or more and more preferably 10% by mass or more from the viewpoint of the dissolution of each component contained in the intermediate layer. The content is preferably 90% by mass or less and more preferably 85% by mass or less from the viewpoint of obtaining a suitable film thickness. Thus, when applied, the intermediate layer with a good applied face state is obtained. The intermediate layer may contain a silane compound. When the silane compound is contained, the silane compound can improve or assist the adhesiveness between the inorganic material layer and the intermediate layer. The silane compound is not particularly limited and organo silane compounds are desirable. Examples include, for example, those having epoxy groups, such as γ-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane, γ-glycidoxypropylmethyl diethoxy silane, γ-glycidoxypropyl triethoxy silane, and β-(3,4-epoxycyclohexyl)ethyl trimethoxy silane, those having amino groups, such as N-β(aminoethyl)-γ-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane, N-β(aminoethyl)-γ-aminopropyl triethoxysilane, γ-β(aminoethyl) 3-aminopropyl methyl dimethoxysilane, γ-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane, γ-aminopropyl triethoxysilane, N-phenyl-γ-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane, N-phenyl γ-aminopropyl triethoxysilane, γ-triethoxysilyl-N-(1,3-dimethyl-butylidene)propylamine, and N-(vinylbenzyl)-β-aminoethyl-γ-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane, those having isocyanate groups, such as 3-isocyanatepropyl trimethoxysilane and 3-isocyanatepropyl triethoxysilane, and those having mercapto groups, such as γ-mercaptopropyl trimethoxysilane, γ-mercaptopropylmethyl dimethoxysilane, and γ-mercaptopropyl triethoxysilane. As the silane compound, a silane compound having an epoxy group is desirable and, for example, "SILQUEST A-187 SILANE" manufactured by Momentive Performance Materials Inc. Japan, LLC is mentioned. The intermediate layer may contain an epoxy resin which is different from the resin having three or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in the molecules in terms of resolution or hardness. Such an epoxy resin is desirably an epoxy resin containing an aromatic group or an epoxy resin containing an alicyclic group in terms of the purpose described above. The epoxy resin containing an aromatic group is desirably a multifunctional aromatic epoxy resin compound having two or more epoxy groups in one molecule. Examples of such a multifunctional aromatic epoxy resin include a multifunctional phenol novolac epoxy resin, a multifunctional orthocresol novolac epoxy resin, a multifunctional triphenyl novolac epoxy resin, a multifunctional bisphenol A novolac epoxy resin, a multifunctional bisphenol F novolac epoxy resin, a multifunctional bisphenol A epoxy resin, a multifunctional bisphenol F epoxy resin, and the like. Examples include, for example, "EPICOAT157S70" manufactured by Japan epoxy resin, "EP-4000S" manufactured by ADEKA, "EP-4010S" manufactured by ADEKA, "EPICLON N-865" manufactured by Dainippon Ink & Chemicals, Inc., and the like. The epoxy resin containing an alicyclic group is desirably a multifunctional epoxy resin compound containing an epoxy group in one molecule and containing an alicyclic group different from that of a cyclohexene oxide skeleton. Examples of such a multifunctional epoxy resin include a multifunctional alicyclic epoxy resin and a hydrogenated epoxy resin in which a multifunctional aromatic epoxy resin is hydrogenated. Examples of the multifunctional aromatic epoxy resin include a multifunctional phenol novolac epoxy resin, a multifunctional orthocresol novolac epoxy resin, a multifunctional triphenyl novolac epoxy resin, a multifunctional bisphenol A novolac epoxy resin, a multifunctional bisphenol F novolac epoxy resin, a multifunctional bisphenol A epoxy resin, a multifunctional bisphenol F epoxy resin, and the like. Among the above, examples of the multifunctional alicyclic epoxy resin include "EHPE 3150" manufactured by Daicel Corporation, examples of the hydrogenated epoxy resin include "ST-4000D" manufactured by Nippon Steel Chemical Co., Ltd., and the like, for example. When these epoxy resins are used as other epoxy resins, the content of other epoxy resins in the intermediate layer is preferably 0.02% by mass or more and more preferably 0.2% by mass or more in order to sufficiently obtain the effect of incorporating other epoxy resins. The content is preferably 80% by mass or less and more preferably 70% by mass or less from the viewpoint of sufficiently obtaining the effects of stabilizing the applied face state and the resin having three or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in the molecules. By adjusting the content in this range, the intermediate layer having appropriate resolution and hardness and having a good applied face state when applied is obtained. The intermediate layer may contain other additives for the purpose of an increase in crosslinking density, an improvement of application properties, an improvement of water resistance, an improvement of solvent resistance, imparting flexibility, an improvement of adhesion strength with a substrate, and the like. For example, SP-100 manufactured by ADEKA and the like may be contained as a wavelength sensitizer. A plurality kinds of these additives may be mixed to be contained. The present invention is described in more detail with reference to Examples shown below. Materials shown in Table 1 shown below were mixed to give compositions of Examples 1 to 25 and Comparative Examples 1 to 4 for forming an intermediate layer. The unit in Table 1 is "part(s) by mass". (g-1): EP-4000S (manufactured by ADEKA), Epoxy equivalent: 260, Viscosity: 1800 mPas/25° C. (g-2): JER157S70 (manufactured by Japan epoxy resin), Epoxy equivalent: 210, Softening point: 70° C. (g-3): EHPE3150 (manufactured by Daicel Corporation), Epoxy equivalent: 180, Softening point: 85° C. (z-2): CELLOXIDE 2081 (manufactured by Daicel Corporation), The structural formula is shown below. First, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, a substrate 1 formed with silicon having energy-generating elements 2 containing TaSiN on the front surface side was prepared. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2B, SiCN was formed into a film with a thickness of 1.0 μm as an inorganic material layer 3 on the front surface side of the substrate 1 by a plasma CVD method in such a manner as to cover the energy-generating elements 2. Subsequently, Ta was formed into a film with a thickness of 0.25 μm as a protective layer 4 by a sputtering method. Furthermore, the inorganic material layer 3 and the protective layer 4 were patterned by a photolithography process and reactive ion etching. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2C, an intermediate layer 7 was formed on the upper portion of the inorganic material layer 3 in such a manner as to contact the inorganic material layer 3. As the intermediate layer 7, each composition shown in Table 1 was used. The intermediate layer 7 was formed by applying each composition with a spin coater, and then dried by prebaking the same under the conditions of 90° C. for 5 minutes in such a manner as to have a thickness of 2.0 μm. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2D, pattern exposure of the intermediate layer 7 was performed using an i-line exposure stepper (manufactured by CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Trade name: i5), heated on a hot plate at 90° C. for 4 minutes, and further heated at 150° C. for 4 minutes. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 2E, the intermediate layer 7 was patterned by developing a non-exposed portion of the intermediate layer 7 with Methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK). Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2F, a mold material 8 was formed on the front surface side of the substrate 1. The mold material 8 was formed by applying polymethyl isopropenyl ketone (manufactured by TOKYO OHKA KOGYO CO., LTD., Trade name: ODUR-1010) with a thickness of 12 μm. Subsequently, the mold material 8 was patterned by a Deep-UV exposure device (manufactured by USHIO, INC., Trade name: UX3000). Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2G, an organic material layer 9 was formed in such a manner as to cover the mold material 8. As the organic material layer 9, a negative photosensitive resin (manufactured by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd., Trade name: SU-8-3025) was applied onto the mold material 8 with a film thickness of 25 μm from the silicon substrate surface and 13 μm from the front surface of the mold material 8. Subsequently, drying by prebaking was performed under the conditions of 90° C. for 5 minutes. As illustrated in FIG. 2H, after the drying by prebaking, exposure of the organic material layer 9 was performed using a mask 10. The exposure was performed using an i-line exposure stepper (manufactured by CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Trade name: i5), and further PEB was performed by a hot plate under the conditions of 90° C. for 4 minutes. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2I, a non-exposed portion of the organic material layer 9 was developed with Methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) to form discharge ports 12 in the organic material layer 9. Next, a 1 mm wide etching mask having a rectangular opening shape was formed on the back surface of the substrate 1 with a polyetheramide resin composition (manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd., Trade name: HIMAL1200). Subsequently, the substrate 1 was immersed in 22% by mass of a TMAH (tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide) aqueous solution held at 80° C. for anisotropic etching (wet etching) of the substrate 1. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 2J, a supply port 14 was formed in the substrate 1. When forming the supply port 14, the front surface side of the substrate 1 was covered with a protective film (manufactured by TOKYO OHKA KOGYO CO., LTD., Trade name: OBC) for the purpose of protecting the organic material layer 9 and the like on the front surface of the substrate 1 from the TMAH aqueous solution. After the formation of the supply port 14, the protective film was dissolved and removed using xylene. Next, exposure of the entire surface of the substrate 1 was performed using a Deep-UV exposure device (manufactured by USHIO, INC., Trade name: UX-3000). Thereafter, by immersing the mold material 8 into methyl lactate while giving ultrasonic waves to dissolve and remove the mold material 8, a channel 15 was formed as illustrated in FIG. 2J. Subsequently, the organic material layer 9 was cured by performing heat-treatment at 200° C. for 60 minutes, and then cut and separated from a wafer. Finally, bonding of members for liquid supply, electrical bonding for driving the energy-generating elements, and the like were performed. Thus, a liquid discharge head was manufactured. Liquid discharge heads were manufactured in the same manner as in Examples 1 to 22, except forming SiN into a film with a thickness of 1.0 μm as the inorganic material layer 3 by a plasma CVD method. For the intermediate layer 7, each material shown in Table 1 was used. Basically, Comparative Examples 1 to 4 were performed in the same manner as in Examples 1 to 25 above. For the intermediate layer 7, each material shown in Table 1 was used. However, in Comparative Example 1, since a thermoplastic resin was used as the intermediate layer, only the patterning method for the intermediate layer of Comparative Example 1 was changed. Specifically, a polyether amide resin (manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd., Trade name: HIMAL1200) was formed into a film by spin coating, heated at 100° C. for 30 minutes, and further heated at 250° C. for 60 minutes. Thus, the applied solvent was evaporated to obtain a 2.0 μm thick intermediate layer. Next, a positive photosensitive resin (manufactured by TOKYO OHKA KOGYO CO., LTD., Trade name: OFPR800) was formed on the intermediate layer, and the positive photosensitive resin was patterned. Furthermore, the intermediate layer was patterned by O2 plasma asking using the patterned positive photosensitive resin as a mask, and finally the positive photosensitive resin used as the mask was peeled. Thus, the intermediate layer of Comparative Example 1 was patterned. The peeling resistance between the inorganic material layer and the organic material layer was evaluated using the liquid discharge heads manufactured in Examples 1 to 25 and Comparative Examples 1 to 4. The liquid discharge heads manufactured in Examples 1 to 25 and Comparative Examples 1 to 4 were based on a liquid discharge head of a printer PRO-1 manufactured by CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA. A channel of each of these liquid discharge heads was charged with an ink shown in Table 2 shown below, and then allowed to stand for 14 days in a 80° C. oven. The state of each of the inorganic material layer, the intermediate layer, and the organic material layer after allowed to stand was observed under a metallurgical microscope, and was evaluated according to the following criteria. A; Even after storage at 80° C. for 14 days, peeling did not occur between each of the inorganic material layer, the intermediate layer, and the organic material layer. B; After storage at 80° C. for 14 days, peeling at least partially occurred between each of the inorganic material layer, the intermediate layer, and the organic material layer. (After storage at 80° C. for 7 days, peeling did not occur between each of the inorganic material layer, the intermediate layer, and the organic material layer.) C; After storage at 80° C. for 7 days, peeling at least partially occurred between each of the inorganic material layer, the intermediate layer, and the organic material layer. (After storage at 80° C. for 3 days, peeling did not occur between each of the inorganic material layer, the intermediate layer, and the organic material layer.) D; After storage at 80° C. for 3 days, peeling at least partially occurred between each of the inorganic material layer, the intermediate layer, and the organic material layer. The evaluation results are shown in Table 3. Each composition shown in Table 1 was applied onto the substrate. Subsequently, exposure of each applied composition was performed using the mask illustrated in FIG. 3 to form a pattern. The exposure was performed using an i-line exposure stepper (manufactured by CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Trade name: i5), and then, after the exposure, PEB was performed on a hot plate under the conditions of 90° C. for 4 minutes. Furthermore, each composition was patterned by developing a non-exposed portion with a developing solution. As the developing solution, Methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) was used. The mask illustrated in FIG. 3 is a model pattern in which a 3 μm (c of FIG. 3)-wide line pattern was bridged along the minor axis in an oval of Major axis of 20 μm×Minor axis of 16 μm. Only in the composition of Comparative Example 1, the same pattern was formed by O2 plasma asking using a positive photosensitive resin (manufactured by TOKYO OHKA KOGYO CO., LTD., Trade name: OFPR800) as a mask according to the above-described method. Subsequently, a portion where the oval and the bridge pattern crossed each other was observed under a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the resolving power was judged. When a virtual straight line along the edge of the bridge pattern was drawn from a semicircular end portion (a of FIG. 3) when the pattern was able to be formed following the mask pattern, the distance (b of FIG. 3) in which the virtual straight line and an actually resolved pattern crossed each other was defined as the resolving power (The unit is μm.). This means that when the actual pattern is resolved to the semicircular end portion (a of FIG. 3), the resolving power is 0 μm, which indicates that the pattern is in agreement with the design dimension. On the other hand, when the resolving power decreases, the composition remains in the semicircular end portion (a of FIG. 3). Therefore, the value of the resolving power can be determined according to the degree (b of FIG. 3) of the expansion of the composition. The evaluation results are shown in Table 3. Since the resin itself of Comparative Example 1 does not have photosensitivity, the resolving power cannot be determined by this method, but it is clear that the resolving power is inferior to the compositions of Examples 1 to 25. The storage stability of each composition shown in Table 1 was evaluated. Using a composition after 1 hour passed after the preparation and a composition after 3 days passed at 25° C. after the preparation, each composition was applied onto the substrate. Subsequently, exposure was performed in such a manner that the design dimension when using the composition after 1 hour passed after the preparation was a 10 μm circular pattern to form a pattern. The exposure was performed using an i-line exposure stepper (manufactured by CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Trade name: i5), and then, PEB was performed on a hot plate under the conditions of 90° C. for 4 minutes. The position of the focus in the exposure was set to the front surface of the pattern of the composition. Furthermore, each composition was patterned by developing a non-exposed portion with a developing solution. As the developing solution, Methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) was used. The time after the preparation was calculated using the time when all the components shown in Table 1 were mixed as the starting point. The area of the formed pattern was measured using a micromap MM5200 (manufactured by Ryoka Systems Inc.), and then the evaluation was performed according to the following criteria. A: One having a difference in the area of the patterns between the composition after 1 hour passed after the preparation and the composition after 3 days passed at 25° C. after the preparation was 1% or less. B: One having a difference in the area of the patterns between the composition after 1 hour passed after the preparation and the composition after 3 days passed at 25° C. after the preparation was larger than 1% and 3% or less. C: One having a difference in the area of the patterns between the composition after 1 hour passed after the preparation and the composition after 3 days passed at 25° C. after the preparation was 3% or larger. The applied face state of each composition shown in Table 1 was evaluated. Each composition was applied onto a 8-inch Si substrate by spin coating, and then dried by prebaking under the conditions of 90° C. for 5 minutes to set the average film thickness to 2.0 μm. Using the substrate immediately after the application, the film thickness of a portion except a 3 mm periphery of the Si substrate was measured at 200 points, and then the evaluation was performed according to the following criteria. A: One in which the film thickness at all the points was in the range of 2.0±0.2 μm. B: One in which the film thickness at all the points was not in the range of 2.0±0.2 μm but in the range of 2.0±0.4 μm. C: One in which the film thickness at all the points was not in the range of 2.0±0.4 μm. As shown in Table 3, it is found that the compositions of Examples 1 to 25 are good in terms of peeling resistance and resolving power. On the other hand, in the compositions of Comparative Examples 1 to 4, any one the peeling resistance, the resolving power, and the storage stability was low. When Examples 1 and 2 are compared with Example 3, it is found that the resin having three or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in the molecules of the present invention is desirably a resin having four or more cyclohexene oxide skeletons in the molecules in terms of peeling resistance. When Example 1 is compared with Examples 5 and 6, it is found that the thermal cationic polymerization initiator of the present invention is desirably an onium salt containing the cation portion structure of the heterocyclic derivative represented by (c1) and the anion portion structure represented by (c2) in terms of storage stability. When Example 1 is compared with Examples 13 and 14, it is found that the content of the resin having a cyclohexene oxide skeleton of the present invention in the composition is preferably 1% by mass or more and more preferably 3% by mass or more in terms of peeling resistance. It is also found that the content is preferably 70% by mass or less and more preferably 60% by mass or less in terms of applied face state. When Example 1 is compared with Examples 17 to 19, it is found that the content of the photocationic polymerization initiator of the present invention in the composition is preferably 0.01% by mass or more and more preferably 0.05% by mass or more and preferably 20% by mass or less in terms of peeling resistance. When Example 1 is compared with Examples 20 and 21, it is found that the content of the onium salt containing the cation portion structure represented by (d1) and the anion portion structure represented by (d2) of the present invention in the composition is preferably 6% by mass or less and more preferably 4% by mass or less in terms of peeling resistance. When Example 1 is compared with Example 22, it is found that the anion portion structure of the onium salt containing the cation portion structure represented by (d1) and the anion portion structure represented by (d2) of the present invention is desirably the anion portion structure represented by (d20) in terms of storage stability. This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-211276 filed Oct. 8, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

2019-04-25T04:44:55Z

http://www.patentsencyclopedia.com/app/20150097892

Imagine what would happen if a massive popular movement of ordinary Americans decided to voice their concern about military spending—by withholding $10.40 from their 1040 tax forms this year? A simple, small, symbolic, but concrete gesture of protest to the $200,000 dollars a minute being spent on militarism while programs that support life go bankrupt. Claiborne endorsed the 1040 for Peace campaign (1040for peace.org) and refused a percentage of his payment ($97.33) based on a calculation of federal military spending when he filed with the IRS. Action, not just well-written words. NWTRCC sponsors the War Tax Boycott campaign, wartaxboycott.org. At our November 2011 meeting it was decided to try to bring more attention this year to the campaign and especially to the public signers list. In part this was in response to Larry Rosenwald's "WTR Manifesto" in our Sept./Oct. issue where he calls for us to intensify our "friction against the machine" by being more public about our civil disobedient refusal to pay for war, among other actions. The War Tax Boycott allows resisters and refusers of all types to add their name to an online registration and public list that may be used in press releases and other outreach. We are including the sign-on form in this newsletter. If you are not on the list already or you aren't sure, please join with hundreds of others and help grow our public resistance by sending in the form or signing up online. Over the past few decades there have been many ideas to make war tax resistance a more visible action promoted by the antiwar, peace and justice movements. Many resisters get discouraged because the number of WTRs doesn't seem to grow, or they feel that their one-person refusal is having no effect. In addition, even in progressive circles when resisters speak out they often receive a barrage of criticisms. On the internet, articles about war tax resistance, like Shane Claiborne's, are followed by open comments where the majority question this action. When we have time (ha!) resisters who read some of the blogs and news sites should post comments about their war tax refusal with links to one of our websites. We have to take extra steps to make this network more visible. First of all, let's say that our roads and bridges aren't falling apart; and that libraries, schools, Social Security and Medicare are not being robbed of funding — when I do drive, I pay gas taxes and bridge tolls. I also pay sales tax, park fees, and many other varieties of taxes and fees for things I actually do use. At least 54% of federal expenditures are to pay for current wars or to service debt on past wars. If my tax money would go to single-payer health care, fully-funded schools and other social programs, etc.—I would gladly pay. However, even if I decided to pay 46% of my taxes, would I be guaranteed that not one thin dime of mine would be going to kill someone? I think war profiteering has first claim on any money here in the dis-United Empire of the Earth. It's not just the amount of money that the military gets, it's where it's not going of course. Hunger increasing in the U.S. in this day and age? It's just shocking. With tax day in front of us, I encourage you to join us if you have not already. Sign on to the War Tax Boycott; buy some flyers and hand them between now and tax day; host a showing of our film "Death and Taxes"; set up a penny poll on a busy street corner; do one extra action related to war tax resistance between now and tax day. You'll find some ideas in this issue and lots more on our website, including at nwtrcc.org/what_you_can_do.php. Ruth Benn is NWTRCC Coordinator and takes action locally with NYC War Resisters League and a loose collection of NYC war tax resisters. NWTRCC presents the standard deductions and personal exemption chart as a guide for people who choose to live below the taxable income. To figure out how much you can earn in 2012 before owing income taxes, identify your category and multiply the personal exemption by the number of dependents you can claim, including yourself, then add your standard deduction. For example, if you are married and filing jointly, with two children, you would add $15,200 ($3,800 x 4) to $11,900, equaling a taxable level of $27,100. Below this amount your family would owe no income taxes for the year, although the filing requirements set the bar much lower because of social security taxes. An additional $1,150 standard deduction may be claimed by a married taxpayer who is at least 65 years old or blind. If the taxpayer is single, the additional standard deduction amount is $1,450. You may be able to make significantly more than the amounts indicated above, but would need to file and take allowable deductions and credits if you want to keep it legal. NWTRCC's Practical #5, "Low Income/ Simple Living as War Tax Resistance" ($1 from the NWTRCC office), includes information on legal ways to reduce taxable income and owe no federal income taxes. We suggest that nonfilers fill out the forms and keep their receipts for reference in case their circumstances change or the IRS comes calling. If you have a debt with the IRS, your assets are vulnerable. The IRS does not always find and seize accounts, but they can (property seized from WTRs, like houses, is uncommon these days). The IRS is supposed to send a "final notice, intent to levy" first, and if you did not receive that notice you can try to challenge them on it. In most cases the government just has to prove they sent the notice, not that you received it. The easiest way for the IRS to find bank accounts is through the annual interest reports that banks are required to send if you earn $10 or more in interest during a calendar year. It is also possible that the dollar value of any special bank promotion or premium will be considered paid interest if the value of the premium is $10 or more. Your bank statements should show year-to-date interest figures starting each Jan. 1. One protection—or at least one step that makes it harder for the IRS to find accounts—is to use a no-interest account. Some war tax resisters with tax debts have kept such accounts for years with no levies from the IRS. If you pay state taxes or part of your federal taxes, get a money order rather than writing a check from your bank account. Naturally, keeping money out of banks offers the most protection from an IRS seizure. Having less money keeps us safer from collection, and some readers may find that they'd like to give some away without incurring tax consequences. For 2012 the annual gift exclusion remains at $13,000. If you are married, both you and your spouse can separately give gifts valued up to $13,000 to the same person without making a taxable gift. There is no IRS reporting for the recipient of the gift either, although banks do report transactions over $10,000. Some banks might report lower amounts, but in any case the IRS doesn't necessarily pay attention to each single transaction as they are looking for patterns of suspicious activity. There is also something called "gift splitting" by the IRS. If one spouse gives more than the $13,000 exclusion, the gift can be considered as made one-half by you and one-half by your spouse. Currently, gift splitting allows married couples to give up to $26,000 to a person without making a taxable gift, but in this case each spouse (not the recipient) must file a Form 709 with the IRS even if half of the split gift is less than the annual exclusion. Should this be of interest to readers, research it further on the IRS website or with a financial advisor. And to each of you who made an end-of-the-year donation to NWTRCC! We are grateful to Julia Butterfly Hill for writing an appeal for NWTRCC. The response it generated will certainly get us to the organization's 30th anniversary this fall! NWTRCC's Network List of Affiliates, Area Contacts, Counselors, and Alternative Funds appears on the "Contacts and Counselors" page at nwtrcc.org, or request a list from the NWTRCC office. Please let us know if you are interested in being a contact on our network list: nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org or 1-800-269-7464. This article about war tax resistance in Spain is from a presentation that Pedro Otaduy gave at the 10th International Conference on War Tax Resistance and Peace Tax Campaigns in 2004. Readers will find similarities in concerns and challenges and perhaps some strategic ideas for our own planning. Pedro was the driving force of Campaña de Objeción Fiscal al Gasto Milita in Spain, a committed pacifist, and the Chairperson of Conscience and Peace Tax International. Many of us met him at international meetings. He died on January 8, 2012, at age 53 after an illness. Spanish Income Tax season goes from the middle of April to the end of June. Our campaign has three phases. First, before the income tax season is open, spreading ideas: we talk with mass media, we prepare press releases, we send information to tax resisters and groups closely linked to us. Second phase, during the income tax season: we stay once a week in our office giving help to those people who want to do tax resistance. Third phase, after June, we collect the results of the campaign, preparing statistics to be sent to mass media, tax resisters and other groups. We have a clear problem: we manage to have contact with people that are already engaged in antimilitarism or in other groups or issues as environment, social work, trade unions, internationalism, but it is very difficult for us to contact new people, that is, to the biggest part of the society. I can give you an example: In Navarra there were a thousand young people were insumisos (total resisters) against military service. More than 500 spent two years, four months and one day in prison because of this. But we have never been more than 200 tax resisters in Navarra. There were families that had their son in prison and meanwhile were still paying for the military without any kind of resistance. Why? We find two reasons: fear of the Inland Revenue Service (IRS), and the opinion that this is a way that will not bring us to the end of armies. To be afraid of the IRS is logical: what we propose to do is quite serious. We say to the government that we don't agree with it, and that has its importance. And there is another thing: perhaps more than fear is just comfort. If we don't do anything we will have less troubles. But, to say that by this way we will not reach our purposes is hard to hear. Insumisos (total resisters) showed us that it is really possible to defeat the government by means of nonviolent civil disobedience. ...It is very important to be critical of the military budget. It's important to insist on this criticism. We are in campaign from April to June, but during all the year we have to be active. We have to be able to use tax resistance as a support of our criticism. Read this report online at cpti.ws/conf/ 04/2/2_2_3.html. There is more explanation in the 2004 conference reports of Spanish tax resistance or "non-cooperation with the government on the military budget" as Pedro called it. Conscience and Peace Tax International (CPTI) was founded in 1994 to bring international attention to conscientious objection to the use of taxes for military purposes. In particular, CPTI works through the UN where it enjoys special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Representatives, acting in Geneva and New York have participated in all sessions of the Human Rights Council from April 2001 till today. The website, cpti.ws, connects war tax resisters and peace tax campaigners worldwide and includes a good section on court cases with links to the case documents. The organization is based in Belgium, and the current board members are from Colombia, U.S., Germany, Belgium, Italy, and Spain. CPTI's General Assembly meets every two years at the international conferences. When NWTRCC finances are good, we donate to CPTI, but we also encourage individuals to help as they can. Donate online at cpti.ws/about/contribute.html. If you prefer to give by check, make it payable to and send to NWTRCC with a memo "CPTI." We will transfer the donation to Belgium. Jason Rawn of Union, Maine, sent the following letter to community radio stations in Maine. With it he included a list of related events and contact information for himself and relevant Maine groups. Please consider producing a segment or series on War Tax Resistance for your local affairs programming between now and April 15. War Tax Resistance (WTR) is a form of conscientious objection where individuals refuse payment of some or all of their "tax obligations" to the IRS because such a huge portion (48%, or $1,372 billion for 2012) is spent on war and other forms of empire building. WTRs redirect these funds to local, regional, national, and international organizations, projects, and people working for democracy, peace, and economic justice. Recipients of redirected funds from Maine WTRs include the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, Maine's first permablitz, peace organizations, and at least one underfunded public school's music program, to name just a few. WTR is seen by many as illegal, and WTRs sometimes face harassment, seizure of withheld taxes, and, very occasionally, property seizure. A common notion among us is that the consequences of paying taxes are more dire than the consequences of not paying. Allen Ginsberg, Cindy Sheehan, and Julia Butterfly Hill are some well-known WTRs from recent decades, but tax resistance has a long and interesting history. Jesus of Nazareth, Thoreau, and Gandhi are all known for their refusal to be complicit in government injustice. Some specific suggestions for WTR-related local affairs programming this tax season include panels/call-ins around the Occupy Movement, taxpayer priorities, local economies; WTR interviews/profiles; reportage around the funding of community radio vs. the funding of drones and torture. There's a lot going on in this historical moment in which we find ourselves. It's my hope that we Mainers can collaborate to produce some timely local affairs programming on WTR, a little-known, highly-empowering, common sense, and potentially crucial form of grassroots activism that can be done in some form or other by virtually anyone. As a member of the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee's Administrative team, I will rewrite this letter in a couple weeks to send to Local Affairs programmers nationwide. It will have a more significant impact if a number of us here in Maine have already committed to airing fair and balanced content relating to War Tax Resistance. A few years ago Vickie Aldrich started a blog with her father's letters written when he was in Civilian Public Service camp during WWII. She posts about one letter a week and then writes a little something to go with it. After the IRS got in touch about her so-called "frivolous filing," Vickie has worked her adventures with the IRS into some entries in the last year. The blog is at Mathewch5v9.blogspot.com, a name she chose from the envelopes her father used, which had "Blessed are the Peacemakers, Mathew 5:9" printed on the outside. Scroll through the blog and join her adventure. "On May 20, 2011, this court affirmed the decision of the Tax Court and ordered the appellant to show cause why he should not be sanctioned for filing a frivolous appeal. Based on Ruhaak's response to our show-cause order, we have determined that sanctions are unwarranted in this case. We note, however, that sanctions may be appropriate in the future if Ruhaak continues to file frivolous tax appeals." The U.S. Supreme Court has been petitioned. The Ruhaak case may eventually be used as a vehicle for a group submission to a United Nations human rights review procedure. Watch for updates in this newsletter. With all the news about Republican primaries, it's a good time to suggest a good use of election day. Maine activists used their November 2011 election day to set up Penny Polls in 11 towns and cities throughout the state. The Maine polling was organized by the Bring Our War $$ Home campaign (including many war tax resisters), and about 2,075 voters participated as they exited polling stations. Participants were given 10 pennies to spread among 10 jars representing the largest parts of the federal discretionary budget. The results were similar to many such polls we've presented in this newsletter: 19.5% education; 17.5% health care; 13.2% veterans benefits; 9.8% food/agriculture; 9.3% environment/science; 7.7% transportation; 7.5% interest on the national debt; 6.5% defense; 6.4%, housing/urban development; 2.7% general government. The results were announced at a press conference at the Federal Building in Bangor. "If [Congresspeople] vote from their personal preferences or based on the influence of lobbyists representing narrow special interests, that wouldn't be the kind of democracy that most people want," stated Larry Dansinger of Monroe, who conducted one of the polls. Usually this page lists some of our published resources, but instead we will devote it to a list of the alternative funds around the country where war tax resisters can deposit their redirected taxes. Donations from non-resisters are welcome too. This list is on our website at nwtrcc.org/redirection.php where you can find email addresses, or contact the NWTRCC office at 800-269-7464 for full contact information. Some of these funds are more formal than others. In some areas not listed, such as in Eugene, Oregon, each year a number of resisters come together and pool their funds to make redirected donations on tax day rather than establish an ongoing fund. Please send reports about your individual and group redirections to the NWTRCC office so that we can pool all the information about how we'd rather see our tax dollars used. To see a list of alternative funds, click on the redirection link above. Plans are developing for our next national gathering, which will be in conjunction with demonstrations during the NATO and G8 Summit in Chicago. NWTRCC's November Coordinating Committee decided to shift from our usual time during the first weekend of May and involve ourselves in demonstrations with the wider antiwar/peace and justice movement. There are indications that activists from around the world will be coming to Chicago, and we'll plan to participate on Saturday, May 19. Our weekend begins with dinner on Friday and ends Sunday afternoon. The war tax resisters listserve, has now settled into its new home at riseup.net. To read it online go to http://lists.riseup.net and enter "wtr-s" (without the quote marks) in the "Search lists" box at the top of the page. Once you're at the wtr-s home page you can, if you wish, subscribe to the list and/or sign up to riseup. Once you subscribe, you'll be able to interact with the list through your email. Signing up to riseup will allow you to post to the list from the web interface. Thanks to Ed Agro for his work on this! NWTRCC Administrative Committee (AdComm) seeks three new members to give oversight to day-to-day business operations and to plan for the two meetings held each November and May. New members will be selected from nominees at the May 2012 Coordinating Committee meeting. One nominee will join as a full member for two years. The other two will serve as alternates for one year and full members for two years. Self nominations are welcome, and affiliate groups should make a special effort to offer nominations. Contact NWTRCC for more information. Nominees will receive a letter with further details. Deadline for nominations is March 1, 2012. Charles Carney, NWTRCC contact in Kansas City and one of five resisters who crossed the line Nov. 6 at the new nuclear weapons parts plant in Kansas City, pled "not guilty by reason of sanity" at a Jan. 17 hearing. He was given a trial date of Feb. 21. After the hearing, Carney who is a social worker, said, "We cut funds for people with schizophrenia but spend millions of dollars to revamp nuclear weapons. I personally don't feel I did anything wrong." Three other defendants, represented by attorney Henry Stoever, submitted pleas of guilty and received sentences of 25 hours of community service in their local areas. They are Jim Hannah of Independence, Missouri; Erica Weiland of Seattle; and Kima Garrison of Portland, Oregon. A fifth trespasser, Jason Rawn of Union, Maine, spent the night of Nov. 6 in jail, was released on time served, and therefore was not called to the hearing. The out-of-towners were in Kansas City for NWTRCC's gathering hosted by the local activists. Erica says, "I'm glad to have the additional impetus to do more community service and am hoping to volunteer with an organization that helps prisoners." This is the text of Beth's presentation at the November 2011 WTR gathering in Kansas City. You can watch it on YouTube.com; search on "Why I am a War Tax Resister.wmv." In 1970, two years out of college, as a recent arrival to Kansas City, and in the midst of the Vietnam War, I became a war tax resister. Why? Because when I told a friend I didn't feel right about paying the IRS that year because of our country's involvement in the Vietnam War, he said, "Then don't! Haven't you ever heard of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker? They don't pay taxes." This was astounding news to me, and I was ready for it. I had two older brothers serving in the Air Force in the war, but I had been more influenced by Martin Luther King Jr. and his example of nonviolent resistance. I was seeing many young men my age struggling with their consciences over what to do about the draft. We women didn't have that decision to face, but I felt paying taxes showed support and actually did give money to help carry on the war. The war resisters' tax pie chart in that period showed 69% of discretionary spending going to pay for past present or future war expenditures. 69%! I only owed $18 and change for my 1969 taxes, but I sent a letter to IRS with my tax return and no check. Several years later, the IRS tried to garnish my wages for that $18. I told my supervisor I would work for free until such time as the garnishment was lifted. The church board had to approve that decision, and they did. My supervisor used the money saved from my salary refusal to help some parents who had lost their jobs pay for their children's childcare fees. The garnishment was actually lifted several months later and I didn't know why. It turned out that the IRS had found an old bank account my parents had for me in Nebraska. The bank had let my parents know the IRS was trying to collect it, and my parents paid it and didn't tell me till three months later. I wasn't a very mature or well-informed war tax resister, so after the war in Vietnam ended I thought maybe the war tax resistance campaign would be over, and I called to ask Angie O'Gorman. Angie, with her husband Bob Calvert, had moved the national office of War Tax Resistance to Kansas City in the 1970s. It was a challenge to raise a son as a single parent on such a modest income, but sharing housing with friends helped us get through, and my parents' made a gift to me of their old car. As a young teenager my son started to complain about our simple lifestyle. I remember the day he said, "Mom, you probably wouldn't even owe more than a couple hundred dollars—that wouldn't even buy one gun!" I just reminded him that he had everything he really needed, though maybe not all he wanted, and that when he grew up he would have to make the choice for himself about what to do with his money and the issue of war. It was hard to be confronted by friends and family who thought I was wrong not to pay taxes. They felt good about the good things their taxes were supporting—education, roads, social services—and felt I wasn't paying my share, but enjoying the benefits of what they were paying for. I did and do still feel an obligation to better my community and the world, but I have found a different way to contribute. By requiring my employers to keep my wages below the taxable level, I have helped in the development of the Kansas City Interfaith Peace Alliance, Episcopal Social Services, Catholic Charities Refugee Services, English as a Second Language program, and Literacy Kansas City, enabling each organization to offer a service previously unaffordable. I've also been able to give shelter now and then for folks in need. I'm very grateful to have found in the Kansas City area like-minded people who strengthen my resolve and inform my conscience. But we can't let ourselves be content with our tax refusal alone. The lives of billions of people depend on our resistance to the mighty military machine and the unjust policies of our government. Millions have already died at the hands of our military and its proxies. Millions, maybe billions more, have died for lack of food, shelter and medical care because of resources given to military priorities rather than human needs. And the entire planet is at risk if we cannot control the demonic nuclear weapons being created in our own backyard in Kansas City. In one way I'm glad this new nuclear weapons plant is being built here, because here there are people who will not be quiet about the killing machine it is going to construct. We will not accept that its existence is inevitable. We will not believe that this is the best way to bring jobs to our community. And we will not give our consent to the insanity of nuclear deterrence and nuclear suicide.

2019-04-24T14:45:38Z

http://archives.nwtrcc.org/mtap12/mtap0212.php

Below we feature the best mattress brands. Mattresses are shipped in a box straight from the factory. Cutting out the middlemen so you receive the best value possible. Everyone has different reasons for purchasing a mattress. We’ve organized the mattresses by groups to help make your selection easier. Should you need more choices, there are reviews below for the top mattresses in every single category too. The DreamCloud is a medium-firm hybrid with a combination of memory foam, latex, and pocketed coil springs. The mattress has a luxurious feel and offers a high degree of comfort, offering pressure relief and rear support but also fantastic movement isolation with added bounce. When compared to in-store manufacturers of a similar grade, the DreamCloud mattress-in-a-box is excellent value for money. As a luxury mattress, the DreamCloud is constructed using premium materials. It is highly durable, stable, and supportive. This ensures the bed will last into the future for several years. The business offers a lifetime warranty in addition to a sleep trial. This enables you to check the mattress in the comfort of your property. You can return it free of charge for a complete refund, if you are not satisfied. The Alexander Signature is a memory foam foam mattress that provides durability and luxury at a cost that is competitive. Made with CertiPUR-US foams in the USA, the mattress is available in two firmness options: moderate or luxury firm. This makes the mattress perfect if you prefer to sleep on stomach, side, or the back. It sleeps cool and offers great back support, pressure relief, and decent motion isolation. The Nectar is a reasonable memory foam mattress with a feel that matches all styles. The Nectar’s memory foam layers deliver pressure relief and a high degree of comfort. The mattress can also be effective at maintaining your spine in alignment when sleeping on your side, back, or stomach. As a result, the Nectar functions well for reducing or removing localized or generalized pain. As a mattress-in-a-box, the Nectar ships directly from the mill to your doorstep in 2 to 5 business days. This means you skip the middlemen and gain a well-made mattress at a reasonable price. The Nectar has received favorable reviews from customers, many who say the mattress has solved all their pain issues. Benefits include a lifetime guarantee and a 365-night trial that is risk-free. For side sleeping, the DreamCloud is among the most comfortable mattress-in-a-box brands on the market. As a medium-firm hybrid , the DreamCloud gets the benefits of a memory foam mattress with the support and reaction to pocketed coil springs. Consequently, if you’re a side sleeper needing a mattress to keep your shoulders, buttocks, and knees well-protected, the DreamCloud is a good choice. If you lie on your side on the DreamCloud, the memory foam will accommodate to your body’s natural curves, while the pocketed coils will guarantee your spine remains in perfect alignment. This minimizes back pain and relieves aches and pains to get a better night’s sleep. Being a premium mattress-in-a-box brand, the DreamCloud also benefits from a lifetime warranty and a 365-night risk-free sleep trial. The Layla memory foam mattress has two firmness choices in a mattress: a soft side and a firm side. In particular, the soft side of the mattress works nicely if you prefer to sleep on your side. When you lie , the Layla will cradle your shoulders and buttocks, reducing pressure when keeping your spine in alignment. However, if you locate the soft side too plush, you can just flip the mattress over to gain a firmer feel. The Alexander Signature is a multi-layer memory foam foam mattress that offers high levels of comfort at a reasonable price. The mattress performs well in all regions and has good back support, pressure relief, motion transfer, and edge support. As a result, you need to locate a huge improvement in the quality of your sleep and awake feeling rested with fewer aches and pains. With a moderate or luxury firm option, you can select the perfect level of firmness to fit your favorite sleeping place: back, side, or stomach. Gel-infused memory foam is used to regulate temperature, keeping you warmer on warmer nights. The mattress also features a plush quilted cover for extra comfort and luxury. The 15-inch DreamCloud is a premium hybrid combining high-quality substances in 8 different layers. The mattress has a luxurious look and feel, housing a hand-tufted cashmere blend top, high-density memory foam, organic latex, and a 5-zone pocketed coil system. This premium mix provides excellent comfort and a just-right feel no matter how you want to sleep. The mattress has a medium firmness and decent motion isolation, so if you sleep with a spouse, you will feel less disturbance during the evening. The DreamCloud is also effective if you are a heavier individual and need pressure relief with enough support to keep you afloat on the mattress. The high-density memory foam will effortlessly alleviate pressure on your joints, whereas the coil latex and springs will ensure you never sink too far to the mattress. Other notable aspects include gel memory foam to keep you cool, a 365-night trial, and a lifetime guarantee. The Nectar is a medium-firm memory foam foam mattress offering high levels of comfort and support at an affordable price. The mattress uses a combination of gel-infused memory foam layers, making sure your weight is evenly distributed throughout the mattress surface. This provides a relaxing and cooler night’s sleep using deep compression support for key joint regions such as your buttocks, shoulders, and knees. Using its multi-layer construction, the Nectar mattress supports different weight classes and accommodates all sleeping places. Therefore, whether or not you sleep on your back, side, or stomach, you will feel comfortable and well-supported. A year-long secure trial period and a lifetime guarantee make the Nectar an affordable and popular option. This memory foam mattress comes with an perfect amount of firmness that is not so difficult and not too soft. As an all-around mattress, Nectar suits individuals and will help to ease your pain if you lie face up, face down, or else onto your side. The Nectar’s multiple gel memory foam layers provide a high degree of support and stability, which works well if you suffer from upper, lower, or generalized pain back. The memory foam will cradle your hips and lower back if you sleep facing the ceiling, however you will not sink a lot down. While keeping your spine for side sleeping, the mattress will adapt to your body’s curves. Stomach sleeping is also possible on the Nectar, even though in the event that you are a person, you may demand a firmer mattress. Other advantages include a 365-night trial and a lifetime guarantee. Studies have shown the Level Sleep’s TriSupport foam to be effective at reducing all kinds of pain, whether localized or generalized back pain. The memory foam brings strain relief for your joints Apart from being capable of treating backache. The mattress is made in standard in the united states. The Level Sleep also comes with a risk-free trial that is 365-night, so that you may examine the pain-relieving qualities of the bed in the comfort of your house. The Nest Alexander is a competitively priced, luxury memory foam mattress accessible just two firmness levels: luxurious and medium firm. Made in the USA, the Signature uses CertiPUR-US certified gel memory foam but also compression support to your joints. Keep you cool and there is A thermal phase change material utilized within the mattress to reduce heat. And that means you will experience less interference and should you sleep with a partner, the bed has movement transfer. Nest Bedding is known for providing value for money beds. The company offers friendly and efficient customer service, plus a lifetime guarantee, free delivery, and a 100-night trial, which means you can see whether the mattress is ideal for you. With customer reviews, the Nest Signature is a trusted buy if you’re in the market for a memory foam bed. The Nectar is one of the memory foam beds on the market today. Despite its attractive price tag, the mattress employs durable materials offering lots of comfort and support. The bed has CertiPUR-US memory foams, a Tencel cover, and also a just-right firmness. This makes it cool and comfortable no matter how you sleep through the nighttime. As a value for money mattress-in-a-box, the Nectar ships direct from the factory, making sure you get the best possible price. This produces the mattress a lot more affordable than store-bought brands of a similar standard. A year-long trial period is available when you purchase the Nectar. This permits you to test the mattress so that you may see the pain-relieving attributes of memory foam. An award winning memory foam mattress with two firmness options in one bed. The Layla has a soft side and a firm side so it is possible to find the ideal comfort level. The mattress offers good support whether you sleep on your side, back, or stomach. Copper-infused memory foam helps to move heat away from the bed, helping you stay cool, while a high-density foundation foam maintains stability and strength. Since the Layla uses CertiPUR-US memory foam that is certified, the mattress includes no ozone depleting chemical fire retardants materials, or formaldehyde. The copper is also antimicrobial, which prevents microbes and mold from growing, prolonging the lifespan of the bed. A lifetime guarantee and USA construction add to the benefits of this memory foam mattress. Combining the benefits of pocketed coil springs the Nest Alexander Signature Hybrid brings high-end comfort and value. This luxury mattress has the bounce and support of spiral spring mattress, but the stress relieving qualities of high-density memory foam, which makes it a true all-around bed for individuals or couples. As a result, it works for back, side, or stomach sleeping. The Alexander Signature Hybrid’s multilayer construction contains aluminum and gel-infused foam for extreme heat system, and a stage change cloth cover to quickly zap heat away from your body. The pocketed coil spring system helps to circulate through the mattress, keeping you cool when the temperature starts to rise. You gain the benefits of a well-established company and a lifetime guarantee. Moreover, the DreamCloud mattress is a trusted investment if you’re on the market for an extremely durable mattress. The construction will keep you supported even if you occupy a more heavy weight class. The business is so confident in the quality of their craftsmanship that they offer a lifetime guarantee and a 365-night secure trial interval. The DreamCloud is a medium-firm, luxury hybrid that has a mixture of latex, memory foams, and micro coil springs and high quality materials. Designed for couples or individuals, the mattress brings luxury at a more affordable price than brands of similar quality. The mattress is highly durable and luxurious, using soft palate yarns and a lavish Cashmere blend quilted cover. Using its medium-firm texture and hybrid configuration, the DreamCloud can accommodate all sleeping positions, so if you want to sleep on the back, side, or stomach, the mattress will still feel comfy and supportive. The mattress also has plenty of bounce while maintaining good levels of motion isolation. The DreamCloud is sent in a box for advantage and comes with a lifetime warranty. The Alexander Hybrid mattress from Nest Bedding combines memory foam layers with a durable pocketed coil spring program. Available in soft, medium, and firm options, you can pick your perfect feel, although medium and firm are best if you’re a large person. The bed has no specific weight limitation, making it perfect if you’re on the side that is heavier and want your weight distributing evenly across the mattress. Specifically, the Alexander Hybrid advantages from advantage support and motion transfer. Hence, the mattress is recommended if you sleep with a spouse and toss and turn during the nighttime. The mixture of memory foam and coils absorb sudden movements, helping you get a more refreshing sleep. The mattress also comes with a lifetime warranty and trial, so that you may test it free from risk. The DreamCloud hybrid vehicle is a strong mattress-in-a-box, offering a medium-firm feel and quality construction. If you’re a heavy person and require a mattress that is supportive but additionally offers pressure relief, then the DreamCloud is a fantastic option. Latex layers and the foam are exceptionally comfortable, bringing compression support. In addition coil springs keep you well-supported, distributing your weight evenly. This usually means that you will never sink too far to the bed. Having a 15-inch elevation, the DreamCloud is ideal if you are a heavy person. The mattress has been constructed with superior materials and high-density foams. Consequently, there’s no weight limit on the mattress, so it will last for several years into the future. The business provides a lifetime warranty and a sleep trial. For this reason, you can check the mattress on your home to determine if it’s ideal for you. If you aren’t convinced, you can return it for free over the trial period for a complete refund. If you need a luxurious and are a individual mattress, the Nest Alexander Signature is a fantastic choice. Available in a medium or firm firmness, the mattress features multiple memory foams that facilitate pressure. The foams will cradle the entire body, while a strong slab of base foam will guarantee you never sink a lot into the mattress. This is useful when you’re a person that is large and need proper spinal alignment. The Eco Terra is a pure hybrid mattress combining organic wool and cotton , natural Talalay latex, and coil springs. The mattress is available in a moderate or medium-firm firmness, therefore it has a texture that works well whether you like to sleep on your side, back or stomach. Among the best things about the Eco Terra is its own price tag. The mattress is among the most economical latex hybrids in the marketplace. Since the mattress uses organic latex, it provides lots of bounce and is responsive. The pocketed coil springs decrease movement move, while the latex comfort layer ease the pressure and will cradle your body and will help keep you afloat. The coil and latex construction also ensures that this mattress frees cool. The Eco Terra has also a 15-year manufacturer warranty and a trial period. The Nectar is an affordable memory foam mattress with a moderate firmness. The mattress includes a lavish, breathable cover, gel-infused memory foam to help keep you cool, and a base layer for maximum support and stability. Should you need a mattress that conforms to your body shape and alleviates joint pain, then the Nectar performs nicely. It also keeps you well-supported so you never get a feeling. No matter how you sleep, you should discover the mattress comfortable and supportive. A queen bed costs $699, making the Nectar one of the very best value for money memory foam mattresses-in-a-box. The bed has received the CertiPUR-US certificate, which ensures there are no ozone depleters, heavy metals, or chemical flame retardants present. Year-long trial A speedy shipping, and lifetime guarantee make the Nectar among the most affordable memory foam mattresses available. When you purchase the Love & Sleep, you’re gaining a mattress in the well-established Nest Bedding company. This guarantees excellent customer support and durable materials. The company also provides a 100-night sleep trial and a lifetime guarantee, which means that you may test the Love & Sleep at the comfort of your own house. The Nectar is an memory foam mattress with a medium firmness. If you sleep with a partner and need a mattress which works for all places that are sleeping, the Nectar will guarantee plenty of back support and pressure relief. As a memory foam mattress, the Nectar also has motion isolation that is good. This helps to minimize vibrations across the surface of the mattress. If you or your partner toss and turn on a regular basis, the Nectar can enable you to get a better night’s sleep. There’s some bounce, although not as much as on a hybrid or spiral spring mattress. Despite this, there is sufficient to satisfy most couples. Despite its appealing price point, the Nectar has quality construction and sleeps trendy thanks. It also benefits from CertiPUR-US foams that are non-toxic. This is perfect if you or your spouse suffer from allergies or are worried about chemical flame retardants. Other noteworthy features of this Nectar mattress comprise a lifetime guarantee plus a trial. The Alexander Hybrid from Nest Bedding is a competitively priced, luxury hybrid available in 3 firmness levels: soft, medium, and firm. Combining memory foam layers that are gel with pocketed coil springs, the mattress brings pressure relief, back support, but also lots of response and rebound . In addition, the bed has advantage support and movement isolation, which are valuable if you sleep as a couple. When you obtain the Alexander Hybrid in Nest Bedding, you may gain a mattress from a well-established and respectable brand. The company manufactures its beds . This ensures a quality mattress is gained by you at a price you are able to afford. Much like all Nest mattresses, a lifetime warranty is also included. The Bear is a cooling and comfortable mattress which uses memory foam, and this is said to be 7 times cooler than foams. With a medium firm feel, the Bear presents temperature regulation, body contouring, and stress relief. A foundation layer that is high-density ensures your backbone remains supported regardless of how you sleep. The Eco Terra is a value for cash hybrid mattress that combines coil springs and natural latex. This brings great temperature regulation, keeping you cool on hot nights. Unlike conventional memory foam beds that trap heat, the cell temperament of latex allows for greater airflow. Pocketed springs guarantee heat keeps moving through and away from your bed. Overall , this ensures you stay more comfortable for longer. When coupled with all the natural breathability of an organic cotton cap, the Eco Terra is a choice if you’re in the market for a hybrid bed that sleeps cool. Despite its durable construction, the Eco Terra is affordable and far less costly than brands of quality. It is also less expensive than brands that are online that are competing. You gain from a 15-year guarantee that is standard and a trial.

2019-04-25T20:01:45Z

https://www.stewardsofstewart.org/purple-mattress-topper-review-best-mattress-brands-of-2019/

When Pozzie Pinoy tested HIV-positive, he started a blogsite, “Living with HIV in the Philippines”. Two years on, though, the site has grown, as it now also runs “Project Red Ribbon”, a care management program that links advocacy groups with individuals to assist them to obtain discreet HIV testing, while also conducting awareness programs, and most importantly, provide care and support for PLHIV. It started as a blog in 2011. with the author calling the Website Living with HIV in the Philippines. And its first article, I Have AIDS!, told the story of Pozzie Pinoy, the HIV-positive advocate behind the blog, where he narrated how he overcame this ordeal when he was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia and was tested HIV-positive. And so this also served as the foreword of the Website, a precursor of what the readers should expect in its posts. “The intention of the blog is to give information about HIV and AIDS in the Philippines. It aims to provide information about the importance of prevention, early detection through HIV testing, and treatment of HIV and opportunistic infections. It provides a venue for social interactions and discussions about the disease,” Pozzie Pinoy said. After now, after running for two years run, Living with HIV in the Philippines has served as a go-to of some sort for many, responding to questions and inquiries from its readers with the help of Dr. Rosanna Ditangco of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM). The blog now also serves as a channel in promoting current events and trainings for the benefit of the general population. Eventually, Pozzie Pinoy also started The Love Fund, an attempt to provide indigent people living with HIV (PLHIV) with medical assistance for laboratory tests and treatment. Eventually, too, with the continuing success of Living with HIV in the Philippines, Pozzie Pinoy started other efforts for the benefit of PLHIV – particularly, Project Red Ribbon. “The blog became an area for us to answer questions, but we felt the need to establish other programs that can help and support PLHIV. And since there’s no care management program in the Philippines, we established the Red Ribbon,” Pozzie Pinoy explained. Project Red Ribbon is a care management program that links advocacy groups with individuals to assist them to obtain discreet HIV testing, while also conducting awareness programs, and most importantly, provide care and support for PLHIV. “What we do in Red Ribbon is we deal with PLHIV directly. We have support groups, we have outreach programs, online support group talks where PLHIVs gather to share their stories and their journey with each other,” Pozzie Pinoy said. Compared to other organizations that have efforts for PLHIV, Project Red Ribbon “focuses solely on supporting PLHIV.” Notably, “99% of our managers are PLHIVs, so we know our concerns, we know our needs, we know our problems. We can support other PLHIVs properly,” Pozzie Pinoy stressed. Project Red Ribbon also organizes: monthly outreach programs – where they visit different treatment hubs to educate new PLHIVs and give inspirational advice; monthly support group gathering; sportsfest; and outings, among others. For more information, visit http://pozziepinoy.blogspot.com/ or email Pozzie Pinoy at pozziepinoy@yahoo.com. Introducing one of the oldest LGBTQIA organizations in the Philippines, Diwata ng Muntinlupa, which was established in 1977 to advocate for LGBTQIA human rights while offering the members companionship and peer support. In 1998, a member of the LGBTQIA community in Muntinlupa City was murdered inside his salon two days before a show he was part of was to take place. The murder made the news (particularly locally), but what may not have been widely circulated was that the murdered person was (then) the sitting president of Diwata ng Muntinlupa, one of the oldest LGBTQIA organizations in the Philippines, having been established in 1977. That macabre occurrence highlighted for the members of Diwata ng Muntinlupa why the organization exists in the first place – i.e. advocating for LGBTQIA human rights so that nothing like that could ever happen to LGBTQIA people ever again, but (while doing the advocating) also offering each other companionship and peer support. Annually, the members support each other in highlighting their “connection” through an already regularized performance for the feast of the Sto. Niño (Child Jesus); a way of showcasing LGBTQIA representation through a religious event. During this event, Diwata ng Muntinlupa becomes “a showcase of talents,” said Ricaroz. Obviously, as in any law, the implementation could become an issue, but Ricaroz said that the very act of having an anti-discrimination law that will protect the human rights of LGBTQIA people will validate their very being. For example, “sa pulis (in the police station), when you report (there), ang treatment naman sa iyo is not bading or tomboy (you are not recognized as gay or lesbian/based on your SOGIE). You are just considered as man or a woman. So what will appear in the records/blotter is ‘pinatay ng lalaki yung kapwa niya lalaki (a man killed another man),” Ricaroz said. This erases not just the identity of LGBTQIA people, but could also inadvertently affect reporting on crimes committed against people because of their SOGIE. But – perhaps surprising considering the organization’s age; though perhaps unsurprising due to its very nature as a community-based organization – Diwata ng Muntinlupa also continues to face financial issues. Diwata ng Muntinlupa continues to eye growth – e.g. the founding members total less than 20, but regular members now number over 120 people, not including allied LGBTQIA organizations/groups in Muntinlupa City. Meanwhile, there is broadening of efforts being made. After 42 years, it is finally getting itself registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). And aside from the annual show for the Sto. Niño, it is looking into organizing sports events for the LGBTQIA people in their communities, start HIV advocacy efforts HIV; and develop a livelihood and entrepreneurial project for the LGBTQIA community through educational scholarships and TESDA. “We want to keep the legacy of Diwata ng Muntinlupa going,” Ricaroz said, hoping that – in the end – the organization becomes like the very people its members hold in esteem, inspiring others to be moved into action for LGBTQIA advocacy. For LGBTQIA Filipinos in Muntinlupa City who may want to join Diwata ng Muntinlupa, visit and coordinate with the officers via the organization’s Facebook account. The unanswered needs of those in the HIV community, and how social networking sites – in this case, Twitter in particular – can help deal with these needs that triggered the formation of Courage Pilipinas in June 2018. It is this – the unanswered needs of those in the HIV community – and how social networking sites – in this case, Twitter in particular – can help deal with these needs that triggered Rommel to form Courage Pilipinas in June 2018. Twitter, of course, is now also recognized as relevant in advocacy efforts, including in the promotion of HIV-related advocacy. For those not in the know, Twitter is a free service that allows users to post messages of 280 (or fewer) characters. These posts can contain text, photos and videos. It is reported that one out of three adolescents aged 13-17 use Twitter, making it one of the most popular in the world; closely following the likes of Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Twitter is also used by professionals (including politicians like US Pres. Donald Trump, whose “official” positions are incoherently posted on the site). Twitter, of course, is now also recognized as relevant in advocacy efforts, including in the promotion of HIV-related advocacy. Various studies have – in fact – been done about this. In 2015, for instance, Tamara Taggart, Mary Elisabeth Grewe, Donaldson F. Conserve, PhD, Catherine Gliwa, and Malika Roman Isler, PhD conducted a comprehensive systematic review of the current published literature on the design, users, benefits, and limitations of using social media to communicate about HIV prevention and treatment. The researchers used a systematic approach to survey all literature published before February 2014 using seven electronic databases and a manual search. The inclusion criteria were: (1) primary focus on communication/interaction about HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), (2) discusses the use of social media to facilitate communication, (3) communication on the social media platform is between individuals or a group of individuals rather than the use of preset, automated responses from a platform, (4) published before February 19, 2014, and (5) all study designs. READ: What’s in a name? The search identified 35 original research studies. Thirty studies had low or unclear risk of at least one of the bias items in the methodological quality assessment. Among the eight social media platform types described, short message service text messaging was most commonly used. These platforms served multiple purposes, including disseminating health information, conducting health promotion, sharing experiences, providing social support, and promoting medication adherence. Social media users were also diverse in geographic location and race/ethnicity, with the studies commonly reported users aged 18-40 years and users with lower income. READ: Hollywood equality: All talk, little action? Both Rommel and Ron admit that tapping PLHIVs in Twitter (and other social networking sites) is just a start. “Napapanahon lang (It’s just timely, that’s all),” Ron said. They recognize the numerous issues plaguing the HIV community in the Philippines – e.g. wrong priorities of the Department of Health (and the government, in general, when it comes to health); shortage of no supplies of antiretroviral medicines; profiteering of non-government organizations; et cetera. “So we eventually want to (be relevant as a pro-active organization that’s not only available in the virtual world),” Rommel said. All the same, particularly since PLHIV-led efforts particularly count in dealing with issues that PLHIVs themselves face, “every effort – no matter how small – counts,” Rommel said. To Join Courage Pilipinas or for more information, contact 0917 315 5863; or connect via Twitter account Courage.Pilipinas (@CouragePilipin1). Like other LGBTQI organizations, Balangaw shares the same vision and mission to spread equality and be united. But, this time around, “we want for those in Palawan to do it for themselves,” said Evo Joel Contrivida. In June 2018, local LGBTQI people from Puerto Princesa in Palawan saw the need to “formally organize to be able to speak with one voice on many issues affecting us, including discrimination that LGBTQI people experience locally,” said Evo Joel Contrivida. And so – with the help of the city government of Puerto Princesa, Pilipinas Shell Foundation and NGO Project H4 – the Balangaw LGBTQ+ Association of Puerto Princesa was established. Balangaw is a Cuyonon word for rainbow, the universal sign of the LGBTQI community in the world. Contrivida is now a member of the Board Of Directors of the association, overseeing its corporate affairs. Other officers include: Geofred Gabo (Nay Favz), president; Rodelo Coneles, VP for internal affairs; Rica Belleza, VP for external affairs; Roland Joseph Palanca, secretary; Marlon San Juan, treasurer; and Jester Roque, auditor. As of the last general assembly, Balangaw has 207 registered members. When he took the top post of the association, Gabo noted that there actually already exists an organization for senior LGBTQI people in Palawan, and that its members are known for being united. It is this that he wants for Balangaw to replicate; even while building on this by providing more opportunities to the LGBTQI people of the city. And this, in the end, is what Contrivida wants LGBTQI people in Palawan to recognize: That there’s a group composed of and for them to help them dictate their community’s future. For those interested to know more about Balangaw, contact Evo Joel Contrivida at +63 917 554 6533 or evojoel46@gmail.com. CSG later evolved into a “global community” – that is, the membership expanded to include those not just from Cavite. The name changed, though it still gave tribute to its origin: Cavite Smart Guys Global (CSGG). A “trademark”, if you will, is the consistent use of the surname “Zaragosa” by its members, mainly because CSGG was – to start – founded by Marcus Zaragosa with his friends. In a way, this is akin to LGBTQIA “families” involved in the “ball culture” in the US. There, competitors compete – e.g. voguing – while carrying the banner of “houses”. In the case of clans, no competition per se happens; but the same concept of belonging is applied by carrying a common house/family name. With the help of the likes of Facebook, CSGG was able to grow its (online) membership to over 37,000, easily making it Cavite’s largest MSM group. And among clans, it has been recognized as – among others – the #1 provincial clan; one of the top five ‘bi’ groups in the Philippines; and more recently, as a “Bi-Rainbow Community Diamond Awardee (Mega Manila)”. For more information about Cavite Smart Guys Global, visit HERE. On September 17, 2017, Transman United Iloilo (TUI) was established to allow trans and non-binary brothers in that area to be able to offer support to each other. In the third quarter of 2017, two trans men from Iloilo – Lee Co and PJ – saw the need to “encourage the trans man community to come together within Panay, especially in Iloilo.” Because even then, “(our) trans and non-binary brothers (did not have means to) exchange their experiences as well offer support to others,” recalled Lee Co. And so on September 17, 2017, they established Transman United Iloilo (TUI) to be – exactly – this channel to allow trans and non-binary brothers in that area to be able to offer support to each other. Lee Co said that nowadays, particularly for those in non-metropolitan areas, major challenges continue to abound for trans and non-binary people. For more information, head to Transman United Iloilo’s Facebook page. In 2017, a group of LGBTQI community members noted that the one existing LGBTQI organization in San Julian in Eastern Samar was – to be blunt – “dead” because of its inactivity. And so San Julian PRIDE was established to give the LGBTQI community here a presence that can actually be seen and felt. On December 23, 2017, a group of LGBTQI community members noted that the one existing LGBTQI organization in San Julian in Eastern Samar was – to be blunt – “dead” because of its inactivity. And so – because “the prolonged inactivity meant that the community was unserved” – Roel Andag founded San Julian PRIDE. Aside from Roel, also involved in the organization’s establishment were: Wilmar Operario, Judy Operario, Francis Cabrales and Jill Jargue. San Julian is a rural, fifth class (i.e. very poor) agriculture-based municipality with 16 barangays (villages) located in one of the chronically poorest provinces of the Philippines. Poverty incidence here – already at 64.7% in 2009 – deteriorated further when Typhoon Haiyan hit the area in 2013. San Julian PRIDE, in its own way, eyes to remedy this situation by giving the LGBTQI community from here a presence that can actually be seen and felt. An interesting tidbit of info: San Julian actually has an anti-discrimination ordinance (ADO), which was passed in 2015, making it the first municipality in the Philippines to pass such legislation. But this does not mean that the local LGBTQI community’s issues are already dealt with. “Our tagline, ‘Rural and Equal’, captures our unique essence. The multiplicity of our challenges (rural poverty, geographical predisposition to frequent natural disasters, our being a discriminated minority in a rural milieu, and low health-seeking behavior in the face of the HIV epidemic) define the intersectionality of the identity that makes us unique,” Roel said. To date, San Julian PRIDE has 40 active members. Creating/supporting livelihood and skills enhancement opportunities for LGBTQI people in the province, and then involve the community in promoting LGBT rights and equality in our rural setting. San Julian PRIDE is open for membership, though the focus is on gay men and transwomen from San Julian, Eastern Samar. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/SanJulianPride/.

2019-04-24T03:55:31Z

https://outragemag.com/project-red-ribbon-responding-growing-need/

These terms and conditions apply to all quotations, agreements and services provided by Squeezely BV, established at the Koninginnegracht 5 in The Hague and registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under registration number 66994292 (“Squeezely”). Squeezely provides a data management platform which enables marketers to deliver tailored consumer experiences that drive revenue with data-driven content, commerce and marketing decision making. Please visit www.squeezely.tech for detailed information. Affiliated Companies: any legal entity that is controlled by one of the parties, or controls one of the parties, where ‘control’ means direct or indirect ownership of more than 50 percent of the other entity’s voting rights. Agreement: any accepted quotation or other offer made by Squeezely, these terms and conditions and any attachments to the quotation or the offer. 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2019-04-24T10:24:37Z

https://squeezely.tech/terms

At the roundtable, the role of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in helping address the liquidity challenge and manage risk in fixed income was examined. Investors shared their experiences of using ETFs for short-term trades, tilting in portfolios and transitioning between managers. We live in a new era of fixed income investing, with low yields and increased volatility, coupled with a lack of liquidity. Investors are reacting by being underweight core fixed income, looking further up the risk spectrum and looking at new ways to gain the desired exposures. The roundtable discussed these challenges, and heard that StatePlus and Sunsuper are both underweight core fixed income, and looking to high yield and private debt to generate returns. The impact of Dodd Frank and Basel III is important to highlight, says Bigos. “So the challenge clients are facing is: where to access the liquidity when they want it? Primary market is one source and the issuance is there as borrowers take advantage of low borrowing costs. Just recently we’ve seen increased issuance in investment grade and high yield, but those deals were on average three times oversubscribed,” she says. “We’re conscious of taking more risk, some liquidity risk, in the search for higher returns. That said, we’re not abandoning core fixed interest all together, we need that liquidity,” says Richard Dinham, head of research at StatePlus. For Sunsuper the current environment prompts the question: “why own fixed income?” and portfolio analyst, Andrew Fisher says really the only rationale is that it diversifies equities. David Foodey, co-head of program trading in the Asia Pacific, and co-head of cash execution in Australia at Deutsche Bank, says the bank has tripled the amount of capital it holds and the amount of risk it holds has halved. Ecaterina Bigos, vice president of fixed income product strategy, BlackRock, gave an overview of more than $60bn flows into fixed income ETFs this year, which have gone primarily into exposures such as investment grade, high-yield credit and emerging markets. Morningstar has a lower allocation to fixed income than it might in a “normal” environment, and Brad Bugg, head of multi-asset income at Morningstar says cash is the only asset class that can protect capital with 100 per cent certainty. But while the diversification benefits of fixed income may be less, George Lin, senior investment manager at CFS, says he is struggling to find anything that diversifies equities, especially when cost is a consideration. While the argument for diversification may not be as strong, he says the purpose of fixed income will be dictated by the fund’s circumstance and also include liquidity, or generating return and a bit of income. Fixed Income: Should I Stay or Should I Go? Veteran fixed-income investor Mark Vaselkiv of T. Rowe Price discusses the versatility and appeal of fixed income, even in a low- to negative-yield environment. Vaselkiv, a 30-year investment industry veteran, is manager of T. Rowe Price’s High Yield Fund and institutional high-yield strategies, and co-manager of the T. Rowe Price Global High Income Bond Fund. P&I: What are the macro factors that are buffeting fixed-income investments and investors today? Mark Vaselkiv: Since the financial crisis, growth has taken a dramatic leg down. We see a couple of reasons for that. One is that there is a demographic trend at work where, in Europe, the U.S. and particularly Japan, populations are getting older, and as populations age, consumption declines. Productivity has also plummeted, and that’s slowing growth. We also think that the significant amount of inequality in the global economy is a contributor. Central banks have been trying to stimulate growth to make sure that we get out of this rut. When you think about central bank policy today, the G-10 countries [Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S.] have issued about $34 trillion worth of sovereign debt. But about 35% of that carries a negative yield today, more than 70% is below 1%, and more than 90% is under 2%. It’s so different from anything we have experienced in our lives in the fixed-income world. And those sovereign rates really set yields and valuations for all kinds of fixed-income securities. The question is, can the Federal Reserve or the ECB (European Central Bank) or the Bank of Japan really do enough to push the needle higher on growth? We would argue that’s not going to be the case. And that leads to the question of the efficacy of central bank policy, which is raising a whole host of issues, such as whether fiscal easing is the next step for some countries. P&I: Can or should investors tune out those questions about monetary policy? What should they be focused on? Mark Vaselkiv: Risk-free bonds can serve as insurance policies in the event of a very serious geopolitical or economic problem in the world. Having some risk-free safe instruments, such as U.S. Treasuries or German bunds, provides a level of downside protection in a world where those types of anomalies occur with increasing frequency. It’s clear that investors are willing to hold onto those types of securities and even this year, notwithstanding the fact that rates have been very low, they’ve still delivered very positive returns. So amazingly, the German bund market has delivered more than 5% year-to-date, and even the five-year Swiss bond has generated positive total returns. So holding instruments able to perform in times of stress remains very important. And I would also say, as a little bit of a corollary to that point, that central bank policy really has acted like a fire extinguisher during these periods of major volatility. I think the classic example of that would be this summer, when the Brexit vote took the whole world by surprise. Right after that, for the first two or three days, global financial markets lost trillions of dollars and there was a major anxiety attack going on pretty much everywhere. But the central banks stepped in quickly and their moves really put the fire out. The markets calmed down dramatically and we were back off to the races because of that expectation that the fire truck will always show up when something goes wrong. And so yes, you can talk about negative yields, but if you think about those securities as insurance policies, there is a cost to owning any insurance policy. http://enterpriseuk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/31.05_Should-I-put-my-60000-into-a-fixed-rate-bond.jpg 500 1000 Cagatay Kirici http://enterpriseuk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/EmtUK_FinancialEcosystem-300x98.png Cagatay Kirici2016-11-22 16:50:562016-12-12 16:31:39Fixed Income: Should I Stay or Should I Go? What are the biggest risks and opportunities for bond investors? Fixed income managers explain their portfolio positioning following a volatile half year, and how they are taking advantage of opportunities in the sector while negotiating challenges including political uncertainty and ‘lower for longer’ bond yields. The biggest risk to watch out for in the second half of this year is political uncertainty. US presidential elections, the fall-out from Brexit, and the threat of further yuan devaluation could drive volatility in commodity and other risk assets. Volatility could lead to outflows and, if sustained, a deterioration in the availability in credit. A combination of stressed corporate fundamentals and a lack of credit will ultimately drive defaults upward, but we do not expect to see this in the short term. The biggest opportunity for high yield investors remains outside the commodity sectors, where default rates continue to track below 1% (well below the historical average of circa 4%), but valuations, despite a strong rally, are still near their long-term averages. The forecast backdrop of positive but slow growth in the US economy, coupled with continued easy central bank policy, should continue to drive demand and keep defaults in these sectors contained for the rest of 2016. While increasingly fragile corporate fundamentals inform our relatively conservative positioning within the strategy, credit risk premium is one of the only traditional risk factors that still offer value to investors, making high yield an attractive asset class in a low-yield world. We construct the portfolio on a long term, bottom-up basis and do not position based on the market outlook for the rest of the year. Despite credit markets shrugging off Brexit, we think this remains a key area of uncertainty going into the second half of the year and beyond. We believe the economic and political uncertainty created by Brexit is a problem for Europe as a whole and not only the UK. In the aftermath of the vote, we have not made any material changes to the portfolio, though we are actively considering our more economically cyclical holdings, alongside those bond issuers who have relatively near-term debt maturities to deal with. In both regards, we believe the portfolio is currently well positioned from a risk perspective. Markets are still trying to make sense of the Brexit aftermath, but one thing is apparent: investors are bracing themselves for uncertainty, and sentiment is negative. This type of environment is conducive to safe-haven assets, in particular government bonds such as US treasuries and UK gilts. ETF investors have the benefit of gaining precise exposure to such assets across a range of different maturity buckets. Another area or recourse that has been popular in 2016, and may continue to be so, is credit. In Europe in particular, corporate bond ETFs could be of interest due to the attractive yield pickup and ongoing ECB monetary policy supporting euro corporate debt. There may be opportunities in inflation-linked instruments. There has been a consistent trend of positive flows into inflation-linked bond ETFs since October 2015, with over $2bn in 2016 alone. These range from traditional linkers such as inflation-linked gilt ETFs and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) ETFs, to more innovative inflation expectations ETFs that aim to match the inflation breakeven rate. One reason behind these strong flows is that inflation expectations are on the rise, both in Europe and the US. http://enterpriseuk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/risks.jpg 500 1000 Cagatay Kirici http://enterpriseuk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/EmtUK_FinancialEcosystem-300x98.png Cagatay Kirici2016-09-06 18:04:452016-09-07 15:07:55What are the biggest risks and opportunities for bond investors? A startup online lending marketplace began offering retail investors access to individual corporate bonds for as little as 100 pounds ($132) on Monday. WiseAlpha said its online platform provides potential annual yields of 5 percent to 8 percent and is a “compelling alternative” to low-yielding savings accounts, the stock market or peer-to-peer lending, according a statement. The average yield on investment-grade corporate bonds in euros fell to a record low of 0.71 percent on Thursday, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch index data. The company will issue notes backed by individual bonds or loans that it acquires, allowing small investors to access securities typically only available in larger sizes, according to the statement. WiseAlpha charges a 1 percent annual service fee and a 0.25 percent sale fee for investments sold in the secondary market, it said. Senior secured bonds issued by U.K. companies Enterprise Inns, Vue Entertainment and New Look are among those being offered on the platform, which was created in February. It also provides access to senior secured corporate loans from companies including Virgin Media and United Biscuits. To achieve the yield target, most bonds will be rated between B and BBB, Ahmad said in an interview. The average yield on speculative-grade bonds in euros fell to a more than one-year low of 4.2 percent on Thursday, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch index data. The company wants to appeal to younger investors and people who might only be able or willing to commit a few hundred pounds to an investment at any one time, he said. Europe’s asset-backed securities market (ABS) is going underground. Having been thrust into the spotlight after the financial crisis as regulators blamed the products and the bankers that structured them for causing the crash by obscuring risks, the ABS market is retreating further into the shadows. Private bilateral sales of the bonds, which are typically backed by collateral such as car loans or mortgages, now outstrip public sales to investors, according to Bank of America Corp. analysts led by Alexander Batchvarov. So-called retained transactions, which are kept on banks’ balance sheets, rose to 78 billion euros ($87 billion) in the first six months of the year, which is more than double the 30 billion euros sold in the same period of 2015, according to Bank of America data. For investors in the public market, new-issue supply totalled just 41 billion euros, or roughly half the volume recorded a year earlier. Instead of using securitization — the process by which such ABS are created — to provide investors with new assets, banks are using the technique to manage risks and offload assets in private transactions that are typically unrated and where transaction data is often not available. While many retained deals are destined for use as collateral at the European Central Bank’s liquidity programs, securitization of whole loan portfolios including non-performing loans, is a source of growth for retained deals, according to Bank of America. Synthetic securitizations, in which credit derivatives are used to transfer risk, are also said to be growing in favor as banks seek to bolster their balance sheets — and even as regulators push back against use of such “regulatory capital” trades. Brexit could knock a hole in the $1.4 trillion market for euro-denominated covered bonds, if collateral from Britain can no longer be used in European issues of this debt. In this market, lenders use mortgages, commercial loans and public-sector debt to back payments on bonds. Covered bonds are a cheap form of finance across Europe. In the European Union, the market is closely regulated by national watchdogs and trade organisations, and their rules set parameters on where the collateral must come from. With its vote last month, the U.K. may have stepped out of those parameters. European banks have been able to package U.K. assets into covered bonds on the basis that the country was a part of the European Economic Area. In Germany’s Pfandbrief market, one of the largest covered-bond markets in Europe, collateral pools of domestic bond issuers include almost €10.2 billion of British assets, according to data by NordLB. Most of those assets are commercial mortgages, export credit and aircraft loans. The U.K. has voted to leave the EU and may not afterwards join the EEA, which has access to Europe’s common market, given that would mean having to accept free movement of people, a key bugbear for many of those who voted for Brexit. Lawyers are also asking what that may mean for outstanding bonds that have British assets as collateral. “Grandfathering is the only practical solution for existing Pfandbriefe featuring U.K. collateral,” said Vincent Keaveny, a partner at law firm DLA Piper. This could involve authorities publishing guidance that exempts outstanding German covered bonds from collateral location rules. Savers could earn an extra £50 over the next year by using a fixed-rate bond to protect against falling interest rates. Last week, Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, hinted that the base rate could drop to 0.25 per cent. The cut could come as soon as next week, after the meeting of policymakers – though some experts think the bank might wait until August. For years, savers have turned their backs on fixed-rate bonds in favour of easy-access accounts as they wait for the base rate to rise from its historic 0.5 per cent low. In the past two years, they have pulled a huge £40 billion out of bonds. But that strategy has been turned on its head now that we are on course to leave the EU. In a fixed-rate bond, you are cushioned from any fall in rates, whereas with easy-access accounts, you are at the mercy of banks and building societies, which are highly likely to cut your rate, too. However, before you fix, you must weigh up how quickly inflation will rear its head. The fall in the value of the pound following Brexit means things we import from abroad are more expensive – and this will work its way through to what we pay for goods and services. Then, the Bank of England is highly likely to raise rates to keep the lid on the rise in the cost of living. But even in the unlikely event that base rate reaches 1 per cent in 12 months’ time, fixed-rate bonds are the better option. The top easy-access account from internet bank RCI pays £145 a year on each £10,000. But you can earn £179 with Charter Savings Bank’s one-year fixed-rate bond. A base rate cut of 0.25 per cent next week could bring the RCI Freedom account rate down to 1.2 per cent. If base rate rose to 1 per cent after six months – and your easy-access rate rose immediately in line – you would still be better off with the fixed-rate bond. The 0.75 percentage point rise in base rate could bring your easy-access deal up to 1.95 per cent. Six months at 1.2 per cent and 1.95 per cent a piece would bring you in £157.50 – £60 in the first six months and £97.50 in the second. It’s the same in the High Street, where the top easy-access rate is 1.26 per cent from Virgin Money Defined Access, if you make only three withdrawals a year. Using the same scenario above, your total interest with this account is £138.50. While in the High Street’s top fixed-rate deal, Co-op Bank Britannia Bond, you would earn £150. The top two-year fixed-rate deals are 1.91 per cent from Charter Savings Bank and 1.9 per cent from RCI Bank. Virgin Money and Leeds BS pay 1.4 per cent in the High Street. If rates rise to 1 per cent in six months’ time, you will be better off in the Virgin Money Defined Access account, with £314.50 interest over two years against £300 in Co-op Bank’s bond. But if rates stay lower for longer, the bond will prove the better choice.

2019-04-22T22:33:20Z

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How To Self-Publish In German. Lessons Learned From Pentecost In Translation. I have been excited about publishing in German since last October when I interviewed Matthias Matting about how the ebook eco-system in Germany was exploding. Now finally, Pentecost, Ein ARKANE Thriller is now available in German worldwide and on the German specific ebook stores. You can find all the buy links here, and the print edition will be out in the next few weeks. It's been a very strange experience for me to start out all over again in a new market, in a language I don't know, with basically no platform and very contacts. I've spent over 5 years building my audience in English, so it's quite alien to begin again. This means that I'm certainly NOT an expert on the German market and I am just sharing my initial experience with you in this article. I have no doubt that I will change my process over the coming years. After all, it's only week 3 in this new game! My first advice is to read Matthias Matting's book ‘How to publish in Germany,‘ which includes lots of great tips. Why self-publish in German anyway? Germany has a population of 80 million but the book sales volume is 40% of the USA (against a population of 300m) so the Germans are big readers. There are also German speakers in Austria, Switzerland and of course, the rest of the world. Ebook adoption is increasing and Germany is the 3rd largest ebook market after US and UK right now. The SelfPublisherBibel.de reports weekly on the books in the Amazon charts, and like 2011/2012 in the US, indies are storming the charts with lower priced books. Publishers have yet to try and catch up. It feels like the exciting growth period before the leveling out of the market, as we've seen in US and UK for indies, so it's a great time to be experimenting in a new market. There are also far fewer books to compete with at the moment, but (presumably) that won't last long! If you're weighing up which language rights to exploit as a self-publisher, then consider both market size and also the ease of publishing. For example, it would be fantastic to be able to do this with Mandarin or Arabic, but right now, you're better off getting a foreign rights agent to try and sell those rights, rather than attempting to self-publish. For me, Germany was the first choice for self-publishing in translation because of the language penetration and growing e-reader base on Amazon. Plus, I live in Europe and have lots of German friends and I'll hopefully be heading back over for some promotional activity! Firstly, you need to decide on your business model. Do you want to pay upfront for translation services? Or do you want to do a royalty split deal? Many translators have felt ‘hard done by' in traditional publishing and are looking for ways to be more creatively involved in their finished product. Going indie for both parties can be more rewarding. The royalty split can be better financially in the long run but also, the translator gets a say in how things are run and both parties learn a lot along the way. Collaborating with other creatives is great for sharing the load, especially as I offer 50:50% split for a marketing partner in the language of translation. This means that emails for review pitches, blog interviews and emails and the ongoing work of building the book in the market is shared. You can trust the work of the translator more as they won't get paid unless the book is good enough to sell. They have a vested interest in making the work the best it can be! The risk is split between you and there is no upfront payment, so it's easy to try things out. Considering most translation rights deals seem to be only a few thousand dollars in traditional publishing, I figure that we can make this back within a short enough period to make it worthwhile for both parties. Currently, I only work on royalty split deals with translators – this page has all the details – and I make sure we are a good fit as people as well as checking their references as a translator. I have turned down a number of people as I just didn't gel with the way they worked. In terms of finding someone, I have had translators approach me through this site and at live events, and then I usually interview them via Skype before moving to contractuals. My translator for Pentecost is very experienced with a lot of traditionally published translations under her belt and we met at a self-publishing workshop I was running. After the translator has finished the final manuscript, I publish it through my accounts and then send them their royalty share on payment from the store. There is a written contract but this only works with trust on both sides. You can also use BabelCube for royalty split deals, which I haven't used personally, so can't yet recommend but I know some authors who are starting to use them. They offer a distribution platform and take 15% royalty and their translator/ rights holder split varies on number of books sold. You can also find translators through one of the many translation associations and professional bodies online. There are lots on twitter too! When working with a translator, they will ask you questions that may seem very odd but are necessary for choosing the right words. A translator has to use their art as well as their craft to provide the best meaning that also retains the original thought of the author. I have a great respect for translators after working with them myself! I will be interviewing Tina, my German translator on the blog in the coming weeks. One tip if you use Scrivener, we found that passing Scrivener files back and forth from German to English language setup and from Mac to PC messed up the German punctuation. I had to rebuild the file after all the final changes were made. I would recommend that the person who will build the Kindle/ePub files is the one who owns the Scrivener file overall and make sure your language settings are right. One of the problems with going into a new market is deciding on whether to use the same book cover design and title as the English language versions. Traditional publishers generally use a different title and often, a very different cover. I was also nervous about whether German readers might even like the book. A German friend connected me with Vorablesen.de which is a bit like NetGalley but with a much better interface and more of a community feel. They have a service that allows cover testing and votes, pre-reading of samples and then the chance to win the ebook in advance of publication. It's run on a points system which incentivizes reviewers and bloggers to add reviews quickly and on multiple platforms. These early readers were some of the first reviewers on the retail sites as they had access to pre-read the book. Basically, Vorablesen is aimed at readers – which we all like a lot! – and they have over 10,000 active reviewers out of 36,500 users. Their users are mostly women who read over 35 books a year. Of course, you can't control what people say, but getting those early reviews and star ratings has been brilliant. It's given me confidence that the book will be well received, as well as additional support for the great translation that Tina has done. Vorablesen has mainly been for traditionally published books up to now, so I knew the bar would be set high. We made the decision to use the original cover of Pentecost, and to keep the English version of the title, as it is quite common for German books to use a foreign word as the title. VorVorablesen is a new service offering help for authors on questions about their book during the writing process. Authors can get feedback from readers on cover design, style and characters, and receive critique on early pages of writing. All the services include a report with data to help you with the launch of your book. You can read the media releases and overview documentation in German and English here. You can contact Vorablesen direct for the prices for self-published authors. If you speak German, you can read this article which elaborates on the use of Vorablesen and ePubli. The e-book retailers in Germany are the usual suspects – Amazon, iBooks and Kobo plus a few others that are German specific. According to Going Global: How to sell your ebook in the German market by Birgit Kluger, Amazon Kindle has ~41% of the market share, followed by Thalia ~14%, Weltbild ~13%, iTunes ~10%. There are other smaller sites like Hugendubel & Buecher.de that together with Weltbild and Thalia make up the Tolino partners. The Tolino is an ebook reader and eco-system started by the German publishers in order to rival Amazon. Together the Tolino retailers have a combined market share of ~35%, almost as much as Amazon. German bookstores also won't order from Amazon so publishing in print from Createspace would only serve the direct sales route. Given the number of traditional print readers in Germany, I wanted them to be able to order print from local bookstores. For me, this was enough of a reason to look for a local publishing partner to help with German specific distribution. When I spoke at the ePubli conference in Berlin in Nov 2013, I met some great people who offered to help me with German publishing and having a hand to hold was incredibly useful when publishing in a different language. ePubli.de has an easy to use interface and if you keep ePubli.co.uk open at the same time, it's easy to work out how to use it. They are also implementing some changes to the system to (hopefully) allow English speaking authors to publish to German stores more easily. The ePubli staff speak English (as do many Germans!) so you can email for help which is great. I have to thank the lovely Sophie for her amazing patience with me during this process! After loading the ePub and all the same information as usually needed (but in German), ePubli publish to the various stores. Here's Pentecost on ePubli with the buy buttons for the other stores on the right. Publishing through ePubli is the same as any other distributor – like Smashwords, BookBaby or Draft2Digital, in that it takes more time for changes to go through and ultimately, you have a lot less control than going direct. You pay a royalty share as with all distributors. ePubli also have some changes coming in the next few months around their offerings for self-publishing authors, so watch this space if you're interested in this market. There are alternatives to ePubli including Bookrix.com, Neobooks.com and Xinxii.com. Here's an article from Sophie Schmidt, ePubli, about tips for publishing to the German market. It includes being as British (or American) as you can, so you stand out, and using the German specific retailers instead of just Amazon. Here are some of the other things to think about. Categories and Keywords. You need all the same information to publish in another language BUT you will find that categories and keywords don't necessarily translate directly. My translator and I spent a lot of time working through the auto-populate function on Amazon.de to try and identify the best keywords. There are also far fewer categories at the moment, as there are far fewer ebooks in general. After feedback from some German readers, I also switched categories on Amazon soon after launch. Set up your Amazon Central account for Amazon.de with a translated description. Here's mine. What's the #1 marketing thing that all authors must do? Set up a newsletter of course! I've now got a German signup page with basic info on as well as a special page for Pentecost in German. Watch out for the fixed price law or Buchpreisbindung. This is a legal requirements for books to be priced the same on all stores in Germany, which makes it difficult to run price promotions, as you can't guarantee the changes will go through together. This also stops the Amazon deep discounting, protecting German retailers. Manuscript Copyright. I'm not a lawyer so this is just my layman's understanding. The copyright of the German version lies with your translator, but they can't use it without your copyright of the original, and you have to pay some royalties for use. This podcast with Courtney Milan on Self-Publishing Round Table goes into it in more detail. There is title copyright in Germany, which means you can't use a title someone else has used. This is leading to lots of translations using mixed language words. Desecration will be published as ‘Desecration-Verletzung,' a double word title. Pentecost is also the English word, while Pfingsten is the German. Print formatting. German has particular hyphenation rules which means that your print formatting needs specific language settings in order to flow correctly and still have the straight line edged formatting. You might think that it looks the same as English, but Germans will notice the difference immediately. Print formatting software has language settings, but even after that, we found manual re-hyphenation was needed. This gave me a real headache! Print sizing. German printing is in centimeters, so if you're used to using 5×8 or 6×9 inches for Createspace, you will now have to think in centimeters if you use German print distributors. Firstly, as I offer a 50:50% royalty split, I am sharing the marketing load with my translator, who provides me with text and will be doing emails and articles in German as an ongoing task. We use a shared Google Doc to plan everything we do, and also Skype for update meetings. I have also become intimately involved with Google Translate for working out blogs, websites etc and am slowly learning some German words! Focus on reviews through existing networks. I identified people who lived in Germany, Switzerland and Austria from my existing email list and asked them if they would like a review copy. Some responded positively, so I gifted the Kindle book through Amazon.de and also sent out ePub files for Kobo, Nook and iBooks. This is a slow-burn approach to reviews, but giving books away is always a good start if you have no audience. Focus on reviews through review sites. Lovely Books (as above) is a German specific review site, and Pentecost has started to get some traction there. It's also up on Goodreads and as soon as we get the print edition sorted, then we'll do a giveaway there. Guest blog posts/Interviews on German book blogger sites. I've had a couple of posts up on Matthias Matting's site, and also have one coming on ePubli. This is something to focus on more once we have the print books ready to send to reviewers if they want to do giveaways or only read print. Germany is still a print dominant country. Paid advertising. While there is no BookBub competitor right now, there is XTME.de, a site for promoting ebooks. I've had a banner up there, which has led to some sales – but would have potentially been more if the book had been on sale. Once Prophecy (ARKANE #2) comes out, then I'll look trying that again. What's next for my translations? For German, I have another wonderful translator for Desecration, Hans Maerker. Together, we have signed a deal with Ullstein-Midnight, a soon-to-be-launched digital imprint for crime/thrillers. It will come out in mid July and we'll be able to compare how the two experiences work. I wouldn't sign a digital only deal for English, but as Ullstein are one of the largest German publishers, it will be interesting to see how it goes. Hopefully, it will be the hybrid best of both worlds. OK, mammoth post over! Please join the conversation and leave a comment below. What are your thoughts and experience about self-publishing and marketing in German? or about working with translators? If you read German or Spanish and fancy trying Pentecost, please contact me directly. Thanks, Joanna, for such a thorough and honest post! As someone who is thinking of making the jump myself, I’m fascinated by your experiences. Great post, Joanna! Very in-depth and informative, and you’ve definitely overwhelmed my brain for the moment! But this is very good stuff, and I will be keeping all of this in mind for the future. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us!!! Keep it in mind for the future Elizabeth – there are very few indies doing this at the moment, but you’ll see a development in the next 5 years, for sure. Great article, i really enjoyed reading it! Wow, I definitely need to go back and read that a few more times taking notes! Thank you for such an in depth post. I’ve been thinking about a German translation since you mentioned it a while ago but didn’t really know where to start so this will help immensely. I’m off to buy the Matthias Matting book now too. All the best with your German sales! Thanks Simon – have fun! A very thought provoking post, Joanna, which as Simon says, will take some digesting. I was particularly interested in the small comment that you need to write using your own cultural background and not to try to write for Germany or any other country. I think it’s this slight sense of otherness than makes the Scandi crime writers such hits in the UK and US. The statistics about the percentage of readers in Germany is staggering. Hi Joanna, great post, as are most of them! Do you have a template for the contract for your translators? Or could you point me in some direction regarding this? As the contract for any of the languages probably entails residents of two different countries (in your case, UK & Germany, for example), the contract needs to cover this in some fashion and I’d appreciate some pointers. Hi Gabriella, I can’t give legal advice on this site as I’m not a lawyer – you’ll need to look into this yourself. However, the Alliance of Independent Authors is going to be sorting out some template contracts at some point, so that may help if it isn’t urgent. Thanks, Joanna. Totally understand you can’t give legal advice – was not looking for that – just to know whether you have been able to come up with a template. Can you tell me this: do you typically use a lawyer from each of the countries involved? I will look at the Alliance of Independent Authors site with great interest. My fourth book is on the verge of coming out and I have been bogged down regarding the translation of the first (to German, and Spanish is next on the list) due to these legalities, and since my day job as a psychotherapist plus the writing of these four books in four years takes up almost all my time, YOU are my main contact with the ‘real’ world of indies. Anyway, thanks always for ALL your work in this field. I’m so glad you’re all finding this useful – the experience has been a lot more harrowing than I expected. It’s like starting all over again! Thank you for a fabulously informative post. Your generosity in sharing what you’ve learned is, as always, much appreciated and inspiring. I hope your German sales far exceed your expectations! Thanks Nadia – and I am definitely keen to visit South Korea – I’d love to get a foreign rights deal there. Ebooks are huge in that part of the world! Oooo if you ever get to go to Korea, you should just take like a month and travel around Japan also, esp. since you’re coming from England. Japan’s like right next door (less than 1 hour by plane). Anyway, I posted this question but I think it got lost. Did you sign a contract with your translator? How long does the royalty split arrangement last? Yes, we did a contract – that was based on an audiobook contract for royalty split deals. It’s a 10 year contract – but of course, that’s all up to you and your partner. Fabulous post, Joanna (as always), and full of so much information. My email’s been screwy and I’m just now catching up. It’s very exciting in Germany right now, but Americans might find some obstacles. I had a German client who wanted to get into the American market, and while trying to help her understand what “state” and “government” meant here, as opposed to European states, it turned into a long history lesson I couldn’t quite explain. We have a federal government that unites 50 sovereign states, each with their own laws and distinct personalities. That’s as hard to understand for some Europeans as it is for us to understand what’s legal in one state will put you in jail when you cross a state line. Despite the obstacles, it was exciting to hear her talk about book festivals in the streets and all across the country (huh? what?) and their joy of reading. The script I’m writing now, which will also be a novel, is undertaken with foreign markets in mind. You’ve given invaluable resources to help guide the way. Yet again, so very grateful for all you share as you lead the way. Great post, ideas and definitely you have the mindset of an entrepreneur, Joanna! The 50-50 split between you and the translator is great but works only for established authors such as you. I have written my first novel mainly in Bulgarian and I have connected with several English translators here in Bulgaria. My biggest dream is hiring the native American translator Angela Rodel but she is so busy and the only possibility of hiring her is that the manuscript will impress her. In Bulgaria most people want upfront payment and sharing the royalties wouldn’t work here as I think about it now which is good that I will retain the rights.Your insight into the German book market makes sense as there is also a book festival in Munich if I am not wrong. Some of the literary greatest are also Germans as Herman Hesse, Erich Maria Remarque etc. Good that my mother is a Germanist and we know a native German who can edit the manuscript. Thanks again for the insight! My wife is an editor and translator. We’ve been trying to help a German client self-publish her book. Doing it through KDP, Createspace, and Smashwords turned out to be a nightmare — not because of those businesses but because of US tax laws concerning foreigners doing business in the US. We decided to help her self-publish in Germany instead. Your post has filled in a lot of information gaps. Thank you, again. Just amazing. Thanks for sharing in a detailed way.

2019-04-26T09:19:30Z

https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2014/06/12/self-publishing-in-german/comment-page-1/

Silver stays with you on the street, too. Each time you drive a automotive or ride in a motor vehicle, you take advantage of plenty of the myriad uses of this element. Over 36 million ounces of silver are used yearly in automobiles. No, I can acknowledge legitimate factors. American View brought me to appreciate that I had posted the relative difference in prices rather than the % change for price of living. I have had my opinions on security nets and social rights change over time. What that report says is while their are plenty of studies detailing increasing social inequality within the US, they have knowledge that suggests there is still plenty of mobility between revenue groups. You may study amongst leading teachers in world-class facilities. Now we have extensive lab house and tools for subjects like strong mechanics, fluid mechanics, engine testing and thermofluids in addition to management and dynamics. 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The BEng is accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Know-how and the Establishment of Mechanical Engineers on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully assembly the tutorial requirement for registration as an Integrated Engineer and partly meeting the educational requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer. The MEng is accredited by the Establishment of Engineering and Technology and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of totally meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer. Certainly one of these is Steve Posson. Posson had majored in automotive design at the Artwork Heart Faculty of Design in California and did prototype bodywork for Jeep, Volvo and Renault. Now he has revived the ancient strategy of misplaced wax casting to create bronze automotive sculptures. Misplaced wax is notable for capturing minute details. His sculptures often function people and scenery along with the auto however still give an illusion of movement. He has exhibited his work at major shows such because the Pebble Beach Retro Auto, The Newport Seaside Concours, the L.A. Roadsters Present, and The Grand National Roadster Present, to call a few. Steve additionally has many nicely-recognized company shoppers similar to Petersen Vehicle Museum, Ford Company, and Auto Aficionado Magazine. With its new GORE® Adhesive Vent AVS 110, W. L. Gore & Associates integrates innovative performance advantages into a smaller, 5 mm footprint. This small, low-profile GORE® Adhesive Vent is completely aligned with the needs to further miniaturize – and better shield – excessive-worth automotive control models, sensors, actuators and motors. The God That Failed” brought about an emotional concussion. It left me dizzy and disoriented, feeling as if my mind had gone into a tailspin. When it comes to shopping for items for engineering students and even graduate engineers and engineering majors, most individuals go for either lame T-shirts or boring equipment books or guides. C’mon individuals, we love clothes and we love practical experiments, however not each time— and not with the boring design of just gears. And if T-shirts and books are the final-minute presents, then we actually want a cool one. We see rapid adoption of advanced digital safety features causing vital business disruption within the coming 5 years, regardless that we do not expect to see totally autonomous vehicles widely adopted any time soon. We see the EV share of whole automobile gross sales ramping up gradually as costs fall and charging infrastructure improves, but don’t see this development beginning to shake up the business till past 2020. General, we count on the path of travel to have a cumulative, somewhat than sudden, impact. Wish to know the performance? 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The economic downturn resulted in considerably decreased manufacturing and momentary plant stoppages by a lot of the Distinctive Gear Producers (OEMs). The availability chain was unable to benefit from efficiencies of periodic stoppage and needed to operate inefficiently at levels drastically beneath capacity. This has been extremely unpleasant for most corporations major to buy floor redundancies, though companies did try tougher than in earlier recessions to evade a cull and retain as numerous men and women as possible utilising imaginative solutions to lower employment costs these as shorter hrs, sabbaticals, brief-term wage/wage cuts and pension freezes. Whereas creation was hit badly, R&ampD ongoing to operate with minimum reductions in staff albeit with a freeze on additional extra recruitment. Security engineering: Safety engineering is the evaluation of assorted crash eventualities and their impact on the automobile occupants. These are examined towards very stringent governmental regulations. A few of these necessities embody: seat belt and air bag performance testing, entrance and aspect impression testing, and assessments of rollover resistance. Assessments are done with varied strategies and tools, including Laptop crash simulation (sometimes finite factor analysis ), crash take a look at dummies , and partial system sled and full car crashes. Labor Fee(definition): A dollar amount that the customer pays the store for labor costs incurred whereas repairing the car. The rate is billed per hour of time. So let’s say the labor charge for a shop is $a hundred per hour. That means that if the repair is quoted as 1 hour, you will pay $100 for labor plus any components prices, shop charges, and so forth. Internet commentators pretending to have some kind of information or experience in one thing they don’t actually perceive, however really want to seem as they do. An oil leak could cause excess smog. Use engine oil cease leak to right this nuisance. Neil Postman was one among McLuhan’s mental kids and spent a lot of his skilled life analyzing, considering and writing about media ecology. He was not all the time impressed by what he noticed. You need to discover out a reliable website to get the whole details about the precise car that you’ve picked up from all kinds. Via used cars beneath $1000, you’ll get every details about the transaction and critical details of the vehicle, which actually issues in the everyday use of the car. You get hold of the current condition of different elements of the automobile, the general situation and look of the automobile including present mileage and the price offered. You need to be careful concerning the final value since you must not ever conform to pay greater than the value of the automobile. Maintaining your automobile is one of the simplest ways to reinforce the beauty and worth of your investment. Being taller than a household car improves visibility for the motive force (while decreasing visibility for different street customers) and may assist entry for the aged or disabled Additionally they provide extra seats and elevated load capability than hatchbacks or property automobiles. Michael F. Yost Very straightforward to do with fast primes. Keep in mind that a flash depends upon aperture for gentle control and ANY shutter pace under sync is simply positive. Use your Publicity compensation to 1 to 1 1/2 stops underexposed with a flash and it is best to have an incredible exposure. Honda Suzuki Kawasaki and Yamaha motors all fastened weak clutches, casing bolts, gearboxes and ignition methods normally on the following mannequin with exceptions. In any case, detailing your automotive and sprucing it properly will assist defend the paint and hold it trying new for years to come back. The above pictures present to what extent individuals modify their vehicles after they buy it. The modifications of the cars replicate the drivers persona. The automobile, or any motorcar, is such a fixture in most of our lives that we take without any consideration that somebody designed it for max effectivity and minimal price. Automotive engineers develop elements and programs for autos (vehicles, bikes, and heavy autos) that present nice buyer value and satisfaction at an inexpensive worth while rising their employers’ profitability. Automotive engineers create new or improved designs for all parts of a automobile using laptop-aided design know-how. They are responsible for analyzing and providing inventive and technically-possible solutions to all issues which are encountered through the production of the automobile. You will receive a weekly roundup on what has been published and can be updated on special presents. I actually do not believe in gas economic system standards and I think they blind automakers to doing what they really need to do—improve the overall car. As the previous couple of years have shown, fuel costs are the biggest driving pressure in additional fuel environment friendly vehicles sales. It is at these times when shoppers demand better mileage ratings and new fuel technologies. If automakers must observe authorities guidelines, showrooms can be full of small vehicles no one wants simply to keep common mileage numbers right down to satsidy authorities requirements. The result’s freakish merchandise like the Aston Martin Cygnet which is designed to steadiness out averages with Aston Martin’s gas-guzzling super automobiles. Merely put, if government actually needs to get extra gasoline environment friendly automobiles on the highway, they should increase gasoline costs by way of taxation. It could be efficient however not welcomed by anybody. Phil commonly attends lessons to maintain his certifications up to date and to learn more about fixing automobiles in a quickly evolving atmosphere. He’s now an authorized Master Technician for Gaithersburg Mazda , in Maryland. Phil enjoys tinkering along with his Mazda RX-7s and recreational excessive-speed driving (don’t be concerned – it’s on a closed course!). A new, more three-dimensional license plate garnish has been widened to overlap the license plate panel. It features shaved ends to emphasize the strong, sculpted block nature of the garnish, reinforcing the brand new Toyota 4×4’s rugged, highly effective design language. Used automotive values determine in massive the velocity of recent automotive sales. Most new automotive transactions contain a commerce. The level of fairness in the commerce oftentimes determines whether or not a new automobile transaction shall be profitable or not. Inclining used car values lead to faster trade cycles whereas declining used automotive values lead to slower trade cycles. Dismal new automotive gross sales quantity during our last recession created a scarcity of used vehicles. This created a big supply and demand imbalance that made used automotive values soar from 2009 till 2014 as seen on this chart. The car makes use of a lightweight 4.0-liter V-12 engine with dual overhead cams that produces 375 horsepower and as much as 365 Nm of torque. Mated to a 5-speed synchromesh transmission, the engine reaches 100 km/h in 5.6 seconds on its option to a 316 km/h (196 mph) prime pace. You’ll be able to select to take both the 4-year Integrated Masters (MEng, BEng) or the three-year Bachelor’s (BEng) diploma on this course. This excessive growth projection relies on our extensive examine and rational evaluation on the current and future market development across varied key and emerging markets. The analysis research critiques the hybrid automotive market at the international in addition to nation level and provides analytical and statistical data available on the market. Forecasting has been executed after considering the influence of financial slowdown on the concerned market. The excellent analysis will help shoppers to capitalize on the emerging alternatives in the world hybrid automotive market. AIXTRON SE (FSE: AIXA; OTC: AIXNY), a number one supplier of deposition gear to the semiconductor business, as we speak introduced its monetary results for the primary quarter 2017. I do not know if there’s an business that adjustments as quickly because the automotive business. Right here we are, with the autonomous automotive; we have cars that are out on the roads driving themselves with cameras at the back of the autos to make it possible for we do not hit one thing backing up. We’ve got cars which are making use of the brakes, because the human brain’s not functioning quite fast sufficient. We’ve to adapt and alter, and we have to be educated. I spend 1000’s and 1000’s of dollars a 12 months on coaching, because it modifications so much. 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Automotive engineering combines matters from mechanical and electrical engineering to increase and create analysis areas related to cars that can improve the lives of world citizens and result in an environmentally-friendly, sustainable mode of transportation. The continued growing curiosity in vehicles as a primary mode of transportation and the ecological devastation from elevated transportation mixed with inefficient power utilization illustrates the pressing want for individuals who can pioneer research that may improve the present state-of-the-artwork in automotive applied sciences. After spiking to its highest worth, $39.forty eight, on Jan. 7, 2011, GM’s inventory value started a gentle decline, and did not rebound to even its opening offer until Might of 2013. Additionally, it also has the potential to enhance the energy and power density, shorten the recharge time, in addition to decrease the dimensions and weight while improving security and stability of the batteries. The Seventh 5 12 months Plan was prepared within the context of the Second Perspective Plan spanning the period 1988-2003. This fifteen yr perspective emphasized efficient development in output in addition to improvement in the high quality of life. Of the longer perspective targets, about 23.6 percent of GDP, 22 percent of investment, 23.eight p.c of exports, 26.2 p.c of imports and 21 p.c of revenue, were envisaged to be attained throughout 1988-ninety three. Switch college students from different universities may be thought of on a case-by-case foundation. I don’t see typical high school children and early 20’s types in any muscle automotive. They don’t have the cash. Ryan I’m sorry but that is the case…or you’ve got a rare expertise and a Master will do it or you will all the time have just a little gap in contrast to people who have done 4 or 5 years of design school.

2019-04-26T04:44:13Z

http://hcpl.tk/category/advanced-automotive-specialists

In the first 3 articles in this series, 1) WHY PRESIDENT OBAMA WAITED until APRIL 27, 2011 to RELEASE a FACSIMILE of his LONG FORM BIRTH CERTIFICATE; 2) WHY PRESIDENT OBAMA RELEASED the LONG-FORM IMAGE of his BIRTH CERTIFICATE in PDF versus JPEG; and 3) SHE SAID / HE SAID: SCRIPTING the 04.27.11 LAUNCH of PRESIDENT OBAMA’S LONG FORM BIRTH CERTIFICATE we distinguished between the public versus private aspects of the 2011 launch of President Obama’s long form birth certificate advertising campaign, including peeking at the roles played by the various actors identified as participating in the rollout, recognizing when these ‘officials’ wore their public (official) versus private hats. But our previous analysis didn’t do justice to either Loretta Fuddy, Director, HI Department of Health; or President Barack Obama, without whose complicity the campaign never could have pulled this off. In this 4th article in the series, we will examine this public/private dichotomy focusing on Ms. Fuddy (and her immediate predecessor at the HI DoH, Ms. Fukino), honing in on when the conduct of a public official is ‘officially’ part of the job. But even assuming the original version of Ms. Fuddy’s correspondence was ‘real’; did her statements therein constitute an official state proclamation of the President’s place of birth? For example, would her seal of approval posted on the internet per se mean to a court of law, for example, (or a state election official) he is who he says he is? Not hardly. One way to determine whether an utterance by someone holding public office is ‘official,’ is to examine whether the statement is made pursuant to an official function of the job. For example, do Hawaii Revised Statutes authorize the Director of the HI DoH to personally inspect the contents of vital documents of an identified individual contained in files that office is required to maintain? Do they authorize her to publicly pronounce her opinion as to the authenticity of the information contained in a personal record preserved in her care? The answer emphatically is, no. And you can get to this result in any number of ways, including these: find the law that specifically authorizes her to carry out the act; or, in the alternative, the law that prohibits it. Yes, I linked to the HI DoH web site, to the section above and another entitled “About Vital Records.” All the information needed to establish that statements such as the ones attributed to Director Fuddy (and Fukino before her), mean absolutely nothing when it comes to confirming the facts of Mr. Obama’s place of birth, is right there in front of your eyes, like a neon sign flashing, FRAUD. Because even assuming those statements attributed to Ms. Fuddy were actually made by her; under HI law, only Mr. Obama, the supposed subject of those records, has the right to reveal those statements publicly. Ms. Fuddy not only isn’t authorized to make statements with respect to the accuracy of Obama’s personal records; but, she isn’t authorized to breach his privacy rights. And that’s probably why, if you look closely, you will see, she did not. Rather, Mr. Obama did. She only referenced his prior remarks. Did you catch that opening line? On April 27, 2011 President Barack Obama posted a copy of his original Certificate of Live Birth. But here’s the thing. While this code can be seen quite clearly on the HI DoH site; the same letter posted on WH.gov, which appears on the WH.gov server, shows a code so fuzzy it cannot be deciphered. Notwithstanding my general reluctance to speculate absent any evidence; I did think about the underlying rationale for this distinction, and came up with this. The Obama campaign provided the HI DoH with the PDF of Ms. Corley’s letter to be stored on the HI DoH site and linked directly back to their blog, so as to provide the documents posted on the HI DoH web site with the ‘appearance’ of official HI pronouncements on the subject. Then, at some point after these documents were sent to HI; I imagine someone on this end, that is, in D.C., figured the log code for Perkins Coie was too easily traced by, say, an over-zealous filing clerk or, even a hacker! So, on the WH.gov blog, they made sure to post an obliterated log code. But for some reason, the PDF which had already been uploaded onto the HI server, was not replaced. In addition to visual clarity, there is also this difference in those Corley letters: the PDF of that letter stored on the HI server, shows no hole-punch at the top, whereas the PDF stored on the WH server contains the 2-hole horizontal marks indicative of stored legal correspondence. I couldn’t help thinking, when the WH team determined to obliterate the legal code at the bottom; in an attempt to maintain the ruse that this was a legal letter from Corley to Fuddy, they copied the legal correspondence physically fastened in the file. In this way, it retained the ‘look’ of a real legal document which it was, part of the Obama 2012 campaign; while maintaining the element of untraceability. But if these facts don’t convince you that, except for certifying Obama posted statements attributed to the HI DoH with respect to his long form birth certificate, the HI DoH has certified nothing; just read the Disclaimer at the bottom of their web page! This WEB SITE is provided “AS IS” and without warranties of any kind. To the fullest extent of the law, the State of Hawai‘i, including each agency, officer, or employee of the State of Hawai‘i, disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied…with respect to this WEB SITE…In addition, neither the State of Hawai‘i nor any agency, officer, or employee of the State of Hawai‘i makes any representations, guarantees, or warranties as to: (1) the accuracy, completeness, currency, or suitability of the information provided via this WEB SITE; (2) the use of or the results of the use of this WEB SITE; and (3) the accuracy, reliability, availability or completeness or usefulness of the content of web sites created and maintained by persons other than the State of Hawai‘i and linked to or from this WEB SITE. In sum, just because something is posted or linked to on the HI DoH.gov web site does not mean, it is the truth. And now, a note about Ms. Fuddy’s immediate predecessor, Ms. Fukino. The present HI DoH web site also contains 2 links to “all past statements by the Health Director.” Both of these links lead to statements made by Ms. Fukino. Here is the statement she made in October 2008. In other words, she is assuming all legal liability for ‘talking out of school,’ that is, making a public statement about Mr. Obama’s records not otherwise allowed by law. So, why would she put herself in what might appear on its face to be a legally untenable position? Who knows. Paraphrasing the words attributed to her successor, maybe it’s because “inquiries [to the HI DoH for Obama’s birth documents] have been disruptive to staff operations and have strained State resources.” Or maybe it’s because, the only person with standing to contest her apparent breach of privacy is the subject of the record, Barack Obama. And, surely, he is not about to attack the proverbial goose that laid the golden egg, least of all one month before the 2008 general election. This is third in the series of articles addressing the legal nature of that long form birth certificate purporting to establish President Barack Obama’s Hawaiian birth, released on April 27, 2011 in the form of both electronic images which were posted on the WhiteHouse.gov blog and, hard copies (of those same images) which were distributed to reporters. (This is all spelled out in the first 2 articles in the series, WHY PRESIDENT OBAMA WAITED until APRIL 27, 2011 to RELEASE a FACSIMILE of his LONG FORM BIRTH CERTIFICATE and WHY PRESIDENT OBAMA RELEASED the LONG-FORM IMAGE of his BIRTH CERTIFICATE in PDF versus JPEG, which are meant to be read before tackling the present post,) But the article I originally had in mind to follow these 2 required re-thinking when I received an email from azgo suggesting that “by reading the ‘jbjd’ blog, [the Obama campaign] devised the [long-form birth certificate] scheme to make it look like the image came directly from HI; per our conversations [on this blog] about how state election officials should receive birth records directly from the state in which the candidate was born.” That got me to thinking. So, I looked for any articles referencing the distinction between a real identification document and a fake; which were posted here on “jbjd” before the 2012 re-election campaign launch in April 2011. On January 3, 2011, I posted DE-CODER RINGS (1 of 2), which confirms that under the U.S. Code, images such as Barack Obama’s COLB appearing on his web site “Fight the Smears,” satisfy the expenditure disclosure requirements of an electronic political advertising campaign. Here is an excerpt from that post. Here is just a partial index for TITLE 2 > CHAPTER 14 > SUBCHAPTER I, dealing with federal campaign funds. This was followed on January 12 by DE-CODER RINGS (2 of 2), which discussed the criminal implications of producing and distributing electronic images, such as that COLB, on campaign sites; but pretending, these are ‘the real thing.’ Here is a snippet from that article. But to answer the question concerning the legality of the FTS COLB under the U.S. Code, we will be concentrating primarily on section 1028. (B) the means of identification, identification document, false identification document, or document-making implement is transported in the mail in the course of the production, transfer, possession, or use prohibited by this section. (B) to make or obtain control of with intent to so transport, transfer, or otherwise dispose of. (f) Attempt and Conspiracy.— Any person who attempts or conspires to commit any offense under this section shall be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed for the offense, the commission of which was the object of the attempt or conspiracy. 5. NO MECHANISM INTENDED TO ESTABLISH ONLY ELIGIBLE CANDIDATES WILL BE ELECTED PRESIDENT WILL SUCCEED, WHICH RELIES ON CANDIDATE SELF-AUTHENTICATION. This has always seemed to me to be self-explanatory. In other words, stop asking Obama or anyone acting on his behalf but not in an official capacity; to get the man to produce anything! And do not under any circumstances accept as true, any document or facsimile any of these representatives not acting as the “issuing authority” introduces and claims is real! Apparently, the usual “jbjd” readers hoping to hone their civics educations were not the only ones listening. Attending the early morning press gaggle were Carney; WH Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer; and WH Counsel Bob Bauer. First, a note about Mr. Bauer, who would leave that job in June 2011, 1 month after the long form launch. President Barack Obama’s top lawyer at the White House, Bob Bauer, is quitting to return to his political law practice and represent Obama as his personal attorney and counsel to his re-election campaign….Bauer, a specialist in campaign finance, election law and ethics, is returning to the role as campaign counsel that he held when Obama ran for the presidency in 2008…. Bauer has been part of Obama’s circle since Obama was a freshman senator in Washington. He has long been a go-to lawyer for Democrats and is married to Anita Dunn, a Democratic operative who formerly served as Obama’s communications director…. He will also serve as counsel to the Democratic National Committee. And this, from Perkins Coie. Bob returned to the firm after a period of service to President Barack Obama as his White House Counsel from December of 2009 until June of 2011. He is now General Counsel to the President’s re-election committee, to Obama for America, and General Counsel to the Democratic National Committee. In 2008 (the copyright date in the in the footer of FTS is 2007), in response to media inquiries, the President’s campaign (in June 2008, U.S. Senator Barack Obama was only the D Party Presidential nominee wannabe; and the image posted on his FTS web site, which was clearly marked “PAID FOR BY BARACK OBAMA, per campaign expenditure laws) requested his birth certificate from the state of Hawaii. We (the nominee’s campaign) received that document; we (the campaign) posted it on the website (FTS). That document was then inspected by independent fact checkers (lay staffers employed by Annenberg Political Fact Check), who came to the campaign headquarters and inspected the document — independent fact checkers did, and declared that it was proof positive that the President was born in Hawaii. Q When you posted this did you post the other side of it where the signature is? Q Because it is not here and that’s been an issue. MR. PFEIFFER: We posted both sides and when it was looked at it was looked at by — the fact checkers came to headquarters and actually examined the document we had. That settled the issue. In recent weeks, the issue has risen again as some folks have begun raising a question about the original — about the long-form birth certificate you now have in front of you. And Bob will explain why — the extraordinary steps we (the President’s 2012 re-election campaign) had to take to receive that and the legal restraints that are in place there. And now I’ll have Bob explain that, and then we’ll take your questions. MR. CARNEY: I just want to — sorry, I meant to mention at the top, as some of you may have seen, the President will be coming to the briefing room at 9:45 a.m., making a brief statement about this — not taking questions, but just wanted to let you know. MR. PFEIFFER: And he will use this as an opportunity to make a larger point about what this debate says about our politics. And by Thursday of last week, I spoke to private counsel to the President and asked her to contact the State Department of Health and to have a conversation about any requirements, further requirements, that they thought we (meaning, anyone associated with this ploy) had to satisfy to lodge that waiver request (and simultaneously avoid breaking the law). She had that conversation with the state Department of Health on Thursday — counsel in question is Judy Corley at the law firm of Perkins Coie, (the law firm in which I was a partner before coming here and to which I will return shortly) and you have a copy of the letter she subsequently sent to the department with the President’s written request. The department outlined the requirements for the President to make this request. He signed a letter making that request on Friday afternoon upon returning from the West Coast. And private counsel (presumably, he mean Ms. Corley) forwarded his written request — written, signed request — along with a letter from counsel (okay, I give up, I have no idea whom he means here), to the state Department of Health on Friday. Let me emphasize again, there is a specific statute that governs access to and inspection of vital records in the state of Hawaii (as there is in every state)**. The birth certificate that we posted online is, in fact, and always has been, and remains, the (facsimile of a) legal birth certificate of the President (or anyone else) that would be used for all legal purposes that any resident of Hawaii would want to use a birth certificate for (and which could be used for that purpose if appropriately presented, for example, if displaying the official seal or, unaltered in any way). However, there is legal authority in the department to make exceptions to the general policy on not releasing the long-form birth certificate. The policy in question, by the way, on non-release has been in effect since the mid-1980s, I understand. So while I cannot tell you what the entire history of exceptions has been, (for effect, I will nonetheless speculate) it is a limited one. This is one of very few that I understand have been granted for the reasons set out in private counsel’s letter (id.). MR. PFEIFFER: We’ll be happy to take some questions. Q I guess I just want to make sure that we’re clear on this. Even though this one says “certificate of live birth” on here, this is different than the other certificate of live birth that we’ve seen? MR. PFEIFFER: Yes. The second page there is the one that was posted on the Internet. MR. PFEIFFER: And that is a copy of the one that has been kept at the Hawaii Department of Health. Q Okay. And this is the one that would be referred to — that people have been asking for that is the birth certificate? MR. PFEIFFER: They are both — the second one is the birth certificate. The one on the top is what is referred to as the long-form birth certificate. As you can see — and Bob can walk you through it (again, doesn’t take a lawyer to explain this obvious difference between a certificate and a certification but it does add an official imprimatur to the ruse) — it contains some additional information that is not on the second page, which was the birth certificate which was released during the campaign. If you could just explain the difference. MR. BAUER: There’s a difference between a certificate and a certification. The certification is simply a verification of certain information that’s in the original birth certificate. The birth certificate, as you can see, has signatures at the bottom from the attending physician, the local registrar, who essentially oversees the maintenance of the records. It contains some additional information also — that is to say, the original birth certificate — it contains some additional information like the ages of the parents, birthplaces, residence, street address, the name of the hospital. The core information that’s required for legal purposes and that is put into the actual certification that’s a computer-generated document, which we (the members of then U.S. Senator Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential preference primary campaign) posted in 2008, that information is abstracted, if you will, from the original birth certificate, put into the computerized short-form certification, and made available to Hawaiian residents at their request. So the long form, which is a certificate, has more information, but the short form has the information that’s legally sufficient for all the relevant purposes. Q This first one has never been released publicly, correct? MR. BAUER: That’s correct. It is in a bound volume in the records at the state Department of Health in Hawaii. Q Bob, can you explain why President Obama let this drag on for four years? Was it Donald Trump that prompted you to issue this? I don’t think this dragged on for four years because this was a resolved — for those of you who remember the campaign, this issue was resolved in 2008. And it has not been an issue, none of you have asked about it, called about it, reported on it until the last few weeks. And as I said earlier, it probably would have been — a lot of the pundits out there have talked about the fact that this whole birther debate has been really bad for the Republican Party and would probably be good for the President politically. But despite that, the President, as I said, was struck by how this was crowding out the debate, particularly around the budget, on important issues, and was an example of the sort of sideshows that our politics focuses on instead of the real challenges that we have to confront as a country. And so that’s why he made this decision now, because it became an issue that transcended sort of this — it essentially was something that was talked about, as I said, from the nether regions of the Internet onto mainstream network newscasts. In fact, Jay has been asked about this just yesterday in this room. Q So I guess the implication is that you did get political advantage by having not released this until today, over the course of the last four years? Q When you say that, you mean certification — you released the certification? MR. PFEIFFER: When any Hawaiian wants — requests their birth certificate because they want to get a driver’s license, they want to get a passport, they do exactly what the President did in 2008. And that’s what that is. And we released that. And that’s what any Hawaiian would do to release their birth certificate. And that was good enough for everyone until very recently this became a question again. And so the President made this decision. He’ll talk to you more about his thinking on that. Q Will the President be holding it? MR. PFEIFFER: He will not, and I will not leave it here for him to do so. But it will — the State Department of Health in Hawaii will obviously attest that that is a — what they have on file. As Bob said, it’s in a book in Hawaii. Q But do you understand that this could quiet the conspiracy theorists? MR. PFEIFFER: There will always be some selection of people who will believe something, and that’s not the issue. The issue is that this is not a discussion that is just happening among conspiracy theorists. It’s happening here in this room; it’s happening on all of the networks. And it’s something that, as I said, every major political figure of both parties who’s actually out trying to talk about real issues is asked about this by the media. And so the President decided to release this. And I’ll leave it to others to decide whether there’s still — there will be some who still have a different — have a conspiracy about this. MR. PFEIFFER: Yes. I showed you one. Just one. Q You showed us a photocopy of one. MR. PFEIFFER: It has a seal on it. Q Why does this rise to the level of a presidential statement? MR. PFEIFFER: The President — this in itself — when you hear the President I think you’ll understand the point he’s making. That will be in not too long. MR. PFEIFFER: Let’s be very clear. You were there for the campaign. There was never a question about the original birth certificate during the campaign. It was a settled issue. (HA HA HA HA HA) I was there (in 2007) for the original decision to release the birth certificate (if we couldn’t steal the primary before people began asking questions about the candidate’s Constitutional eligibility for office). I was there (in June 2008) when we posted it online (because questions about his eligibility threatened to kill his chances at the nomination). I’m not sure I even knew there was an original one that was different than the one we posted online because it wasn’t an issue. (Liar liar, pants on fire.) So it wasn’t like — let’s be very clear. We were asked for the President’s birth certificate in 2008; we released the President’s birth certificate; and it was done. That was it. And so there hasn’t been a discussion about this other document for years. It’s only been in the last few weeks. And so to your second question, the President decided to do this and he’ll talk about this when he gets here — decided to do it at the timeline that Bob (Bauer, the campaign law expert and WH Counsel) laid out (so as to protect everyone involved in this farce from criminal liability) because it was a — this was a sideshow that was distracting from the real challenges that we’re facing. It’s not just a sideshow for him; it’s a sideshow for our entire politics (meaning, our re-election campaign) that have become focused on this. Q Not to give Donald Trump more publicity than he has, but is he the person who sort of — sort of that bridge between what you’re calling a fringe and the mainstream? Do you think that he’s the reason why this tripped the switch to a level where you now have to deal with something you thought was dealt with? MR. PFEIFFER: It’s not for me to say why mainstream media organizations began to cover this debate. They’ll have to answer that for themselves. …Q Dan, was there a debate about whether or not this deserved being discussed by the White House, whether or not — and I’m going back to the birth certificate. I lose points, I understand. But was there debate about whether or not this was worthy of the White House? MR. PFEIFFER: The point I’d make is that we weren’t the ones who — we’re not the first ones to bring this up in this room. Jay has been asked questions about this; the President has been asked about it in media interviews. And so that wasn’t a decision that we made, and the President made the decision to do this and he made the decision to — and when he comes down here this morning he’ll talk to you about why he thinks there’s an important point to be made here. MR. CARNEY: I will let the President speak for himself, but what Dan was saying and I think is important is that the issue here is that the President feels that this was bad for the country; that it’s not healthy for our political debate, when we have so many important issues that Americans care about, that affect their lives, to be drawn into sideshows about fallacies that have been disproven with the full weight of a legal document for several years. So, again, as Dan said, and a lot of political pundits have said, you could say that it would be good politics, smart politics, for the President to let this play out. He cares more about what’s good for the country. He wants the debate on the issues. He wants the focus on the issues that Americans care about. MR. CARNEY: Well, as Dan said, again, it has been a settled issue. MR. PFEIFFER: From a factual point of view, it’s absolutely a settled issue. But the fact that it was a settled issue did not keep it from becoming a major part of the political discussion in this town for the last several weeks here. So there’s absolutely no question that what the President released in 2008 was his birth certificate and answered that question, and many of your organizations have done excellent reporting which proved that to be the case. But it continued; the President thought it was a sideshow and chose to take this step today for the reasons Bob laid out. Q Aside from the policy distractions that was presented, did you have some concern because it was sort of reaching back into the mainstream news coverage that this could become a factor in the 2012 election with centrist voters? MR. PFEIFFER: This is the — the letter first and the two certified copies — this is one of those. This is the same thing you have a copy of as the first page of your packet. Q How did it get here? MR. PFEIFFER: As Bob said, it arrived by plane — the President’s personal counsel went to Hawaii and brought it back and we got it last night. MR. PFEIFFER: Between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Q When did you decide to do this gaggle? Q When was this gaggle put on — when was this planned? Q Are these letters supposed to demonstrate the legal steps that were involved in releasing it to the White House counsel? MR. BAUER: The letters that you have, the personal request from the President, along with the accompanying letter from private counsel, is merely meant to document the legal path to getting the waiver of that policy so we could get the long-form certificate (as opposed to documenting an actual path undertaken to obtain a bona fide waiver from Director Fuddy on the date in the letter, resulting in her office’s production of a facsimile of a record on file with her office, evidencing Barack Obama was born in HI). Q The waiver of Hawaii state government policy? MR. BAUER: Right. The non-release of the long-form certificate, which has been in effect since the 1980s — a natural question would have been, well, what did you do to obtain the waiver, and those letters represent the request. Q Well, isn’t it true that anybody who was born in Hawaii can write this letter? (Yes; of course.) I mean, that’s all there is to the waiver process? MR. BAUER: No. Let me just explain once again because I also noticed, by the way, in one report already the wrong certificate was actually posted on the website. The certificate with the signatures at the bottom — and that’s a key difference between the short form and the long form — the long form has signatures at the bottom from the attending physician, the local registrar, and the mother, is the original birth certificate, which sits in a bound volume in the State Department of Health. The short from is a computerized abstract, and that’s the legal birth certificate we requested in 2008 and that Hawaiians are entitled to. Since the mid-1980s, the State Department of Health, for administrative reasons, only provides to people who request their birth certificate the short form. They do not provide the long form. So in order for us to obtain the long form, we had to have a waiver (which, as you astutely pointed out, only required writing the letter requesting that waiver). We had to actually determine that there was a legal basis for providing it, and then ask them to exercise their authority to provide us with the long form. The steps required to accomplish that were a letter from the person with the direct and vital interest — the President — so you have a letter from the President (with no file reference code for document processing, archiving, or retrieval) , and then there was an accompanying letter from counsel basically formalizing the request. (I cannot figure out the angle on that one. Obviously, unless the President, here, the Requestor of the Record, has been adjudged to be mentally incompetent and placed under the guardianship of Attorney Corley, he doesn’t need her to ‘formalize’ anything! Maybe Bauer is still trying to fool reporters into believing getting the waiver so as to obtain a certified copy of a long form birth certificate is a big deal. Ideas?) So the reason we included that is that those were legal steps we took to obtain the long form by way of this waiver. MR. BAUER: It’s in the packet. Q And you went to Hawaii? ** According to the web site of the HI DoH, here’s how to request certified copies of vital information. On the other hand, maybe all you want is a letter. Letters of verification may be issued in lieu of certified copies (HRS §338-14.3). This document verifies the existence of a birth/death/civil union/marriage/divorce certificate on file with the Department of Health and any other information that the applicant provides to be verified relating to the vital event. (For example, that a certain named individual was born on a certain date at a certain place.) The verification process will not, however, disclose information about the vital event contained within the certificate that is unknown to and not provided by the applicant in the request. Letters of verification are requested in similar fashion and using the same request forms as for certified copies. The fee for a letter of verification is $5 per letter. Either way, you can download an application form directly from the site. Thus, summing up these first 3 articles in the series, by clearly identifying both orally and in writing, the ‘birth’ documents distributed at the press gaggle and displayed on the WhiteHouse.gov blog are part of the “campaign”; by explicitly stating no public funds were expended in obtaining these documents; by making sure that any ‘official (looking)’ seal from the HI DoH did not appear on copies of documents distributed to the public; by distributing the documents to the public but not to a government official under the guise, this was a bona fide representation of the ‘facts’ contained therein; and by separating the campaign function from the traditional function of the Executive branch; and by transporting the false document via airplane instead of the U.S. mail; President Obama’s team likely skirted criminal violations of both campaign expenditure and public records laws. For my next few articles, I will focus on the elusive nature of paid political advertising campaigns. First, a riddle. Why did President Obama wait until April 27, 2011 to release a facsimile of his long form birth certificate indicating he was born in Hawaii? As you will see, the answer to each of these questions – why release and why release now – depends on whom you ask. Team Obama thought the “birther issue” was politically advantageous for them. By refusing to release the document, they gave the conspiracy theory just enough oxygen to keep it alive and make Republicans look crazy when asked about it by their constituents (obviously, the most die-hard “birthers” will summarily call the “long-form” certificate a forgery or find other excuses to keep their fevered dreams alive). Why Did Obama Wait Until Today to Release His Long-Form Birth Certificate? The move came as a surprise to the press corps, many of whom had not shown up for Wednesday’s early-morning White House briefing. By the time word had spread that Obama would be making a 9:45 a.m. statement on the matter, however, the top anchors at all the networks had scurried into the briefing room. Last Friday, the president himself wrote Loretta J. Fuddy, the director of health at the State of Hawaii, requesting “two certified copies of my original certificate of live birth.” Fuddy complied. Shortly thereafter, the president’s counsel, Judith Corley of the firm Perkins Coie, flew to Hawaii to pick up two copies of the form. The trip was not taxpayer funded but, rather, paid out of the president’s personal account. Corley returned on Tuesday at roughly 4 p.m. with the copies. The White House announced a “morning gaggle” for reporters shortly thereafter. One aide explained that they did not want to “hold” on to the documents for release on a later date. Many members of the press confessed to being “stunned” as it became clear what was about to be discussed. White House press assistants handed out a six-page stapled packet of photocopies showing the new and old birth certificates as well as the White House’s legal correspondence with Hawaii’s Department of Health. Reporting from Washington — The White House released President Obama’s long-form birth certificate to reporters on Wednesday, an extraordinary step in reaction to renewed questions from critics about whether he was born in Hawaii. Amid questions during Obama’s 2008 run for the White House, his campaign released a certificate of live birth to verify he was a native-born citizen, a constitutional requirement of the office. (No; the Constitutional requirement is “natural born citizen”; and he released a “Certification,” not a certificate. It said so right on the mock-up.) So-called “birther” critics called the document insufficient, however, and conspiracy theories about the president’s birth have continued. Administration officials said they felt compelled to release additional documentation because the continued “distraction” was harmful for the country. “It may have been good politics and good TV, but it was bad for the American people and distracting from the many challenges we face as a country,” Dan Pfeiffer, White House communications director, wrote on the White House’s blog. So, what is my answer to the riddle, why did President Obama wait until April 27, 2011 to release a facsimile of his long form birth certificate? Because both the purported request to HI officials for his long form birth certificate; and the release of that facsimile of his long form birth certificate were part of his 2012 political campaign. (That’s why Stein’s article included the disclaimer, “The trip [to HI to ‘retrieve’ those documents] was not taxpayer funded but, rather, paid out of the president’s personal account.”) And even though questions still “swirled” since he was inaugurated in 2009, that he was Constitutionally ineligible to be President; he couldn’t launch another paid political advertising campaign to counter those concerns until he was actually in another political campaign; and he only launched his 2012 re-election campaign on April 4. Two years ago, back in March 2009, I posted this remark at the opening of a Reply to a Comment left on this blog by David A: “Welcome to the site that both supports critical thinking and offers answers to questions you might not want to hear.” March 24, 2009 at 01:42 Judging just by the information printed on “jbjd” since that time, I would say, it is a good thing I have not allowed the constant onslaught of personalized criticism to silence my work ever since. As you will see from the following exchange, not everyone would agree with me. FL is not an applicable state for a citizen complaint of election fraud based on the fact pattern, officials of the D party Certified to state election officials candidate Obama was qualified for office notwithstanding no documentary evidence available in the public record evidences he is Constitutionally eligible for the job. Because FL has no law requiring candidates must be qualified for the job to get the state to print their names on the ballot. Consequently, in the absence of such ballot eligibility laws, loyal “jbjd” reader Rlqretired, from FL, has lobbied legislators in that state to adopt such laws. In the past, he has used various arguments to sway these elected officials, which are spelled out on this blog and others. However, each time he asked me to review his correspondence, I rejected as frivolous his attempts in these petitions to link whether Obama is Constitutionally eligible for office; to the ‘illegitimacy’ of the on-line COLB based on an examination of its physical attributes (notwithstanding he maintains such analysis is a useful tool in his lobbying efforts). Recently, he composed this lengthy Comment, apparently intending, once and for all, to put to rest my objections to continued focus on the physical characteristics of that FTS COLB in any campaign the stated goal of which is to pinpoint documentary evidence establishing whether Obama is Constitutionally eligibile for office. jbjd – I think the reason you and I don’t see the value of the visual photographic truth that the Hawaiian State Seal placed upon the online birth certificate candidate Obama placed on the Internet is fake is because our goals are different. Your efforts deal with a bunch of lawyers and your goal, as I understand it, has been to get the AG’s in those states that already have statutes requiring independent eligibility certification to investigate the person that signed their state level certification without having adequate proof available to them to make such certification. If they did so, as I understand it, it would be an alleged crime based upon your hard work. Florida has no statute requiring independent verification by the political parties and depends strictly upon nominee certification by the political parties to be correct. My, goal for a year now, has been to convenience the Florida Legislature to pass a statute requiring an independent state level certification and the submission of the documents used to make that certification. At the general public level, as well as many in the Florida Legislature, I am dealing with average citizens who do not understand legalese nor will they take the time to study the issue for themselves. Willful ignorance abounds and this is where the photographic evidence that the Hawaiian State Seal placed upon Obama’s birth certificate is an irrefutable fake, is absolutely essential. These photo’s my not convince them to snap completely out of their willful ignorant bliss but it does blow away their argument that the online image of the Obama’s COLB could be a real copy of a real birth certificate and just transferred over into the advertisement in which it is located. Basically, that is what most people in our state and national governments still believe even today. I can easily accept and understand your point of view and I really wish you could see mine. For your information, the photographic evidence has, at my level and with some legislators, has been very effective and taken them to your web site for additional study. If I did not make it clear to you in my previous comment above, that the statute I was referring to was Hawaiian Statute 338-18 (g), I certainly apologize as I mistakenly assumed you had received and read my off blog email of 2/8 in which I stated; “My question deals with the authority the Criminal Justice Subcommittee the Florida House has under the Hawaiian Statute 338-18 (g). It appears to this country boy Florida Cracker that it does (apply), possibly on several counts……Your legal opinion of 338-18 (g) in this regard will be greatly appreciated. You have previously made clear that you have debunked the claim made by another blog that (g) of this statute can be used to the advantage of a lawyer in a criminal case to obtain verification relative to their lawsuits. However, it appears to this layman that under the circumstances I laid out in my previous comment, an authorized legislative committee assigned to investigate the authenticity of the only proof Obama has ever provided that he is even a citizen or either the Department of State whose director is the Chief Election Officer of the State and responsible for reporting possible fraudulent election activities would very likely qualify to receive verification of certain information displayed on the online image or the hard copy FTS made available to FC for examination and taking photographs of the Hawaiian State Seal. If either of these folks are eligible to obtain verification I can think of a dozen or so questions that I believe will produce answers that will not only be helpful to me in my goals but would help you in your goals as well. I look forward to your opinion of (g) and I surely hope you can tolerate me and my differing view on that one item. Before I had completed my reply to this ‘first’ Comment, Rlqretired submitted another lengthy Comment, more caustic than the first. I will print that second Comment as well. But first, here is the response I was in the process of perfecting to his ‘first’ comment. rlqretired: What a great comment. Now, I understand that my remarks about the work of ‘misstickly,’ whom you reference in your correspondence to state officials, mistakenly gave you the impression, I rejected focusing on that COLB qua image only because this took time away from my preferred focus, which is redressing past illegal conduct viz a viz the ballot. I thought I had stated quite succinctly in my last email to you that, my real objection is this. There. See what I mean? bob: There’s a line in that law you cite which reads in part, “The department shall not issue a verification in lieu of a certified copy of any such record, or any part thereof, unless it is satisfied that the applicant requesting a verification is:…” I can envision that, unless those Republicans paralegalnm envisions could request such verification, actually comprise an impeachment panel, the State of HI will not be satisfied that such request meets the exceptions to HI’s confidentiality laws. Like you, bob strauss, too, could not accept the fact that my opinion did not support his. jbjd,338-18 (g), it says, “shall not issue verification UNLESS”! the applicant seeking verification meets one, of 5 definitions, to qualify as a person allowed to obtain verification of what is on the docs. PLEASE read the definitions, 1 through 5, where it describes the people, who ARE ALLOWED to obtain verification. Sorry to keep bugging you about this but, it looks like Hawaii will verify records if you fit the description listed at 338-18g. 1-5. bob strauss: No, you are not bugging me! I did read the law, completely, although the only part I thought mattered was that line I quoted, saying, “The department shall not issue a verification in lieu of a certified copy of any such record, or any part thereof, unless it is satisfied that the applicant requesting a verification is:…”. I understood this language to mean that, the discretion of the HI Health Department would rule; and this meant, they would exercise their discretion to maintain privacy. Because HI does not want the world to know that, for several decades, they were giving U.S. identities to foreign born babies. Remember, before it will place the name of the nominee for POTUS from the the major political party onto its general election ballot, HI is the only state that requires the party to not only Certify the name of its candidate but also Certify he is Constitutionally eligible for the job. (jbjd note 02.13.11: Of course, we now know, at least one other state, SC, also requires this explicit language of eligibility on its ballot application. IF IT LOOKS LIKE A DUCK…) I assume Hawaiians enacted this law because of that earlier law allowing foreign births. That is, they of all people know how easily someone who is not a NBC could be nominated for the job. But before I could post this Reply to Rlqretired’s ‘first’ Comment, he sent along this ‘second’ Comment. This time, my response, in orange, is inserted amidst his remarks. This comment is submitted while my previous comment is still in moderation along with your insult. Now, finally, one of these practitioners whose work I rejected, has posited that, perhaps the wild goose chase she sent her readers on, was based on a contrived premise. (That is, she suggests any ‘evidence’ of such announcements was intentionally ‘planted.’) Yet, judging by the references to her nom-de-plume throughout the blogosphere, thousands of people still follow her work. I gather from your insult that you are unwilling to accept my proposal that we simply agree to disagree on the value of the photographic evidence the Hawaiian State Seal on Obama’s one and only birth certificate is a fake. I reject your characterization that pointing you away from frivolous pursuits when pursuing the issue of candidate eligibility is an “insult.” These entreaties to get me to ascribe some value to work I deem valueless is all a waste of time. So, too, it would seem, were the years I spent showing people what went wrong in 2008 and trying to get them to focus on remediating what went wrong and then, on how to correct the system so as to prevent these wrongs from recurring in 2012. Sure, now, in 2011, some eligibility charlatans have begun to shift their focus away from judicial ‘Hail Mary’ filings and begun to focus on fixing the ‘system.’ However, efforts up to this point have left states no better positioned to avoid electoral disaster in 2012 than they were in 2008. In your response to an off blog email from me that mentioned another bloggers post on the use of 338-18 (g) about how lawyers in legal proceedings could use this part of the statute to obtain verification of specific questions about the birth certificate you wrote “ And, as usual, I completely disagree with her ‘legal’ analysis. I have previously de-bunked this specific ploy, and will gladly repeat my objections, on the blog.” If you insist on taking the legal advice of a self-described Graphic Artist/Designer then, why bother seeking advice from a self-described lawyer? Anyone, it seems, will do, as long as you share the opinion offered. If you will not look at 338-18 (g) and give me your opinion, which I desperately need, if (g) can be used as I have suggested, please fulfill your offer to debunk the idea as you said you would be glad to do. The last thing in the world I wish to do is to get into a senseless argument with you. I am only seeking a legal opinion for what I, as a lawman, see as a possible beneficial thing to do to get at the legally recognized truth about Obama’s and the DNC collusion. I have provided that opinion previously, as I stated. You just had to look for it. You might also remember that your efforts nor any other legal expert’s efforts have been successful as yet and if (g) can be used as I have suggested, it could possibly be a help to all of our efforts. Ah, the canard, ‘You have been unsuccessful, too.’ But I have not. Way back in the summer of 2008, I successfully identified the methodology that must be used to approach issues of Presidential eligibility. In short, almost 3 (three) years ago now, I pointed everyone to the states. But unlike almost every other blogger pursuing this topic, I never held myself out as a savior of the Republic. Rather, understanding that fixing our electoral process was the work of the citizens of the states, I merely provided the tools necessary for the citizenry to carry out their work (sans the hysteria and hyperbole). Ignoring the voluminous exchanges with readers via email, one need only peruse this blog to find ample evidence of my tangible contributions to my fellow citizens in this regard. Yet, having sacrificed my life to this endeavor and, endured unceasing slings and arrows on that account; I am still attacked for their failure to finish the job. Fortunately, I do not gauge the value of my work perfecting our electoral system, on the number of hits to the “jbjd” blog; or to the PayPal buttons; or to my psyche. If Barack Obama is not Constitutionally eligible to hold the office of President then, those members of the D party broke the law in 2008 who swore to state election officials he was, to get them to print his name on the ballot in those states that only print the names of candidates qualified for the job. Many people who believe he is ineligible advocate we should shore up state election laws to forestall another round of fraud in 2012. Meanwhile, others urge we should not let off the hook those members of the D party who fraudulently pulled off his election in 2008. The problem of establishing candidate eligibility for office can be rectified on two fronts. Those of you in states without existing ballot eligibility laws can focus on drafting smart candidate ballot eligibility laws for 2012. The rest of you can work to persuade your A’sG to enforce existing laws. In this way, that is, by concentrating on eliminating election fraud viz a viz the ballot using both prevention AND remediation, we can get at the problem of candidate eligibility coming AND going. All filers, old and new, make sure to read and understand the complaint before signing with real names and addresses, and sending. The Democratic National Committee Services Corporation, disguised as the DNC, installed Barack Obama into the Office of President of the United States of America by committing massive election fraud that played out uniquely during each of these 3 (three) phases of the 2008 Presidential election cycle in relation to the company’s August 2008 Presidential Nominating Convention: 1) pre-Convention; 2) Convention; and 3) post-Convention. The fraud committed both before and after the Convention has been dissected in several articles previously posted here on the “jbjd” blog. This four-part series entitled, “A Coup, Through and Through” analyzes the fraud pulled off at the Convention. Keep in mind, not all fraud is created equal. While the record establishes the D’s committed fraud throughout the general election cycle, my work has remained focused almost exclusively only on that fraudulent conduct which both 1) violated laws explicitly or implicitly proscribing such conduct; and 2) arguably altered the outcome of the 2008 Presidential (Electors) election. But given the several problems they knew were inherent to his candidacy, any one of which, if exposed, could prove fatal to his political aspirations, winning the nomination would require that they clinch the nomination as far as possible in advance of the DNC convention. In this way, they could limit the scope of the public examination of the candidate apt to occur in a protracted battle for the nomination. They were willing to do whatever it took to accumulate enough pledged delegates during the primary and caucus contests to reach the magic number that long before the convention would ensure at that time, he would be handed the nomination. Manufacture chaos at the caucuses and capitalize on the confusion created? Check. Collude with A.C.O.R.N.? Check. Censor critics with charges of racism? Check. Cultivate a compliant press willing to conceal stories unflattering to either the candidate’s character or, their own complicit conduct on the road to his nomination? Check and check. When the numbers for Hillary Clinton, his toughest competition in the race for the nomination, placed these two in a virtual dead heat with 3 (three) more months until the primary and caucus contests ended and 5 (five) months until the convention, co-opt the free will of the voters by spreading the meme she has already lost the nomination? Check. Co-opt the free will of the candidate by calling her a sore loser if she doesn’t drop out of the race now and throw her support(ers) to him, for the good of the party? Check. DNC rules provide if voting at the convention fails to support one candidate over the other then, special super delegates will add their votes to the totals to reach the number required for nomination. So they were also furiously pouring money into the PAC’s and war chests of these super delegates, in return for which the candidate received a public pledge of support positively correlated to the superior size of his financial investment. But even factoring in the votes of those super delegates already expressing support for Obama, with less than 3 (three) months to go before the convention he still had not achieved the superiority in delegates that would secure his nomination. And the delay had taken its costly and anticipated toll. Despite their best efforts to control the narrative, one of those ‘problems fatal to his political aspirations,’ known as Rev. Jeremiah Wright, had leaked out. And from the time the public learned of the long close relationship between the candidate and his avowed “spiritual adviser,” he had already lost more than 10 (ten) points in the polls. To understand what they did next, you need to know the difference between being designated a Clinton pledged delegate and an Obama pledged delegate. Attorney Bob Bauer, then counsel to the DNC and now WH Counsel, explains the delegate selection process to the federal court in DiMaio v. DNC, a case not material to the fraud laid out here. The DNC is the governing body of the Democratic Party of the United States and is responsible for promulgating delegate selection rules for the 2008 Democratic National Convention…The nominee of the Democratic Party for President of the United States is chosen by the delegates to the Democratic National Convention held in each presidential election year. The National Convention is organized and run by an arm of the DNC. The delegates from each state are chosen through a process adopted by the state’s Democratic Party. For each presidential election starting in 1976, the DNC has established formal Delegate Selection Rules to govern the selection, in each state, of its delegates to the National Convention. These rules require each State Democratic Party to develop a written delegate selection plan and to submit that plan to the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee (“DNC RBC”) for review and approval. The delegate selection process in each state involves two basic functions: (1) the allocation of delegate positions among presidential candidates, i.e., how many delegates from that state will go to the Convention pledged to each candidate; and (2) the selection of the actual individuals to fill those positions, i.e., the selection of the people who will attend the Convention as delegates and alternates. Generally, state parties use either a primary or a caucus/convention system. In a primary system, the state party uses the state-government run or a party-run primary election to allocate delegate positions, and then a party-run meeting (caucus) to fill those positions. In a caucus system, the state party uses a series of party-run meetings — caucuses — both to allocate delegate positions and to select the persons to fill those positions. A caucus/convention system does not involve use of the state’s electoral machinery. Of the 56 states and territories that sent delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, 20 used party run caucus/convention systems. In short, the numbers of votes a candidate receives in a party primary or caucus contest translates into so many pledged delegates awarded, based on the vote:delegate ratio concocted in advance by the party. When the contest is over, the state party meets to select which party faithful, pledging fealty to one candidate or the other, will fill the slot of pledged delegate for his or her preferred candidate and then cast a vote for that candidate at the national nominating convention. On May 31, the DNC RBC met to finalize their response to the dilemma presented by FL and MI. Legislatures in both states had moved up their primaries in contradiction to the calendar set by the DNC. As punishment, the DNC indicated it would not seat delegates from either state at the convention. (Accused of “pandering” to Iowa, Obama had pulled his name off the ballot in MI. Clinton did not. She won heavily in both states but, the DNC and their allies in the press not only did not count those pledged delegate numbers in her totals, they did not even credit her with receiving the number of popular votes.) DNC Chairman Howard Dean had said in March, he expected delegates were “eventually going to be seated in Florida and Michigan as soon as we get an agreement between the candidates on how to do that.” In the meantime, each state party had allocated pledged delegates based on the actual popular vote for the candidates whose names appeared on the ballot, including those delegates who filled the slots represented by the ‘name’ “Uncommitted,” a category that received 40% of the MI vote. The Committee, whose members were hand-picked by Chairman Dean, heard from both of the states involved, and from representatives of both of the candidates, and then made their decision. In FL, where both candidates appeared on the ballot, the Committee awarded delegates in accordance with the popular vote, but gave each delegate only half a vote at the convention. But desperate to bolster Obama’s sagging numbers, his allies on the Committee adopted this solution for MI. First, all delegates would be seated at the convention but with only half a vote each. Second, all votes that had been cast for “Uncommitted” were now deemed to have been cast for Obama; and delegates assigned based on votes cast for “Uncommitted” would be reassigned to delegates loyal to him. Third, 4 (four) of those pledged delegates already assigned to Clinton as the result of votes cast for her; would be taken away and re-gifted to him. On June 3, the primary / caucus season ended. Clinton suspended but did not end her campaign. Tomorrow? Whatever happened to “by July 1”? Why this sudden (and rather petulant) rush to memorialize Obama’s coronation? Probably because those pesky problems with his candidacy were about to derail his political aspirations. Designing a political ad campaign such as “Fight the Smears” ‘to be used only in case of emergency’ was one thing; but actually rolling it out was another. Because its success gambled on the truth of this one contemptuous statement: American voters are too stupid to know that there’s a difference between “natural born” and “native”; and that “Fight the Smears” is nothing more than a PAID POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT, anyway. Understandably, the Obama team held back on the nuclear “Fight the Smears” option for as long as it could. Yet hard as everyone tried, Clinton just would not abandon the nomination. And why should she? Examining the traditional rubrics of success – total number of pledged delegates; popular votes; likelihood to beat the Republican in the general election – the two contenders remained within the ‘margin of error.’ Besides, neither Clinton nor Obama had amassed the requisite number of pledged delegates to wrap up the nomination on the first call of the roll on the floor of the convention. The Obama campaign launched “Fight the Smears” on June 12. Up until this point, the ‘dirty tricks’ carried out by operatives tied to the D Corporation to lie and cheat their man’s way into the D nomination were only sinister and underhanded. But, with the exception of the allocation of votes:delegates in Texas, technically, they were within the letter of the law. (LULAC v. Texas Democratic Party.) All that changed in the summer months leading up to the convention, when Obama and his champions and converts, now clawing at straws, conspired to literally steal the nomination. Which was a good thing for Obama emissaries who now fanned out across the country and harassed her delegates, in person and by wire, to get them to agree to switch their votes to him, before the convention. Twisting arms to ‘turn’ pledged delegates before the convention was not only not prohibited under DNC rules but also, in 37 (thirty-seven) states, it wasn’t against the law. As for the other 13 (thirteen) states, well, that was quite a different story. See, voters in 13 states – AZ, GA, IN, KY, MA, NH, NM, OH, OK, OR, TN, VA, and the delegate mother lode, CA – had enacted this special legislation. ‘In our state, pledged means PLEDGED. This means, delegates pledged to a candidate as the result of votes cast in the political party’s primary or caucus election; must vote for the candidate voters elected them to represent, at the party’s nominating convention.’ (I ‘discovered’ these states in the summer of 2008 and named them “vote binding states.”) In short, extorting Clinton pledged delegates in these 13 vote binding states to commit to switching their votes to Obama before the convention, was against the law. And they knew what they were doing was illegal. Being “related to the delegate selection process,” the state law that required pledged delegates to vote at the convention for the candidate voters elected them to represent was included in the delegate selection plan each of these 13 states had submitted to and was subsequently approved by the DNC RBC. In other words, Obama’s agents who began harassing Clinton pledged delegates from vote binding states to switch their votes to him, months before the convention, undoubtedly knew they were breaking the law. But desperate times called for desperate measures. WERE YOU LYING THEN or ARE YOU LYING NOW? Following, Speaker Pelosi administers the Oath to the other 433* members of the House. *The seat of Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), set to become the Chief of Staff of the incoming President, Barack Obama, was vacant. Id. On June 10, 2008 during the 2nd session of the 110th Congress, Mr. Kucinich stood up once again to introduce Articles of Impeachment, this time against President George W. Bush, charging he had deliberately lied to Congress by overstating the nuclear capability of Iran so as to propel the U.S. into war against that sovereign nation. Tragically, by Certifying votes of the Electors on January 8, 2009, two days after taking the Oath of Office; and by failing to exercise their Constitutional authority as to Impeachment since the January 20 Inauguration, Mr. Kucinich and other incumbent Representatives, along with their freshmen colleagues in the House have failed both individually and as a deliberative body to honor that Oath. And that failure derives not just on the basis they did not take affirmative steps to address the charges raised in the petitions submitted to them by their constituents that President (elect) Barack Obama appeared to be Constitutionally unqualified for the job; but also from the reasons they expressed to justify why taking such steps was not required. Did Representatives of the 1st session of the 111th Congress, including Speaker Pelosi, believe those words they swore when taking the Oath of Office back in January 2009, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion? Did they believe at that time an electronic image of a redacted document posted on the campaign website of a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President at the behest of the Communications Director of the candidate’s campaign, which image is only accessible with the aid of a computer screen; is tantamount to evidence that the nominee wannabe is Constitutionally qualified for the job? Or did they knowingly offer ‘bones’ just to fob off their desperate constituents, thus violating both the spirit and the letter of the laws that put them in office? We might generously assume the 62 freshman legislators were so green when they took office that they didn’t know the difference between a paid political advertisement and a proffer of proof, notwithstanding 15 of them are lawyers. But can they have reached the second half of the 2nd session of the 111th Congress and still think these two are the same? Have they ignored ongoing correspondence from constituents documenting that members of the Democratic Party, including their Speaker, who signed these Certifications of Nomination in August 2008, have refused to identify any documents that were the basis for their determination Mr. Obama is a natural born citizen? Even in those several states in which the nominee for President of the major political party has to be qualified for that office before election officials are legally authorized to print his name on the ballot? Our Representatives told us in January 2009 according to ‘evidence’ they relied on, they believed Barack Obama was Constitutionally qualified for office. Notwithstanding we have since torn that evidence apart, they have not exercised their authority to seek more. In other words, they still believe the record establishes, he is a natural born citizen. Assuming, that is, they still believe in their Oath of Office. Because they still haven’t introduced Articles of Impeachment. WERE THEY LYING THEN OR ARE THEY LYING NOW? I want you to understand the solemnity this particular question holds. He had killed someone before he attacked me. And that wasn’t all. At the time, he was on parole from a multiple year sentence stemming from convictions on several counts of armed robbery. Police in my jurisdiction caught him 3 1/2 months after my attack. Having violated the terms of his parole, he would have to serve out the 6 or 7 years remaining on those prior convictions. But apparently anxious to avoid prosecution for the attack against me, he voluntarily gave sworn statements to both police and prosecutors, concocting a whole narrative which could exonerate him in this crime. Prosecutors in the other jurisdiction, charging 1st degree murder, were given first dibs. They figured, if they got a conviction on that charge, he would be sentenced to life without parole; and my case would never have to go to court. Only, he got a hung jury. In just a few years from now, he would be back out on the streets. I agreed to testify but, always mindful of his threats, hoped for a plea. We went to trial 1 1/2 years after the attack. I was sequestered until closing arguments, meaning I wasn’t allowed inside the courtroom during the trial except during my testimony. The District Attorney provided me with status reports during intermittent breaks in the proceedings. Then, it was my turn to testify. I had told the Victim/Witness Advocate, I hoped more women were seated on the jury, explaining I thought they would be more sympathetic. She said more men would be better because women tend to make themselves feel safe by rationalizing, ‘She must have done something to place herself in harm, which I would never do.’ Men would know this man was capable of doing harm. The jury was mixed. I took the stand to recount the attack only yards away from this man who had threatened my life if I talked. He cleaned up quite well. Indeed, given the fact his prior convictions and even his present place of residence were unknown to the jury, he made a good first impression. I completed my testimony after lunch, and the Defense Attorney briefly cross-examined. As I was about to leave the courtroom I learned, the Defendant would exercise his option to take the stand. The DA came out after finishing his cross-examination. The Defendant, trying to manipulate my testimony, had played it all wrong. The DA smiled. ‘While he was lying under oath, I realized, he must have forgotten about his earlier statements, which were in one those boxes I brought into court. So, as I began my cross-examination, I put a box up on the table. I took the testimony he gave today which contradicted his earlier statements, and restated his words in the form of a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question. Then, after each answer, I turned around, reached into the box, and whipped out one of the earlier statements. ‘But I have here a sworn affidavit signed by you which contradicts what you just testified here under oath.’ “Were you lying then or are you lying now?” That’s when I began to feel safe again, knowing no matter how charming and handsome, he had lost all credibility with the jury. They were certain to convict and, no doubt, the judge would impose a multiple year sentence, to be served ‘on and after’ the terms of his present incarceration. In other words, for me, this question, ‘were you lying then or are you lying now,’ has somber connotations. Accordingly, I did not choose it casually for the title of this article; nor do I ask it lightly. But it is the only question that can be asked of and remains unanswered by all 435 members of Congress petitioned by their constituents to inquire formally into whether Barack Obama satisfies the Constitutional qualifications of the office of President. Including Madam Speaker, who refuses to respond to voters’ questions as to what was the documentary basis for swearing in that signed Certification of his Nomination that he is a natural born citizen. (See Citizens of Virginia Complaint of Election Fraud to AG Cuccinelli, in sidebar.) Because even though for 2 (two) years now, these federal legislators have been telling their constituents, they believe, he has satisfied a showing he is Constitutionally qualified for office; in fact, based on the overwhelming circumstantial evidence constituents have assembled even without their help; he has not. On November 2, 2010, all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives will be up for election. Based on the failure of all our Representatives, now incumbents, to demonstrate they appreciate the solemn public trust inherent in their positions, as evidenced by their ongoing decision to ignore constituent petitions for an inquiry into the President’s Constitutional qualifications for office; why would we want any one of them back on the job? Each member of the House of Representatives will constructively forfeit the privilege of reelection by failing to introduce a Resolution of Impeachment before the November 2010 election. That is the only mechanism through which we can examine Mr. Obama’s role in the criminal conspiracy of fraud that got state election officials to print on the ballot the name of the candidate who overwhelming circumstantial evidence establishes is Constitutionally unqualified for the job. And, assuming the focused investigation and trial by the Senate validates our findings then, under the Constitution, Impeachment is the only way to remove him from office.

2019-04-19T13:22:08Z

https://jbjd.org/tag/bob-bauer/

After six days of anti-government protests that have caught Islamic Republic authorities off-guard, a series of pro-regime (and regime-staged) demonstrations took place around Iran on Wednesday, while the arrests of hundreds of anti-regime protesters continued. The country's top reformist politician, former President Mohammad Khatami, angered many when he presided over a meeting held by the reform-oriented Assembly of Militant Clerics. During the meeting, there was strong language condemning the anti-government protesters. The country's police chief, Hossein Ashtari, claimed in a speech to his forces that 70 percent of the protests' organizers have been arrested, although he stopped short of giving a specific number. According to IranWire reports and analysis and statements issued by governors and security officials in several provinces, more than 1,000 people have been arrested since the protests began on Dec. 28. In the province of Tehran, more than 450 people had been arrested by Tuesday, said Ali Asghar Naserbakht, the province's deputy governor-general. Officials in the province's Malard County also said they arrested the "admin of a social-media page that was creating rumors"-revealing the true nature of some of the arrests. This is one of many cases in which officials have boasted about tracking people's digital footprints and arresting them solely on the basis of their posts on social media. In Karaj, a large suburb of Tehran, more than 20 people have been arrested. In the holy city of Mashhad, where the protests began, the deputy prosecutor said 138 people had been arrested. In the central province of Isfahan, which was the epicenter of the protests on Jan. 1, more than 100 people were arrested in different cities. Authorities had also arrested more than 100 in Markazi province, which includes the major city of Arak. The northern province of Golestan, on the shore of the Caspian, has also seen many arrests. According to its governor-general, 150 people were arrested for chanting slogans against the regime and for "disrupting the public order and security." Officials in the provinces of Qom, Kermanshah, Mazandaran, Kerman, Zanjan, Ardabil, Lorestan, and North Khorasan separately made claims about widespread arrests in their provinces. In the Lorestan city of Borujerd, a local official made international news by claiming to have arrested "a European citizen." "This person was leading and directing the chaos and had been trained for this by espionage organizations in Europe and had come to Borujerd to run the riots," Hamidreza Bolhasani, Borujerd's judiciary chief, claimed in interviews with local media. Other officials noted that the arrested suspect is originally from Borujerd but has been naturalized as a citizen of a European country. Ali Sabzevari, the Lorestan judiciary's head of public relations, said the suspect had been arrested "while carrying a camera and other equipment." At Tehran's notorious Evin Prison, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a workshop inside has been ordered to stop making uniforms. Workers there have instead been instructed to make 1,200 blue blindfolds. It is likely that these blindfolds are being prepared for the new detainees. IranWire spoke to an inmate serving a sentence for financial misconduct who is held at the prison's Ward 7. He described what it was like. "I was awakened early in the morning by the noises of prisoners' traffic," he said. "They were emptying one of the rooms in the middle of Ward 7, mostly occupied by financial offenders." The inmate said that all leaves of absence for both political and ordinary prisoners have been revoked until further notice. "We are keenly following the news and we are very worried," he said. "We don't receive many newspapers and the TV reports the news in dribs and drabs-but one can get an idea about what is happening outside by the unusual situation inside the prison." According to the inmate we spoke to, a number of new detainees who are considered to be "clean" and have no record of political or security arrests - those who, as prisoners say, have been "scraped off" the streets - have been sent to the "isolation ward," where they have no contact with other prisoners. The rest of the prisoners, the ones the government considers to be more dangerous or who have records of being arrested for political activities, have been sent to Ward 2A, controlled by the Revolutionary Guards, and Ward 209, run by the intelligence ministry. "Teams have been dispatched to the prison and are separating out those [who] have been arrested in the events of recent days," Mostafa Mohebbi, director general of Tehran province's prisons, told Fars News Agency. "The number of arrests was not so high as to create a problem for us in receiving them." He added that the number of people arrested over the last four days was less than 200. At the same time, the intelligence ministry's public-relations office announced that a number of "hostile elements and rioters" had been arrested-and that the search for others continues. This announcement indicates that there will be more arrests in the coming days. As the protests continue, authorities have kept up their harassment of civil society. As previously reported, a number of student-activists have been arrested in the capital, and followers of the minority Sufi religious order the Gonabadi Dervishes have also born the brunt. Adding to the previous arrests, Mehdi Azadbakht, a webmaster for the dervishes' website Majzooban-e Noor, reportedly was arrested in Arak by intelligence ministry forces. On Jan. 3, Iranian state TV broadcast the confessions of some of those arrested. Iran is notorious for broadcasting torture-induced confessions on its official outlets. Run by the country's hardliners, the state broadcaster is blamed-even by many establishment figures-for adding insult to injury by not reflecting people's grievances. In his remarks on the protests, President Hassan Rouhani chided the broadcaster for not genuinely reflecting all sections of Iranian society. Iranians abroad have organized an active network of human-rights organizations to respond to the events of the last week, and to report on arrests. Monitoring the fate of more than 1,000 incarcerated citizens is a heavy responsibility they now face. Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have deployed forces to three provinces to put down an eruption of anti-government unrest, their commander said on Wednesday, after six days of protests that have left 21 people dead. Thousands of Iranians took part in pro-government rallies in several cities on Wednesday in a state-sponsored show of force aimed at countering unrest posing the most sustained challenge to the Islamic Republic's clerical elite in almost a decade. State television broadcast live pictures of rallies in the southwestern cities of Kermanshah and Ilam and in the northern city of Gorgan, where marchers waved Iranian flags and pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But, in a sign of official concern about the resilience of the protests, the Revolutionary Guards commander, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said he had dispatched forces to Isfahan, Lorestan and Hamadan provinces to tackle "the new sedition". Most of the casualties among protesters have occurred in those regions. The Revolutionary Guards, the sword and shield of Iran's Shi'ite theocracy, were instrumental in suppressing the 2009 uprising, killing dozens of protesters then. In the Shi'ite holy city Qom, pro-government demonstrators chanted "death to American mercenaries". There were similar rallies in Isfahan, Iran's third largest city, and Abadan and Khorramshahr in the oil-rich southwest, state TV footage showed. Marchers chanted, "The blood in our veins is a gift to our leader (Khamenei)," and, "We will not leave our leader alone." They accused the United States, Israel and Britain of inciting protests, shouting "the seditionist rioters should be executed!" The protests began last week out of frustration over economic hardship among the youth and working class but have evolved into broader unrest against the hardline clerical establishment dominating since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Political rallies held in defiance of the pervasive security services have called for the overthrow of all Iranian leaders. The protests, organized on social media, have largely been held after dusk. They continued into Tuesday night with social media videos showing demonstrators on the streets and riot police in several cities including Ahvaz in the southwest. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has sought to isolate the Tehran leadership, reversing the conciliatory approach of predecessor Barack Obama, said Washington would throw its support behind the protesters at an "appropriate time". "Such respect for the people of Iran as they try to take back their corrupt government. You will see great support from the United States at the appropriate time!" Trump wrote in the latest of a series of tweets on Iran's turmoil. On Tuesday, Khamenei had accused Iran's adversaries of fomenting the protests, some of which have criticized him by name and called for him to step down. An Iranian judicial official said on Wednesday a European citizen was arrested in protests in the Borujerd area of western Iran, but did not specify the nationality of the detainee. "(This) European citizen ... had been trained by European intelligence services and was leading the rioters," Hamidreza Abolhassani, head of Borujerd's Justice Department, was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying. In Geneva, the U.N. human rights chief urged Iran to rein in security forces to avoid further violence and respect the right of protesters to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly. Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said more than 20 had been killed and hundreds arrested across Iran in the past week. He called for "thorough, independent and impartial investigations of all acts of violence..." An official in Iran's hardline judiciary warned that some of those arrested could face the death penalty. The outburst of dissent is the most serious since 2009, when Iranians took to the streets over accusations of vote-rigging in the re-election of then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The protests have heaped pressure on President Hassan Rouhani, who championed a deal struck with world powers in 2015 to curb Iran's disputed nuclear program in return for the lifting of most international sanctions against Tehran. Many of the protesters are fuming over what they see as the failure so far of his government to deliver on promises of more jobs and investment as a payoff from the nuclear accord. Rouhani, who has said Iranians have a right to protest peacefully, told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call on Wednesday he hoped the unrest would end in a few days. "We are certain about Iran's security and stability ... People are free in Iran to protest within the framework of law," Rouhani was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA. Trump must decide by mid-January whether to continue waiving U.S. sanctions on Iran's oil exports under the terms of the nuclear deal that he opposed. But, given that the unrest began over high unemployment and prices, if he reimposes sanctions on oil it could increase the economic pain for Iran's people, analysts say. "If the Americans' sympathy with Iranians were real, they would have not imposed cruel sanctions on the our nation," Jafari, the Revolutionary Guards commander, said on Wednesday. Referring to Rouhani's policy of detente with the West, Jafari told Fars news agency that "friendship with the United States" would never bring prosperity and that the Guards were ready to help the government overcome economic challenges. Resentment over economic stagnation and reputed graft within the clerical and security hierarchies sparked the protests after Iranians took to social media to vent their discontent. The anger has been building up since last month. Thousands of Iranians joined a hashtag campaign on Twitter and other sites to express frustration over the slow pace of reforms. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed Iran's "enemies" on Tuesday for stirring up unrest in the country, as the death toll from days of anti-government protests climbed to 21. In his first remarks since the demonstrations erupted last Thursday, Khamenei accused the nation's enemies of "joining forces" and blamed them for the protests that have turned violent. "The enemy is waiting for an opportunity, for a flaw, through which they can enter. Look at these events over the last few days. All those who are against the Islamic Republic -- those who have money, those who have the politics, those who have the weapons, those who have the intelligence -- they have all joined forces in order to create problems for the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolution," he said, without naming any particular country. Nine people were killed on Monday, including seven protesters, state media reports, taking the toll to 21. - 450 people have been arrested in the past three days. - Iranian President Rouhani slammed US President Donald Trump for tweeting his support for protesters. - Trump called the Iranian government "brutal and corrupt" in a second tweet Tuesday. Authorities have restricted the apps Instagram and Telegram but users are accessing them with VPNs. The protests have become the biggest challenge to the Iranian government's authority since mass demonstrations in 2009. Around 450 people have been arrested over the past three days, according to state media. The rallies began Thursday over the country's stagnant economy and rising living costs, but they developed into a broader outcry against the government and intensified over the weekend. Many of the protesters are young Iranians tired of the lack of economic opportunity in the country. Of the nine people killed Monday, seven were protesters. Six of them died in the central city of Qahdarijan when demonstrators stormed a police station and attempted to take guns from authorities, state media reported. The seventh protester was killed in nearby Khomaini Shahr. A policeman died in Najafabad after a protester shot at officers with a hunting rifle, according to state media. Three other officers were wounded. A member of the Basij, a pro-government militia, was also killed, in south Tehran. Video images shared on social media from the central city of Tuyserkan on Sunday showed protesters throwing chairs, tables and other objects in reach at riot police, forcing the outnumbered officers to retreat. Six protesters were shot dead in the unrest there, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. A man and his young son also died on Sunday when a fire truck hijacked by protesters ran them down on a street in western Iran's Dorud, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency. Twelve people were killed over the weekend. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tried to downplay the significance of the protests, which have spread beyond the capital of Tehran to at least 18 cities, claiming that "This is nothing" compared to other outbreaks of unrest. But authorities have nonetheless responded with mass arrests and by restricting the use of the social media apps Instagram and Telegram, used to organize the rallies. There are now concerns that some protesters could face the death penalty. Musa Ghazanfarabadi, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Court, said Tuesday that some protest ringleaders could be charged with "muharabeh" -- taking up arms against the state -- and accused them of being connected with foreign intelligence agencies, the semi-official Tasnim news reports. The crime carries a maximum sentence of death. Trump has repeatedly tweeted his support for the protesters in the past week, criticizing the Iranian government as repressive, "brutal and corrupt." "The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime. All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their 'pockets.' The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The US is watching!" he wrote on Tuesday. Rouhani slammed Trump for a similar tweet Monday in which the US leader said the Iranian people were "repressed" and that it was "TIME FOR CHANGE!" Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani accused the US, UK and Saudi Arabia of using hashtags and social media campaigns inside Iran to incite riots. "Based on our analyses, around 27% of the new hashtags against Iran are generated by the Saudi government," Shamkhani said, according to state-run Press TV. The UK has called on Iran to engage in a "meaningful debate" on the issues raised by protesters, Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said Tuesday. At least 12 people have been killed in four days of demonstrations in Iran, state media reported, in the biggest challenge to the authority of the Tehran regime since mass protests in 2009. The violence continued despite an appeal for calm by Iranian president Hassan Rouhani on Sunday. He played down the significance of the protests on Monday, as the country's leadership struggled to respond to the largely spontaneous uprisings. "Our great nation has witnessed a number of similar incidents in the past and has comfortably dealt with them. This is nothing," Rouhani said in a meeting with Iranian MPs on Monday. But he acknowledged that Iranians had legitimate concerns and had the right to make legal protests. The protests have stemmed from concerns about rising living costs and a stagnant economy, but have developed into a broader-based outcry against the regime. They are the most serious challenge to Tehran's authority since the so-called Green Movement of 2009, when millions marched in the capital to protest the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, accused by the opposition of being rigged. So far, the latest unrest is on a much smaller scale than 2009. Authorities have yet to launch a wide-ranging crackdown, as they did eight years ago, preferring instead to contain the protests locally. Iran's state broadcaster said six people were killed in the small western town of Tuyserkan on Sunday, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). Also on Sunday, two were shot dead in the southwestern city of Izeh, the area's local member of parliament, Hedayatollah Khademi, told the semi-official ILNA news agency. Khademi said he did not know whether the shots were fired by security officials or protesters, according to the report. Izeh is in the oil-rich southern province of Khuzestan, just south of the Lorestan province where two other Iranians were killed in protests on Saturday evening. The deputy governor of Lorestan province, Habibollah Khojastehpour, denied that security forces had fired any bullets, blaming "Takfiri" groups and foreign intelligence services for the clashes. Another two people were killed Sunday in the city of Dorud after a fire engine was hijacked, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported, citing the local governor. At a meeting with MPs on Monday, Rouhani acknowledged that Iranians had the right to protest legally. "The space needs to open up for legal protest and criticism," he said, echoing remarks he made in a pre-recorded appeal for calm aired on state TV Sunday. In a nod to the concerns fueling the protests, he added: "We have no bigger challenge than unemployment. Our economy requires major corrective surgery." Earlier, state-run media outlet IRIB reported that officials had temporarily restricted access to social media apps Instagram and Telegram, which have been used by Iranians to share news about the protests. Iran's Minister for Communications and Technology Azari Jahromi denounced the reports as "rumors" in a post on Twitter Monday. Social media has helped galvanize tens of thousands participating in the protests, which have taken place in towns and cities across Iran. The unrest appears to have begun with hardline agitators encouraging protests against Rouhani. But they quickly lost control of events and demonstrations have taken on a general anti-regime feel. In a rare act of defiance, some protestors have even called for the resignation of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. In some demonstrations, women cast off their hijabs, defying the country's strict Islamic dress code. The protests have provided an opening for Iranian women to push for equal rights - something they've been fighting for over decades. Video shared on social media captured Iranians chanting "We don't want an Islamic Republic" and "Death to the dictator." CNN has not independently verified the authenticity of the footage, purportedly shot in the western city of Khorramabad. US President Donald Trump voiced his support for the demonstrations in a series of tweets on Sunday. He posted: "The people are finally getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism. Looks like they will not take it any longer. The USA is watching very closely for human rights violations!" He weighed in again on Monday, posting: "Iran is failing at every level despite the terrible deal made with them by the Obama Administration. The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. TIME FOR CHANGE! Rouhani, who won re-election in May, said in his Sunday speech that Trump had been at the root of many of Iranians' woes, "constantly creating problems" for people in the country since he entered the White House.

2019-04-25T09:54:05Z

http://www.humanrightsvoices.org/site/new/?d=1-1-2018&w=59

I can't believe another year has just flown by! Wednesday will mark my 2 year blogiversary. I've thoroughly enjoyed these past 12 months. It brought us some wonderful new designers, yarn companies, and indie dyers along with some of our favorite repeat guests. I have plans to bring you another great year filled with lots of yummy yarn, fresh new knitting patterns and lots of love. Keeping with tradition... I have some leftover prizes that were unclaimed to give away. 1) A comment will be chosen at random (as usual). 2) A member of our Ravelry YOTH Group will be chosen, so if you haven't joined yet, now's the time! 3) And, finally a public follower of the blog will be chosen, so make sure to sign up for that as well to get 3 chances at winning. Don't forget to tell all your knitting friends about YOTH! The more the merrier. Here's to another fantastic year. Cheers! 2. Leave a comment on this blog post by the end of Sunday, 2/12/12. What would you like to see on the blog? Or, what was your favorite giveaway this past year? I'd love to know what you like the best. Also, don't forget to join the Rav YOTH group and become a public follower on the left hand side of the blog for two extra chances at winning some lovely yarn. Hello I love reading your blog! Im looking forward to seeing more of your finished projects, your Current Cardigan is just gorgeous! thanks for these chances to win! My favorite giveaway was Cakewalk Yarns. I loved the Lacy Baktus shawl that you made out of it so I bought the yarn and started the same shawl! I've really enjoyed following your blog these past two years (can you believe I've been following since your first post?!). I think my favorite is when you post some of your own finished pieces. That yarn is wonderful - have rubbed up against it a few times! Congrats! Thanks for all the great content on the blog, as well as the giveaways. I love all the giveaways - I like to dream of winning. Plus it's a nice way to get exposed to one or two new yarns at a time. I get overwhelmed doing yarn searches on Ravelry or online shops, and can spend hours petting the yarns in my LYS. So it's nice to see just one or two at a time. Wow- thanks for such a lovely giveaway. That yarn looks SPECTACULAR! I like to read posts about yarn dyers/sellers and their businesses. I really enjoy hearing about all aspects of it...dyeing, color theory, yarn selection, operating the business. It's not something I would ever dream of doing myself...but I find it fascinating. I also like to read reviews of yarns from those who have used them. Happy Blogaversary! I would love some Mad Tosh Tart. I love learning about new yarn lines and dyers! There are so many talented artists who supply us with pretty yarn. My fave was definitely that scrumptious Madelinetosh, so I'm thrilled to see it again! Happy blogiversary! I'm a pretty new follower so I don't think I could pick a favorite yet. My favorite giveaway this year was Tanis. Their Mallard colorway is so stunning! Happy blogiversary! I love lots of things about your blog - I really love seeing your FO's - your photography is beautiful, and they are always very inspiring to me! Wow. That mad tosh yarn looks yummy!! Thx for the chance to win! Wow, happy blogiversary! I just discovered your blog this past year and have loved the yarn features, interviews, & giveaways of course. The MT giveaway must have been before I started reading the blog, but that would have been my fave giveaway for sure. Ooh, second blogiversary, so cotton? (Or china, if you prefer the modern route.) Here's hoping there is fun cotton yarn in your future, and awesome madelinetosh in mine! I think my favorite giveaway was #73, the yak yarn, as I've never tried it. But madelinetosh is one of my favorite yarns that I have tried, so it would be a close second! My favorite thing so far was the Three Irish Girls giveaway! I've never tried their yarn and would love another chance! Also, I've been wanting to try that yummy Madelinetosh (and that color is delicious!!!!)! I am a brand new follower, thanks to my friend who pointed out your blog to me. I haven't had a chance to look back through your past posts, so I'm not able to comment on my favorites, but I'm looking forward to reading and entering your wonderful giveaways! Thank you for offering them! I think my favorite giveaway was Sosae Caetano...'cause I just discovered her stuff and it is gooorgeous! Happy Blogiversary! That Madelinetosh is making me DROOL!!!! My favorite giveaway was Stephen's Westknits Book Three. I love the pictures you post. I would love to see pattern roundups on the blog! I always get so much inspiration from the blogs I follow. Happy birthday YOTH! I love being introduced to indie dyers that I might not hear about otherwise. Happy Blogiversary :) It's always exciting having a chance to win. Oh, how generous of you to give away unclaimed yarn, V. I love reading your interviews with yarnies and designers. Happy Blogday. It's truly the best. Wishes you many more celebrations. Happy Blogiversary! I had to take a break from following, but now I am back. I just want to see more of what I have been missing out on. I can't believe the Madeline Tosh was not claimed. I am keeping my fingers crossed this 2nd time around. I liked Tosh giveaway and the Skein yarns giveaway (I already own some and it's wonderful)! I love your blog! And was a lucky recipient of a prize this year. (I haven't decided what to do with it yet, but when I do I promise pics for the group!) I enjoy pretty much anything, whether it is yarn or patterns or both together! Keep up the good work! Honestly, I just love the chance to browse shops I never would have discovered without the giveaways. That is some nice yarn. Count me in. I'm a big fan! I especially like interviews with designers. I also love to hear from indie dyers. I love being exposed to indie dyers and designers that I would be oblivious to otherwise, so I am looking forward to seeing more of the unknown knitting world from you! My favorite giveaway was the vice yarn I really really wanted the Sparklicious Sterling. Wow! I can't believe that Madtosh yarn didn't get claimed -- that was actually my favorite giveaway and I would LOVE to win it! I'd love to see pattern reviews on your website, including finished products. I feel like there's not quite as much of that out there as I'd like :-) Thanks for the second chance giveaways! I really liked seeing your finished projects, and reading about them. I also liked reading about different types of fiber, like bison. Happy 2nd birthday, and here's to many happy years to come! Congratulations! I've really enjoyed reading your blog. Your finished object pics are great and I also like reading the interviews you post occasionally. Thanks a bunch!! I'd love to see yarn and book reviews; love seeing finished objects too. Thanks so much for what you bring to the blogging and fiber arts world! I really enjoy your blog. There is always so much eye candy, thanks to all your great photos of your FOs, and of course all the yummy yarn! My favourite giveaway was #62: yarn from Springtree Road. I enjoyed reading the interview with Maya, and her yarns are gorgeous! Happy 2nd blogaversary!! Hi! I love your blog! Fantastik pfotos, great diveaways and pojects! I've just love the blog, it's so inspirational. Many blessings! Lots of nice yarn this year - thank you for doing this! And that red Madelinetosh.... Best so far! Love the blog! Yarn reviews and interviews with indie dyers are great! Yooohooo, I love your "leftover giveaways"! I think the Tosh was my most lusted-after giveaway because, well...sweater quantity! Tosh! But I've really enjoyed discovering smaller dyers through the blog as well. Researching Skein colorways for the the last giveaway was dangerous. Happy anniversary. Congratulations on two years. I found the blog about three or four months ago and have enjoyed reading. Love your blog. I think it is time I won again!!! I love all your giveaways as they always introduce me to new and different yarns. I love learning about a new designer and yarn every two weeks! I would love to see more designers who have great ideas, but are just starting out - We might not know their names, but we'll love their patterns. And the same with the yarn. I love meeting those indi dyers who make the best colors but I don't know who they are yet. Happy blog anniversary! I really enjoy the interviews you do with the designers (especially the video ones). I also just like seeing the knits you create from the designers you showcase. Thanks for taking the time to share your talent. I love Madeline Tosh! In almost every shade. I follow your blog since last year and I'm going to sign up for YOTH group on Ravelry. Your pics are great and inspiring. I love to get to armchair shop the indies and drool all over my computer screen. My my favorite giveaways are patterns paired with yarn as I am always searching for the perfect project for a yarn. I've subscribed to your blog for quite some time, and my favorite parts are the giveaways! :) I would love to win the Madelinetosh yarn. It looks lovely. What's not to love here? The yarns are beautiful, the patterns inspirational, and the giveaways generous. I just wish I had more time to knit, or could knit faster! Keep up the good work Ve, and thanks! I enjoy reading about the different yarns available, particularly from small independants with something different to offer that I may not have noticed without this blog. I really enjoy hearing about yarn lines/dyers that I've never heard of before! I like hearing about little known yarns or just new to me yarns. Gorgeous Madtosh! Who would leave MadTosh or Bijou unclaimed??? That's just insane. I think my favorite giveaway was the Coastal Knits book. I recently bought the book and keep swooning over it. I am so in love with the Rustling Leaves Beret that I purchased the exact yarn used in the book so I could recreate it. In years of knitting, I've never wanted to do that before. Miss Snow was a favorite of mine and all those giveaways are super too. I'm going to have to agree that whomever left those unclaimed is plum off their rocker! They're beautiful! I enjoy pattern giveaways/ features. Of course I love the yarn giveaways! They're my main love, but I do like getting to know new designers. All the giveaways area great, but I also love to read about and would love to read even more about the indie designers/yarns you come across. I think just about every giveaway was my favorite. I love it when you post your own knitting projects and credit the models. It has been so fun to read this blog, the photography is stunning, the knits...to die for, and the yarn just makes me gush!! Thanks for all the hard work you put into everything~ it shows. Happy blogiversary! Your blog has been so much fun and I love seeing all the different yarn/dyers you profile. My favorite this year is the madtosh - and I'm stunned no one has claimed it! (crazypants!!) I also really enjoyed it when you featured Lizzy and her Vice yarns. I would like to be able to participate in one of the KALs one of these days. It is hard to pick a favorite giveaway because they have all been pretty fantastic. Madelinetosh and Bijou Basin - two of my favorites! I'd love to see more about indie dyers... blogs are an invaluable resource for learning more about yarn the world over! Thanks for the giveaway, looks scrumptious! I have to say I love seeing the yarn combinations with the patterns. Nothing makes me want to knit something more than having a great yarn to pair it with! I have enjoyed all the posts in the last year, keep it up! i look forward to seeing more fo's of yours. they're always inspiring and lovely. For the blog, feel free to show more WIPS and FOs! Love seeing those! Oh it's hard to imagine what I'd like to see more of! Your blog always shows me new yarn and gets me thinking of projects I wouldn't have dreamed up before. That's what I love about it! I just love when you giveaway the skeins of gorgeous yarns! They all look so lovely and I just hope I win some, one day. Happy blogrthday!! I can't believe that tart madtosh wasn't claimed. I love everything you post, getting to know new dyers and seeing your FOs is always fun. Those poor unclaimed pretties. I'm sure they'll find a great home this time around. There have been so many great giveaways this past year it's impossible to choose one. But the best part is discovering new things, be it patterns, designers or yarn. I love seeing your WIP's and FO's in posts. I usually end up adding a few patterns to my Rav Queue. My fav giveaway was the Tanis Fiber Arts Giveaway #64. I liked the web interview and I do love TFA yarns. Wow! Two years already? It seems like just yesterday. That Tosh yarn is gorgeous! How lucky for us that someone forgot to claim it! Happy Blogiversary! I love hearing about indie dyers I haven't heard of (fantastic enabling!) I also love your FOs - your pictures are always so stunning! Anything Madelinetosh is on my favorite list. I also love to see any yarn made in the USA since my New Years resolution is to only buy yarn made in the US. Thanks for all your lovely giveaways. I love all your giveaways especially the ones from Stephen West. I just wish I could win one. I tried to follow you publicly but got error messages... will try again. I am new to your blog so I don't have a favourite in the past year - but I have enjoyed the couple of FO posts I've read and the photo I just saw of that red Tosh yarn was pretty awesome - I'd love to add that to my stash! I love love your blog! I would love to win a beautiful prize! Congrats on 2 years as a great knitter/yarn blogger! Wow! I'd love to have Tosh in Tart - what an amazing color. I also liked when you had Dani from Sunshine Yarns. Thanks! Happy Blogiversary! I love your blog so much. Not only do you give great visibility to indie and lesser known yarn suppliers, I also love the whole pay it forward/share the yarny love vibe. I'm already a member of your Ravelry group,and have your blog feed on my google homepage. Happy knitting! I love seeing all of your FOs. Your photographs are always so beautiful! I'd like to see more patterns in the giveaways with the yarn. It's like a two-for-one! I think the blog is awesome and you are doing a fab job! All the gorgeous yarn tempts me and tempts me! Love your Ravelray group, Wish you would show more of your work on your blog as well, although I do love the prizes. love getting ideas of things to make. Thank you for the wonderful blog. I love your project photo shoots so keep those coming. I also like being introduced to new yarns that I may not have access to in my local area. That bucket of yarn looks sooooo rich and soothing! Yummy!!!! For te blog I think I'd loke to see more crochet projects. Congratulations on your 2nd blogiversary. I think I been following you almost the whole time. I am also a member of your Ravelry group, and I have commented on this post. I have 3 chances to win one of the wonderful prizes. Thank you so much. Oh, that Tart. That was the first giveaway I entered on your blog! I just drool every time I see that colorway. I love getting to read your reviews of such varied yarns, since it makes me consider something new for my projects. Happy anniversary! Please keep profiling indie and small dyers and yarn companies. I love seeing all the Indie dyers out there. Most everything is stuff I haven't heard of before, so it's great exposure to new fiber! Just found your blog, I am envious of the talent you have. I look forward to seeing more of your work. Happy Blogiversary! It blows my mind that there is unclaimed madelinetosh and bijou basin! I'm not sure I have a favorite giveaway. I enjoy seeing all of the different yarns and patterns. It's great that you can highlight all of these fabulous artists. Happy blogiversary! Those are some gorgeous prizes - if you draw my name, I won't forget to claim it! I love the fact that you offer for givaways yarns that it is difficult for me to buy in Greece! Keep going!!! Oh. My. God. What amazing giveaways. I don't know how I'd choose a favorite giveaway. Any of the yarny ones! The pattern ones and notions don't interest me as much, I guess. Firstly, Happy Blog Birthday, and congrats!!! And it goes without saying, your truly bring an extra smile to my days, I am thoroughly enjoying your blog and features, and of course your generous giveaways!!! Would love to get my hands on some of that yarn! Happy Blogiversary!!! I always enjoy my weekly visits to YOTH. Happy Bloggy Birthday! Thanks for the chance to win some yummy yummy yarn! Congratulations on your 2-year blogiversary! I've really been enjoying reading your interviews and seeing all your lovely projects pop up (I'm also a wee bit envious at your productivity). But thanks for sharing them with us. I am drooling. :-) Happy blogiversary! I like the interviews with dyers & spinners. I still haven't taken the plunge into spinning my own, so I guess I'm psyching myself up to it through your blog. I'm already following, and here's my comment. I will join the YOTH group on Rav (if I haven't already--so many groups, so little time!), because I wanna win! I honestly love the blog just the way it is! Naturally I love the contests, but even more I love seeing the pictures of your knitted projects. Such fun to see what people are making. Congrats on your anniversary. I love to see your beautiful photography of yarn and projects. I like to read about yarn businesses both big and small. I like to read the stories more than listening or watching but some studio video tours about their yarn, how they work and operating would be cool. I really can't remember all the giveaways but I can tell you what I like best in your blog: to learn about new yarns and designers. Both of the yarns pictured are some of my favorites! Wow! Well, it'd be easy to choose my fave giveaway if I'd won one! :). But the one I wanted to win the most was the Coastal Knits book and Quince yarn. I'd love to try Quince but am terrified of ordering what I can't see in front of me first. Specifically afraid of crazy colors... My fave part of this blog is ironically not the giveaways. I love the looks at your FOs. So inspiring! My favorites so far have been Three Irish Girls and String Theory -- but I love learning about new indie dyers! I haven't been to your site in a while (crazy life got in the way) but I liked when you did the video interview with Tanis. I really enjoy listening to people talk about what they do. I also enjoy your photography. More indie dyers please, and more of your finished objects--you have a great eye for color and styling them on your lovely models! I love being introduced to yarns I wouldn't necessarily be able to find on my own, and also the patterns you feature. Congrats on 2 years! Happy Happy Birthday - I am a member of your Rav group, too. Congrats on 2 years! I loved seeing the Tanis Fiber giveaway- such gorgeous colors! Happy blogiversary! I always love reading your blog, and not just for the giveaways! here's to another year! Congratulations! Who the heck doesn't claim Tosh in Tart? I love seeing all the beautiful new yarns on your blog and can't wait to see what you come up with next! my fave giveaway was the cakewalk yarns. love the colourways! I love seeing what you're knitting and what you've knit it with! I also enjoy the exposure to indie yarn companies. Thank you! Some of my favorites have been the Cakewalk Yarns giveaway and the Skein giveaway. Oh, the yarn. How I love to drool over the new giveaways. I love the yarn, especially learning about indie dyers. Also love how you feature patterns all the time - not that I need more patterns in my queue, but how can I resist? Happy blogthday! I've really enjoyed being introduced to new dyers and yarns I haven't heard before. Some of them I've even had the chance to try :) Keep up the good work! I love seeing the pictures of all your FOs. You have a way of presenting them in just the right light and your yarn choices are amazing. Keep up the great work! I can't believe those are unclaimed prizes. They are all gorgeous! I loved the 3IG secret giveaway! Ooooh, that bucket of tosh. I love stories about the people behind the yarns, and projects that can help use up all the partial skeins I'm left with after projects. They just hang about begging for a good home. I love reading your blog, it is wonderful to see all the projects...I especially like the Tenney park pullover and the Live Oak shawlette. And for the giveaways, I liked most the Three Irish Girls One, as it was the first one for me. Happy bloganniversary to a person, who olso has a memorable babička in her life. And yes, and I am in the Ravelry group. and thank you for the opportunity to win, I am also a public follower of your blog. You're doing a great job. I like the variety of yarns & people. It's always interesting. Oh, what a fun give away! I can't begin to tell you which my favorite giveaway was; they've all been so cool. Congratulations such successful blogging! I guess I'm easy to please because I have liked all of your giveaways. I like reading about your (honest)experiences with yarns and seeing your FO's. I have been a member of your Ravelry group for a year now, and am a follower of your blog. Lovely blog; thanks for the chance to win too! I'd love to see some spinning fiber giveaways! I love your blog Ve, it's been such a great source of information! I love your interviews with Designers but my favorite post was the one about Yarnia, I had seen a few things about it before but had never really understood how it worked, now I can wait until I have the opportunity to actually go there! Wow! Unclaimed prizes! Unbelievable! I don't think I have a favourite giveaway - I love them all as it brings me into touch with new yarns, dyers and designers. I'd love to win! Congratulations on you second blog anniversary. I just like seeing all the different yarns that are available. I love this blog! And the only thing I can think of that would make it even cooler would be to add short Q&A's from either the yarn or the pattern sponsor for the week. Happy Blogaversary! I love hearing about new yarns from your blog, and the opportunity to win and try them myself! Thanks so much! happy blogiversary! I have been checking your blog out for a good chunk of time now! I really just love seeing what is out there in fiber fun, learning more about the designers and how they got into the biz! I really love looking at and hearing about all the smaller and indie yarns. So beautiful and smooshy. Congratulations on another Blog Birthday!! What I would love to see on the blog is of course "the winner is" followed by my name! But that aside, what I really like to read is the interviews with dyers and 'knitting professionals'. It is always nice to read what ispires them to make a special yarn or pattern. I really enjoy your blog - great information, love photos of knitting and wonderful giveaways. I think the Stephen West giveaway was a favorite. Thank-you for a chance! What I love about your blog is that you introduce me to new yarn / patterns / designers. I have you to thank (or blame) for my ever-growing list of favorites and to-dos! I love your blog, and was lucky enough to be a winner last year! Happy Blogiversary and I can't wait to see what the new year brings! I really can't pick a favorite from the past year because every new prize is my favorite! More handspun and handdyed-- I'm not picky! Happy Anniversary. Hmm, favorites. I truly can't pick one and I hope these are from the last year. I think of three: discovering Anzula, Cakewalk Yarns, and Sunshine Yarns. I agree with others that I love seeing your projects in the various yarns. Inspiring. Happy birthday! I'd love to see lots more of the same - you're doing a great job! Happy blogversary! :) I generally like the blog's content, and I think all the giveaways have been lovely. It's a great way to learn about new yarn vendors. Keep it up! I love all your giveaways - but one thing I would like to see here as spring and summer approaches is some wool/silk yarn! Happy Blogoversary! I couldn't decide what was my favorite thing this year, so here are some yarns on my to-try list that I don't think I've seen: Renaissance Dyeing, Neighborhood Fiber Co., Great Northern Yarns...I could go on, but don't we all have endless to-try lists! HI! Congrats on 2 years...I can barely make a week with blogging. lol. I would like to see more Shawls. For some reason a lot of my family is dying for me to make one for them. I also think maybe someone who can explain a little how to...(how to design your own). I'd love to see an interview with Lee Meredith--her designs are so fun and inspiring! Or an interview with Alexandra Tinsley--she makes unique, cute hat designs. I have been foloowing your blog for quite a while now and really enjoy it when you highlight designers I might not normally come across. Keep up the good work. I love your blog ! The pictures are beautiful and I am looking forward to seeing more of your finished projects. Happy Anniversary on two years and counting ! Happy Birthday Blog!!!! Thanks for the opportunity to win such great yarn! i love your blog, both the giveaways and all the lovely finished projects/designs that you post! I'd love to see more WIPs from you. Your finished projects look so magical, it would be lovely to see a bit of your process! thanks for sharing. i love tosh! Love the blog. One of my favorite things is seeing what you've knit up. I see lots of patterns that I hadn't heard of. It's a great way to be inspired. Congratulations! I love to see the pictures of the finished projects and the generous giveaways of course. I don't want you to change a thing! There are so many great yarns/patterns featured, but Steven West does stand out in my mind. I wouldn't change anything. Your blog is one of the few I love to read! Happy Birthday! I love the blog. I would like to see some needles or other geer for knitting. Of course, I love the yarn give-aways. I enjoy finding out about new yarns as well as new patterns from your blogs reports.

2019-04-21T07:09:40Z

http://yarnonthehouse.blogspot.com/2012/01/giveaway-79.html

Economy 7 meter for electricity we have two old storage heaters which are efficient heatwise but big and dimplex convector heater in conservatory and the porch area our electricity bills are going through roof £189 for the last 12 months and long wet winter last year put excess on the bill which was £160 month we are now only two people and year on year the bills have increased heavily for electric and it would seem wattage use, despite economy 7. Boiler & central heating cover standard. Drain maintenance products clear away buildup in pipes before it causes a clog removing this buildup can also improve slow drainage some of these products recommend regular use to keep pipes in good shape. Thumbtack currently has over 200,000 professionals completing projects for customers across categories including home, events, lessons, wellness, and more. I have been a plumber and gas engineer for 10 years covering a vast amount of systems along the way from domestic boiler installs to large scale plumbing systems i am a fully qualified gas safe registered engineer and carry out all manner of gas works. It is all well and good being the best at specifying and installing new systems but you must make sure that you are using someone that is capable of repairing them should the need arise. Contact d j murray plumbing and sewer service today if you are experiencing any residential or commercial plumbing issues including sewer back up, clogged drain, tree roots in sewer line, frozen pipes, backflow prevention and testing we provide 24 hour emergency plumbing service we are here to help you! Number of gallons of water lost in a year by a leak of 10 drops per minute. Serving all of southern indiana's residential and commercial needs. Can be used monthly as preventive maintenance to keep drains clear and flowing smoothly. Justin did a good job and was prompt and reliable we would use him again. Alex arrived on the arranged day on-time he quickly diagnosed the issue and provided a very reasonable quote very friendly and professional service! performed the job quickly and respectful of the rest of the house highly recommend! Feel free to contact us through our contact page. We can also advise if the pipes need to be repaired we offer a range of cost effective. Call us now – we are here to help. Young plumbing and heating co is a. Find out about planning applications, planning policies and conservation areas. We are offering two fantastic full parts and labour warranties at no extra cost we have also made the terms and conditions very simple and straightforward and have ensured that all gas safe registered installers can benefit in addition, the homeowner will need to have the boiler serviced annually, which provides installers with an additional revenue stream.”. Which? trusted traders consumer. To view business statistics, receive messages from prospective customers, and respond to reviews. Dana elkins has proven reliability he shows up on time and does beautiful work we love our new bathroom remodel that catamount did for us after months of waiting for another company to finish the job who never came through, we finally have a beautiful bathroom! ". Use one part caustic soda for every four parts of water. First time using them - had a little emergency (overflowing drain in the basement - midtown memphis old home) the first night they came out and cleared the... Please note that during particularly busy periods, it may take a little longer to receive your delivery and our carrier may attempt to deliver to you on a saturday. I just realized i received a threat from them to remove my original review please see the bottom for my original review. Lift 35kg, carry 120m, 1.5 mile run in 13 min 15 sec (14 min 30 sec for junior entry). Note: publishers should be aware that applications designed to use specific schema.org properties (e.g http://schema.org/width, http://schema.org/color, http://schema.org/gtin13, ...) will typically expect such data to be provided using those properties, rather than using the generic property/value mechanism. There are some awful car hire companies, according to our survey we reveal the best and name the ones to avoid. Free no-obligation safety survey at your home. Head lice leaving your kids scratching their heads? we've surveyed parents to find out which nit treatments work best. If a faucet stops running after installation, remove the aerator from the faucet in question and let the water run for a few minutes to clear loose sediment rinse and replace the aerator. Call or email now to schedule your appointment for your tune-up - only $136.00. Plumbers fit and service hot and cold water systems, heating systems and drainage networks. Andritz offers technologies for producing steam and electricity from renewable fuels as well as for the efficient use of traditional fossil fuels these technologies employ proven, yet modern techniques to efficiently produce power while keeping the emissions within environmentally safe limits. A system boiler works with a hot water storage cylinder but does not generally need a tank in the loft to fill the system. British gas stresses that it would be counter-productive for the company to sell boilers with poor reliability when it is responsible for paying the costs of maintenance this is a view echoed by other maintenance firms like safegas in leeds, which maintains 10,000 domestic boilers. This sounds like a 9-1-1 call. Over the last 25 years i have used colorado boiler for everything from boiler and heat exchanger tube replacement and repair emergency welding on tanks, sand filters, boilers repairs on system piping, feed tanks, condensate tanks, boiler replacements when we had underground steam lines fail colorado boiler responded to the emergency brought out and hooked up a temporary boiler a few hours later heat was back on everyone was happy in the art building and more importantly we avoided freezing anything on more than one occasion they provided emergency heat to one of our facilities colorado boiler has always had competitive pricing and quality workmanship they provide and install quality equipment that will last for years if something in the project was not quite right they always made every effort to correct and remedy the situation i enjoyed the peace of mind that with over 50 boilers on campus no matter what time or weather conditions they would be there if i needed them now that is true service!! i am no longer with the university but i still have that phone number memorized in case of an emergency. At lakewood plumbing & heating, we know all about boilers if you need repairs or maintenance, we’ve got you covered choosing a boiler can be tricky, so if you’re looking for a new boiler, we can recommend the best one for your home or business. The problem likely lies with the diverter valve or a part in the diverter valve such as the diaphragm we’ve covered diagnosing a. Laser plumbing tamworth can deliver the inspections to the client via the internet, providing the customer with instant reporting, regardless of the client's location anywhere in the world this option is perfect for investment properties or asset managers. I trained as a plumber when i left school at 16 back in the 1960s i completed a five year apprenticeship, which in those days was called a city and guilds qualification i was in the classroom for one day and then working with a plumbing firm for the other four days they paid me, but not a great deal but when i completed this i was a qualified plumber and decided to accept the firm’s offer to stay on with them and work for them properly. Prices shown are valid on 2018-05-25. Um vokabeln speichern und später lernen zu können, müssen sie angemeldet sein sowohl die registrierung als auch die nutzung des trainers sind kostenlos. Serving metro detroit and surrounding southeast michigan communities. Metro rod is an industry expert in drain surveys and sewer examination and reporting. Ballycullen road,firhouse,dublin 24. Is it ok .. to drink orange juice? Can do will do well done guaranteed! Get it installed by our specialist installers. Gas fast team members are not only gas safe registered but are also accredited installers of all of the major brands of heating system and boiler manufacturers, including: ideal, baxi, worcester bosch, vaillant and many others, making us the perfect choice if you have a problem with your heating system or boiler with all of our experience in the industry the chances are that we will have come across the problem many times and we will usually be able to repair your boiler the same day. Find out how to make a will, either on your own or with the help of a professional. Inspecting the condition of drains, sewers and pipelines by cctv survey has always been a major part of our business our cctv survey and report will provide you with a dvd showing accurate footage of your drains along with a comprehensive report and photographs. A new sealed condensing boiler will be at least 25% more efficient than an older non-condensing type. Gas boilers and award-winning support for every home. We won’t try to persuade you to do unnecessary work we will give you all the information you need to make the right decision based on your circumstances we firmly believe that by giving you great value, and insanely good customer service, you will become part of the marvel family and be a valued customer for years to come. Quicker installation with lowered fees-. Many people ask us what a combi boiler does and if it saves money. An annual boiler service is essential for keeping your boiler running smoothly and safely however, as our undercover investigation has revealed, you can't guarantee a good service - even if you hire a gas safe qualified heating engineer. E-z foam™ is a specially formulated safe biological foam designed to penetrate biofilm and cling to the sides of drains and pipes to remove the organic material while blocking the production of noxious odors this unique formulation results in high performance degradation and removal of organic materials in both aerobic and anaerobic environments. A check our energy grants section to see if you’re eligible for a free boiler replacement also use an online directory such as. Our technicians are north american technician excellence (nate) certified. So whether you’re getting ready for a hot shower and realise your boiler has broke, or you’re coming back from a cold winters day and you find your central heating won’t work, pj bryer are there to help whenever you are in need! all of our plumbers in bristol are fully qualified and insured to work on your plumbing. If you own an electric boiler and are having some problems with your unit, such as no hot water or the water isn’t heating up, we’ve listed 6 easy checks and remedies you can make, to find out if your hot water unit is working correctly and to get it up and running again. Worcester gas boiler prices range from around £750 to over £2,000 for the boiler alone, including vat but not the installation below you can find some typical worcester boiler prices. Whether you want a regular, system or combi boiler, there’s a worcester boiler to suit your home heating needs and your pocket, ranging from 12kw output to 42kw popular regular worcester boilers include the greenstar 15ri (15kw output), greenstar 40cdi classic regular (40kw) and the greenstar fs 42cdi (42kw). Non-toxic products that contain. We have 1099 jobs paying higher than the average plumber salary! If the drain survey highlights any issues that need addressing such as pipe repair, drain 365 can provide a quote for the work to get your drainage system back to good health and operating at maximum efficiency. Surface water from roads and footpaths is the responsibility of warwickshire county council. We'll use cobol for some new applications in the future: 37%. A plunger can clear a blocked drain just as it can clear a clogged toilet be sure to cover any overflow spouts before you begin plunging so you can get a strong seal the up-and-down pressure created by the plunger can help to loosen any blockages so your pipes can flow smoothly once again plunging is most useful for solid blockages, but it is not very effective on grease build-up and mineral deposits. Programming of existing cobol applications: 75%. With the average price of a new boiler installation being approximately £2,300, and energy providers quoting closer to £3,000, the fuel savings are likely to be small in the short term. Leak under your kitchen sink? leak through your ceiling? blocked toilet? Condensing technology reduces energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. As well as combi boilers, there are several other types of boilers available that are more suitable for certain types of house, and certain size families. Instant" water boilers/dispensers (such as the breville hot cup and the morphy richards meno), which can boil as little as a cupful of water really quickly, combine these methods they use a more powerful heating element than an ordinary kettle (typically 3000 watts or more) and they're designed so the element can operate safely in contact with only a small amount of water if you're boiling only (say) a quarter of a liter of water, you need only a quarter as much energy—say 100,000 joules and if you're supplying that energy with a 3000 watt element, do the math and you'll find you can do it in about 30 seconds instead of 2.5 minutes can you see another great benefit here? if you're boiling an entire kettle to make just a single hot drink, you're effectively wasting three quarters of the energy you're consuming boiling only as much water as you need saves you a significant amount of money—and helps the. Before we tell you why boiler repair in chicagoland matters, let’s first discuss what a boiler tutaj bukmacher does most boilers use gas fuel to create and then send heat into a nearby heat exchanger this heat exchanger then connects to cold water pipes, where it heats the water in the pipes that hot water then travels through your wall heaters or radiators. We take customer satisfaction seriously, and we stand by our work 100%. In appliance services in the us. But how do you know if your existing boiler needs to be replaced, or if it just requires a service? here are the signs that you should be investing in a new model. Emergency plumber in poole – 01202 417468. For information on how we store and process your data please see our. We can repair both gas and oil boilers many times, people and businesses alike do not realize the importance of maintaining their boiler until it is too late if you don’t maintain your boiler, more likely than not your boiler will need to be repaired, and your personal belongings may get damaged or ruined one of the main reasons we get calls from our clients is because they thought they could go a year or two without maintaining their boiler their boiler ended up being clogged, which created a dangerous situation we can fix any type of boiler we have worked with all boiler brands in the past our trained new jersey professionals are the best at what they do, which is specializing in boiler repair. But keep in mind that this will most likely increase the cost of your overall installation. Site design and code are property of select on site, llc. I know the fact that i am in my late seventies shouldn’t make any difference, but it does – i feel suicidal is the water board investigation the best solution, or are there any other possible explanations for what has happened; and are the water board the best people to go to? If you are looking for a qualified. Post your job for free and up to 3 tradesmen will be in contact to quote. Comprehensive – efficient – sustainable the comprehensive range of products and services from viessmann for all fuel types and application areas offers top quality and sets new standards. We are inspecting and repairing sheffield’s flood prone road drains between 2012 and 2017 we have. New boiler installation london. Mascot ft wall hung and floor standing combination boilers (size range: 140 - 199 mbh) - indoor. Standard boilers are also known as conventional boilers they heat water rapidly in the pipes that run through the tank and send hot water out to taps as necessary. Tony was so prompt in answering my online request he called right away and was out to my house in an hour he solved the mystery of where the water in the kitchen ceiling was coming from - the attic! not only did he fix the clogged condensate pipe from my ac unit, he created a back up system so the overflow pan will not flood my attic again i'm very grateful for his expertise, his ingenuity and his response to a very urgent request i will call tony again when i have a plumbing problem. Asap did a re-pipe of our water system we have well water and were getting leaks every couple of months we got three quotes and asap was in the middle but i felt more comfortable with them the technicians did an awesome job very neat and professional thanks asap for making a difficult job a little less stressful.

2019-04-20T17:21:33Z

http://diamond-eye.co.uk/plumbers/economy-7-meter-for-electricity-we-have-two-old-storage-heaters.html

When it comes to large home projects, I do my research. Before reaching out to any companies or contractors I’m considering working with, I like to have an idea of what I want so I can provide clear guidance to whomever I choose to work with. At Archadeck Outdoor Living, we recommend our clients visit our website to get patio and deck ideas to spur our thinking. Everyone’s tastes, styles and budgets are different. What works for me and my house may not work for my neighbor. Looking at images will inspire likes and dislikes that should guide your designer to create an outdoor living space that you love and complements the structure and finishes of your home. Color and Material – Fifteen years ago, the majority of decks were wood. If you like the natural wood look, look at different types. Do you like the standard pressure treated pine? Or maybe the IPE is a better option for you. Between decking stains, paint and composite options, your designer should be able to find the perfect color for your deck that enhances your outdoor space. Material is also a key component of patio design because the options are so varied and are a large part of the design. Some people prefer the look of the traditional red brick, while others like a more natural flagstone finish. Skirting – Unless you keep the space beneath your deck in beautiful shape, you may want to include some type of skirting to your design. Skirting gives the deck a finished and streamline look while adding another detail that some homeowners may not think of. A few types of skirting are lattice and solid board skirting. Lattice skirting, as seen to the left, has a crisscross look that you may also find on privacy walls. Solid board skirting can be installed in both vertical and horizontal patterns and is similar to the finished look of a fence. Railings – Railings are not only necessary for safety concerns, but they are also a great place to add a design feature. From iron and glass to vinyl and wood, there are options of every kind. Built-in features – the last component I would look at for ideas is built-in features. These can include anything from fire pits, fireplaces, kitchens, benches, planters and more. I personally like something that’s a little more functional, so while I think a planter is great, I would add a wider border to it so it can also work as a bench. Other people, however, are fine with just having something that looks great. To get some patio and deck ideas that may work for your space, take a look at The Archadeck photo galleries. Also, if you want your Dream Backyard and want us to do all the thinking and doing to make it happen, don’t forget to enter the Dream Backyard Makeover Contest. At Archadeck Outdoor Living, our motto is “better building by design.” We take great pride in the fact that each and every one of our outdoor living projects is different and custom designed to fit the homeowner’s needs, tastes and budget. We have a needs assessment that guides our designers as they create the perfect space for their clients. Our deck builder in Hawkinsville, GA recently created an outdoor living space using an old feature of the property as his inspiration. Stephen Denton, the owner of Archadeck of Central Georgia, was asked by his clients to create a deck design around an old well that the home had. The house was built in the 1800s and had some beautiful charm as a result of its age. The old well had been filled in and works as a flowerbed, but the homeowners did not want to get rid of it due to the history behind it. Instead, they wanted a unique outdoor living space that mirrored its shape, thus the curved deck was born. The curved edges of the deck enhance the curve of the well that sits in the center of the deck. Rounded decks, however, don’t work on certain properties due to the landscape. In general, decks must having railings for code and safety issues (no one wants an injury), but curved railings are expensive. They have to be specially made because you can’t bend wood or rail caps to follow the unique curve. Luckily this project didn’t need to have railings. The evenness of the yard allowed Stephen to build a low-to-grade deck which means the structure is low to the ground. If the deck is less than 30 inches off the ground, code says that the structure doesn’t need railings, so the sides of this project were left open. The homeowners are thrilled that the view from their deck isn’t blocked by railings and is completely open to the backyard (not to mention it saved them money). Railings were added to the straight edges of the deck and stairs so visitors have something to hold on to while traveling around some parts of the space. The railings on the side also give the deck added definition. When considering what the deck in Hawkinsville should be made of, the homeowners were clear: they wanted low maintenance. Stephen used TimberTech composite decking in a deep walnut color so his clients can easily keep the space looking like new and don’t have to worry about rot, mildew or bugs as the boards age. Archadeck of Central Georgia was able to build the deck without breaks in the boards too. No two boards are right next to each other on the ends, creating a clean finished look. The last part of the deck design was the trellis. Not only can the homeowners use it as a place to hang or grow vegetation, but they also added an outdoor curtain that they can open and close for added privacy. I love projects like these where a request to keep and highlight a special feature, like this well, drove the deck design. It’s a unique project that the homeowners love. It’s functional, yet charming. To learn more about designing an outdoor living space that you and your family can enjoy, download the Archadeck Design Guide, or contact your local Archadeck office. It is time to turn the spotlight on another Archadeck location that is doing spectacular outdoor living designs that are not only beautiful but functional as well. This creation by Archadeck of Chester County includes a sunroom, deck, outdoor kitchen and a custom fire pit located on the lovely patio. It also includes a stone trimmed built-in spa, not to mention a gorgeous pergola for the icing on the proverbial cake. This combination of outdoor structures gives new meaning to the term “stay-cation” because with a outdoor living area as well-appointed as this, who needs to leave the comfort of their backyard home to renew and relax? When Juan Cardona and the design team at Archadeck of Chester County met with these homeowners in Kennett Square, PA, which is known as the mushroom capital of the world, to create this masterpiece in outdoor design, they had an existing deck that was in dire need of replacing as well as an open deck at the rear of the home with an unsightly concrete slab patio under the deck. The homeowners wish was to create an outdoor area that incorporated a sunroom, less deck and a patio on the lower level. They also wanted to include a built-in cooking area, spa area, and a custom fireplace or fire pit to accommodate their desire to have room and suitable entertaining areas for larger gatherings down below as opposed to having an all-open deck on the second level. The obstacle that had to be overcome was the fact that their yard was on a rather severe slope. In order to deliver the outdoor oasis the homeowners desired, we would have to install some retaining walls to make it happen. Archadeck of Chester County, PA teamed up with a professional stone mason and together, they quickly put together an integrated plan to totally re-build and re-structure the entire rear of the home. The extensive use of stone walls was used to match the overall look of the existing home, since the entire front of the home was already finished in stone. The suggestion of using stone within the new design offered a dramatic look that harmonized well with the existing property. The deck was constructed using low maintenance TimberTech XLM in Mountain Cedar which harmonizes perfectly with the old world appeal of the stone used throughout the project. Archadeck of Chester County black Fortress iron railings on TimberTech posts for continuity and fluidity in the deck’s design. On the interior floor of the stunning sunroom they used IPE tongue and groove flooring. The exterior of the room was finished with a stone veneer to match the rest of the patio which includes stone retaining walls, an outdoor kitchen and a custom fire pit. The sunroom also includes Anderson windows. Under the sunroom there is a built-in custom spa also trimmed with stone. The finishing touch to the project was the addition of a maintenance-free pergola of AZEK composite that was painted to match the decking color. The whole design flows effortlessly from structure to structure and looks and feels original to the existing home, which requires perfection in the design and the execution of the design in order to achieve. If you are ready to turn your backyard into an orchestrated oasis of beauty, style and relaxation, contact Archadeck today and you will be on your way to creating beautiful harmonies within your own little slice of heaven. Schedule a free design consultation or contact us by calling 804.353.6999 or emailing us at [email protected] locate an Archadeck near you to get started. Have you ever wondered just why things that claim they are “better” than the original often emulate characteristics of the very thing they are touting they are better than? I use yesterdays breakfast as an example. I was cooking turkey bacon along with eggs and toast for me and my family. Now, turkey bacon does not claim that it is better tasting than the regular pork bacon that we are all familiar with, it does however emulate the “look” of turkey bacon with its perfectly scalloped edging and striping which is added to make the turkey bacon look more like “the real thing”. The turkey bacon is indeed better for us, it is lower in fat, sodium and cholesterol. In the big scheme of things the turkey bacon is better from a health standpoint. I then wondered since it is obviously the better choice then why did the company who made the turkey bacon find it necessary to add the little aesthetic touches to emulate real bacon? After some thought I then realized that every product, material and item we are accustomed to using or consuming comes with an emotional attachment. I believe we are hardwired to perceive things a certain way by the memories we retain from using ,or in the case of the bacon, consuming in the past. Millions of products on the market have proven to be better than the original. Much the same can be said about composite decking versus wood decking. Locked deep inside our memory banks is a fond memory that involves wood. It may be your mother telling you not to run around the deck of your backyard pool without your sandals because “you’ll get splinters”. It may be the warmth and aroma created from roasting marshmallows over a bonfire on burning hardwoods while at summer camp. It may be the warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you think of visiting grandma’s house on Sundays for fried chicken in her dining room with beautiful wide plank hardwood floors. Wood is part of our heritage. Wood promotes warmth, security and pleasantries within us. The beauty of wood is rustic, earthy and natural. It is only natural that composites emulate the look of real wood. After all you are getting the best of both worlds with composites, strength, durability and the aesthetics and graining characteristics of real wood, a winning combination indeed. To find out more about composite decking contact Archadeck today. We can help you decide on the composite deck that is right for your individual tastes and needs. Call us at 888-687-3325 or email us at [email protected] and find out more about the Archadeck difference. Do you want to enjoy your deck and not have to think about splitting, cracking, staining, warping, discoloration, mold, or having to scrub it year after year? Guess what- you don’t have to. That’s right, with solid PVC decking and composite decking, to a degree, all these worries and chores are a thing of the past. Composite decking such as TimberTech, AZEK, and Fiberon are worry free, strong, durable and beautiful as well. Archadeck is proud to build with these high quality composite brands to you along with our highly skilled installers and award-winning designs. Today’s composites provide you with the flexibility and freedom to create designs within the deck itself that just aren’t possible with woods such as pressure treated pine. The design possibilities are endless and are reminiscent of meticulous wood inlays. Composite decking now has the natural look of real woods such as Ipe,cedar and redwood to name a few-and you will never have to stain it. Today’s composites are also sustainable, being constructed to varying degrees, with recycled materials by using polymer technology. So you not only get a solid, and carefree material, you also get the pride of knowing your deck is eco-friendly as well. TimberTech’s Earthwood Evolutions has a 25 year stain and fade warranty along with its superior scratch resistance. TimberTech’s XLM composite is designed to withstand heavy traffic and is super slip resistant and a solid choice among composite pool, spa decks and general decks. AZEK composite decking also boasts superior stain and scratch resistance as well as mold and mildew resistance. It is also long-lasting and durable and comes in many hues to suit even the most discriminating tastes. Fiberon decking has a 25 year stain and fade warranty as well as offering superior scratch, stain and mold resistance. It also comes in a myriad of true-to-life wood tones that you will have to see to believe. Homeowners make improvements to their homes for a myriad of reasons. Reasons include adding additional living space, remodeling to update a space or style, or upgrades to interior and exterior spaces just to name a few. Home improvements are classified as anything that makes a positive alteration to your home or your land. Today many homeowners are adding new decks and outdoor living structures to their list of improvements. When an appraiser comes to appraise your home before you put your house on the market, he takes a lot of information into consideration before coming up with that magic number. Appraisers look at land size, square footage, age of the home, the numbers of rooms, the type of home it is, the condition and the quality of the home, and the comparable value of all the other homes around you. Any type of home improvement that adds livable space of any kind, whether it is heated or unheated square feet, does increase your home’s value. Building a deck for example, can greatly increase your home’s value. Some research shows that up to 75% of the deck cost can be recouped if the home is sold within a year of adding the new deck. Even if you don’t have a lot conducive to adding a deck, a patio is also a solid choice for sellers looking to re-vamp their backyard in preparation to put their house on the market. Any structure that adds character to your home or land will add value. Any structure that makes you stand out above the competition will add value, and also help get your house shown more often, and thus, sold quicker. You have to think in terms of relativity to the competition around you. Adding an outdoor structure such as covered porch, a gazebos or a pergola can add enough character to make your home stand out from all the rest. Think in terms of the potential buyer’s standpoint, they are going over the houses they have been shown and have to choose from in their price range and they come across yours by memory in their conversation…" yes, that was a nice home, lots of open space, well maintained interior, right amount of bedrooms and it had that beautiful backyard with that lovely covered porch, nice". An addition such as this can often make such a positive impact on your home that the chips will become stacked in your favor. When Curtis & Ann Crays of Archadeck of Front Range, CO first talked to their eventual sunroom customer, the empty nesters had nothing but a swimming pool in their backyard and it was something they no longer needed. What the homeowners wanted was a room addition where the swimming pool used to be. They wanted a room on the back of their home. They also wanted some open outdoor area. So Curtis and Ann designed a 16×18 sunroom with two different decks totaling roughly 330 square feet of decking. Here is a picture of the backyard after filling in the pool and before building the sunroom. Before Curtis & Ann got the crew started, they designed a rendering of what the room would look like to share with the homeowners. This serves a couple of benefits. First, the homeowners really can see exactly what they will be getting so they can make any desired changes up front. Then, it leads to everyone’s expectations being fulfilled because the visualization of the project is not left to interpretation. It’s right there in black & white so to speak. Here is a picture of the design rendering. The decks included Timbertek Reliaboard decking with floating benches. They used Colorado custom window builders Accent Windows. The sunroom also included skylights by VELUX. You can also read their blog https://customdecksdenver.wordpress.com/ or visit them on Facebook.

2019-04-24T08:56:29Z

https://www.archadeck.com/blog/labels/composite-deck/

Can you identify these pictures of Knights that a cousin sent me? The pictures were not labeled. Any clues? 1. WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT was born 1325 in Worcester, England. , Knight, James A., III, Knyght after Knyght . The surname Knight is derived from the Saxon word cniht, which means servant. In ancient times, a king would bestow the title of honor o f Knight upon such servants as he chose to single out from the common class of gentlemen. Knights have become legendary figures in England for their warrior feats and daring adventures. Various orders of Knighthood exist in most European nations. The most notable in England are the Knights of St.George, commonly called Knights of the most noble order of the Garter. Knight was a common surname in some parts of England by the seventeenth century. A Sir John Knight was Mayor of Bristol in 1663.Several years later, another John Knight appeared a s vicar of Banbury. WILLIELMO KNYGHT, de Bradley paid eight shillings for the fifth part of knight's fee i n the Hundred of Oswldelow in 1346 according to the Lay Subsidies of Worcester. i. RICHARD2 KNIGHT, b. Nottingham, County Surrey, England. ii. JOHANNES KNIGHT, b. Nottingham, County Surrey, England. 2. iii. RALPH KNIGHT, b. 1350, Nottingham, County Surrey, England. 2. RALPH2 KNIGHT (WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born 1350 in Nottingham, County Surrey, England. i. JOHANNES3 KNIGHT, b. Nottingham, County Surrey, England; m. JOHANNA. 3. ii. WILLIAM KNIGHT, b. 1380, Effyngham, County Surrey, England. 3. WILLIAM3 KNIGHT (RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born 1380 in Effyngham, County Surrey, England. 4. i. WILLIAM4 KNIGHT, b. Abt. 1410, Worcester, England; d. 1498. 4. WILLIAM4 KNIGHT (WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born Abt. 1410 in Worcester, England, and died 1498. He married ELEANOR IWARDLY, daughter of JOHANNES IWARDLY. 5. i. JOHN5 KNIGHT, b. 1440, Lingfield, Co. Surrey, England. 5. JOHN5 KNIGHT (WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born 1440 in Lingfield, Co. Surrey, England. He married MARGARET WHARTON, daughter of GEORGE WHARTON. i. RICHARD6 KNIGHT, d. 1571. 6. ii. JOHN KNIGHT, b. 1490, Lingfield, Co. Surrey, England; d. 1581. 6. JOHN6 KNIGHT (JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born 1490 in Lingfield, Co. Surrey, England, and died 1581. He married ELIZABETH SMYTHES. 7. i. GEORGE7 KNIGHT, b. 1510, Lingfield, Co. Surrey, England; d. 1596. 7. GEORGE7 KNIGHT (JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born 1510 in Lingfield, Co. Surrey, England, and died 1596. He married ALICE BROWN, daughter of RICHARD BROWN. i. MATTHEW8 KNIGHT, m. AGNES. 8. ii. RICHARD KNIGHT, d. Eastrington, Co. Gloucester, England. iii. ROBERT KNIGHT, b. 1533; d. Wotton, Co. Surrey, England. iv. NICHOLAS KNIGHT, b. 1538, Gloucester County, England; m. ELYN BRADSHAW, February 09, 1559/60. 9. v. JOHN KNIGHT, b. 1540, Lingfield, County Surrey, England; d. October 26, 1611, Cowden, England. 8. RICHARD8 KNIGHT (GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) died in Eastrington, Co. Gloucester, England. 9. JOHN8 KNIGHT (GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born 1540 in Lingfield, County Surrey, England, and died October 26, 1611 in Cowden, England. He married (1) SILVESTER BERDE. He married (2) ISABEL SAXBIE May 04, 1567. i. ALEXANDER9 KNIGHT, d. Worcester, England. ii. PHILIP KNIGHT, d. Worcester, England. iii. MATTHEW KNIGHT, b. Worcester, England. iv. HENRY KNIGHT, d. 1639, Gloucester County, England; m. ALICE. v. FRANCIS KNIGHT, d. August 1616, Bristol England; m. ALDWORTH. 10. vi. JOHN KNIGHT, b. October 14, 1576, in Lingfield, Surrey, England. 10. JOHN9 KNIGHT (JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born October 14, 1576 in in Lingfield, Surrey, England. He married (1) ELIZABETH WILLIS. He married (2) ELIZABETH WILLIS 1590. 11. i. EDWARD10 KNIGHT, b. 1590, in Lingfield, Surrey, England. 12. vi. THOMAS KNIGHT, b. Gloucester County, England. 11. EDWARD10 KNIGHT (JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born 1590 in in Lingfield, Surrey, England. He married ALICE DIMERY May 19, 1611 in in Lingfield, Surrey, England. 13. v. GILES KNIGHT, b. Abt. 1653, Gloucestershire, England; d. in ByBerry Phila Co. Pa. 12. THOMAS10 KNIGHT (JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born in Gloucester County, England. He married ALICE OSBORNE October 20, 1617. i. THOMAS11 KNIGHT, m. ELIZABETH HURNE, May 06, 1649. 13. GILES11 KNIGHT (EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born Abt. 1653 in Gloucestershire, England, and died in in ByBerry Phila Co. Pa. He married (1) ELIZABETH WILLIAMS. He married (2) ELIZABETH PAYNE, daughter of GEORGE PAYNE. 14. i. ABEL12 KNIGHT, b. 1640, Gloucestershire, England; d. Bucks County, Pennsylvania. 14. ABEL12 KNIGHT (GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born 1640 in Gloucestershire, England, and died in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He married BROWN, daughter of JOHN BROWN and MARY FOSTER. John Knight and his sister Ann came to America with William Penn arrivingon the "Society" i n Aughst, 1682. Their brothers Abel and Giles came onthe "Welcome" which left England Augus t 30, 1682 and arrived at NewCastle on the Delaware the second week of November. Giles wasac companied on the voyage by his wife Mary English and son, Joseph Knight. Brothers Abel and John were not listed as supporters (of the friends ofByuberry). Perhaps i t was this religious rift which prompted Abel Knightto relocate to North Carolina. 15. i. JOHN13 KNIGHT, b. Abt. 1668. 15. JOHN13 KNIGHT (ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born Abt. 1668. Title: "History And Family Tree Of John Knight, R.S. And His Son, Jonathan,In South Georgia A nd Florida" By: W. Taylor Knight, 1108 Linda Drive,Valdosta, GeNote: History And Family Tre e Of John Knight, R.S. 16. i. JOHN14 KNIGHT , XIII, b. North Carolina; d. February 18, 1762, Sussex County, Virginia. iii. WILLIAM KNIGHT, b. 1690, Bertie County, North Carolina; d. December 03, 1751, Bertie County, North Carolina; m. MARTHA. 16. JOHN14 KNIGHT , XIII (JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born in North Carolina, and died February 18, 1762 in Sussex County, Virginia. He married ELIZABETH EPPS Abt. 1729 in in Albemarle Parish, Sussex Co, VA, daughter of DANIEL EPPS and MARY JORDAN. 17. vii. PETER KNIGHT III, b. January 08, 1738/39; d. May 09, 1809. 17. PETER15 KNIGHT III (JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born January 08, 1738/39, and died May 09, 1809. He married BELL ANN Abt. 1729 in in Albemarle Parish, Sussex Co, VA, daughter of ARTHUR BELL. 19. iv. WILLIS KNIGHT, d. July 22, 1845. 20. v. CHARLES KNIGHT, d. October 19, 1786. 22. ix. JESSE KNIGHT, b. Abt. 1780; d. December 16, 1815, Edgecombe County, S.C.. 18. JOHN16 KNIGHT (PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT). He married ELIZABETH. 19. WILLIS16 KNIGHT (PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) died July 22, 1845. He married POLLY. 20. CHARLES16 KNIGHT (PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) died October 19, 1786. He married MARY MALLORY. i. TEMPERENCE17 KNIGHT, b. September 27, 1773; m. JAMES DANIEL. 21. MARY16 KNIGHT (PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT). She married LAWRENCE. 22. JESSE16 KNIGHT (PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born Abt. 1780, and died December 16, 1815 in Edgecombe County, S.C.. He married COBB MARY Abt. 1800. i. ARTHUR17 KNIGHT, d. February 07, 1834. 24. xii. EDWIN KNIGHT, b. December 10, 1805, Edgecombe County, S.C.; d. January 29, 1852, Monterey, Bullar (Butler) Co., Mount Moriah Cemetery, Alabama. 23. JOSHUA17 LAWRENCE (MARY16 KNIGHT, PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT). 24. EDWIN17 KNIGHT (JESSE16, PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born December 10, 1805 in Edgecombe County, S.C., and died January 29, 1852 in Monterey, Bullar (Butler) Co., Mount Moriah Cemetery, Alabama. He married MARTHA WATSON, daughter of SCOTT. 27. ix. LEWIS JACKSON KNIGHT, b. August 19, 1829, Monterey, Butler Co., Alabama; d. August 11, 1863, Monterey, Mount Moriah Cemetery, Butler County, Alabama. 25. JENE18 KNIGHT (EDWIN17, JESSE16, PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT). He married BETTY SCOTT. 26. COMER18 KNIGHT (EDWIN17, JESSE16, PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT). He married LAURA POSEY. 27. LEWIS JACKSON18 KNIGHT (EDWIN17, JESSE16, PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born August 19, 1829 in Monterey, Butler Co., Alabama, and died August 11, 1863 in Monterey, Mount Moriah Cemetery, Butler County, Alabama. He married CATHERINE PALMER, daughter of STEPHEN PALMER and JULIET HARTWELL. Among the other families most conspicuous in Monterey's earliest history,are the families o f Billy Powell, who was the father of J. L. Powell, now of Greenville, William Traweek and Jesse Knight. There was a considerable amount of whisky sold at this place before thewar, and the village b ore the reputation of being one of the rowdiest places in the whole section of the country. Th is was caused from the fact that a great many of the young men, then living in the vicinity of Monterey, would come over and get under the influence of whisky, and inthis state, they often had difficulties with persons in whose company they happened to be. In those days, it was n o uncommon thing for a man to be cut all to pieces in a fight at Monterey. However, there wer e not many lives lost compared to the number of fights. Horse-racing, cockfighting, and amusements of a similar nature, were frequently indulged in, and many hundreds were spent in gambling and betting. Allthis was done in the "flush times of Alabama," before the country wasdrain ed of its money by the war between the States. The fight between Joe Yeldell and Dr. James Longmire threw a damper onrowdyism at Monterey, w hich lasted for some time. Joe Yeldell was killedby Dr. Longmire, and the latter was cleare d in the courts for the deed. The murder of Richard Hartsfield, by two slaves in 1862, created moreexcitement among the peo ple of the surrounding country than anything thatever happened at Monterey, before or since. The following are the facts of the case: Richard Hartsfield was amechanic, and ranked high a mong the people who knew him as a man of honorand integrity, and was a first-class contractor . He was born in theState of Georgi, April 28, 1830, and was killed on the morning ofFebruar y 10, 1862. He purchased two slaves, Simon and Lewis, from thePeaster Estate. These slave s soon began to hate their master, andaccordingly began to make plots to kill him. Their pla ns were executedon a bright, frosty morning in February, 1862. Their master gave ordersto ha ve some hogs killed, which had been fattened in some hogs killed,which had been fattened i n a pen near a spring, about two hundred yardsfrom the residence. Mr. Hartsfield came down t o the spring to shoot thehogs for the Negroes, but found that the water was not not enough to scald, and he began to stir up the fire around the cattle. WhileHartsfield was stooping down , punching the fire, Lewis struck him with anax, crushing his skull. Simon struck him wit h a fence rail, andterminated his life immediately. ONe of the negrods then ran to thehouse , asked their mistress for their master's horse, telling her thatthe hogs had broken out of t he pen and the horse was needed to get himback. The horse was saddled and brought to the spr ing. It was theintention of Simon and Lewis to put their dead master on the wild horse,fix o ne of his feet tightly in one stirrup, and turn the horse loose, andsay that he was thrown an d killed. The animal was a fine, ambitious bay,and had only been managed by his master, an d emphatically resisted allattempts to place the dead man upon him. The heartless murderers, failing in this part of their plot, smeared a small stump with blood, anddragged their maste r from it some distance, and left him lying dead.They then turned loose the enraged horse, wh ich ram many miles, snortingand looking back as if pursued, and seemingly greatly frightened . Theyimmediately informed their mistress of the deatn of their master, tellingher that he w as thrown from his horse, and his foot was caught in onestirrup, and was dragged some distanc e before it was released. Thefrightened horse, with gloody saddle, stopping and snorting a t everyhouse on the road, and instantly galloping on, showed the people thatsomething terribl e had happened, and every man thus informed immediatelyrepaired to the bloody scene. When th e neighbors saw blood on Simon'sshirt; that the hogs were never killed; that there ws blood o n the sddle;they immediately saw through the whole plot, and had the murderers arrested. Aft r the burial of Mr. Hartsfield, at which every person fourteen miles around was present, T.M.B . Traweek, Justice of the Peace, called a preliminary trial of the case, and, from the evidences brought forth, found the negroes guilty, and ordered them to be carried to jail, at Greenvill e, the next morning. Lewis Knight, a prominent in the neighborhood, made a touching speech to the excited assembly, and ended by saying, that "all those in favor of burning these bloodthirsty devils, will step on the opposite side of the road." Every man immediately stepped on the other side of the road, except the Justice of the Peace and the four men who had been appointed to carry the prisoners to jail. Those in favor of burning the murders then resolved themselves into a mob and adjourned, to meet next morning at the post-office before sunrise. Next morning long before the appointed time of meeting, the little village was astir with excitement, and the streets were thronged with the enraged mob, bent on the destruction of the helpless prisoners. After some delays, the mob marched up the Greenville road, about three-quarters of a mile from the post-office and stopped on a small hill. Here they waited several hours for the victims of their wrath to pass on their way to Greenville. Finally they came. They were take n from their guard, and locked with chains to two pines, standing close together. Pine knots were collected from every direction and piled round the trees. The mob had, but this time, increased to over one thousand persons. Everything being ready, the torch was applied, and the angry flames soon licked the tops of the trees. It is said that a fire never burned more energetically, and flames never leaped more triumphantly, than in the burning of these two murderers . Shortly before the burning, Simon confessed the deed, and related the details of the murder , but Lewis never did confess it. 34. i. NAPOLEON O.19 KNIGHT, b. May 14, 1856, Monterey, Alabama; d. September 02, 1941, Furman, Alabama Wilcox County. ii. TULU KNIGHT, m. WILL LUCAS. iii. ESTELLE KNIGHT, b. September 16, 1854. 35. v. CONRAD W. KNIGHT, b. October 25, 1860; d. September 13, 1891. 28. JOHN19 KNIGHT (JENE18, EDWIN17, JESSE16, PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT). He married (1) EMMA WATSON. He married (2) EMMA WATSON, daughter of WILLIAM WATSON and ELIZABETH MCWHORTER. i. JESSIE20 KNIGHT, m. FRANK ATKINS. 29. LON19 KNIGHT (JENE18, EDWIN17, JESSE16, PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT). He married MOLLIE WRIGHT. 30. MATTIE19 KNIGHT (JENE18, EDWIN17, JESSE16, PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT). She married RICHARD STANFORD. 31. AGGIE19 KNIGHT (JENE18, EDWIN17, JESSE16, PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT). She married TOM GRIMES. 32. EANIE19 KNIGHT (JENE18, EDWIN17, JESSE16, PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT). She married JIM COGGINS. 33. JULIA19 KNIGHT (COMER18, EDWIN17, JESSE16, PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT). She married T. WATTS. 34. NAPOLEON O.19 KNIGHT (LEWIS JACKSON18, EDWIN17, JESSE16, PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born May 14, 1856 in Monterey, Alabama, and died September 02, 1941 in Furman, Alabama Wilcox County. He married MARGARET LUCY WATSON October 1879 in Furman, Alabama Wilcox County, daughter of WILLIAM WATSON and ELIZABETH MCWHORTER. Family says grandson Thomas is living duplicate of grandpa "Leon" Thomas is about 5 feet 5 or 6 inches, slender build, completely white hair, blue eyes, soft spoken and quiet personality with an obvious peaceful expression. i. ELIZABETH JANE20 KNIGHT, b. August 27, 1883, Furman, Wilcox County, Alabama; d. 1968, Furman, Wilcox County, Alabama, buried in Palmer Cemetery; m. ELKANAH GEORGE BURSON , DR., February 20, 1914, Selma, Alabama. "I told Ellie ya'll were coming," she said as in turn she greeted each of us with a hug. Her ice blue eyes warmed with the smile which welcomed us. The long black dress and lace up shoes lent a quiet dignity to the tall lady that was my father's mother standing at the top of a steep hill of stairs. The cameo which held her lace fichu in place scratched me when I reached up to hug my grandmother. I felt strangely guilty that somehow the affection that I expended on this grandmother robbed my other grandmother. My other grandmother, widowed, living on a pension and money from my mother while this grandmother lived in a grand house with Austrian chandeliers and rooms so filled with valuables that the doors were shut to protect them from small children. I did not realize how hard won those treasures had been. Mother smiled and winked. She'd predicted those words as we drove down the rutted road and through the gate above which hung a sign grandly pronouncing "Wakefield." "How much longer?" my sister and I had asked every five minutes since we'd left the bus stop in Greenville and our breakfast of greasy hamburgers and french fries. We'd fought for the crack in the window for a breath of fresh air and relief from the speeding cloud of smoke in which we rode. The white picket fence that curved along the front lawn of the Hawthorne House in Pine Apple alerted us that shortly down that winding road upon our left we'd spot the white plantation house up on the hill just beyond the next curve. The next curve? How about that next curve? Gravel splattered as my father spun into the driveway in that year's model Cadillac. And sure enough as Mother said, there stood Nanny waiting on the back porch at the top of the high brick stairs. The double doors opened and Papa emerged with Eliece close behind. "Somehow your mother knew you were coming," he said, stiffly embracing Daddy. Daddy had to lean down to hug his father and have the wet kiss that planted upon his cheek that we all received in turn. Doctors both,t hey wore the uniform of a professional, a suit and tie. It was only when leukemia weakened hi m and I saw him last in University Hospital in Birmingham dying of leukemia, that I ever saw m y grandfather in anything but sartorial splendor. Following his example, my father even washed cars in his suit. Elliece, my father's older sister, welcomed us as well, though the smile on her lips never reached her eyes and you could almost see the sparks when she greeted my mother with the proper words. Mother responded in kind. Following behind, like a loyal hunting dog, came her second husband, pipe in hand, gravelly voice urging, "Come on in, the gas is on and the cold air is coming in." We all trooped down the echoing hall of ebony stained wood, past the eleven foot hall mirror and antique vases into my grandmother's bedroom sitting room. There I climbed the stairs to the tester bed with the bold burgandy sunburst canopy, crawled over the Sunday funnies, and collapsed with the headache that long ride with mother and daddy smoking always produced. Sylvia, my sister , joined me. A cluster of rocking chairs were gathered at the foot of the bed in front of the fireplace an d TV set. Nanny's chair had gold velvet cushions. To Nanny's displeasure, everyone smoked, but the ceiilings were so high and the air so cold, that the air in that room remained refreshing. Listening to the adults talk land, timber and cows, and watching the columns of smoke parry and thrust as it rose to the ceiling, I dozed off and the headache eased. Soon the women headed to the kitchen where Nanny supervised Dorothy and the preparation for the feast in the formal dining room. Someone set the huge mahogany table with white gold rimmed china, silver (two forks, soup and tea spoons) in addition to a knife and place spoon), line n napkins and fragile etched crystal (tea and water glasses). The brocade curtains and huge oaks blocked the sunlight and the room was always dark. Dinner always began with Nanny's soup made from chicken stock with noodles and tomatoes and progressed to stuffed chicken and roast , cranberry sauce, thick gravy, dumplings turnips that Nanny had picked from her garden early t hat morning, buttermilk corn bread, and tea sweet as syrup. By the time the cake came from the breakfast room to top it off there was little room left, but no one let that stop them. On warm days we'd head out to the wide verandah on the first floor beneath the verandah on the second floor. Green painted lattice framed the two. Sitting in the wooden rockers, we'd drink cold Coca Cola out of little bottles they'd stocked up on at their weekly trip to Selma last Friday. Over the years as scarce money had come, depression years, a time when doctors had been paid frequently in produce, he'd invested it in land. Nanny picked pecans for extra money and carried water from a stream behind the house. Finally Miss Laura Gulley agreed to sell in return for being taken care of in her old age. The demise of the ancient lady occurred after my father went off to college. Then Papa and Nanny went to New Orleans and Savannah and from the anti que shops selected a rare collection of furnishings that only later came to be appreciated. This must have been a busy time of life for my grandmother. My father got homesick at the University and almost before my grandmother could get home, he'd show up on the doorstep. Finally she went to stay with him and give him time to acclimate to college life. But, when she cam e home, he followed. He got a job driving a truck. It only took one hot Saturday unloading tin to make him decide college was for him. The one room school house prepared him well and he did not have to take any remedial courses . Only German gave him trouble. When my father asked the German professor for a reference t o medical school, he was wise enough to read the document before sending it on. "Mr. Burson is by no means an excellent student," he read. That reference was disposed of quickly. The University of Alabama Medical School rejected him, but he was accepted at Tulane and finished school there. Elliece attended the University of Alabama only long enough to go through rush and elope wit h the F. Scott Fitzgerald of Wilcox County, Claude Williams, a traveling salesman. This tumultuous relationship produced many weekend parties, drunken sprees and fearful nights hiding from a husband waving a gun, one son and ended in divorce. During this time Nanny nearly raised Sonny, Elliece's son. My sister, brother and I were children of later life. My father had finished medical school and served the Army in the Pacific before he met my mother at Walter Reed Medical Hospital in Augusta, Georgia, where that green-eyed Army nurse from Brewton, Alabama captivated the Wilcox County country boy known by his fraternity brothers at Sigma Chi as "Dude." Nanny was old before I knew her. Elliece was her father's pet, spoiled and arrogant with tall , elegant good looks. She considered herself a Burson, a cut above the Knights from which he r mother came. Ironically,in tracing the geneaology through which Elliece entered the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Daughters of the Revolution, and Colonial Dames, I discovered t hat it is through Nanny's line that we are descended from William the Conqueror and Charlemagne, and are eligible for Magna Carta Dames, knowledge of which would have made my aunt insufferable. Elliece could dissect my grandmother with a word. The tension was palpable on those visits. The competition between Elliece and her siblings was ever apparent. Elliece's grandchildren were our age and she was jealous of any gift or attention Nanny and Papa gave us. I sometimes think that is why she was there for those meals, not to help, but to stand between any bond that might develop. Because of Elliece's behavior my Aunt Elizabeth could not go to the University of Alabama, but had to attend Montevallo, where she was one of their beauties. My grandfather would not let her study medicine, but insisted she become a teacher. She took a business curriculum, but became a secretary, her form of rebellion. A short marriage to Dudley Hart ended in divorce . She stayed away from these family get-to-gethers as much as possible. The strain was not worth the trip. By two o'clock on Sunday afternoon, the long ride back to Dothan before dark brought us to our feet and the goodbyes overflowed onto the driveway as we packed into the car. After kisses all around and all the proper words, we headed back through the gate and down the road. Nanny stood there on that porch right where we'd first glimpsed her. Now looking back I realize she clung to the last sight of her only son, reluctant to return to the critical analysis that would ensue at the foot of that tester bed. In those moments she probably relived the time when that son had clung to her and was reluctant to leave home; a time when she'd had to break that unnatural dependency so that son could be a man. The bond was never really broken. When she died I watched my father sob. Thinking back now about the two houses facing each other one wonders whether the move across the street was truly progress. "Tis something akin to the immortals that makes us long not to be altogether unworthy of the fame of our ancestors." The story of our family in the twentieth century must begin with Wakefield. For years my grandfather, a country doctor in rural Wilcox County, Alabama, would get up and go out on the front porch of his house to look up the hill at the Steamboat Gothic plantation house across the street. The "Laura Gulley" place, otherwise known as Wakefield, had been moved piece by piece into "town" from the plantation several miles away down the Farmersville Road. The move across the street and his subsequent ownership of the plantation became a symbol of a change in status for the family that came to America as Quakers a part of the William Penn exodus from England. The ancestors of Elizabeth Knight whom Dr. Elkanah George Burson eventually married were also a part of that movement and came in the first wave of immigration to settle also in Pennsylvania and make their way South, as did the Burson family. Elkanah George Burson (1882-1970) studied medicine at Alabama College in Mobile and interned in New York at Bellevue Hospital, the College of Physicians and Surgeons. He practiced medicine in Furman until his death in April 1970. He was a handsome man who dressed dapperly until the day he died. His son, also a doctor who moved to Houston County after World War II, remembered the many nights someone would come knocking on the door needing a doctor to come make a call on a sick patient. He'd saddle up the horse, put on the Mackintosh to protect him from the rain, and ride out into the night. Cars like the one he drove in the picture couldn't make it down the rain slicked dirt roads. Favorite stories were of the patient who invited father and son to stay for supper. When the y noted that everything was being cooked in the same pot, the patient commented: "Well, it' s all going to the same place, aint it?" Another patient bought a new car and was forever out tooling about, riding hither and yon. Upon comment, the man replied: ""Doc, them wheel's i s made round for rollin'." He worked hard as a doctor and saved. His children remembered eating biscuits with only molasses for lunch at the one room school house they attended. E. G. Burson, Jr. vowed he'd be able to afford white bread one day so he could have a sandwich like the other kids. At the time of Dr. Elkanah George Burson, Sr.'s death he owned 8000 acres of land and a plantation house with an enviable collection of antiques he acquired in St. Louis, Savannah, Montgomery, and New Orleans. As the doctor for the railroad, he traveled for free and made friends with dealers in all of those areas after purchasing the Laura Gulley house across the street from the home he raised his children in (about 1939). He and his wife enjoyed traveling and collecting during those years. Elizabeth Knight Burson favored cut glass so she owned an exquisite collection at the time of her death. ii. DEWEY KNIGHT, m. BERNICE. iv. LANA ESTELLE KNIGHT, b. December 07, 1880; m. WILL ROMELL. v. LEON KNIGHT, b. December 16, 1881; m. LILY. vi. LAURA GULLEY KNIGHT, b. October 18, 1884. vii. WILLIE CURREY KNIGHT, b. October 18, 1884. viii. PATTI LEE KNIGHT, b. September 04, 1887. ix. CONRAD WALNE KNIGHT, b. November 18, 1888. 35. CONRAD W.19 KNIGHT (LEWIS JACKSON18, EDWIN17, JESSE16, PETER15, JOHN14, JOHN13, ABEL12, GILES11, EDWARD10, JOHN9, JOHN8, GEORGE7, JOHN6, JOHN5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, RALPH2, WILLIELMO1 KNYGHT) was born October 25, 1860, and died September 13, 1891.

2019-04-20T23:08:11Z

http://southern-style.com/Knight.htm

The right camera at the right moment can instantly capture your most precious and thrilling moments and preserve them for eternity in digital format. To be able to enjoy this pleasure for years to come, it is wise to protect your camera with a sturdy case, which will also make it easy to carry your camera with you so you have it when it’s needed. We have found five of the best camera bag brands with excellent bags and backpacks, and we are ready to present them to you. If you do not find one that meets your needs from our selection, the brands we featured offer other models, and you are welcome to browse through them to find a product that suits you better. Let’s go get you a camera bag. Neewer makes a wide variety of camera bags, photography accessories, and smartphone holders. Many of its products are currently bestsellers. Available in 4 styles. Spacious and accommodating. Can hold 17 inch laptop or a large tablet as well as notebooks and pens. Only one color option – black. S-Zone makes high-quality camera bags, laptop bags, duffle bags, women's bags and other types of bags at reasonable prices. Available in 2 color and size options. Attractive, vintage-like design. Waterproof and durable. Front pocket for smartphone and wallet. Not extremely spacious, cannot accommodate a lot of camera accessories, but S-Zone makes larger bags if that's what you're interested in. Lowepro specializes in camera bags and accessories for them. It currently makes some of the bestselling camera bags and backpacks on the market. Spacious and accommodating. Can hold 15 inch laptop and Mavic Pro drones. Holds 1-2 DSLR cameras, accessories, even tripods. A bit on the pricey side, but it comes with multiple compartments and features, so the price is justified in our opinion. Pelican specializes in strong cases and bags for your sensitive or dangerous personal belongings, including cameras, laptops and even handguns. Seriously tough, cannot be damaged easily. Successfully protects expensive gear. Internal foam absorb vibrations. Waterproof. A bit showy, but some people like that. AmazonBasics makes high-quality products people use on a daily basis such as camera bags, small electronics, batteries and laptop backpacks. Available in 2 size options. Padded compartments. Can hold tablet or e-reader too. Comfortable and lightweight. Not extremely spacious, but AmazonBasics makes other camera bags which are much larger if that's a priority for you. How Do I Choose the Best Camera Bag? You’ve just gotten a lovely DSLR camera that you intend to make the most of. Every waking moment, you are to be seen looking for something to shoot. No scene is too unnecessary to be captured by those lenses. This means you take it everywhere with you. Now, imagine that you are rushing to catch a cab or racing to catch the elevator before the doors shut, and your most cherished camera drops from your hands and falls to the hard floor. How will you feel, hearing that jarring sound of the lenses shattering? You do not have to tell us, because we know exactly how you will feel – devastated. It’s not enough to get a camera. To keep your camera safe, you must get some form of bag, be it a camera holster, a camera sling bag or any other type of bag that will help you carry the camera around easily while also protecting it. If you're into fashionable accessories, the Vivitar Camera Backpack Bag and the DSLR Camera and Mirrorless Backpack Bag from Altura are both eye-catching and spacious. If you want a smaller bag with an attractive form factor, check out the Case Logic Compact Camera Case. There are plenty of options out there for everyone! In this guide, we will show you how to find a camera bag that will serve you well. Regardless of your needs or the type of gadgets you own, we will help you find the best camera bag for you. Stay with us as we help you protect your investment. In no time, you will find exactly what you need to carry your camera around securely. Buying a camera bag is something every camera owner has to deal with. What you will spend will, however, depend on the type of camera and equipment you own. Generally speaking, the material, type, capacity and other features of the bag will determine what it will cost. From our findings, most entry-level camera bags which can accommodate a DSLR and a few lenses can cost less than $30 on average. More sophisticated camera bags can cost between $30 and $150 while large backpacks full of compartments can go over $150 and up to $250 in some cases. Whatever your need, you are likely to find something suitable. Whilst you can look for more expensive camera bags that offer more options, be sure to avoid cheap camera bags, as they may not serve your camera well because of their low quality. Let’s discuss this in some detail. Camera bags are not all the same, just as cameras are not all the same – they have different needs. It is important that you choose a camera bag that suits your exact needs. There are different types of camera bags, including compact bags, shoulder bags, backpack bags, hard bags and cases, waist pack bags, mini cases, DSLR bags and more. Compact: These different types of camera bags are suitable for different needs and situations. A person who needs a bag that will hold just a camera and a lens without any other accessories should consider getting the compact camera bag or the DSLR camera bag. Either of these two is sufficient to hold your camera with its lens and, at most, one more lens. Shoulder: The shoulder camera bag is a bigger bag that can take your camera and other accessories. This camera bag is great for freeing up your hands so you can focus on shooting your pictures. It is carried on the shoulder by means of a shoulder strap, which is usually adjustable. It is also usually tough enough to protect the camera and its accessories from damage resulting from bumping against a hard object. Backpack: As the name suggests, a backpack camera bag is like your regular backpack and is ideal for holding your camera and a number of other accessories. This will easily hold more than one camera and all the accessories you need. This is great for when you need to travel with your full gear. Everything you need will fit into a good backpack camera bag. They are also heavy duty and very protective. Hard Cases: Hard cases are heavy-duty cases for holding a large amount of camera equipment safely. These can be safely shipped, making it ideal for when you need to travel for major events. The hard case ensures everything inside is protected from damage, while the dividers inside ensure everything is securely arranged and won’t move around inside the bag. Waist: Waist pack bags are ideal for hikes and other situations where you may need to whip out your camera for a quick shot. As you would expect, you cannot hold much else in this bag except your camera and lens. These are some major types of camera bags to consider. After deciding on the type of camera bag you want, you will also want to look at the material it is made of. A camera bag can be made of many materials, ranging from polyester and nylon, to canvas and leather. Each material will have its advantages. If you need a bag that will be water resistant, you should of course rule out fabric, unless it is lined with a water-resistant material. For the highest quality, you will want to look at bags made of leather. No doubt, the material a camera bag is made of will affect its durability, among other things. At the risk of stating the obvious, we will mention the issue of the capacity of the bag you need. A lot of photographers today work a lot with their laptops. While you will be able to save your shots on a memory card so you can transfer them to your workstation later, you may find yourself in a situation where you need to travel with your camera, accessories and laptop. Determine what you will need at any given time and look for a bag that can meet those demands. Professional photographers will need different types of bags for different situations. A hobbyist may, however, just have one that serves their major needs. Aside from the capacity of the bag, there’s also the issue of the compartments available in the bag. It’s not enough that there is enough space; considering that many of the camera accessories are delicate, it is important that they are stored securely inside the bag. Compartments for lenses, cards, batteries, etc. will go a long way in ensuring these items are kept securely. Consider what you will need to carry and get a bag that will securely store it. It is important that the camera and accessories inside the bag are well protected. As we mentioned above, the material used will affect this. Another thing that will affect it is the padding. A well-padded bag will provide a cushion that will absorb any impact that would have a damaging effect on your gear. Any camera bag that is not well padded cannot do the job of protecting the camera and its accessories well. Padding is an important feature to note. In addition to protection, securing your precious gear is very important. You do not want a bag that anyone can easily reach into and pick something out. Zippers and other forms of closures can increase the security a bag offers. The higher the security, the safer the equipment inside the bag will be. There are a few factors that will make a camera bag comfortable to use. One of the major ones is how it is carried. You should not focus so entirely on the protection and security of the gear that you forget that you will need to carry it. If the bag has a strap, an adjustable strap is usually preferred, as it offers the user the ability to adjust the length to a comfortable position. The material and padding available on the strap will also determine if the strap will dig into your shoulders, making it a painful task to carry the bag. Depending on the type of bag, it may have wheels that allow you to roll the bag along the street. This is usually common among the heavy-duty bags that pack a lot of gear. This is great since you would not enjoy lugging such a heavy bag around. Carefully look at all the points mentioned above before choosing a camera bag, and you will be sure to find one that will serve you well. What is the Best Camera Bag? Camera bags are quite varied, and in this review, we offered you a selection of different types. You should select a bag according to the size of your digital camera, your budget and your personal preference. We’ve done our research and found five of the best camera bag brands that specialize in high-quality carrying cases. Let’s take a look at a product from each one to see what they have to offer in terms of features and design. Look out for any that appeals to you. The Neewer Convertible Rolling Camera Backpack is available in multiple styles and it is made from high-quality nylon. It can accommodate both your DSLR camera and your laptop as well. If your budget is less flexible, check out the Neewer Professional Sling Camera Storage Bag which comes at a smaller price and has multiple compartments for your camera accessories. Neewer specializes in camera accessories and photography gear. Most people love the camera bags made by this brand, but Neewer also crafts high quality lighting kits for professional photographers, microphone holders, complete photography sets and smartphone holders. If you're serious about your photography hobby, make sure you check out the products from this brand today. For example, the Neewer Convertible Rolling Camera Backpack is available in several style options and it is ideal for your SLR or DSLR camera. It comes with wheels, it has up to 11 padded compartments for your lenses and other camera accessories and it can accommodate even your laptop or tablet. This is currently one of the most spacious and large camera bag money can buy today and it still has plenty of space for a couple of notebooks and pens. One of the biggest advantages of this bag is that it comes with wheels and a telescopic handle, so if you don’t want to carry it on your back, you just extend the handle and drag it after you wherever you go. It is made from high-quality nylon, it has side handles as well and it is completely waterproof, so your expensive gear will be protected in the case rain catches you outdoors. Want a smaller camera bag? Check out the other products from Neewer today! The S-ZONE Vintage Waterproof Camera Bag is available in several color options and it is a beautiful and fashionable camera bag for photographers to use. If you would like a similar bag but featuring more interior compartment for your accessories, check out the S-ZONE Canvas DSLR SLR Camera Shoulder Bag which can hold more personal belongings. S-ZONE is all about bags for your daily personal belongings such as cameras, laptops, books and notebooks, etc. This company uses some of the most eye-catching and durable materials out there to create laptop bags, shoulder bags, duffle bags, bags specially designed for women, even diaper bags. Its products are chic, durable and can carry a lot of personal belongings, so you definitely have to take a look at them. Let's start with the S-ZONE Vintage Waterproof Leather bag which is available in 2 color options such as brown and dark grey as well as 2 size options. This bag features a flap which covers the contents and can be secured with two metallic buckles. It also has a front pocket which can easily hold your smartphone, wallet, and other personal accessories. The bag is designed to accommodate a large DSLR camera as well as several accessories and even a small digital camera. The interior compartments are padded and designed to protect your beloved photography gear, not to mention that this product is waterproof and made from PU leather and high-quality canvas. When it comes to design, this wonderful camera bag looks absolutely stunning and it will definitely make you feel better when walk with it around town. If you require a larger bag, check out the other camera bags from S-Zone and see what you like the most! The Lowepro ProTactic 450 AW Camera Backpack is ideal for professional photographers who need their gear with them wherever they go. This bag can easily hold 1-2 DSLR cameras as well as their accessories. If you are looking for a smaller bag, check out the Toploader Zoom 55 Camera Case From Lowepro which can hold one DSLR device and a few accessories. If you're a serious photographer and you're looking for a brand new backpack for your expensive gear, look no further than Lowepro's products. This company makes some of the most sophisticated and spacious camera bags and backpacks out there. Whether you want to transport a few DSLRs in one bag or a whole set of lenses and accessories, the products made by Lowepro can do the job safely and easily. To prove our point, let's take a look at the Lowepro ProTactic 450 AW Camera Backpack which is capable of holding 1-2 large DSLR cameras as well as multiple lenses and additional accessories. The beauty of this backpack is that it contains a modular system of compartments, so you can set them in any way you want to accommodate your personal needs. On top of that, this backpack still has plenty of space left for a large laptop, a tablet and their accessories. Add in the fact that it can also carry a water bottle and you're probably going to feel like a snail carrying your entire house with you on your back! If you're into drones, the manufacturer mentions that this backpack can also hold a DJI Mavic Pro drone, so no matter what you want to carry, there is enough space in this backpack for it. When unpacking stuff from this backpack, some customers managed to take out a fluffy rabbit by its ears, but we believe this is just a rumor. Kidding aside, this product comes with adjustable shoulder straps and it is made from a high-quality material designed to protect your beloved photography gear. If you'd like to explore more buying options, check out the other products from Lowepro and decide afterward! The Pelican 1200 Case With Foam is a strong camera bag as well as a serious statement. It is designed to protect your camera at all costs as well as advertising that you're not joking about your photography gear! If you want a larger camera bag which is also waterproof and crushproof, check out the Pelican U160 Elite Camera Backpack today. Pelican takes the idea of creating protective cases and bags for your gadgets to a whole new level. It makes some of the sturdiest and most protective cases, backpacks, and bags on the market and they are designed for serious people who want to keep their expensive gear safe, waterproof, and even intimidate potential thieves and robbers. If you want a bigger bag, check out the other camera cases from Pelican and see what else this brand is capable of. The AmazonBasics Large DSLR Gadget Bag is available in 2 color options for the interior as well as 2 sizes. It comes at a reasonable price and it can safely accommodate and protect your DSLR camera. If you want a similarly priced case for your DSLR, go for the AmazonBasics Backpack for SLR\/DSLR Cameras which is also very spacious and comfortable to carry. AmazonBasics is a special brand created by one of the largest online retail store – Amazon. It focuses on "basic" products people use every day such as bags, backpacks, small electronics and accessories for them. One of the greatest advantages of AmazonBasics products is the simple fact that they are available at affordable prices. For example, the AmazonBasics Large DSLR Gadget Bag is available in two color options for the interior (orange and gray) and it is available in two sizes such as medium and large. It can hold one DSLR camera and up to 3 lenses while still having plenty of space left for a couple of small notebooks, your smartphone, your e reader and several other small accessories. This bag is made from high quality materials, it can protect your camera against bumps and scratches and it features a strong and durable padded handle. It is ideal for people who are looking for a simple tool to protect their photography gear. If you require a larger camera bag, AmazonBasics has many others you can choose from, so go for it! Get the Best Camera Bag of 2019! It’s great to know you stayed with us through this guide and review. We do hope you found the information here helpful. If you have found a camera bag that is just right for you, it’s time to take that next step by placing your order. Get one of the best camera bags out there and you will have more peace of mind while traveling around town with your photography gear.

2019-04-21T02:35:00Z

https://topproducts.com/reviews/best-camera-bag.htm

Are you searching for answers on The Truth Why Women Like to Date Rich Men? This article will not only tell you why girls/ladies dating rich men, but it give you tips on how you follow the system. Here are major reasons Why Women Like to dating wealthy men. Women are enticed to men with money and power for two main reasons. First, females are hardwired to look for wealthy men who can be great bill payer, and if necessary good protectors. Second, because they believe that rich and powerful dudes can give them a lifetime of enjoyment and exploit. Most women don't go for boys based on their appearances. But rather with those who are luckily furnished with generous possessions. Though it's not pretty the ideal picture if the pursuit is for true love and companionship, it's still the dream of a lot of ladies out there to date wealthy men. Perhaps, these women imagine a perfect man to be not only physically nice-looking, clever, and well-mannered, but also with the competent enough to provide more than the basic necessities. Getting a tour for two to London or a one week stay at a marvelous resort can certainly make love grow. And sure enough, these great wishes are not likely to happen without the availability of dough. We've all seen these fat old men with the finest 19-year-old models. Every time we see this as guys we are commonly completely dumbfounded and the idea of being rich just to get babes is something that every guy dreams about. It’s absolutely true that rich and celebrated men get the girls - irrespective of their appearances. For the most part, the fascination ladies feel for men is natural. Since women are wired in a different way, the idea of a man being able to be responsible for her needs and to look after her boils down to money. Women want men that they believe can afford their need and rich men can do that. Not only can wealthy men provide, but they can offer security which is indeed essential for women. Again, since women tend to filter the whole kit and caboodle through the lens of whether a man will make a good father for her children, once again the rich guy wins because he will possibly be a good role model. A recent study has proven that Women are more probable to find men smart if they think they are rich. The study put forward that women are four times as sensitive to salary when choosing a male lover as men are when deciding on a female partner. It has long been held that females should be more thoughtful to how much money a man earns because of the necessity for resources that can be spent in their children. Now here are a few tips on how you can cheat the system. While every one of us won't make a 7 digit figure by the end of the year just to land a hot babe, there is a much-cherished lesson to take from a wealthy man attitude. The idea that actually makes women feel enticed to rich guys is something that you can play on without being rich. This is it. One ignored aspect of rich men is the fact that they have a huge amount of self-confidence. More than anything, this is what women actually find attractive. Wealthy men feel like they can make anything happen and often think that they own the world. You've perhaps seen normal guys with the same attitude - and these are usually the boys that get the girls. Develop this attitude of great confidence. Make women have confidence in you. Make they believe that you own the world - even if you don't. Show confidence in everything you do and you will see how women will always respond to you. Being emotionally stable will tell that you are quiet and composed and that you are not easily affected by external situations. You are not fast to anger and that you are able to hold your bearings in raging or stressful conditions. This attribute is so imperative to women that they will often test you, just to see if she can affect you emotionally. This is because women subconsciously search for men who can be the chief and leader of her home and can deal peacefully and decisively in any conditions that can affect the family. Women have always had the upper hand when it comes to choosing a partner as they have such ample resources at their disposal that they can use to attract any kind of man they want (if you know what we mean, *wink*). Historically, women have always preferred to have a rich man as their life partner rather than one with moderate or few means of livelihood. After all, who doesn’t want a comfortable, luxurious life? Moreover, from an evolutionary point of view too, it works well for a woman to have a rich man as a life partner to ensure that her kids will be well taken care of. But how does one catch the attention of a powerful rich man? Where does one even find such a man? And how can you ensure that he is not just attracted to you but stays interested in you? A survey has shown that rich men prefer a good body over an overly pretty face any day. If you take care of what you are eating and manage at least an hour of regular physical exercise, you can be in good health to ensure that you have a good body shape without being overly skinny or overweight. Natural beauty in a girl puts her far ahead of those who use a load of cosmetics to enhance their features. Make sure that you have a clean, washed look which you can just touch up with a very basic make-up ritual. Your hairstyle, nails and general cleanliness should also be such that it gives out a neat and trim impression of your personality. Attractive men look for class and therefore if you are dressing up in miniskirts or spiked heels, you are bound to actually repulse successful men rather than attracting them. If you really want to appear attractive to a rich man, you should ensure that you are a lady and not a bimbo. Dress yourself up in clothes that look appropriate for your age. Be conservative in your dresses so that you look beautiful without showing too much skin. The make-up should also be kept muted and subtle which is a definite proof of class and high-society style. Beautiful, glowing skin is something that can be attractive on its own without the need for brushing it up with creams and powders. Healthy eating, as well as a beauty regimen which takes special care of your facial skin, will ensure that you have a younger looking face which will definitely attract your guy. If you have shoulder length or even shorter hair, make sure that you invest some money in good hair extensions. Long and well-groomed hair is another sign of high-class women and is definitely preferred over short pixie cuts by rich men. Hair extensions also allow you to sport curly, wavy or straight hair with different colored highlights as per your mood. Get your teeth cleaned and whitened at a dental clinic. White, plaque-free teeth are a sign of good oral hygiene which rich men are sure to appreciate and like. You should also ensure that you never have bad breath when you are meeting the guy you want to be attracted to you. It is easy to dream about having a rich man being attracted to you and even prep yourself for it. However, when it actually comes down to having a guy take an interest in you and pay attention to you, it can take quite a lot of work. You should first find such a guy whose attention you want. You can find such rich men through friends, at charity functions, galas or other similar events. It is important to look your best, no matter what time of day or which place you are visiting, because you never when you run into the kind of guy that you want as your partner. Once you have located the guy who you want to be attracted to you, you would then have to create coincidental meetings so that you run into him accidentally on purpose at least a couple of times. This gives you time to create an impression and catch his interest. Try getting your coffee from the same shop, going to the same church or attending the same event that he is going to. Any man is bound to be much more attracted to a woman if she knows something about his hobbies and shares the same interests. So, if you know something about what he likes to do, you can have an engaging conversation with him that will only make him like you more. As a general rule, rich men like to pursue rather than being pursued. However, that does not mean that you should blow him off which can end up backfiring on you. Make sure that you achieve a subtle balance between playing hard to get and reciprocating his advances so that you keep him hooked. All the best! Okay, let’s admit: no matter what, money is important! From trying to make for rent, and eating dinner to managing to have an appropriate dress for a party – money is an ultimate need which helps you make both ends meet. And in such an event, dating wealthy men isn’t lesser than a blessing in disguise. But is dating a wealthy person all about money? Definitely not! If he is rich, the chances are high that he is powerful too. While it is alluring to see when your man comes out of a luxury car, but it is equally captivating to witness all the hard work and sincerity that he puts in to maintain his status. One of the pros of dating a rich millennial is the fact that his taste coincides with the luxurious products and brands that he is able to afford. The brands that you might have always wanted to use, are just a part of his day to day life. This is something that you cannot ignore and is the major distinguishing factor when it comes to dating losers and winners. A rich man knows what makes a woman happy. He will pamper you with a range of gifts, and spoil you with choices. You will be amazed to see all the hidden treasures that he makes available to you, and this is one of the perks of dating a rich man, which is not always the case otherwise. Whether you admit it or not, getting your man approved by your family is an equally necessary and daunting task. But undoubtedly, things tend to become a lot simpler when your family likes him already. All that a parent needs is a surety that their daughter will be well taken care by their partner. This is something that dating a rich man assures you of, and thus, the chances are high that your mom will like him. When you date a rich man, he is more likely to ensure that you are having the best time of your life. You dine without having any second thought, and the entire dating experience turns out to be more fun-filled and relaxing activity. But this is not the case when you are dating a man who is saving up the whole week. Eventually, you start feeling the heat too, and start saving to compensate, which kills the whole aura of dating. A millionaire enjoys an important status in society, and when you start dating them, you tend to receive the same share of love and affection from people. This is because public figures and icons are widely admired, and if your man makes the relationship public, you get to enjoy some limelight as well. How well does that sound? Being millionaire is not a one-night job. They have worked hard for it, and their stories of success can motivate you and bring your life back on track. Not only this, but they can also help you solve the issues in your life with their wit, attitude and the right way to approach things. Get into a deep conversation with a millionaire and you will know what we are talking about! If you interest them, they will have an array of topics to discuss with you and they will not stop to amaze you with their knowledge. Further, more often than not, they are familiar with lots of places and cities and would help you understand new things, varied cultures, and the likes. Thus, you will learn something new every day! Ahh, well, that sounds like a plan, isn’t it? Where to Find a Millionaire to Date? We are sure, all the reasons mentioned above would have provided you with the right amount of inspiration to date a millionaire. If you are looking to date one, you can adopt the old-school route and visit hotels and restaurants during afternoon hours and test you seductive abilities. However, if you want to go with a more reliable way, it is highly recommended to login to a millionaire dating site and let it connect you with the right people. These websites provide you with many specific searches and can play the role of Cupid. Additionally, you can also take services of millionaire matchmakers and try your luck. The dating world can seem like a minefield - and especially so when it comes to dating someone whose wealth reaches into the millions. Of course, many people would love to date a millionaire - who wouldn’t want the lavish lifestyle and plenty of extravagances in life? To make a successful match with a millionaire, however, there are a number of dos and don’ts which will make for a smooth ride towards your luxurious happy ever after. Be yourself - but make an effort! The first thing to remember is that you might be dating a millionaire - but they’re still a person, just like you. When exploring millionaire dating sites, don’t let your potential matches’ millions cloud your judgment, and have the same open, interesting conversations you’d expect to have with anyone else. 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2019-04-24T13:57:07Z

https://www.millionairematch.com/articles?from=5&offset=5&count=39

I was at the ROH for the last performance of DonQ on Thursday. I arrived early but the cast sheets were already out. I asked if there were any cast changes and was told there was a minor one and the cast changes slips would arrive shortly, if I would care to come back slightly later. I thought - on no, they won't be - and of course, they weren't, as they don't exist any more. But they do exist, Jenny. I took a photo of all the changes on Wednesday only to encounter SheilaC (of BCF fame!) sitting with a very nice Cast Change slip. They keep them in a drawer and admit to only giving them to those people who ask for them! I meant to ask for one on Wednesday. I don't mind the odd cast change, but by the time there are 5 of them I would really like to see it down on a piece of paper where I can refer to it. I've given the changes to the ROH some time to bed in and, having visited a significant number of times, it's time to put my thoughts out there. The overarching understanding for me is that the changes are not for the regulars. This is not a bad thing. Whatever can be done to encourage people into cultural establishments, without significantly discouraging those already engaged, is IMHO essential. The improved and enlarged foyer is very good. Part of the open up project was to create new spaces that can be used for additional things. So, not only is this space now much easier to use before a performance, it is its own performance space and is being put to very good use both through (free) concerts and the family sundays and similar events. I have been in the new theatre itself a few times now and, yes, the seats are more comfortable and the adjustable rake works well. The seat numbers are very difficult to see and I'm sure this would be quite easy to rectify. There are some viewing issues from certain areas when the theatre is in "proscenium" set-up (the second rows on the sides) and when the pit is in use (a couple of affected seats) but am understanding of this as the theatre is designed to be flexible (and so these positions may be better in, say, an "in the round" production) and also bearing in mind that the theatre has been designed to be better acoustically than the previous incarnation. Good to have the piazza link back but a shame that the awful revolving door has not been replaced as originally intended. The shop has better visability to people entering from the piazza and is much easier to move around than before. The café/bar seems well used (and is quite handy if you're at a Linbury show and the bar down there is very busy). The flexible "box office/cloakroom counter" that was originally proposed would, I feel, have been better than the current situation but to me the only time there is significant congestion in this area is by the box office after a show and this has, in practice, not really been a significant impediment to moving around. The additional staircase to the bottom of the escalators is a boon, but does mean that areas of the auditorium can be reached without passing a programme desk and this is something that should be given some further thought. I have no issue with people using the new foyer area for socialising or sitting on their computer or whatever. This is a useful public space and those who don't like it do not have to go anywhere near it, given the access to the "old" foyer from Bow Street and access to all parts of the theatre from there. At this point I must mention something I overheard whilst in the queue for the cloakroom before a Nutcracker matinée. A lady joined her friends who were standing immediately in front. She said to them: "Is this your first time here too? This is the most fantastic place!" I've not really seen the tablets that are available for browsing and booking tickets being used. Perhaps some signage here would be useful. I am disappointed that more thought was not given to people flow in this area. Having just one programme/ice cream desk and it being by the auditorium door by the bottom of the grand staircase means that a major bottleneck is created through people queuing at the desk (particularly at the beginning of intervals). This could be fixed quite easily. It's great that there are now many more cubicles in the "main" ladies toilets but there can be issues getting to the ground floor gents due to largish numbers of ladies waiting to use the nearby accessible facilities. Whilst some of these ladies may have unseen needs for these facilities, I do think a number of them are just being lazy. Some better signage in the direction of the ladies' toilets would also, I feel, be useful. I'll start with the carpet. Personally, I don't really care about this but it's been mentioned on here a number of times. I think the current carpet was probably not the best choice but I also think it may have been a stop-gap from a final rush to complete the works. I love the "skylight" at the top of the escalators and find the new bar area much more "open", generally easier to move around and with a useable bar service area. I don't use the amphi restaurant but have no objection to it in its current state - my opinion on this may change when the summertime comes and it extends onto the terrace, but I'll take that as it comes. The new terrace areas are great. A combination of enclosed and open areas, with windows that open in the enclosed bits. Decent heating in the enclosed areas too. The seating arrangements have been a bit flexible so far, but the current layout seems to work very well. Good to have a cloakroom on this level now, which is very useful for events in the Clore (although sometimes if there's an early start opera on, the cloakroom is full well before the Clore event starts). Plenty of space now for exhibitions up here (the current posters on the corridors are fantastic) and this is also a brilliant space for the family sunday events (and similar). This is definitely one of the things that is not for the regulars. To me, the new system is easy to follow with the G, 1, 2, 3 etc. representing the floor of the building and the letters showing the doors from left to right as you look at the auditorium. This is much easier for a newcomer to understand, particularly if you bear in mind that the nomenclature for the areas of the auditorium are different to almost every other theatre or performance space in the country. The only slight niggle here is that, unless you use a lift, access to floor 4 is easiest via floor 5 but the signs are generally clear (and I've generally found fewer people looking lost by the back staircase nor have I discovered anyone in my stalls seat with a stalls circle ticket). Another example here. One evening as I was heading to door GC, I passed by door GB. A lady there was asking the usher if she was at the correct door as it was her first time there. The usher said: "Yes, this is door GB. It's G for ground and the door to your left is GA and the door to your right is GC. It's pretty much the same on the other floors." The customer responded: "Thanks. That's really easy to understand." and went on in to the auditorium. I have no issue with the box office being on the corner; this is no different to a number of other opera houses and theatres and it's easy to get to from both the piazza and Bow Street. Having the "pre-show" box office in the glass foyer is handy though (even if the returns queue can sometimes be a bit difficult to get past). I am really happy with the new spaces and with how they are used for events now. Overall , I'm happy with the changes subject to some niggles that could be ironed out relatively easily. The intention behind the project is good and there are people coming into the building that weren't doing so before. We'll just have to wait and see how this translates into attendance (and re-attendance) figures at shows. Some better signage in the direction of the ladies' toilets would also, I feel, be useful. I have spent no more than a couple of hours over a couple of sessions in the new Opera House (which I think is a huge improvement) and have ended up giving ladies directions to the toilets every time while I waited near the gents for one of the boys to return from a trip. I'd swap "essential" for "useful" there - people see the obvious toilets in the corner and don't see the ladies at all even outside busy show times when the sightlines are clear. I think the restoration of the words "left" and "right" to the tickets would be a significant improvement for regulars and newcomers alike. Glad you mentioned the door numbering - I think it may take a little time for the regulars to get used to it! Very interesting comments all round. BBB it is refreshing to read a considered review about the ROH, as it is now, that, for once, has mainly positive comments. I would concur with most of your observations, having also visited many times recently, although a caveat is that I had little experience of the ROH before the latest changes. I do think the Linbury should have better house lighting, not just to see the seat numbers, but to avoid the feeling that it is a bit of a black hole. Well, that’s quite a list BBB. Broken down I don’t disagree with much of what you say - with one enormous caveat. How can any redesign/redevelopment- call it what you will - be considered a success when it is ‘not for regulars ?’ The retired marketeer inside my head finds any such premise preposterous. Successful brands spend millions ensuring that as their product evolves, it does so in a way that keeps it attractive to established users whilst making itself relevant to new customers. It should not have been beyond the wit of the doubtless hideously expensive people behind Open Up to create something lovely for everybody. To casually dismiss Regulars as people to be ignored precisely because they are loyal to your brand is breathtakingly arrogant but, sadly reflective of ROH management. Yes, I agree that encouraging people into a building they may not have visited before is a laudable aim for an establishment that receives public subsidy, but there should be more defined commercial objectives other than providing a central London haven from the elements. Similarly, widening access should not have been at the expense of the Regulars - a group I would hazard a guess make up at least 80% of ROH’s users. Last nights the queues for coats were far worse than anything I ever remember from the previous cloakroom. I do eat in the Ampitheatre Restaurant and can tell you it is a soulless place, quite unlike the buzzy atmosphere of the past. It was, admittedly, better last night as thanks to Forza it was full which improved things but on other occasions it is misfiring. Unlike you, I find the new directional system ridiculous, not least because it is inconsistent. I was in the GrandTier last night but the signage from the Floral Hall is new numbers which confused many. The somewhat harassed usher resorted to directing people to walkthrough the Crush Room ‘as you’ll find signsthat say GrandTier at the end.’ This was problematic for people paying mega bucks for their meal in this area. I also can’t understand an attitude that everything must be dumbed down for the masses. Surely people expect romance and elements of theatre when they visit somewhere as special as one of the world’s great Opera Houses? Does everything really need to be stripped back to numbers and letters? Whatever can be done to encourage people into cultural establishments, without significantly discouraging those already engaged, is IMHO essential. But the serious sightline issues from the sides are a structural issue, I think, and I'm not sure they would even be resolved in an in-the-round production (and how frequent are those likely to be, anyway?). I remain bemused that computer modelling (which I assume all architects would use these days?) didn't appear to highlight this early on. The shop has better visability to people entering from the piazza and is much easier to move around than before. That may yet turn up, I guess. Yes. And it's also currently creating an access issue, during events in the Hall, for anyone foolish enough to pop up to the amphi/terrace in the breaks. That could be very easily resolved by allowing people coming down by the escalator into the hall without making them do a significant detour round the building, but as far as I'm aware that hasn't happened yet. I have no issue with people using the new foyer area for socialising or sitting on their computer or whatever. No, although I suspect it had been hoped to make more money out of them than may actually be the case. I wasn't even aware of their existence, and I've been down in the café area a few times. Presumably they use a more secure system than the ROH public wi-fi? My impression of the new signage (I don't pay that much attention to it) - and I'm not just referring to the toilets - is that although classy-looking the actual images are quite small and may not be being picked up on. To me, the new system is easy to follow with the G, 1, 2, 3 etc. representing the floor of the building and the letters showing the doors from left to right as you look at the auditorium. This is much easier for a newcomer to understand, particularly if you bear in mind that the nomenclature for the areas of the auditorium are different to almost every other theatre or performance space in the country. I've no objection to them marking the doors that way, and it may well help some people find their seats better - my objection is where the other designations have been removed from the doors, so I sometimes find I have to stick my head inside the auditorium to work out where I am. Given that the ROH is still selling its tickets according to Orchestra Stalls, Stalls Circle, Grand Tier etc. (and is that likely to change to "Level 1", "Level 2" etc.? I hope not) it seems to make sense still to have some acknowledgement of those inside the theatre. And I would find the amphi situation (where I don't think you tend to go too often?) rather more confusing with its multiplicity of levels. Only the other day I had to put some people right who were totally on the wrong side of the building for their seats, up the "back stairs" on the Floral Street side of the building, so obviously it's not always clear to everybody. At least putting "Left" or "Right" back on the tickets would be a help. The intention behind the project is good and there are people coming into the building that weren't doing so before. We'll just have to wait and see how this translates into attendance (and re-attendance) figures at shows. Quite - and hope there aren't too many people who still manage to have no idea that there are performances going on, like the person quoted somewhere earlier in this thread! I do still think that more could be done in the café area to highlight the fact, though. Have you attended less as a direct result of any of the changes? With regard to the access issue I mentioned above, I've remembered what it was: between a couple of Ballet Studio Live events I decided to go and get some fresh air on the terrace, so exited by the escalator (where it was exit only) and went up to the amphitheatre. On attempting to return, I realised that the doors to the amphitheatre passage - and hence the back stairs and, I think, any lifts - were shut, so I had no choice but to go back down the escalator, and then was refused entry to the Hamlyn Hall there. That meant a major detour all the way down the new flight of stairs, through the café into the old foyer, back up the stairs into the Hall and then all the way across the Hall to get to my seat, which is highly disabled-unfriendly. No, I haven't but just because there is no alternative. Were there a new Opera House in town who found the idea of attracting and then looking after its regular patrons a strong marketing proposition, I would patronise it. I think you rather make my point that ROH has a monopoly and has therefore decided to largely ignore its loyal customers on the basis of 'well, they'll come anyway.' That is an unattractive approach and one that is totally unnecessary. It seems to me that rather than being the top-hatted champagne swilling over-monied toffs of legend that the Chief Exec clearly believes to be is his Regulars, ROH patrons are actually rather lovely people who put up with a lot in order to indulge their passions - for which they pay a lot of money. Ignoring them is pretty horrid, really. I do wonder what the reception to the new-look house might have been had that Arts Professional article about ticket prices never appeared, or at least had it appeared without those rather injudicious quotes from the ROH. My view is that I don’t care much either way about the physical changes to the building, but it’s the other stuff which has left a sour taste: the needless tinkering with the cast list format; the ongoing confusion about cast changes - and enough posters have said they still find it a problem that we can’t argue that it isn’t one; the across-the-board price increases; the inept absence of limits on Forza ticket purchases; the expected late announcement of next season, which looks unprofessional; and most of all the many problems with the website. This all adds up IMO to an organisation which appears to have taken its eye off the ball. In answer to BBB’s question, I’m going as much as ever this year but as Penelope says it’s because if you want to “buy” the Royal Ballet or the Royal Opera you don’t have a choice: the ROH has an effective monopoly on the supply of them. What I have cut right down on is programmes, which I used to buy nearly routinely and now buy not at all; and refreshments, which I used to buy more than half the time and now buy rarely. I’m also a lot less likely to donate money in future and once the new season is announced I’ll renew my Friends membership grudgingly and only if I decide it’s worth it. Ensure its pricing policy promotes accessibility and complements Open Up (we await the 2017-18 annual report to be published next month to see what %age of tickets sold for less than £x etc). These comments have received a fair amount of attention on this thread and elsewhere on the Forum and I think Open Up would be massively enhanced if they were addressed. 1. The shop. I only ever went in to buy a dance magazine, or an annual calendar, and as Alison says they don't seem to have those any more, which is most disappointing. Just making a general point about the shop, presumably it makes money, or they wouldn't have one. But I am always puzzled as to how much of the stuff seems to be aimed at the casual tourist, with no particular relevance to the Opera House. Do people really go to a performance and think, "Oh, I must pick up a scented candle while I am here?" Or a set of gold coloured ice tongs? And I am astounded that people are prepared to pay £20 for a key ring. They really must be the wealthy elite! 2. Amphitheatre Restaurant Like Penelope, I really used to enjoy eating there. I've tried the new place once. The removal of the wall between the restaurant and bar area means that the constant flow of people coming up the escalators is distracting, and as they stepped outside I found I was sitting in a draft. It was as though I was eating in a railway station. I suppose it depends on where you sit, but I am still at a loss to know why anyone would think this could be called an improvement. Yes it is a useful public space, but as many people have pointed out, should money be spent on providing this? I don't think it is fair to dismiss unfavourable comments by saying, "You don't have to go there." Of course we don't, but that isn't the point. My complaint is that it is such an anonymous space, I could be having a coffee in Starbucks. I don't like or dislike it, it is so bland there is nothing to arouse any emotion in me. When the Box Office was in the old position, they used to have clips of various rehearsals or interviews with artists, complete with subtitles projected on one of the walls. I often used to stop and watch it before going in, and saw some very interesting interviews. They still have something, but because of the height and angle of the new position, I could see very little of it in most of the seats I tried. And even then, from what I could see, it seemed to be the sort of revolving short sequences that are completely meaningless...a headdress, some feet in pointe shoes, someone in costume presumably singing as they mouth is opening and closing. Who they were, what it was supposed to represent? Not given. If they want to interest the casual visitor in the ROH's activities, this is a golden opportunity to do so, and it isn't there. Eventually, we will all get used to it. In the same way that we will all get used to the new website. However, personally I don't think some of the major changes could be described as improvements. Simply change for the sake of change, it seems to me. When the Box Office was in the old position, they used to have clips of various rehearsals or interviews with artists, complete with subtitles projected on one of the walls. I often used to stop and watch it before going in, and saw some very interesting interviews. They still have something, but because of the height and angle of the new position, I could see very little of it in most of the seats I tried. And even then, from what I could see, it seemed to be the sort of revolving short sequences that are completely meaningless...a headdress, some feet in pointe shoes, someone in costume presumably singing as they mouth is opening and closing. Who they were, what it was supposed to represent? Not given. If they want to interest the casual visitor in the ROH's activities, this is a golden opportunity to do so, and it isn't there. Exactly, Fonty. I'm not sure that where they are projected is the best place for those sitting in the café area (aka captive audience) to see them, which does seem like a missed opportunity. It seems to me that the new flight of stairs is in the way. I had a thought about Level names/numbers - why not have both? For example “Stalls Circle Left (1D)” or whatever the corresponding number and letter is. Bit of an odd comparison but this works well on cruise ships where you have “Deck 7: Panorama Deck” and so on. Like the re-introduction of the second programme desk in the old foyer, this seems relatively easy to implement. The shop already stocks the 2020 calendar, although I won’t buy mine just yet in case the dates change. I think too much space is given to generic items that you’d find in any National Trust shop or in the case of a book shaped lamp, John Lewis and not enough to ballet and opera items, the books and dvds are in a very small area. The National Gallery shop is probably the best place in London for art books as well as offering items related to works on display, it’s not full of stuff from the Selfridges homeware department. My thoughts exactly, Fonty, about the new downstairs area (what ARE we meant to call it?) Like yourself, it is hard to be harsh about it because it is now a space completely devoid of either purpose or atmosphere. If the raison d'etre was to attract new people to the Opera House, I would call it a failure. It may be getting 'new' people in but in what way are they even made aware that it is an Opera House or the home of the Royal Ballet? As you said, it is simply a huge soulless place with no defined purpose. There was no more depressing experience than the other night. On a high after seeing Kaufmann, people buzzing down the stairs with praise and then...long queues in a dreary area where to make space for more queues the chairs had been stacked on top of the tables and somebody was mopping the floor infront of and behind the coffee bar. Talk about the party's over, out you go folks. I was at The Bridge Theatre the other night (stunning design, urge people to visit) and in the foyer afterwards the bar was open, people were enjoying a drink and then wandering outside to look at the river. Coffee was available and all other refreshments for as long as people wanted them. Given that ROH have spent all this money creating a terrace, will it be available for use post performance? It must have taken real effort to achieve a design that lacks any personality at all and that virtually nullifies the joy I usually feel after a performance. Agree totally. I call it ' the caff' It's OK if you want a coffee before the performance but that's about it. After the performance it is ghastly and just gives the impression that 'we've,taken your money, now hurry up and go' Many years ago I used,to go to many concerts in the RFH, and part of the pleasure,was to be able to have a drink after the performance, . I know concerts finish earlier than opera or ballet, but the dismal sight of stacked chairs and queues fighting to retrieve coats is not a,good end to the evening. They could also do with a programme/cast sheet/ice sale point in the proximity to the big escalator, to catch those that sweep in from the piazza and straight up the stairs. Though I suppose now that most ushers carry copies of cast sheets that becomes less vital for me personally. I don't know about "physical" tickets but my etickets have the old level name and the new door number on them (e.g. Grand Tier door 2B). yes, paper tickets too - but no left/right guideline. Just received ....literally...my ticket for the June triple! So yes does seem to say old area name but it's in much smaller print than the rest. I do think it would be helpful to put the left and right back in though of course eventually you do get use to the new system .....I'm guessing off the top of my head that seat 40 will be on the right side but will still need to check nearer the time!! Door 3B is on the left. As are 1B, 2B (or not 2B, that is the question) and 5B. That's part of the simplicity of the new door numbering. The lettering is consistent across the floors (except for the ground floor, which is the only floor to have a door into the auditorium in the centre). I meant right when looking at the seating plan when you are booking ......so yes probably left if mean you are in the theatre facing the stage!! I think I now know why my mum called me an "awkward Annie" Rather amused - a couple of days ago I managed to get a decent ticket that was just about affordable for Boris Godunov. I managed to delete the donation - I cannot cope with high prices AND donations, and was then asked if I would like to complete my 'experience' by booking dinner! Seems to me they would prefer people,who book experiences rather than people like us,who go to the theatre! To me, an experience is a one off happening.

2019-04-24T20:56:12Z

http://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/18463-the-new-royal-opera-house-covent-garden/page/37/?tab=comments

Have you heard about a migration to modern public folders that has gone well? I haven’t. Apart that is from the demo migrations that appear at trade shows and conferences to show that all is well and that Microsoft hasn’t reneged on their promise to bring the cockroaches of Exchange kicking and screaming into the world of highly available mailboxes. Microsoft has published a public folder migration checklist and written a number of scripts to support that checklist that you can download from their site (the scripts are also available in the $ExScripts folder on an Exchange 2013 server). The scripts support migration from legacy environments running on Exchange 2007 or 2010 servers to Exchange 2013 on-premises or Exchange Online (Office 365). In theory, the procedure is straightforward. Wait until all mailboxes are moved to Exchange 2013. This step is mandatory because whereas Exchange 2013 mailboxes can access legacy public folders, the reverse is not true. Enumerate the legacy public folders and hierarchy and create a CSV file using the Export-PublicFolderStatistics.ps1 script. Examine the CSV output (a list of public folders and their sizes) to decide whether any adjustments need to be made. Pay attention to the limitations of modern public folders to make sure that you keep under whatever the currently documented limits are (250,000 folders and rising) after the migration is complete. Run the PublicFolderToMailboxMapGenerator.ps1 script to process the CSV file containing details about the legacy public folders and to map them to new public folder mailboxes. Essentially, the script attempts to break up the folders and divide them in a logical manner across a new set of public folder mailboxes. You control how many mailboxes are necessary by setting a maximum for the size of each mailbox. For instance, if you have 100GB of legacy public folder data to migrate, you could set the maximum size to 10GB and end up with 10 public folder mailboxes. Review the CSV file to decide whether public folders have been allocated in a reasonable manner. Create the public folder mailboxes, taking care to place them in databases that are capable of supporting the load that user connections will generate after you switch over to use modern public folders. Create a public folder migration request (only one can exist at any time) to process the CSV file that maps the legacy public folders to new public folder mailboxes. The processing is similar to a mailbox move in that the processing is performed by the Mailbox Replication Service (MRS) in the background. MRS connects to a public folder database, enumerates what it finds there (like a source mailbox), and transfers the data to the target (in this case, the public folder mailboxes). When MRS has moved the data, it halts (similar to a mailbox move that is auto-suspended). If everything seems to be good with the PF move request, you lock public folders for the organization (which has the effect of disconnecting users from legacy public folder databases), tell MRS to complete the move with Resume-PublicFolderMigrationRequest, wait for MRS to perform its incremental synchronization to move the last remaining vestiges of data from the legacy folders. Once MRS considers the move to be finished (the status shown by Get-PublicFolderMigrationRequest is “Complete”), you can validate that the data has been moved to the new public folder mailboxes by connecting to one of them with a test mailbox. Logically, you cannot connect to a modern public folder mailbox until the migration job is complete. The best way to do this is to run the Set-Mailbox cmdlet to override the normal mechanism used by Exchange to locate the public folder hierarchy using the command shown below. You can also run some scripts to compare what exists on the legacy side with what has been moved. Set-Mailbox -Identity "Some Test Mailbox" -DefaultPublicFolderMailbox "PFMailbox1" If you are happy that everything has been properly moved to the mailboxes used by modern public folders, you can commit the organization to using modern public folders by performing a final switchover. To do this, you make sure that all the new public folder mailboxes are capable of providing the public folder hierarchy to clients and then run Set-OrganizationConfig to update the configuration and switch from old to new. Have a beverage of your choice to recover while basking in the admiration of users who are now totally happy to be connected to the new, improved, and most modern of public folders. Update 14 July 2014: As MVP Andrew Higginbotham points out, if you don’t do everything properly, you might end up by forcing all clients to see the infamous “The Administrator has made a change that requires you to restart Outlook.” Check out his blog for details. It all sounds good. It all seems like it might even work. And it does, in a test environment where you have 10 public folders to migrate. The procedure runs into difficulty when confronted by the average public folder hierarchy. Invariably, the hierarchy is old, badly organized, unmanaged, and contains enough rubbish to occupy several skips. The problem you see is that public folders have been around for a very long time and during their existence it is extremely likely that many people, both users and administrators, have had their fingers in the pie. Folders exist for no reason; folders exist that once had a reason but one that is now long forgotten; folders exist that contain useful information that no one knows about; and public folders exist that contain the greatest collection of old rubbish and corrupt items that you will ever encounter in your career. And the good news is that the procedure as laid down will faithfully attempt to migrate all the old, unwanted, unhappy, unreadable, and undesirable information from legacy public folders to their new homes. That is, unless you take steps to stop this happening. Reviewing the contents of a CSV file to identify folders that should be pruned from the hierarchy is a tiresome business if you have a couple of hundred folders to examine, especially when you don’t know a lot about the content of the folders, why they were set up, who uses them, and when they were last accessed in any meaningful manner. But many hierarchies have a few thousand or more folders and the thought of having to go through the full set becomes something that would only excite a lonely monk in a cell on an island in the middle of the Atlantic. Most administrators would prefer to tear out their own fingernails than process this CSV file, which is a real pity because the big flaw of the migration process is that if you don’t take the time to prune, remove, and destroy old rubbish from the public folder hierarchy before MRS starts to move data, all of the rubbish will be moved. You can’t even take the obvious approach of deleting large batches of folders from the CSV file in the hope that MRS will ignore them during the migration. MRS is pedantic and exact. It will migrate everything it finds in the hierarchy even if you remove all reference to a folder from the input CSV file. The next issue is that old public folders have a habit of storing old items (naturally), some of which fall into the category of “malformed MAPI items”. In other words, they are corrupt in the eyes of modern MAPI clients and servers. Unless of course you are a genius and know how to how to choose servers that allow for such things, I don’t know of any… Legacy public folders are not to be faulted for storing this information. Folders store items and the items were good when they were stored. But MRS will complain if it encounters one of these “bad items” and they will be discarded en route to modern public folders. You control the tolerance MRS has for bad items by setting a bad item limit when you create the public folder migration request, but it’s easy to blow the normal limit (10 or thereabouts) that you might use for mailbox moves with the rubbish lurking in the deep and dank corners of old public folders. Eventually you can force MRS to process everything, but be prepared to lose some data and to restart the public folder migration request several times after upping the bad item limit. The dirty little secret of public folder migrations is not that the process does not work. It does, but it is excruciatingly manual in nature and execution and requires more time and effort from an administrator than you might possibly imagine. This entry was posted in Email, Exchange, Exchange 2013, Office 365 and tagged Exchange 2007, Exchange 2010, Exchange 2013, Exchange Online, Migration, Modern public folders, Office 365, Public folders. Bookmark the permalink. Hmm, I thought Public Folders were Exchange’s dirty little secret in as far as Microsoft have been concerned these past several years. If you ignore them long enough maybe they’ll go away was the consideration perhaps? Then again as you recently mentioned 2003 being a dead and forgotten piece of software to them, I imagine Public Folders will go away as by Exchange 201x release date Exchange 2010 will be a non-existent piece of software that Microsoft deny the existence of and as people won’t have been able to migrate away it becomes an SEP. I have to say as ever, I’m fighting to resist being your eternal comment writer and expanding my blog when I can to avoid keep airing my opinions here. So saying, we do seem to hit similar topics on occasion and given my working on email since Network Courier I suppose we’ve followed similar paths. I tend to err on the less official path and am slightly more acerbic when it comes to the inequities of vendors I fear. Maybe it stems from hearing the words “Surely Microsoft have a plan for this?” too many times. Public Folders do get me going more than many things though, as do migration tools and PST hunting software. There’s a common thread to all of these that have earned me a great deal of money and a no few grey hairs. The problem? Microsoft distancing themselves from Public Folders and ignoring the massive headache this causes for people using their software. Having just dealt with my first 50Gb OST and also finished cleaning up a 5.5(Yes Ms, it still exists out here in the real world) migration that was truly botched by yet another Gold Partner, I truly am fed up with this expanding lack of care. Again in common with the PST and migration tools, I believe that Microsoft hoped and prayed that 3rd parties would get to grips with them and come up with a product that migrated them to Sharepoint so they could wash their hands completely and not include Public Folders in later releases. As that didn’t succeed, Public Folders continued to exist until they were removed in 2013 and replaced with slightly modified mailboxes. Yet still there is no clear migration process, cogent purpose and definition document, nor tool that provides a mechanism to migrate effectively. Your document outlines just how painful this process could be. I also wonder who has migrated from pre-2013 PF to MPF yet as from a comment on my blog, responding to a CU1 comedy of errors post I made, mentioned that there is a bug preventing migration to MPFs that won’t be fixed until CU3, yet I saw no note of the bug in the list for CU3 at all. One of my main questions to ask Microsoft is where there are any real-world test cases that they have undertaken that demonstrates how well a large PF>MPF migration works? The non-coexistence heralded as coexistence in CU1 continues to demonstrate a couldn’t care much approach to moving PFs as it is effectively suggested that one moves all mailboxes to 2013 and then test out your PF migration in one big hit hoping that it works. I must admit I have still failed to see what value Modern Public Mailb…oops.. Folders bring and why anyone would migrate to them. Public Folders have historically been used for the following reasons. Shared Calendar for room bookings, resource bookings and team calendars. So barring the custom dev stuff which I’ll bet you those carefully crafted scripts that call (hmm what executable to CSV could it be?) PFDavAdmin don’t cater for, all can be taken care of by other mailbox types and so we return to the crux of the matter. If Microsoft had taken the time to look at their customers who use PFs extensively and worked with them to develop migration plans to Sharepoint rather than cobbling together another type of mailbox that pretends to be a PF, this problem wouldn’t exist today and we wouldn’t need MPFs. Many organisations gave up moving from PFs based on the reasons you outline and I’ve seen some of the environments holding hundreds of gigs in tens of thousands of folders so know how insurmountable the migration task can seem. Then again what migration of tens of thousands of mailboxes from multiple organisation into one was ever an easy task? For this Excel and techies were created! I don’t currently have an answer but I am working with some people that may. Once I’ve input some detail on real world scenarios into a tool that’s been developed for another purpose, there may be a good PF/PST migration tool that can be used more effectively to allow organisations to never have to use MPFs and abandon PFs. If and when it comes about I’d be keen to get some input on how well people such as yourself view its capabilities. In any case it will be interesting to see how much this aspect of legacy migrations delays the take-up of 2013. I will still go with my maxim of ‘avoid interim development versions of Exchange’ i.e. every alternating version since 5.5 and look forward to the next major release! All the best and keep up with the helpful and clear insights, please also never apologise for expressing your ire as I noted when your frustration becomes apparent in some posts this year, you are always diplomatic, polite and inscrutable so if you’re annoyed with something in tech you can be sure the majority of techs out there are with you and appreciate your candour! No problem commenting as we all have perfectly valid opinions. The key is to back up comments with facts, which is what I try to do (not always successfully). Maybe you’ll like my interview with Perry Clarke at http://windowsitpro.com/blog/talking-exchange-server-microsofts-perry-clarke… It addresses some of the issues that I think you are concerned with. The concerns Perry raises about the disparity between the technical message and the sales message coming from large software vendors seems most relevant. Lets hope the recent appointment in Redmond paves the way for a clearer message in the future and the return to letting the quality of the software sell itself rather than a massive advertising department. An optimistic start to 2014 in any case. I’m working through a hybrid migration to O365 EOL. I’ve ran the New-PublicFolderMigrationRequest (your step 7). I would like to verify as you mention in step 8 but can’t figure out how to connect to the PF mailbox. Do you have any suggestions ? Any suggestions for validating the migration request ? 1. Can I validate the migration (connect a test mailbox) before setting the PublicFolderMigrationComplete property to True , completing/resuming the migration request and unlocking the public folder hierarchy in EOL ? 2. Should I be able to see the migrated public folders in the EOL EAC before completing these steps ? From your last comment, it looks like MRS has performed the initial synchronization from old to modern public folders (it has reached 95% completion and the move then auto-suspended). Before you can access the moved data, you need to allow MRS to complete the move by performing an incremental synchronization to capture all of the changes, additions, and deletions done since the initial synchronization was kicked off. This will ensure that you have a full and complete copy of the data on both old and new sides. You have to lock the public folder environment to complete the move too because you don’t want users adding new stuff or accessing the old public folders while MRS performs the incremental update. Exchange won’t allow you to access the modern public folders until the migration job has completed processing. I never intended the post to be a step-by-step guide to migration because there are many other posts on this topic elsewhere. Instead, I wanted to call attention to the fact that substantial care and attention is required to prepare for the migration. However, I think that some extra detail is warranted in the post to provide a more accurate guide so I have updated it with some of the commands that are required. Can you look at the post again to review the changes and see if they answer your questions? We are wrapping up a public folder move from Ex 2007 to 2013 modern public folders. Everything up to step 12 has gone very smoothly. Well all except for that CU2 bug that stopped the migration from completing for a few months. Post migration we are sitting on 180 gigs of data in 17,000 folders spread across 60 public folder mailboxes. My goal was to keep PF mailbox sizes down to 3 gig each. We have one tiny little issue. Unless a user is set to use the Primary Public folder hierarchy mailbox AND the the folder itself is stored in the primary PF mailbox the user cannot create new sub folders from Outlook. They get a “Cannot create the folder” error after a short delay. I can create sub folders in the ECP or powershell but you can’t create any of the other folder types, Calendar, tasks and so on unless everything is set to the primary PF mailbox. Everything I’ve read says these requests should proxy to the Primary Mailbox but appears to be failing.. Scott, by any chance did you file a support ticket with Microsoft? If so, can you let me know the reference. Scott, i am having the same issue you are experiencing. Did you ever get a resolution to it? Users at my company cannot create new public folders, or delete current ones. I can do it fine from the EMC and through powershell though. I posted this to the new thread on 2013 Pf limits but felt it needed a response here too. We opened a ticket with MS support about users not being able to create new public folders from outlook. They determined that the large Hierarchy is causing the issue. The primary Pf mailbox is taking to long to return the Hierarchy causing new folder requests to time out and fail. We don’t have a solution yet but Support is working on it. We can work around it for now with the esc and moving folders & users to the primary mailbox when needed. I have just encountered the same problem with Outlook 2010 and an Exchange 2007 – 2013 migration. The PF migrated fine but users are not able to create new PF from Outlook. What did MS Support come up with? You should report the issue to Microsoft and see whether they have a hot fix. I haven’t heard much. Exchange 2013 CU8 is on the way and should be with us very soon, so that might be the fix. Amazing! That simple fix worked. Thank you so much. We’ve been searching for a solution for 3 days. We were getting ready to open a ticket with Microsoft. Cool! Thanks for your feedback! Im in the process of Migration a PF Hierarchy with 1200+ folders and 15GB. Been working on it for a week and havent got further than starting the migration attempt which immediatly fails. Complaining about unsupported characters, on folder which dont exist anymore!. Gone through all the folders manually now and removed spaces and slashes and so on. I tried this and it did not work for me. Intermittently users will be able to create public folders and other times they cant, then eventually it shows up hours later. I set the registry key to 2. What is eveyone else doing to make it work? Dave, given the size of your deployment as reported in another comment, I think you need some on-site help. Either ask Microsoft Support for assistance by filing a support ticket or get a consultant who knows modern PFs backwards (or both). Resolving questions by appealing to blog readers is seldom a great approach because you rely on the ability of others to understand the complexities of your deployment, and that just can’t happen through an interaction like this. I have over 180,000 public folders with around 2.5 TBs of data. I am not looking forward to having to migrate these to modern public folders. The effort right now is to clean them up as much as possible, but I am sure when the time comes to move to Exchange 2013, I will still have well over 100,000 folders. lié manuellement en exécutant la cmdlet Enable-MailPublicFolder une fois la migration terminée. it scared me, what does it means ? Do i do something wrong? Your PF migration request is stalled because errors have been encountered. You will have to check each one of the folders to see what the problem might be. It might be that the mail-enabled properties are incorrect, it might be that the name of the folder contains one of the special characters that cause the migration to halt. If possible, delete the folders (if you don’t need them). After you fix everything up, restart the migration. A great article. I need to migrate 2500 PF’s totalling about 50GB. There is a few PF’s over 2GB and one over 9GB. Trouble is I don’t really want to make a 10GB limit for the migration. Is there a way I can move the big PF’s first and then set a 1GB limit for the rest of migration? Regretfully the PF migration is a one-time take-everything affair. MRS will process every PF in the hierarchy as it moves content from old to new. And switching over is a one-time affair too as you can’t have some users accessing old PFs and others new. I would be interested in anyone who has migrated Public Folders from 2010 to 2013 – Step #9 – where the public folders are locked – how much down time do you incur. Some of you have mentioned PF DB’s over 100GB – what was your experience. Downtime only occurs after the migration stage has migrated everything and then suspends automatically. At that point when u lock the 2010 PFs and resume, only tje changes that have taken place since it reached the suspended state need to be migrated. My PF database was 130Gb with 75,000 folders and 13 million emails. The migration took a week, but after I locked the 2007 PF database and did the final migration it just took a few hours. Everything went well except for the intermittent problem I have where users cannot create new folders. Ive only been on modern public folders for 3 days now. I am doing an exercise migration from exch2010 to 2013. I am at the pf migration steps. I stepped through many of the steps and to say its tedious and painful would be an understatement. I immediately started looking around for other options, you would think someone would make a tool for this? You know, I have suggested to a couple of ISVs that they could usefully create a tool to assist PF migration. But all declined on the basis that Microsoft might come along and replace their code with some “approved” solution. I still think that it would be a good thing to do, even just to create some visibility in the market. I ready to migrate my pf’s from 2007->2013. I ran the prep scripts and so far so good. Couple of questions. The publicfoldertomailboxmapgenerator.ps1 script output calls for only one mailbox. Is this because I don’t have a huge pf hierarchy? What determines how many mailboxes are needed to house pf’s? Most of my pf’s are mail enabled. Does this attribute get migrated along with permissions? Will I be able to email the migrated pf’s immediately after they are migrated? You can create multiple public folder mailboxes and then edit the CSV file to allocate the public folders to whatever mailboxes you like. The migration process will then move the folders to the destination mailboxes. Okay, what about the email enabled question? Will all of that be preserved? Yep. Mail-enabled PFs should be migrated. At least that’s what happened the last time I looked. But you’re testing this migration, right? According to MS’s PF migration guide (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj150486(v=exchg.150).aspx), the end of Step 2 states that existing public folders in Exchange 2013 must be removed before a PF migration can be created. Is this absolutely necessary? What happens when multiple Exchange organizations with their own PF hierarchies are being consolidated into a new Exchange 2013 organization? How does one migrate those separate PF structures into 2013? I believe (but might be incorrect) that the reason why you should remove existing PFs from Exchange 2013 before you commence a migration is to avoid any potential problems with duplicate PFs. I don’t think the migration will be able to process an inbound PF if one with the same name already exists in the same place in the folder hierarchy. At least, I have seen issues with this in the past (but a while ago now – during original testing in 2012). I don’t know the answer to your second question because I have never had to migrate PFs from multiple organizations to a single target Exchange 2013 organization. I’m not sure that this is strictly possible using the standard toolset because they all assume that the tools and processes operate in the context of a single organization. Given that this is the case, you might have to export data to PSTs and move them that way – or perhaps one of the commercial vendors who specialize in moving Exchange data around (like TransVault) have an answer. In our on-premise Exch’13, we have about 30 total folders (mainly calendars) with <1GB of total used space. A parameter cannot be found that matches parameter name 'Server'. [12/23/2014 12:21:50 PM] Enumerating folders under NON_IPM_SUBTREE completed…0 folders found. In a very small environment like mine, are there any other ways to migrate this small about of PF infrastructure? What about exporting the PFs to PSTs, recreate them in O365 and then import the data back afterward? You’ll have to remove all the Office 365 PFs and mailboxes before starting the migration. But in any case, make sure that you have the correct versions of the scripts – you can get copies from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=38407. The error seems to indicate that the script has a problem finding the server that you point it at to retrieve PF information. Is it online? Is it the right one? And yes, you could simply export all the data to PSTs and import them into Office 365. It would be manual and boring but manageable with that amount of data. On-premise co-existence Exchange 2007 SP3 with Exchange 2013 SP1, all the users already in Exch2013 (2CAS, 2MB in One DAG). Migrating PF failing at Step 7: Status changes from Finalization to DataReplicationWait to FailedOther. It fails after several attempts: ‘Waiting for mailbox changes to replicate’. I have tried restarting MRS and resume several times but didn’t help. Have you problems with database replication within the DAG? That’s what the error is telling us. Exchange is waiting for the data transferred into the target database to be replicated to other database copies. Thanks for the clue. I didn’t see replication issues on DAG but decided to remove second copy anyways. I had two options either to remove the second copy of PF database or changed DataMoveReplicationConstrain property to None. I picked the first, resume the migration and completed 100% in few minutes. What are the reasons that would prevent one from using a shared mailbox as a replacement for the Public Folders? On the surface, it seems like the simplest solution. The new mailbox could even be called “Public Folders”, and the folders in it could be given the appropriate permissions. In fact, when I tested copying a Public Folder to a shared mailbox, I found the permissions were copied, too (using Exchange 2010 SP3 CU7). I think the new Office 365 Groups will be the long term replacement for public folders. http://windowsitpro.com/office-365/exploring-office-365-groups – After they fix some issues! How can we see when step 6 is done. MS says “This may take several hours”, but is it not important to know that it is done before continuing to step 7 ? I think you mean step 7, which is when MRS moves the public folder data from the legacy databases to the new public folder mailboxes. You have to check the status of the public folder migration request by running the Get-PublicFolderMigrationRequest cmdlet, Once the job has reached the autosuspended state, you know that the initial synchronization has finished. And as Microsoft says, this can take several hours – or even days – depending on the size of the data to be migrated. BUT, there is no way to check if it is done ? ok thanks. im at 96% so that would be the NeXT step. but cannot rely on whether or not users can connect, so needs to know when I can fire the last steps*. Will try the stats report you linked. Missed this point was not very well explained in the guide before I began. By the way. in “step 8” there must be a BUG. from the moment the new public folder mailbox was created, EVERY user got that mailbox assigned to their DefaultPublicFolderMailbox attribute. that Means step 8 cannot be done to only one or two test mailboxes. If there’s only a single public folder mailbox in the organization then by definition that’s the one which is assigned to every mailbox. The idea is that you can use just one of the PF mailboxes for testing… assuming that you have a set to select from. 3.If you run into any issues, see Roll back the migration later in this topic. If the public folder content and hierarchy is acceptable and functions as expected, run the following command to unlock the public folders for all other users. ………. Does NOT give any sense, as the default mailbox public folder from the beginning has that attribute set to $false. The step that is being taken in 8.3 (of the Microsoft process) is to enable all public folder mailboxes to be able to provide information about the PF hierarchy to clients. Now, this might not be necessary if you only have one PF mailbox and have already enabled it (or it was already enabled – it’s been a while since I looked at this topic), so you can treat this as an action that will do some good if there are PF mailboxes to be enabled and will do no harm if your one and only PF mailbox is already enabled. So it does make sense. I hate migrations. They are nearly always messy and something goes less well than you expect. I’ve been able to move a lot of root public folders from one mailbox to another in Exchange 2013 CU7 using the move-publicfolderbranch.ps1 script. However, I’m getting the following error when trying to move one of my root folders. the MaxStringContentLength property on the XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas object used when creating the XML reader.. Maybe some of the folders in this part of the hierarchy have illegal characters in their names? Would I have been able to migrate them from Exchange 2007 to 2013 if they did? I just migrated everything last weekend after cleaning up illegal characters in PF aliases. I just thought it exceeded the number of characters since there were so many subfolders…. The migration to modern public folders is pretty specific in terms of its requirements for folder names. Moving old-style PFs from Exchange 2007 to 2013 wouldn’t hit the same problems. But in saying this, I am totally in the dark as to what you have in front of you which is why I recommend looking for support from Microsoft. I run into the same Error Message as you – have you found any workaround for this issue or where to set the MaxStringContentLength in this context? If it’s only one folder that is causing problems then this is a reasonable workaround. Q:I migrated PF 2007 to 2013 (350G) and got to the 95% autosuspended, the real cutove will be done only in a month from today and might have lots of changes during that time, is it possible at this point to sync all the changes of the last month WITHOUT any downtime to users? I would like to sync it about 4days before the real cut over step, possible? If you have lots of changes in your PFs, it will take time to perform the last incremental synchronization. I think you indicate that 350 GB of data is in your PFs, so we can assume (worst case) that 10% of this has changed. If that is so, then 35 GB has to move from Exchange 2007 to 2013. Assuming a high-speed internal network, that shouldn’t take too long, so the downtime should not be bad. I would switchover at the weekend and minimize the impact to users that way. I haven’t tried it, but I assume it will hold the migration ones again at 95 % autosuspended. “The amount of downtime required depends on how much new content was generated since the migration reached the AutoSuspended state. If a long time has passed between the migration request reaching an AutoSuspended state and when you can finalization the migration, we recommend that you run the following command so you can synchronize the changes made since the original synchronization. This will reduce the amount of downtime required to finalize the migration. The synchronization occurs using the same approach as a mailbox move. You get to 95% and then auto-suspend. If you resume the move, Exchange performs another synchronization to ensure that the source and target are as close as possible, but as changes are still going on in the source, you have a condition where the two will never be identical until you freeze the source and allow a final incremental synchronization to occur. This is what happens when you lock the public folders to perform the switchover. All of the old PF databases are told that no further changes are possible, Exchange synchronizes, the two are brought up to the same state, and you can switch. The time required for the final incremental synchronization depends on how much activity has occurred in the source since the last synchronization. If it’s small, then the switch will be very fast. If lots has happened, it could take an hour or more, depending on the volume of data and the network connection between the source and target. Actually, I think that the public folder move request does perform an automatic synchronization in the background for up to 30 days. I am on vacation at present and don’t have all my files here to check, but I think this does happen. In any case, the incremental synchronization required to bring source and target to the same point is required and the delta between the synchronization state and the current state might be large depending on a) how long since the last synchronization and b) the amount of activity in the public folders since that time. ive started the public folder migration from exchange 2007 to my new exchange 2013 server a week ago. Now it is at 87% and fails at the same point everytime i restart it. The error i am getting is “JobIsPoisonedPermananentException”. It says “relinquishing job because the mailbox is locked”. Ive already tried some things, but nothing helped me with this problem. Does anyone have an idea why this error message could be showing up to me? I wonder if some of the public folders that are in the specific CSV file have some forbidden characters in their names? But the only .csv which is used for the execution of the migration is the “PublicFolderToMailboxMapGenerator.csv”, isnt it? Is the other one also directly used for migration or only for specifying the amount of mailboxes to create? Well, you can call the CSV files whatever name you like. The point is that you feed a CSV file in as input to the public folder migration job. If that CSV file contains some illegal data in PF names, it will fail. I think Sigi Jagott covers this in his MEC 2014 session https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/MEC/2014/DMI310. I’m on vacation at present and don’t have time to look into the issue in detail. But in any case, if you have a fundamental problem with a migration, you should log a support call with Microsoft and have them sort it out. I feel so bad for the many frustrations that folks have had with PF migrations. It’s certainly no fun to work out all the patterns for a successful mailbox migration only to be blocked or get snagged at the end with PFs. I want to let those who may pass by this blog post know there is an alternative. Priasoft (whom I represent) has created a PF sync solution that seems to address many of the complaints seen here. Full disclosure, this is not a free tool, but I’m a tech minded person (CTO at Priasoft) and care more about the end result and technology. Priasoft PF sync is a MAPI only solution, meaning that as long as an Outlook profile can be made to connect to a source or target environment, a sync can be performed. This includes data, structure, permissions, and email addresses. Sync is by-directional by design and supports Exchange 2003 thru 2013 and Office365. Initial tests show Exchange 2016 support out-of-the-box as well. It can scale very well and internal tests showed 35,000 PFs sync’d to Office365 in 24 hours. We ran with 12 worker processes and it was 450,000 items. Multiple sync profiles can be created for different parts of a PF tree, the idea surfacing that one profile handles the whole tree while several smaller ones focused on individual folders handle high-frequency updates. Lastly, PF sync inherently supports multiple orgs and multiple consoles running concurrently. All tracking data is stored in exchange so the footprint and deployment is very simple – no SQL servers, for example. I hope some find this of value. Contact me at Eriq.vanbibber@priasoft.com if there are any questions. I’ll try to monitor this blog for questions as well. is there anyway to migrate public folders to Exchange Online when Public folders already exist on Exchange Online? the on-prem public folder DB is only 10GB so I’m thinking PST migration to a new public folder in ExOnline. can create a new public folder db up there and link it to a new mailbox. It seems like it could work! Col, I’m a bit late on your response…but the tool mentioned above from Priasoft DOES support O365-to-O365 synchronization. A PST export/import routine will obviously only handle the data, and things like Calendar items, folder permissions, and mail-enabled folders are lost in that routine. The migration batch PFMigration already exists. We are aware of Microsoft’s ‘published”limits however we are speaking with MS Exchange product team and they have agreed they can support our migration, in fact MS have increased our Public Folder limit to 1.5 million folders with 100GB PF mailboxes… We have already created out mailboxes on O365 (nearly 600) and run all the CSV scripts (so we have allocated data to mailboxes). As a lot of people have said before me, I’m concerned over this process, especially around the data that may be read as corrupted and not moved. How in the world do we check/ensure that all data has been migrated? Yes we have CSV exports with folder count, item count and sizes etc, but it’s the completing migration and then check it that concerns me. I’d like to be able to “know” it’s going OK before we cutover. Is anyone able to help ease me pain with some kind words :)….. I think you might want to have a chat with QUADROtech and have a look at their ADAM product, which is a new way of taking public folders to Exchange Online. Basically, ADAM http://www.quadrotech-it.com/products/adam/ will do the hard work of figuring out what you have in your public folder hierarchy and make recommendations about where individual folders should go – some can be removed because they are obsolete, some should go to modern public folders inside Exchange Online, some should be archived, and some should go to Office 365 Groups. Try it! I’d also see if QUADROtech can help you with Enterprise Vault. Their ArchiveShuttle product is pretty good at moving data out of EV to Office 365. http://www.quadrotech-it.com/products/archiveshuttle/ I recently wrote about this topic on https://www.petri.com/moving-legacy-archives-office-365-painful. Priasoft has a bi-direction PF sync solution that may be valuable for you in this case. It is highly scalable and also sync’s permissions. There also a component that can migrate mail-enabled folder settings. This works with any version of exchange at or greater than Exchange2003, including O365. * The default setting is such that no single folder can have more than 2gb of data. Look at get-OrganizationConfig |fl *public* to see the case. There is an attribute named DefaultPublicFolderProhibitPostQuota that manages this limit. * Also pay attention to the default max item size, in case that may be an issue. * Currently no folder can have more than 10,000 immediate children. This doesn’t mean the entire subtree…you cannot have 10,000+ folders at the same level. * You will have to work out a strategy to distribute the data across multiple PF mailboxes. This require some analysis of folder “weight” and the Priasoft tools has a statistics report that provides “roll up” sizing for each folder. * Related to the above, you can only partition data at a folder level. The importance to consider here is that if any single folder (not including children) has more than 50gb of data, you will HAVE to splith that data apart in the source before you start. You cannot split the contents of a single folder across multiple PF mailboxes. I know this post is pretty old, but perhaps you could help me understand something. My organization has a total of 433 public folders, some of which are subfolders of others. I had assumed that when I ran the PublicFolderToMailboxMapGenerator.ps1 script against the csv of our 433 public folder names and their sizes that I would receive a file containing one row for every public folder, showing which mailbox it should be mapped to, or at the very least, a map of every parent public folder, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Instead, I get a csv with just a few entries. you’re probably seeing entries for folders that contain a set of sub-folders? If so, that’s expected. I’m seeing this same thing when I try to do it. My 1000 PFs (most of which don’t have sub-folders) turn into a CSV of 20 or so lines. I am doing migration from 2010 to 2013, almost 5000 public folders. First I got errors on names, so I renamed all mail enabled public folders and also all PFs where I replaced blank spaces with underscores. When I re-done all PF mapping, all names were showing correctly in the CSV files and on the old server 2010. generated from such an alias. I am wondering if anyone knows what else needs to be checked or give me a direction what I have missed? Any leading spaces? Or trailing spaces? since the error message is referencing “alias”, i suspect that the source folder has a mailNickName value that is at issue. understand that every mail-enabled public folder has a proxy object in active directory that holds the email addresses and other settings. you may need to pump out all the mail-enabled folder details via powershell so that you can look at the mail alias and email addresses. i bet there’s one or more invalid characters there. fyi, spaces are allowed in folder names. you can put those spaces back if you like. but you cannot have spaces in the mailNickName (alias) of a mail enabled folder. No existing ‘PublicFolder’ matches the following Identity: ‘\’. Make sure that you specified the correct ‘PublicFolder’ Identity and that you have the necessary permissions to view ‘PublicFolder’. It was running the command ‘get-publicfolder -getchildren -identity ‘\’ -server ‘serverName”. There’s plenty of information on how to remove Public Folders but almost nothing on this particular error, or removing the publiv folders in a co-existence scenario in general. Have you every encountered anything like this or have any insight on how to resolve it so I can finally get rid of these PF databases on 2010? “\” is the root PF. Maybe the command will work if you add -recurse to it? Would it be safe to do a PST export of Public folders and then import to Office 365 Public folder for 20 GBs of data? Im not looking to bring over any permissions. Just want to move the folder structure and data. Will I need to worry about auto splitting? Using PSTs to transport public folders to Office 365 sounds like a terribly inefficient process. Why would you want to do such a thing?

2019-04-22T08:08:03Z

https://thoughtsofanidlemind.com/2013/12/13/migration-modern-public-folders/

McCune–Albright syndrome is a rare sporadic disease characterized by fibrous bone dysplasia, café-au-lait skin spots and variable hyperfunctional endocrinopathies. McCune–Albright syndrome is caused by somatic postzygotic activating mutations in the GNAS gene that produce a broad spectrum of effects. We report a case of McCune–Albright syndrome with multi-organ manifestations in the neonatal period. A newborn preterm black girl was referred to our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the age of 17 days for suspected extrahepatic cholestasis. On clinical examination she presented failure to thrive, jaundice, hypertension, marked hypotonia and café-au-lait spots on her back and lower limbs. An abdominal ultrasound excluded extrahepatic causes of cholestasis but revealed bilateral serpiginous adrenal hyperplasia. These clinical findings suggested a diagnosis of McCune–Albright syndrome with multi-organ involvement. Laboratory data confirmed adrenocorticotropic hormone-independent Cushing’s syndrome, hyperthyroidism, cholestasis and elevated transaminases. Ventricular hypertrophy was demonstrated by echocardiography. The baby girl underwent medical treatment of Cushing’s syndrome with metyrapone which was followed by a rapid recovery. A mosaic activating GNAS gene mutation was found on DNA extracted from a buccal swab sample. However, she died at 4 months due to a respiratory infection. In the neonatal period the diagnosis of McCune–Albright syndrome depends on having a high index of suspicion and café-au-lait spots may be the clue for the diagnosis. McCune–Albright syndrome (MAS) is a rare sporadic disease characterized by bone fibrous dysplasia, café-au-lait (CAL) skin spots and a variable association of hyperfunctional endocrinopathies . The estimated prevalence ranges between 1/100,000 and 1/1,000,000 . MAS manifestations are due to somatic activating mutations in the GNAS gene which codes for the alpha subunit of the stimulatory G-protein (protein Gsα) that is involved in intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) production . A wide spectrum of extraskeletal manifestations can be found in MAS as would be expected from the broad tissue distribution of Gsα and the mosaic distribution of the mutation . Cushing’s syndrome may develop at any time in childhood but affects a minority of patients with MAS and has a quite heterogeneous natural history, ranging from spontaneous resolution to the need for adrenalectomy or even death . Liver and cardiac diseases are additional less common extraskeletal manifestations of MAS and are markers of prognosis in children with Cushing’s syndrome, which may suggest the need for prompt adrenalectomy . Severe neonatal presentation of MAS is rare. We report a case of MAS in the neonatal period with multi-organ manifestations. A 17-day-old black female neonate was referred to our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for suspected biliary atresia on the basis of cholestasis with acholia. She was the first child of healthy non-consanguineous parents. Prenatal care was minimal. She was born at 35 weeks and 5 days, weighing 1590g (below third centile). Apgar scores were 8 and 9 at 1 and 5 minutes respectively. Jaundice was noted from the second day onwards and acholic stools were occasionally observed. Abdominal ultrasonography prompted concern for a choledochal cyst and apparent atresia. Hepatobiliary scintigraphy was performed but the results were inconclusive. She also had a history of respiratory distress requiring oxygen therapy as well as hypertension treated with propranolol since day 14, at which an echocardiogram was reported as normal. On clinical examination she was small for gestational age (length 39.5cm, weight 1545g, head circumference 28.5cm, all below the third centile). Her blood pressure was elevated (118/90mmHg, above the 95th centile). She had marked hypotonia, well-defined CAL spots following Blaschko’s lines on her back and lower limbs, heart murmur on cardiac auscultation and palpable liver edge 2.5cm below the costal margin (Fig. 1). Laboratory findings confirmed cholestasis and abnormal liver function: total bilirubin 10.8mg/dL (normal <1mg/dL); conjugated bilirubin 9.5mg/dL (normal <0.3mg/dL); aspartate aminotransferase (AST) 211U/L (normal <34U/L); alanine aminotransferase (ALT) 623U/L (normal 12 to 78U/L); gamma-glutamyltransferase (γGT) 1219UI/L (normal <38UI/L); total cholesterol 343mg/dL (normal <190mg/dL); triglycerides 240mg/dL (normal <150mg/dL); total serum proteins, albumin, activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time and fibrinogen were normal. Further investigations ruled out the most common causes of cholestasis (metabolic disease included in the neonatal screening, α1-antitrypsin deficiency, and cystic fibrosis). Because of ongoing cholestasis, ultrasonography of her abdomen was repeated; it demonstrated the absence of a choledochal cyst and normal biliary tree but revealed bilateral serpiginous adrenal hyperplasia. The association of abnormal skin pigmentation, cholestasis and adrenal hyperplasia led to genetic assessment and diagnosis of MAS. A chest radiograph showed cardiomegaly. Repeated echocardiograms were performed revealing left ventricular hypertrophy, with initial thickness of the interventricular septum of 5.2mm (Z-Score 2.06) reaching a maximum of 7mm (Z-Score 3.44). Systemic hypertension (systolic pressures 90 to 145mmHg, diastolic pressures 55 to 105mmHg) was confirmed. Primary renal disease was excluded by normal values of plasma renin activity and aldosterone, as well as renal imaging studies; her urinary catecholamines were normal. Echocardiography also documented the presence of pulmonary hypertension (systolic pulmonary artery pressure 55 to 60mmHg) at 73 days of age, with progressive improvement until normalization. As the baby presented markedly decreased muscle tone, growth restriction, hypertension and hyperglycemia (150 to 345mg/dL), other endocrine investigations were performed. Data showed hyperthyroidism: thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) 0.01uU/mL (normal 0.5 to 6.0uU/mL); free thyroxine (T4) 2.51ng/dL (normal 0.8 to 1.76ng/dL); free triiodothyronine (T3) 3pg/dL (normal 2.3 to 4.2pg/dL). Levels of antithyroid antibodies were undetectable. Urinary free cortisol was increased (>75.0ug/dL/24 hours) and she had high serum cortisol without circadian variation (73.7ug/dL at 8 a.m., normal 4.3 to 23; 93.3ug/dL at 11 p.m., normal 2.4 to 13.6ug/dL) and no suppression on high-dose dexamethasone (108.4ug/dL). Her adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) level was normal (9.2pg/mL, normal 0 to 46pg/mL). These results were concordant with the diagnosis of ACTH-independent Cushing’s syndrome. A skeletal survey revealed generalized reduction of bone density, irregular ossification with areas of radiolucence surrounded by sclerosis most evident in her radius and ulna (Fig. 2). Molecular diagnosis was possible in DNA extracted from a buccal swab sample, followed by amplification of the GNAS gene and direct sequencing. The activating mutation c.602G> A, leading to p. Arg201 to His, was identified in mosaic, confirming the clinical diagnosis of MAS. The baby girl underwent medical treatment of Cushing’s syndrome with metyrapone (six daily doses of 40mg) from day 38 of age which was followed by rapid normalization of cortisol levels with glycemic and mean arterial pressure improvement (Fig. 3). Her growth velocity accelerated, producing gradual catch-up growth. Her thyroid function was controlled with methimazole 1mg/kg three times a day. Otherwise, her liver function test levels remained high (AST 709U/L, normal <34U/L; ALT 1656U/L, normal 12 to 78U/L; γGT 1541UI/L, normal <38UI/L; total bilirubin 7.65mg/dL, normal <1mg/dL; conjugated bilirubin 6.77mg/dL, normal <0.3mg/dL; total cholesterol 534mg/dL, normal <190mg/dL; triglycerides 198U/L mg/dL, normal <150mg/dL). A trial of phenobarbital and ursodeoxycholic acid was initiated in an effort to stimulate bile flow, but jaundice persisted. Hyperglycemia required insulin infusion from day 37 to day 47 of life and normalized after Cushing’s syndrome control. Hypertension control required the combination of two antihypertensive agents (propranolol and captopril) but normalized only after the introduction of metyrapone. Her echocardiogram showed a decrease in ventricular hypertrophy. She had developmental delay with no apparent vision or hearing impairment. Magnetic resonance imaging showed hypoplasia of the cerebellar vermis. The baby girl remained hospitalized due to oxygen dependence. At 4 months she was transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for acute respiratory failure in the context of a pulmonary infection leading to her death. No infectious agent was isolated. An anatomopathological examination was performed. Macroscopic observation of her habitus internus (internal general physical appearance) revealed lungs with increased consistence compatible with pneumonia, heart with biventricular hypertrophy, liver with chronic congestion abnormalities and increased weight, and cortical suprarenal increased thickness. Her ovary abnormalities were most remarkable, with her right ovary 3cm long and her left ovary replaced by a cystic formation of 5.5cm greater diameter (Fig. 4). At microscopic examination, micronodular hyperplasia of the adrenal glands confirmed the etiology of Cushing’s syndrome (Fig. 5). Cushing’s syndrome is the rarest of endocrine abnormalities found in MAS, and is caused by activation of Gsα in the adrenal cortex, leading to cortisol overproduction. Its prevalence in patients with fibrous dysplasia registered at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was 7.1% . Its occurrence in the neonatal period causes severe growth failure, poor muscle tone, muscular hypoplasia and hypertension; it is associated with increased and early mortality due to opportunistic infections, hence the importance of prophylactic treatment, notably for Pneumocystis species . Brown et al. reviewed all the published cases of Cushing’s syndrome in MAS (n = 30) and listed the following signs and symptoms: small for gestational age (50%), round facies (66.7%), failure to thrive (60%), hypertension (33.3%), nephrocalcinosis (30%), hirsutism (26.6%), hyperglycemia (20%), and linear growth arrest (10%). Additional clinical features included liver disease, such as cholestasis or elevated transaminases (36.7%), and heart disease, such as cardiomyopathy (26.7%) . In the present case, Cushing’s syndrome is likely to have manifested in utero, since the baby was born small for gestational age and profound hypotonia most probably as a result of prolonged exposure to hypercortisolism. The triad of failure to thrive, hypertension and hyperglycemia is the result of adrenal gland hyperplasia leading to high levels of serum cortisol. It is also possible that her comorbidities, such as hyperthyroidism and heart disease, contributed to her failure to gain weight. Although Cushing’s syndrome can resolve spontaneously, many cases necessitate medical or surgical treatment [5, 6]. No long-term effective medical treatment for ACTH-independent Cushing’s syndrome is available. It is difficult to recognize which patients could safely be monitored and treated medically and which could benefit from adrenalectomy. We decided for medical treatment with metyrapone as our patient had cholestatic hepatitis that contraindicated the use of ketoconazole. In particularly sick children, medical treatment with metyrapone may gain time until the child is healthy enough for surgery . Metyrapone was effective and well tolerated (Fig. 3). Therefore we agree with other authors that it is probably most appropriate to treat with metyrapone until a child is a suitable candidate for surgery. Long-term sequelae of Cushing’s syndrome in MAS comprise a significantly increased prevalence of cognitive disorders, including specific learning or speech disorders such as speech apraxia, and global developmental delay . These children need developmental follow-up. A case–control analysis of patients with MAS with and without Cushing’s syndrome revealed that the presence of Cushing’s syndrome was correlated with an increased number of clinical features of MAS, such as CAL spots, precocious puberty, hyperthyroidism, cognitive disorders and total number of MAS manifestations . An alternative explanation is that mutated Gsα is present in multiple organs as part of the mosaic MAS distribution, with Cushing’s syndrome signaling a greater total body mutation burden and consequently associating with more severe phenotypes. In fact, Cushing’s syndrome usually occurs in patients with MAS with significant involvement of multiple other tissues. Table 1 represents the previously reported cases of Cushing’s syndrome in patients with MAS associated with heart and liver disease, as described in the presented case. CAL spots are typically the first manifestation of the disease, appearing usually either at or shortly after birth . As such, they can be an early clue to the diagnosis of MAS. Classically, CAL spots have irregular borders (often described as similar to the coast of Maine). To what extent the size of spots correlates to the extent of disease is controversial. The presence of the Gsα mutation in thyroid tissue results in ligand-independent activation of the TSH/G-protein/cAMP pathway, which is known to result in both hyperplasia and hyperfunction . In addition, the Gsα mutation results in increased T4 to T3 conversion, which accounts for the T3-dominant biochemical phenotype of patients with MAS with hyperthyroidism . Although the development of thyroid cancer is rare, patients should be monitored with annual thyroid ultrasound . Spontaneous resolution rate is impossible to predict, so some form of treatment must be initiated. In our patient, her hyperthyroidism responded quite well to methimazole. Hepatobiliary dysfunction is included in the nonendocrine abnormalities associated with MAS and although it appears to be a rare manifestation, severe neonatal cholestasis and persistent elevated serum liver enzymes have been described [11–14]. The mechanism by which activated Gsα might cause hepatobiliary dysfunction remains unknown. Hepatitis is more pronounced after birth, has laboratory manifestations consistent with cholestasis, progressively wanes with age but usually persists into adulthood (albeit mild) and is virtually never associated with a functional defect in the synthesis of important hepatic factors . Both extra and intrahepatic bile ducts were patent in our patient, confirming that the defect lies at the level of the hepatocyte and/or biliary canalicular membrane, with the abnormal protein possibly interfering with the secretion of normal biliary components. The outcome of liver disease in previously described patients is not known . Weinstein et al. demonstrated that cardiac Gsα mutation is more likely to be found in patients with extensive disease. Sudden death, tachycardia, ventricular hypertrophy, high-output heart failure and aortic root dilatation have all been reported in association with MAS . It is not known whether it is a direct result of the presence of a primary cardiac Gsα mutation, or a secondary physiologic response to increased metabolic demand by hypercortisolism, hyperthyroidism and/or growth hormone excess. In this patient hypertension control required the association of two antihypertensives but it was only when Cushing’s syndrome was treated that the patient achieved the appropriate mean arterial pressure and myocardial hypertrophy reduced. Respiratory distress was due to multiple factors, such as prematurity and a high cardiac output. Control of the hypercortisolism did not improve respiratory function; although this was not previously described in the literature, perhaps pulmonary involvement was also the result of Gsα mutation in the lungs. The diagnosis of MAS with Cushing’s syndrome depends on having a high index of suspicion and CAL spots may be the clue for the diagnosis. In these patients rapid assessment for significant comorbidities should be performed, including hyperthyroidism, cardiac and liver disease. Evaluation for complications of the hypercortisolism should also be conducted, including hypertension and hyperglycemia, and hypercortisolism needs to be medically managed until definitive therapy. We conclude that the poor outcome of Cushing’s syndrome in this group reflects a greater burden of mutation-carrying cells. ▶ Cushing’s syndrome in the neonatal period may suggest a diagnosis of MAS. ▶ CAL skin pigmentation in neonates must lead to the consideration of MAS in the differential diagnosis. ▶ Neonatal cholestasis is rarely associated with MAS. ▶ Multiple endocrine abnormalities should alert the clinician to the possibility of MAS. ▶ Families should be counseled that MAS is sporadic and displays no known environmental association or predilection for ethnic group. We thank Dr Emília Vitorino for providing the information and photos of the anatomopathological examination. All the authors contributed to the work up of the patient including clinical evaluation, investigation and treatment planning. The manuscript has also been reviewed and approved by all authors.

2019-04-19T22:37:46Z

https://jmedicalcasereports.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13256-015-0689-2

We're all for spontaneous, last-minute bookings—hello, cheap flight deals—but there are some trips that require a bit more coordination. We're all for spontaneous, last-minute bookings at Traveler—hello, cheap flight deals—but there are some trips that have to be planned in advance. These are your multi-destination vacations, specialty experiences (like safaris, or getting the necessary permit to hike the Inca Trail), limited tours, and itineraries that take just a little more coordination. While you may not be able to jet off a week after you plan everything, we promise, the once-in-a-lifetime experiences are well worth it. Need some inspiration? Here are 30 trips you should plan at least a year in advance, from coastal Croatia to Peru and the Galápagos. While we've included an itinerary from a travel agent for each one, you can also opt to strike out on your own. If ten days on safari sounds like your ideal vacation, head for Botswana to camp near the wildlife (the best time to visit is from May to September). Don't miss the Central Kalahari Game Reserve—offering "some of the best summer wildlife viewing in Africa"—and be sure, too, to visit the Makgadikgadi Pass, where some 30,000 wildebeest and zebras pass through during the Great Migration. Spend time with a "colony of habituated meerkats" while you're there, and, upon your arrival at the Okavango Delta, make the most of the diverse environment, which you can explore via game drive, bush walk and canoe. For more details, read up on a full itinerary here. Croatia's undeniably beautiful coast and rich history makes for idyllic vacations. Stop by the capital, Zagreb, where you'll see baroque architecture and the fortified old city before moving on to Plitvice Lakes National Park—a UNESCO World Heritage site home to 16 lakes and waterfall after waterfall. Then, head to Split, an ancient port city, for gorgeous views of the Adriatic. The last leg should be spent in Dubrovnik—the fictional site of Game of Thrones' King's Landing— where you can grab a few more days by the coast before you depart. You can arrange this all own your own, but booking as one big trip is easier. Check out our full Voyages itinerary here for more inspiration. Calling all history buffs: This nine-day journey in Egypt was made for you. Start out in Cairo, where you'll tour the pyramids, ranging from the less-frequented Bent and Red Pyramids in Dashour to the Great Pyramids at Giza. Then, move on to Aswan for the High Dam and Temple of Philae, before seeing another ancient temple in Edfu: The shrine of the Falcon God Horus. A day in Luxor will show you the Karnak and Luxor Temples, before you return back to Cairo, where you'll shop in one of the "world's oldest marketplaces." If you'd like to book this trip with a guide, check out the full itinerary here. Craving the ultimate adventure? Look no further than this 13-day trip, which allows you to check two huge items off your bucket list—Machu Picchu and the Galápagos Islands. While in Peru, travelers can expect a tour of Cusco's colonial sites, an excursion to the "Sacred Valley of the Incas," and of course, Machu Picchu. Then, it's time to head to Galápagos via Ecuador. As you explore the various islands, the tour gives you options to snorkel with penguins and sharks, go on a volcanic hike, and observe the famed ecosystems (two words: giant tortoises)—you definitely won't be bored. To check out the rest of the itinerary, visit GeoEx's site. If you thought safaris were exclusive to Africa, think again: this Brazilian excursion not only stops in cosmopolitan Rio, but also hits the Amazon. After three days spent exploring the capital city, including the colonial mansions, imperial palace, and Tijuca National Park (an Atlantic rainforest), head into the jungle. Expect guided hikes, archery classes, and swimming with endangered Amazonian dolphins. Nature lovers will also enjoy the next leg of the trip, Pantanal, where you might encounter anything from a "giant otter" to howler monkeys. Interested, but want a little help in planning it all? You can book here. Oman, "From Sand to Sea" Adventuring through Oman—starting in Muscat and ending at the Musandam Peninsula—checks off several adventures in nine days. You can camp in the desert at Wahiba Sands, home to a traditional Bedouin tribe; visit Bahla, a medieval Islamic fortified town and UNESCO World Heritage site; and explore the Bimmah Sinkhole, a depression at the bottom of a "cavernous limestone bowl, featuring magnificent emerald blue water." Conclude your journey at the Six Senses in Dubai, which has a beach—you know, in case you felt the whole trip was missing something. Don't want to travel alone? Check out the rest of the itinerary and book here. Going island-hopping in Indonesia may sound like a dream, but you can easily make it a reality. Yes, you should stop by Bali: Visit the rural "heartland's" many temples in Ubud, such as Pura Taman Ayun and Pura Luhur Batukaru (near Gunung Batukaru, Bali's second highest mountain), and tour Kusamba, where local fisherman "produce artisanal sea salt on volcanic black sand." But also stop by Yogyakarta in Java, where you can see the UNESCO-acclaimed Borobudur Temple and explore the palace of sultans in old city. There will still be plenty of time to see Bali when you circle back for your departure and sun on Jimbaran Bay, one of Bali's "most beautiful beaches." This trip can be done alone, but going with a guide will make it run that much more smoothly. Check out an itinerary here for inspiration. Seeing South Africa in one go can be hard, especially on your own. But Victoria Falls, tastings in Wineland, and "Big Five" game drives at the Sabi Sand Game Reserve are all included in this South Africa excursion, which comes in at just under two weeks long. You'll travel from Cape Town to Johannesburg, stopping along the way to explore local markets, cook on the beach, and bike around the countryside. Plus, there's a kayaking trip to observe sea penguins. For more details, read about the full trip here. If you're even remotely into Harry Potter, book your next trip to Yorkshire to drink tea in the village used to film Hogsmeade, known as Goathland. Other activities we recommend include exploring Manchester with a private guide, seeing how Wensleydale cheese is made—and trying some, naturally—and climbing the steps of Whitby Abbey for some stunning vistas of the sea. If none of the above piques your interest, you can unwind with a spa treatment at The Grand Hotel & Spa (but to be honest, we were sold at Harry Potter). Check out the rest of the itinerary here. If you haven't made it to Australia yet, don't worry: Many of the continent's greatest hits can be fit into a two-week time period. You can plan your own adventure, or check out our Voyages itinerary, which includes a private yacht cruise around Sydney, food and art tours through Melbourne, surfing lessons at Bondi Beach, and exploring Satellite Island, in Tasmania. There's something for every traveler, whether you're outdoorsy and adventurous or more interested in unwinding on the beach. For more information, check out the itinerary here. Hungry? Reserve your spot on Wild China's Dali food tour, led by Mei Zhang. Taking place in the southern city of Dali—famed for its salt-cured ham—Zhang will take you on a weeklong journey of artisanal cooking. There's salt-making, handmade Shaxi cheese demonstrations, a three-cup tea ceremony, and vegetable pickling all packed in to one itinerary—basically, it's every gourmand's dream. Because you do have to take some eating breaks, you'll also visit markets and view a musical performance along the way. We recently debated the ethics of visiting Myanmar right now, and whether or not it's safe to go. Should you decide to visit, we recommend setting aside at least ten days to see the country's natural beauty and ties to spirituality. With this suggested itinerary, two monasteries are included on the journey—Mahagandayon in Amarapura, and Bagayar in Inwa—and you'll also stop by multiple temples. Six days in, the trip heads to Inle Lake, a massive body of water populated with floating gardens and villages. And in the last leg, you'll see the famous reclining Buddha, paired with a stint at the National Museum and afternoon tea. To find out more, see the full trip here. This one's for you, wilderness lovers: This 12-day trip starts and ends in Buenos Aires—naturally, a tango performance is included—but most of the journey is spent exploring Patagonia. There, you can see the Petit Moreno Glacier; explore Torres del Paine National Park, one of Chile's most iconic landscapes; and, even hang with Magellanic penguins at the Otway Sound, on the way to Puerto Natales. You can arrange it all alone, or book this vacation here. Carnival doesn’t need an introduction: The vibrant festival, celebrated in iterations all around the world, is legendary. Expect samba dancing in the streets, elaborate costumes, parades, and live bands—basically, one enormous block party. The celebration in Rio is the largest, according to USA Today, so you’ll want to book at least a year in advance to get the best hotels and restaurant reservations. If you opt to book with a travel company like Ovation Vacations, they can get you extra perks: think VIP tickets and the perfect festival outfit. After arriving in the capital of Rwanda—Kigali—head to Volcanoes National park for this eco-adventure, and stay at the lodge. Dedicate two days to observing endangered mountain gorillas: With the assistance of a guide, you'll climb to the bamboo forests they inhabit. Set aside another half day to spend searching for golden monkeys, "one of the most endangered primates in Africa." During down time, you can choose to relax at the lodge or strike out to one of the nearby lakes or villages. Upon leaving Volcanoes National Park, we suggest returning to Kigali once more for your final night in Rwanda. To find out more, read the whole itinerary here. If getting up close and personal with the world's highest active volcano tickles your fancy, book your next trip in Ecuador. This suggested nine-day journey takes you to lunch in the foothills of Cotopaxi, night hikes in the jungle near Mashpi Lodge, and the Temple of the Sun in Cuenca—basically, it's the ultimate eco-adventure. There are also brief visits to Quito, too, for some art and culinary activities. To find out more about this trip—and how to book with a guide—click here. This trip through northern India hits Delhi, ancient Varanasi, Agra, Jaipur, and Mumbai in 12 days, packing in plenty of one-in-a-lifetime experiences in between. There's a sunset cruise along the sacred river Ganges, a culinary tour in Varanasi, tours of Jaipur's famous forts—and of course, a pitstop at the Taj Mahal. And did we mention you'll get to ride elephants? This Voyages tour touches upon Ethiopia's religious roots (Orthodox Christian) with several visits to churches and cathedrals—even a pilgrimage to Axum, the supposed home of the Ark of the Covenant and the Queen of Sheba. Then, days spent in the Simien Mountains will showcase natural wildlife, including monkeys, ibexes, and bushbucks. The trip starts and ends in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital and the location of Africa's largest open-air market, the Mercato, where you can find anything from spices to livestock. If you're interested, learn more here. A street food tour in Hanoi, a cooking class in Hoi An, and sampling cuisine at some of the region’s top new restaurants: If any (or all) of the above make your mouth water, check out GeoEx’s 16-day tour through Southeast Asia. The trip hits Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, with emphasis on local cuisine. In between bites, travelers will experience traditions such as the daily Tak Bat ritual in Luang Prabang, when monks walk through the city streets with alms bowls (hence, “almsgiving”) to collect offerings. Pit-stops to Halong Bay (A UNESCO World Heritage Site in Vietnam), and (optionally) Angkor Wat are also included in the tour. If you want to book this adventure as part of a tour group, check out the full itinerary here. There's a reason many of our editors have recently been to Morocco: It's full of lively cities and dynamic natural landscapes. In touring Fez, Marrakech, and Casablanca, you'll get to experience everything from visiting the Roman ruins of Volubilis to spending an evening in Marrakech's Djemaa el Fna market square—complete with "musicians, fire eaters, storytellers, and snake charmers." Book a guide and add on a trip to the beautiful Ourika Valley. Tempted? Read our full suggested itinerary here. This excursion through Tanzania hits several national parks (yes, including Serengeti) and conservation areas: After you land in Kilimanjaro, head to Tarangire National Park, where you can expect to see anything from herds of elephants to more than 500 types of birds. Then, after two days, you'll drive to a luxury lodge right on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater and observe the Big Five (rhino, buffalo, leopard, lion, elephant), before visiting Serengeti. The itinerary starts and ends in Kilimanjaro, so if you're looking to climb it, consider tacking that on before or after this vacation. That definitely takes a year to plan in advance, considering the shape you'll need to be in. Petra, Jordan, is on our list of 18 Places to Go in 2018, and if you book this trip, you'll get to see it for yourself. While you're there, explore the city's famed red sandstone architecture (it's a UNESCO World Heritage site), and try your luck at hiking the 400 mile-long Jordan Trail, if you're feeling brave. The Dead Sea is also within reach, and you can relax at the on site resorts and take a famously light swim—or kick back at the spas, if you really need to unwind. You can fly in and out of Amman; make sure you don't miss the capital's impressive collection of ancient ruins. If this sounds like your kind of trip—and you want to use a travel company—book here. If you're heading to Japan, don't think you can visit for five days and call it done: instead, take at least a week of vacation to make the journey from Tokyo to Osaka, where you'll experience cuisine, culture, and craft. In Tokyo, sample a traditional kushiage meal of fried meat and vegetables before visiting the Imperial East Garden and Meiji Shrine; in Kyoto, a castle, the Nishiki food market, and a traditional tea ceremony can be packed into one day. You can (and should) also make a stop at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park before arriving in Osaka. By the time the trip wraps up, you'll have experienced a great deal of Japan in just under two weeks. If you're looking to book with a travel agent, check out the Voyages itinerary here. From Paro to Jakar, this Red Savannah tour spans 14 days in Bhutan, and includes a visit to the annual Black-Necked Crane Festival if you go in in November, which highlights the “importance of conserving endangered Black-Necked Cranes,” as well as the link between economic welfare, sustainable living, and happiness. You’ll see the bird for yourself in Phobjikha Valley, and also explore museums, visit a medieval village (Ura), and the Burning Lake, which is sacred for local Buddhists. Definitely book this adventure well in advance if you want to go to the festival—for more info, check out the full itinerary. The ‘Stans—Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan—may be off the tourist path, but they're well worth a visit. There’s stunning Islamic architecture, deep historical roots (as in, Alexander the Great and Ghengis Khan) and several UNESCO World Heritage sites. You can even get a private calligraphy lesson with a master in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, if you book with a travel company like GeoEx. In fact, their tour pays a great deal of attention to traditional crafts overall, including carpet-weaving, wood-carving, and silk-making, making it well-suited for design enthusiasts. Given that the region doesn't see many American tourists, consider booking with a guide to make the logistics easier. You can check out the rest of GeoEx's itinerary here. Any food and wine vacation is good by us—especially in Spain and Portugal. Start out in Spain, checking out museums in Madrid, wine tastings and Michelin-starred meals in La Rioja, and touring the UNESCO World Heritage-approved cathedral in Burgos. Then, it's time to cross the border into Portugal—and naturally, visit Porto's world-famous wine cellars. Make sure Lisbon is also on your list, so you can tour the Castelo de São Jorge and Tower of Belem, yet another UNESCO World Heritage site. Then, wrap everything up back in Seville (and definitely take a tapas walk). If all you want to focus on is the wine and food, leave the planning to someone else—and check out the rest of the proposed itinerary here. This epic Red Savannah itinerary begins in El Calafte, southern Argentina, and also hits Los Glaciares National Park—where you can sail, fish, ride, and observe the wildlife—before heading to Ushuaia, South America’s southernmost city. Then it’s off to Antarctica, via a cruise through the Drake Passage. Upon arrival, you’ll see penguins and all the seals (leopard, fur, elephant), gleaming icebergs, and Port Lockroy, a natural harbor that’s seen days as a British military base and research station. Oh, and did we mention there’s a spa on the ship? To find out more, check out Red Savannah's itineraries for Argentina and Antarctica, which you can combine into one trip. From Colombo to Galle, this trip will take you all over the island nation of Sri Lanka. Stop at Sigiriya, which is the gateway to Lion's Rock, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and look at sixth-century frescoes. There's also a "lost city," Anuradhapura, which we recommend exploring with a guide to learn about the history and myths surrounding it. And in Kandy, also known as the "last capital of Sri Lankan Kings," stop at an elephant orphanage, where you can watch them play and swim in the river. To find out more about how to book with a guide, read our suggested ten-day itinerary here. The annual migration of wildebeest and zebra is a focal point in this Red Savannah safari, which comprises an 11-day itinerary spread across the northern Serengeti, as well as Pemba Island in Zanzibar. You’ll sleep in tents and drive through the plains to follow the migration—including the dangerous crossing wildebeest undertake at the Mara River—before wrapping up the trip near the Indian Ocean, on the beach. You can learn more about this ultimate adventure here. If you’ve ever dreamed of seeing polar bears in the wild, this is your trip. For 23 days in August, travel company GeoEx will take you around the arctic, making stops in Iceland, the High Canadian Arctic, Greenland, and the latter’s outlying islands. You’ll see humpback whales as you sail up Greenland’s west coast, explore the tundra on Philpots Island, and, at Qilakitsoq (an archeological site in Northwestern Greenland) view mummies dating back to 1475. As an added bonus, the excursion starts and ends in Reykjavik, meaning you’ll also get that coveted Instagram at the Blue Lagoon. For more information and booking instructions, check out the full itinerary here.

2019-04-21T18:35:25Z

https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/trips-to-book-a-year-in-advance

Many methodologies are linked to the agile movement. This article introduces and compares three of these agile processes: scrum, kanban and extreme programming. Kanban is a project management techniques based on Toyota’s just-in-time scheduling method. This framework support the project work and facilitate the focus on delivering value to the customer. These three tools represent an important support for project management as they provide a valid guidance for the application of the Agile methodology in different contexts. After a short introduction regarding the Agile movement, each tool will be discussed both theoretically and in connection with a business example of real case; they will be compared and critically evaluated. The traditional iron triangle of project management, also called triple constraints of project management, is formed by scope, schedule and budget which represent the criteria for performance measurement. On the contrary, according to the Agile principles, success can be assessed through the value (to the customer), quality (in order to continue delivering value to the customer) and constraints (scope, schedule and cost). These three elements constitute the Agile triangle, shown in picture 1. The agile methodologies help companies to react to unpredictable events through an incremental and iterative process and empirical feedback. It provides a way to measure the performance of a project throughout the development lifecycle through regular cadences of work, called sprints or iterations. At the end of each phase, the teams should be able to present a potentially shippable product increment and every aspect of the development is revisited. Agile project management must involve not only the product development processes, but also the entire business. A lack of proper support from the business stakeholders would probably lead to the failure of the project. Scrum is an incremental method, as shown in picture 2, for product development and uses length-fixed phases, called sprints, that usually last one or two weeks and that represent one iteration. At the end of each iteration, the teams should deliver a potentially shippable product. Scrum is a very structured methodology and includes several rules, such as fixed roles for the team members and typical meetings to gather the employees. The employees involved are organized in small teams which are cross-functional -the members have different backgrounds and skills- and self-organizing -the members organise their own work. The size of the teams is limited, the optimal number is approximately seven people. According to this methodology, the Scrum team consists of three roles: the product owner, the development team and the scrum master. The product owner is in charge of maximizing the value of the product and the work of the development team. This process may differ, depending on the company, the scrum teams and the people. More precisely, the product owner is responsible for the management of the product backlog (the list of all the desired features of the output), which includes the following activities: listing all the product backlog items, ordering the items of the product backlog in order to facilitate the achievement of the goals, optimising the work performed by the development team, ensuring visibility, transparency and clearness of the product backlog, making sure the development team understands the items in the product backlog. The development team is formed by experts with the role of developing the Increment that is released at the end of each sprint. These participants are the only one who can decide and manage the way to deliver their own work, which means that the teams are self-organizing. Another characteristic is the cross-functionality: it is decisive that the members have different backgrounds, skills and knowledge, in order to develop a complete Increment. The scrum master is engaged in ensuring that the scrum theory and principles are fully understood and that everyone is behaving and working in compliance to them. Moreover, he has the role to identify the not really helpful interactions and processes and to correct them. The scrum methodology mandates five types of meetings: sprint, sprint planning, daily scrum, sprint review, sprint retrospective. The sprint is a time frame lasting one month or less and, once it has started, it is not possible to modify its length. The conclusion of this phase is characterized by the delivery of a potentially releasable product Increment and the beginning of a new sprint is immediately following. If the sprint is too long, complexity and unpredictability increase. Sprint planning is another fundamental phase for the scrum: the entire team is engaged in establishing a work plan for the sprint. The maximum duration for the planning of a one-month long spring is eight hours. During this session, the final delivery is outlined and the work needed to achieve this is decided by the development team through the choice of the product backlog items. Finally, all the team member select a sprint goal. In order to maintain alignment and focus, the development team uses a daily scrum, which is a quick (15 minutes) meeting, held at the same time in the same place every day. Its goal is analyzing what has been done since the previous daily scrum and agreeing on a plan for the following 24 hours. At the end of each sprint, a 4-hours sprint review is organized by the scrum master. A complete understanding of the purpose of the meeting is of the utmost importance as the Increment is evaluated and eventually the product backlog adjusted for the following phases. Moreover, after the sprint review and before a new planning, a sprint retrospective meeting can occur. The scrum team should participate and assess the processes and tools, but also people and relationships in the sprint that is just concluded; it continues with a selection of possible improvements and a plan to carry them out. Big projects lead to high risks: through the introduction of sprints, planning and control activities are easier to manage. Difficult communication between different sites: the use of roles (e.g. scrum master, product owner…) enabled a more efficient communication between sites and within the same site. Difficult data management: handling the correct flow of documentation, excel sheets and data is complicated. However, through the utilisation of tools like the product backlog, all the required information can be easily found. Lack of visibility of the project’s progress: the adoption of Sprints allowed the visualization of the status of the project. The word Kanban has its origin in Asia, and the translation is “signboard” from Japanese and “looking at the board” from Chinese. Originally, Kanban was a tool to control inventory developed by Taiichi Ohno and linked with the concept of Just-In-Time production. In project management, it is a system that allows visual control over the project and consists of two main elements, the Kanban board and the Kanban cards. The Kanban board is divided into columns: the minimum number is three, corresponding to input queue, working and done. The Kanban cards usually contain the activity that has to be performed and indicate the priority of the task through a different colour or type of card. The kanban methodology can be customised and practically applied through five steps , shown in figure 3. Step 1: Capture your team’s high-level routine. A team usually performs a large variety of different works, but the Kanban is especially focused on the improvement of products and infrastructure. An example of a high-level routine for producing improvements is depicted in figure 4. In order to keep the routine simple, only the steps performed by the team should be included and two sequential steps done by the same person should be merged. In general, very common routine phases are Specify, Implement and Validate. Step 2: Redecorate your wall. Once the routine steps are identified, a Kanban board should be created. Picture 5 shows an example: it is formed by the columns Backlog, Specify, Implement and Validate. It represents a support for the team because it helps to track and visualize the progress of the work through the use of note cards (e.g.post-its). Step 3: Set limits on chaos. Limiting chaos is a fundamental issue for project management. For the Kanban, the amount of work in progress tasks(WIP) is limited, which means that there is an upper limit for the number of note cards in each phase. This constraint is useful in two ways: it limits the amount of projects that can undergo changes in priorities, requirements or design and it also regulates the pace of all the steps based on the pace of the slowest step. The goal for this step is to keep the lowest WIP level possible, still maintaining the team engaged in its task of delivering value to the customer. As shown in figure 5, the steps in the Kanban board, except for backlog, have two columns each. Before a note card is placed on the second column of a step, it must have fulfilled certain requirements decided and discussed together with all the team members. The main reason for the double column in the step is to create clearness about the status of the process (done and ready to start a new step or actually starting a new step) and avoid misunderstandings. Step 5: Run your daily standup. Once the team has reached this step, it is ready to use Kanban. When the backlog is full of activities, no planning meetings, no sprints and no deadlines are required. The only typical meetings are the daily standup meetings, where eventually some issues can be discussed (for instance if team members are blocked in their tasks) and the activities are assigned to the different people. It is also an occasion to keep all the members updated about the ongoing activities. Metaphor - a story guides the team telling how the system works. The metaphor is substituting the usual traditional models and procedures. Planning game - the end users define the characteristics of the output through a story. The programmers prioritise the tasks depending on their complexity, importance and time required. They plan to process the most complex one at the beginning in order to mitigate the risks. Small releases - the customer is regularly and continuously informed and involved in the process through small releases, delivered every two to three weeks. Simple design - the programmers deliver exactly what the customer currently needs. Simple design also decreases complexity. Testing - testing is continuously performed, from both the customer and programmers side. Refactoring - the system is restructured in order to remove duplication, simplify the code and improve the flexibility without changing the way the code works. Pair-programming - two programmers are working side by side in order to provide feedback and discuss each other’s work. Collective ownership - Every programmer is allowed to change any other code from another programmer. Some studies showed that the implementation of this method decreases the number of bugs in the system. Continuous integration - The code is integrated and tested very often, after a few hours or a day maximum. In this way, all the potential problems and responsible can be quickly identified. Forty-hours workweeks - it is strongly recommended that programmers work 40 hours per week. If necessary, they can exceptionally work overtime, but it would not be accepted for two weeks in a row. On-site customer - a customer representative is working with the team and is available to answer questions about the system and solve issues. Coding standards - it is necessary that all the programmers in the team adopt the same standards. These standards can also be written in collaboration with the team in order to find the more suitable ones. Extreme programming technique can be conveniently applied in many contexts. For instance, Knublauch et al. presented the development of a clinical multi-agent system through the use of extreme programming. An agent is an “encapsulated computer system that is situated in some environment and is capable of flexible and autonomous action in order to meet the objective of its principal” ; in the area of clinical information system, the agents can be useful sending critical patients’ data to the doctor at the right time. Communication problems and misunderstandings linked to the different languages doctors and programmers have, were solved through the metaphor (in this case, a transposition of clinical concepts into engineering processes). The three methodologies can be compared in several aspects. In the waterfall method, chaos is controlled by the precise planning of the work ahead, the change-request system and synchronization of the work of the different teams at predetermined milestones. In the Scrum approach, control is established by the sprint planning, the avoidance of changes during the sprint and the work adjustment in collaboration with the customer at the end of each sprint. Kanban approach limits chaos by establishing a maximum WIP in each phase. Extreme programmers adhere to a precise set of defined standards, decided among the team members. Scrum methodology imposes many rules about the team meetings and roles, but leaves the development team the freedom to choose how to perform the task. Extreme programming includes a lot of standard procedures, while Kanban is less prescriptive. Kanban can be adopted by co-located teams - the proximity to the Kanban board is of the utmost importance - and when the items in the backlog are frequently changing. The limitation of WIP is convenient in case of limited resources or when an input from each team member is required in each item. Co-location is important for Scrum, but it represents a fundamental prerequisite for Extreme Programming, due to the pair programming and the involvement of the customer in the process. Kanban keeps track, analyzes and optimises the cycle time through continuous improvement. Scrum aims at improving the output and velocity of the team in the following sprints. For this reason, Scrum may be more suitable for scaling in large organizations. These three methods adhere to the Agile principles but can be applied in different contexts: Kanban is suitable when the items in the backlog are frequently changing and efficiency can be increased through the limitation of WIP, maintaining the existing roles and responsibilities at the same time. Scrum can be adopted by teams that devote their time to a project or product, and that need to be really structured in order to increase productivity, while having the freedom to choose how to engineer the processes. Extreme programming is deeply focused on delivering a high-quality output to the customer through a set of core engineering practices that guarantee simplicity but also customer satisfaction. Scrum, Kanban and Extreme programming can be applied to different contexts, but they can be also adapted to specific needs and mixed in order to obtain customised tools that are more useful than a simple, strict and one-size-fits-all application of the principles. Agile frameworks are not suitable for the application in certain engineering contexts that do not allow continuous iterations, such as the automotive industry. Scrum, Kanban and Extreme programming are extremely useful to manage a project, but their application includes some limitations, here sorted according to the different tools. Jim Highsmith has a long experience as project manager, IT manager, product manager and software developer. He is one of the founders of the Agile Alliance and a co-author of the Agile manifesto. In the first part of “Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Projects”, he clearly defines and describes the Agile methodology and compares it to the traditional waterfall method for project management. Then, he deeply analyses the principles contained in the Manifesto (individuals and interactions over processes and tools, customer collaboration over contract negotiation, responding to change over following a plan, working software over comprehensive documentation). In the first chapters, Lawrence P. Leach discusses the motivations that can lead a project manager change his way of planning and delivering a project. A relevant part of the book is committed to the description of Kanban and its applications. First, he briefly illustrates its origins; then, he shows the use and the main features of the Kanban board with the support of examples. He also applies some of the Kanban principles to Critical chain project management. Finally, he guides the application of the methodology with easy and practical steps, both for single - project and multiproject organizations. The author, Eric Brechner, is a software developer that experienced and challenged many methods for software development. With this book, he wants to provide a practical guide on how to implement Kanban through some simple steps. Moreover, he gives advice about the transition from waterfall or scrum methodologies to Kanban. Then, the implementation of Kanban system in large organizations is discussed. Kenneth S. Rubin is an agile/scrum trainer and coach, is part of the Scrum Alliance and carried out many executive management positions in his career. He is the author of the best-selling book Essential scrum: a practical guide to the most popular agile process, among others. The publication is divided into four parts, each focusing on a different aspect. First, he describes the core concepts, then he explains the Scrum roles. The third part defines the planning activities and processes, and finally the different types of sprints are illustrated. It is a complete and clear guide that explains deeply Scrum methodology. Knublauch and Rose, from the Research Institute for Applied Knowledge Processing, and Koeth, from the Institute for Psychology and Ergonomics and TU Berlin, explain the application of Extreme programming to a clinical multi-agent system. The case study was carried out during an XP course for Computer Science students at the University of Ulm in 2001. All the main principles of extreme programming were applied and the paper describes for each of them the implications the rules represented in this experience. The article is a good example of an application of extreme programming in a real and very specific case.

2019-04-22T22:18:38Z

http://apppm.man.dtu.dk/index.php/The_Agile_methodology_and_its_frameworks

Curbside Classic: 1966 Mercedes 250SE Cabriolet (W111) – The Classiest Mercedes Of Them All? (first posted 10/20/2012) Is there a classier postwar Mercedes? The W111 Cabriolet became an instant classic from the day it arrived in 1961, and its image and status only grew greater during its eleven-year production lifespan. It commanded respect parked in front of the world’s ritziest hotels, casinos and restaurants, despite being essentially a convertible version of the ubiquitous German taxicab. There were Mercedes that were sportier, Grosser and technically more impressive, but never one classier, at least in my book. Paul Bracq gets credit for transforming the charming but boxy W111 “Flossen” sedan into the handsome coupe and cabriolet versions. His approach, which essentially married the classic Benz front end to a softer-looking body and more graceful roofline, won out over other designs that ditched the Mercedes radiator for a stark, modern front similar to that of the later W113 SL “Pagoda”. Although such would be the case with this car’s much more recent successors, in 1960 this was the way to go. In the good old days of Mercedes, their essence always seemed to be a dance of traditional and modern–a graceful veneer over the kind of constant and endless tug-of-war typified by the conflict over this car’s front-end design. Mercedes was able to synthesize those two seemingly contradictory forces into one potent amalgam that the W111 Cabriolet exuded from every pore of its steel, leather, wood and whatever those magnificent thrones were stuffed with. In terms of Beverly Hills pecking order, this car gave up little to the Rolls-Royce Corniche convertible during its reign that lasted well into the ’80s…or has that reign yet ended? For over twenty years, Mercedes didn’t even pretend to build a successor to the W111 Cabrio, prior to the W124-based 1993 CE300: A very nice car (like all W124s), but one that could never live quite up to the rep and status of the W111 Cabrio. It always remained in demand, and I suspect few cars ever had better resale value from the get-go, which in itself answers the question. And those resale values are still soaring; typically, those for the final version of the 280 SE 3.5 Cabrio are in six figures. This example is a 250 SE, built about midway through the W111’s evolution. Only 2105 of these were ever built, at a rate of thirteen per week, and witha very large amount of handwork. With seven main bearings and other improvements, its fuel-injected 2,496 cc, 150-hp SOHC M129 six had been revised substantially from the engine in the first-series 220SE. When teamed with a stick, as in this car, it can power the 250 SE to a top speed of 120 mph (193 kmh). Given its Euro-style headlights and stick shift, this one undoubtedly was imported from Europe at some point in its life, after which the speedometer was converted from kilometers to miles. It has the fine Fuchs alloy wheels, which were first available in 1969 and thus obviously not original. But those whitewalls are not at all so fine; bad call there. And for some odd reason, this particular car is showing more positive camber than usual at the rear. Maybe it came to a stop there under severe braking? Not likely. The patented low-pivot swing axles were nearing the end of their life; although Mercedes had tamed most of the design’s vices, it was high time to move on. Tradition can become ossification. The 280 SE version arrived for 1968. Also available in the final two years of 1970 and 1971 was a 280 SE 3.5, which had the new V8 as well as a substantially squatter “radiator” shell–in retrospect, the latter seems a somewhat unfortunate move. Still pretty classy, though. Needless to say, all these convertibles had a very high-quality top with substantial padding between its inner and outer shells. But then, so did the VW Beetle Cabriolet; it’s a German thing, couldn’t just have a drafty, fluttery piece of fabric overhead, unless it was a real roadster. How much tradition was invested in this? About as much as any automotive symbol, ever. During the Great Mercedification Era in the US, it represented the Holy Grail, which Detroit imitated blatantly. That only made the real thing even more desirable–and, quite possibly in the case of the Cabriolet, the most desirable of them all. A neighbor had one of these cabriolets when I was a child in the 70s/80s. The family had a constantly rotating stable of classic cars which they would drive regularly and then sell after a year or two, and the only two cars that they kept long-term were his 1960 Corvette, which he restored himself in his garage, and her 280SE 4.5 cabriolet. I saw them still driving these cars about 10 years ago, and I hear that they still have both cars, after at least 30 years. It says something about the stature of this car, which is one of the most elegant designs ever. I consider it neck and neck with the Lincoln Continental as the most beautiful non-sports car of the 1960s. Really classy….if you like cramped little compacts with high levels of NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness), vinyl upholstery (generally), shoddy automatic transmissions that jerked changes, incredibly small engines that probably could not even *start* a big block American V8, hard seats, and boring styling. And you get to pay a huge premium for this nonsense, too. Give me a Continental of that era any day. This is not a small car. And if the seating was in the tradition of the 1950s Mercedes cars, it is supremely comfortable. My experience of Mercedes was my dad’s 1961 190Db, a splendid car cursed with the indestructible lump of a 1.9 liter Diesel. The seats were cushy yet supportive in a way that we have lost, and the ride was, by modern standards, soft and pleasingly compliant. Yet somehow that car handled crisply, too. I can only imagine what the experience must be like, taken up a few notches in the line-up, and with a fuel-injected six. It is clear that Mercedes and Lincoln had VERY different ideas of what luxury was/meant during the 1960’s. It sounds like the Continental is for you then! Ok, well, go and get the Continental then and I am sure you will be happy with it. I’ll take the Mercedes, any day, thank you and I shall refrain from making any comments about the Lincoln’s deficiencies. Finally, the car pictured originally had the rare sport seats installed, you can tell by the small remnant of an armrest on the side of the back seating area, the bench seats, that this one now carries, didn’t have the armrest. Well said! I have seen those optional seats you mentioned described as both Sports seats and Safari seats (why?) and have always wondered if they were two different designs or different names for the same thing. I have a 280 SE 3.5 Coupe and it is exactly as you say. Glides along supremely, yet handles very well and absorbs bumps in one go that would keep a Lincoln bouncing for a mile. The ride and handling qualities are extraordinary for a car of this era and surpass those of many modern cars. The auto is very smooth, often changes are heard not felt and this was a 4 speed unit at a time when 2 and 3 speeds were the usual offering. Even though it is a relatively high revving unit, the engine is remarkably smooth and vibration free. Noise is very well controlled and when cruising you can actually hear the clock! (Yes, it is quite a loud clock, but the car is very quiet). There is not a single rattle, squeak or groan to be heard and there is no wind roar from the pillar less side windows until you are way over the speed limit and even then it is muted. To have driven one of these back in the day must have been a revelation. Mine is one of the original 58 right hand drive 3.5 coupes delivered to Australia. Only 245 were ever made in RHD, so it is a rather rare bird indeed. I would love a matching cabriolet but they only ever brought 8 of those here and the prices are stratospheric! I have a 250se cabriolet with RHD and four on the floor gear stick, I bought it new in 1967 in Europe and have had it ever since. I live in Perth Australia. Car has only done about 70 k miles and is pretty much still like new. …shoddy automatics they are not. Well built, long lasting, instant shifting they are..clearly not for all tastes especially if one is looking for “unobtrusive” shifts. Most large engine / auto trans combos use a very loose torque converter which helps that feel. Conversely, a Mercedes style design – using a fluid coupling vs a torque converter (1000 rpm range stall speed) and a 2.5 liter (150 cu in) engine with 170 hp @ 6000 rpm- the rpm drop between gears is larger but more direct feeling. Simply a question of what resonates with each individual taste. The “vinyl” interior aspect of Dermot’s comment also stirred my interest. A fairly large number of Mercedes-Benz cars were delivered with leather interiors, which has a finite service life, before progressing past the “patina” stage. The alternative upholstery material was MB-Tex, which looks so close to leather material that many times it is described as such. Aside from appearances, I am certain the seat ergonomics are beyond reproach, as my personal frame of reference spans 90% of automotive design — and I am a BIG fan of good design. Our car collections are “drivers”…except when they are “pushers” in which case we refer to them as “crossfit equipment”…. I rarely use the word “adore,” but I absolutely adore the instrument panels on Mercedes of this era. Real wood, heavy plating on the shiny bits, full gauges…they simply reeked of quality in a way that few of its competitors ever could. Fast forward to last Thursday, when I test drove a C-class. Nice enough car, great tactile quality to the controls, much better executed interior than in its immediate successor – but aside from the walnut veneer, not much to delight the eye. I’m not sure if the Mercedes mystique has died, or if it’s simply that the “everyday brands” have caught up. About the Mercedes mystique, I think the problem is partly that the cars have lost the exclusivity they once had, in terms of numbers on the road. Seeing a Mercedes on the road was an Event when I was young. But once a car is advertised on prime-time television (as the E-class was here) I find it hard to consider it as something exclusively luxurious. Instead it seems pitched at everyman, as a slightly better product to aspire to. In chasing sales, it has lost that intangible prestige. And back then, Mercedes had a distinct look, unlike any other car on the road. The new ones look disappointingly Hyundai-esque. What a great car. That it is a white convertible with a red leather interior just makes it all the better. I miss the era when every country’s cars had an unmistakable personality and accent. Today, so many are morphing into a sort of universal average, much as a TV newscaster in Boston or in Houston sounds like a guy from central Illinois. A fabulous find. Does the guy take his prized Blaupunkt radio indoors at night? My favorite Mercedes, bar none. I find the coupe equally beautiful, but I’d much prefer the classic color-keyed wheel covers to the alloys on this example. Autoart makes a splendid 1/18 model of the coupe, as seen below. Neanderthal Land with safety features. What would a Mercedes look like today if it were designed with a similar philosophy? It’s hard to even picture it because the brand has strayed so far into postmodern Italian taffyland. VW/Audi has done a much better job of maintaining a German quality to their designs. Yes…I agree with all of what you’ve said. I love the ‘Teutonic’ elegance and restraint of current VW/Audi products. Especially the Jetta/Passat. My father bought a dark blue 1968 280SE coupe and kept it until the late 80s. These pictures reminded me of the rich smell of the red leather seats and the wood trim. I do love the little stubby fins on the rear of this design. It is a beautiful car but I do prefer my Mercedes to be grosser… love large sedans. Wow! I’ve never seen one of those W124 cabrios in my life! Not bad. Oh and the W111 is nice too of course. Is it fair to say that this cars headlights heavily influenced Pontiac designers with the 63 Grand Prix, actually the entire front end seems inspired by this when i squint my eyes. I’d agree; that car is the embodiment of beauty and dispenses old myth that the Germans were only interested in the utilitarian aspects of automotive design, leaving the aesthetic criteria to the Italians and French. I think of the German aesthetic as being quite no-nonsense, no-frills. That is certainly true of the Bauhaus movement that shaped so much of what we call “mid-century modern.” I have to remember, though, that the Baroque era in art, architecture, and music was very, very strong in Germany. Think of the reams of music written in Germany; the many, many Baroque churches and other buildings; and the incredible number of Baroque pipe organs with their elaborately decorated cases. This car may be one of the prettiest of all the 1960s Mercedes-Benz cars. The Classiest Mercedes-Benz? There is the 600. And there is no other. None. I’ll take a ’62 Cadillac Park Avenue with good AC, auto, and electric windows please, not to mention proper tail-fins as God made them, not the vestigial abominations on this thing (`sight-lines’ the company called them). I’ve seen rusted out build `quality’ of Heckflosse Mercedes, and the best improvement one can do to them is retrofit an OM616 diesel. At least in this generation of MB cars, the quality is only as good as the owners’ maintenance of the car. For me, W124 is the vintage MB top form. Built to last. Of course now their quality is going down again. Man, would I love to have some wheel time in one of these! Brings back my memory from early 1970 when I had an opportunity to buy a real nice 1953 M-B sedan, white with red interior. Considering my airman first class pay, I could see it bankrupting me in no time, so I wisely waited until I found my beloved avatar, my 1964 Chevy Impala SS convertible. You know, what that car really needs is some wire wheels with extended spinners….OK, just kidding. Wow, what a gorgeous interior, almost nautical. I’d certainly refrain from eating fast food in that one. Random thought: Why didn’t M-B style the shifter instead of just putting a straight chrome shaft? Wait a minute: the shaft IS chrome. I think I’d have to agree with you Paul, the other M-B I would put in a similar category is the 1950’s 300 sedan, but they don’t have the same character or ultimate elegance. The priest we had when I was growing up had an old 60’s era 4 door sedan version of this car, I believe. It was a faded blue, the interior was getting ratty, as the piping along the edge of the headliner was getting frayed and tattered, but it ran and remember at least once, him coming over to see us once in it. I believe he replaced it with a brand new, baby blue 71 Mercedes sedan and in ’72 or so, he bought a bright red Fiat 128 Familiar wagon. He would be displaced from our church after 23 or so years there in 1976 and shortly afterwards ceased to be friends. I understand he’s dead now, has been for several years. Talk about the Curbside Classic effect! I saw one of these this afternoon after reading this article this morning. What a beaut. The big MB cars of this era were, bar none, the best cars ever made. The quality of the materials was just superb, beyond reproach and lasted for years. Like stated before, the wood instrument panels were just gorgeous and they lasted for years without any delamination of any sort. The only problem with these cars was the heater control levers would break all the time and were a pain in the you know where to replace. I have driven this exact drivetrain in a 1967 (I think) 250SE and it has, believe me, plenty of guts. Especially at like 90 km/h a downshift to third makes really good acceleration but also wonderful sounds, absent from today’s cars. These cars drove extremely well and were still light, too. They were real driver’s cars and even today would be seen as great road cars. I also have a story of a 300SEL 4.5 with air suspension but that is for later! Good to hear a positive experience about these cars. Cheers! I think Tim told me this story once. one of the very few Benzes I actually like for real, pure, uncut class ! last night i was watching a movie called hangover with a silver one in it.so cool. This is definitely a high quality car. I wonder about the change to a V8 on these. Jaguar had sixes up to 4.2 liters. While I can see the need for more displacement with more emission controls and automatics, a V8 is too American for this very German car. A big six seems more fitting. I wonder if the rollover standards in the USA kept the big coupes and convertibles from the W116, or if it was just more mass market. place to unwind some backroads in. Mercedes had seats like this going way back. The seats in Dad’s 1961 190Db were supremely comfortable. They somehow balanced being cushy with being splendidly supportive, and they did a better job of holding driver or passenger in place than anything I remember from GM. And they were more comfortable than a good many car seats today. Old Mercs like this are getting very rare here even in sedan the convertibles were never here in any numbers that Ive noticed, beautiful car though and in mint condition. Benz built comfy cars way back in time. Missed this one. Thanks for reposting. When Mercedes really was a “Mercedes”, IMHO. To me those headlights define classic Mercedes Benz at its ultra-prestigious best. When I was growing up in Moscow in the early 1970s, our neighbor, the famous singer Maya Kristalinskaya, owned a wine-red sedan of this generation. To me, that car was a spaceship among all the Moskviches and Volgas, just something unattainable at the very limit of imagination. Every other Mercedes since then has been a letdown. This post reminds me of my one and only involvement with a Mercedes. The car was a ’63 220 sedan, black. It looked as if it had been painted with a brush. The grey interior was kind of shabby and torn. It had a 4-speed manual shifter on the column, a manual choke, and I’m sure well over 200,000 miles on it. My dad bought it in non-running condition and he and my brother installed a new camshaft in it. I had to drive it every day for 3 months, in the winter. It was utterly reliable. And it drove better than our then brand-new ’85 Ford Tempo. Beautiful car. Think I prefer the wider, squat grille on the later models. Nice interior, those seats look like they’d hug you and be really comfy on a long trip. I do, however find the instrument cluster to be odd-looking, like it was just tacked on as an afterthought, and is it just me or is that steering wheel really as huge as it looks? Yep, that steering wheel is huge. I’ll bet this car does not have power steering. Don’t know much about MB but I did have one experience with one of this era. One of my friends was leaving Panama and asked me to sell it when he left. It may have been a 65 but it had this interior and front grill. When I think of it I am always left with the word Solid. It ran great and that big six would move it right along. Should have dumped the MGB and kept this. Older Mercedes-Benz (let’s say from 1960 to 1990) were exceptionally engineered, with very few flaws or irritating things about the overall design. It may not have done a couple or a few things extremely well, but it was a VERY well-rounded vehicle in terms of performance/capability/usability. There were no gimmick features, and the styling was not trendy. The exterior and interiors were generally austere, but (in my opinion) there’s beauty in that for sure. Luxury doesn’t always have to be tacky or “overt.” Luxury can be timeless, simple, elegant, and yes, austere. Also, I would like to note that even though Mercedes-Benz may not have been as fast as Cadillacs or Lincolns, the Mercedes would be WAY more sure-footed, would handle better (much more ‘taut’), and brake MUCH better. Food for thought…maybe having ‘power’ isn’t everything! It’s amazing how good these older Benzes were from the factory in terms of handling/braking, comparing it to (mainly) American brands. And look at that picture below…showing the W111 coupe from a very attractive angle! Man, I’m not a Merc fan in general but this car is Coolness incarnate. Pure poetry, just like the original Gullwing. I’ll feel comfortable driving it to any occasions. It’s subtle, unpretentious, and yet stylish with classy lines and perfect proportion … reminds one of a young Kim Novak. Pure class and elegance. Bracq is a genius–I looked up his info, he was born in ’33, so he wasn’t even 30 when he transformed the existing Heckflosse into this beauty. Quite impressive for a youngster–it proves taste is, while perhaps not inborn, instilled early. Between him and Bruno Sacco, Mercedes had such styling talent for so many years. They could use someone of the same caliber today! Another car that solidifies the theory that 1965-1966 was a period of beautiful automobiles. I wonder how many people, at least of a certain age, see this car in their heads when they purchase a new Mercedes. I never owned one of these but always wanted one. I had the opportunity not once but twice to get a nice one reasonably and screwed each one up. First I was a teenager it would have been around 1984 in Los Angeles and I was about to get my license. My dad took me to see one that was $3,000 yup just $3K in 1984. My dad and I went to look and he okayed it and then said to me “How are you going to pay me back for this?” It was a perfectly reasonable question and I was working and could afford the car. However my 16 year old ears heard it as harsh criticism that I wouldn’t be able to pay my dad back and was looking for a freebie. The second time was about 1995 and I was living in NYC and earning very good money and there was one on Long Island for $15,000 in beautiful shape. I took it for a spin, top down and got onto the L.I.E. where it conked out on me. I took it as a sign. The owner pointed out factually that it was just out of gas. There are just two dumb things I’ve done. In 2001, an elderly friend passed away and left me her ’60 Fintail 220S. The car was ratty and rusty. I wondered if I could get used to driving this relic, with it’s drum brakes, manual steering and 4-speed column-shift. But after some serious TLC, including brake service, new motor-mounts, seatbelts, and installing a radio, it turned out to be an awesome example of what an early ’60s Mercedes was all about. Yes, it didn’t have the power and conveniences of an old Lincoln or Caddy. This car was about solidness and quality. Everything worked well, like it was designed to last forever. For something so ancient, the handling was impressive, like a modern car, with a taut, but still comfortable ride. At idle, the small six was so smooth, that except for a trace of valve-noise, you couldn’t tell the engine was running! Of course you could feel the pavement and there was noise at highway speeds.These cars were engineered to involve, not isolate, the driver. The only thing I would have changed if I could, would have been to add front disc brakes, as the drums had a vibration that I never could cure.(had it been a ’64 or newer, it would’ve come with front discs) However, the power-assisted drum brakes were responsive enough and reliable for the four years I drove it, until terminal rust, and the inability to find quality 13-inch tires to replace the previous owner’s Pirelli radials, finally retired the car. The W111 cabrios are beautiful. However, I think the coupes are really gorgeous, don’t need periodic and expensive convertible-top replacement, and usually have the advantage of a lower purchase price. And around the time I was driving the Fintail, there was the coupe that got away. A ’63 220SE coupe was put up for sale near me. The car needed alot of TLC. The red leather seats were tattered, there was rust, and it had the wrong ‘bundt-style’ wheels. But it did have power-steering, front-discs, and a four-speed stick-shift. The car was straight, in running condition, and the price had dropped to a shamefully low $1800! But I was recently ‘self-employed’, and already had my ‘project’ Fintail to deal with. So I passed. Ahh well. So much for the good old days! My car is a 250se cabriolet which I bought in U.K. new in 1967. The car has only done around 70k miles and is RHD with four on the floor gear strick. I have loved the car since 1967 and it is still like new but i am now 86 yrs old and might consider selling if the offer is tempting enough. my phone number is 61 08 9495 4023 and i live in Perth Australia.

2019-04-24T04:06:27Z

http://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/curbside-classic-1966-mercedes-250se-cabriolet-w111-the-classiest-mercedes-of-them-all/?replytocom=407517

When should I put my mason bees outside? Good question. If you are keeping mason bees in cold storage—whether in a garage, shed, or refrigerator—it is time to get them outside. Although conditions differ with latitude, nature tells us when the time is right. As a rule of thumb, when things begin to bloom, the mason bees should be free to emerge. The blooming plants you see should be within a couple hundred feet of the mason bee housing. Unlike honey bees, mason bees will not fly long distances to find food, so it has to be close. Early blooming plants here include crocus, scilla, vinca, skunk cabbage, and snow drops followed quickly by forsythia, dandelion, and oemleria. Once you see a few things start to bloom, you can safely put your bees outside. If you don’t trust yourself to remember by looking at plants, just think March 1. Spring mason bees (Osmia lignaria) are generally active March, April, and May, so March 1 is a reliable date to use. Although some people will keep mason bees in cold storage through April, I think it is better for the bees to be active when their wild counterparts are active. This will give your bees the best opportunity to mate with local wild populations and maintain maximum genetic diversity. Mount your mason bee house so it faces south or southeast. This will provide maximum sun exposure. Attach a sloping and overhanging roof to your bee house to shed excess rain, or mount the bee house under an eave. Plant early blooming flowers close to the mason bee housing. The males will emerge first and need nectar-producing flowers right away. The females will emerge later, and they will require both nectar- and pollen-producing blooms. I saw my first mason bee last week on March 13. He was drinking nectar from a Vinca minor while all around him honey bee workers and queen bumbles were working the Scilla. Ooh, you’re making me feel like I’m behind on my duties! I always wait for the Spring Equinox, and even then I only put out a portion of my cocoons, maybe 25%. A week later, I put out another 25%. I put out the rest when I see mason bees have hatched and are using my nest. I worry that my bees are using up their fat reserves, but I am still waiting for the buds on my pear tree to swell just a little bit more. If you’ve got a system that works, you shouldn’t feel bad. All beekeeping is local, even mason bee keeping. Hi Rusty, Just new to your site but it looks so informative! Do you have a favorite type of house for your mason bees? If so, can you tell me your preference? One with removable straws or not? If you want to raise just mason bees (rather than housing a variety of bee species) then I would use paper straws. Hairy-footed mites are definitely a problem when you have a monoculture of mason bees. Unless the beekeeper is running a commercial operation that must manipulate emergence, I encourage people to put stored mason bees out early and let nature set some of the schedule. Males emerge first, assess conditions, and if warranted helps females get out, (he cuts open the cocoon from the outside, pulls her out of her sleeping bag). Tunnel systems, (this includes straws) seem better than loose cocoons for this, as the cocoons are in order – males in front, females in back. Bees generally stagger their emergence based on conditions, waiting for breaks in the weather. Of course Colorado is different than PNW, and bees are kept in the fridge as much to protect them from getting too cold as too warm. I wonder if there may be other native pollinators better suited to conditions described, (they maybe won’t live in human-made housing, but that is o.k. The challenge is that the natives may be unaccustomed to some of the early blooming Eurasian crop plants we grow that bloom on a schedule different than Colorado. I also might also look into outdoor storage that is better insulated against temperature fluctuations. As you point out Rusty, the closer to the local ecosystem the better. Bees seem to vary their size quite a bit, depending on both food and housing available. I had a male mason bee emerge today bigger than the typical female, from one of my larger diameter tubes. But small works, might be better in some circumstances. Maybe Colorado mason bees will prosper better as small bees in 1/4″ tunnels. My favorite system is botanical tubes — empty hollow plant stems. One reason I like botanical tubes is size variety. Botanicals also can go outside with less protection. Because every location is different I won’t name specific plants except to mention that some folk use bamboo which works but is tough to cut. Instead, I’d explore, cut different tall fast-growing plants and look for hollow stems. If suitable, then give the stems a try. Paper straws work fine, but paper is water absorbent, so they need more external protection. I make my own by rolling newspaper around a 5/16″ or 3/8″ dowel. YOU MUST LINE EACH NEWSPAPER TUNNEL WITH PLAIN PAPER, (no newpaper ink exposed inside the tunnels). Hi Folks – new to this site – caught you via a Google Alert. re: this topic – I am confused. By the question I assume you are bringing your mason bees inside somewhere and then putting the back out again? From my experience, I question why this is/was done. Mason bees that build out into an artificial or natural space will emerge when they are programmed to – “need to” – if you will. I can see no reason to bring them in unless there is a fear of predation by some other insect or animal. In which case, I would still leave them outside and take measures like hardware cloth or a high location to take care of this worry. Welcome to the site. Yes, I agree. I do not bring my mason bees inside, but there are people who do. One of the reasons here in the Pacific Northwest is the rain. Here in the coastal areas we have rain from October thru June—basically nine months of it. I go out of my way to keep my mason bees sheltered, but if you don’t have shelter they will “sog out” by spring—mold, fungus, you name it. The other reason people may have them indoors is because they mail-ordered them. They arrive in a loose tube, not a good overwintering site, so people keep them inside till spring. I wrote the post for those people who have mail-ordered them and are unsure when to put them out. I agree that outside is where they should be so they can overwinter properly and decide for themselves when to emerge. Not everyone agrees with that philosophy, however, and so I’ve tried to give those folks some guidelines for choosing a time. This is my second year with mason bees. As I understand it one major reason to bring them indoors for winter is to keep them away in the fall from parasites. I noticed some parasitism on some cocoons left outside past June 1st. I would rather keep them outside all year but had parasites the first year so I’ll continue bringing them in. I refrigerate my cocoons because of the erratic temperatures. A few days above 50 in February, and the bees might start emerging and find no blooming plants to feed on. This is new territory for me overall. I am merely exploring the idea of a bee house, but have one big question. IF they collect and store their pollen and turn out to NOT be mason bees that seal the openings, will this be in conflict with the 3 hives of honeybees already on the property? Will this encourage robbing from them? I don’t know if I understand your question. The only thing that will build in the tubes are solitary bees (there are many species besides masons that could build in the tubes, depending on the hole size) and a few types of solitary wasps. None of these insects pose any threat to a honey bee colony. Robbing of honey bee colonies is conducted mainly by other honey bees or by social wasps that also live in large colonies, such as yellowjackets and some hornets. Also some ants attack honey bee colonies, but again, ants are social and live in large colonies. There is no colony behavior with solitary bees and solitary wasps, which is why they are called solitary. One female bee or wasp builds and maintains her own nest. They may live in communities, but each nest (tube) is maintained by one female bee. I can’t imagine anything living in a mason bee house being a threat to a honey bee colony. Hi from Colorado Springs, CO. We were watching PBS and saw a show on Mason bees. Now we are interested in building our own house to put in our 8×10 ft garden. Being late March, we will put it out now. Glad to find a site where we can ask questions as we continue in this process. Thank you. My mason bees started to emerge and there’s no flowering going on, some dandelions, none of my fruit trees yet, they’re about two weeks from bloom. It’s April 28th and were still getting snow. Will the bees that have hatched make it, and is there a way to put off the hatching in the future till the second week of May? There’s nearly always something in bloom, and the bees are better at finding those things than we are. Mason bees are fine in cooler temperatures than many bees, and they know how to care for themselves. You can put off hatching by keeping them in the refrigerator, but you don’t want to go too late. The males hatch a week or so earlier than the females, and you don’t want your fruit trees to come into bloom with only the males around. Thanks so much for getting back with me. I recently bought a mason bee house if I hang it near my garden will the bees move into it? or do I have to buy bees? Should I wait until spring to set the house out or should I put it out now? You can just put the house outside, and if you position it well, local mason and leafcutting bees will nest in it. It is my belief that it is better not to buy bees because locally adapted bees will do better, and you don’t run the risk of introducing a bee pathogen or parasite. The openings should fast south or southeast and be in the sun most of the day, particularly in the morning hours. I don’t know where you live, but I like to put them out in early spring before the first fruit trees bloom. If you put them out now, you run the risk of getting earwigs and other undesirables. I put mine under the eaves of my house and garden shed, which adds a little rain protection. It’s fun to watch the bees build. The mason bee species will seal up their holes with mud, and the leafcutting bees will use colorful petals or leaves. Too cool. They are probably fine. Solitary bees have evolved to endure erratic shifts in weather. Honey bees are a bit different, but the cold affects them in similar ways: Dead bees rising. One other thing. I put my mason bee house in a south facing tree with the “box o bees” I just purchased with a hole in the bottom attached to the tree right above them. Is there anything I can do to prevent the birds that may fly by to not to eat them? I put up old silver CD’s hanging to deter them. I don’t think so. Some people put chicken wire or something similar around the nest to keep birds from pecking into the holes, but birds can get the bees while they are out foraging too. It’s one reason bees lay so many eggs—to assure some make it. Another question. I got a box o bees and when they arrived a few were in cocoons and a few were alive and moving around. I purchased a Mason bee house. I was wondering if I should insert the cocoons in the hive and leave the rest in the box with a hole in it? Just to clarify, solitary bees like masons (Osmia) do not live in hives. A hive is a man-made structure that houses social insects, whereas masons are solitary cavity dwellers. I’m clarifying so that other people reading this are not confused by it. Now, to answer. It’s too bad that some bees had already emerged. That is not a good sign because you don’t know how long they’ve been out of their cocoons, but they have not been able to eat or drink during that time. You should leave both the cocoons and the emerged bees in the box with the hole in it, and mount that box close to the mason bee house. You might also consider putting a shallow dish with sugar water within a few feet of the box to give those early bees something to eat. Be sure to put rocks or marbles in the water so the bees have something to stand on. Hopefully the snow that coming won’t harm them.. I haven’t seen the bees in 2 days.. Do they always come back to the house? Do you think they just moved on? You say you put them out after the last snowfall. How long ago was that? Mason bees nearly always come back to nest in the same area where they emerged. Did you see many out and about earlier? Did you see any females filling tubes? I can’t imagine them going anywhere very far. If they are alive, you should be seeing them, unless they’ve been active for quite a while. Also, I don’t know were you live, so I can’t get about the climate. I put them out about six days ago after the last snowfall. Temps are now in the high 60s low 70s. I live in Monument Colorado. I haven’t seen any since I released them last Monday. I have bee clay… flowers and sugar water out below the tree and on the fence next to them…. It seems to me that you should be seeing the bees flying and mating near to their box. It is possible the cocoons weren’t properly stored and that they were not in good condition when you received them. Personally, I don’t favor shipping mason bees. I just put out mason bee housing and it soon fills with local bees that are adapted to my area. If your bees have perished, leave your housing in place anyway in the hopes you attract some locals. They should have been still in their cocoons when you received them. Don’t buy from those companies again. They were in cocoons….by the time I put up the box to let them out they broke out of their cocoons. I put out the bee nest last week…. flowers are all around and even a plate of sugar water with rocks in it. I also purchased be clay to put below the tree…. If you saw some emerge and then no more, perhaps they died. Sometimes, though, if they were stored in a really cold environment, it takes them a couple weeks to emerge. Maybe the outside ones emerged because they were warmer, but the inside ones are not yet ready. Be patient. There isn’t much more you can do but wait. Did the rest of your bees ever emerge? I put them out about six weeks to two months ago and they all emerged, flew away and never returned. I don’t see any in my garden this year. I released between 30 and 50 from their cocoons. I have flowers out in the garden. Almost all of them are pollinator flowers….. That is strange. According to Oregon State Extension, mason bees have a flying range of 100–300 feet, which means you should have seen them around. Are the flowers in your garden suitable for mason bees? Do you have fruit trees? Did you see other bees on your flowers? Where the cocoons close to the nesting blocks? Also, six weeks to two months ago is really late, about May 5th through 19th. I think they like to be out by mid-March. The cocoons box was right on top of the honeycomb cocoon nest… I had put flowers around the side fence which is only 6 feet away. My pollinating flowers are only 50 ft away. No other bees are around.. No other bees make me very suspicious, because if the flowers were attractive to pollinators, you would get some types of bee interested. I’m wondering if maybe the flowers are highly inbred or perhaps hybrids? Those often do not attract pollinators. The best pollinator flowers are heritage breeds, open-pollinated, and not bred to have special colors or extra petals. If you saw no bees on the flowers, I suspect the masons were forced to go elsewhere. I would have to agree with Rusty. It sounds like they moved on to greener pastures. No bees hanging around means there’s no quality pollen nearby. Hybrid flowers are not good at producing pollen, and won’t attract any bees. Trees that generate pollen (our Linden attracts a huge swam every summer) are quite good. If your garden has vegetables such as squash, that should attract them, too. I’m sorry you didn’t get to keep them around, but there’s always next year! We are all learning as we go. I live near a headland along the the north central coast of Oregon. We get strong south and southwest wind driven rains all winter long. I bought a bee box with a roof overhang but I worry that it is not enough to protect the box from the rains and I want to know if the wind driven rains will be too much for the bees to winter over. I would like to leave the box out all year long. This coming spring will be the first time I will hang a bee box so I am planning ahead. Thank you. Because we get so much rain, I take my native bee boxes in during the winter. They shouldn’t be kept warm, just dry. So I keep mine in my garden shed. Anyplace that is unheated and dry should work. I set them on a shelf for the winter and then put them back out in about March. I’m new to this. Does my bee house have to be mounted, or can I just place it on a brick walk facing south or in the flowerbed itself? I assume that if it’s been out all winter that the tubes will have to be replaced at some point? When would that be? Midsummer? I live in northwestern Illinois, about 50 miles from the Iowa border. You can place the bee house on a brick or in a flower bed, but it needs to not wiggle or move once the bees get started with nest building. When the tubes need to be replaced, you need to put them in a hatching box in spring so the bees don’t go back to them. Or you can harvest the cocoons out of the tubes in fall and put the cocoons in the hatching box in spring. You can’t do anything in mid-summer or you risk damaging next year’s bees. No improvement. I find that they do best in full sun, though, so the sunlight shines clearly though the hole. I live in Boulder, Colorado and received several mason bee houses for Christmas to place in my garden in March. Happy to pollinate. I understand they will be inhabited by local mason bees that will make their cocoons in them. Now what? Should I plan to keep the cocoons over winter, become a “beekeeper”, or just let nature take its course with the bee houses? It depends on how involved you want to be. You can just leave them outside and see if they make it from year to year, or you can be proactive by harvesting the cocoons and keeping them refrigerated. People do it either way. If I make the overhang on the mason bee house wider so the rain doesn’t get them wet, would this affect the bees adversely? The overhangs on the roofs of the mason bee houses seem so narrow, 1 inch or so. Could I put a 3 inch overhang onto the bee house? This is my first year, so I appreciate your website. A three-inch overhang sounds fine. I tuck my bee houses under the eaves of my shed and that is about 18 inches. It’s never been a problem. Is central NM at 6000 feet good habitat for masons? There are many different species of mason bee, so I’m certain it’s right for some of them. Just got my mason bees and house mounted on Saturday, 4/7/18. Day time temp has varied from 55 to 68 since I mounted the bee house. I have two 6″ tubes of male and two 6″ tubes of female bees. I’m looking at the forecast and were in for a cold snap, day time temps in the high 40’s and night time temps in the high 30’s. My cherry tree is in full bloom and I am worried that the mason bees won’t hatch in time. Should I be thinking about hand pollinating a 4 year old Rainer, Bing and Chelan tree. You can hand pollinate if you want, but unless you go crazy with pesticides, there should be plenty of early cold-weather bees out there pollinating your trees. Most of them are really small, about the size of fruit flies, so you may not notice them. As for the mason bees, they generally should be put out around March 1. The males hatch first by a few days, and then the females. Sounds like yours won’t make it for this year’s cherries. We’re hosting a summer event for youth that is focusing on skilled trade employment fields including carpentry and agriculture. We’re thinking of having the participants build mason bees houses for a project since it will tie together both those fields nicely into a fun hands-on project. Our event isn’t until the middle of June. Is that too late for participants to set their completed houses out? Since we’re not supplying them with bees, are there some strategies to successfully attract native bees? I’d like to give the participants enough information on what to do and how to do it so their successful and more likely to continue. Any information is appreciated. Thank you! Pollinator houses with tunnels attract a wide variety of bees, only some of which are mason bees. Although most species appear in early spring, tunnel-nesting bees also appear in summer and early fall. So you may get some bees after June. Probably not as many, but some including leafcutting bees, summer masons, and ceratina. If you want a wide variety of bees, you need to provide a wide variety of hole sizes from about 1/16 of an inch up to about 5/16 in 1/16-inch increments. Place the completed houses in a sunny but protected location near to flowers, a water supply, and a source of mud. Each location is different. You may get a lot of bees or none; it’s hard to predict. I too have been raising solitary bees for about 8 years now. I have used rolled up copy paper (plain white paper) for nests and have even drilled into dead stumps. My preferred method is using 2x4s. I like to drill 3, 3/8 inch diameter holes that run 8 inches deep. My boards are about 10 to 12 inches long. My bees emerged late this year (south of Denver), some time around mid June. My elevation is 6200 feet. Last year they emerged around May 1st. I don’t know why they were a month late this year. When I first started doing this in northern Wyoming, my bees emerged around May 1st. I don’t have “houses” per say, just 2x4s on the back porch. They do get preyed upon occasionally by spiders and other insects but I try my hardest to protect them. Bees are my insect “children” Ha! No, you do not put them in the tube or use mud. Just put the tubes in your bee house and put the cocoons in a protected spot close to the tubes where they can emerge when ready. I recommend you put the cocoons in a little box with a hole on one end aimed at the sun. After they emerge from the cocoons, they will go though the hole to the outdoors. I’m a newbie to mason bees but am excited to try them in the community garden I manage. I have a couple of mason houses coming with all the same hole size. I’m in MN so was thinking to install as soon as possible. Any harm in that? Also, next year after emergence, is that the best time to clean out the holes for the next cycle? Thanks, this blog is great! That doesn’t really work, because even before they all emerge, others will have started refilling the empties. The best thing to do is to put the cocoons or the complete straws in a hatching box (also called an emergence box) and put out new tubes for the next generation.

2019-04-22T06:24:38Z

https://honeybeesuite.com/when-should-i-put-my-mason-bees-outside/

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQB: LXRP) has begun laboratory work with the National Research Council (“NRC”) (http://dtn.fm/e4oZB). The collaboration will begin studies using LXRP’s patented technologies. The research will include the company’s technology in vitamins, NSAIDs, nicotine and cannabinoids utilizing lipophilic active agents. LXRP has patented technology involving how those agents are ingested into the human body in various edibles, such as beverages, foods, capsules and others means. LXRP has also named Allan Spissinger (http://dtn.fm/ziT65) as its acting chief financial officer, secretary and treasurer. He has been with the company since September 2014, when he joined as corporate controller. A CPA, he has more than 10 years’ experience in corporate IT infrastructure and software development before focusing of finance and accounting. The firm, based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, is a food biosciences company which is a technology disrupter for edible CBDs. It markets a high absorption hemp oil formulation for exotic teas, protein energy bars and high absorption hemp oil capsules that aid in the body’s absorption of CBDs. It is focusing on developing more products for the edible cannabis market. The joint research venture with the NRC will use advanced analytical techniques. Practical application of the resulting research could broaden or strengthen LXRP’s intellectual property portfolio and even lead to additional commercial arrangements, per a recent statement from the company. LXRP has a number of international patents, including the recent 20-year effective patent approval issued by Australia (http://dtn.fm/D3NMa) for the company’s edible cannabis absorption method, time of onset and taste of cannabinoid’s active agents in food. A similar patent was granted in the U.S. in 2016, and Bunka added that LXRP anticipates progress on its patent portfolios throughout the remainder of 2017 and into 2018. In the U.S., the company successfully filed a provisional patent application (http://dtn.fm/0kNSJ) and stock and option awards in June 2017. It expands the company’s existing patent in the U.S. to microwave processing. QualityStocks is committed to connecting subscribers with companies that have huge potential to succeed in the short and long-term future. It is part of our mission statement to help the investment community discover emerging companies that offer excellent growth potential. We offer several ways for investors to learn more about investing in these companies as well as find and evaluate them. This entry was posted in Lexaria Bioscience Corp. LXRP on August 31, 2017 by QualityStocks. A recent report by app market data outfit App Annie sheds some light on the current strategy of technology development company AppSwarm, Inc. (OTC: SWRM). Worth $1.3 trillion in 2016, the app economy is expected to reach $6.3 trillion by 2021, growing a staggering 380 percent over the next five years. According to the report, a review of which appeared in Fortune (http://dtn.fm/v0U7A), mobile commerce, which involves the purchase of goods using a smartphone app, will represent the “single largest driver of the growth of the mobile and app economy.” With these exciting developments set to increase ecommerce activity, AppSwarm plans to gain a competitive edge on two fronts. The innovative incubation accelerator is collaborating with app developers through joint ventures, royalty agreements, marketing partnerships, and outright purchase agreements. It is also acquiring ecommerce sites and currently has four under its wing. Using a proprietary screening process called ‘The Swarm’, AppSwarm continues to execute its strategy of synergistic acquisitions within the software development and related services industry. Although its public acceptance continues to rise, ecommerce in the U.S. comprises less than 10 percent of retail sales, much less than in China and the Asia-Pacific region. According to App Annie, “Compared to U.S. consumers, Chinese consumers are nearly three times as likely to buy food and groceries via their devices, twice as likely to transfer money using apps, and four times more likely to spend a majority of disposable income on mobile.” As a result, AppSwarm sees an opportunity to apply its current business model to this burgeoning sector. AppSwarm’s partnerships with developers of apps and mobile games have given the company a unique familiarity with smartphone-based technologies and the behavior of smartphone users. Now, AppSwarm plans to apply its business model, which has been successful in the application world, to other industries and has announced a series of acquisitions over the past year. In March 2017, the company announced the purchase of a novel ecommerce website called Namefy, which helps entrepreneurs choose the optimal name for their businesses. In May, it followed that acquisition up with two others. First came AuthLinks.com, which offers bloggers and website owners a unique opportunity to tap into the potential of high authority links, and then Into The VR World, a site that offers a variety of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications. AppSwarm has also acquired Urban Bamboo Designs, which markets bracelets, décor, phone cases, smoking gear, sunglasses and watches, all made from bamboo. For environmentally-aware consumers, bamboo is an attractive medium of manufacture. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants in the world, growing from 1-to-4 inches in a single day, and regrows quickly after being cut and harvested – thus making it top of the list as a renewable resource. Since the plant’s health is improved by cutting, bamboo can be re-harvested every three years or so without any harmful effects on the environment, whereas hardwoods like oak can take up to 40 years to mature before they can be harvested. Due to its strength, lightweight nature, flexibility and affordability, bamboo is a common construction replacement material. The versatility of bamboo products offers a wide range of products from fabric to skateboards to medicine, and, because bamboo plants produce 30 percent more oxygen, the plant reduces greenhouse gases. Apart from its promising foray into the ecommerce and app markets, AppSwarm has its eye on the business applications segment. It currently offers a PDF document scanner app, which turns iPhone and iPad devices into portable document scanners. Scans can then be saved as either images or PDFs. The company is also a player in the digital games space, with a menu suiting a variety of tastes that includes Turtles, Huh? – Learn to Fly, which at one time was ranked as the number one iOS family games app in five countries, as well as Avenging Soldiers, Dead Uncleansed, and Soccers. This entry was posted in AppSwarm, Inc. SWRM on August 31, 2017 by QualityStocks. The world’s most popular form of cryptocurrency – bitcoin – has an enigmatic beginning. Many people are interested in leaning more about bitcoin, which is why things like this bitcoin news exist. The bitcoin’s mysterious founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, bears a fictitious name that has kept the curious guessing as to his/her (or their) identity since bitcoin was created in 2009. In the 2016 movie, “Banking on Bitcoin,” no less than four men are identified as the mystic namesake. Three deny the nomenclature, although the last man, Australian computer scientist Craig Steven Wright, claims to be the elusive founder of bitcoin (http://dtn.fm/Jn6ZB). Nakamoto’s idea – to develop a digital encrypted currency that can be exchanged for any other traditional currency used throughout the world – has both fascinated and confused the public. Virtual money inherently means there’s no physical currency to have and to hold. That idea made a lot of people nervous and many others interested in it. After all, if you could purchase your favorite brew, spend a night in America’s iconic Sin City (Las Vegas, of course), or hop on a plane simply by paying with digital currency backed up by no one, would you do it? You can do all these things and more (including ordering a $35,000 Tesla 3) with bitcoin (http://dtn.fm/5nlR3). Bitcoin’s ballistic rise to prominence in the financial world and virtual pocketbooks of average folks deserves some explanation. This monetary revolution found its niche following the September 2008 financial crisis, when the stock market dived, plunging investors into losses that some are still in the process of recovering from today. Bitcoin is defined by bitcoin.org as “an innovative payment network and a new kind of money.” It is a peer-to-peer payment network with no middleman. Users send and receive bitcoin within the network of those honoring the system. The unique thing about bitcoin is that it is transparent. Your personal data can’t be shared, just your transactions and the amounts spent. Everything is tracked and followed on a blockchain, and that’s what instills trust and security among those using bitcoin. To enable this process, bitcoin uses software that anonymously logs and validates the activities of bitcoin users around the globe (http://dtn.fm/UE4kz). There’s no physical money, but there are a finite number of bitcoin that can be created – 21 million, to be exact. A digital wallet holds your bitcoin, and there are usually few or no associated fees. While you are free to spend your bitcoin as you see fit, refunds are not possible, and, if you lose your digital wallet, well, let’s just say you are going to have a very bad, no-good day. James Howell can attest to that. He lost 7,500 bitcoin worth £4 million by throwing his hard drive away (http://dtn.fm/FB4Hg). Once bitcoin took off as a legitimate digital currency, its rise in value jumped. From the first exchange of a single bitcoin in 2009 to its current value of over $4,000 today, the cryptocurrency continues to rise. For context, on May 22, 2010, two pizzas were purchased with 10,000 bitcoin worth about $25. In December 2013, those same bitcoin were worth about $7 million, and, by May 2017, the value had jumped to $20 million, making that first bitcoin purchase likely the most expensive lunch in history (http://dtn.fm/tEaR7). Other popular online companies like Newegg, Microsoft and Expedia are also accepting bitcoin. In fact, the number of merchants accepting bitcoin has grown to over 82,000, and there are more than 1,350 bitcoin ATMs worldwide in 55 countries. However, there are still some countries where buying or using bitcoin is either illegal or banned; among them are Vietnam, Iceland, Bolivia, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh (http://dtn.fm/5uDNS). This article wouldn’t be complete without asking, “What’s some of the weirdest things you buy bitcoin with?” Among the real-life purchases possible with the cybercurrency are a $1,795 motorized unicycle, two adult Canadian woolly mammoth tusks for $175,000 and a $29 bright yellow, cozy handmade bitcoin plush pillow. Who knows… 10 years from now that pillow could be a highly valued collector’s item (http://dtn.fm/4oKZE). This entry was posted in Stocks to Watch on August 31, 2017 by QualityStocks. This entry was posted in Lexaria Bioscience Corp. LXRP, QualityStocksNewsBreaks on August 31, 2017 by QualityStocks. There’s a lot to like about a company that can swiftly identify opportunity and execute on its strategy. ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (OTCQB: CIIX) is one company that doesn’t waste time. The company was founded in 1999 to offer real-time market commentary, analysis and educational services to Chinese-speaking investors via its dynamic financial website, www.Chinesefn.com. Success followed, and CIIX steadily increased subscribers to currently exceed one hundred thousand. Armed with insights garnered from years of market analysis, CIIX has consistently looked for growth opportunities for expansion. In 2016, the company recognized the unprecedented growth opportunity in the legal cannabis industry, where the market is projected to continue to grow at a 27 percent CAGR through 2021 (http://dtn.fm/ACwm4). Once the target market was identified, ChineseInvestors.com started laying the groundwork to capitalize on the growing demand for cannabidiol-based (CBD) nutrition and health products, with a natural focus on Chinese-speaking markets. By the end of 2016, the company had begun implementing its plans for a new website and mobile application in order to facilitate online distribution of CBD oils for the booming global medical marijuana industry. While marijuana use in China is illegal, cannabis-based oils, including hemp-based CBDs, are legal, thus opening a potential market of nearly two billion people for CIIX. Since launch, the company has continued to identify new markets and expansion targets. Recognizing the enormous untapped market for cannabis-based skin care products, CIIX quickly developed and filed with the China Food and Drug Administration to launch a new skin care line over the next couple months. This quick action will put CIIX first to market with immense upside potential. Now, the company has latched on to another rapid market mover in cryptocurrencies. The underlying blockchain technology of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has the potential to transform transactional business by transferring value anywhere around the world without the need of traditional intermediaries such as clearing firms or banks. The ability to transfer value solely through software could become a transformational breakthrough. It’s no coincidence that the Chinese are dominant players in bitcoin mining and volume. Just two weeks ago, CIIX announced the launch of a cryptocurrency education and trading subscription service (http://dtn.fm/Fi5eJ). The company also announced plans to launch the first Chinese daily video news broadcast from the NYSE covering cryptocurrency and blockchain technology (http://dtn.fm/y2Kp2). CIIX continues to identify market openings with colossal upside opportunity, but, even more importantly, CIIX moves rapidly to capitalize on these opportunities. This entry was posted in Chineseinvestors.com, Inc. CIIX on August 30, 2017 by QualityStocks. The legal marijuana industry is growing by leaps and bounds in North America—particularly in Canada, where medical cannabis has been nationally legal since 2001 and where Canada’s government has now introduced sweeping legislation aimed at making recreational marijuana use legal by July 2018. Canada-based Algae Dynamics Corp. (OTCQB: ADYNF) is among the cannabis stocks preparing to cash in on the influx of business that is sure to follow such an event. Algae Dynamics is focused on cannabis oil extraction and medicine delivery systems, endeavoring to offer medical cannabis users a means of enjoying the benefits of medical marijuana without smoking. The company is preparing to exploit a niche market with its development of unique health products and pharmaceuticals utilizing hemp, cannabis and algae oils. If recreational cannabis is successfully legalized on a national scale, Canada’s market for oil extraction is projected to grow to C$1.5 billion by 2020. In Colorado, 45 percent of cannabis consumers who use dried marijuana have said they would eventually switch over to marijuana extracts and oil, and a similar conversion rate is anticipated for Canada’s market. In view of this, Algae Dynamics is extremely well-positioned for success. Algae Dynamics has engaged two premier universities to perform research into the various uses of cannabis and hemp oil extracts. In combination with other compounds, cannabis and hemp oil extracts could prove effective in the treatment of colorectal, pancreatic, breast and prostate cancers, as well as in the development of novel pharmacotherapies to treat various mental health conditions. Algae Dynamics is poised for great success in Canada’s favorable cannabis environment. The legal status of medical marijuana has already positioned the company for profitability, and the impending legalization of recreational marijuana is likely to take Algae Dynamics even further. This entry was posted in Algae Dynamics Corp. ADYNF on August 30, 2017 by QualityStocks. PotNetwork Holding, Inc.’s (OTC: POTN) subsidiary, Diamond CBD Sales, achieved greater than $200,000 in sales at the Big Industry Trade Show in New York on August 10-11 (http://dtn.fm/c4AOh). The show is a leading business-to-business trade show for the vape and smoke industry. In total, at three convention and trade shows within the past month, the subsidiary rang up more than $820,000 in revenues, per updates from PotNetwork Holding. PotNetwork Holding holds First Capital Venture Corp., which owns Diamond CBD, Inc., a major player in the cannabidiol (CBD) industry marketing brands nationally, in all 50 states, as well as internationally, including CBD Gummies, Chill Gummies, CBD Liquid Gold, Blue CBD and many others. SeeThruEquity has initiated coverage of PotNetwork Holding, setting a target price of $0.25 per share (http://dtn.fm/YX4tU). The report sees the company as a high-risk, high-reward stock in the growing legal cannabis and hemp industry. The target price assumes the market will expand and the company will be successful in its aggressive marketing campaigns. It sees the hemp-derived CBD market as growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 53% through 2020. In addition to the $200,000 at the BIG Industry Trade Show, Diamond CBD also generated sales of more than $320,000 at the Market Week Event, held in Las Vegas. Late in July, the firm also recorded revenues of some $300,000 at the CHAMPS trade show in Las Vegas, PotNetwork Holding said. Exhibitors at the BIG Industry Trade Show include manufacturers, distributors, store owners and wholesalers in the counter-culture vape and smoke industry. Diamond CBD’s team includes pioneers of the hemp industry, as well as scientists, chemists, and other experts. This entry was posted in PotNetwork Holding, Inc. POTN on August 30, 2017 by QualityStocks. This entry was posted in ProBility Media Corp. PBYA, QualityStocksNewsBreaks on August 30, 2017 by QualityStocks. PotNetwork Holding, Inc. (OTC: POTN) this morning announced that it has officially retained the auditing services of East West Accounting Services, LLC, a Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) registered CPA firm based in South Florida. Moving forward, East West will review and analyze PotNetwork’s recently announced financial results, providing credible verification of the company’s second quarter and year-to-date operating performance. “We believe that the timing for this action is now,” Gary Blum, chief executive officer of PotNetwork Holding, stated in the news release. “In consideration of the amount of momentum built up over the past 6 months, coupled with reported revenues of $5,077,625 for the first 6 months of fiscal 2017, the only logical next step was to initiate the auditing process, whereby the market can recognize the significance and legitimacy of the Company’s recent growth.” As previously noted, PotNetwork’s reported revenues of $5,077,625 and net profit of $369,237 for the first six months of fiscal 2017 put it on course to exceed its projections for the year. This entry was posted in PotNetwork Holding, Inc. POTN, QualityStocksNewsBreaks on August 30, 2017 by QualityStocks. The Canadian government’s recent announcement that Broken Coast Cannabis Ltd. is recalling several products sold last year after two banned pesticides were found in random samples illustrates the importance of ABcann Global Corp.’s (TSX.V: ABCN) (OTCQB: ABCCF) controlled, pesticide-free approach to growing medical marijuana (http://dtn.fm/8ZOgn). Several other cannabis-growing Canadian companies also reaped the attention of authorities following mandatory testing. Hydropothecary and Peace Naturals both had products recalled earlier this year following detection of banned pesticides in some products, while Supreme Pharmaceuticals Inc. is still awaiting its license from Health Canada to grow and sell medical cannabis (http://dtn.fm/CS5es). In contrast, ABcann’s flagship production facility in Napanee, Ontario, continues to meet demand, even as its expansion plans move forward with an expedited construction timeline announced last month (http://dtn.fm/d1JLJ). ABcann has approximately $43 million in cash and 100 percent ownership of a 65-acre parcel located not far from its current facility. Phase 1 of the expansion project includes building a 100,000 square foot facility with an annual production capacity of about 1,000 kilograms of cannabis (http://dtn.fm/7cDSD). A recent $15 million investment in the company by Cannabis Wheaton, part of a $30 million commitment, underscores the company’s belief in ABcann’s tremendous potential for growth (http://dtn.fm/q3PCC). This entry was posted in ABcann Global Corp. ABCCF on August 29, 2017 by QualityStocks. Taking Francis Bacon’s aphorism ‘if the mountain will not go to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the mountain’ to heart, ProBility Media Corp. (OTCQB: PBYA) plans to deliver its extensive suite of technical training programs nationwide through virtual reality and a host of other cutting edge technologies. At present, the company offers programs in 22 states, so it is already halfway to realizing its ambitious goal. Partnering with developers of three-dimensional (3D) technology, ProBility will create virtual reality and interactive media content designed specifically for education and training purposes. The innovative edtech company wants nothing less than to create the first full service training and career advancement brand for technical vocations and trades. Recent innovations in information technology have expanded the bounds of countless industries, and the field of education is no different. Historically, delivering educational services meant the construction of costly infrastructure such as schools, colleges, and laboratories, as well as funding emoluments for teachers and instructors. In addition, this model placed the provision of services in one fixed location. Like a mountain, a college or training facility cannot move, which means that not only Mohammed but students must oftentimes travel for long distances, perhaps relocate, if they wish to attend a particular school. This traditional approach affects the market for education from both the demand and the supply ends. Supply quantity is curtailed, since building schools and community colleges is expensive. Likewise, demand quantity is dampened because of high tuition costs and the inevitable barriers to availability and accessibility, both adverse outcomes resulting because schools can’t go to students. That’s why ProBility’s approach, which takes schooling to students, is such a big deal, killing, as it does, two birds with one stone. With ProBility’s eLearning VR educational programs, a student can sit in the comfort of his or her home and enjoy all the benefits of a classroom or lab environment. The potential for a nationwide expansion of ProBility’s eLearning programs is promising. The market for employer-based formal training is estimated at around $177 billion annually. Most of that (52%) is in service industries, with manufacturing accounting for 14%; transportation and utilities another 11%; finance, insurance and real estate 9%; and retail 9%. Construction and mining together account for 4% of total spending on employer-based formal training. VR technology is currently employed to deliver ProBility’s crane training programs. ProBility has collaborated with GlobalSim, a VR Crane industry leader, to offer a cutting-edge VR simulation platform that combines a comprehensive training program with superb realism, all at an affordable price. The GlobalSim VR simulator comes equipped with a headset that offers an unlimited field-of-view in a mixed reality setting, allowing for a completely immersive experience. Just as with traditional simulator systems, the GlobalSim VR platform uses real equipment controls, joysticks and buttons, so operators can become familiar with the actual equipment they will use in the workplace. As part of its strategy to offer training programs in crane operation, ProBility also signed an exclusive publishing and distribution deal with All Purpose Crane Training (AP), which provides nationwide crane-rigging training and certification that meets OSHA-ANSI requirements. OSHA is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; ANSI is the American National Standards Institute. The courses, customized to meet the specific needs of customers, can be taken either at the customer’s site or at AP’s training centers around the country. They include aerial lift operator training, forklift operator certification, crane rigging instructor courses, mobile crane operator certification, crane operator training, overhead crane training, and rigging and signal-person qualification training. This entry was posted in ProBility Media Corp. PBYA on August 29, 2017 by QualityStocks. Growing as much as 30 percent annually, legal marijuana sales in North America topped $6.7 billion last year and are projected to exceed $20.2 billion within four years (http://dtn.fm/Mhz0k). That’s eye-popping growth by almost any measure. However, this new found avalanche of revenues is shunned by banks. Most banks won’t touch cannabis cash, because marijuana is illegal under U.S. federal law and banks must comply with federal regulations to maintain good standing. Banks just don’t want to be in the middle of a federal government versus state’s rights issue and risk losing their charter to operate. Effectively, this makes legal cannabis a cash-only business. An inconvenience for consumers, it’s an enormous problem for private marijuana growers and distributors, creating transactional obstructions within booming businesses. Transacting $20+ billion of business annually in cash is no easy task. Real complications come on the operational end of businesses. There are multiple obvious security risks to business owners and employees paid in cash. Then the headaches really expand when realizing that all operational expenses, like utility bills, are cash payments. Complications and penalties further ensue when paying federal employee-withholding taxes and business income taxes, where headaches turn into migraines. Bitcoin, the world’s first and most recognized cryptocurrency, recently vaulted to new record highs above $4,000. Valued around seven dollars five years ago, the digital currency has quadrupled in value in 2017, jumping 40 percent in August alone (http://dtn.fm/7kUeV). Cryptocurrencies have attracted a lot of attention in recent years. The underlying blockchain technology of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has the potential to transform transactional business by transferring value anywhere around the world without the need of traditional intermediaries such as clearing firms or banks. The ability to transfer value solely through software could become a transformational breakthrough. As part of a broad strategy to cement its position in the cannabis industry, SinglePoint has been actively providing corporate solutions to cannabis businesses through its SingleSeed subsidiary. Without actually touching the plant, SinglePoint profits from the booming marijuana markets by providing much-needed business solutions to growers and providers. Providing a payments solution to the projected $20+ billion marijuana markets would be a game changer. SING’s strategic joint venture partnership with First Bitcoin Capital Corp. may very well be the transformational breakthrough needed by the burgeoning marijuana industry. This entry was posted in Singlepoint Inc. SING on August 29, 2017 by QualityStocks. Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQB: LXRP), a company engaged in licensing proprietary technology for the delivery of bioactive compounds, this morning announced its plans to attend two cannabis investment conferences in September. The first, the Investorshub International Cannabis Conference, will be held at the JW Marriott in downtown Los Angeles on September 1-2. The second, the Institutional Capital & Cannabis Conference (East), is scheduled to take place on September 7-8 in Miami Beach. This morning’s news release also included an update on the company’s financing activities. Notably, Lexaria has received and executed a notice of conversion related to certain convertible debt, extinguishing a $45,000 convertible debt plus interest in exchange for 307,500 restricted common shares at the contracted conversion price of $0.15. The company also issued 32,433 common shares, at a conversion price of $0.37, to a director in order to settle $12,000 of debt. This entry was posted in Lexaria Bioscience Corp. LXRP, QualityStocksNewsBreaks on August 29, 2017 by QualityStocks. Algae Dynamics Corp. (OTCQB: ADYNF) could be among the chief beneficiaries of a recent survey that found that 42% of respondents chose cannabidiol (CBD), derived from hemp or marijuana, and dropped traditional medicines (http://dtn.fm/O1sJM). In addition, an “Understanding Cannabidiol” survey of some 2,400 members of HelloMD, an online CBD community, and market research firm Brightfield Group jointly found that, by an overwhelming majority, respondents favored CBD made from cannabis rather than industrial hemp (http://dtn.fm/XbGU6). CBD is being used instead of traditional medicines to treat anxiety (67%), insomnia (60%), joint pain and inflammation (52%) and depression (43%). A total of 61% of survey-takers said that they spend more than $50 monthly on CBD products, while more than half of respondents said they use oil cartridges and vaping. Notably, more than half (58%) of those surveyed are women. The study found that 42% of respondents use cannabis rather than traditional medications for depression, anxiety, joint pain and anxiety, and some 80% said they find CBD products to be very or extremely effective treatments. Some 90% said they would be likely to buy marijuana-based CBD-only products. Algae Dynamics, headquartered and doing business in Ontario, Canada, is a development stage company which is publicly traded in the U.S. It maintains university collaborations to develop specific cannabis oil product lines, with the University of Waterloo and the University of Western Ontario. It specializes in cannabis oil extraction and hemp oils. ADYNF is working with the University of Western Ontario to explore the impact of cannabis oil, its constituents and other botanical extracts that lead to development of unique products for the treatment of mental health issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. With the University of Waterloo, ADYNF is performing fundamental research on cannabis oil leading to the treatment of cancers of the pancreas, breast, prostate and colorectum. ADYNF is seeking to combine the benefits of algae and cannabis oils and their role in the cancer-related potential treatment by botanical oils, specifically focusing on cannabis. This entry was posted in Algae Dynamics Corp. ADYNF on August 28, 2017 by QualityStocks. ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (OTCQB: CIIX), along with other companies in the cannabidiol (CBD) and legalized cannabis industries, are increasingly relying on bitcoin cryptocurrency for transactions. Not only has the value of bitcoin skyrocketed to greater than $4,000 in the past year, it solves the problem of transactions in this largely unbankable market. In a July press release, the company formally announced the debut of its new cryptocurrency education and trading subscription service on Chinesefn.com, the company’s own financial website for the Chinese-speaking community. The new service will offer coverage of the emerging digital currency world. Through its new subscription service, CIIX endeavors to become the leading digital currency education site for the global Chinese-speaking market. CIIX’s goal is to become a leading Chinese publicly-traded company offering real-time information on its website, conducting research and development of legalized cannabidiol and providing global distribution of hemp-based cannabidiol and other health products. The firm has an online store in the free trade zone of Shanghai, China, and plans to open a brick-and-mortar unit in San Gabriel, California. Fueling part of the growth, according to a newly-published report (http://dtn.fm/z10CT), is the widespread use of bitcoin in the CBD and legalized marijuana industries. In this non-traditional, unbankable marketplace, suppliers, wholesalers and retail dispensaries are using bitcoin for transactions. While most dispensaries are currently cash-only businesses, bitcoin could enable consumers to complete purchases free of traditional banks. The recent surge in interest related to cryptocurrency and its underlying blockchain technology has been impossible to ignore. Without a doubt, bitcoin on its own presents a valuable investment opportunity, and its role in the future of CIIX and other industry players is growing in importance. This entry was posted in Chineseinvestors.com, Inc. CIIX on August 28, 2017 by QualityStocks. SinglePoint, Inc. (OTC: SING) revealed in a July 18, 2017, audio press release that it is now working with a cryptocurrency expert to lead an initiative to develop a payment solution designed for high risk customers. The company has grown from a full service mobile tech provider to a publicly traded holding company serving the cannabis market. Thanks to a joint venture with First Bitcoin Capital Corp., according to the audio press release (http://dtn.fm/K68cB), efforts to deliver a testable solution within 60 days are underway. Helping to drive a consumer-first approach, the joint venture is expected to yield an easier transaction at the point of sale. In addition, two recent acquisitions are driving SinglePoint’s acquisition and growth strategy. One is DIGS Hydro, which now has two operating stores in Southern California and plans to open a third. The company, specializing in growing, cultivating and consulting in the cannabis industry, has seen growth in its first two quarters. The acquisition of Convectium, which manufactures and supplies the 710Shark oil filling machine, has been fulfilling as well. In a recent podcast (http://dtn.fm/Mw9aP), Greg Lambrecht, CEO of SinglePoint, interviewed Wil Ralston, VP of sales and marketing. The two discussed how a new payment solution will avoid issues of purchasing cannabis products through banks, as well as the company’s presence in the OTC markets. Ralston also discussed the expansion of Convectium into a new office, with the addition of five new sales people and an operations specialist, and how it is driving the company’s acquisition phase and revenues. SinglePoint is also developing an online marketing strategy, which involves selling products nationwide through the DIGS website – DIGSHydro.com. The recently acquired subsidiary received a significant purchase order in June to offer supplies and services to a major biomedical company. Payment solutions are already being offered through the online portal and subsidiary at SingleSeed.com, available now to cannabis retailers. It offers credit card processing, pay by text, cashless ATM, and point of banking services. The company is also looking into additional acquisition options. It is planning to acquire a technology-driven delivery company and another that provides solar solutions to commercial cannabis growers. It has a presence in the solar industry in parts of Arizona, Texas, and southeast New York. In addition to payment processing, mobile messaging services are available, so companies can reach out to mobile subscribers with deals, coupons, and other notifications via SMS. This entry was posted in Singlepoint Inc. SING on August 28, 2017 by QualityStocks. The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a temporary trading suspension of First Bitcoin Capital Corp. (OTC: BITCF) shares because of concerns about the accuracy and adequacy of public information on the Canadian company. The order took effect at 9:30 a.m. EDT last Thursday and terminates at 11:59 a.m. on September 7, 2017. The SEC cited concerns about the company, including the value of BITCF’s assets and its capital structure, in a news release accompanying the suspension order. Shares of First Bitcoin Capital are traded over-the-counter and were last trading at $1.79 per share, according to Bloomberg. Shares had risen almost 7,000 percent this year prior to the suspension order. By contrast, the S&P 500 is up nine percent during the same time period. “The Commission cautions broker-dealers, shareholders, and prospective purchasers that they should carefully consider the foregoing information along with all other currently available information and any information subsequently issued by the company,” the SEC noted in its statement. First Bitcoin Capital management issued a notice to shareholders downplaying the 10-day suspension. According to its website, First Bitcoin Capital is a publicly-traded Canadian company engaged in various digital cryptocurrency-related business lines. It holds proprietary blockchain technologies and operates a digital currency exchange. This entry was posted in Stocks to Watch on August 28, 2017 by QualityStocks. In related news, multifaceted financial news and publishing company NetworkNewsWire this morning released audio of an exclusive discussion with Global Payout CEO Jim Hancock. The wide-ranging interview is currently available at http://dtn.fm/wRo2M. This entry was posted in Global Payout Inc. GOHE, QualityStocksNewsBreaks on August 28, 2017 by QualityStocks. This entry was posted in Chineseinvestors.com, Inc. CIIX, QualityStocksNewsBreaks on August 28, 2017 by QualityStocks. PotNetwork Holding, Inc. (OTC: POTN) this morning announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Diamond CBD, Inc., was an official sponsor of two contenders at the Mayweather-McGregor Event that took place on August 26. “We want to thank Francisco Fonseca and Steve Cunningham for the opportunity to gain this monumental level of brand exposure,” Gary Blum, chief executive officer of PotNetwork Holding, stated in the news release. “In consideration of what is paid for a 30 second commercial spot, during a comparable sporting event, we believe that this is one of the most exciting opportunities for public exposure that Diamond CBD and POTN have ever experienced.” Although final PPV figures are not yet in, the Mayweather-McGregor ‘Money Fight’ event is expected to shatter all prior PPV viewership records. Analysts expect earnings from the internationally televised event to surpass the earnings records posted by Mayweather’s fight against Manny Pacquiao, which generated more than $600 million in combined revenue. This entry was posted in PotNetwork Holding, Inc. POTN, QualityStocksNewsBreaks on August 28, 2017 by QualityStocks. ABcann Global Corporation (TSX.V: ABCN) (OTCQB: ABCCF) this morning announced the release of one of Canada’s highest legal CBD:THC ratio products by wholly-owned subsidiary ABcann Medicinals Inc. CBD-Med has a ratio of 27.6:1 (18.5% CBD to 0.67% THC), making it one of Canada’s highest CBD products under Health Canada regulations. “The development of these products is in line with ABcann’s corporate strategy as a premium product provider of organic, pesticide free cannabis,” Ken Clement, executive chairman of ABcann, stated in the news release. “As the Company continues to scale production capacity, our product line will expand as we strive to increase shareholder value through capturing a larger market share of the current global medical markets.” Looking forward, ABcann anticipates being able to sell oils in October as it continues to diversify its product lines. Additional products to be marketed by the company are expected to include a 1-1 THC/CBD drop, a high THC dropper and a high CBD dropper. ABcann expects to release additional product details in the coming weeks. ABcann Global Corporation’s wholly owned subsidiary, ABcann Medicinals Inc., was one of the first companies to obtain a production license under the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations, which it received on March 21, 2014. It obtained a sales license on December 31, 2015. ABcann’s flagship facility in Napanee, Ontario utilizes proprietary plant-growing technology, including environmentally-controlled chambers capable of monitoring and regulating all variables in the growing process. This approach and the systems in place allow ABcann to produce organically grown and pesticide-free, high-yielding plants, which, in turn, can generate high-quality products that are consistent from batch to batch. ABcann is able to control environmental and nutrient demands, tailor-made for a particular strain of cannabis, without the variation that is typical when producing large quantities in less-controlled, larger rooms and greenhouse-type structures. ABcann’s modular approach to systems technology eliminates scale-up risk and allows ABcann to locate anywhere in the world and maintain consistency and quality of product. This entry was posted in ABcann Global Corp. ABCCF, QualityStocksNewsBreaks on August 28, 2017 by QualityStocks. Serious about Trading? Then SeriousTraders is for You! Our partner SeriousTraders knows that elite traders have to stay on top of the market at all times, and they stand behind them by continually searching for incredible trading opportunities. SeriousTraders is jam packed with informative market data and specialized articles; you won’t miss an opportunity to hone your trading edge. Even if you’re just looking to become a Serious Trader, but don’t know where to begin – look no further. SeriousTraders wants you to feel confident in the news and information they publish. That’s why SeriousTraders is constantly researching and updating their website to bring you the latest information. Every month you can expect their newsletter to hit your email box without fail. SeriousTraders recognizes that you are dedicated to the market, which is why they are dedicated to you! This entry was posted in QualityStocks Stock Newsletters on August 25, 2017 by QualityStocks. We develop and publish mobile gaming apps, with a focus on accelerating the development of free to play mobile games and fast-track them to market. We partner with game developers through joint ventures, royalty agreements, marketing partnerships, and outright purchases through our publicly-traded company on the OTC Markets, ticker SWRM. For more information, visit us at http://www.app-swarm.com. This entry was posted in AppSwarm, Inc. SWRM, QualityStocksNewsBreaks on August 25, 2017 by QualityStocks. ADC is engaged in the development of unique health products and pharmaceuticals that utilize hemp, cannabis and algae oils. We have engaged two Canadian universities to provide research into the use of extracts from cannabis oil, which we plan to use to develop products that combine the significant health benefits of Omega-3s derived from algae oil and extracts from cannabis oil. Our research is focused on the use of cannabis oil in the context of cancer, and the use of cannabis derivatives for the development of novel pharmacotherapies for mental health. For more information, visit http://www.algaedynamics.com. This entry was posted in Algae Dynamics Corp. ADYNF, QualityStocksNewsBreaks on August 25, 2017 by QualityStocks. Lexaria Bioscience Corp. has developed and out-licenses its disruptive technology that promotes healthier ingestion methods, lower overall dosing and higher effectiveness of lipophilic active molecules. Lexaria has multiple patents pending in over 40 countries around the world and was granted its first patents in the USA and in Australia related to edible forms of cannabinoids. Lexaria’s technology provides increases in intestinal absorption rates; more rapid delivery to the bloodstream; and important taste-masking benefits, for orally administered bioactive molecules including cannabinoids, vitamins, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), nicotine and other molecules. For more information, visit www.lexariabioscience.com. This entry was posted in Lexaria Bioscience Corp. LXRP, QualityStocksNewsBreaks on August 25, 2017 by QualityStocks.

2019-04-25T08:42:46Z

http://blog.qualitystocks.net/2017/08/

Last week, I was lucky enough to sit down with Matt Branstetter, our meditation and philosophy teacher. Here are some of his thoughts on yoga, and the peace of the present moment. CS: Thinking about a teacher you enjoy taking classes with–yoga, or otherwise–what is their teaching like, and how does that inform your personal practice? Matt: So, my main practice these days is taiji (tai chi), so I study with a master of the chen style of taiji, and I study with him 3 times a week. The thing that draws me to Master Ding is his joy in what he does. He moves with freedom and with joy, and that is infectious. It creates this kind of energy in class, where you’re driven to do that yourself. You’re driven to find that freedom and that joy of movement, without restrictions or inhibitions. Matt: Contagious joy, yes! Enthusiasm, and a pursuit of excellence…with joy. Not with stress. Excellence through joy rather than through have to or need to or must, but you have the opportunity to bring out what is best in you, and it is pleasant to do that. So here is one avenue for you to do that. So, I would say that he is a great inspiration to keep going deeper into the practice. CS: And do you find yourself seeking out that joyfulness in your own practice, or does it arise naturally? Matt: I find that it’s there. I find that when the body is in its natural state, joy is just kind of the essence of who we are. CS: Thank goodness! And how does that then translate from your relationship with your teacher as a student, into your practice, and then from there for yourself as a teacher. Where do you find that joy? Matt: Well, in all of the above. You know, when I have the time, I’m practicing. I love to do it. I love to explore. I love to do the same thing over and over and over again. For some reason I get great satisfaction out of that. And I feel like I’m pursuing something. You know, I’m pursuing a kind of wholeness. And that’s very appealing to me because it seems like if we’re living with less than whole, then it’s not time spent as fully as it could be otherwise. So the pursuit of that wholeness is also the pursuit of something true about life, and something true about living. So in my teaching, that’s it. The idea of the emotional quality and the feeling aspect of learning about qigong and taiji, it’s just so central to what it is. The felt quality of practice is the essence of it. I couldn’t conceive of movement or technique independent of the feeling that gives it life. They really are one. It’s a transmission of that joy of living. Matt: That’s right, that direct experience. It’s an invitation not to mimic techniques, but to find yourself. CS: Your focus and practice is taiji and qigong, but obviously you’re very steeped in the yogic tradition as well. How would you define yoga? Matt: There are different levels that we can talk about. And I don’t want it to sound like the advanced levels exclude the more beginner’s level because you’re a beginner all the way through. Definitely I think there’s something about finding peace in this body; making a home in this body; finding comfort in this body, which is essential to every level of yoga. Dealing with our own discomfort; dealing with pain… It’s only by inhabiting this body that we really inhabit the present moment. So it’s kind of there, either as a barrier or as a means to being present in our lives. That being said, I think when we start to make a home in the present moment, there’s a kind of spiritual map that’s there also, and that’s for me the essence of the yoga philosophy. It’s not concepts, it’s not the presentation of a world view, but it’s giving language to a process that happens as we go deeper into the present moment, and as we get more still, as we get more comfortable with being. So yoga would be…the art of being. CS: Is that something that you found in your initial experience of yoga? That spiritual map? Matt: For me, and I don’t think this is necessarily the normal pathway for people, but for me, philosophy came first. So I was a student of philosophy, Western philosophy, and then eventually Eastern philosophy. And then it became clear to me that to understand what these people were talking about, you had to be in the same or similar mental state to where they were when they were saying what they were saying. So the idea of meditation, that made sense to me. In order to understand what these philosophers were talking about, you need to meditate. So I found a meditation teacher who also ended up being a martial arts teacher. It was a quest for philosophical truth, for knowledge. And I think for a lot of philosophers, and this was definitely the case for me, it was looking for something stable. Because my early life as a child was unstable, so there was some quest for stability. Does the center hold? Is there something that abides through the changes in life? And the answers from the East were always couched in a mastery of meditation. So the answer was yes, but not one that’s going to be immediately accessible to you. In order to find this abiding place, you’re going to have to strip away various layers, and you’re going to have to make this inward journey. And that seemed fair. It seemed fair that if you were going to find something like that, you would have to make a journey to get there. So my very first yoga class was after a martial arts training session. One of our students became interested in yoga, and started teaching yoga to the rest of us. It was the deepest relaxation I had ever felt. Ever. I was used to doing things with my body, but to really go in and relax everything, and to let things let go at their own pace. I can remember just driving home in a state of bliss. And relaxation. It was just like OH MAN. This is GREAT. We can just go in and chill ourselves out. And that was it. Ever since it has just become part of my life and part of my practice. And that initial hit, that initial hit of philosophy, the initial hit of insight into what these guys were talking about, and the initial experience of that yoga class, they continue to live. Those initial glimpses continue to live in my practice today and inform and inspire it. CS: So for most people, we would probably agree they get to yoga through the asana, through the body, and you came at it from the other side of things. Do you find that that is something that sets you apart from other teachers? Matt: Maybe…I’ve taught philosophy in college, in the classroom, and I realize with these philosophies it’s about a lived experience. That’s what it’s about. And I really have that sense ingrained in my being at this point. I would say my teaching, when it’s effective, is a really open invitation to meet each other at a certain level of being. You know? And then the concepts that we use will make sense, because we’re kind of in the state that the people were when they started saying, “Hey, how can we talk about what we’re experiencing right now? Let’s put some words on this.” And so they put certain words on that, and as we get close to where they were when they had that idea, we can more easily assimilate the words because it’s not some foreign concept to us anymore. It’s a way of getting to the essence of what we’re experiencing in the moment of experience. So satsang is a shared experience of truth, where we are somehow kind of resonating with it together, and I recognize it in you and you recognize it in me. So when it’s explained that way it has very little to do with concepts, and I think the yogic philosophy, in the final analysis, has very little to do with concepts. It has to do with being. With a capital B. CS: What role does yoga play in your life? Matt: The practice of asana is still pretty central to what I do. Between movement, mindful movement (which is what I believe the internal martial arts are based on), and the practice of asana, the practice of breathing and the practice of meditation, I would say my practice these days is to try to get a sense of a continuum between all those. Even when you’re sitting in meditation, you’re breathing…most of the time. So the body is moving, the diaphragm is moving, the ribcage is expanding. So there’s always a sense of movement. There’s always a sense of meditative awareness, and there’s always a sense that sensation is never still. There’s something about the way our nervous system is arranged, so that in order for us to feel anything, that nerve has to fire, and fire again, and if it doesn’t fire, we’re not going to feel anything. So the fact that when we feel, it means that things are moving, things are changing, things are shifting, so that is the awareness that I think is common to all those practices. The awareness itself is quiet, still, but everything else is moving, changing, flowing. So being comfortable with that change, relaxing into that change, surrendering to that change, and even learning how to surf that change is how I would define yoga, and say how it’s playing a role in all these different practices right now. CS: What would you say is the “essence of yoga”? Matt: I like “peace”. There’s a lot of directions I could go with that question, but I like this idea of shanti. May there be peace in the world, may there be peace in our households, in our surroundings, and may there be peace in our own bodies and minds. I think that’s a very worthy goal. It’s definitely true in our time, but it’s been true of every time. It’s not an easy goal to achieve, but I think it’s a really meaningful one. I think we should continue to inspire ourselves and one another to continue to pursue this goal of peace. Let it go. Let it be, at least for this moment. CS: What drew you to the practice of taiji, qigong and East/West philosophy? Matt: When I was studying philosophy as a student, I really started with ancient Greek philosophy. I had been waiting for people to talk like this since I was born! That was my sensation, and I really wasn’t finding people, you know, my mom, my family, they were not using that kind of language. So just the fact that people were asking these fundamental questions. All of a sudden a light went on in me, and I very quickly learned that vocabulary of asking those questions and seeking the answers. It was a great awakening for me, but it was also kind of systematic. You know, I started with the Greeks, and then I got into European philosophy and after stewing in that, and the questions they were concerned with for a while, Eastern philosophy came. In a survey course, you usually get a smattering of traditions, so the Hindu tradition and their philosophy, the Daoist, so ancient Chinese, and Buddhist, and Zen. These all kind of hit me at the same time in this survey course, and they’ve all been constant companions throughout the whole process. And qigong is really just the yoga of China. Just as in India, there’s breathing techniques, there’s physical techniques of the body, there’s philosophical techniques, and they’re all intertwined with one another. In China it’s the exact same scenario, you have all these subtle techniques for the body and the breath, and they inform a certain way of looking at life and a certain way of experiencing life. And fundamental to the practice of yoga in India is the idea of Prana, or life force, and fundamental to the practice of taiji is Qi or life force. That is something that we kind of are always tasting. We’re always feeling that at some level, but I think the moment we really become conscious that, hey, I’m alive. Not because my doctor tells me, or because my fitbit say that I am. I’m alive because I feel alive. Because I feel these life processes happening inside of me, and I am somehow one with those life processes. I think when people get that initial sense of that, you naturally want more of that; you naturally want to explore that deeper; you naturally think, this has something to do, not just with a fleeting experience, but the meaning of what it is to be alive. And so this is the force that’s underneath all of that. This is the force that’s making that happen. And it’s more intimate to us than we are to ourselves. It’s closer to us than our own thoughts. CS: This question is a little bit off the beaten path, but why do you think it is that the Western world created or imagined such a fragmentation, such a divide between the body and mind, while the East has these systems that are so mind-bogglingly simple and complex at the same time, and that work so beautifully? Matt: That’s right…well, I think the ancient traditions of the West, you don’t see that quite as much. In the indigenous traditions of the West, you don’t see that as much. It’s a whole process, but I think you hit one of the key factors, and that is the separation between the mind and the body, which is just not the case in the East. It doesn’t tend to be the case in the East, it tends to be that these are obviously part of a single process. So beginning with Descartes and some of those European thinkers and the Enlightenment; and the separation of material pursuits from spiritual pursuits, so the material people kind of have their realm, and the spiritual people kind of have their realm; the process of beginning to see nature as a resource, rather than something that was living and valuable in its own right; the shift from “being” to “having” in all kinds of ways. All of that plays a role, and then science really seeming, in those early stages to create a world that could exist independently of our experience of it. It was solid, it was real, it was out there. So that’s one of the fascinating things about more contemporary science. The belief that the world is solid real and out there has crumbled from every direction that we’ve approached it. It’s crumbled from the neurological perspective, it’s crumbled from the perspective of physics, and this is an ancient concept, the idea of maya. Which is not that the world is a trick, it’s just not ultimately and totally real. I mean, a rainbow is real. We can see it! There it is! We can experience its beautiful colors. But the closer you get to it, the more it seems to recede, and that’s the same thing we could say with biology, chemistry–they’re real, from a certain level, but the closer we get to them, the more powerful our microscopes, the more they seem to dissolve and disappear. And I think that’s the fundamental idea of maya–don’t seek the eternal or the abiding in terms of these material processes, because they’re neither. In fact, they come from and are rooted in a more profound reality that you can’t own, you can’t store up, you can’t have it, like you can have material things, but ultimately, that’s what’s going to be fulfilling to you. That’s what’s going to give you a meaningful human life, and one that aligns you with the way things are. CS: Is there anything that you would like your future students to know about you? Or about the world? Or about the practice of yoga? Matt: I would say this is a common thing, because I approach things, in a way, backwards. Because the philosophical way of speaking is so second nature to me, that I feel like that can be intimidating to some students. I guess the primary thing is don’t be intimidated. The kind of knowledge that I’m interested in is really just an invitation for us to be together, which means both–we’re being and we’re together. So both of those have to be there. Because we can be together, but not be being. Or we can be being, but we are either on our own cushion, doing our own thing, or we’re out on a mountaintop somewhere, and this is neither. This kind of philosophy is about being together. And one of the things that humans do when we’re together is we speak to one another. And this is not to say the ancient yogis had the best vocabulary for our day, but they did really go deeply into the questions. So the essence of what they were saying I think will remain the same, but the words that we put it in? I think those have to evolve. Because traditions just get created around particular words. And it’s very easy in that scenario…you can master the whole system, but not know what the hell it was really about, and that’s our goal. Our goal is not to be the master of some ancient vocabulary, our goal is to try to tap into the essence of what they were talking about…why they felt compelled to bring forth these words in the first place. And I think people will find that that it’s very pleasant to feel like you’re sharing with somebody at a deep, fundamental and essential level. And I think that’s what satsang was all about. You know, having people talking and meditating at the same time. We’re being and speaking and interacting at the same time. Somehow when those things become separate from one another, we have the scenario you were just talking about with the Western world. We end up with fragmentation. Ultimately, I don’t want to know anything that you can’t also participate in at the moment I know it. The knowledge I’m interested in is where we meet together…in peace. CS: In peace–the essence of yoga. LOVE…what is it exactly? Is it an outdated archaic idea, a fundamental force of the universe, or an individual act of will? As bell hooks points out in, All About Love (2000), “most people find it hard to define what they mean when they use the word ‘love,’” although we seem to know intuitively how important it is to our wellbeing—to our very survival. Human beings generally know love as feeling sensations or relationships, but are these experiences the entirety or even the essence of love… or is there more? hooks’ discussion of this cherished yet complicated concept challenged me, as a yoga practitioner and teacher trainer, to critically examine how I think about and experience love, and how I might bring more of it into the world. hooks first invited me to, “imagine how much easier it would be…to learn to love if we began with a shared definition.” She then shared the self-aware definition proposed by Dr. Peck in The Road Less Traveled (1978); he defines love as “the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.” This definition immediately struck me as truly unique, making no direct reference to physical-emotional attraction or sentimental feelings. And, it resonated powerfully with my yogic tendencies, not only as a way to recognize love in its infinite manifestations, but as an act of will for spiritual purposes. I realized at that point, I had often mistaken the experience of love as a strong, spontaneous state of attraction or “cathexis,” with a dedicated loving practice—in much the same way a momentary bliss sensation during yogic meditation may convince us that we have attained Samadhi. Envisioning love as a verb and a choice—involving conscious will and discernment in the service of spiritual intentions—helped me disentangle the notion of love as simply sensation and an active loving practice. Defining love as a spiritual practice also opened up greater awareness on how I might bring more of it into the world. From this new perspective, love, like yoga, takes the form of disciplined, intentioned action: a series of conscious acts that take us to higher ground. Abuse, violence, manipulation, neglect, and other acts of, what hooks calls, “lovelessness,” can never be part of a loving practice. And feelings of attraction, which may be present, should never be confused with a dedicated practice of love. I can choose to act lovingly. All human beings can consciously choose to practice love. By embracing this definition, the idea and experience of love can be transformed: from a feeling that happens to us, to which we may become mindlessly attached, leading us to act in unloving ways; to a potentially healing and uplifting practice that we choose to take up with deliberate and mindful presence in order to foster our own and other’s spiritual Selves. Love as a self-conscious, disciplined, spiritual practice: What could be more nourishing, transforming, and empowering for our lives and our world—or more yogic?

2019-04-20T23:09:37Z

https://theessenceofyogacenter.com/tag/yoga-teacher-training/page/2/

The Illinois Department of Transportation’s new multi-year construction plan seeks to assess the state's infrastructure across all modes of transportation. The proposal is for Fiscal Year 2013 through Fiscal Year 2018, and it considers not only roads and bridges but airports and rail routes, including transit and freight rail. “It provides more balance and growth to an already vibrant transportation network in Illinois,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider. The plan calls for $9.2 billion in spending. The last of the capital bill funding, $1.2 billion would be pooled with $6.5 billion in federal funding, $2.2 billion in state funds and $454 million in local funds to pay for the program. In FY 2013, $1.8 billion would be spent. The plan calls for work to 2,302 miles of roads and replacement or repairs to 508 bridges. According to IDOT, the construction plant would create or sustain 120,000 jobs between FY 2013 and FY 2018. IDOT's plan also focuses on sustainability and information technology. Under the plan, 1,000 miles of fiber optic cables would be installed and upgraded along state and local highways. According to the proposal, IDOT worked to install 3,100 miles of fiber optic cable between 2010 and 2012. Go to IDOT's website to see a map of projects planned across the state. A lawmaker who entered a plea of not guilty today on bribery charges also plans to appear before a legislative committee charged with deciding whether he will face disciplinary action. A House Special Investigative committee decided last week to ask Rep. Derrick Smith to appear and testify under oath. The vote came after U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald told the committee that he would not share information from his investigation of Smith and asked that members not try to obtain such information. Smith is accused of taking a $7,000 bribe in exchange for writing a letter of recommendation for a day care center he believed was seeking a grant. Smith, a Chicago Democrat, was the subject of a federal sting, so the day care center was not actually seeking the grant. Smith could opt not to testify by evoking his Fifth Amendment rights, but Rep. Elaine Nekrtiz, chair of the committee, said that the group could take such a move under consideration when deciding whether there is reason to pursue disciplinary action against Smith. If the committee decides action is warranted the full House could vote to censure or even expel Smith. Nekritz, a Northbrook Democrat, said she expects the committee’s next hearing to take place this week or next week. Henderson said he did not know when Smith would be scheduled to appear. “When it happens, he will be there." As lawmakers look to cut the state budget, law enforcement officials warn that reductions to early childhood programs are false savings because they create a need for more spending in other areas. A measure to regulate a drilling process commonly referred to as “fracking” passed in the Senate with no opposition today. Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, is a process used to extract oil and gas by pumping water, chemicals and sand into the ground. The water fractures a source rock, allowing gas or oil to escape and be collected. Sand is used to hold the cracks in the rock open. Chemicals are added to the water for a variety of reasons, such as disinfection, lubrication and making the water thicker to keep the sand from sinking. The primary controversy over fracking has been issues of water pollution. In Dimock, Pa, residents near fracking sites say their water has been contaminated and has made them sick. Preliminary tests by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did find some chemicals in residents’ drinking water but did not find any at levels unsafe for human consumption and could not positively link any contaminants to fracking. Residents in other states near fracking sites have had similar complaints, but the EPA has yet to produce a conclusive link between fracking and toxic water pollution. Proponents of fracking claim that the water is pumped into the ground far below drinking water reservoirs and cannot come in contact with drinking water. Surface spills of water used in the process are also a concern. Pennsylvania officials say that some methane released during the drilling of fracking wells did migrate to private water wells near Dimock. Methane is not toxic, but it does present a safety hazard because it is highly combustible. Multiple studies conducted by local governments have found elevated levels of air pollution near fracking wells. Franking has been practiced on oil wells in Illinois for decades, but a new interest has grown around the potential for extracting natural gas in southern Illinois. Such fracking projects would likely be on a much larger scale than anything Illinois has seen to date. Sen. John Jones, a sponsor of Senate Bill 3280 who has worked in the oil industry, said that he has participated in the fracking more than 500 oil wells over the last 30 years. Jones, a Mt. Vernon Republican, noted that there has never been a fracking accident in Illinois. The legislation would require drillers to met certain standards for protective casing built into fracking wells. They would also have to disclose the chemicals they use. Companies would be required to tell the state Department of Natural Resources how much water they use and how they plan to dispose of fracking waste water. The bill is backed by the industry, as well as environmental groups such as the Sierra Club. “This is the product of several months of negotiations,” said Champaign Democrat Sen. Michael Frerichs, a sponsor of SB 3280. Frerichs and Jones were the only two speakers during a floor debate of the bill today. Terri Treacy, a conservation field representative for the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club, said that chemical disclosure would give residents living near fracking wells a chance at recourse if their water became contaminated. She said her group did not push for a ban on fracking because it did not seem like a political reality. “Bluntly, we feel like legislation to make it safer at this stage is more likely than getting a ban,” she said. The National Farmers Union in Canada has called for a moratorium on fracking in Canada. Several New York municipalities have banned the practice, and New York State is considering a moratorium. “The environmental groups that we have dealt with are not antidevelopment groups,” said Brad Richards, executive vice president of the Illinois Oil & Gas Association. “They just want to make sure that the ground water is protected.” Richards said that fracking has been done responsibly in the state for decades, and the industry as a whole has embraced disclosing the chemicals used. But some in southern Illinois still hope to keep new fracking endeavors out of their area. Liz Patula, coordinator of Southern Illinoisans Against Fracturing Our Environment (SAFE), said that the potential risks of fracking are too big to consider for an uncertain economic payoff. She said she is worried about the long term impact if water or land becomes polluted during the process. “You’re talking about a few jobs, and the price for that is literally destroying the region and the land base.” Patula’s group is reaching out to farmers in southern Illinois and trying to rally a grassroots opposition to fracking. Drilling is expected to begin in the next few months. For a comprehensive look at hydraulic fracturing and what it could mean for Illinois, see the upcoming May edition of Illinois Issues. A committee tasked with determining whether there is cause to discipline a lawmaker accused of bribery has hit a wall in terms of evidence that is available for its investigation. Rep. Derrick Smith, a Chicago Democrat, was arrested on bribery charges in March. Prosecutors allege that Smith accepted a $7,000 bribe for recommending a day care for a construction grant. Smith was the subject of a federal sting, so the day care was not actually seeking the grant. Smith has since been indicted on a bribery charge. The indictment said that $4,500 of the alleged bribe money has not been recovered. A House Special Investigation Committee voted today to request Smith to testify before the panel under oath. The committee must decide whether the House should pursue disciplinary action against Smith. The move came after United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald told the committee that his office would not share evidence with the committee. Fitzgerald said the committee cannot seek information through subpoena or requests under the Freedom of Information Act without potentially causing harm to criminal investigations. “I can tell you that our investigation of Representative Smith is continuing, and it is our strongly held belief that any disclosure of the government’s evidence or active inquiry conducted by the committee into the allegations of the federal indictment will likely interfere with our pending case and ongoing investigations,” a letter from Fitzgerald to the committee stated. Nekritz said one option left to the group would be to go directly to Smith. The committee opted to send Smith a letter requesting his testimony instead of issuing a subpoena, but Nekritz said that either option would have the same result. Even if subpoenaed, Smith could opt not to testify based on his Fifth Amendment rights, which protect against self-incrimination. However, Nekritz said that if Smith decides not to testify, the committee could take that into consideration when deciding if there is enough evidence to seek a disciplinary action against him. In criminal court, if a defendant invokes Fifth Amendment rights, it cannot be used against him or her. Smith did not appear at today’s hearing or any of the previous meetings of the committee. He has returned to work in Springfield, but he has declined to answer questions from the press. A call to his lawyer was not returned. Nekritz said Smith is expected to enter a plea next week, and the committee wants to see if any new information or documents come out of the court proceedings. “I think it behooves us as we go through this to get as much evidence as we can," Nekritz said. She said the committee does not have to wait until the end of criminal proceedings to make a recommendation to the House, but for now, she would like to wait and see if the committee can get more to go on in the coming weeks. If the committee recommends disciplinary action, the full House could vote to censure or expel Smith. “In the short run, we would like to see what could become available through the court filings and what the U.S. attorney does through the [evidence] discovery process,’ Nekritz said. “Unfortunately, I have a very short-term view of this now, and it’s very hard to predict months out how that’s all going to play out because it could dramatically change next week.” She said she expects the group to hold another hearing in the next two weeks. Advocacy groups have begun their push back against Gov. Quinn’s proposed Medicaid cuts. A new report released by the Campaign for Better Health Care and Families USA — both nonprofit health care advocacy organizations — claims that the proposed cuts by Quinn would not only hurt some of Illinois’ most vulnerable citizens, but the cuts would also have a drastic impact on the state’s economy. “If Medicaid is cut, it would not lessen the number of people who will be needing health care, and it would not lessen the number of people who will be utilizing health care,” said Jim Duffett, executive director the Campaign for Better Health Care. Last week, Quinn proposed a plan to defer $2.7 billion in Medicaid growth. His proposal would cut $1.35 billion by eliminating or reducing services and finding efficiencies. Health care providers would also take a $675 million hit in rate reductions for the services they provide under the program. The report found that an 18 percent cut, the total reduction in Medicaid spending the group says Quinn is proposing, would put more than 25,000 jobs at risk. The group said Quinn’s proposal would also result in $3.2 billion lost in business activity statewide. “These are real people, real jobs, real patients, real communities that are tremendously facing harm. The cuts of the magnitude that are being proposed, we estimate roughly an 8 percent across the board [to providers], is really just way too far, what we are trying to do in filling up a $2.7 billion spending gap is unprecedented in its size and scale, and we really need to appreciate the type of impact that level of cuts is going to have, not only on the economy but on real people,” Maryjane Wurth, president & CEO of the Illinois Hospital Association, said at a news conference highlighting the report. Instead of proposed cuts, such as the elimination of adult dental care and Illinois Care Rx, a prescription drug program that helps low-income seniors pay for their medicine, the groups advocate expanding coordinated care in the Medicaid program to improve access. The groups also support the idea of creating more programs that could possibly get matching dollars from the federal government. “Hospitals are working very hard on moving to integrated care, care coordination, so that people get the right care at the right time with the right outcomes with the lowest cost. We should be investing — we need to be maximizing federal revenue to the state. Right now, for every dollar that is cut in Medicaid, we simply hand back a dollar to the federal government. This is a time when, in the Illinois challenge, that we should be maximizing every single legitimate dollar that this state can achieve,” said Wurth. But Quinn believes the cuts are necessary for the state to catch up on its backlog of Medicaid bills. Quinn said the growing stack of unpaid Medicaid bills — which he says would reach $4.6 billion by the end of Fiscal Year 2013 if no action is taken — makes reductions in the program necessary. He said those in opposition to his proposals are ignoring that reality. “We have to save the system in order to have a system. It is on the verge of collapse,” Quinn told the editorial board of the Springfield State Journal-Register today. Quinn said he is open to negotiating Medicaid changes as long as they would result in a $2.7 billion reduction in liability for next fiscal year. But the one thing Quinn and many advocates agree on is a $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase to avoid some cuts. Quinn estimates the proposed increase would bring in $337.5 million, plus another $337.5 million in federal matching funds. “We didn’t get into this hole overnight. It took years to get here; it will take more than one year to get out. By considering such common sense revenue solutions, for example, such as a cigarette tax, we would be well on our way on beginning to raise the revenue that is needed to go against these cuts,” said William McNary, co-director of the Citizen Action Illinois, an advocacy group that joined social services organizations to protest Quinn’s proposal at the Statehouse today. However, Republicans have come out hard against the cigarette tax plan. Quinn said he would work to lobby lawmakers on the idea. Under a plan Gov. Pat Quinn laid out today to reform the state pension system, workers would have to choose between retiring later and paying more for benefits or giving up state subsidized retiree health care coverage and not having any future pay increases figured into their pension benefits. While Quinn acknowledged that the primary cause of the state’s $83 billion pension liability was governors and lawmakers failing to make the needed contributions in the past, he said today that benefits must be scaled back to ensure the future integrity of the state’s retirement systems. “I know I was put on Earth to get this done,” Quinn said at a Chicago news conference. Under Quinn’s plan, employees of state government; public colleges, universities and local schools; and legislators would have to pay 3 percent more of their salaries into the pension systems. They also would not be eligible for full retirement benefits until age 67. Currently, contribution levels and retirement ages vary from system to system. Under Quinn’s plan, teachers would go from paying 9.4 percent of their salaries to 12.4 percent. University workers would see their contributions rise from 8 percent of their salary to 11 percent. Currently, many state employees can retire at age 60, but the number of years spent on the job also goes into determining retirement age and level of benefits. Quinn said the change in retirement age would be phased in but did not give details on how that would work. Quinn's plan would not affect judges, who also belong to a state retirement system, or currently retired state employees, according to Brooke Anderson, a spokeswoman for the governor. Cost of living increases for future retirees also would be reduced. Retirees now receive an annual compounded 3 percent cost of living increase. Quinn’s plan calls for future retirees to get an annual increase of 3 percent or half of the federal Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. The cost of living increase also would not be compounded over time and would not kick in until a retiree reaches 67 or has been retired for five years, whichever comes first. Anderson said current retirees would not be affected by Quinn's proposed changes to the cost of living increases. Quinn also said he supports shifting some costs to local school districts and state community colleges and universities, but he said that component of the plan is still a work in progress. “I think that this is a principle of accountability that everybody understands that those that are negotiating [employee contracts] should have skin in the game,” Quinn said. He said his proposal would produce $65 billion to $85 billion in savings, not including savings produced by shifting some pension costs to local schools and state universities and colleges. He also said that by 2042, the state would commit to 100 percent funding for the pension systems, eliminating its current $83 billion pension liability. The target under current statute is for the pension systems to be 90 percent funded by 2045, meaning that they would have about 90 percent of the money needed to pay the projected future benefits of all employees in the systems. According to the United State Government Accountability Office, funding levels of 80 percent or more are considered “sound” for government pensions. The state pension systems overall are now about 43 percent funded. The funding formula, including a requirement that the state must fund the systems in the future, would be enacted into state law, Quinn said. Quinn added, “The other thing that employees will have is the assurance that the state will make the payments over the next 30 years.” He said he expects about two thirds of employees to opt for the benefit reductions over losing health care coverage. Teachers unions argue that such reductions would hurt recruitment efforts and deter people from entering the profession. “Today, Gov. Quinn announced a proposal to address the Illinois pension problem that will adversely impact many active [Illinois Education Association] members and make education a less attractive career,” said a written statement by the Illinois Education Association. Education officials have argued that keeping teachers working longer would cost the state more than $1 billion because senior teachers earn higher salaries than newer teachers. Cross said he want to make sure that any plan that is signed into law would have the best chance of surviving an inevitable court challenge. “I think at the end of the day, regardless of what we do, it’s going to end up in court," he said. After a group of legislators failed to agree on a plan to reduce Medicaid costs, Gov. Pat Quinn released his own proposal today. Quinn’s plan to defer $2.7 billion in Medicaid growth calls for $1.35 billion in savings and a $675 million rate cut to health care providers. He is also proposing a $1-dollar-a-pack cigarette tax increase, which he says would bring in $337.5 million. If spent on Medicaid costs, that money would result in a $337.5 million match in federal funds. In an effort to help mend the “broken” system, Quinn pitched a plan with more than 50 individual proposals, including services that could be reduced or terminated. The proposed plan emphasizes changes to utilization controls, which would limit how many times a patient could use a certain service or cap the cost of treatment he or she could receive. Limiting eyeglasses to one pair every two years. Limiting prescriptions to five per month for adults and children. Limiting diapers for adults and children to 200 a month. The current limit is 300. Capping coverage for physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech, language and hearing therapy. Under Quinn’s recommendations, patients would be charged a $10 copay for going to the emergency room for nonemergency treatment. A $3 copay would be required for generic drugs. Currently, copays are only charged for brand name prescription drugs. The proposal also includes 10 percent cuts to hospice care, home health and medical equipment. Some so-called optional services would be eliminated. Adult dental care and the Illinois Care RX, which is a prescription drug program that helps low-income seniors pay for their medicine, are on the chopping block to be terminated. Both cuts are controversial, and if Quinn gets his way, approximately 180,000 seniors would be affected by the loss of the Illinois Care RX program. Adult dental care would affect 172,000 Illinoisans. Some experts believe eliminating services such as dental care can push costs to other, more costly areas of the budget. Quinn is also calling for the elimination of group therapy in nursing homes, podiatry services for patients who do not have diabetes and chiropractic care for adults. The push to reduce Medicaid costs comes in wake of Quinn’s “rendezvous with reality” budget address in February, when he told lawmakers they could not go home until they pass comprehensive Medicaid reform and called on a Medicaid working group to help solve a $2.7 billion crisis — an amount Quinn says would carry over into 2014 if lawmakers do not act now. “We just can’t afford to [put off paying bills]. The system would implode, and it would eat up everything in state government,” Quinn said in a news conference. He cited recent Civic Federation projections that Medicaid spending could reach $21 billion in unpaid bills by 2017. But rate cuts for health care providers and the proposed cigarette tax increase were nonstarters with Republican members of the Medicaid working group. But Quinn said Medicaid patients should not be asked to bear all the pain of cuts. “We have to ask our providers, those who are involved in the health care system, to tighten their belts, and we are doing that by asking them to make economies of $675 million,” Quinn said. A cigarette tax increase has failed to pass in both chambers despite many recent attempts at reviving the idea. The Senate did approve an increase in 2009, but it was shot down in the House. But Quinn argued that the increase would bring in money and deter smoking, which would save future health care costs. Senate President John Cullerton has been a longtime backer of a cigarette tax increase. “It's good fiscal and health policy and it should be part of our Medicaid stabilization plan,” Rikeesha Phelon, a spokeswoman for Cullerton, said in a written statement. Righter challenged Quinn to put his plan into legislation to be called for floor votes as early as next week. “And then we’ll find out whether or not the working group’s work is done,’ Righter said. “I have not taken a poll of the members of the General Assembly, but I suspect the working group would go back to work.” For now, the legislative group plans to continue its work and has a meeting scheduled for Tuesday. Gov. Pat Quinn tasked two legislative groups to recommend fundamental changes to the state’s Medicaid and pension systems. Neither of those groups has produced a final plan, but the governor is pushing ahead with his own recommendations. But one thing that the governor and legislators on both sides seem to agree on is that the Medicaid liability must be drastically reduced to save the system from collapse. Gov. Pat Quinn also called for a legislative working group to put forth proposals for reforming the state’s public employee retirement system by the beginning of this week, but that group was unable to reach an agreement. Quinn is expected to unveil his own set of proposals tomorrow. “I think the governor is going to announce tomorrow what he thinks ought to be done,” said Sen. Bill Brady, a member of the group. Brady, a Bloomington Republican, said that he expects Quinn’s proposal to contain some recommendations the group agreed upon and some they did not. “It’s 24 hours away, but that’s sort of what we’re anticipating right now,” said Rep. Elaine Nekritz, who is representing House Democrats on the working group. The group was still holding meetings this afternoon. She said that the proposals were delayed not because negotiations met an impasse but because of the logistics of trying to tackle the two major issues of Medicaid and pension reform in just a few months. “I think the delay is more due to interactions with Medicaid and some of the other things going on,” she says. “I think it has less to do with pension stabilization and more to do with all the really big issues that are swirling around here,’ said Nekrtiz, a Northbrook Democrat. However, Brady said that the lack of a presence from public employee unions has slowed the process. “One of the biggest reasons is we’ve asked labor to come and discuss it with us,” Brady said. “They have not accepted our invitation.” Brady said the pension group also plans to continue its work and has a meeting scheduled for next week. Union officials say they have pulled out of the talks because they are unsure whether the working group is engaging in earnest negotiations. They are concerned that the members may not have the authority to speak for Quinn and the legislative leadership, so the bargaining may not be backed by a real ability to get whatever deal is reached approved by the full General Assembly. "Early in the process, we requested relevant data to analyze the impact of any proposal made by the working group. To this date, we have received no data. In addition, despite previous assurances that the working group was empowered to speak for the governor and all the legislative leaders, it is no longer clear that that is the case,” Michael Carrigan said in a written statement on behalf of the union coalition We Are One. “Our unions are firmly committed to negotiating a solution to the pension funding crisis. However, to go forward, we need both the data supporting any proposals and a commitment that the representatives with whom we engage are authorized to speak for the governor and the legislative leaders.” Carrigan said in the statement that the group met with legislators working on pension reform on three occasions but that he does not know what will be in their proposal. The Illinois House approved a measure today that would make it more difficult to increase pension benefits, but Republicans argue that the same threshold should be set for tax increases. There was no opposition in the House to a proposed constitutional amendment that would require that any increase in pension benefits for public workers to receive a three-fifths majority vote to pass. Currently, such increases require a simple majority. “There’s a lot of tough medicine in this resolution. I think the tough medicine is needed,” said House Speaker Michael Madigan, who sponsored HJRCA 49.Under the measure, an increase to salary or wages would not constitute a pension benefit increase, unless the raise was excessive. Madigan said that lawmakers could set the parameters for “excessive” pay increases. The amendment would up the required support to override a veto of a bill containing pension benefits to two thirds of each chamber. Currently, only a three-fifths majority is required to override a veto. It also calls for increased benefits for municipal public workers to be approved by a three-fifths majority of a local board or council. Union officials say that the state’s billions in unfunded pension liability was caused by lawmakers and governors opting to skip annual pension payments, not by increased benefits. “This change to the Constitution would not address the true crisis threatening Illinois public retirement systems, which is the habitual failure of politicians to adequately fund the modest pensions earned by public employees. We continue to believe that this funding crisis can only be solved by all parties working together in good faith, and our union remains committed to doing so,” said Anders Lindall, spokesman for the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Council 31. A recent report from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability found that the bulk of the shortfall is a result of underfunding. Lindall also argued that the reduced pension benefits that went into effect last year do not meet federal requirements for employees, such as teachers, who will not receive Social Security benefits for the time they work for the state. “The lower pension tier forced on newly hired public employees must be fixed to avoid severe federal penalties. It is unwise to make such needed amendments more difficult to achieve,” Lindall said. Springfield Republican Rep. Raymond Poe said that the amendment should also protect against lawmakers voting to skip pension payments by setting the threshold to skip a payment at a three-fifths majority. “We also need a safeguard in there that you can’t short those payments in the future,” Poe said. The measure contains no such provision. The issue of guaranteeing future payments into the pension system will likely play into the ongoing negotiations over other pension reforms that may include reductions in benefits for workers hired before lower benefits for new employees went into effect last year. After Madigan’s amendment was approved, Republicans moved to have two constitutional amendments that are languishing in the rules committee called to the floor for a vote. The amendments would require the approval of a three-fifths majority to increase taxes in the state. “Let me commend Speaker [Madigan] for realizing that some votes in this chamber carry heavier consequences and deserve a little bit of extra scrutiny. He is right that decisions that have great impacts on the fiscal health of Illinois residents and the state as a whole should have to meet a higher standard and require a greater threshold,” said Arlington Heights Rep. David Harris, who is listed as a sponsor on both amendments. Harris argued that such a higher threshold should also apply to tax votes. “This is nothing significant or new. We already require a higher voting standard for borrowing, for laws that would preempt home rule and to overturn the governor’s veto. The next logical steep would be to require the very same threshold for bills that would make Illinois residents have to pay more taxes.” The Republicans’ efforts were blocked and the measures did not come up for a vote. If the Senate approves HJRCA 49, it would appear on the ballot in the November general election. To be included in the state’s Constitution, it would require the support of either three-fifths of those who choose to vote on the question or the majority of those voting in the election . As pension reform talks flounder in Illinois, a polarizing national figure drew union protests today in Springfield. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker spoke to a gathering of business leaders today at their annual lobbying event in Springfield. Doug Whitley, president of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber’s decision to invite Walker was not meant to incite disagreement. Rather, the group wanted to contrast the ways that Wisconsin and Illinois have sought to address budget deficits. Whitley said Wisconsin avoided a tax increase and encouraged economic growth by implementing business friendly policies such as tax breaks and reducing regulation. He said Illinois lawmakers should be “conscious” of what is happening in neighboring states and concerned about keeping the state competitive. “There are economic consequences to bad public policies,” Whitley said. Walker, who is facing a recall election in June, gave what seemed much like an election stump speech, touting what he sees as accomplishments from his year in office. He cited the state’s balanced budget, which he says was achieved through fundamental reforms instead of slashing core services or increasing taxes. “I think at the time, there were a lot of people down here at the state Capitol who are proponents of these tax increases, who looked at what was happening last year in Wisconsin and kind of proudly said, 'Well, we’re not going to do what Wisconsin did. Well, clearly the state government in Illinois didn’t,” Walker said. “Obviously things haven’t gotten any better when it comes to the state budget down here.” Walker blamed his recall election on “union bosses” and national union organizations that see him as a threat to their power. He also cracked wise about his revival of an old tourism slogan, “Escape to Wisconsin,” which Walker brought back as an attempt to appeal to businesses after Illinois increased its income tax rate last year. While Walker drew a group of attendees to the event that was comparable to previous years, he also brought out a large crowd of union protesters upset with his policies. Anders Lindall, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, said that inviting Walker to speak “shows for one thing how out of touch from regular people those corporate lobbyists and corporate chieftains really are.” Lindall said protesters who turned out today from multiple unions, including private sector affiliations, represent the hard-working core of the state’s middle class. Protester Cary Quick said: “Myself and many of my brothers and sisters that are union members came out to give Scott Walker an unwelcome to Illinois and ask him to go back … and take back all his union-busting, corporate bolstering political ideas to Wisconsin with him — to where he can await his soon-to-come unemployment and allow Wisconsin to get themselves back on track.” Quick said he plans to travel to Wisconsin in the coming months to campaign against Walker. Quick, who works as a mental health technician at the Choate Developmental Center in the southern Illinois city of Anna, says he came to Springfield to send a message to lawmakers that moves such as Walker’s attacks on public employee unions “would not be tolerated” in Illinois. Quick said he is worried about losing pension benefits, as well as Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposal to close several state facilities. While Choate is not on the list for potential closure, Quick said he is concerned that facility closures in the area would hurt his community. Union County, where Anna is located, had a 13.6 percent unemployment rate in February. Walker and Illinois public employee unions do agree on one thing: Both say that Quinn’s proposal to close several state facilities and layoff workers would be bad for Illinois’ economy. “All those things will have a negative impact on public employees in the state,” Walker said. But Quinn insists that the closures have to take place to balance the state’s budget. Quinn’s hopes of reforming the state’s underfunded public pension systems seem to be struggling, as public employee unions have announced that they are not negotiating with the legislative working group. Michael Carrigan, Illinois AFL-CIO president, said the unions are asking for data that they have not been given, as well as assurances that the lawmakers in the group can negotiate on behalf of Quinn and the four legislative leaders. “Our unions are firmly committed to negotiating a solution to the pension funding crisis. However, to go forward, we need both the data supporting any proposals and a commitment that the representatives with whom we engage are authorized to speak for the governor and the legislative leaders,” Carrigan said in a written statement from the We Are One Coalition, which represents several unions in the state. Quinn had set today as the deadline for the pension working group to present its ideas, but Brooke Anderson, a Quinn spokeswoman, said the group, as well as another working group that plans to propose Medicaid cuts, asked for more time. She said both sets of recommendations should be presented by the end of the week. “You should not worry about holding your breath too long because it will be very shortly,” Quinn told reporters in Chicago today. A state panel of education experts has released a set of recommendations that does not include forced consolidation of districts — a move that Gov. Quinn has advocated for. The Classrooms First Commission, a panel that, along with education experts, includes lawmakers from both parties, released recommendations that favor “voluntary” consolidation and shared services between schools. According to the report its suggestions could save the state up to $1 billion. The recommendations come after Gov. Pat Quinn proposed consolidating many of the state’s school districts to save money. The group, known as the Classrooms First Commission, found that under current law, a move to consolidate Illinois’100 high-school-only districts with 377 elementary-only districts into 101 districts could cost the state nearly $4 billion. The $4 billion price tag comes from incentives the state must pay when combining districts. However, Quinn originally believed the plan would save more than $100 million. The report found that a more cost effective approach would be to eliminate or modify some state laws that discourage school districts from voluntarily consolidation. According to the report, at least 40 school districts were considering this option. “Forcing districts to merge is not realistic, but providing them the resources and tools to consolidate on a voluntary or virtual basis is well within reach,” state Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, a member of the Classrooms First Commission said in a prepared statement. “We already have in Illinois 12 countywide school districts for the smallest counties, and I don’t want to tell those school districts to consolidate even more, I want those school districts to have the opportunity to work with neighboring school districts to share an advanced biology professor, to share a contract on purchasing textbooks, so that even though we're not asking them to consolidate, we're encouraging them to get the benefits,” said Simon. The draft report recommends a variety of changes such as: phasing in lower tax rates for new unit districts, piloting a new capital project list that targets school construction money at districts willing to consolidate and requiring counties with declining school-age populations to determine whether a countywide consolidation or sharing services would help struggling schools perform better. Although for some schools, the idea of consolidation seems inevitable, Simon has acknowledge concerns that schools worry about losing identity and local control under consolidation. “We held hearings across the state, and we definitely heard a lot of folks who talked about the importance of local control of schools. And what this set of draft recommendations does, it says we recognize that, we recognize the value of local control, but we also want to make sure that having a small locally controlled school district doesn’t mean you’re missing out on a higher level math course, or you’re missing out on the savings that can come from working together with another school district,” said Simon. • April 19th at Parkland College in Champaign. • April 20th at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. • April 26th at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights. • April 30th at Rock Valley College in Rockford. The final report is scheduled to be completed by July 1, when it will be submitted to Quinn and the General Assembly. The number of autism cases is on the rise, but funding for autism-related programs in the state has been dropping and could take another hit under the budget for next fiscal year. Experts believe that improved diagnostic methods and increased awareness of the disease has contributed to the increase. “Some of the increase is due to the way children are identified, diagnosed and served in their local communities, although exactly how much is due to these factors in unknown,” the report from the CDC said. Minority children saw the largest increases. Between 2002 and 2008, The number of African-American children diagnosed with autism increased by 91 percent, and the number of Hispanic children diagnosed increased by 110 percent. Caucasian children saw a 70 percent increase over the same time frame. “We suspect that some of this increase is due to greater awareness and better identification among these [minority] groups. However, this finding explains only part of the increase over time, as more children are being identified in all groups,” the study from the CDC said. Although an autism diagnoses does not include tangible medical evidence such as blood test, it requires an observational test performed by a doctor who studies a child’s interaction. This can make it more difficult to diagnose than some other conditions. The CDC recommends if a parent notices some behavioral problems by the child’s first birthday, a screening maybe necessary. Autism is almost five times more likely in boys than in girls. In fiscal year 2012, The Autism Program of Illinois received $4.6 million. Under Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed budget for FY2012, the group would get $4.1 million. However, lawmakers are on course to pass even bigger cuts than Quinn called for, so the final funding level could be less. Schmidt said that the cuts would lead to less services being offered to families who have children with from autism. He said the cuts would also make it harder to keep staff numbers up and make sure that employees are properly trained. The cuts could also lead to fewer hours of direct treatment for patients with autism. According to Schmidt, the cuts would result in 1,800 children not receiving some of the services offered by TAP, such as speech therapy, group support and early intervention for families. However, the Illinois Department of Human Services says the cuts are necessary to help the state regain control of its finances. “These are serious fiscal times, and tough cuts were made across all agencies. In order to move Illinois forward, we must reform and stabilize its Medicaid and pension systems ASAP. If we don’t tackle the task this spring, budget cuts will be much deeper and even more painful for programs and providers alike in FY 13,” Januari Smith, a spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services, said in a written statement. As the housing crisis continues to ravage many neighborhoods in the state, a study released today has identified a new breed of foreclosure that is on the rise. The report found that conventional mortgages given by banks represent a growing percentage of new foreclosures in the Chicago and Cook County area. It also reported that nearly a quarter of new foreclosure filings in 2011 were on loans that originated before 2005. That indicates the foreclosure crisis has now hit homeowners who had been able to afford their monthly payments for six years or more. In the past when borrowers lost their homes, experts pointed to subprime mortgages, which were marked by fluctuating interest rates and balloon payments. But the Chicago-based Woodstock Institute's report found that residents in the Chicago area are defaulting on more traditional loans, as well. “These new data show that even those buyers who took the less risky route of buying a home with a conventional mortgage are not immune from the impacts of the foreclosure crisis,” Spencer Cowan, vice president of the institute, said on the organization’s website. Cowan said the trend may have been brought on by the high employment rate. “People’s incomes have dropped; that’s why they cannot afford a mortgage anymore,” he said on a conference call today. The report also found the number of foreclosures in the Chicago region has declined, reaching about the same level as in the second half of 2008. There were 30,943 foreclosure filings in the six-county Chicago region during the second half of 2011, compared with 40,775 for the second half of 2010, a decrease of 24.1 percent. For the full year, foreclosure filings decreased by 18.9 percent, from 76,986 in 2010 to 64,877 in 2011. Although the number of foreclosures has dropped, Cowan believes the reductions may be a product of recent delays in the clogged foreclosure system. (For more on the overburdened foreclosure system, see Illinois Issues March 2011.) In 2011, there were almost 31,000 foreclosure filings but only 11,766 auctions in the six-county region, which suggests that the backlog in the courts may have increased. “Without concerted effort to address the forces that drive foreclosure activity, such as negative equity and unemployment, foreclosures will continue to drain wealth from all corners of our society,” Cowan said. If you do your reading on a Kindle, iPad, NOOK or other electronic reading device, state and federal officials say you could be getting gouged when you buy best-selling books. Illinois joined 14 other states and Puerto Rico to sue Apple and book publishers Penguin Group, Macmillan and Simon & Schuster over allegations of price fixing and violating anti-trust laws. “By colluding to fix the price of e-books, publishers and Apple essentially forced consumers to pay millions more for e-books than they otherwise would have paid,” Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in a written statement. “Enforcing the state’s antitrust laws will ensure that consumers receive the full benefit of competitive pricing and choice in the marketplace.” Madigan is seeking refunds for Illinois customers who were overcharged under the scheme. The U.S. Department of Justice is also suing Apple and book publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster. The lawsuit alleges that the publishers and Apple colluded to prevent a drop in the costs of electronic books as competition grew. The DOJ and Madigan say that before Apple entered the marketplace in 2010, most bestsellers were $9.99, but after the company entered into agreements with publishers to raise the prices, the price tags went up to $12.99 and $14.99, and Apple received a 30 percent commission on the sales. Publishers then demanded the same prices from other booksellers. “Based on the commitments to Apple, the publishers imposed agency terms, over some objections, on all other e-book retailers,” said a written statement from the Justice Department. Some publishers have argued that their agreements with Apple prevent Amazon.com from holding a monopoly over the e-book marketplace. Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster agreed to settle with the Department of Justice. Under the terms of the settlement, they must end their agreements with Apple and allow retailers to sell their e-books at discounted prices. Amazon said in a written statement that as a result of the settlement, it plans to drop the cost of some of the e-books it sells. The state’s safety net hospitals say Illinois should crack down on Medicaid eligibility instead of cutting rates paid to health care providers or services to those who truly need the program. Newton said his workers also see indications of potential fraud. He said patients with pacemakers come in with their pacemaker registered under one name and their Medicaid coverage under another name. “Now how does that happen?” he asked. Newton joined a group of the so-called safety net hospitals, which are located in low-income and medically underserved areas of the state, that put forth a list of suggestions as the state looks to cut $2.7 billion in Medicaid growth. Administrators of hospitals in the association say that without the care they provide, many Illinoisans would find themselves in health care deserts with no other options nearby. Many of the hospitals are also the largest employer in the areas they serve. One of the key components of the proposal from the Illinois Association of Safety-Net Hospitals is tightening they way the state checks eligibility. The group estimates that100,000 to 300,000 patients currently on the Medicaid rolls earn too much to qualify for the program and that $400 million to $1.2 billion could be saved if Illinois took more steps to ensure that all who are receiving Medicaid benefits actually qualify for them. “The system is not being administered effectively to put those dollars where they’re going to have the most impact,” Newton said. But the state has already hit roadblocks on efforts to determine eligibility. It took a year for the federal government to approve a plan to check state records to ensure that applicants are residents of the state. The feds have yet to make a decision about another provision that would require applicants to regularly provide proof of income. The association also says Illinois should capture more federal matching dollars and determine if some patients or services may be covered by alternative options, such as the federal Medicare program. The plan also calls for charging a $10 copay to patients who go to the emergency room for nonemergency care. A federal waiver would be required for such a move. Overall, the group says the proposal could save about $1.4 billion. The hospitals are calling on lawmakers to consider the proposal before cutting provider rates or care to patients. Administrators from the safety net hospitals said that reductions to provider rates and services covered by Medicaid could leave the already fragile institutions “near or at complete breakdown.” Dennis Ryan, vice president of external affairs at the Holy Cross Hospital, said his institution on the south side of Chicago already came “perilously close to closure” four years ago. “Lives and well beings can be at stake, and undue cost cutting risks are both unethical and immoral,” Ryan said. “You cannot fly an airplane without a wing.” Providers said that the looming $2.7 billion in cuts is already affecting their operations by making it difficult to borrow money to cover budget shortfalls. “A number of banks are now telling us that they will not extend letters of credit because Illinois is not the place that they want to do business,” Newton said. According to a state audit released today, the state’s Firearm Owner Identification system is flawed and may be a risk to public safety. Auditor General William Holland found that the vast majority of counties are not submitting court orders to the state that would disqualify card holders from gun ownership. “The effectiveness of the Illinois FOID card program operated by the [Illinois State Police] is limited in promoting and protecting the safety of the public. There are significant deficiencies in the reporting of individuals with potentially disqualifying mental health conditions to the Illinois State Police. Consequently, in most counties, if the court finds individuals to be a “mental defective” or “intellectually disabled” (terms used by the Act), ISP is not receiving the information needed from the circuit court clerks to revoke or deny FOID cards for individuals from those counties. Unless reported by another source (such as a state-operated mental health facility, hospital, etc.), individuals from those counties could receive or continue to hold a valid FOID card and could use it to purchase firearms and ammunition,” the audit said. According to the state police, there were 1,316,508 individuals with active FOID cards in Illinois as of January 2011. The Illinois State Police’s Firearms Services Bureau received 903,139 FOID applications from 2008 to 2010. Of those, 879,906 were approved and 20,152 were denied. Auditors found that only three of the state’s 102 circuit clerks had submitted mental health rulings to the state, and the court orders that were submitted were lacking important information, such as the ages and genders of subjects. Bond said the Illinois Department of State Police is backing House Bill 4456, which would clarify the clerk’s role in the process and require them to submit such rulings with or without direct orders from a judge. The audit found other problems with the system beyond the lack of mental health records. Thousands of cards were not being delivered to applicants. The State Police told auditors that many of these cards were returned by the post office as undeliverable. Auditors estimated that 6,200 cards had come back to the State Police. The department did not have enough people to answer phone calls related to the FOID program. During the last quarter of 2010, 85 percent of calls went unanswered. “On some days during peak times, more than 1,000 calls per day are received. Like government agencies across the country, we are doing more with less and are in the process of looking at ways to manage these expectations. If an employee calls in sick, in order to maintain a steady flow in processing applications, we have to rely on the employees that are available, resulting in overtime,” Bond said. She said that the department is considering a more automated phone system. The state police also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on overtime costs associated with processing FOID applications. Between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2011, the state police spent $526,919 on overtime for the FOID program. Almost $240,000 of that went to three employees. Supporters of expanding gambling in Illinois plan to push a revamped gaming bill when lawmakers return to session later this month. A gaming bill passed both chambers last year, but Gov. Pat Quinn said he would not sign it as is, so lawmakers held it from ever going to his desk. The measure would have allowed for five new casinos, including one owned by the city of Chicago, and slot machines at horse racing tracks. Sen. Terry Link, a Waukegan Democrat, said at the time that the changes Quinn wanted, which included taking out the slots at horse racing tracks, would never gain the support needed to pass. Quinn was, however, a vocal supporter of a Chicago casino. Those in the horse racing industry would still like to see slots at tracks. “I am always open, as I want a gaming bill, and I want everybody to come together,” said Tony Somone, executive director of the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association. “I’m hopeful that Gov. Quinn will see why the bill will be necessary to help the horse racing industry. I’m hopeful. I’m cautiously optimistic.” Somone said he does not know the details of Link’s new bill. Quinn’s office is in on negotiations, but publicly, the governor is sticking by the scaled-back plan that he proposed last year, the one that Link said couldn’t pass. “Governor Quinn continues to be open to a smaller, more moderate expansion that prevents corruption and provides adequate revenue for education. He laid out a strong framework last October outlining those standards,” Brooke Anderson, a spokeswoman for Quinn, said in a written statement.

2019-04-24T21:57:31Z

http://illinoisissuesblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/

3) definition of ways of increase of efficiency of advertising activity in Open Company Nataly. Structurally work is presented by three heads. In chapter 1 of degree work the theoretical material on research of efficiency of development of advertising activity is presented and systematised. Here the place and a role of advertising activity in marketing system, development of advertising activity and its value for manufacturers and consumers are considered. And also the economic indicators, characterising the important advertising activity are resulted. In the second chapter of work research of an advertising campaign of the new goods is carried out Open Company Nataly in which its planning and a substantiation of investment maintenance is carried out. Here the estimation quantitative and quality indicators of efficiency of an advertising campaign is made. In the final, third chapter of work ways of increase of efficiency of advertising activity to Open Company are defined Nataly. In particular methods of rational use of possibilities of advertising agencies, methods of increase of efficiency of advertising activity are considered, and also optimisation methods in advertising activity are considered. 2) direct registration of its answer. 1. Economic function. Advertising stimulates sale of the goods and promotes growth of profit of the enterprise. 2. Information function. Advertising forms an information field about the goods, services, their basic characteristics and features. About the new goods consumers learn mainly from advertising messages. 3.communicative function. Advertising creates image of commodity producers, forming activity of consumers to the certain goods (services). 4. Supervising function. Advertising supervises processes of creation of preferences of groups of consumers to the goods of regular assortment. 5. Correcting function. Advertising changes stereotypes of perception of these or those goods. 6. Demand management function. The volume of the advertising information and a drawing of its giving can change demand in the necessary direction. The essence of advertising consists in the following its basic functions and properties: the impersonal form of communications; It is characterised by uncertainty of target audience; creates an information field about the goods and services and promotes observance of interests of the advertiser. Advertising acts as one of levers in a complex of marketing communications (fig.1.2) [18, с.44]. 3) the result of advertising communications comes not at once, and after certain time. Thus, advertising has public character, promotes distribution of the information on the goods and services, is depersonalized and экспрессивна. It not only the tool, but also considerable sector of economy. Economic function is reduced basically to informing of the consumer on the goods or services, their popularisation, demand and goods turnover increase. Advertising itself is business sphere where are occupied hundred thousand professional experts, and brings in the big incomes to the manufacturers. Advertising? A source of economic well-being of commercial mass media. It provides with it financial support and mutually advantageous communications with trade and economic and other spheres of a public life. Advertising develops economy, influences increase of a standard of living of people and promotes effectiveness of a market mechanism. The commodity market formed in Russia and services all demands attraction and advertising use more persistently. Its roots leave in deep olden time and are connected by that manufacturers always needed to inform people on the goods sold by them, about spent fairs [25, с.4]. Except informative function, advertising acts and as the communications form between sphere of the reference and manufacture sphere as formation of new requirements of the buyers, stimulated advertising, gives a new impulse to manufacture, defines directions and rates of its development. That is, advertising will organise dialogue between manufacture and consumption. It finds the expression in orientation of manufacture to the market [25, с.11]. For 550 years advertising has passed a way of development from the labour-consuming print advertising (publishing) limited to region, before interactive global advertising. The first handbill has appeared in 1472, printed by William Kokstonom and containing the information on prayer book sale. The first weekly newspaper has started to be published in Strasbourg in 1609. In 1920 the first commercial radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh, the State of Pennsylvania starts to work. Now advertising is applied not only in trade, but also such spheres of a public life, as: the finance (for advertising of services), a policy (persons, parties, the unions), religion (spiritual culture), ecology (at occurrence of any natural and social situations), culture (persons, events), a science (workings out, technologies, innovations), services (medicine, tourism, etc). From this it is possible to draw a conclusion that advertising is the special form of communications. It realises the most general problems, such, for example, how to inform on events and the facts of a public life, to develop contacts between people, to operate dialogue process. Besides it, advertising solves also the private problems: creates the set images, convinces the consumer of necessity and possibilities to get these or those goods, forms at it desire to buy the advertised goods, unostentatiously and effectively, thereby turning to the tool of the organisation of sale of production of the enterprises and the organisations. As communication channels between the advertiser and consumers various audiovisual means which represent advertising media act. Advertising media classify on the basic and additional. All mass media and the outdoor advertising concern the basic means. Advertising in (newspaper) press possesses such advantages, as: timeliness, frequent periodicity, the big coverage of the local market. She allows to make changes to an advertising appeal operatively. At the same time it has such lacks, as: short duration of existence, poor quality of reproduction, a small audience? The secondary? Readers, thus advertising of one firm is in a direct environment of advertising of competitors. Advertising on TV unlike advertising in newspapers possesses high degree of attraction of attention at the expense of a combination of the image, a sound, movement. However it has high cost, fugacity of advertising contact, thus perception of the information of an advertising appeal is imposed on irritation from an advertising overabundance on TV. Radio is presented only by sound means, advertising contact thus also is very short on time. However at the given advertising medium coverage of an audience and smaller cost. Unlike advertising in newspapers, advertising in magazines has sharp selectivity, prestigiousness, better quality of reproduction and the big coverage of a secondary audience. Also advertising here differs duration of existence. At the same time at the advertising publication in magazine there can be a big rupture in time between representation of materials in edition and its exit to the public, i. e. effect? Advertising obsolescence?. The outdoor advertising has powerful emotional influence, high frequency of repeated contacts, however at its application there is no selectivity of an audience. Exhibitions and fairs thus that demand heavy expenses and preliminary preparation of stands, give the chance personal contacts to consumers and partners, and also possibility to show the goods in operation. 7) advertising causes irritation that too often interrupts translation of telecasts. Nevertheless, at all its lacks, advertising helps to achieve decrease in time spent by trading workers on purchase and sale of the goods, partially releases them from personal participation in advancement of the advertised goods that also conducts to decrease in distribution costs. [19, с.91]. Advertising promotes constant perfection of let out production. It use as the competition tool. Without advertising there is no possibility actively to influence the market, to fix the position on it [25, с.12]. Advertising as the communication medium, gives the chance large attendance attraction, thus to use the various mass media most suitable to the chosen target segment of the market. Thus it is possible to supervise the maintenance of advertising messages, its registration and exit time, to correct or change the message depending on reaction of a target segment. Advertising creates additional workplaces for managers, designers, artists, experts. Besides, advertising positively influences a consumer society as a whole, forming a powerful information field about the new goods and services. 1.russia it is not generated the positive relation to commercial activity. In consciousness of many people business Fraud. 2. Advertising is directed till now on the limited circle of people? An average? The consumer is left indifferent by messages on computers, cars, trips abroad. The reason - in low level of incomes. 3. An insufficient social orientation of advertisements at which there is a problem of protection of environment, love, sports. 4. Many announcements are given a little reason, persuasive and do not represent the facts. 5. Preview trailers are inexpressive, suffer bad aesthetic taste, in them there are no elements of a corporate style of the enterprise. Advertising is favourable to any enterprise And, many cases when the manufacturer of advertising specially gave negative advertising by means of which became known almost more than those who used only an advertising positive side are known. Nevertheless, the author considers, what finally similar advertising does not bring advantage to anybody? To the manufacturer as on subconsciousness there is an opinion on its firm as about something pushing away; to the consumer, owing to that after similar advertising there is an unpleasant deposit. With assistance of advertising the market becomes clearer and accessible to buyers with different tastes and requirements, with different level of monetary incomes, with unequal traditions concerning consumption. Carrying out contacts to the consumer, the advertising message at first forms awareness at the person - the consumer remembers mark. The positive relation to the goods is then formed, that is the consumer remembers the goods as one of the best in the given category. The next portion of contacts moves it to the first purchase [9, s. 20-22]. Unfortunately, not any advertising is perceived positively and consequently not any goods are got. But advertising is necessary for the consumer, as about existence of many goods we never would learn, if not advertising activity of manufacturers. That is advertising is necessary to all: and that who advertises the goods, wishing it to advance, and that who looks advertising and thus receives the information on the goods. Advertising not only the tool, but also considerable sector of economy. Advertising itself is business sphere where are occupied hundred thousand professional experts, and brings in the big incomes to the manufacturers. Advertising? A source of economic well-being of commercial mass media. It provides with it financial support and mutually advantageous communications with trade and economic and other spheres of a public life. Thus, advertising develops economy, influences increase of a standard of living of people and promotes competition development. Expenses on advertising? A powerful part of the budget of foreign industrial firms. They show the tendency of development of advertising activity. In the USA on advertising in mass media 5% from total expenses on manufacture and realisation of the goods leave approximately. At manufacturers of consumer goods this share still above: medicines? 20%; spirits, cosmetics? 13,8%; kitchen accessories? 12,8%; spirits? 11,9% and so on [30, с.332]. According to the Russian legislation expenses on advertising include following positions [15, s.13-23]:? On working out, manufacturing and distribution of ad publications;? On working out, manufacturing and distribution of sketches, labels, samples of original and firm packages, packings, acquisition, manufacturing and distribution of advertising souvenirs, samples;? On publicity through mass media;? On illuminated signs;? Manufacturing of stands, models, publicity boards, indexes;? Storage and экспедирование advertising materials;? Participation in exhibitions, fairs, window dressing;? On уценку the goods which in full or in part have lost the quality at exhibiting in show-windows. Expenses join in the actual cost price of production in full. The limiting sizes of expenses on advertising are estimated according to the rates from goods turnover volume, including the value-added tax. The account of expenses on advertising helps to estimate productivity of advertising activity of the enterprise. cost information not advertising article; - cost of placing of advertising messages in mass media. Absolutely precisely to define efficiency of separate advertising media, in most cases it is not obviously possible to an advertising campaign. There are two approaches to an estimation of efficiency of advertising activity of the enterprise [28, с.41]: and #61607; quantitative (economic efficiency) which shows degree of increase in sales volumes under the influence of advertising; and #61607; qualitative (efficiency of psychological influence) which allows to estimate degree of popularity, trust and adherence of consumers to the goods or the company. In practice use both quantitative, and qualitative approaches which allow to obtain the objective given estimations of advertising activity of the enterprise. Experts define also some kinds of an advertising efficiency, to be exact social, psychological and economic efficiency [19, с.118]. 2)? Hiding places?, which consists that the present advertisements from which marks, names of firms-manufacturers are withdrawn are used; the interrogated should specify goods mark, having read the announcement text. 2) an interrogation or questioning method. Economic efficiency is better to judge by result which has been reached by means of advertising. The economic result is defined by a parity between profit on the additional goods turnover received under the influence of advertising, and expenses on it. In this case from carrying out of publicity the effect is compared with expenses for its realisation. Following variants are possible: - the effect from publicity is equal to expenses for its carrying out; - the effect from publicity is more than expenses; - the effect from publicity is less than expenses. However still it is not enough received data for comparison of economic efficiency of expenses for carrying out of various publicity. More precisely efficiency of publicity expenses characterises its profitability. Profitability? This relation of the received profit to expenses (in percentage). In the present work we will consider that the concept of an advertising efficiency comprises two components: communicative and economic efficiency.communicative efficiency concerns quality indicators of an estimation of efficiency of advertising activity, economic efficiency? To quantity indicators. Such indicators concern quantity indicators, as an advertising rating, a share of coverage of a potential audience also. Efficiency of psychological influence of advertising means is characterised by number of coverage of consumers, brightness and depth of the impression, which these means leave in memory of the person, degree of attraction of attention. For definition of degree of attraction of attention of consumers to advertising the number of the people who have paid attention to advertising is necessary and remembered it during the certain period to divide into total number of people which have seen advertising during this period. In mass media it is possible to estimate degree of effectiveness of the publication of advertisements with some degree of convention, having divided number of purchases during the defined period of time for total of visitors during the defined period of time. That it is correct to estimate efficiency of the created advertising, it is necessary to spend accurately border between the communication and commercial (trading) purposes of firm (fig.1.6). Advertising as it was marked earlier, is aimed not only at achievement of competitive advantages (a share of the market, profit, a sales volume), but on achievement of certain results of communications with a target segment of the market. In advertising practice distinguish four cores of an indicator of a communicative advertising efficiency: recognizability; запоминаемость; attractiveness; propaganda force. Recognizability of advertising? It is criterion on which recognition symbols or external attributes of the trade mark are estimated first of all? A trade mark, a logo, the firm name. More highly on this parametre those recognition symbols, which are estimated: demand less time for recognition; are perceived in wider spatial range. By this criterion are estimated not only recognition symbols, but also the advertisement as a whole memory. One of the basic criteria both communicative, and a trading advertising efficiency. At the heart of use of this criterion the hypothesis formulated by classics of an advertising of R. Rivsom and A. Polittsem and divided by a number of modern writers lies: the person will choose that mark, which name and data about which it has better remembered. This feature of human behaviour of A. Politts (1990) has formulated in the form of a principle? Familiar mark?. He has established that expansion of knowledge of mark increases trust to it and raises its rank of quality in perception of consumers. Even the simple knowledge of the name of mark raises trust to it in comparison with absolutely unfamiliar mark [22, с.72]. Attractiveness of advertising in many respects depends on togas, how much successfully and in an original way creative decision embodied in a real advertising product. But the creative decision, more truly, its efficiency, it is the most difficult to estimate. The preference of mark seldom is based only on a rationale. That mark which advertising causes emotional participation will be seductive. Propaganda force? It is ability of advertising to force consumer to wish to get the goods. As indicators of propaganda force (on A. Polittsu) the following complex of properties can serve: The subjective importance of a theme, plausibility of the basic statement about the goods, uniqueness of the statement. Not in any advertising possessing propaganda force, all three properties, but presence at least two are presented it is necessary. Thus, it is possible to allocate four basic properties, defining propaganda force of an advertising appeal (properties are presented in decreasing order of the importance): the subjective importance; plausibility; uniqueness; integrity. The primary goal of an estimation of a communicative advertising efficiency consists in indirectly to predict its influence on sale. And though outright to judge a trading advertising efficiency by its communicative efficiency it is difficult, nevertheless correlation between these concepts exists. The modern advertising and marketing companies aspire to find special formulas (using different combinations of indicators of communicative influence) on which it would be possible to predict a trading advertising efficiency. The advertising efficiency is expressed in studying of degree of acquaintance of target audience with the information on investigated firm and its goods, and also what about them is known, what image of firm and the goods was generated also what relation to them. To create representation about the goods and firm, and furthermore to generate the good relation to them not always easily. It demands time and certain strategy. Relations in the market? It, first of all, human relations. Advertising allows to form the necessary representations about investigated firm at a wide audience on which basis it is easier to build relations. So, in conclusion of the head we will tell the following. Now the economy of Russia is in a transition state from planned system to the market. And if earlier the industrial enterprises had not to reflect on production sale, the state now in the conditions of the market each enterprise at own risk independently solves was engaged in it what exactly it will make and how to market, what will be thus used means. As in present conditions any businessman can make that considers it necessary also possible the number of manufacturers of similar production becomes very big. And everyone them them to aspire to win the market. It also induces the organisations to undertake the various actions promoting realisation of production. To these actions carry improvement of quality of production and use of various advertising receptions: appeal of packing, послепродажное service, the offer of the accompanying goods and services. It is necessary to approach to research and an estimation of efficiency of advertising activity in a complex, thus to use both quantitative, and quality indicators to estimate both trading, and a communicative advertising efficiency. In conclusion of chapter 1 we will draw following conclusions.1. Advertising? It is any paid form of impersonal representation and stimulation of sale of ideas, the goods and services by the certain sponsor. 2. Advertising is the most significant making system of marketing communications which allows the enterprises to achieve long-term competitive advantage, and also serves as the basic tool of positioning of the enterprise in consciousness of a target segment of the market. 3. The essence of advertising consists in an ohm that it hands over by means of mass media the information on consumer properties of the goods for the purpose of creation of demand for it. 4. The advertising purpose consists in systematic influence on mentality of the person to cause in it desire to get the known blessings. 5. Advertising became the integral and active part of a communication complex of marketing. And its level of development defines quality and efficiency advertising-information work the manufacturer and its conformity to new requirements of the world market. Let's consider development of advertising activity in Open Company "Nataly". Assortment of production which is let out by Open Company Nataly, constantly extends. After the formation the enterprise made only an aluminium profile. This profile was a different configuration, that is the assortment of made production was rather wide, nevertheless anything except a profile in manufacture was not. Now only a building profile it is made over two tens names. Later, having risen on feet, the enterprise has decided to expand assortment of production, and, hence, and commodity markets. By this time it let out an aluminium profile not only a different configuration, but also with a different covering. The enterprise at will of the customer makes a profile with the anodized covering, with a polymeric covering or without a covering. Then heads have paid attention that the profile with a polymeric covering can be used as eaves for curtains. Then the enterprise began to let out eaves for curtains. The novelty has involved not only manufacturers of building branch, but also wholesale buyers who got eaves for sale to retail shops. Sometimes in firm the private persons addressed, wishing to get eaves for a private use. Such expansion of assortment of production has helped firm to enter the market of the private consumer. Though still the basic share in gain volume occupied and wholesale consumers, owners of various manufactures occupy. Then from this an aluminium profile began to collect the trading-exhibition equipment. It did different colour at will of the customer and a different configuration. Now Open Company Nataly. Makes for shops counters, racks, show-windows. Considering that recently there is a set of small little shops and shops where a variety of the goods demands use of the trading equipment of a various configuration, the sizes and colours, Open Company "Nataly" firm has been compelled to develop set of kinds of an aluminium profile for manufacturing from it the necessary equipment. Further the enterprise assortment has extended at the expense of manufacture of office partitions and aluminium doors. It has allowed to win one more segment of the market? Small private businessmen whom, beginning the enterprise activity, the offices aspire to equip. For today firm Nataly. Makes the certificated aluminium profile for trading, trading-exhibition and a refrigerating machinery; a building profile for stained-glass windows, doors, office partitions, facing; profiles for manufacturing protective, eaves for curtains and vertical jalousie; For manufacturing of cases-compartments, a special purpose profile. Recently the company has developed special designs of a profile for manufacturing of balcony and sliding). Besides the company makes installation of the finished articles executed at the enterprise. Aluminium windows became the next novelty. To prove an advertising campaign on advancement of these goods, at first it is necessary to describe the goods. It is necessary to distinguish the goods of industrial appointment and consumer goods. The first are intended for industrial needs or resale, and the second? For individual consumption. Between these kinds of the goods there is a big difference. It is impossible to advertise the goods of industrial appointment, as the goods of individual consumption. Business not only in the name, but also in an essence, in that audience to which the advertising action will be turned. If advertising for the goods of individual consumption can be based on feelings, emotional perception in advertising of the goods of industrial appointment of emotional factors can and not to be. Certainly, there are goods which can be used both private consumers, and manufacturers. Aluminium windows can be carried as to the goods of industrial appointment, and the goods of individual consumption. But while for apartment they the expensive. Therefore aluminium windows are used by a management of the enterprises. Hence, it is necessary to emphasise in advertising one segment of the market, on a commodity market of industrial appointment. The competition to aluminium windows is made by plastic windows. Any production has certain merits and demerits. The basic advantage of aluminium windows which draws attention of buyers, their ecological compatibility is. On the contrary, the relation of many production workers to plastic windows the negative. This results from the fact that under the influence of the big differences of ambient temperatures of plastic arts starts to evaporate harmful substances. At the same time, the basic lack of aluminium windows in comparison with plastic is their price. It a little above, as limits a circle of consumers. But this temporary phenomenon. In the near future the price for aluminium windows becomes same, as well as on plastic. For an advertising campaign of aluminium windows money resources be required on following actions: on placing of advertising messages in printing editions, for creation and outdoor advertising placing, for fee of the photographer. The volume of necessary investments is defined in our case by calculation of the estimate on the basis of quotations on marketing researches, services of the photographer, advertising agencies and duration of advertising of the goods. Before to start working out and release of the new goods, it is desirable to find out, whether has sense it to do. For any industrial enterprise manufacturing something is understood as reception of profit on realisation of the given product. And the profit at realisation will be received in the event that the obtained sum of means will exceed expenses for manufacture and realisation of this production. To get prospective profit and in general to sell a product to the enterprise it will be possible only if consumers in the market are ready to buy the goods that is if these goods are necessary for them. Therefore, in the beginning it is necessary to find out, whether exists in the market so-called? A niche?, which could? To fill? These goods. Marketing researches are for this purpose carried out. In rare instances the enterprise is engaged in it? The manufacturer. Usually for it address in specialised agencies. In our case such agency is? Media Soft?. The estimate of the basic expenses on marketing researches is resulted in tab.2.3.9547 rbl. will be necessary For agency fee These means расходованы on the writing goods: pens, a paper, paper clips; on communication payment (from calculation of 450 roubles for communication on a city and 1077 roubles for 5 hours of conversations with other cities); attraction for research of five persons which will be engaged in audience interrogation (potential consumers) and miscellaneous costs. Interrogation of potential consumers? It is a method of gathering of the information. There is a version of interrogation which is called deep interrogation. It is applied to professional consumers, that is to experts of certain area. It consists in long conversation interrogated and the interviewer in which course it is found out, the requirement for what goods for today is available at interrogated, and also the information on knowledge, preferences and belief of people, on degree of their satisfaction [27, с.150] turns out. But this method, unfortunately, in our case is not present possibility to use. It speaks too a large attendance (presumably, Siberian region, is more exact heads of the various enterprises in Siberian region) and complexity of carrying out (duration of conversation is supposed till two o'clock). Naturally, to lead such discussion by phone it is rather difficult, and to provide personal meeting of the interviewer and interrogated it is almost impossible because of their big number. At an advertising campaign estimation simple interrogation of potential consumers will be used. For this purpose employees of Open Company "Натали" develop the questionnaire which questions it is offered to answer consumers at "the Siberian Fair" during an exhibition and in specialised shops on sale of window, door blocks, building materials, and also in halls of the trading equipment. Services of the photographer will manage in the following sum. Cost of one photo in the size 10 and #61620; 15см. It is equal 50 roubles,20 and #61620; 30 see - 200 roubles. Departure of the photographer costs 300 roubles. To be necessary 3 photos in the size 10 and #61620; 15 see Hence, expenses on services of the photographer make 3 * 50 + 300 = 450 roubles. Advertising messages in printing editions will be executed in colour. Printing editions give quotations on the publication of the advertising information or counting on one square centimetre, or for one module which comprises some square centimetres. Thus modules happen a different configuration: extended on width (for example, 8 see and #61620; 4 see or 12,8 and #61620; 8,1 sm), extended on height (12,8 and #61620; 37,7 see). Each edition independently defines the size of modules. Magazine? Supply and sale? For the colour advertisement offers the module equal of the one eighth strip that will make 58,5 sq. This module see there are 1980 rbl. for one exit. Hence, considering, what the magazine leaves twice a month, expenses will make 2* 1980 = 3960 rbl. the Newspaper? Offers? Suggests to print the colour advertising message in the form of the module which dimension 33 sq. see, and its cost 920 rbl. There is a newspaper four times a month. Thus, on the announcement publication in the newspaper? Offers? It is necessary to spend 920 rbl. * 4 = 3680 rbl. a month. A weekly journal? The Siberian advertising? Suggests to print the colour announcement of any size. Cost of square centimetre of its area / sq. see the second colour page 39 of rbl.; 26 rbl. / sq. see the third colour page (it is penultimate page); 23 rbl. / sq. see the fourth colour page (it is last page) the area of the advertisement and in that, and other edition it is supposed 7*7 = 49 sq. see Hence, for the edition? The Siberian advertising? In a month 49* 39* 4 =7644 rbl. (on 2 page) are required; 26 *49 *4 = 5096 rbl. (on 3 page); 23 *49 *4 = 4508 rbl. (on 4 page). Considering that new, it is necessary to force to turn the advertised goods on it as much as possible potential consumers, that is it is expedient to place the advertising message on the second page. For manufacturing of one separate poster with the metal basis in the size of 1,2 m and #61620; 1,8 m are necessary 6000 rbl. It is supposed to use such two posters. Hence, Except manufacturing, posters it is necessary to place 6000*2 =12000 rbl. on city streets. For this purpose it is necessary to conclude the contract, to issue rent and to obtain the permit in city administration. It the advertising agency is engaged in all, and these services will cost about 7000 rbl. in the first month. The next months it will be necessary to pay only rent of the earth which will make about 200 roubles a month depending on a city district. The total sum which needs to be spent for goods advancement makes more than 45 thousand rbl. the Russian legislation provides reference of advertising expenses on production cost price, but within certain specifications. For the given enterprise with volume of goods turnover to 30 million roubles this specification is equal 7,5% that in money terms makes 741,8 thousand roubles. Expenses on our advertising campaign do not exceed the given specification. Speaking about an advertising efficiency, assume, what profit will be brought by this action, how much a gain will exceed the means spent for its carrying out. In the given paragraph the question of efficiency of an advertising campaign on advancement of the new goods (aluminium windows) Open Company companies is considered Nataly. Are thus analyzed quantitative and quality indicators of efficiency of an advertising campaign. How it was already marked, quality indicators characterise mainly communicative advertising efficiency, quantitative? Mainly economic (trading) efficiency. 6) a time of recovery of outlay; group of the indicators characterising a financial condition of the enterprise? The participant of the project. The indicators of efficiency set forth above pay off on the basis of definition of a monetary stream of the project. Any project represents the operation connected with reception of incomes and of expenses, that is it generates monetary streams. As monetary streams understand dependence on time of monetary receipts and payments at realisation of the project generating it, defined for all settlement period. The settlement period covers an interval from the beginning of the project before its end. At a project estimation use also the saved up monetary stream. Its characteristics? The saved up inflow, the saved up outflow and the saved up balance are defined on each step of the settlement period as the sum for flowing and all previous steps. At definition of efficiency of the given project capital investments concern outflows (the expense of money resources); expenses for working capital increase. And as inflows receipts of money resources act. We will define the basic indicators of efficiency of advertising activity.1. The net profit (ЧД)? It is the saved up effect (balance of a monetary stream) for all settlement period: ЧД = and #931; фт, (2.1) where фт? A monetary stream, thousand rbl.2. The pure discounted stream (ЧДД)? The saved up discounted effect for the settlement period: ЧДД = and #931; фт * and # 945; т * (), (2.2) where and #945; т? Discounting factor (reduction of monetary values of monetary streams occurring at different times to value for the certain moment of time? The reduction moment), it pays off under the formula 2.3 Е? Norm of discount; it is set by investors or participants of the project for a year. In this case it includes the amendment on the risk, 13% equal for a new product, also it includes bank percent (15%) and inflation percent (13%); Е = 41%; and #913; т = 1/[ (1+Е) ^tt-t0], (2.3) where tт? The moment of the termination or the beginning of t that step; t0? The reduction moment, gets out any way. ЧД and ЧДД characterise excess of total monetary receipts over total expenses for the project. Difference (CHD-CHDD) name project discount. For a project recognition effective it is necessary, that ЧДД was positive.3. Internal to profitableness holes (ВНД)? Eve's this such positive number at which equality to norm of discount (Е=Ев) ЧДД it is equal to zero. At Е and #61502; Eves ЧДД it is negative, at Е and # 61500; Eves? It is positive. Hence, for an estimation of efficiency of the project it is necessary to compare Eves with norm of discount Е. If Eves> Е, we have positive ЧДД and consequently the project is effective.4. A time of recovery of outlay? It is duration of the period from the initial moment till the recoupment moment. The recoupment moment considers that moment of time after which the current net profit becomes and further remains non-negative.5. A time of recovery of outlay taking into account discounting? It is duration of the period from the initial moment till the moment of a recoupment taking into account discounting which is defined as time moment after which the current net profit becomes and further remains non-negative.6. Requirement for additional financing (ПФ)? This maximum value of absolute size of negative memory balance from investment activity. Size ПФ shows the minimum volume of external financing of the project, necessary for maintenance of its financial realizability.7. Requirement for additional financing taking into account discount (ДПФ)? The maximum value of absolute size of the negative memory discounted balance from investment activity. Size ДПФ shows the minimum discounted volume of external financing of the project, necessary for maintenance of its financial realizability.8. Profitableness indexes characterise? Project return? On the means enclosed in it. At an efficiency estimation are often used:? An index of profitableness of expenses? The relation of the sum of monetary inflows to the sum of monetary outflows;? An index of profitableness of the discounted expenses? The relation of the sum of the discounted monetary streams to the sum of the discounted monetary outflows;? An index of profitableness of investments (ИД)? The relation of the sum of elements of a monetary stream from operational activity to absolute size of the sum of elements of a monetary stream from investment activity. ИД it is equal to relation ЧД increased by unit to memory volume of investments;? An index of profitableness of the discounted investments (ИДД)? The relation of the sum of the discounted elements of a monetary stream from operational activity to absolute size of the discounted sum of elements of a monetary stream from investment activity. ИДД it is equal increased by unit relation ЧДД to the memory discounted volume of investments. At calculation ИД and ИДД can be considered or all capital investments for the settlement period, or only initial capital investments. Другие документы, подобные "Efficiency of development of advertising"

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The strategic location of Manila along the bay and at the mouth of Pasig River made it an ideal location for the Tagalog and Kapampangan tribes and kingdoms to trade with merchants from what would be today's China, India, Borneo, and Indonesia. Before the first arrival of Europeans on Luzon island, the island was part of the Hindu Majapahit empire around the 14th century, according to the epic eulogy poem Nagarakretagama which described its conquest by Mahārāja Hayam Wuruk. The region was invaded around 1485 by Sultan Bolkiah and became a part of the Sultanate of Brunei. The site of Intramuros then became a part of the Islamic Kingdom of Maynila a Bruneian puppet-state ruled by Rajah Sulayman, a Muslim Rajah who swore fealty to the Sultan of Brunei. In 1564, Spanish explorers led by Miguel López de Legazpi sailed from New Spain (now Mexico), and arrived on the island of Cebu on February 13, 1565, establishing the first Spanish colony in the Philippines. Having heard from the natives about the rich resources in Manila, Legazpi dispatched two of his lieutenant-commanders, Martín de Goiti and Juan de Salcedo, to explore the island of Luzon. The Spaniards arrived on the island of Luzon in 1570. After quarrels and misunderstandings between the Muslim natives and the Spaniards, they fought for control of the land and settlements. After several months of warfare the natives were defeated, and the Spaniards made a peace pact with the councils of Rajah Sulaiman III, Lakan Dula, and Rajah Matanda who handed over Manila to the Spaniards. Legazpi declared the area of Manila as the new capital of the Spanish colony on June 24, 1571, because of its strategic location and rich resources. He also proclaimed the sovereignty of the Monarchy of Spain over the whole archipelago. King Philip II of Spain delighted at the new conquest achieved by Legazpi and his men, awarding the city a coat of arms and declaring it as: Ciudad Insigne y Siempre Leal (English: "Distinguished and Ever Loyal City"). It was settled and became the political, military, and religious center of the Spanish Empire in Asia. The city was in constant danger of natural and man-made disasters and worse, attacks from foreign invaders. In 1574, a fleet of Chinese pirates led by Limahong attacked the city and destroyed it before the Spaniards drove them away. The colony had to be rebuilt again by the survivors. These attacks prompted the construction of the wall. The city of stone began during the rule of Governor-General Santiago de Vera. The city was planned and executed by Jesuit Priest Antonio Sedeno in accordance to the Laws of the Indies, and was approved by King Philip II's Royal Ordinance that was issued in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain. The succeeding governor-general, Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas brought with him from Spain the royal instructions to carry into effect the said decree stating that "to enclose the city with stone and erect a suitable fort at the junction of the sea and river". Leonardo Iturriano, a Spanish military engineer specializing in fortifications, headed the project. Chinese and Filipino workers built the walls. Fort Santiago was rebuilt and a circular fort, known as Nuestra Senora de Guia, was erected to defend the land and sea on the southwestern side of the city. Funds came from a monopoly on playing cards and fines imposed on its excessive play. Chinese goods were taxed for two years. Designed by Geronimo Tongco and Pedro Jusepe, construction of the walls began on 1590 and continued under many governor-generals until 1872. By the middle of 1592, Dasmarinas wrote the King about the satisfactory development of the new walls and fortification. Since the construction was carried on during different periods and often far apart, the walls were not built according to any uniform plan. Improvements continued during the terms of the succeeding Governor-Generals. Governor-General Juan de Silva executed certain work on the fortifications in 1609 which was improved by Juan Niño de Tabora in 1626, and by Diego Fajardo Chacón in 1644. The erection of the Baluarte de San Diego was also completed that year. This bastion, shaped like an "ace of spades" is the southernmost point of the wall and the first of the large bastions added to the encircling walls, then of no great height nor of finished construction. It was the former site of Nuestra Señora de Guia, the very first stone fort of Manila. Ravelins and reductos were added to strengthen weak areas and serve as outer defenses. A moat was built around the city with the Pasig River serving as a natural barrier on one side. By the 18th century, the city was totally enclosed. The last construction works were completed by the start of the 19th century. The main square of the city of Manila was Plaza Mayor (later known as Plaza McKinley then Plaza de Roma) in front of the Manila Cathedral. East of the plaza was the Ayuntamiento (City Hall) and facing it was the Palacio del Gobernador, the official residence of the Spanish viceroyalties to the Philippines. An earthquake on June 3, 1863 destroyed the three buildings and much of the city. The residence of the Governor-General was moved to Malacañang Palace located about 3 km (1.9 mi) up on the Pasig River. The two previous buildings were later rebuilt but not the Governor's Palace. Inside the walls were other Roman Catholic churches, the oldest being San Agustin Church (Augustinians) built in 1607. The other churches built by the different religious orders – San Nicolas de Tolentino Church (Recollects), San Francisco Church (Franciscans), Third Venerable Order Church (Third Order of St. Francis), Santo Domingo Church (Dominican), Lourdes Church (Capuchins), and the San Ignacio Church (Jesuits) – has made the small walled city the City of Churches. Intramuros was the center of large educational institutions in the country. Convents and church-run schools were established by the different religious orders. The Dominicans established the Universidad de Santo Tomás in 1611 and the Colegio de San Juan de Letrán in 1620. The Jesuits established the Universidad de San Ignacio in 1590, the first university in the country, but closed in 1768 following the expulsion of the Jesuits in the country. After the Jesuits were allowed to return to the Philippines, they established the Ateneo Municipal de Manila in 1859. In the initial period of colonization, there were a total of 1200 Spanish families living in the vicinity of Intramuros, 600 Spanish families within the walls and another 600 living in the suburbs outside Intramuros. In addition to this were about 400 Spanish soldiers garrisoned at the walled city. After the end of the Spanish–American War, Spain surrendered the Philippines and several other territories to the United States as part of the terms of the Treaty of Paris for $20 million. The American flag was raised at Fort Santiago on August 13, 1898 indicating the start of American rule over the city. The Ayuntamiento became the seat of the Philippine Commission of the United States in 1901 while Fort Santiago became the headquarters of the Philippine Division of the United States Army. The Americans made drastic changes to the city, such as in 1903, when the walls from the Santo Domingo Gate up to the Almacenes Gate were removed as the wharf on the southern bank of the Pasig River was improved. The stones removed were used for other construction happening around the city. The walls were also breached in four areas to ease access to the city: the southwestern end of Calle Aduana (now Andres Soriano Jr. Ave.); the eastern end of Calle Anda; the northeastern end of Calle Victoria (previously known as Calle de la Escuela); and the southeastern end of Calle Palacio (now General Luna Street). The double moats that surrounded Intramuros were deemed unsanitary and were filled in with mud dredged from Manila Bay where the present Port of Manila is now located. The moats were transformed into a municipal golf course by the city. Reclamations for the construction of the Port of Manila, the Manila Hotel, and Rizal Park obscured the old walls and skyline of the city from the Manila Bay. The Americans also founded the first school under the new government, the Manila High School, on June 11, 1906 along Victoria Street. In 1936, Commonwealth Act No. 171 was passed requiring that all future buildings to be constructed in Intramuros adopt Spanish colonial type architecture. Destruction of the Walled City in the aftermath of the Battle of Manila. In December 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded the Philippines. The first casualties in Intramuros brought by the war were the destruction of Santo Domingo Church and the original University of Santo Tomas campus during an assault. The whole city of Manila was declared by General Douglas MacArthur as an "Open City" as Manila was indefensible. In 1945, the battle for the liberation of Manila began when American troops tried to occupy Manila on January 1945. Intense urban fighting occurred between the combined American and Filipino troops under the United States Army and Philippine Commonwealth Army including recognized guerrillas, against the 30,000 Japanese defenders. As the battle continued, both sides inflicted heavy damage on the city culminating with the Manila massacre by Japanese troops. The Imperial Japanese Army was pushed back, eventually retreating into the Intramuros district. General MacArthur, though opposed to the bombing of the walled city, approved the heavy shelling which resulted in deaths of over 16,665 Japanese alone within Intramuros. Two of the eight gates of Intramuros were badly damaged by American tanks. The bombings leveled most of Intramuros leaving only 5% of the city structures; the walls lost 40% to the bombings. Over 100,000 Filipino men, women and children died from February 3 to March 3, 1945 during the Battle of Manila. At the end of World War II, all of the buildings and structures in Intramuros were destroyed, with only the damaged San Agustin Church still standing. The Bayleaf Intramuros Hotel is an exemplary model for adaptive reuse of post-war buildings. In 1951, Intramuros was declared a historical monument and Fort Santiago, a national shrine with Republic Act 597, with the policy of restoring, reconstructing, and urban planning of Intramuros. In 1956, Republic Act 1607 declared Intramuros a "commercial, residential and educational district", opening up the district to development disregarding the historicity of the area. The same law also repealed Commonwealth Act No. 171 and Republic Act No. 597. Several laws and decrees also followed but results were deemed unsatisfactory due to limited funds. In 1979, the Intramuros Administration (IA) was created by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1616, signed by President Ferdinand Marcos on April 10 of that year. Since then, the IA has been slowly restoring the walls, the sub-features of the fortification, and the city within. The remaining five original gates have been restored or rebuilt: Isabel II Gate, Parian Gate, Real Gate, Santa Lucía Gate and the Postigo Gate. The entrances made by the Americans by breaching the walls at four locations are now spanned by walkways thereby creating a connection, seamless in design and character to the original walls. Buildings destroyed during the war were subsequently rebuild: Manila Cathedral was rebuilt and was opened to the public in 1958, Ayuntamiento de Manila was rebuilt in 2013, while the San Ignacio Church and Convent is currently being reconstructed as the Museo de Intramuros. In January 2015, during Pope Francis's visit to the Philippines, the he led a mass at the Manila Cathedral that was attended by an estimated 2,000 bishops, priests and religious leaders of the Philippine Catholic Church. Anthology, an annual 3-day festival about architecture and design, was first launched in June 2016 at Intramuros. Since then, it has been renting Fort Santiago as a venue where seminars and other activities were held, with guest speakers from local and international people from the field of architecture and design. It is made possible through the partnership of WTA Architecture + Design Studio and the Intramuros Administration, who are also responsible for the critically acclaimed The Book Stop Project located in Plaza Roma. The Department of Tourism along with the Intramuros Administration launched the first major project of the newly created Faith Sector that focuses on the historic and cultural religious wealth of the Walled City. For the 2018 lenten season, seven religious destinations can be visited. For the first time since World War II, Visita Iglesia is once again possible in Intramuros. The seven destinations are the Manila Cathedral, San Agustin Church, San Ignacio Church, Guadalupe Shrine in Fort Santiago, Knights of Columbus Fr. Willman Chapel, Lyceum of the Philippines University Chapel, and the Mapua University Chapel. The event pays homage to the original seven churches during the pre-war Intramuros. The 2018 lenten season event draws over 1 million people from both foreign and local tourists in Intramuros. The Intramuros Administration, together with the Royal Danish Embassy in Manila, and Felta Multimedia, Inc., opened the iMake History Fortress at the Baluarte de Santa Barbara in Fort Santiago last March 19, 2018. The facility is the first history-based Lego education center in the world. The outline of the defensive wall of Intramuros is irregular in shape, following the contours of Manila Bay and the curvature of the Pasig River. The walls covered an area of 64 hectares (160 acres) of land, surrounded by 8 feet (2.4 m) thick stones and high walls that rise to 22 feet (6.7 m). The walls stretched to an estimated 3-5 kilometres in length. An inner moat (foso) surrounds the perimeter of the wall and an outer moat (contrafoso) surrounds the walls that face the city. Several bulwarks (baluarte), ravelins (ravellin) and redoubts (reductos) are strategically located along the massive walls of Intramuros following the design of medieval fortifications. The seven bastions (clockwise, from Fort Santiago) are the Bastions of Tenerias, Aduana, San Gabriel, San Lorenzo, San Andres, San Diego, and Plano. The bastions were constructed at different periods of time, the reason for the differences in style. The oldest bastion is the Bastion de San Diego, which was built in 1587. The fortifications of Intramuros comprises several parts, the front facing the sea and the river, which were less elaborate and complex, and the three-sided land front with its corresponding bastions. Fort Santiago was built at the northwest tip where the sea and river converge, and this functioned as a citadel. Fort Santiago has significantly served as military headquarters of Spanish, British, United States and Japan during different eras throughout the Philippine history. In Fort Santiago, there are bastions on each corner of the triangular fort. The Baluarte de Santa Bárbara faces the bay and Pasig River; Baluarte de San Miguel, faces the bay; and the Medio Baluarte de San Francisco, which faces the Pasig River. Before the American Era, entrance to the city was through eight gates or Puertas namely (clockwise, from Fort Santiago) Puerta Almacenes, Puerta de la Aduana, Puerta de Santo Domingo, Puerta Isabel II, Puerta del Parian, Puerta Real, Puerta Sta. Lucia, and Puerta del Postigo. Three of the gates were destroyed. Two of them, the Almacenes Gate and the Santo Domingo/Customs Gate, were destroyed by the American engineers when they open up the northern part of the walls to the wharves. The Banderas Gate was destroyed during an earthquake and was never rebuilt. Formerly, drawbridges were raised and the city was closed and under sentinels from 11:00 pm till 4:00 am. It continued so until 1852, when, in consequence of the earthquake of that year, it was decreed that the gates should thenceforth remain open night and day. Intramuros is the only district of Manila where old Spanish-era influences are still plentiful. Fort Santiago is now a well-maintained park and popular tourist destination. Adjacent to Fort Santiago is the reconstructed Maestranza Wall, which was removed by the Americans in 1903 to widen the wharves thus opening the city to Pasig River. One of the future plans of the Intramuros Administration is to complete the perimeter walls that surround the city making it completely circumnavigable from the walkway on top of the walls. There has been minimal commercialization occurring within the district, despite restoration efforts. A few fast food establishments set up shop at the turn of the 21st century, catering mostly to the student population within Intramuros. Shipping companies have also set up offices inside the district. Concerts, tours and exhibitions are frequently held within Intramuros to draw both local and foreign tourists. The center of education since the colonial period, Manila — particularly Intramuros — is home to several Philippine universities and colleges as well as its oldest ones. It served as the home of the University of Santo Tomas (1611), Colegio de San Juan de Letran (1620), Ateneo de Manila University (1859), Lyceum of the Philippines University and the Mapua Institute of Technology. The University of Santo Tomas transferred to a new campus at Sampaloc in 1927, and Ateneo left Intramuros for Loyola Heights, Quezon City (while still retaining "de Manila" in its name) in 1952. New non-sectarian schools were established and built over the ruins after the war. The Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, established in 1965 by the city government of Manila, was built at the site of the old Cuartel España (Spanish Barracks). The Lyceum of the Philippines University, a private university founded in 1952 by Philippine President Jose P. Laurel, was built over the lot of San Juan de Dios Hospital. The hospital moved out to Roxas Boulevard in Pasay. Mapúa Institute of Technology, which was founded in 1925 in Quiapo, Manila moved in Intramuros after the war. Its post-war campus was built on the location of the destroyed San Francisco Church and the Third Venerable Order Church at the corner of San Francisco and Solana Streets. The three new educational institutions, along with Colegio de San Juan de Letran formed an academic cooperation called the Intramuros Consortium. Intramuros, as the seat of religious and political power during the colonial period, was the home to eight grand churches built by different religious orders. All but one of these churches were destroyed in the Battle of Manila. Only San Agustin Church, the oldest building in existence in Manila completed in 1607, was the only structure inside the Walled City not to be destroyed during the war. The Manila Cathedral, the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila, was reconstructed thereafter in 1958. The other religious orders reconstructed their churches outside Intramuros after the war. The Dominicans rebuilt Santo Domingo Church on Quezon Avenue in Quezon City. The Augustinian Recollects moved to their other church, the San Sebastian Church (now Basilica), 2.5-kilometre (1.6 mi) northeast of the walled city. The Capuchins moved the Lourdes Church in 1951 to the corner of Kanlaon St. and Retiro St. (now Amoranto Ave.) in Quezon City. It was declared a National Shrine in 1997. The Order of Saint John of God moved to Roxas while the Order of Poor Clares in Aurora Boulevard. The San Ignacio Church and Convent is now currently being reconstructed as Museo de Intramuros, an ecclesiastical museum. Manila Cathedral is the seat of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila. The basilica has merited a papal endorsement from Pope Gregory XIII and three apostolic visits from Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis. The San Agustin Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the collective title Baroque Churches of the Philippines. World War II as well as natural and man-made disasters destroyed a great many old buildings and statues throughout the country. It is by sheer luck that many Spanish period monuments have continued to survive the passage of time. The following are the ones we could still see today in Intramuros. Anda Circle 1871 Originally located at Plaza Maestranza near Fort Santiago. In 1957, the whole monument was transferred outside Intramuros to Bonifacio Drive, where it now stands in Anda Circle. In recent years it has been painted over, with the lower level vandalized with graffiti. Plaza Santo Tomas Tony Noël 1889 Replica; the undamaged original statue was transferred in 1946 to the Sampaloc Campus of the University of Santo Tomas, now fronting the Main Building. Its original marble pedestal had been completely obliterated during the Battle of Manila in 1945. Bonifacio Drive opposite the Manila Hotel Agustí Querol Subirats 1929 In 2012, some of its metal ornaments had been stolen and unscrupulously sold as scrap metal. Plazuela de Santa Isabel 1995 The inscription for the memorial was penned by National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin. Puerta Isabel II Ponciano Ponzano 1860 Formerly located at Plaza Rajah Sulayman in front of Malate Church. The statue was transferred in 1975 at the front of Puerta Isabel II during the visit of Prince Carlos of Spain. (Since 2018) The church and convent is being reconstructed as the Museo de Intramuros. (1859-1932) Tent Transferred to its Padre Faura Campus (now Robinsons Place Manila) after a fire destroyed its Intramuros Campus in 1932. The school again transferred to its Loyola Heights Campus in 1976-77. Beaterio-Colegio de Santa Catalina Colegio de San Juan de Letran Campus The school and convent transferred to its new campus in Legarda Street, Sampaloc. Its Intramuros lot was acquired by the Colegio de San Juan de Letran to expand its post-war campus. (1632-1945) Vacant Lot, and Plazuela de Santa Isabel Colegio de Santa Isabel transferred to its new post-war campus in Taft Avenue just outside the city walls. University of Santo Tomas BF Condominiums UST transferred to its Sampaloc Campus in 1927. The College of Law remained at Intramuros. However, after the war, the university decided not to rebuild its Intramuros Campus. Intramuros is made up of five Barangays numbered 654, 655, 656, 657 and 658. These five barangays only serves the welfare of the city's constituents because they have no executive and legislative power. The Intramuros Administration oversee the day-to-day administration of the district, including the issuance of building permits, traffic re-routing, among others. Modernist buildings prevails on Intramuros. The district is a fine example of inauthentic Spanish colonial period design. The Intramuros Administration (IA) is an agency of the Department of Tourism that is mandated to orderly restore, administer, and develop the historic walled area of Intramuros that is situated within the modern City of Manila as well as to insure that the 16th to 19th century Philippine-Spanish architecture remains the general architectural style of the walled area. Its office is located at Palacio del Gobernador in Plaza Roma. After World War II, all buildings inside Intramuros were destroyed, with only the San Agustin Church left standing. Intramuros was rebuilt with Spanish colonial style. Numerous architects, urban planners and professors are critical of the way Intramuros was restored, describing it as frozen in time. Others, however are comparing it to a theme park that is inspired by the Spanish colonial period. Buildings and structures in Intramuros were criticized for not being authentic in their design that is supposed to be inspired by the Bahay na Bato or the prevailing pre-war architectural style. Several design elements from the Spanish colonial period were not present in the post-war building constructions. There are also no buildings from the Spanish colonial period inside Intramuros that is a candidate for adaptive reuse since all of them were destroyed during the war. Despite the design flaws, construction and remodeling of several buildings were approved by the Intramuros Administration. ^ a b "Highlights of the Philippine Population 2015 Census of Population". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved July 11, 2017. ^ "Presidential Decree No. 1616, s. 1979". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved July 12, 2017. ^ a b Journal of American Folklore, Volumes 17-18. United States: American Folklore Society. 1904. p. 283. ISBN 1248746058. Retrieved 2012-08-12. ^ O'Connell, Daniel (1908). Manila, the Pearl of the Orient. Manila Merchants' Association. p. 20. ISBN 0217014798. Retrieved 2012-08-12. ^ Sembrano, Edgar Allan M. (October 8, 2018). "Intramuros, Fort San Antonio Abad declared National Cultural Treasures". Inquirer.net. Retrieved November 12, 2018. ^ Gerini, G.E. (1905). "The Nagarakretagama List of Countries on the Indo-Chinese Mainland (Circâ 1380 A.D.)". The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (July 1905): 485–511. JSTOR 25210168. ^ "Pusat Sejarah Brunei" (in Malay). Government of Brunei Darussalam. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2010. ^ a b Torres, Jose Victor. Ciudad Murada, A Walk Through Historic Intramuros. Vibal Publishing House. p. 5. ISBN 971-07-2276-X. ^ a b U.S. War Department 1903, p. 435. ^ a b Torres, Jose Victor. Ciudad Murada, A Walk Through Historic Intramuros. Vibal Publishing House. p. 6. ISBN 971-07-2276-X. ^ U.S. War Department 1903, p. 436. ^ "Baluarte de San Diego". Intramuros, the Walled City. Retrieved on 2011-11-13. ^ "History". Ateneo de Manila University. Retrieved on 2012-10-11. ^ City of Manila. "Annual Report of the City of Manila, 1905", p.71. Manila Bureau of Printing. ^ "Manila High School". The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved on 2012-10-11. ^ Ramsey, Russell Wilcox (1993). "On Law & Country", pg. 41. Braden Publishing Company, Boston. ^ Esperanza Bunag Gatbonton. "A SHORT HISTORY AND GUIDE TO INTRAMUROS" (PDF). Philippine Academic Consortium for Latin American Studies. Retrieved 2013-12-23. ^ a b "The Sack of Manila". The Battling Bastards of Bataan (battlingbastardsbataan.com). Archived from the original on 2010-08-07. Retrieved 2010-08-07. ^ Bernad, Miguel A. "Genocide in Manila". California, USA: Philippine American Literary House (palhbooks.com). PALH Book. Archived from the original on 2010-08-07. Retrieved 2010-08-07. ^ Quezon III, Manuel L. (2007-02-07). "The Warsaw of Asia: How Manila was Flattened in WWII". Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Arab News Online (archive.arabnews.com). Opinion. Archived from the original on 2010-08-07. Retrieved 2010-08-07. ^ "History of Intramuros". Intramuros, the Walled City. Retrieved on 2011-09-14. ^ "Presidential Decree no. 1616". The LawPhil Project. Retrieved on 2012-04-04. ^ Pedrasa, Ira (December 6, 2014). "Manila Cathedral: The basilica of popes". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved April 6, 2019. ^ "Anthology: Stories About Architecture". WTA Architecture + Design Studio. Retrieved April 6, 2019. ^ Tantiangco, Aya (March 16, 2018). "Seven stops for Visita Iglesia in Intramuros open for the first time since WWII". GMA News Online. Retrieved March 20, 2018. ^ Rocamora, Joyce Ann L. (March 15, 2018). "3 big Lenten events lined up in Intramuros". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved March 20, 2018. ^ Arnaldo, Ma. Stella F. (April 3, 2018). "Intramuros welcomed 1 million Catholic faithful during Holy Week". BusinessMirror. Retrieved April 4, 2018. ^ "Faith tourism: 1 million people visited Intramuros during Holy Week". ABS-CBN News. April 2, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018. ^ "iMake History Fortress LEGO Education Center opens in Intramuros". Intramuros Administration. Retrieved April 26, 2018. ^ a b U.S. War Department 1903, p.443. ^ "Intramuros Walkthrough". Intramuros, the Walled City. Retrieved on 2011-10-01. ^ "IA Trivia - Eight main gates of Intramuros". Intramuros, the Walled City. Retrieved on 2011-09-14. ^ philstarcom (2010-06-18). "Maestranza Wall Restoration". YouTube.com. Retrieved on 2011-09-18. ^ FY OPIF 2009 (PDF). Department of Budget and Management. 2009. p. 494. Retrieved 15 November 2017. ^ "Contact Us". Intramuros Administration. Retrieved 15 November 2017. U.S. War Department (1903). "Annual Reports of the War Department, 1903 Vol. III". Washington Government Printing Office, 1901. A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a fortress, castle, or fortified center, the term is a diminutive of city and thus means little city, so called because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. It is positioned to be the last line of defense, should the enemy breach the other components of the fortification system, a citadel is a term of the third part of a medieval castle, with higher walls than the rest. It was to be the last line of defense before the keep itself, some of the oldest known structures which have served as citadels were built by the Indus Valley Civilization, where the citadel represented a centralised authority. The main citadel in Indus Valley was almost 12 meters tall, the purpose of these structures, remains debated. Though the structures found in the ruins of Mohenjo-daro were walled, they may have been built to divert flood waters. The most well-known is the Acropolis of Athens, but nearly every Greek city-state had one – the Acrocorinth famed as a strong fortress. In a much period, when Greece was ruled by the Latin Empire, rebels who took power in the city but with the citadel still held by the former rulers could by no means regard their tenure of power as secure. One such incident played an important part in the history of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire, the Hellenistic garrison of Jerusalem and local supporters of the Seleucids held out for many years in the Acra citadel, making Maccabean rule in the rest of Jerusalem precarious. When finally gaining possession of the place, the Maccabeans pointedly destroyed and razed the Acra, a city where the citadel held out against an invading army was not considered conquered. In the Philippines The Ivatan people of the islands of Batanes often built fortifications to protect themselves during times of war. They built their so-called idjangs on hills and elevated areas. These fortifications were likened to European castles because of their purpose. Usually, the entrance to the castles would be via a rope ladder that would only be lowered for the villagers. The name of the galleon changed to reflect the city that the ship sailed from. The term Manila Galleons is used to refer to the route between Acapulco and Manila, which lasted from 1565 to 1815. The Manila Galleons were known in New Spain as La Nao de la China because it carried largely Chinese goods, the Manila Galleon trade route was inaugurated in 1565 after Augustinian friar and navigator Andrés de Urdaneta discovered the tornaviaje or return route from the Philippines to Mexico. The first successful round trips were made by Urdaneta and by Alonso de Arellano that year, the route lasted until 1815 when the Mexican War of Independence ended Spanish control of Mexican ports. The Manila galleons sailed the Pacific for 250 years, bringing to Spain their cargoes of goods, economic benefits. In 1521, a Spanish expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan sailed west across the Pacific using the trade winds. The expedition discovered the Mariana Islands and the Philippines and claimed them for Spain, although Magellan died there, one of his ships made it back to Spain by continuing westward. In order to settle and trade with these islands from the Americas, the first ship to try this a few years failed. In 1529, Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón tried sailing east from the Philippines, in 1543, Bernardo de la Torre failed. In 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo helped pave the way by sailing north from Mexico to explore the Pacific coast, reaching as far north as the Russian River, just north of the 38th parallel. The Manila-Acapulco galleon trade finally began when Spanish navigators Alonso de Arellano, sailing as part of the expedition commanded by Miguel López de Legazpi to conquer the Philippines in 1565, Arellano and Urdaneta were given the task of finding a return route. Most of his crew died on the initial voyage, for which they had not sufficiently provisioned. Arellano, who had taken a more southerly route, had already arrived, the English privateer Francis Drake reached the California coast, in 1579. After capturing a Spanish ship heading for Manila, Drake turned north and he failed in that regard, but staked an English claim somewhere on the northern California coast. The original facade of Fort Santiago in 1880. The front edifice was destroyed by the earthquake of July 1880. An egret in a mangrove area along Manila Bay.

2019-04-20T14:29:42Z

https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Intramuros

In this column, you will learn simple but powerful tips on how to develop a growth mindset from a wide range of experts. Clicking on the expert names below will take you to their individual blurb on developing a growth mindset. A fixed mindset has a core belief that you are born the way you are and cannot change. Current research uncovers that this is outdated. Our brain is plastic through life. This neuroplasticity allows us to build new habits if enough effort is put toward that new goal. It may take up to 16 weeks to build a new habit but once the habit is built in the brain it looks like a connection from one neuron to another with a squiggly line connecting the two neurons together. This neurosynaptic connector in our brain is a new habit. When we are mindfully aware through reflection we are able to grow our brains by building new connections and habits. Here is a story of my friend Jenny that closely illustrates this process and how reflection can help build a new habit. Every time Jenny and her partner Cynthia would argue, Jenny would go to the freezer and eat half a gallon of ice cream. She had been doing that for years in their relationship and more frequently when an argument would occur. She entered therapy to try to stop the habit of eating the ice cream after each argument. Her therapist asked her to put a stop sign on the freezer that prompted her with a visual reminder to walk .5 miles before she ate the ice cream. Weeks passed and she became successful at this step. She even found a lot of the times after the walk she was calmer and did not feel like the ice cream. Next the therapist suggested she journal after the walk using a feelings chart. She chose which feeling she had and wrote about it. Then she was allowed after the walk and writing to go eat the ice cream. After several weeks following this routine she did not feel like the ice cream. Finally the therapist took the next several weeks to add a new step. Jenny identified she was angry with her partner and that prompted the ice cream eating as a means to soothe her and cope by numbing her emotions. The last step in building the new habit was Jenny was asked to talk to her partner about how she felt following each argument. Jenny successfully learned to ID what she is feeling, take some time away to cool off by walking and then come back and talk to her partner about her experience. Jenny has built a new life muscle! The therapist discussed with her how under stress she may default to the old ice cream habit. This is because that old habit stays in the brain and we default to them under stress because they have been around longer and the wiring is stronger. The key in this story is taking time to reflect. Through reflection, one can identify areas of personal growth and then develop small baby steps to get there. From an early age, we have learned to change our behavior to 'seek the approval' from others. For example, as a child, you may have experienced positive attention from your teacher when you had good grades at school, or, managed to avoid punishment from your parents when you were quiet. The list of scenarios that can impact on you as a child to modify your behavior is endless, from the approving smile of a parent to the withdrawal of hugs, etc. As children, we quickly learn to adapt our behavior to receive love and acceptance. We stop listening to what we want, and what is right for us, because of our basic need for love, and acceptance, from our parents (or caregivers), is hardwired and perceived as a necessity for survival. Issues arise when we take this childhood learned behavior for survival, into adulthood. Also, some adults are addicted to positive affirmations and approval from others and will deliberately sabotage situations, or relationships, by spreading negative information to gain attention. Yes, gossiping is high up there when it comes to seeking approval, including putting someone else’s needs before yours and pretending to be more experienced than you are. Seeking approval from others takes away your real, and authentic, self. Why do you want to get approved and liked by others? Are you fed up of trying to get someone else's approval and living in 'their shadow'? For example, a partner, sibling, work colleague or parent, etc.? Are you always putting the needs of others before yours? Why do you put the needs of others before yours? I know I put the needs of others before mine because I wanted their approval. I wanted to be accepted. I feared rejection. I wanted to keep my relationships. I didn't want to be alone. I didn't want to be isolated. These and more were my childhood fears coming to the surface. The fears that were coming to the surface were wanting to be loved, not pushed away (again) and ignored. The need for approval from others has adverse consequences on your life, for example, it can cause anxiety because of your inability to stop worrying about ‘what others think’ of you. Needing approval prevents you from actually letting go and reaching out for what you want in life. You procrastinate and avoid doing things that are important to you. You’re unable to take advantage of new opportunities; you're not all that you are and can be! I could give you a list of ideas of how to stop seeking others approval. A list of how to develop your sense of self by telling you ‘what I think you want to hear' so I get your approval. You know the obvious self-help tips? 1. Work on your Chakras. Each Chakra is an energy center, and when your Chakras are off balance, under or overactive, they will affect your life. According to, Belinda Davidson, if one Chakra is imbalanced, it will affect your other Chakras. You can't work on one Chakra and ignore the others; they all need love and attention. Working on your Chakras improves your relationship with yourself and attracts loving and supportive people into your life. There are many Chakras, but seven main Chakras in total. Below, I will give brief examples of how your first three Chakras being out-of-balance can impact on your life, well-being, and need for approval from others. - When your Chakra 1 (Root) is out of balance, you may feel unsafe, insecure, you do not have a sense of connection or belonging, you are unable to trust yourself or others, and set healthy boundaries. - When your Chakra 2 (Sacral) is out of balance, you seek people who will make you feel good about yourself, and you may form obsessive (unhealthy) attachments. - When your Chakra 3 (Solar Plexus) is out of balance, it affects your personal power, self-confidence, and self-esteem. You can become dependent on, and put the needs of others' before yourself, and attract people who have narcissistic traits. So how do you work on your Chakras? Spend time focusing on each Chakra two to three times a week (every day if possible). Where your attention goes, energy flows, and when this energy flows, you are balancing your Chakras. The longer you focus on a Chakra, the quicker you will see and feel results (minimum of five minutes on each one is a good guideline). Do not expect to see results overnight, after all; you took your lifetime to get where you are today! To be mindful is to be aware of your thoughts. Be aware and acknowledge when you seek the approval of others. Is there a pattern? Does it bring up any sensations in your body when you think and behave differently to get other's approval? Focus on the sensations in your body that arise. Do not judge the feelings and make them wrong; just feel and send them love. Observe the sensations leave your body. The process can take anywhere between a couple of minutes and several hours to achieve. You are doing deep work. You are clearing your buried hurts and traumas. You are working on and changing, your energy. When you 'catch' yourself thinking, or behaving, in a way that is seeking the approval of others, acknowledge the thought and feeling that is associated with you wanting to get approval, and LOVE it! When you make yourself wrong, you are in resistance. What you resist, persists. If you want to change your behavior, acknowledge it and LOVE it! As Kyle Cease says, if you feel bad about feeling something, say what you are feeling followed by "and I love that!" All change is spawned from a desire to experience something different in our lives. The desire provokes information seeking and the new information allows us to adopt a new perception and alter the way we’ve been responding/reacting/behaving to situations in our lives. But we cannot activate forward movement if we have closed our minds to new information. A closed mind and/or general stubbornness will always block any chance we have of moving forward and changing our lives. To initiate change, we must first understand that we are the only authority over our lives. Even though we are taking in new information, that does not necessarily make it gospel. After educating ourselves with new knowledge and wisdom, we must process the information through our own being, our own soul and decide what feels right and true for us. The only way to tell what to keep and what to toss is by soul discernment – running the information through our inner knowing. Additionally, the truth may not always be what we want to hear. Again, this is where soul discernment comes in. You might hear yourself saying: I know what I need to do, it’s just hard/scary to take that step. Rest knowing that just because you have gained a new perception, it doesn’t necessarily mean you must make a massive leap immediately. Sometimes we have more learning and growing to accomplish before we are prepared to take the necessary step. Trust that you will know when the time is right for you. In the meantime, keep your mind open and soak up all the knowledge and wisdom you can! These pointers will help you develop more grit. Ask yourself: In pursuing goals, do I persist for a while, then slack off, and continue this on-off cycle until I stop trying? Do I throw myself into something without thinking about pacing, then get overwhelmed and give up? Do I usually follow through when I start something? To assess yourself, be honest, including considering what others might say about your persistence level. Be self-compassionate and avoid self-judgment. Remember that having grit is a learned skill, and that if you’re at the low end of the persistence continuum, you can improve. Consider what you learned about grit from your parents or care-takers. If they were persistent and encouraged you to be so with fairness and kindness, you likely possess grit. If they generally caved at the first sign of a challenge, you might have a similar defeatist attitude. This is also true if they started tasks and dropped them when the going got tough. Look to how much guidance you received from them. If your parents left you to struggle on your own and expected too much of you as a child without providing appropriate help, you might often have felt overwhelmed. If they jumped in to finish things for you, you might have gotten the message that you’re not doing a job quickly or well enough. If your parents were perfectionists or insisted that whatever you did had to be just so, you may have difficulty moving forward because you’re worried that you’re not doing well enough. This pattern is especially evident with people whose parents set high goals for them, didn’t provide much help in achieving them, and yet expected perfection. Wanting perfection will often stop you dead in your tracks and paralyze future forward movement. You’re better off focusing on doing some things superbly and some things just well enough. You may want to be outstanding in math because you have the aptitude for As, but be fine with a B in French which is more difficult for you. You might want a clean house, but be okay with a mediocre garden. The goal is to know what is enough for you and to keep going until you are satisfied. The need for purpose and meaning is deeply embedded in us. Without them, life – even an outwardly successful life – feels stale and flat. With them, even a difficult situation can be filled with joy and fulfillment. But purpose and meaning can be difficult to track: not only do they differ from person to person, but they also change from one phase of life to another. The infamous mid-life crisis is often a crisis of purpose, as priorities that guided the first half of life fall away in the second. Cultivating a sense of purpose is a deeply personal and on-going process that begins with two powerful words: attention and intention. Spend some time with pen and paper, simply thinking about the things in your life that you value, from relationships to time alone, learning, travel, physical activity, spirituality, helping others, having fun. Don’t censor your list with what you think others would approve of. This is your list and must come from what is truest in yourself. Start with a list of specific activities that you find meaningful, and from there draft a broader statement or two about what is most important to you in life. (You can and should tweak this regularly, so don’t think you have to land on one perfect statement for all time!) I like to use a few thought-provoking questions, like Why am I here? What do I want in life? How can I best use my gifts and abilities? What makes me happiest? Regularly giving your attention to these questions helps you prioritize how you spend your time and make choices, both big and small, that support what’s truly important to you. It lets you lead your life intentionally, rather than simply following what society deems worthy, or what worked in the past but no longer lights you up. Living with intention is the key to a growth mind-set, because when we don’t choose our growth it tends to find us anyway – but in less pleasant forms. Not that life will automatically serve you up a rose garden, but a sense of purpose and meaning make even the most difficult challenges more tolerable. We are here to grow, and growth will happen even when we try to barricade ourselves against it, but growth can also take many forms. Use your attention and intention to craft a life filled with the kind of growth that brings you joy and fulfillment. You might have heard people say that personal growth is the reason we face our challenges, but what is that all about and is it worth it? It can be tempting to take the seemingly easy route to stay firmly in our comfort zone. The only trouble is that ‘comfort’ zone isn’t really that comfortable. If you refuse to face things in life, they will invariably resurface and cause you ongoing problems until you deal with them. So how do you not only face your challenges, but embrace them as opportunities for your growth? Neale Donald Walsch said that “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”, because that is where you push yourself into growth. Indeed, research shows that coaches need to provide challenge, in equal measure to support, in order to get the best results and the most chance of transformational growth for the person they are coaching. In short, challenge is necessary for growth. In the words of Eleanore Roosevelt, “You gain strength and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the things which you think you cannot do”. So, we know that facing our challenges makes us stronger and leads to growth. Like eating our greens, we know it’s good for us! However, it’s going to be hard. In particular, identifying and bringing up issues within ourselves, so we can address them and move on, is a really difficult process. Choosing to face the darkness, to accept every part of ourselves and not just the ‘good’ bits, is tough. However “nothing worth doing is easy”. If we have worked for it, it has value. It’s true that you get a real sense of achievement from successfully doing something that not everyone is prepared to do. What happens if we stick our head in the sand? If the benefit of personal growth is not enough of a driver, another way to look at the decision of whether to tackle an issue you are facing is the consequence of not facing up to it. As Dorothy Corkhill Briggs says, “Actually, you have only one choice if you want to be free. Past pains need to be dealt with if they are to be laid to rest permanently. Band-aiding abscesses doesn’t remove the infected materials”. I don’t know about you, but I am at a place in my life where I don’t want to keep repeating the same mistakes and playing the same old ‘tapes’ of my past. I want to drag that stuff up, face it and move past it to make healthy choices. I want to face challenges in my life head on, however painful. I want to improve the way I interact with others and let go of things that stop me reaching my full potential. And, in the words of Robin Norwood, “The only way out is through”. It can be difficult sometimes not to let the doubts, fears or cynicism of others put you off. You might well experience criticism, sometimes even from those closest to you. They can’t relate, they might be scared of facing their own challenges and they probably believe they are speaking out of love for you. But their concerns are likely to be more about them than you. Also, don’t let your own keenness to move past your challenges deter you when you seem to have stalled or plateaued. As Susan Jeffers says in her book “Feel the fear and do it anyway; “Do not be discouraged thinking that you’re learning nothing from your efforts. This is when changes are taking place within you. We become aware of them long after they have been going on”. Whilst facing challenges so that you can learn and grow can be a deeply spiritual pursuit, you don’t need to go and meditate on a hilltop to practice this or go on any sort of heroic quest. Instead, realise that you have everything you need right here in your everyday life to support your growth. Pema Chodron (an American ordained Buddhist nun and author) talks about “how to use the unwanted, unfavourable circumstances of your life as the actual material of awakening”. What?! You mean I don’t need a special room with embroidered cushions, incense, gongs and a resident guru to help me meditate my way to enlightenment?! In Pema’s view (and indeed that of Buddhist philosophy), on the path of the Boddhisattva (or awakening warrior – i.e. anyone seeking personal growth), there is no interruption: “The path includes all experience, both the serene and the chaotic”. Pema highlights how “We would like to believe that when things are still and calm, that’s the real stuff, and when things are messy, confused and chaotic, we’ve done something wrong; or more usually someone else has some something to ruin our beautiful meditation”. Rather than cursing our ‘unfortunate’ situation that we feel is not conducive to our growth or happiness, we can instead choose to recognize when we feel irritated or upset, this is also a chance to practice growth. Keep going – you are not alone! It is brave to face your challenges and step into growth. To choose “the road less travelled” – the “rocky road [that] makes hardy travellers”. For those who get the feeling that they are ‘awakening’ to something, it might at times seem like a lonely path – with the majority of society plugged into ‘the norm’ – whatever that is. But you are not alone. There are others out there who are prioritising growth and self-discovery over TV, fast food and the “unexamined life”. Will difficult things surface? Yes. Will it be hard work? Yes. Will it be worth it? Definitely! The more you follow this route, the more people you will encounter who have a similar mindset. Go and find those people. Learn from them and inspire each other. “There is no consciousness without pain. People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own soul. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the dark conscious”. Setting goals can help you maintain a growth mindset, with which you are constantly working on growing and developing as a person. Values are ways of living, they are what you find most important in life. - What matters to me the most in life? What are my highest priorities? - What direction do I want my life to go in? - What do I currently have in my life that I don't want to lose? - What things do I value but are missing from my life at this time? 2. Identify one value to work on now. Trying to work on all values at once can cause stress and make it more difficult, if not impossible, to take any steps towards progress. Determining one value to focus on, makes working on goals more manageable. - Which value is my highest priority? - In what areas do I feel my life doesn't currently match my values very well? - Which values are not in my life right now? - What do I need to change in my life so that it will match my values? 3. Identify a few goals related to this value. While values can be more broad concepts, goals are very specific and end with a clear result. - What is one thing I want to accomplish that fits in with this value? - What is something about my behavior that I would need to change to live a life that's guided by this value? - What are some obstacles that I need to overcome in order to start living a life in line with this value? It is not possible to effectively work on all your goals at the same time. List your goals in order of importance and reasonableness. Start with the goals that are of high priority and are the most realistically possible at this time. Think about what steps will bring you closer to your goal. Break down the tasks as small as possible. Your action steps may need to be completed in a specific order. So make sure you have a clear step-by-step picture of where to start and what order to continue in. If that is not the case, and your action steps are not as interconnected, rank your steps in terms of ease and resources at your disposal. Start with the easiest first and move through your list in that order. Have you ever heard that you can’t make $1000 until you have successfully made $100? Consider that for a moment. When trying to achieve a goal, whether it is money, sales or weight loss, it’s important to reach the goal before the goal. If one day you see yourself as a millionaire, figure out how to make $100 in a business. Once you have made $100, move to $1000. Once you have hit the $1000 mark, go bigger and go for $10,000 and then increase by $10,000 each goal. Once you hit $100,000 move your goals by the $100,000s until you reach one million. Why is this an important strategy? Because having goals and replacing our goals once we achieve them is an excellent strategy to reach your finance goals and have a solid growth mindset. Set small goals and once you achieve those goals, move on to the next level of your goal. Before you know it, you will have achieved a big, long-term goal. When you are setting goals, be sure the goals are SMART. SMART stands for specific, measurable achievable, realistic and time-oriented. A SMART goal would look like this: I will read five books on personal growth by December 2018. The goal is specific to the type of book, how many books and when the books would be read by. Having a due date helps keep you accountable to your goal. Reading 25 books would probably not to too realistic. When setting goals, always ask yourself “Is my goal SMART?”. Once you read those five books, set another goal for yourself. And the biggest piece to all of this? Don’t forget to celebrate your achievements. My philosophy has always been to be curious and to not be afraid to ask questions. After all, somebody may know something that would help you out of a dilemma that you hadn’t thought of before. If you’ve ever felt unhappy, anxious, overwhelmed, unappreciated, misunderstood, envious, or any other uncomfortable feeling, and don’t know how to get out of it, the more you inform yourself, the more you will grow. Curiosity means that you are willing to listen to someone else’s point of view and transcend your own stubbornness to do things another way. Curiosity requires that you are open to another way of approaching things, whether it’s doing a task differently, taking time to relax or exploring a new route to work. It’s human nature to be skeptical, uncertain and even cautious about things you don’t know, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore good advice. By continuing to do the same thing over and over again, you are only reinforcing the same results. Therefore, be curious about alternative solutions because it will broaden your horizons and stretch the boundaries of your behavior. Keep a mental note of the questions you ask and revisit them from time to time to understand your challenges and to discover unexplored outcomes. The best kinds of questions are “how and why”. “What if… “is also good because it implies you are curious about many possible results and are looking to make an educated choice. A curious person is an informed person, who is able to make knowledgeable decisions and discover interesting sources of information about things previously unknown. The learning process never ends if you maintain your childlike inquisitiveness. The more you absorb of the world around you, the more you will feel alive and vibrant. If variety is the spice of life, then curiosity is the fountain of youth. What is more important? Trying or succeeding? I remember a topic of debate my cohort in grad school discussed one night. It was the subject of how “Everyone’s a winner” is sending the wrong message to kids. For the last decade or so, gold medals and blue ribbons are passed out to everyone who merely shows up and participates in a competition. The debate was, is everyone a winner? Or is the winner the one who crosses the finish line first? Theoretically, the winner would be the person who finishes the competition first, however, in order to be the winner, at some point great effort, practice and attempts had to be made. In my opinion, this phrase served as a security blanket in the event of failure, where I could say as long as I was doing my best, my best was just enough. As an adult, I’m curious how often this phrase really applies to our lives? How many times have we failed, even though it felt impossible for us to try any harder than we did? There’s that word should. Did you know that saying the word "should" is actually a common negative thinking pattern that can contribute to feelings of fear, worry and anxiety? I’ve noticed, at least in my life, that during most of my failures I wasn’t really trying my “best”. It’s rare when I can’t recognize a moment where I couldn’t have put in more effort, worked harder, or been more consistent. The times when I surely believed I went all in and still came home empty handed are greatly outnumbered by the times when I lost, but still had chips on the table. You don’t always get the job or the promotion. But if you can honestly say that you did your best, that you went all in, and that you learned something from the process, I believe that makes you are a winner. That’s what defines a winner. They show up, do their very best and always learn from their experiences. Risk mean fears. Best way to deal with your fear is to confront it. Although you don’t want to overwhelm yourself and retreat backwards. For instance, someone may try to lose weight (fear of poor appearance to others) but they want to do it so fast it is unhealthy. Then when it does not work, they beat themselves up and eat more. You don’t want to change for the sake of being someone you are not but instead to be a better you, growth not replacement. Break it down, make steps that are small. If you feel overly fearful, back up and try a smaller step. But never take such a large step you stop all together. For whatever reason, you have little confidence in what you wish to change. The small steps allow you to build your confidence. We learn from our mistakes, build our confidence by continuing to move forward making corrections, succeeding and then the loss of fear. A common fear of growing is the fear of making mistakes. Mistakes are a wonderful tool to improvement. Nothing great was done without experience. Experience is done by making those mistakes. Not just one time but over and over experiencing growth. Making mistakes allows you to have a better knowledge base to be successful. Every improvement is a success, not just making it to the end. And how many times do we want more once we make it to the end? It’s human nature, so don’t wait, congratulate yourself today. That includes reading these articles, you made a choice, took action to begin improving yourself today. People strive for growth when they are confident enough to take risks. Risking failure is the only way to stretch yourself into new territory. Most successful people have many stories of failure. What sets them apart is that they learned from those failures and kept on trying. I really believe that you can learn almost anything if you are willing to commit and persist. We are always striving to be the best. Parents have a ways of making comparisons- “Your sister got A’s. Why can’t you?” Teachers reward and make a fuss over the “smart kids”. If you’re not a natural athlete, you can find yourself on the bench for an entire little league season. Even if you get to play, you can tell that the other kids and probably the parents too, wish that you weren’t. It’s only natural then that we would all want to win. The problem with this focus on winning is that it minimizes the process. Sometimes the joy is in the creating and if you think you have to be good, you’re less likely to try. There is also the problem of how to define winning. Maybe it’s not always first place. Maybe the kid who emphasizes sportsmanship is just as much a winner as the kid who hit the winning home run. Eventually we have to learn to identify what we love and then just keep trying. Shifting the mindset from being the best to enjoying the process is a critical shift. It takes a lot of self to ignore the social imperatives to be the best. You have to be willing to do it out of love, rather than praise. If you try, you’ll grow. The more you engage in your passions, the more you will be exposed to new ideas and new processes. You will automatically grow. It’s people who play it safe that fail to cultivate a growth mindset. It may take a long time and a lot of disappointing experiences before you find out what makes you feel good. It’s totally worth the effort. When was the last time you did something that made your heart race? Something that pushed your boundaries? Something that felt challenging at first, but so worth it at the end? When we step outside our comfort zone we put ourselves in a position for tremendous growth. Our comfort zone is meant to keep us stagnant. It’s a safe place where we know what to expect and how we are going to feel. But when we really want to push ourselves to the next level, we must push through past this place of comfort. We must step outside our comfort zone in order to see what’s waiting for us on the other side. When I was completing my yoga teacher training program, I was so afraid to teach my first practice class. Ever since I was little, I hated speaking in front of people and being the center of attention. I remember turning bright red every time I was called on in school to answer a question or to read out loud in front of the class. As I stood in the front of the yoga studio and prepared to start teaching, I felt similar fears flooding back from the past to the present moment. But I also knew that this time was different. I had wanted to teach yoga for so long and I knew that I would be able to teach it well. I knew these fears weren’t serving me anymore, and they were just holding me back from something that I really wanted. In order to feel more confident in my abilities to speak in front of others, I had to step outside of my comfort zone and push through this first teaching experience. Once I got outside my comfort zone and stepped into this place of courage, I was able to see that I was truly capable of achieving my goal, and I grew so much just from that one experience. If you want to experience tremendous growth in a short amount of time, then cultivate more opportunities to step outside your comfort zone. Say “yes” to things you might have normally turned your nose to because you doubted your ability to do them well. Question those moments when you close yourself off to something quickly without consideration. And choose to experience life more fully by participating in the things that scare you. I promise you, even if it seems scary at first, you’ll be glad you challenged yourself at the end. Creativity is about making connections and about expansion. Creativity takes up space. When we’re in our creative process, the results become visible, tangible, and real. A creative idea we come up with brings a smile to our face, often noticed by others. A creative painting is looked at. A creatively prepared meal is enjoyed. A piece of music is deeply listened to and a good book is devoured by its readers. The results and outcomes of being creative are naturally noticed. Creativity is about originality, which demands people’s attention because we value truth. Working towards having a growth mindset is about expanding our awareness and taking up space in the world with our curiosities and interests. We achieve a growth mindset by connecting what hasn’t been connected before. If we’re on a journey towards growth and positive change, stepping fully into our creativity will directly lead us to our own inner wisdom, knowledge, and desired intentions. Creativity is about process. It’s about being attuned to our presence and about actively doing something. Creativity becomes our greatest teacher. When we are its student, we remain open to everything it has to teach us. When we are in a creative state, we are able to access our unconscious mind, which is responsible for 97% of our thoughts. Merely 3% of our thoughts are conscious. To grow, we need to be attuning, listening, and creating to gain entry into our unconscious mind. Think of an image of an iceberg. The top part, seen above the water represents our conscious mind. Stepping slightly outside of our comfort zone and developing a practice of daily creativity strengthens our growth mindset and taps into our unconscious thoughts. When we are being creative, we take a risk, make art, sing a song, write a letter, walk, bake, share an idea, dance with our children, play, go for a jog, journal, and connect with old friends. In essence, when we are being creative, we tap into our spontaneity. Creation is an outward expression of energy. Society often tells us to play it safe. Do things like everyone else. Don’t change. To grow, we must change. The opposite of flow, growth, and change is stagnation. I invite you to enter the fast track of your growth mindset, priming you for success and wisdom, by developing a practice of creativity.

2019-04-21T06:53:23Z

https://learnevolveandthrive.com/how-to-develop-a-growth-mindset/

Sorry I was away so long. I was in Spain, and then China. Let me tell you about the China trip. One of the first things I discovered on the China trip was that I couldn’t write posts on Our Finite World from China, thanks to China’s censorship. I could, however, read posts that I had previously written on Our Finite World. The impression I got was that China allows a moderately free expression of opinion, as long as it is through a recognized organization, like a newspaper, or even The Oil Drum, or Energy Bulletin. What they don’t seem to encourage is sites by individuals. Sites that were unavailable included Facebook, any Blogspot blog, You Tube videos, and any site on sites.google.com (including the new Biophysical Economics site). Given the number of sites that seemed to be unavailable, I was glad that ourfiniteworld.com was at least readable from China, even if I couldn’t add new posts. It may be the fact that Our Finite World doesn’t use “wordpress” in the URL that permits it to be read. (I have to access a WordPress page to update it though.) English language newspapers in China seemed to carry a range of stories, including ones about expected power shortages this summer, and about recent college grads not being able to find jobs. My trip consisted of two parts: (1) A visit to China University of Petroleum for three days, followed by (2) A commercial to tour (by Viking) which included stops at Beijing, Xian, and Shanghai and a boat ride down the Yangtze River from Chongqing to Wuhan. Professor Feng Lianyong invited me to visit China University of Petroleum, to meet with his students and to speak at a small symposium he was putting on that included a number of local dignitaries, plus people from Petroleum University. Professor Feng’s students are working on a variety of Biophysical Economics type research projects, with a special emphasis on China’s issues, such as how fast Chinese natural gas production can reasonably be ramped up. Their group makes up ASPO-China. Professor Feng spoke at the Biophysical Economics conference in Syracuse, New York in October, 2009. Gail, her husband Ben Setzer, Professor Feng, and three of his students at the University. We met with Professor Feng’s students, and they told me about their projects. I was impressed with their diligence. There are not many places with as many students working on peak oil and EROEI-related projects. They told me that Michael Hook from Uppsala had visited their university earlier. One morning, I participated in a symposium with a number of Chinese leaders from the area. This is a copy of my talk. The various Chinese leaders spoke in response to what I had to say. I was struck by how much they sounded like US leaders. To them, peak oil was not a major concern, although one of them did agree that some of what I was saying seemed to make sense. One thought that natural gas would save the day. Climate change seemed to be a bigger concern than peak oil. At least one of them seemed to think that by raising interest rates, they could solve the problem of rising food and energy prices. It occurred to me that the United States tried the higher-interest rate approach back in the 2004-2006 period, and those higher rates contributed to the 2006 and subsequent crash in home prices, but I didn’t think to mention it at the time. The representative from an electric utility was concerned because coal prices are rising, but the Chinese government is not allowing electricity prices to rise by a corresponding amount. Of course, if electricity prices are allowed to rise, China will find that the discretionary income of a lot of people is being squeezed. As the latter part of this post shows, Chinese citizens now have many loans outstanding on condominiums. If citizens find their incomes squeezed by rising interest rates, and by rising food, oil and coal prices, China could see loan defaults similar to what other countries saw in the 2008-2009 recession. I saw a lot of interesting things around China. Of course, I saw the usual tourist things, like the Great Wall of China. I noticed many coal-fired power plants, often right within cities. As a result the air seemed to be very gray in many cities. This installation had four cooling towers. The number of new high-rise buildings is just amazing. This photo is of one group that was being put up. The wider brown area on buildings is bamboo scaffolding during construction. HIgh rise buildings under construction in Xian. We were told the national bird is the (construction) crane. This is a picture of a few of the buildings in Chongqing and our boat. Old housing is being demolished and people are being encouraged to move to new high-rise buildings. The “selling point” is that the new apartments are up to three times as large as the old living spaces, and that they have their own bathrooms (often two) so people don’t have to wait in line for communal bathrooms down the street. In the new apartments, people can also install air conditioners. We were told that people buy condominiums without flooring, windows, and other furnishings, then get a mortgage to cover the cost of the apartment plus the cost of improvements (or perhaps it is two separate loans, but we were told the loans on the improvements were for 10 or 20 years). Even if the government makes a payment for the old home, most people will still need a loan to cover the cost of the improvements. I expect most will need a loan for the condominium as well. Many of the old style homes seemed to be provided by the government at no cost, so for many people, this is their first experience with a loan of this type. Condominiums in Beijing and Shanghai are very expensive; condos in other cities are less expensive, but incomes are lower as well. The area that was flooded by the new higher water level was good flat farm land along the Yangtze River, created when the river flooded in the past. We were told that farmers were encouraged to carry the good top-soil up the hills to new locations, but it is hard to see that there would be very good farming locations in such a hilly place. Some of the other businesses were lost as well when the area was flooded. Now, many people have lost their former types of employment, and are trying to make a living from tourism. Building an economy on tourism doesn’t look like a formula for long-term success, especially if oil and coal are in shorter supply in the future. The characters that cannot be seen in the picture above were covered by a land slide. Landslides are fairly common on the steep limestone hills along the Yangtze. A person would hope that the landslides do not affect new high-rise apartment buildings. With a massive amount of new building, and new air conditioners everywhere, it is easy to believe that China will be running into electricity capacity constraints. English language Chinese newspapers are talking about electricity shortages this summer. According to Chinese papers, residential use is supposed to be given priority, if there is not enough electricity to go around. It is easy to see that there might not be enough electricity for commercial and industrial use, with the amount of new residential use that is being put into place. Furthermore, if coal prices are rising, and the government is not allowing electricity prices to rise, electricity supply may also be constrained by cutbacks in production by electric utilities that cannot make profits. The agriculture we saw did not appear to use fossil fuel for cultivation. We saw many farms terraced on hill sides. It appeared that only human labor was used in tilling these farms. We also saw goats in one area. It didn’t look as though the area was good for many other types of agriculture. Goats grazing on hill side. On flat areas, we saw water buffalo being used to till the soil. Man plowing with water buffalo. I have no way of knowing whether more fossil fuels were being used for cultivation elsewhere. It looked to us as though fossil fuels were mostly being used for industry. This is one plant we saw along the Yangtze. I am not sure what it does, but it does seem to have emissions. We were astounded by the progress that China is making in raising the standard of living of at least some of the Chinese. This is a picture of my husband and me in the “Bund” area of Shanghai. The catch seems to be that much of this progress is being financed by loans. As long as growth speeds along, and the employment level is high and condominium values continue to rise, borrowers will have a reasonable chance of paying back their loans with interest. The problem with these loans in China is the same as the problem in the rest of the world–it is hard to maintain the high level of growth needed to keep the whole system working, that is, enough people employed, and the values of the condominiums growing. It seems likely that some people will have trouble paying back their loans if the economy stumbles at all. The problem is that as the government tries to cool the economy with higher interest rates, or as electricity prices naturally rise with higher coal prices, people will find their incomes squeezed. The “consumer” economy in China is not nearly as large as in the US, but it will still have an impact on the Chinese economy. Also, the rest of the world is approaching a point where it is hitting government debt limits. So demand from the rest of the world may very well begin to decline in the next few months. There are also special regional issues, including the current drought in parts of China, and the areas where jobs were lost along the Yangtze, west of Three Gorges Dam, including new Qutang. These areas are likely to have more problems with loan defaults than other areas. China, like everywhere else, depends on fossil fuels for most of its growth. China has been different from the rest of the world, in building its growth on coal use, rather than oil use. China’s weak point would seem to be rising coal prices, because rising coal prices tend to raise electricity prices and home heating prices. Rising oil prices can also be expected to have an impact. China imports a lot of food (sorry I don’t have a percentage–our tour guide said 50%, but that would be hard to believe), and imported food prices tend to rise with oil prices. The weak point in other economies is the financial system–the ability to pay back debt with interest when fossil fuel prices rise. The fact that governments raise interest rates to choke back increases in fossil fuel prices tends to make this problem worse, and China is following the higher-interest rate route. I don’t know how well the Chinese government will be able to deal with debt default issues and falling condominium prices. China seems to have power to change laws more quickly and in different ways than OECD countries do, so once the debt-default problem starts, China may be able to disguise the problem for quite some time. But to the extent that China has changed itself to a capitalist system, it seems like China will have the same debt-default issues as everyone else, as the economy slows. The next few months will be interesting (??) to watch. Governments of OECD countries are facing debt limits. As governments cut back on spending in response to these limits, the West is likely to re-enter recession. This time, recession may affect China to a much greater extent than in the past, because of the greater role household debt plays now, and because coal and food prices are now higher. It will be interesting to see how all of these forces will work together. China remains an enigma, but perhaps these observations will give a little insight into how China fits into the world picture in the future. This entry was posted in Financial Implications, News Related Post and tagged China, coal. Bookmark the permalink. Yes Ernest, the city transport service in Shanghai and Hong Kong is marvelous. I was in Hong Kong for 30 days this time and traveled almost daily from Tsuen Wan West into Central for various appointments. Trains came through about 2 minutes apart during peak hours, but maybe 4 minutes apart at other times. I obtained a MTR system map so that I could easily change trains for other destinations. You can punch in the details and purchase a ticket for any destination, but I chose to put $100 Hong Kong dollars on an Octopus card each week, as I was traveling so frequently. That probably means it cost me about $25US each week. Even on a crowded train if I wanted a seat any younger person would give this 71 year old woman their seat if I looked their way. Peak Oil, Climate Change, Electricity Shortages are all interlinked with positive enforced feedback loops. As you said, the near future will be interesting. China is having increasing problems with its energy security. The levels of growth & development in china are amazing. But the levels of pollution are equally appalling. A true Faustian bargain. There may be 300 million middle class benefiting from the economic miracle, but the average yearly income in western China is around $1,000 (USD equivalent). I was told that students didn’t want to accept jobs in Western China, even when offered jobs there at reasonable salaries, because conditions are much less good than in Eastern China. Even where i visited, you could tell that there was a wide range of income levels. We saw a lot of street vendors and fair number of beggars (often deformed). We were told that the unemployment rate is understated, because benefits are so limited (for new graduates, etc) that some don’t bother registering. I visited a school in Jingzhou (between the Three Gorges Dam and Wuhan on the Yangtze). The 4th grade class room I saw had 48 students and one teacher. I was told that classes could have up to 70 students. My impression was that there were not enough text books to go around, but the children seemed to take it all in stride and share books or learn from the blackboard. Thanks for the post Gail. It seems as though China has decided to use debt slavery to motivate their population. Copy cats. They will be sorry. The big debate in Australia is a carbon tax. I do not know if it is for mining carbon or for burning it. The former, I hope. This tax will be blamed for all our economic ills. Regarding the Symposium, after the discussion, the “speakers” were served a very fancy lunch that included a little wine. So I guess in some sense it was a drinking party. The participants also received a small amount of financial compensation. As far as I know, all the discussion related to carbon taxes applies to local consumption. These carbon taxes have the effect of encouraging outsourcing to China and India, so we lose jobs and encourage more use of coal there. Everything I can see says that world CO2 production is not helped at all (and may be made worse). It seems to me that we are maxing out world oil, coal and natural gas consumption. World coal use has soared in the last ten years. I wonder how the world result could have been any worse, without the carbon taxes that have been in place. It seems to me that carbon taxes in OECD countries just allow/encourage more consumption in non-OECD countries. The fact the European cars are small, and they use more rapid transit, has simply allowed the rest of the world to use more fossil fuels. This is link to a graph I made earlier. If there is a positive effect of carbon taxes on consumption, it might be in something like tree planting. But I am not sure the world is making much progress on tree planting either. A Carbon Tax could do wonders, if properly implemented. Otherwise, it’s a dice roll, and one cannot know who loaded the dice. has a wealth of information. I can’t say I agree with all of it, but I am pretty sure that Komanoff, Rosenblum, Handley et al. don’t agree with me on everything, either. The only real problem with a Carbon Tax is the political jackassininity that rules these days. In my view, all a carbon tax does is reduce use of fossil fuels in one part of the world, and raise their use in the rest of the world. Carbon taxes make people feel virtuous, but as far as I can see, they do nothing at all for total world consumption. All of the shifting of production of goods to China in recent years has greatly increased China’s coal use. World emissions have been rising more since the Kyoto protocol than anyone would ever have expected prior to it. If we drive small cars in the US, it just makes more oil available for Chinese and Indians to drive (small) cars. The total amount of oil gets used, regardless. I suppose to be fair to the Chinese and Indians, we should reduce our fossil fuel use so they can have more, but we shouldn’t kid ourselves that this does anything for climate. I understand the US is now exporting coal to China. Without a better approach, we would be better off doing nothing, IMO. It would at least save all of the salaries and air fares of those involved in the current discussions. I was fascinated by your observation that Chinese “leaders” appear to be no more clued in on the Peak Oil problem than US leaders. Maybe it has to do with how “leaders” are made. Does leadership require a sort of “glossing over” on the fine points of how a civilization keeps going, because perhaps, the lower class techies are expected to one way or another, take care of those minor, detail oriented problems while the leaders do the big vision thing? Our tour leader kept repeating a comment made by the late Deng Xiaopeng regarding economic reform, “When we open the window, some flies will come in. But we need the fresh air, even if there are some flies.” (This Economist article mentions to the quote.) This seems to be what is used to gloss over economic problems. Another thing is that Chine leaders include many who have studied abroad, and who are reading world economic literature. Many of them see the US as a country that performed an economic miracle. They would like to emulate world economic thinking as much as possible, thinking it will lead them to the high standard of living that the US and Europe have. I think you did not tell us you were leaving because you knew we would break into your house! Fear of house break-ins is actually an issue with respect to putting notices up of being out of town on public web sites. There are three of us living here (my husband, my 32 year old son, and I). My son was at home, so the house was not empty, but nevertheless, I didn’t think it would be a good idea to put up a public notice. I kind of vaguely mentioned my absence in an earlier post, but looking back, it was pretty long ago and pretty vague. Usually I travel by myself, and my husband and son stay at home. When I was a teenager, my family went away from our rural Michigan home on a 1½-year trip. Before we left, my Dad went to the local school (one room, ≈ 20 students K→9) to ask kids who lived further from the school than we did to stop by and check the house. They did. Late that winter, a pheasant tried to fly through the living room. One kids parents came, cleaned the pheasant juice from the rug, replaced the broken window. The bill at the hardware store awaited our return. A bottle of Jack Daniels was appreciated by the parents who had fixed things up. But that was a long time ago, back when dinosaurs walked up and down Lake Shore Drive here in Chicago, where I now live. Our society is too advanced today, what with the Internet, cars, flash mobs and all. I have read recently that problems have developed with the Three Gorges with the project causing problems with the local weather. Could this be the reason behind the drought conditions in some places in southern China? I also read that the State Council is considering destroying the dam? Any info? I have a hard time believing that the Three Gorges Dam is causing problems with local weather, but I don’t really understand the situation. Apparently, the dam has caused changes in lake levels below the dam as well as in the river above the dam. It is the area below the dam that seems to have huge drought problems now, I believe (or maybe it is in both places). The lower lake levels below the dam are contributing to the problems, because the water is not available for irrigation. I suppose the lack of water in the lakes could also contribute to the lack of rain in the area. I have a hard time believing that they would seriously consider destroying the dam, especially at this stage of the game. It seems like they would spend quite some time and RMB trying to fix the problems first. What the problems might do is put an end to work on other projects that are not too far along in their construction. Maybe the problems will also encourage China to keep its one-child policy. With all of the country’s water problems, it is hard to support even the current population. Their Northern neighbor, Mongolia, has large coal deposits. The place is also a treasure trove of significant quantities of other minerals like copper, iron, gold, tin, lead, phosphates, molybdenum, fluorite, wolfram, oil, and uranium, with a tiny population for its’ size. A few people are going to make a lot of money there. Central planning can’t help their situation, either. Free markets could have avoided problems like China’s Ghost (or Empty) Cities.

2019-04-22T14:29:59Z

https://ourfiniteworld.com/2011/05/30/observations-based-on-my-trip-to-china/

Fifty years ago, the TTC was considering a subway line that would begin on Queen Street downtown and run in an L-shaped route east and north to connect to the Danforth Subway. Initially this might be operated with streetcars, and later be converted to a subway. A variant on this scheme appears in a 1973 TTC drawing showing the line continuing north through Thorncliffe Park to Don Mills & Eglinton. This is not exactly a new idea, and it must be remembered that, at the time, there was a lot less of suburban Toronto than exists today. Where Would a Queen Subway Go? Where Would a Don Mills Subway Go? Needless to say, these proposals sat on the shelf for various reasons. One big one was cost, especially as there were competing proposals for other lines like the Spadina and Yonge extensions. Technology debates were another issue, and at one point the line might have been built with the technology used for the Scarborough RT (including some appalling proposals for an elevated structure in the heart of downtown). A future reduction of subway headways using Automatic Train Control (ATC) to as low as 90 seconds (compared to the current 140). The scheme for Bloor station has subsequently been abandoned because of its complexity, but there remains an idea to add a new platform at Yonge station (on the Bloor line) much as a second platform was added at Union. This would separate eastbound and westbound traffic onto separate platforms each with its own circulation elements to the Bloor station above. Come the 1990s, a major recession cut 20% off of TTC ridership, and the problem with subway crowding vanished. In this context, the idea of extending the line north ceased to regard capacity as a limitation, and momentum began to build for this option, especially in York Region. Reducing headways to 90 seconds would yield a capacity increase of about 50% (40 trains per hour vs 26), and this supposed extra capacity was routinely cited by TTC management as a preferred alternative to the cost of a Relief Line. This argument continued well into the 2000s even as the Yonge line started to fill up with new and returning riders. The new TR trains are already in service, and their additional capacity has been eaten up by latent demand on the subway. The ATC project now underway is expected to complete in 2019, but the TTC has now reduced its potential benefit to about 28% based on a minimum headway of 110 seconds, a substantial change from their earlier hoped-for 90 second headways. Traffic diversion to the extended Spadina line is limited, about the equivalent of one trainload of passengers in the peak hour. While the TYSSE will no doubt benefit York University as well as future developments in Vaughan, it will not do a lot to help with congestion problems on the Yonge line. The headroom for growth assumed in the 2012 study has been consumed (TR trains) or reduced (ATC) pushing up the importance of a new line. Combined with the loss of ten years thanks to projected demand from a Yonge extension, what was once a distant project has assumed a new importance. Back in the 1980s, the congestion problem was viewed as having one place, and one site where a “solution” was required: Bloor-Yonge station. The situation today is much different in that demand flowing south on the Yonge line now causes backlogs of waiting passengers well north of Bloor, and this will not be helped by diverting riders around the Bloor-Yonge interchange. What is needed is the interception of riders before they even get to the Yonge line, and there are two options for this. The route is comparatively slow, and significant works are required both to flood-proof the route and upgrade it for more frequent, bidirectional service. It is worth noting that this corridor is not part of the GO/RER network expansion now underway. Train service from Richmond Hill now operates half-hourly in the peak period. Reducing this to a 15 minute headway would add only two GO trains’ capacity to the corridor. This is not trivial, but it is no panacea either. Frequent service north of the York Subdivision (the CN line parallel to Highway 7) must complete for track time with freight operations. Fares on GO trains are not competitive with the TTC, and it is clear that York Region expects a “TTC fare” from Richmond Hill to downtown much as they will get a single fare from Vaughan Centre. Shifting traffic to GO is difficult when a more frequent and cheaper option is available. The other is a line within Toronto paralleling the Yonge subway to the east much as the Spadina line does to the west. This is the extended version of the Relief Line (now dubbed the “Don Mills Subway”) that would run north to Sheppard. Although this line would be expensive to build, the projected diversion of traffic off of Yonge is very substantial according to the Metrolinx study. However, a problem remains on the Bloor-Danforth line where riders are unable to board during peak periods inbound at stations close to the core, especially on the Danforth side. Intercepting traffic that now feeds into the Danforth subway via buses with a subway line further north could reduce Danforth demand. Some reduction might also come from the “SmartTrack” service on GO/RER with rides at a TTC fare from Scarborough stations to the core. Discussion of subway congestion focuses on the AM peak and inbound travel. However, there is a big problem outbound in the afternoon that additional subway capacity can address on the YUS line. But this will trigger a problem for the BD line at its transfer stations, Bloor-Yonge and St. George, where more frequent YUS service will now deliver riders at a faster rate wishing to transfer to outbound trains. Station capacity and transfer demand is not just an issue for the AM peak inbound, but for the PM peak as well. A similar problem will develop at the well-used stations south of Bloor where a 110 second headway of trains will deliver passengers to platforms at a rate 28% higher than today. Some of these stations are quite constrained for exit capacity, especially if pathways are constrained or out of service (e.g. for escalator repairs). If the operating speed of a line can be increased, the number of trains to provide a given level of service drops, or more service can be provided with the same number of trains. The TTC has settled on a “typical” operating speed for its trains ever since it abandoned “high rate” operation on the Bloor-Danforth subway many decades ago. This decision was taken because equipment then in use (the “H-1” trains) developed severe mechanical problems when run at high speed. Higher speed also increases the demands on track maintenance. Any change in operating speed requires (a) equipment capable of faster travel and (b) a decision to invest the necessary money in maintenance. Station dwell times can be reduced only if the demand for boarding and alighting goes down. This is achieved either through lighter demand (and less friction between passengers in cars and on platforms), or by separate loading and unloading platforms. Neither of these is practical for the existing system. Turnaround times are affected both by the track geometry at terminals (which dictates the length of time trains can block each other from entering and leaving), train length and operator behaviour. The latter can be a major problem if a crew is not ready to take a train out of the terminal when it is ready to leave. One Person Train Operation, a TTC goal, may trigger further problems because an operator will have to walk the length of the platform to change directions. Turnarounds are also affected by scheduling, and riders are already familiar with queues of trains that build up on the approaches to terminals. This arises from excessive scheduled running time and trains that typically arrive “early” with no platform available because earlier trains are waiting to depart. As scheduled headways get shorter, the ability of a line to absorb padded schedules will dwindle. The TTC’s Fleet Plans for its subway lines do not provide for all of the potential changes, or at least not on a timely basis. There are two types of cars, the Toronto Rockets or TRs on YUS, and the T-1 cars on BD. Some T-1 cars formerly operated on the Sheppard line, but they have been replaced by 4-car TR sets. The TTC’s fleet plan for YUS is shown in the table below which is taken from the 2017-2026 Capital Budget “Blue Books” Section 4.12 (Subway Car Purchases). This plan shows an addition of six trains for the TYSSE’s opening, and that will provide service with every alternate train running through to Vaughan. The turnback point will likely be the pocket track at Finch West station. In 2020-21, six trains are added to provide additional capacity and exploit ATC. Note that this is less than a 10% increase, not the 28% routinely touted for the post-ATC environment. The basic problem, as is evident in the chart, is that the TTC does not have enough trains to make a 28% increase in service on YUS. Therefore, it is not valid to claim that this represents headroom for ridership growth at least until more trains are procured. There is an unfunded $287 million project in the budget starting in the late 2020s to build up the fleet with 10 more trains. Note that 5 of these are earmarked in the plan above for introduction in 2027. Once the TYSSE opens and the service requirement is 63 trains, a 28% increase would be 20 trains (including spares) less the buffer of 4 “contingency” trains available in 2017. Therefore, the TTC’s plans do not currently include enough equipment, even out to 2031, to fully exploit ATC or provide all of its claimed additional capacity. Additional trains require storage space, and this will be provided both at Wilson Yard and at a new storage area at Richmond Hill station, but the latter would not be available until that extension (for which there are no trains in the plan above) opens. The fleet plan for BD is rather odd in that it reflects a point when the Scarborough Subway was intended to open earlier than its now-projected 2026 date. A related problem is that the T1s would be expensive to convert to ATC operation, and yet the Scarborough extension will almost certainly be under ATC control. The TTC has not explained how they plan to deal with this situation. ATC conversion of the existing BD line is planned for the period immediately after the YUS project completes in 2019, and it would be completed before the SSE opens. There is no room at Greenwood Yard for additional trains, and moreover “unit” trains like the TRs, which are planned for BD, will not fit in some of the existing yard and shop layout because Greenwood was designed around two-car sets. The City/TTC are in the process of acquiring property for a new yard near Kipling Station, and this would substantially take over the function now provided by Greenwood for the BD line. The Capital Budget does not include any money for construction of the new carhouse. Depending on the timing of the new subway car order for BD, this facility could be needed in the early 2020s if the fleet is to be in place for opening of the SSE. TTC management expects to present a consolidated plan for renewal of Line 2 BD to the TTC Board in July 2017. The timing of projects within this plan will be critical as they will affect overall capital spending patterns and could bring projects that have been “parked” beyond the City’s ten-year planning window into the current period when funding is tight. With the acquisition of the new TR trains for Line 4 Sheppard, there are no plans to increase service on this line in the foreseeable future. Greenwood also hosts part of the work fleet, and more could be based there once the BD line’s fleet is operating primarily from Kipling. Another potential use for Greenwood would be to host trains for a Relief line that would almost certainly use the shorter 4-car consist now seen on Sheppard. The value of projects in the pipeline and on various wishlists considerably exceeds the available capital. Cost sharing agreements with other governments, such as the Federal infrastructure program, can trigger the need for the City to pony up its share for projects that it might not yet have included in its spending projections. There is a bulge in approved capital spending that prevents the addition of any new projects to the pipeline from 2018 until the early 2020s unless additional tax revenue, borrowing room or external funding becomes available. These considerations affect not just transit projects, but all capital works the City might undertake notably major road projects or renovation of public housing stock. This article has reviewed the situation for subway lines, but there is a long queue of transit and non-transit projects threatened by the City’s funding limitations. The situation is not unique to Toronto, and both provincial and federal programs push a lot of their proposed funding into the future when, they hope, financial times will be better and they can afford to be generous. But spend today? Not happening. A common refrain heard during budget debates is that the City should simply let the private sector take over the projects. This is not necessarily a good idea because the private sector cannot borrow as cheaply as the City and typically wants to make money on anything it does invest on the City’s behalf. Also, there is a substantial layer of cost and complexity to managing the contract that must be measured against any imputed savings from the partnership. These arrangements are not a one-size-fits-all solution, and in any event deal with marginal savings on projects, not on the much larger overall funding needs of big ticket items like a Relief line. Partnerships are a financing mechanism, a way to offload some of the immediate costs of borrowing and to transfer some risks associated with project delivery to a separate entity. But there will remain the ongoing cost of paying for that investment and its operation. How Quickly Could We Build? A common question about the Relief line (or any other big project) is “why should this take so long”, especially when we see cities elsewhere in the world building new lines at a much faster rate. Part of the answer is technical – local geology and construction complexity – and part can simply be the benefit of a city having an established tradition and team of building that just never stops. But a big part of the problem is financial. Toronto’s endless debates about rapid transit spending have always had a “who goes first” quality to them. Everyone wants their project to be at the head of the queue because they “deserve” the first of any new transit spending. Sheppard West station (formerly Downsview) exists simply because it was common to competing demands for a subway extension either north to York U, or east along Sheppard (a perennial favourite of local Councillors who talk of a “North York Relief Line” with straight faces). One of the hoped-for benefits of the Transit City Plan, leaving aside the debates over technology, was that it put many lines on the map at one go, with the intention that they all be built in a timeframe people could believe in. Alas, that was not to happen, and we are left with a Scarborough megaproject elbowing everything else out of its way. Toronto should be able to build a Relief line in less than 14 years, but this would require the commitment of political capital (“this is a city building project”), and investment on an accelerated scale. The Crosstown project includes 10 kilometres of tunnel and many underground stations, and it is not taking 14 years to build. The question that should be asked is this: if we wanted “Relief” sooner, would it be possible? What prevents us from having a new line in, say, 10 years? The answers may not be palatable in that the folks who are squashed onto subway cars never seem to be around when blowhards campaign against “runaway taxes”. If Council really does not care to improve transit, except in the backyards of a few key wards, then it should say so. But as long as any newfound money is immediately blown on this week’s pet project, Toronto will always wonder why the things we need never get built. This entry was posted in Downtown Relief Line, Transit, Yonge Subway Extension. Bookmark the permalink. Lets hope whatever plans are drawn up are better than the corner cutting “pet plans” of the past which have left the door wide open. Funding should be the number one priority as we should already have a good idea of what the next wave of plans will ultimately be even if they are neutered to slight altered. “Relief” should have been delivered already. But, as Steve tells us, the political so often gets in the way. Even if relief is delivered in the east with the “Relief” line, further extension to Shepard is needed. This is what builds a network. If not, the pressure on YUS above Eglinton continues. The idea of further expansion to York would only put more pressure on the line. The idea of network is sadly lacking in Toronto, it’s fine to think we can build a subway to Richmond Hill, but what happens when the line is down. Connectively needs to be enhanced when plans are put forward. The TTC will also have to do platform doors if they want to run 110 seconds headway. When platforms are crowded, accidents happen. If one person falls on to the tracks, it will be a massive delay on the system. Platform doors also make the platforms slightly larger as people will no longer have to stand behind the yellow line. They can stand right up to the platform door safely. Mr. Tory is taking a stand that the relief line must happen before the Line 1 extension. However, he will now has to find the money. No one knows how much money Mr. Tory is on the hook for. When Smart Track is finished, the city might have to pay GO to carry passengers inside Toronto. Why would someone board a GO train at Centennial GO, when boarding at Unionville will be much cheaper at a TTC fare? Will the TTC pay Metrolinx to run trains (or track time) on Smart Track portion of the tracks? Will the TTC pay GO a subsidy so that customers boarding at Unionville pay a TTC fare instead of a GO fare? Every level of government seems to have their own transit portfolio to fund. Even if the federal government spends $50 billion on VIA Rail, it still won’t be enough. $50 billion might buy just a high speed corridor between Windsor and Quebec City. The Canadian and Ocean might still not be a daily train. Nova Scotia wants a daily service between Halifax and Moncton in addition to the Ocean. There are so many competition for money everywhere in the country. Mr. Tory will have a lot of work convincing the federal and provincial government. Mr. Trudeau does not come to Toronto and say “let’s build, we got your back”. Ms. Wynne won’t spend any money because she wants a balanced budget forever (or at least until another Liberal majority). While relief may come in 10 years, we are taking a long time to build anything. In Riyadh, 6 metro lines will be completed by 2019 and those were only approved in 2013. If Toronto wants to have transit fast, stop on insisting on underground tunnels. Guideways are much easier to build and faster to finish. Cut and cover construction will also be much faster, but it is taboo now. The Paris Metro was built this way. Transit might simply be too big and difficult for municipal politicians to deal with. By all means the funding from senior governments is inadequate but what Steve points out as political obstacles mainly comes from city council. Indeed if they can say with a straight face North York Relief Line well.. I don’t have much hope. I am glad Steve you point out the inherent problems with the private sector and indeed financing is a big one. We are going through this in Ottawa where we now know thanks to the work of some on city council that it would have been cheaper to finance this ourselves. Another issue is once you sign a contract with a private company to build and maintain (operations remains with the city) it’s difficult for us citizens to know what’s going on and how the money is spent. As much as I don’t like the idea of shifting transit to the Province (there are drawbacks) I am beginning to rethink my views. Planning in Ottawa just like Toronto was plagued by the pet projects of councillors (we were saved only because the BRT was built over 25 years ago but that too causes problems) and by moneyed interests. Cadillac Fairview demanded and got a station at its shopping mall. Yes it’s nice it serves the Byward Market but the geology there makes it hard to build and I suspect hard to maintain. We don’t know because they won’t tell but their silence is deafening. So I hope Toronto won’t do the same mistakes we did. But I suspect that it’s the same political game in either cities. Steve: The last thing Toronto will want is a provincial upload once Queen’s Park says “fine, but here is the amount we expect you to contribute to the TTC’s operation” just as they now ask for money toward GO Transit’s capital program. It is quite amusing to thing that Queen’s Park would take on local transit for free. Another important point is that service standards would then be dictated by the province, and would likely be considerably worse than the level of service Toronto now expects. We could get more, but there would be a fee. Awesome analysis so I hesitated before mentioning this but OPTO is not an issue at least when it comes to reversing trains. Montréal and other systems simply have an operator at each end to assist in the reversing process. It’s quick. Still, spectacular analysis. Many lessons to be learned. Steve: An operator who was at the “east” end of a train still has to walk to the “west” end. Unless sufficient extra staff are provided so that this does not hold up service, it will be an issue. This will also be a problem for emergency turnbacks enroute as well as “on the fly” crew changes between trains. Uh-huh. So how do the people on the train, who want to get off, actually get off? Steve you are right Queen’s Park would rather not take over, not directly but it’s meddling a lot and we are paying more and more for less and less. So they are already putting a lot of conditions in order to get funding and it’s not good. Maybe the TTC is free of such interference but in Ottawa they meddle plenty and not just with Presto. This is the context that leads me to change my views about who should run transit. As for operator change I agree with emergencies and operational flexibility but in terminals they don’t walk. The incoming operator gets out while the terminal operator takes over. The terminal operator runs ands stops near the end of the train so that the incoming operator gets in the cab at the end of the train. They reverse the train and the terminal operator gets out. He or she is the only one to walk and that is across the tracks. This makes rotating crews easier and gives them breaks. The father of a friend of mine used to operate for the STM and he loved it. He hated line 4 which had an operator at each end because the breaks were few and far between compared to the other lines. There’s probably a YouTube video that shows how it’s done. But in an emergency having that second crew member counts. So it’s not a straightforward decision to remove the second crew member. I am glad to see the issue of construction cost and speed finally getting some attention. If we were able to build as quickly and as cheaply as say, oh just about any city in Europe, then a lot of these “who goes first and where” debates wouldn’t happen in the first place. Steve has previously written about why it’s hard to directly compare construction costs. However the latest estimates I read in the press for the Scarborough and Relief lines make me shake my head – they appear to be setting a world record on a per km basis, with the exception of the 2nd Avenue subway in New York, the cost of which has been widely derided. P.S. I’ve always wondered why Toronto subways crawl along at roughly 50 km/hr or less, Steve explained why above. Hardly “rapid” transit, and something I find irritating as a frequent user. Benny Cheung Writes: The Canadian and Ocean might still not be a daily train. Sorry to stray off topic but as far as the Canadian is concerned, this this has as much to do with running rights through the Rockies and the Rocky Mountaineer’s interference as it does VIA’s budget. You think VIA wants to run 30-car trains? No amount of money will fix that unless you want to build new track through the mountains. A little strong arm is necessary. An important part of honesty in subway planning is to dump the “one silver bullet” attitude and develop a network thinking attitude. This means thinking about how everything works together and how each project affects the entire network. For example, Mayor Tory is right to point out that there is no capacity on the Yonge subway for the additional passengers that would arrive as a result of any subway extension to York Region. However, the exact same thing is true about the Eglinton Crosstown, and I do not see Mr. Tory vowing to block the opening of the Crosstown until the Relief Line is completed. The reality is that as soon as the Eglinton Crosstown opens, there will be a large number of people riding on it from east of Yonge to the Yonge subway. But when they arrive at the Yonge subway there will not be capacity available for them. OOps! During the AM peak, anyone trying to board at any station south of Eglinton will be out of luck. The problem is that there are currently a lot of people south of Eglinton who rely upon the Yonge subway to get to work. Rest assured, they will be mightily unhappy about no longer being able to get to work. Although I generally dislike Karen Stintz, she did understand how to build a subway. You call a meeting, you vote for a city-wide tax increase to pay for a subway, and then you agree to build it. Of course, the Scarborough subway was later found to be way more expensive than originally projected, but I admit that she was able to set things in motion quickly. No one is going to take John Tory’s talk about the Relief line seriously until he’s willing to do something like that himself. Today’s New York Times has a story about having to convince the state governor to do something for the NYC Subway since he is in charge. They need to upgrade (what they call) a 1930s signalling system. One line done last year, one for this year; they say it may take 50 years to do the whole system at that rate. One line last year and one for this year? The 10-mile Canarsie Line (L service) was chosen as the pilot upgrade to CBTC, with work beginning in 2000 and completed about the end of 2006. It was chosen as the pilot partly because it is a relatively short line and partly because only one route uses the line. The second CBTC upgrade was the Flushing line (and its 2015-opening extension), which like the Canarsie line, is home to only one route (7 and its express). This had a slightly shorter implementation time span, being covered in the capital budgets from 2010 to 2014, though additional work continued a little longer for the extension. Granted, lessons learned on these projects will enable future projects to proceed in less time, but there is a significant amount of time needed to re-signal a line. And yes, NYC has a fair bit of 1930-era components in their signalling system. Aside from parts not being available (though, lines being upgraded will free up some equipment for that purpose), much of the wiring has cloth insulation. If there was a fire in a signalling equipment room, it would make the recent hydro vault fire here in Toronto look like a campfire by comparison. It is clear to all that the Yonge line (Finch to Union) is running from near to beyond capacity. Adding the connection to the Eglinton LRT (EgLRT), and building the SSE will only add to the problem. The major choke point is Yonge/Bloor, as it is the main transfer from N-S to E-W. Steve: Actually, there is a choke point north of Bloor too that grows worse as demand coming in from the north rises. Elimination/redirection of trips that now attempt to transfer at Bloor-Yonge will affect both crowding at the interchange for transfers, and relieve demand on the line further north, provided that the DRL goes far enough, as you note below. All the relief that the Spadina arm can provide with the extension to VMC is a few train loads. All the studies show the only true relief will come from building the Don Mills (DMS) line. Section 1 – Queen to Pape is starting to get priority, Section 2 – Pape to Eglinton is starting to be a planning priority, Stage 3 – Eglinton to Don Mills is still a gleam in Steve’s eye, Stage 4 Don Mills to York Region is crayon on paper. Steve: I think pushing north of Sheppard is a real stretch today, and the question remains of how much capacity can be squeezed out of the GO Richmond Hill corridor if we are willing to spend the money on it. There is also the question of whether we should simply keep building subway further north, or look again at the idea of an LRT network for York Region. But York Region is starting the push for the Richmond Hill extension to the Yonge line – to me it would see more logical to look for an extension to the north (DMS stage 4) from Don Mills to Steeles (dip under the 404 and run north under Woodbine to 7?), as a better long term goal. Having both York and Toronto on the same page, not working at cross purposes would result in construction, not conflict. Building the DMS is a necessity, but will take time (20+) to build. So I ask what short term pressure outlets can we find/implement? Most of the transfers at Yonge/Bloor are N to E/W and E to N/S, most western riders are assumed to change at Spadina or St. George and ride around to avoid the “hassle” at Y/B. 1. A shuttle bus from Rosedale station via Crescent Road, to Sherbourne Street (Sherbourne Station w transfer), to Wellesley Street (Wellesley Station ) and run back the same way again. This would be a continuous loop, running express from station to station to station. This offers an alternate N/E, S/E and E to N/S connection. 2. Extend the streetcar tracks on Parliament to Castle Frank station. Looping via Queen, Victoria, Dundas or King, Wellington. York, Queen would provide the E/S and S/E link. By wrapping the streetcars in custom livery (red rockets with flames on the back) they could run express from the core to Castle Frank to provide a competitive link. I like streetcars and this could be done with buses, but the streetcars give more capacity with lower headway. Steve: Both of these suffer from capacity limitations and from the problem that the transfer point is too close to Yonge. That is particularly important for outbound trips that would attempt to board at Sherbourne or Castle Frank where trains are already packed. An “express” streetcar from Castle Frank is not really going to be very fast because it will run in mixed traffic on Parliament. 3. Victoria Park BRT to Markham. Running from Victoria Park station to some point in Markham (Hwy 7?) this would provide a eastern link running N/S that could easily tie into EgLRT and reduce pressure on line 1. Transfer pressure may increase at Y/B or St. G/B interchanges, but this should lower loading on the north Yonge trains. The advantage to this route lies in the fact that it can be implemented quickly and stay up and running, undisturbed by construction of the northern stages of the DMS line. Steve: Reducing pressure on Line 1 by connecting to the Eglinton LRT? Er … and just how is putting passengers on Eglinton supposed to help the Yonge line? If they come down to the BD line, they just add to the problems from the Danforth subway. 4. Build the Sheppard line to connect with the York-Spadina arm of the YUS. Split the line north of Wilson so half of the trains run to VMC and half go to Don Mills. This is a long term goal of TTC schedulers and maintenance to ease running the YUS, but it would increase ridership on the Sheppard and York/University lines. Build DMS stage 4, and you have a circuitous route to downtown. And with the Sheppard line tied directly to the Spadina arm, would the transfer at Yonge/Sheppard be worth it? 5. Double track Go Richmond Hill line for 2-way operation to Old Cummer (Langstaff if possible 3 or 4 track to keep CN happy), run this as an all-day service at TTC x 2 rates as this would be a premium direct to core route as an upcharge is viable. Load levels may allow single track operation with a RDC type unit. Steve: If the load levels are low enough that RDCs running at the headways a single track could support will not make a dent in demand on the Yonge line. 6. Convert the old CP line from Union to Leaside (Eglinton/Leslie) the same way, but run at TTC rates to encourage EgLRT riders to bypass the Yonge line for the faster ride to Union and ride North from there. Steve: There are big problems from Leaside eastward because this is the CPR’s main line. 7. Get GO to fast-track RER on the Unionville line. Ask them to focus on full day service to at least Agincourt, again this provides another eastern link running N/S to draw off more ridership. Steve: Work on double-tracking parts of this line is already underway, but there are issues where GO parallels the SRT about the amount of room available for concurrent operation. The SRT is to remain in service until the SSE opens in 2026 (if you believe in the tooth fairy). I am not saying we could do any or all of these, but it is a starting point for discussion. On a different note, while a DMS stage 2 route is expected to be Pape to Thorncliffe to Flemingdon Park to Don Mills – this route requires one, maybe two expensive bridges. Could Pape to O’Connor to Victoria Park – requiring one bridge be a cheaper alternative. I am not sure of bridge vs tunnel cost, so I ask. Possibly this route is too easterly and would steal ridership from the GO RER/Smart-track line to STC. However it would make turning into Don Mills easy, or allow Spanish style stations at Sheppard and Victoria Park to allow easy transfer to the Sheppard line and make train turnaround timing simpler. If York Region had to forgo the Yonge extension, and had to opt for a more eastern link, would they choose, Don Mills, Victoria Park, or further east? Steve: You would take a more roundabout route and would miss several key centres: Thorncliffe, Flemingdon and the Don Mills/Eglinton corner which is about to have major redevelopment. Your schemes seem bent on providing service to York Region when the real issue is to increase capacity to handle demand within Toronto itself, and particularly for trips that are not just downtown-oriented commutes. On the bridge vs tunnel question, bridges are almost certainly cheaper, especially considering how deep the valley is. Thanks again for distilling complexities and crises to simpler principles and problems, along with some denunciations along the way. It is complex, and I’ve held off adding two cents until I think I’ve gotten points a bit more than a skim. I sadly am no longer trusting the outcomes of planning/scheming processes; a review/reset of the large-scale plans by a group like APTA or UITP would be very very good value for any money spent, and with the billions of public dollars possibly squandered, where are some fiscal conservatives when you might like some? I’m thinking we need new corridors vs. continual overload of existing ones, and also, we need to have faster routes (often on-surface when possible), and on existing corridors or remnants (where possible), and done far more quickly to respond to the current overload/crisis vs. maybe in 15 years if there’s funding. The taint and problems of the Suspect Subway Extension are ongoing, and this includes the adjustments to plans and priorities from salvaging up to some credibility the Smart Track layer of the RER. We are firmly ignoring the possible usage of the Richmond Hill GO line and the Don Valley and some corridors there because of the possible floodings, which relates to the great surges in the stormwaters due to all the hard surfaces in the watershed, which is around 1200 sewers and c. 70% of storm surge according to a recent book Reclaiming the Don by Bonnell. The majority of the Council voted to do nothing for another couple of years; close to the same votes as the majority that voted to ignore facts when doing infrastructure projects ie. whims and whatever, are just fine for billions worth of spending. It isn’t merely the GO line, which may be less easy thanks. There is a remnant spur line in a bit of North Toronto that is a bike trail now – and it’s a shortcut. I don’t know it/environs that well, but if we’re ignoring it because of the rich areas that it runs through, that’s not OK. Also, we apparently own the spur line from Brickworks south to near-core, with a bridge over the Don, and a fair bit of land adjacant to the Don Valley Parkway. So one surface relief measure/idea I’ve been seeing is re-use of that spurline, perhaps for bi-directional relief, despite the narrow bridge (which signalling may allow use of), to get near Thorncliffe Park, and have a Redway transitway to link up to Thorncliffe. Steve: I really have to jump in here. There is no “remnant” spur line — it has been a bike path for over a decade. When it did have track, it was single track and had a level crossing with Lawrence just east of Leslie that would be difficult to eliminate given the geography of the location close to the intersection. Reactivating this would put frequent service right through the middle of a residential neighbourhood. It’s income level does not matter, although I am amused that you of all people would advocate getting rid of a bike path. Maybe we should rip out like the West Toronto Railpath or the path on the west side of the Don beside the Bala Sub if it would suit your plans. That narrow bridge must be replaced as it is not structurally sound. The biggest problem operationally is the need for anything coming up the Don Branch (the ex-CPR line on the east side of the valley) to cross the CPR’s mainline at Leaside to reach the former spur. This has all been covered many times, and quite bluntly I am fed up with how often this resurfaces as a “solution” including on some professional produced maps. Further flights of imagination are a new bridge to the centre of the DVP from Thorncliffe Park to create a loop, and use/re-use the DVP for transit as there is a relative LOT of land there, and we could maybe drop in a centre-lane reversible transitway modelled along Jarvis St. lines. If it works for a few cars/people on Jarvis, why not have this same idea for more efficient transit?? (“Because” is not an adequate answer, though our broad carruption is such that I’m sure some people will be quite happy giving that answer). This piece of Relief would bypass Bloor/Danforth yes, but isn’t that a Good Thing? And with another bridge (transit-only, though maybe bikes/bladers/boarders/peds too), if we got something faster/surface up to Thorncliffe Park, (which has high transit demand/use), we are quite close to Don Mills Road at Eglinton. So maybe we could drop in an LRT, or a busway to have higher-capacity surface transit zip in to the core for surface Relief, done faster. Of course if one looks at a map, and if one could imagine another bridge, from Thorncliffe to points east and northeast, there’s another very broad, wide, really sparsely used corridor that shall have no name, but it seems like a comparatively cheap and easy way to enable faster surface transit even within Scarborough, along with the inherent virtue of faster travel by the diagonality of it. We could also boost express buses, and to be really roadical, we could analyze the people flows on the Yonge St. corridor ie. subway, road, sidewalks, and tally up fees paid for the relatively mobility, and we might realize that actually the subway riders pay an awful lot of coin for below-ground travel, and the clogged streets are given to vehicles that some can see as road hogs. So we could drop in a Jarvis-inspired transitway in some parts of Yonge, and even where it’s very narrow c. St. Clair, maybe Davisville), we should be able to prioritize transit on-street, at least during rush hours, and give up the central space/lane for deliveries and a bit of on-street parking when the subway is slightly more operational. And yes, bikeways might help, though far less on Yonge St., but more likely on Danforth and on Bloor, and we could also see/use something east-west in extending Richmond/Adelaide. Of course there are some other things: but the 1/3 of “Relief” (compared to the 1985 DRL) that might be arising with the Relief stubway, is absolutely NOT going to fix things on the Yonge line NofBloor, yet it really does need help/options. And it’s good to have the extra ‘misses’ of not enough trains for ATC, and oh, it’s another cost for this and that, including altering the B/Y platform for some massive sums, sometime. And meanwhile,the City can’t manage repainting a tiny bit of Bloor St. E. between Sherbourne and Church for about $25,000 that was in the 2001 Bike Plan, and is one of those missing links that discourages more than a few cyclists. The current crowd of rulers seems to not want bikeway relief, and it smells like the bikes are too much of the competition/good value, so it’s just fine to keep it dangerous as the City/TTC makes money from the overcrowding in the core etc. to help support suburban services. Going back to a review, what a shame that the $150M for the ‘planning’ of the DRL can’t be tithed to the APTA for a good funded review of everything, to make sure we have planning that isn’t smelling tainted, which is a shame to say, as we’re getting towards planning, and there’s sure been a LOT of work put into things. But Fordwards was so so backwards, it’ll take at least this term to emerge from it; too bad the current leaders can’t smell as much off as some of us. Graham writes: 1. A shuttle bus from Rosedale station via Crescent Road, to Sherbourne Street (Sherbourne Station w transfer), to Wellesley Street (Wellesley Station ) and run back the same way again. This would be a continuous loop, running express from station to station to station. This offers an alternate N/E, S/E and E to N/S connection. Have you actually tried this out? While transferring to a bus at Rosedale and Wellesley stations isn’t too bad, Sherbourne is an awful transfer that requires a traipse up several flights of stairs and then crossing the street to catch a southbound bus on Sherbourne. The layout is already inconvenient for patrons of the 75 Sherbourne bus, many of whom make the perilous dash across several lanes of traffic plus bicycle lanes instead of walking the extra distance to cross with the light at Bloor. Why anyone would “volunteer” to transfer at Sherbourne is a mystery to me. Crescent Road is full of four-way stops. Wellesley Street east of Yonge regularly gets jammed with traffic both eastbound and westbound. That “express” loop will take maybe fifteen minutes if you’re lucky. To add to Steve’s point about capacity, in peak hours there’s a train roughly every 150 seconds on both Yonge and Bloor lines. You are only going to make a decent dent in the crowds if you can convince, at a minimum, say 150 people to use this “transfer-bus” scheme. That’s two buses worth, so now you’re trying to run shuttle buses on a 75 second headway. Leaving aside the reactions of Rosedale residents along Crescent Road to the prospect of a continuous stream of buses (under 40 seconds for a bus in one direction or another), I can assure you from experience that trying to load 75 people onto an Orion VII, using all-door boarding, is going to take longer than your headway to accomplish. Even more if others are trying to get off the bus. I know that Steve rightly criticizes fantasy transit schemes drawn up on a napkin. (Someone elsewhere is proposing joining up the Sheppard subway, Don Mills line, and the notional Jane LRT in a giant U, for example.) But at least they are a vision of a utopian system, assuming money was no object. This scheme of making people take a bus to transfer between subway lines is a miserable one; the experience will be miserable for riders; it will take more time for the totally miserable experience….seriously, how would anyone expect anyone to “volunteer” for this experience? Thanks for comment space, and comments. I’ve been a skunk within the bike community at times for things like advocating (or being OK with) squeezing the Rail Trail on the Weston line IF we could get adequate TTC-based transit AND a good on-street bike network in the west end as highest-best use of scarce land likely is, and should be, for transit. That said, the Rail Trail is a delight at times, but perhaps the eventual solution is to have the bike path atop a transit usage. Some century…. And so yes, with that shortcut that is now a bike path in mid-Toronto, if it helps improve the transit, we need to add it in to the mix of options possible. Also, there is likely real decay within that bridge structure by the Brickworks, but the base looks nearly indestructible, though if neglect at the top of the piers continues, that’s destructive. But much of our transit work is doing construction work and using concrete, so we have to think of having big works occur. And what’s the phrase – where there’s a will, there’s a way? I know it doesn’t apply to better biking (for the most part); and the fetish for subways is to remove transit usages from above ground and the road, as roads are for cars, right? #1 – With all of those residential buildings in Thorncliffe Park, where/how would you tunnel underneath that little “raised” island of a neighbourhood? #2 – Where would your portal be on the Thorncliffe Park side if you did a bridge? The “Don Valley” is literally like a Grand Canyon between traditional East York (O’Connor and south) and Thorncliffe/Flemingdon Park. Steve: I would aim at a roughly diagonal path entering at the southwest side of Thorncliffe and swinging more northerly under the parking lot and mall building. It should be remembered that there is a good chance this project would trigger some reconstruction of the commercial space and we should not make assumptions about the buildings. It’s tight but not impossible, although construction close to the surface (as implied by a bridge) might be cut and cover which requires a finesse between existing buildings. From Overlea and Thorncliffe Park East, I would go under the road until a point where it would be possible to swing north behind Marc Garneau Collegiate to wind up under Don Mills. There is more than one way to draw this path, and I’m not going to get into the details. That’s what we have engineers for. However when I consider places the subway already has bridges — Rosedale Valley Road, Humber River, Sheppard East at the Don, and on the YSE over the Don River in York Region (proposed), this is not a show stopper. #3 – I know it would be very very very deep but is it possible to just tunnel under and have a super-deep station (a la Tube in London) in Thorncliffe Park or would the environmental impact be much more severe trying to tunnel under the Don? #4 – Would the incline be too steep for a subway car if you had to tunnel beneath the Don through Thorncliffe Park as you curve up into Don Mills heading to Eglinton? Steve: I don’t know the elevations, but suspect this would be a big problem. Also a super-deep Thorncliffe Station is probably a bad idea both for cost and accessibility considering how busy it will be. I’m not a geologist and I know the area well… the section that has the highest “per km” construction cost will be as you head out the ridge north of O’Connor until the DRL reconnects somewhere under Don Mills Road. It will be interesting to see how they tackle it without making everything look like a total eyesore. John Tory just announced today that Roadway construction will be accelerated on several projects, at a cost premium of about 20% in order to reduce inconvenience. Maybe they can use cut-and-cover to reduce construction time. This would likely save ~50%, instead of costing more as it does for the roadway construction. Look at Eglinton – station construction is (or soon will be) ~150m long and spaced every 800m. This is a massive amount of disruption and the entire corridor may as well be a giant construction zone. May as well have the stations much shallower so they can be completed quicker. With the money estimated for DRL short, they could likely get up to Sheppard if Value Engineering was allowed to find true savings. Short term relief can be provided by moving all the Flexities to be shared between the 505 Dundas and 504 King routes until we have more of those. Sure, the streetcars are slower but a lot of people will take them for a more spacious and convenient ride with nice clear views vs being squeezed in an underground tunnel. I remember a while back people were complaining on this blog when Scarborough residents were objecting to their houses being demolished for the subway and several people on this blog said ‘take it or leave it’ but now for the DRL, the subway is being moved from Pape to a more expensive Carlaw just because as the Citynews news report said, “it will change the character of the neighbourhood” (no demolition of any house threatened on Pape, no noise/vibration issues as new subway will be very deep, but “it will change the character of the neighbourhood”). Why can’t we say now, ‘take it or leave it’? You see the double standard? In Scarborough’s case, houses were threatened with demolition but on Pape, there is no demolition threat and only that “it will change the character of the neighbourhood” and off we move to a more expensive Carlaw option (the Citynews report said that the Carlaw option will be more expensive). Steve himself has stated that the Pape option is the best but I don’t see him condemning the Carlaw option now. As for me, I will support a DRL on Pape or further east but NOT under Carlaw. Why don’t we charge the extra cost of moving to Carlaw to the residents of Pape who don’t want to “change the character of their neighbourhood”? And why did they wait so many years to make that claim (the later the decision to move to Carlaw, the more expensive)? Steve: I don’t ever remember endorsing the Pape option in this context, and actually prefer the Donlands route that has been discarded earlier in the study. As for the issue with houses at Ellesmere and McCowan, I have never espoused a “take it or leave it” attitude. My big problem with the SSE is that we don’t need it, something that cannot argued for the DRL. While we are on the subject of extra costs, there is the little matter of an extra $150 million for a relocated bus terminal at STC. The size and complexity of this terminal is a direct result of the “one stop subway” option that concentrates all surface connections at STC rather than spreading them between locations. You love to slag positions I have not actually taken in your continued portrayal of coddled downtowners versus downtrodden Scarborough residents. Get your facts straight. I hope that people will remember in the election next year that Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals have announced building a Toronto-Windsor high speed train but NOT the DRL. In the decade and a half that the Liberals have been in power, they could have built and opened a DRL already if they had any intention of doing so. Surely, the NDP and the Progressive Conservatives did not build it either but now, we have new leaders for both of those parties and not the ones that lead those parties to power in the past. Steve: Don’t hold your breath for big transit spending from the Tories. As for the NDP, the last time they were in power was a quarter century ago, and their transit “policy” consisted of make work projects to build subways, most of which were cancelled by Mike Harris. Only Sheppard survived to placate Mel Lastman and gain his support for Toronto’s forced amalgamation. This isn’t as much of a subway planning question as it is an LRT planning question…it’s also local in character. Do you know whether any bus line (or corridor consisting of multiple bus lines) in Etobicoke has the passenger numbers to warrant a conversion to LRT? Kipling has always struck me as wide enough to have an LRT line down the middle…buses are pretty full…but what are the actual numbers? Steve: Kipling is busy with a headway below 4′ in peak periods, but that’s light for LRT (15 regular size buses/hour is only 750-800 pax/hour). There is lots of room there for improvement as a bus operation. When the Transit City network was being planned, Kipling was considered but discarded because there were other stronger corridors. Also, does it make any sense to run an LRT west from Kipling Station? To say, Sherway and beyond? Sherway Gardens is served rather poorly by transit. I know long ago there were ideas to extend the BD line this way but that they didn’t add up. The area around Kipling Station is urbanizing at pace in the past few years (The Kip District is the newest project to add to this), not all of those people are going to have cars (I didn’t when I lived in the area), and the Sherway/North Queen strip is the closest shopping destination, but getting there by bus is a bit of a pain. Steve: At one point, the Dundas BRT in Mississauga might have been an LRT, but that has sort of fallen off of the table. One big problem is that the BRT corridor is not longer actually on a street, and it also collects together many routes and does not act as a trunk in its own right. If Dundas were to become LRT, it really needs to generate a lot of its demand locally, not from many feeders. There is also the question of where a logical western end would be. As for Sherway, that’s another destination entirely well away from Dundas. There are big problems in designing/choosing major corridors in Etobicoke and Mississauga because of the suburban concentration (or lack of it) around which transit corridors might be built. Doug Said: I remember a while back people were complaining on this blog when Scarborough residents were objecting to their houses being demolished for the subway and several people on this blog said ‘take it or leave it’ but now for the DRL…. Jabs fly West to East only here. Any questioning portrays you as flaming a “downtown vs. suburb” debate. Yet when Steve says “we” don’t need a subway extension in Scarborough I question who is “we”? Certainly not the overwhelming voting majority in Scarborough. “We” is actually the opinions of “them” and “they” clearly have refused to work with Scarborough in anyway because “they” could care less about anything aside from their unfunded projects and cant move on to see the issues which led to the death of Transit City. So who is really flaming the divide? “We” actually don’t need poor transfer locations in Scarborough. Thanks for your answers, Steve! I have been reading this blog for a long time and continue to be fascinated by the breadth and detail of its content, the depth of the analysis and the effort made to truly understand the topics under discussion. It is self evident to anyone not consumed by a single issue issue obsession that when you say “we” you mean the transit riding populace of all Toronto. In fact, since transit is an integral part of our overall transportation network, you are speaking out in what you believe to be the best interests of all Torontonians. Keep up the great work Steve. Your efforts are an important contribution to the debate and to understanding of complex issues. They are welcomed by me as well as thousands of followers anytime. Since I asked earlier about LRTs … an interesting development from China: the world’s first “virtual streetcar”. Basically it’s a double-articulated bus (though the body looks like a streetcar/bus hybrid, i.e. a modern streetcar body with rubber-tired wheels), that is kept on a fixed route using some form of automatic control (something adapted from automatic train control probably). Instead of rails, sensor along the route and on the vehicle keep it fixed to a “virtual track”. This allows it to be bigger than a bus while requiring less road space and maintaining a streetcar-type top speed (70 km/h is quoted in the video). The fact that it’s route is tightly controlled (and therefore pre-planned) is what I suppose allows it to have the narrower streetcar-like body, since turning radii can be restricted. I know the streetcar like long buses have been designed before for use in bus and trolleybus rapid transit systems, what is new here is the automatic control. Maybe it makes this vehicle more “streetcar like” in behaviour than the previous attempts. The advantage is that you get to save on laying the tracks, and in this case, also the distribution network (the example is battery-powered – I wonder how much the batteries cost over its lifetime though). Obviously this is just the first demo and who knows if this will be viable or rolled out in large quantities. It is though an interesting concept which could make the passenger threshold for LRT-type service drop, since implementing this system should be cheaper than a “proper” LRT line. Steve: At this point, I am not going to attempt a technical critique of something that’s only a promo video, but I couldn’t help noticing that the only shot in the “cab” clearly showed the driver with his hands on the steering wheel. I have little doubt that a self-guided bus is possible, and the real question is whether this can actually scale up to a “production” environment. My biggest worry is that, like every technology wonder that comes along, this could prove yet another reason for politicians to delay on commitment to rail-based transit. The opposition to LRT we see in the GTHA is as much a question of the road lanes lost to a dedicated transit corridor as it is the actual technology, but this masquerades as a “streetcars vs subway” debate. Streetcars don’t generally derail in snow or slippery conditions. They may not start or stop well, but they will stick to their tracks, and therefore their defined path. A rubber-tired automatically-steered bus, in slippery conditions, won’t necessarily follow the guidance instructions. So there is no way you can safely plop it on a narrow right-of-way; at least in Toronto. For a tram bus to work in snow, there would need to be a sprinkler system spraying Glycerol when snow is following. This way, there will be traction for the wheels. Although, the video shows a tram bus using electricity as oppose to diesel. If there are electric motors on each wheel, there will be a lot more traction as traction is available on every wheel. Using a combination of GPS and GLONASS, the tram bus will be accurate to up to 1ft depending on the chipset used. So, even if the line is not visible to the camera for guidance, GPS and GLONASS data can still drive it. A 100+ persons capacity vehicle is quite impressive. Until Line 1 is extended to Richmond Hill Center, it can help to remove the parade of YRT buses between Finch and Steeles on Yonge. YRT in its infinite wisdom did not build a rapidway between Richmond Hill Center and Finch. Even if a metro is being build, it will take many years. Terminate all the YRT buses at Richmond Hill Center and use these vehicles on Yonge Street. The Stouffville Line is now a bidirectional all day service. It will be interesting to see how many riders it siphons off Line 2 . If fewer people get on Line 2 from the east, there will be less people to change at Bloor-Yonge. Too bad for Mr. Tory, the news release did not mention anything about his Smart Track initiative. I hope the TTC will make better connection to those GO stations. For example, the 53E does not stop at Milliken GO station forcing a transfer to a local 53 bus. Likewise, the 190 does not at Agincourt GO either. When Smart Track Finch East and Lawrence East come into reality, express buses will need to stop at those stations too. No one uses glycol to remove snow from the roads. It is slippery and an environmental issue. In any case, if there’s enough snow falling, vehicles will simply have to deal with it. Streetcars have no problems (except at switches which may have to be cleared to confirm settings). Buses can slip and slide, and articulated buses can slide worse of all (granted, current artics are not all-wheel powered). GPS and other guidance won’t do anything for you if you are slipping back down the hill, or off into an embankment. That’s why I consider a “tram-like bus” to be an impossibility in this climate. Sure, you can experiment with self-driving buses, but to imagine that they will always follow their assigned path — like an actual streetcar — to be dreaming. Actually that crossed my mind as well, but I wanted to start off with a positive spin on things 🙂 although I was impressed by the possibilities of this approach, I almost had an ulterior motive: making sure you hear about it first before some city councilor or future mayor touts something like this as a catch-all solution for all of Toronto’s problems. To be clear, I had no intention of suggesting that LRT lines should be replaced with “virtual streetcars”, only that they might in the future be used to bring LRT-like service to corridors where passenger numbers don’t justify an actual LRT line build-out. IF (and that’s still a huge IF) something like this works, I see it as a way to make BRT more LRT-like in its performance. @Ed: I also don’t think there’s a way this would work in a narrow right-of-way the way streetcars in the urban core do, of course. Just to note, there have been a handful of “guided bus” transit lines (none with “virtual” guidance though; all through some sort of rail) installed around the world, none of which have been spectacular successes. Bombardier’s recent version of this (GLT) was installed in two cities in France, Nancy and Caen, and Caen decided after a few years to abandon the concept and just convert it to regular streetcars. P.S. The use of batteries reminded me of another thing. Last year at a conference I met a gentleman from Bombardier (one of its European offices) who was presenting the power train of the Nanjing tram. It’s a modified Flexity tram that runs on batteries, which are charged at each station. That way they say, 90% of the line is free of the overhead lines. I asked him why Nanjing did this. The answer was aesthetics, they thought it was prettier without the overhead, and novelty value (which seems an important thing in China). He said that in a power-out situation, a fully-charged streetcar would be able to loop around the whole line a couple of times (they did a test running “dry” without recharging at each stop). He said the batteries do not take up any additional space compared to the base Flexity model used, as they are on the roof. Alas, he could not tell me whether batteries vs. overhead lines make sense in terms of cost in the long run. It’s too early to conclude, he said. My feeling is that right now, batteries are not more economical (otherwise they would be touting it) but that they might be in the future.

2019-04-24T08:39:35Z

https://stevemunro.ca/2017/05/25/honesty-in-subway-planning/

» Are Your Goals Worth Having? [00:03] Hello, and welcome to the Active Growth podcast, episode 34. Today's episode is kind of a spontaneous episode that I'm recording because I just listened to a podcast episode on the Fizzle Show, and this is an episode that deals with a heavy topic. It deals with mental health. It deals with issues that we might face, and that are related to entrepreneurship in the sense that as entrepreneurs we are all striving for success. We tend to be ambitious creatures, and we're all striving to make more of ourselves, and to achieve more, and get more, and have more maybe. There can be underlying issues here that I think are important to address. [00:48] Even though it's not directly related to, this isn't a how to build your business type of conversation, right, but it is important for entrepreneurs. Kind of a meta, peripheral kind of discussion, but like I say, I think it's important to have when it comes to mental health, when it comes to depression, I think a lot of people suffer in silence, so it's important to talk about this. That is, so thank you very much to the Fizzle Show team for bringing this up, and bringing this into my world, and I want to pass that on. Basically, I want to continue this conversation, and I have a few things to say about this that I hope will help some people. So, you can find the link to that Fizzle Show episode in the show notes for this episode, as well as links to anything else I might mention during the podcast. So you can find all this at activegrowth.com/34. With that said, let's get right into the main topic. [01:51] I'm Shane Melaugh from Active Growth, and also from Thrive Themes, and also from a few things that don't exist anymore, and that you've never heard of. I've been an entrepreneur for a fairly long time, and this is the context from which I want to share my thoughts on this topic that was started on the Fizzle Show podcast. To give a little bit of context, this Fizzle Show episode was about, or it started with this idea that it seems like lately there have been more and more instances of high profile, successful, celebrity people taking their own lives. This is often kind of shocking to us when we see this. Because on the one hand, this might be our heroes that are taking our own lives, and that it kind of reveals that there's this shadow side to them that we never knew anything about. [02:45] Maybe we only ever saw them smiling, and being on stage, or shaking hands with other celebrities and whatnot. It's hard to imagine that there's this other side to them, but also because these are people who have everything that we strive for, right? As entrepreneurs, we strive for, I mean we don't all strive for the same stuff, but in general terms, we strive for success. We want to be successful, right? We want to build something successful. We want to reach people. We want to have a successful business that brings in some money, and maybe you want to be super rich, or maybe you just want to make a living, but in any case, you're striving for money and you're maybe striving for some recognition. I mean everybody wants to be recognized. [03:34] Everybody wants to not just do something, and do something meaningful, but also be recognized for it, right? Part of that is having an audience, and part of that is maybe also having recognition from, I don't know, like an authority, right? Maybe other people like experts in your field. You want to be recognized by them, and basically all of this these celebrities, these superstars, you know whether they are in business or they're basically, however they got this status, they usually have this in droves, right? They've got massive amounts of success. They've got huge audiences. People adoring them. They've got all the money in the world, and apparently, this doesn't fix these problems that weight them down so heavily that they end up taking their own lives. This, of course, we've all been told that money can't buy you happiness and all this, but still, I think, we all still suspect that if we just had these things we'd be happier, right? [04:39] Especially if you're in the early stages, if you're struggling away. Right? If you're kind of in the spaghetti phase, or the ramen noodle phase of starting a business, or you're really struggling and you're struggling to make ends meet, and you're working super hard and all that, you cannot imagine that having success, and money, and so on wouldn't make your life look just significantly better. You can't imagine that. That is true. I think that's also part of the thing here is, of course, it is better. It's more comfortable. You're more likely to be happy if you don't have to fear for how you're going to not get kicked out of your apartment next month or something like that, right? If you don't have to fear about how am I going to put food on the table. This kind of thing, but I think we take it too far in our minds and assume that if well if we have these things. If we have enough success, and money, and so on, that will basically take care of all of our problems. [05:42] As it turns out, it won't. Especially when it comes to mental health issues, these deeper issues that lead to things like depression, and anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and things like that, are not at all affected by things like success, and fame, and money. Now to hear more about this specifically, I recommend that you listen to that Fizzle Show podcast, because I don't want to just kind of regurgitate this same idea. Instead, I have some other thoughts to share on this. This is relating to, in general, to being an entrepreneur, and to striving for things to being ambitious. Because there's a problem here, which is that of course we can think about okay, yes money doesn't buy me happiness. Is like success and all this, accomplishment will not fill this hole inside of me, right? [06:44] Sure that's true, but we still, I mean what does that make of our ambition? We still strive for more. We still strive for success, and the solution isn't to become a hermit and be like, "Oh, you know what? I'm swearing off of all worldly things, and I'll just sit in a cave somewhere and feed myself off of, I don't know, bugs that I scratch off the wall." I mean, if that's what you want to do, go for it, right? But I don't think that is the right solution, so in other words, the realization that money doesn't make you happy, and successful, and won't solve these issues, that the right response to that is not to turn 180, and abandon all striving, and abandon all attempts to build a successful business, or as we often talk about here at Active Growth, it's all about basically becoming a more effective entrepreneur. [07:36] Becoming a more effective person. Building these skills. Turning yourself into a better, more effective, more skilled version of yourself. So there's that, and how do we square that? That's basically what I want to talk about. How do we square that? How do we square this idea that we can kind of destroy ourselves, and are striving for more, but also, we do want to create things. We do want to accomplish things, we do want to strive, and if you're building a business, you will have to get through some hard times. So, let's talk first about this thing about hard times. I think there a hugely important distinction to make is between, let's say, external hard times and internal hard times. This is something that, you know like I say often, is building a business is very difficult. It's often just a series of problems that you have to solve. It's like this extreme sport of difficult problem solving. [08:41] This is one of the reasons why I talk about skills all the time, because these problems is like these shape shifting problems, once you've solved one of them a new problem comes along, but it's a problem of a different nature, that requires a different set of skills, and a different way of thinking in order to solve it. So you can't just have your one skill and keep applying it to every new problem that pops up as an entrepreneur. It is more challenging than that. This causes difficulties. This causes difficulties, not only in terms of you're working hard. You're working long hours. You're stressed. It also causes difficulties in that you can start doubting yourself. You know, it's like, "Oh my God, I've done all this and here's the next thing that's smacking me down. Here's the next thing that makes me feel like I don't know what I'm doing." [09:25] It can fill you with self doubt, and it can lead you to question what am I doing here? Should I be doing this? Am I good enough for this, and all this kind of stuff. Part of this is just part of the entrepreneurial journey. Then there's another part where this is an internal struggle, where basically the bad you feel about something is amplified, right? You feel way worse about things than you "reasonably should" given the circumstances. An indication of this is when things flip around to become about your self image. When it's not just this is difficult, maybe I didn't do a great job of solving this problem, but it also becomes therefore I am a bad person, and I'm unworthy of anyone's love, and I'm going to be a failure forever and so on, and so forth, right? [10:16] It becomes that kind of thing where it becomes about you, and your value. When that kind of thing happens in your mind, that is the kind of thing that one of the difficulties things here, so that you kind of try and recognize the difference between, "Okay, I'm feeling bad because I'm under pressure, and stress, and so on, and that's just part of what I do as an entrepreneur," or, "I'm feeling bad because I'm doing this thing to myself in my brain, and if I didn't have these external difficulties right now, I would find another reason to feel bad, right?" It's like this inner demon is haunting me about this entrepreneurial problem right now, but if I didn't have this entrepreneurial problem, it finds something else. [10:57] I've managed to make myself feel miserable about something else. So why is it important to make this distinction? I think it's very important to make this distinction, in order to know what is the kind of thing where you have to grit your teeth and push through, and what is the kind of thing where you have to go, "Hold on. I'm not going to put up with this. I'm not going to put up with this," because entrepreneurial problem solving, building your business difficulties, that's the kind of thing where you go, "Okay, I've got to be tougher than this, right?" I've just got to grind through the hard times. Let's do it, right? But this depression, anxiety, making yourself feel miserable, this kind of thing is not something to put up with. It's not something where you go, "Well this is just what it's like, right? I'll just have to kind of tough it out." [11:43] This is the kind of thing where you have to say, "Well no, I could be doing all my entrepreneurial stuff. I could be living my life without any of this nonsense, right?" This is where finding a way to deal with this, talking to people about it, getting help about it, getting yourself checked out. Seeing if you need medication or whatever, is the right thing to do. That's important, like I said, making this distinction is really important, because if you just apply the one logic to everything. If you're just like, "Well whatever comes up, I'm just going to grit my teeth and be like, okay I've got to deal with this, or basically I've got to accept that this is the way it is." I've got to accept that building a business is hard, but I don't have to accept depression, and anxiety, and things like that in my life. [12:30] Now, how do you build this type of awareness? I have to say the only way I know how to do that is through meditation and writing. In other words, through introspective work. So meditation to give you a very simple idea of what I mean by meditation is essentially if you sit down, or stand, or lie down, doesn't really matter. Your position doesn't matter, and you start paying attention to your breath, and you just pay attention. You try and pay attention to the entirety of breathing in and breathing out. What's inevitably going to happen is that you get distracted. So, you start doing this, and probably a few seconds into it, you're not really focusing on your breath anymore. Some thought has popped into your head, and you're following a train of thought. At some point, you notice that you go, "Oh, I'm following this train of thought," and you bring your attention back to your breath. [13:30] You do this over and over again for several minutes at a time. Now, if you have a mind like mind, it can be extremely frustrating because you will be interrupted from paying attention to your breath about a million times a second, right? So you're almost never actually paying attention to your breath. You're only experiencing your distraction from it. It's like that for most people. You know, most people will basically barely be able to pay attention to one entire breath in and out before they get distracted, but for some people it's even worse than that, right? But that's fine. Now why is this important? Why do this? This seems like a strange exercise to do, right? Well one of the things it simply teaches you to watch your own mind. It teaches to take a little step back, and realize, "Oh this is happening. This thought arose, and now I'm following this thought." To also make the choice that I don't have to keep following this thought. ... bored with it. I kind of realized oh, this is a thought, and I can decide whether I want to get on board with that or not. This kind of thing is what helps me make the distinction between what I just talked about before, right? Where it's like, is this a real, external problem, or is this just me making myself miserable? [15:18] Second thing is writing. By that, I mean something kind of like journaling. So maybe you wake up every morning, and you write about how do I feel right now? What do I want to do today? What's important to me? What thoughts are on my mind? You kind of do a brain dump, right? Then maybe later in the day or in the evening you do kind of a review of the day. That, I think, would actually be the most important one to do, right? You review kind of your state of being. How did things go today? How am I feeling today? This kind of thing. You try to have a more objective view of your day. Again, this gives you this distance, this analytical distance, where sometimes you can look back and say, oh, wow, here I did something in my mind [inaudible 00:16:02] do well for me. The more often you notice this kind of thing, the more likely you are to be able to notice it in the moment. [16:16] So now let's talk about this thing, about ambition. We have to get to realizing that striving for success, striving for recognition, trying to build an audience and so on, to get this validation, to feed this need inside of us or to basically delude ourselves and say, well, once I'm successful, then I'm no longer going to be unhappy, that's simply not true. That is not how the human mind works. So we have to realize that. What do we make of striving and ambition in this case? For me, there's a very important way to look at this. Unfortunately, all I can offer here is essentially a new version of a cliché, right? You have definitely heard this before. In fact, you've probably heard this about a thousand times before. [17:07] The thing is, in my personal experience, it took me a long time to get to the point where this clicked for me, where I really got this. I think part of why I finally got this was because I was told often enough in many different ways until, at some point, I could have this inside myself. So that's what I want to offer you. I want to offer you one more way to think about the same thing that you've been told before, and hopefully that gets you one step closer to making it click for you. [17:36] So this cliché I'm talking about is that it is not about the goal, it's about the journey, right? It's not about arriving at the end and finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, right? That's just like chasing after the carrot on a stick. You will be striving forever, and you will never reach that thing that you think you ought to reach. You'll never reach that moment of peace and happiness. By the way, one of the ways you can know this for sure is if you, basically, look at your progress so far. Because if you've had any measure of success, then I'm sure that you are in some denial about it. What I mean is that if you already run a business that is doing something, even if it's not wildly successful, if you have a business that's working, then there's a past version of you who would have thought well, that's amazing, right? Once I have a business that makes some money, once I have a business that pays the bills, that will be so good. [18:40] But now that you have that, it doesn't feel like that anymore. The goalposts have moved. It's this kind of thing where you dream about if I had a million dollars, everything would be better. Once you have a million dollars, you're like, well, it's really like 10 or 20 million, that's where it's at. Once you have 10 or 20 mil, it's like, well, my neighbor's a billionaire, and so on. It never stops, right? You never arrive. So it's not about the goal, and striving for that illusory end goal is pointless. [19:10] But what do we make of this? What do we make of this cliché, right? Well, here's what makes sense to me, and here's something that is practical for me that I can apply to what I'm doing. It takes the form of a question. That question is, is this right now a journey worth having? Is what I'm doing right now a journey worth having? In order to be able to ask and answer this question, you've got to have that kind of distance that I talked about before. So again, a meditation practice and writing is going to help you be able to give a real answer here, right? To give you that kind of perspective where you can look at what you're doing right now and answer that question. Is what I'm doing right, is this a journey worth having? [20:02] This isn't just about am I having fun right now. Because I think that's often the alternative. Okay, if the end goal doesn't matter, right? If it's not about reaching this idea, reaching the goalpost, right? Reaching the finish line, then well, YOLO, who cares, right? Nothing matters. Live every day as if it was your last. Well, no, no, because then that's just about hedonism, right? That's just about well, am I having fun right now? Am I experiencing pleasure right now? No? Well, maybe I'll shove a cake in my face because then I'll experience pleasure, at least for the time that it's actually passing through my mouth, right? Then once the cake is done, then I'm like, am I feeling good right now? No, I ate an entire cake. I feel terrible. So what do I do now, right? [20:51] So this doesn't work. The replacement for this is not just am I having fun right now. But is the journey I'm on right now, is this a journey worth having? Part of that journey is your ambition and your striving. So when I look at what I'm doing with my business, with my entrepreneurship, there have been many, many hard times, right? There have been many hard times. There's always the difficult problems to solve. But if I look at what I'm doing right now, even if it's a difficult period, it is clear to me that this is the kind of thing I want to be doing. It's clear to me that this is the kind of journey I want to have. Part of this is that I don't want to be the kind of person who simply lives a comfortable life. I don't want to just maximize comfort in my life. [21:43] So you can think of this as, let's say, you go on a hiking, camping trip, all right? So you decide okay, I'm going to go out into the mountains, into the forest, going to take my tent, my sleeping bag, backpack full of stuff, and I'm going to spend a few days out in nature. Now, even as you set off, you know that this isn't going to be comfortable the whole time. You know that, in fact, most of the time it's going to be a lot less comfortable than sitting at home on your couch. You're going to be scrambling up steep hills. You're going to be bitten by mosquitoes, maybe. You're going to be callousing up your hands, gathering firewood, stuff like that. There's a lot of stuff there where, in the individual moment, if you ask if I'm having fun right now, no, this isn't fun, right? My feet are hurting because I'm been wearing these shows all day long and walking all day long. My legs are burning because I'm walking uphill all the time. I'm hungry, and this very moment is not a moment filled with pleasure. [22:44] But is this a journey worth having? Overall, the experience of being out in nature and even the experience of doing some hard stuff and kind of having a simple meal cooked on a fire that isn't a gourmet meal, but it's kind of like the reward at the end of a hard day, this kind of thing is a journey worth having. If I think about life, if I make this an analogy for life, I would much rather be the kind of person for whom most of life is this kind of outdoor hiking adventure than the kind of person for whom it is staying at home watching Netflix. [23:24] So when I look at a difficult period in my business, then it's clear to me that this is a journey worth having because this is just okay, yes, I'm suffering right now, but this is the kind of thing where this is the equivalent of scrambling up a steep hill. Then also, if I go well, it seems like one difficult period is followed by the next, followed by the next, followed by the next, it's also true. Again, for your hiking trip, that's also true. It's like once you've made it to the top of that mountain, it's like oh, it's starting to get cold. It's starting to get dark. Now I have to gather the firewood and so on, make sure that I don't freeze to death overnight. It's basically one problem after the other, but somehow, overall, it's a very satisfying thing to do. At least for me, it's clear to me that I'd rather do that kind of thing than just maximize comfort in my life. [24:09] Part of this journey can be and often is striving to create something and striving to achieve something, striving towards some kind of a milestone. We've talked about this before. I think it's much, much better to have very specific goals in mind that you want to reach. So instead of just having a vague dream of well, I want to be super rich and famous, that's the kind of goal where the goalposts are always going to be shifting. But to have very specific milestones where you say, "I want to reach this kind of outcome within the next three months," for example. Striving towards that kind of thing, that is part of that journey. That's part of the thing is to find myself here looking at what I've accomplished so far and saying, "Okay, this is good, but I want more, and here's specifically what I want and why I want it." [25:01] If you're in a position, if you're well enough off to be able to decouple money from that, then that's great. I think early on in the journey when, again, during the Ramen years, the money is definitely also part of this goal. It's the same thing there. Don't just think well, I want to be a millionaire or billionaire or something, or I just don't ever want to have to worry about money anymore. Set yourself a goal. Say this is the income level I want, right? Set yourself a budget, basically. Say this is every month, I want to have this much money to cover my expenses, this much money to save, this much money to invest, this much money to spend on fun, that's what I want. So that's my income goal. Then strive for that. Try to break that down into milestones. Striving for this kind of thing, even if it is money, is part of this journey, and it is a good thing to do. [25:55] Again, I think here, being specific about it, being specific about these are the numbers I want to achieve, this is the timeline, this is how I want to do it, I think that can also protect us from this illusion of and then when I get there it's going to finally solve all my problems and make me happy, right? If you're much more clear about it, well, this is the budget I will have. This is how I will allocate my money. That means I can pay rent and I can buy food, and I have a bit of stuff to buy gadgets or whatever I'm into buying, right? I can go out with friends. That's what it's going to do, but it's not some magical distant goal that somehow is going to solve all my problems. It makes us more realistic about what are these goals and what are they actually going to do for us? [26:38] When you have your financial basics covered, then I think it's about meaning. That is where also, when it comes to mental health issues and so on, striving for the creation of meaning, doing creative work and doing engaging work is actually, in my experience, extremely important for this. There's a whole interesting, relatively new science behind this that looks at the brain and the part of the brain that is called the default mode network. So, like the name implies, that's your default mode. So when you're kind of doing nothing, if you just stand and stare at a wall for a moment, your default mode network kicks in and starts doing things like reminding you of things you should be worried about or playing old tapes of things you keep telling yourself over and over again, usually negative things. All this kind of stuff, right? This rumination. So when people spend time ruminating, that's default mode network thinking, and that generally makes people miserable. [27:45] As it turns out, one of the ways in which to kind of turn off the default mode network is to be highly engaged in something you care about. That, for me, for sure is entrepreneurship to a large degree, right? I get engaged in these things. I care about building better products. I care about, basically, all the creative work I do. That gets me engaged to the point where this part of my brain, the default mode network, kind of shuts off while I'm focused on all this stuff. That gives my life quality. [28:19] Interestingly, time you spend in distracted light entertainment, so if you are just watching Netflix, that does not suppress your default mode network very well. A good indicator of this is are you reaching for your phone? Because if you're engaged in challenging work, you kind of get lost in that work, and that is essentially good for you. That's good for your mental health. That's a good kind of getting lost. It's kind of an ego suppression, and that's good for you. But if you're watching a show on Netflix, very likely you're checking your phone every once in a while, and that shows that you're not really very engaged here, right? [30:00] To someone else as well. Before we wrap things up, I want to respond to some voice messages. We haven't done that in a while. Let's go through a couple of voice messages that you've sent in. You can do this, by the way, you can go to the ActiveGrowth podcast or you can go to the show notes for this episode, for example, activegrowth.com/34. There is a button there that you can tap or click to record a voice message, and it might be featured on the podcast. [30:29] The first message here is from Jack Griffin. [30:32] What stage am I in is embarrassingly zero revenue from the digital products. Yes, of course I have some consulting business, and I give keynote speeches, and I write for a magazine, but none of that counts. The only thing that counts is revenue for the digital product and it's zero. The first thing to do is focus on changing that to not zero, before doing anything else at all, which means that I'm focusing on building the products on the website that I can actually sell, hoping that someone will threaten me with an order and that I'll be able to respond. [31:07] I thought that podcast was very useful, but you could take it a couple more levels deeper for the solopreneur, depending upon what phase of their business they're in. Anyway, thanks very much, very helpful, and looking forward to more episodes. [31:25] First of all, thank you very much for your message Jack. Yes, I agree. It's an interesting situation that you can be in, where like you say, you've got some stuff going, but the thing you care most about is at zero. In terms of what stage you're at, we have tried to build up the ActiveGrowth podcast in such a way that it really starts at zero. Our very first series and our very first episodes are really like, "How do you go from zero to something?" [31:56] Also, we have this specific method that we teach there, that the customer first approach, where I think a lot of people fall into this trap, where it's like, "I'm going to build a website. I'm going to start promoting it. I'm going to build an audience on social media. Then I'm going to try to get that audience to my website. Eventually, at some point, I'm going to make a product and make some money." Interestingly, it kind of ties in with what I talked about today. It's also this kind of vague goal that, "At some point when I've done all this work, then I'm going to be in a situation with all these raving fans, and then I can sell something." It's kind of a way to procrastinate. It's kind of a way to say, "Yeah, I'm an entrepreneur. I'm doing this," but there's basically no hope of ever it getting to the other side of that giant pile of work. It kind of keeps us a bit safe, as well, in a sense. We don't actually have to take that risk, take that plunge. We can tinker away. [32:50] I don't know if you've listened to the whole podcast so far, what the situation is, but we tried to design the beginning of the podcast in such a way that it should address these issues that you're talking about. If it doesn't or if you listen to those episodes and you go, "Well, there's questions that this doesn't help me with. I'm still stuck," then please let us know. Please let us know, send us another message. We definitely want to fill the gaps. If there are any gaps here, we want to help you go from zero to something. [33:24] The next message is from Kevin. Let's give it a listen. [33:28] I knew a fair amount about the internet stuff and marketing websites before I met you on Thrive Themes. Now, I'm totally Thrive Themes and ActiveGrowth focused. My websites are Thrive Themes. The Thrive Architect is just an awesome program. It saves so much time. Now, on these podcasts, which I listen to all the time, you're actually dealing with the business and teaching people how to do things like manifestos, and make good offers, and copywriting. [34:00] You guys are awesome. You've certainly affected everything I do online. I wanted to stop in and say thanks. Even this cool little speed pipe recording my message in the show notes is just awesome. You guys are doing a great job. [34:17] All right, thank you very much for that message Kevin. There's basically no question in here, but I really appreciate this message anyway. I have to say, this is one of those things where this makes such a big difference. For me, especially on ActiveGrowth, this is just the primary thing, this is the reason why I haven't just shuttered ActiveGrowth. [34:42] From a business standpoint, it makes no sense that I'm doing this podcast or that I'm still doing stuff on ActiveGrowth. Thrive Themes takes up 150% of my time already, and ActiveGrowth, there's a little bit of revenue from some affiliate links somewhere, but it is a total loss. It is a total loss of my time and my money, but the reason I keep doing it is exactly because of this. There are things that I want to talk about, there are ideas that I want to express, there's content that I want to create, that just doesn't belong over on Thrive Themes. It just doesn't fit that umbrella. [35:19] If it was just about me, then I would just write in my journal. Every once in a while I get a message like this, of someone saying, "Hey, this actually makes a difference to me." I really, really appreciate that. I really appreciate that. It means a lot to me. Thank you very much. [35:34] Next message is from Elsa. [35:37] I want to bring my gifts to the world and put the customer first. I actually love what you're saying and doing, but I feel that if I'm focusing on the legal ways of doing so, where I file my taxes and where I do all of that things, does this have to be set before I even come out publicly, in a way of what I have to share? I feel like if I'm looking into the legal ways, I don't understand the world at all. It's just too overwhelming to me and I don't understand all of the ways, how the money moves and what happens there. It just feels like I have to pay so much and I don't even know how this all balances out and how I can actually even have a profit from it. [36:16] I would like you to maybe discuss or touch a topic. For instance Shane, I see that your businesses are located in Switzerland, I don't know why. Some people who have followed their business, who are digital nomads, is in Panama. Maybe it's a tax free thing. It's a very interesting thing. I don't understand why people legalize the business in some kind of a country. They have some kind of reasons. I feel like do I have to do the business in the legal ways and the paperwork, before I even start selling something? I feel like it's stopping me actually doing it. If I'm going to start looking into the legal ways, I feel as if I'm going to froze and I'm going to procrastinate everything. [36:58] I would really, really love to hear your thoughts on this one. Just share how to approach, what are your ideas and thoughts on that? Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for everything that you're giving. I love it, I love it, I love it. [37:12] All right, thank you very much for your message Elsa. This is a good question that it's true, we haven't addressed. One of the reasons we haven't addressed it, by the way, actually there's two big reasons why. First of all, this topic, to me, anything legal, bureaucracy, all this kind of stuff, this is to me like garlic to a vampire. This absolutely destroys me. It's really serious. I also have to acknowledge this at some point, again, talking about this mental health issue actually, everybody hates taxes, and bureaucracy, and all this kind of stuff. I have to acknowledge at some point that for me, this isn't just something I hate. This is something that is really bad for me, when I have to deal with these things. For whatever reasons, this is basically a trigger for me. This is like a depression trigger for me. For me, it's very important to keep that stuff away from me in the business. That's one reason. [38:07] The other reason is I'm clearly not an expert on this either, and because of that I ... The other reason is that we have an international audience, and this is different in every country. There's no one right answer. Let me give you, just from my experience, as a non-lawyer and as someone who's definitely not an expert on this, but I have been doing this for many years and I have started multiple legal businesses, and all this kind of thing. [38:35] From my experience, there's a couple of things I want to tell you. The first is that whatever your jurisdiction is, wherever your home country is, see if there is ... There's two things I would look for. First of all, is there some kind of a very simple business form that you can start, so you can basically create this business entity, but it is very cheap and very simple. I know that this is true in Switzerland and it's true in some other countries as well, from what I've talked to people. In Switzerland, which is where I'm from, there is a form of business that is like a personal business. It's meant for if I have a little shop and that's my business. I don't have a huge organization with multiple branches and all this kind of thing. That kind of business is kind of how you can start, and it's very easy to form. It's much easier with taxation and so on. It's much easier than forming a corporation or a publicly traded company. That's usually then you have to get lawyers involved and you have to have a lot of money and all this kind of thing. See if there is such a form of a very simple starter business entity that you can form. [39:47] The second thing is see what the laws are about basically how much income you can earn before you have to declare this an official business. Again, this will be different depending on jurisdictions. Depending on where you are, there might be some rule that says something ... If you, with some personal business activity, if you make up to whatever, up to some amount of money per year, if it's under that, then you don't have to worry about the legal stuff so much. There might just be rules where under a certain amount of income, like before you reach that threshold, you don't have to apply for the VAT or something like that. This totally depends on where you live, but there might be some things in place that make it easier to get started. [40:36] The final thing is that for purely digital businesses, if there is no local component to your business, then it is interesting to think about where's the best place to incorporate. One place that I recommend you look at is Estonia. Estonia are from the side of the government trying to be as digital friendly as possible, and trying to invite digital startups. There's also a service that I off the top of my head don't know, but I'll link to it in the show notes. I'll link to this in the show notes, where you have a service that helps you with your business formation and with the paperwork and so on, which is specifically for small entrepreneurs starting up. [41:18] Like I said, this is definitely not a topic that I can say much about. You definitely should never take anything resembling legal advice from me. That's basically the best advice I can give right now. [41:33] All right, thank you everyone for sending in the messages and questions. I really appreciate that very much. If you would like to send in your own message, you can go to activegrowth.com/34. At the bottom of that post, there's just a little button you can tap to leave your own voice message. I appreciate any kind of questions, feedback, and so on. You can also send a tweet to @actigrow, with your question, and we sometimes read those on the show as well. [42:01] That's it for today's episode. Thank you very much for listening. I'm Shane Melaugh, this is the ActiveGrowth Podcast. I hope you'll tune in again next time. Can money buy you happiness? Or will it make you more unhappy? The answer to this well-known question can't be a simple yes or no. Should you stop wanting to be successful? What's the solution if you still want what success has to offer, without falling into depression? External and internal hard times: you don't always have to face the challenges. How to know which are the problems you should accept and which are the ones you shouldn't? How to tell apart 'reasonable' problems from the ones that are irrational? When your mind won't shut up: Many of your problems are created by you, and if you're not careful, you can easily turn into your worst enemy. We're giving you advice on what you can do to raise your self-awareness and learn how not to give in to harmful thoughts and feelings. It's not about the goal, it's about the journey. Another cliché we hear all the time, but do we really understand it? How to learn to enjoy the journey and know if your journey is worth it, even when you're not enjoying the ride at the moment? How doing meaningful work can keep your mind sane more than watching Netflix? We're answering some of our listeners' questions at the end of the podcast about procrastination, the customer first approach and taxes. Listen to The Fizzle Show for more amazing content about entrepreneurship. This is the specific episode that inspired today's topic. Read Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics by Dan Harris if you're skeptical about meditation. Watch this simple video that explains Default Mode Network. Is Your Journey Worth Having? Focusing on the journey doesn't mean living as if there was no tomorrow. You don't have to enjoy every second of your journey for it to be the right path for you. Ask yourself: is your journey worth having despite all the challenges and hard times you're facing? What's the hardest part for you in being an entrepreneur? As a spiritual author who blends psychology and spiritual principles together, I have to say this podcast was very insightful. I have also dealt with depression and anxiety since birth, which I now manage with natural supplements, so I know what it is to struggle with those thoughts that go from “this is challenging” to the thoughts that are more centered on one’s negative self-worth. Given my experience with both depression + anxiety and personal transformation via spiritual psychology, I can say the advice Shane gives here is quite sound. The practice of journaling is truly an excellent way to become mindful of your thoughts, especially the ones we try very hard to keep from ourselves. The one thing I would add about the practice of journaling is to be willing to unload whatever is really going on inside you. Not only is this a great way of venting, it can give you great insight into some of the crazy thoughts you think about yourself… to the point where you can gain a bit of “outside perspective” and even be able to say, “well, that’s just silly of me to be thinking that way” (because most of the time, our self-critical thoughts are either overly exaggerated or simply not true). For me meditation is challenging, but this form of journaling allows me to achieve the same mindfulness results. Thank you, Shane, for bringing up this topic. Mental health is obviously something I’m an advocate for, and I encourage everyone who needs help to receive help. I agree with what you wrote about journaling. Years ago, when I first started this kind of introspective writing, I first had to practice to be totally honest with myself. I figured that if I can’t even be unfiltered when I’m writing just for myself, what’s the point? And like you say, when we write completely unfiltered, it can lay bare some of the craziness that is going on in our minds every day. Yes, you’re right. Total honesty with oneself can definitely be challenging at first. I had the same experience when I started this practice too. But when we stick with it, the results can really spur some life changing breakthroughs. Btw… I’m a ThriveThemes member and using your plugins to redo my author website. I’m very much looking forward to going live with the new conversion focused design. So thank you for creating those products as well. Hi Shane, I really admire what you are doing in ActiveGrowth and Thrive. I heard the voicemail of the guy saying how you have touched his life in many ways, and I can say the same. You are my hero because not only do I benefit from the products you create and provide, but also your humility and commitment to being a good guy stands out. I love how you aren’t telling us how awesome you are; rather, you just do what you do and the work speaks for itself. What you are doing is exactly what I hope to do one day with my business. In that way, you are my role model. Also, I heard you talk about how you keep ActiveGrowth alive even when on paper, it seemingly makes no business sense. However, when you recognize the value you provide to people that recognize the good you’re doing, you feel like it matters enough to keep it going. I have been in that exact same situation, so I can relate to what you’re saying. That is reason I was inspired to write this comment . . . I wanted to come out and tell you that I’m another fan of yours and I respect and admire what you are doing. Thank you Shane, you are awesome! Your “spur of the minute” episode about – the dark side of the mind – was well received by this listener. And, although I have some thoughts directly on that topic; I’ll defer those for now to get to another important matter. Your comments about why you produce the ActiveGrowth site and podcast do require (yes, “require”) a bit of feedback. I’m certainly glad that your “inner drive” was sufficient to start ActiveGrowth and bring it to this point. By “this point”, I mean that for me; it is a must have, must hear, must know source of learning. From my experience, the emotional nourishment of knowing that my efforts are appreciated is quite important but it’s really just part of the picture. Getting paid is the other part. Or you could look at it this way; receiving payment is just another form to express the emotional appreciation from the audience. BUT, with payment, you get the emotion AND a cup of coffee, a meal, an apartment, and a retirement account. Isn’t that great! I for one strongly suggest you offer a “premium” version of ActiveGrowth. Just provide the most minor step-up in value as a reason (an excuse really) for me and others to make a payment. That way, those new to AG or without funds can get the valuable content and those of us who like to foster and support great works can do so. And before you have that thought that says, I just created more work for you by suggesting you offer a “little more value”; let me give you an example of what I’m thinking. How about you do a one camera video recording while you’re doing the podcast recording. No video editing needed! It would be a kind of “behind the scenes” thing. People (me) love that kind of thing. I’d kick in $10 a month for that. How does that sound, Shane? Thank you for your comment and offer for support, Randal! It’s very generous of you to offer it and to suggest that I could charge or use the patron model for the podcast. I can’t get over the feeling that I ought not to because I don’t need to. I own a healthy business and I’m financially well off. Somehow, I’m comfortable selling products and getting paid for that, but I’m much less comfortable with the idea of getting paid for just creating content. Not sure why. It’s a limiting belief of some kind. Let’s see now; (a) self limiting belief – sounds like another podcast topic; (b) I’ll bet there’s a worthy charity that would be happy to help with that little problem of bringing in excess income; (c) and lastly, ask this audience what is their single biggest business problem and apply those funds to have someone (not you, you’re busy enough :-) develop a solution. Bye for now. One more piece of gold. This is my first comment after listened/watched probably more than 50h or your stuff, between Thrive Themes and Active Growth (shame on me). Your content is great because you clearly have walked the walk, so you address exactly the struggles we feel now and then (not only in this audio, but in all of them). I also like that you made the audios available to download, so we can listen to them while doing other stuff (like me having lunch, driving or walking). As a producer, I know this potcast takes an incredible, unbelievable, unpredictable LOOOOTTTT of time and energy from you… It is really a gift to us that somebody like you have the will to share your knowledge here. I don’t know your exact goals with this amazing philanthropy (you talked about goals in the beginning of the audio), but I hope you state them so that despite our own limitations we all can help you achieve them in exchange for all the good you put forward here. • It is awesome to have you and your team, as entrepreneur special ops, sharing what happen and what to do, because most of what is the web is all about selling and ratings – although this people are special ops too, their teachings are mostly about inexistent wonderlands that make people feel good for the moment, but are different from what happens in the trenches of successful entrepreneurship and a fulfilled life. Thanks to you, Alexandra and Hanne! Thank you very much for your comment, Josué! It really means a lot to me to hear from you and to know that our work has brought some value. Even in full retirement mode, I enjoy Shane’s inputs via Active Growth and the Thrive Products. This podcast and the resources are very important. I have failed to implement (since 2004) some of the simple things he is mentioning in this post — even with apps such as Calm, Tactical Breather, and even a module to keep me distracted. Now is the time to regain some of my introspection to help me really enjoy retirement. Thanks. Thank you for your comment, Nate! What you’re describing here is no small matter. It’s the lifelong challenge of finding your way back to the present moment and of finding calm amidst the storm. The way you write seems like you feel that “by now I should have figured this out”, but I think that’s not the case at all. Fantastic golden nuggets here. Thanks Shane. I have a very specific legal tip for your French followers (living and having their business in France). it is the same for “professions libérales”. They have to choose instead the “SAS” (Société par Actons Simplifiées”) status. And for ONE business-owner, the status is called “SASU” (“Soc. par Actions Simpl. pour partenaire UNIQUE”). Thus those entrepreneurs will depend on “le Régime Général de la Sécurité Sociale”, and be safe again …! I propose to your followers who are interested to contact me through a MP on my FB page (my “profile” photo represents my white husky, “DERSOU”). I’ll give them all the details and send them (completely freely) all the documentation = des statuts juridiquement valides et immédiatement applicables). Thanks for another great podcast. It really helps. Let me use my bento box to comment about two topics. Happiness and entrepreneurship. About happiness, to simplify I think that it is more related with following some simple rules in life. For me, the top christian basic laws work fine. And that there is misconception that it is related with the amount of money. This misconception I think that it is responsible of how unfortunately we are overconsuming the environment. Of course, being happy does not mean being successful or fully realizing yourself. About entrepreneurship, I started seven years ago, thinking that it was going to be easy. It is being 10x more difficult than I expected. I had completely no formation on entrepreneurship, even when I had a degree in Economics. At the same time I have felt so much engaged to it as a hunter looking for its prey, and not caring for anything else. Well, something not really healthy for mind neither for personal live. Anycase, no regrets. And this art of not getting in and out, and distancing, can be a good skill to have. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Raul! For sure in our culture, there’s an overemphasis on money and that skews us in a direction that isn’t ideal. For me, a combination between making money, doing something valuable and being engaged in what I’m doing is the best. And that also means I’m willing to make less money if I get to do something more meaningful or more engaging. You can delete my comment about Sébastien Night : it was a joke . It would be terrible for me if Randal took it seriously.

2019-04-21T00:57:15Z

https://activegrowth.com/mental-health/

Haveil Havalim 147 is up! Thanks for the links. About a month ago, in the course of looking at different communities for my prospective move, I developed a basic set of generic goals for a shul/community. I suppose this might be of help for someone out there, so I'll post them here. Note that the goals are not listed in order of priority. My original file included suggestions for implementing these goals; maybe I'll get around to posting that soon, too. An inviting atmosphere in which regulars and guests feel not only welcome, but a part of the shul. Silly Rabbit, Shuls are for Kids! What is the goal of a Shul Youth Program? Realistically, every shul is different; some have a largely yeshiva-educated clientele, others a largely non-yeshiva clientele, and others a mix. Some have primarily very young children, while others have older children. Some have very little in the way of staff; others have a full complement of personnel, in addition to volunteer parents. All of these will affect the way the shul goes about meeting its Youth Programming needs. Nonetheless, I believe that the overall goal of the program is a constant: To raise generations of Jewish children who feel comfortable and competent in a shul environment and in the Jewish community. Storytime sessions with the rabbi, as well as with other leading players from the shul and community. A tour of the shul, including the bimah, the aron and the rabbi’s office, giving the kids something specific to do at each site, some measure of control of their environment, as they hear about what happens at each place. Mainstreaming into formal davening – It’s hard to educate kids in a minyan setting, but if they are ever to feel comfortable in that environment, they must be given the chance to experience it. Bringing them in for specific parts of the davening, for which they have been trained, may help. Youth programs that bring kids into partnership with adults – Volunteering at a kosher food pantry, working on maintenance projects at shul, helping coordinate a shul-wide social event, all of these introduce children to the mechanics of the Jewish community, as well as to some of the players. Specific adults should also be invited to participate in youth programs, toward the same end. Giving the oldest kids a position on the shul Youth Committee, both for program planning and budget analysis. As a former president of mine used to say, The children are the future of our shul. Most shuls are now sophisticated enough that they encourage the presence of children during davening, and they’ve stopped the shush parade (which should be directed more at the chatterbox parents anyway) – but the next step is to train the children so that when the time comes for them to take over, they are ready. I cannot stand Parshat Shmot. I fear reading it. It drives me berserk – and especially this year. Call this hubris, but I overly identify with Moshe Rabbeinu. It’s because of my field of work, it’s because I love his “I can’t stands no more!” declaration to Gd in Bamidbar (Numbers) 11:11-15, it’s because I was born on his birthday (the 7th of Adar)… his struggle just resonates with me. In particular, I am struck by the way Moshe is stopped at the goal line, blocked from entering Israel after putting himself through 41 years of absolute Gehennom to get there. This man exposed himself to hatred and ridicule, slaved day and night for a nation that often rebelled against his leadership, separated himself from his family, braved the mighty Pharoah and defeated Amalek and fought wars against Emorite kings, you name it – and G-d would not allow him to enter Israel. Sorry, no entry. Of course, Moshe didn’t complain; after his appeal was rejected, he still did everything he was told to do, up to and including dying. What an outsized tzaddik we’re looking at here. It all starts in Parshat Shmot, at a time when Moshe would give anything not to have to take this job. He doesn’t want the power, he doesn’t want to lead, he doesn’t want anything other than to be a simple Jew, but Gd won’t take no for an answer. “They won’t believe me.” No. “Send someone else.” No. “Pharoah won’t listen.” No. “I don’t speak well.” No. You’re taking this job, Moshe, end of discussion. And so the clock starts on Moshe's death. “MOSHE, IT’S A FRAUD!” I want to yell at him as I read the parshah. "It’s not true, Moshe, run the other way! You’re going to spend the next forty-one years doing this, only to be prevented from reaching your goal! Turn around while there’s still time!" But he doesn’t. He picks up the staff and heads to Egypt, expecting that Gd will be there with him every step of the way. Which Gd will be – until the cruel end of the story, when Moshe will be given one last order: Sure, you can go up the mountain and see Israel. Then Die. This has been the story for so many Jewish leaders; so many well-meaning, committed rabbis and community leaders have given their lives for this stubborn nation, only to perish short of the mark. I know; I’ve buried some of them. And this year, the story has special resonance for me. As I think about taking a new job, in a new community, where I am told by so many people that I could lead and accomplish great things, I wonder: How far short of my own mark will I die and be buried? 1. True, Moshe dies short of the mark – but he has a great ride along the way. He speaks to Gd. He rescues the Jews from Egypt. He wins wars. He teaches a nation the way of Gd. 2. And, of course, Moshe must die short of the mark, and this is perhaps his greatest lesson for leaders. Moshe must die short of the mark because the sign of a great leader is that he always has a ‘mark’ in front of him: When he achieves one goal, he sets the next. Moshe takes the Jews out of Egypt; time to go to Sinai. He reaches Sinai, time to get the Jews on the road to Israel. He gets the Jews on the road, time to teach them the Torah. His life is one long string of Dayyenus, and it never ends because it never can end. The true Moshe will always die short of the mark, because there will always be another mark, drawing him forward. Steroids: Use ‘em, or lose your job? Or the gemara on loving Gd “with all of your life, and with all that you possess.” The gemara explains that some people value their life highest, and some value their wealth highest, so that the pasuk needs to mention both. We laugh when we hear those lines - but steroid-pumping athletes have decided that their money is worth more than their lives. The athletes know the risk, they can even see the drugs’ intense effects on their bodies daily, but they take these drugs in pursuit of wealth, financial security, fame, success, etc. So what’s wrong with it? Why ban these drugs? After all, they are accessible to all athletes, so no one owns an unfair advantage! Some blame the prohibition on society’s puritan approach to pharmacology, but I have a different take: I think steroids ought to be banned because of their effect on players who don’t want to juice themselves. Consider this: Let’s say steroid use was legal, but you didn’t want to use it due to health concerns. If you were a baseball player of superb talent, serious team commitment and a solid work ethic, and you worked hard throughout high school and, perhaps, college and minor league ball, you might still earn a spot on a professional team and, at long last, pull down millions for your skills and effort. But then along comes another player whose work ethic isn’t quite as great as your own, but who is willing to take “the cream.” He bulks up, his vision improves, his bat speed improves, and suddenly you’re riding the bench while he’s riding high. What choice do you have? This is your career, how else will you feed your family? Besides, you’ve earned a spot on that team through your years of hard work! And so you get pressured into becoming a steroid user, harming your health for the sake of this game/job. How many good, hard-working players were shut out of baseball by Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, or Barry Bonds? Think of Wally Pipp losing his position at first base to Lou Gehrig, who went on to play the next thirteen years straight without missing a game; would we feel the same affection for Gehrig if we knew he had stolen Pipp’s job with drugs that Pipp refused to take? Worse - what if Gehrig had taken the job because of drug-enhanced skills, and then Pipp had resorted to drugs to get it back? I think that on some level it reminds us too much of the ancient Romans and their lions - it's not right to force the athletes to face the lions. That, to me, is why steroids ought to be illegal in pro sports: Because if some players are allowed to harm themselves for the job, then other players will be forced to do the same. So, too, we won’t tolerate a situation in which players are forced to harm themselves in order to play the game. Cynics carp that such cultural celebrations, like the president's marking of Eid al-Fitr this past October, are essentially political tools, meant to appeal to minority voters. But, I believe that the cynics are missing the point. The lesson of such occasions is that only in America, and in the societies America has inspired, can a minority gain this sort of political notice, this level of electoral significance. If the motivation is to win the favor of a cultural minority, that's a good thing, a sign of our country's democratic health. The Chinese government doesn't need to worry about catering to a minority, and neither do Arab nations; only in America does the president have to pause to think about the feelings of each ethnic group. Only in America will the president's staff contact the Orthodox Union and offer it the chance to invite four rabbis to celebrate Chanukah at the White House. And so, we marked Chanukah with a menorah from the family of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter brutally murdered by terrorists for the crime of being Jewish. Daniel Pearl's parents, wife and family were honored guests for the evening. And so, we enjoyed kosher food, prepared in the White House kitchen with equipment that had been specially treated to render it kosher. Cookies bore the phrase, ''Happy Chanukah,'' and we munched on traditional Chanukah jelly doughnuts beneath the portraits of past presidents and first ladies. And so, we heard the Jewish Zamir Chorale, as well as a military band, perform such Chanukah classics as ''Rock of Ages'' and ''I Had a Little Dreidel.'' Those big brass sections really add something to the traditional tunes. And, to return to those cynics for a moment: The Chanukah celebration at the White House was not entirely politically inspired; the White House also marks Chanukah privately, more quietly, with a commemoration for its Jewish employees.In a nation of businesses who stage ''holiday parties'' meant to serve as catch-all celebrations for employees of all ethnicities, this White House holds separate parties for White House staff members on their own holidays. This means that Jewish staff members have their own Chanukah party, not as part of the public celebration and not as part of some generic ''holiday'' celebration, but as a commemoration of their own. Would that our nation's businesses were similarly sensitive! America, after all of the constitutional legislation and all of the political debate, is culturally Christian. I walk the malls bemusedly staring at all of the red and green. I turn on the radio and hear holiday music, I drive down the street and see lone candles in the windows and chains of lights draped over shrubbery. The White House was filled with tinsel-decorated evergreen trees; even the invitation for the Chanukah party featured a picture of a festively decorated fir tree. But none of this troubles me. The beauty of America, at least to me, is that the citizens of this great nation can celebrate their own festivities and simultaneously recognize the celebrations of others. There's nothing groundbreaking here, just a few observations on the way kiruv is done, triggered by an article on New Jew. Last week, New Jew carried a link to a Jewish Federation of San Francisco article about an intermarried woman celebrating both Jewish and Christian December holidays. New Jew was perturbed by a Federation’s use of its tzedakah dollars to promote an intermarried lifestyle. I am troubled, too, but I see this issue in the context of a greater question: How do we reach out to intermarried couples - or to anyone, really - in a manner that is simultaneously honest, respectful and substantive? Some take the tack of closing the door entirely. They refuse to insult the intelligence of the intermarried by pretending to accept them, and they refuse to bend on the issue of acceptance. The positive side is that they are entirely honest and upfront. The negative side is that although the occasional Jew is brought home by this ostracism, those are exceedingly rare exceptions. On the other extreme, some embrace the intermarried and tell them to come as they are, wherever they are, pledging an open heart, open arms and an open mind no matter the sins being embraced. The positive side is that they give the transgressor every opportunity to repent, on any level - even that of a single mitzvah. The negative side is that there is usually - although not always - an inherent dishonesty involved in the “openness” pledge. My experience is that many mekarvim who take this approach are not usually sincere about it; they are just taking the path of least resistance into people’s hearts. Then you have the approach of that San Francisco Federation - to openly and honestly accept the intermarried couple where they are, actively and vocally supporting their choices. This is also the approach of the Jewish Outreach Institute, known particularly for their Mothers Circle program. The positive side is that they are honest in their respect for all choices. The negative side is this question: What sort of Judaism and Jewish community are we marketing here, if we recognize intermarriage as a choice we will support, and even promote? And then there’s a fourth approach: Respectful disagreement, delivered with open arms. By this I mean that the mekarev recognizes the Gd-given right of Free Will, which empowers every human being to make independent decisions. That doesn’t mean that I agree with or support your choices, just that I respect your right to make them. I can advise you of my own opinion and present my arguments, and you can do the same in return, and either one of us will convince the other or not, but we will emerge with the recognition of each other’s integrity. The positive side: It’s honest and forthright and accepting, and the mekarev gets to present his point of view. The negative side: It’s probably more accepting than some would like, and may not have the greatest success because it’s not a hard-sell tactic. I advocate this fourth approach. It’s anchored in a Torah-based tolerance, as well as a Torah-based sense of responsibility to engage others in discussions of mitzvos and aveiros, so I’m comfortable with it, and it has worked well for me. As I said, no novelties here; just my musings, triggered by that article. The chamber is beautifully appointed, a fittingly luxurious bedroom for the viceroy’s father… but illness burdens its sole occupant. Yaakov, knowing he is near the end of his storied life, calls for his son. This son rarely visits, as evidenced by the fact that a special courier must inform him that Yaakov is ill… but, at last, the son enters. The viceroy of Egypt, Tzafnat Paneach to his Egyptian court, Yosef ben Rachel to his father, enters the room. Yaakov speaks. He pleads with his son, “Please, grant me this one request: When I die, return my body to Canaan, to the cemetery of my ancestors.” What son could refuse such a plea from his father? And yet, Yaakov feels the need to twice demand an oath from Tzafnat Paneach, viceroy of Egypt: “Swear to me. Swear you will fulfill my last wish." And then the bedridden Yaakov bows in gratitude to his son. What happened?! In a Torah filled with dysfunctional family relationships, Yaakov and Yosef were an island of love, a model for their descendants! Yaakov gave Yosef a ktonet pasim, a special tunic, to mark Yosef’s favor! Yaakov sent his other children to herd sheep, but sheltered Yosef at home! Yaakov mourned Yosef’s absence every day for 22 years; contrast that with his utter non-reaction when Shimon was imprisoned in Egypt! How did this loving father and son lose their closeness such that now they never met, such that Yaakov felt the need to bow to Yosef, such that Yaakov felt compelled to twice demand an oath of him for the most basic request? The Siftei Chachamim commentary to Rashi on last week’s parshah suggested that Yaakov didn’t believe that Yosef was alive because he couldn’t conceive of a situation in which Yosef, his loyal Jewish son, could be permitted to reign in Egypt. What kind of job is Egyptian viceroy for a nice Jewish boy? Now, though, Yaakov sees his son indeed reigning in Egypt - and he fears that Yosef is no longer a “nice Jewish boy,” that Yosef has, in fact, been Egyptianized. Just as Yishmael and Esav had rejected the path of Avraham and Sarah to adopt Canaanite ways, Yosef has now left the fold, becoming an Egyptian citizen. In fact, Yosef does appear to have become an Egyptian, based on the Torah’s definition of citizenship. Mordechai Zer-Kavod suggested in an essay entitled הנכרי והגר במקרא, “The Foreigner and the Stranger in Tanach,” that the Torah recognizes four categories of citizen: Ezrach, Ger Toshav, Ger and Nochri. An Ezrach, a full citizen, is entitled to political rights and social support, and shoulders communal obligations. A Ger Toshav has fewer rights and responsibilities. The Ger, the sojourner, possesses still fewer rights and responsibilities, and the Nochri, the stranger, has no claims upon, or responsibility toward, the community. The first three generations of Jewish history see Jews in the three sub-citizen roles of Ger Toshav, Ger and Nochri; neither Avraham nor Yitzchak nor Yaakov become true אזרחים, true citizens, anywhere they live. Avraham and Sarah are everybody’s best friends; they are close with Aner, Eshkol and Mamre; Avraham befriends Malki Tzedek of Shalem; Avraham and Sarah welcome outsiders into their home. Despite this extroversion, though, Avraham identified himself only as a Ger Toshav; he had the right to purchase land and to live among the Canaanites in peace, but he was not an Ezrach, he was not of them. Yitzchak and Rivkah were less engaged in society; they interacted only with the Philistines of Grar, and that was quite a debacle. In fact, the midrash (cited in Rashi on Shmos 12:40 and elsewhere) notes that the prediction of גר יהיה זרעך, that Avraham’s descendants would be Gerim, sojourners in a land not their own, was first fulfilled with Yitzchak. And then it gets worse - Yaakov’s family can’t seem to get along with anybody! Their contacts are with Esav, Lavan and Shechem, each one a bigger disaster than the last. Yaakov is a Yosheiv Ohalim, a tent-dweller, and that seems to be where he fares best; the world, for him, is a series of dangers. Yaakov is practically a Nochri in his own land. The disastrous foray to Egypt for food, viewed from the perspective of Yaakov’s sons, must have seemed like more of the same. But then Yosef reverses the trend of social estrangement; he fulfills every biblical criterion of Ezrach, of citizen, as an Egyptian. An Ezrach is a permanent resident, while a Ger intends to stay temporarily, לגור שם. Yosef intends to remain in Egypt until his death, as evidenced by his request for burial in Canaan. An Ezrach owns land; Gerim live בארץ לא להם, in a land not their own. Yosef claims land in Goshen. And so Yaakov wonders if his son, Yosef, has gone the way of Yishmael and Esav, abandoning his Jewish heritage and identifying as an Ezrach, a citizen of Egypt, instead. But while Yaakov sees Yosef walk like an Egyptian, but Yosef yet thinks like a Jew. Yosef has acquired Egyptian citizenship without abandoning his Jewish identity. First, Yosef never forgets that he is in exile. When naming Ephraim, he labels Egypt ארץ עניי, the land of my suffering, even though he is now the Egyptian viceroy. He asks that his bones be returned to Israel, another sign that even if he will not leave Egypt alive, this is still not home for him. Second, every step of the way, Yosef identifies himself as an Ivri. Like Avraham before him, Yosef emphasizes that he comes from a different place and tribe. Yosef even tells Paroh that his success is Jewish, credited to only one source, the Jewish Gd; הלא לאלקים פתרונים. Yosef is a new breed of Jew, a break from the model of his ancestors, a Jew who can not only survive among the nations, but who can even lead, using his Jewish identity as the basis for his leadership. This should not be viewed as a quirk of Yosef; Yosef’s participation in the whole of the human community is the model prescribed by R’ Shimshon Raphael Hirsch for the MenschYisroel, the complete Jew. This is Yosef - Concerned with the salvation of the whole of mankind and taking a leadership role within society… as a Jew. Yosef’s path has never been the path of every Jew. For every cosmopolitan Rambam, for every political Shemuel haNagid and Abarbanel, for every influential Rabbi Yehudah haNasi, dozens if not hundreds of Torah giants have stood back from society, considering the influence of the greater world a poison without antidote - and the world has been quite content with that separation. Today, though, in America and beyond, the Jew is summoned to lead secular society. Socially, politically, scientifically, morally, philanthropically, the body politic turns to the Jew and asks, “What can you provide?” Congressional hearings on medical ethics routinely solicit Jewish opinion, victims of international disasters seek Israeli aid, non-profit organizations appeal to Jewish philanthropies, newspapers and television pundits ask the Jewish community for comment, Jews are accepted as professors and authors and politicians and producers and members of every level of the workforce. Every opportunity of which the ghetto-bound Jew was deprived is available to her descendant. Given this opportunity to seek what Hirsch termed “the salvation of the whole of mankind,” and given this opportunity for Kiddush HaShem, we would ill-serve the purposes of Torah were we to back away into our Ohalim. Certainly, we must tread carefully, as Yosef did - informing the world of our Ivri status and retaining an awareness that secular society is not truly home. But we can do this; Yosef is given to us as a model. Yosef leads as a Jew - and we can do the same. This past December 10th, the 7th night of Chanukah, Caren and I were privileged to be invited to the Chanukah party held by the President and First Lady at the White House. The event was remarkable on many levels, but one particularly relevant point is the way we were honored as Jewish leaders in America. The food was all kosher - with two certifications, of course - a kosher menorah was lit, a maariv minyan was held, every possible halachic concern was satisfied. This was a celebration for us as Jews, because we are Jewish, because we visibly retain our identity, even as we are active members of American society. We are the heirs of Avraham the Ger Toshav, and the heirs of Yosef the Ezrach. The models of Yitzchak and Yaakov remain very much a crucial part of Torah - we need to have people sitting and studying Torah in the Ohel - but in this land of opportunity we have been given the greatest opportunity, the chance, as Hirsch said, to work for the salvation of the whole of mankind. Like Yosef, we can shoulder this responsibility - and, with Gd’s help, like Yosef, we will succeed. 1. The affection seems to go from Yosef to Yaakov as well - from the moment Yosef meets his brothers in Egypt, he can’t stop asking them how his father Yaakov is doing. And when Yosef reveals his identity and then speaks of Yaakov, he refers to his father four times - and he doesn’t say אבינו, our father, but rather, all four times he says אבי, my father. 2. In terms of Yaakov's suspicions: Although Yaakov gives Yosef a double portion in Israel, he eliminates Yosef’s name; the double portion will instead be given to Yosef’s sons, Ephraim and Menasheh! 4. A side note: Yaakov demands an oath from Yosef. Yaakov’s first speaking part in the Torah, his purchase of the bechorah, ends with him demanding the same thing, saying השבעה לי כיום. 5. Note that there were also Jews who fulfilled this Yosef "citizen" role in the days of the Gemara; cf the discussion of Jews who travel among the aristocracy wearing the קומי haircut, such as Sotah 49b. Side note: I will be interviewed briefly on our local NPR station, WDIY 88.1 FM, tonight at 6:30 PM. The show is called “Lehigh Valley Discourse,” and they’ll be asking me about my trip to the White House for the December 10th Chanukah party. I feel like between articles and the derashah I’ve said pretty much everything I can about the event already - but if you’re curious, feel free to tune in. Rechovot is expanding! I’ve decided to use some of this space to describe successful programs I’ve seen, or that I’ve heard about from others. One of my all-time favorite programs was a small project we ran in 1998, when I was the rabbi of Congregation Ohawe Sholam, Young Israel of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The goal: We wanted to get people involved in regular Torah study, as families, but had not succeeded with a few different attempts. So we decided to try “The Chumash Project,” an exercise in collaborative learning. This is not much different from the Chevra Mishnayos or Siyum Nach concept, but we did it with families, and we used Chumash to encourage participation by children as well as by people with little Jewish educational background. We ran this between Simchat Torah and Chanukah. Individuals and families signed up for parshiyyot (Torah portions), which they studied on their own. Their names appeared on a poster we placed, prominently, in the shul lobby. Some simply read the parshah with translation, while others did it with commentary. Some did it in one sitting, others spaced it out. But everyone sat down to learn through at least one parshah. We celebrated at the end with a big Siyum and associated seudah (meal), with divrei torah from individuals on the portions they had learned. And then we did it again, because everyone was so excited about it. And then we did it a third time. Presumably we would have done it several times more, perhaps adding books of Neviim (Prophets), but I moved from Rhode Island in June of 2001. You can see some information about the program on-line at the Ohawe Sholam website, here. The cost of the whole enterprise, both financially and in terms of my time, was minimal. The benefit to individual participants was that they sat down to learn a fixed amount during a fixed period of time. The benefit to the community was that it helped create an atmosphere of learning, and drew new people into the program each time. Low cost, big shul and communal benefit… what more could you want? This, unlike much of the other material posted so far on this blog, was not a derashah; it’s just a thought which may, one day, make it into a speech…or not. I plead guilty to the charge of humbuggery. Presents beget the expectation of more presents; the more gifts my children receive from our relatives, the more they expect to receive tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. And so I have soured on the whole gift-giving phenomenon; I feel it spoils kids (and adults!), conditioning them to expect such favors incessantly. Obviously, this is inspired somewhat by the just-past Chanukah celebration, but it applies year-round – birthdays, random visits from family, even lollipops in shul. Still, I can’t go too far along those lines without remembering that Judaism revolves around gift-giving. Avraham gives presents to the children of his concubines, and Yaakov gives Yosef a special tunic. Granted the tunic didn’t work out so well, it’s the thought that counts, right? We give gifts of food on Purim, as prescribed in Megilat Esther. All year round we give gifts of tzedakah to those in need, and we also have a special mitzvah of tzedakah gifts on Purim. Farmers are expected to provide מתנות עניים, gifts for the needy, from their fields – the Peah corner of the field, the gleanings, etc. All of us are expected to provide מתנות כהונה, gifts for Kohanim, from produce as well as from animals. The gemara says one ought to give his family members gifts for each Yom Tov, to increase their holiday joy. The gemara even offers gift ideas – toys for kids, new clothes for women, and wine for men (but please, give non-alcoholic grape juice for those who are sensitive to wine!). But I think part of it is also a way to build up generosity toward HaShem. The korban is the ultimate gift, a way to “give to Gd,” if such a thing were possible. We offer something of our own to Gd, as a way to demonstrate love – and the more familiar we are with giving away something of our own, the more readily this act will come to us. This is somewhat reminiscent of the practice of honoring parents as a means to sensitize ourselves to honoring our Creator. So I’ll live with the whole gift phenomenon, and muddle through it. But I really would be happier if my kids would learn to give – to friends and to Gd - rather than to receive. Thousands of years ago, they say, two brothers lived on either side of a hill. One brother had a wife and many children, the other brother lived alone. Each brother brought home an excellent harvest. The brother with the large family said to himself, “My brother lives alone, he should at least have wealth,” and so he decided to secretly bring his brother grain, in the middle of the night. The brother who lived alone said to himself, “My brother has to support an entire family,” and decided to secretly bring him grain, in the middle of the night. The two were surprised to meet each other in the middle. They embraced, and Gd declared that on the spot of their selflessness, the Beis haMikdash would be built. Of course, there’s also a second version of that story, in which the brother with the large family said to himself, “My brother has no one to support, he doesn’t need all that grain.” The brother who lived alone said to himself, “My brother has a huge family, his kids can work for him; I need the grain more.” And so each set out for the other side, to steal the other’s grain for himself. The two met in the middle and fought, and Gd declared that on that spot, the Kenesset would be built. But all kidding aside, the story of the brothers is obviously not consistent with Torah. The Torah tells us how the spot of the Beis haMikdash was selected - it was the spot at which Avraham offered his son, Yitzchak, as a gift to Gd! According to the midrash, this was also the spot at which Yaakov declared, in this morning’s parshah, that he would give Gd 1/10 of everything Gd would provide him! Apparently, this spot was selected for the relationship between Man and Gd, not for the relationship between people! And, of course, from a historical perspective, the story seems to have started as an Arab legend about Al-Aqsa, not a Jewish story about the Beis haMikdash. We know this - and yet the story resonates with us. We like it, we tell it to our children. Not because we are suckers for a good story, but because the story captures the central element of both the Akeidah of Yitzchak, and Yaakov’s offer to Gd. The Akeidah, and Yaakov’s vow, sound like they are about Man and Gd, but they are really about selflessness. Avraham is so driven to give that he will tear down his life’s work and offer it up on the altar. Yitzchak is so driven to give that he will give up his life on that altar. Yaakov is so driven to give that in a moment of bleak poverty and hopelessness he is willing to pledge away the wealth that will come to him in the future. On that site of selflessness, we can have a Beis haMikdash - a place where we will selflessly bring our Korbanot, and a place where Gd will selflessly overlook our sins and forgive us. The problem, though, is that as much as the message of selflessness resonates with us, our historical reality has been one of selfishness. Yosef’s brothers worried about what they would get for themselves, and so they sold Yosef into slavery. The Jews in the desert worried about what they would get for themselves, and rebelled against Moshe. וישמן ישורון ויבעט, even when we have been wealthy we have kicked at Gd and demanded whatever we could get. The gemara (Bava Metzia 30b) says לא נחרבה ירושלים אלא...מפני שהעמידו דיניהם על דין תורה, ולא עבדו לפנים משורת הדין, Yerushalayim was destroyed as a punishment for the fact that people demanded their due under the law, and refused to forgive their rights. When we want to know who lost Yerushalayim, when we look at the Annapolis negotiations and see a government prepared to split this city, we should realize that we lost Yerushalayim, whenever we were selfish. There is much we can do for the sake of Yerushalayim. There are letters to write. Gd-willing I’ll be sending out an email this week listing addresses of powerful people who should hear from us that Yerushalayim should not be on the table. We should discuss Yerushalayim, learn about Yerushalayim, and - most important - we should make sure that our children understand its importance, because even after this round is over, Yerushalayim will come up again. Four years ago Yossi Beilin tried to put Yerushalayim on the table with the Geneva Accords, and within four years from now someone else will try again, and we need to be ready, our children need to be ready. But more than that, Religious Zionism teaches that we must eliminate the selfishness. If Religious Zionism simply means “I want Israel because I believe in the religious teachings about its past,” if Religious Zionism means I have a birthright in Israel because the Bible says so, then Religious Zionism is empty and should be discarded. Religious Zionism must also mean a commitment to the basic narrative of merit and sin, of believing that a birthright is only a start, and our righteousness is what earns us the city and the land. And so we must commit ourselves to following the model of Avraham and Yitzchak at the Akeidah, and Yaakov in this morning’s parshah, and giving of ourselves. we must commit to selflessness. Five weeks ago, on Parshas Noach, I spoke about the need for צדקה ומשפט, righteousness and justice. Both of those begin with our commitment to overlook our own rights, and instead work on behalf of the rights of others. At the start of our parshah, Yaakov was promised Divine protection; he saw angels descending a ladder, coming to watch over him during his trip to Charan. In the middle of our parshah, those angels came to Yaakov and made sure he would not be cheated by his father-in-law, Lavan. At the end of our parshah, as Yaakov returned to Israel, he again encountered angels; he watched the departure of those who had protected him outside Israel, and the arrival of his Israeli protectors. We invoke those angels whenever we go on a trip; we say Tfilas haDerech, the Traveler’s Prayer, and we recite the psukim of Yaakov’s arrival at Machanaim and his encounter with those angels. We ask for that protection for ourselves. Religious Zionism teaches us not only that the past of Yerushalayim is in our hands, but that the future of Yerushalayim is in our hands. We will write our letters. We will learn about Yerushalayim. We will speak to our children about Yerushalayim. And we will give of ourselves. Yaakov was willing to give of himself, and therefore he was protected. We are promised that if we are willing to give, we will receive the same. 1. Should we be bothered by the fact that the opening story is taught to our children in day school as though it were Torah miSinai? 2. At what point are we selflessly foregoing our rights, and at what point are we simply being patsies? 3. When we say Tefilas haDerech we talk about the angels from Yaakov's return to Israel, rather than his return to Israel? Note: This was the third of three speeches delivered in honor of Israel's 60th birthday. For twenty centuries, Jews have been accustomed to viewing non-Jewish populations large and small as enemies. We have looked to Yaakov’s actions at the start of this morning’s parshah as precedent for every encounter with a foreign group - whether dealing with biblical empires, feudal lords or hostile mobs, we have been, perenially, on the defensive. But in Israel, at the age of 60, we are no longer a true exile nation, a minority without political clout; instead, we make the rules. Yaakov’s precedent cannot inform the actions of today’s Israel, a land in which no matter how hostile the minority population may be, they will never, in the normal course of affairs, pose a serious existential threat to the country as a whole. Instead, it is the Jewish population that has the non-Jewish population at its mercy; everything from basic municipal services to civil rights depends entirely on Jewish say-so. This became a major issue last month, during Druse riots in the Israeli city of Pekiin, when questions were raised about the way Israeli police handled the Druse citizens. When dealing from a position of power, how do we address a non-Jewish minority? Must all non-Jewish nations be viewed automatically as the enemy, or can we admit the possibility that another nation, and a minority among us, might have a claim upon our aid and support? And if so, then what happens when resources are limited, and we need to divide them between the Jewish majority and the non-Jewish minority? In short: Does the Torah present us with a model for Jewish government of an Arab minority? The answer, of course, is Yes - or this would be a very short speech. First, the Torah tells us that every society, Jewish and non-Jewish, is expected to live by a minimum standard of morality, as defined by the Torah. When HaShem first tells Avraham that He is going to evict the Canaanites in favor of Avraham’s descendants, He tells Avraham that the reason for this eviction is כי לא שלם עון האמרי עד הנה, that the sin of the Canaanite Emori is not yet complete. Meaning: Gd has certain expectations of the Canaanites, and the Canaanites are not meeting those expectations. In Avraham’s day their guilt is not quite great enough to warrant their destruction, but Gd expects that by the time the Jews emerge from Egypt, the Canaanites will be so corrupt that the time will have arrived for their punishment. This message of obligatory moral standards underlies numerous catastrophes in Bereishis. The Mabul, the destruction of the tower of Bavel, the demolition of Sdom, all of these speak to the idea that a population must meet an expected standard of moral behavior, in order to deserve survival. This minimum standard is the שבע מצוות בני נח, the seven Noachide laws: Not to worship idols, Not to kill, Not to commit sexual immorality, Not to steal, Not to blaspheme against Gd, To kill an animal before taking its flesh to eat, and to set up a judicial system. A population that accepts this standard deserves survival - and then we are obligated to help them survive. As Rav Aharon Soloveitchik explained (in Od Yisrael Yosef Bni Chai) based on the Rambam, we are obligated to support them with tzedakah, providing them with the means to survive. If they live in Israel they are also obligated to pay taxes to the government, but we are responsible to take care of them, in general, and make sure they have what they need. Second, we are obligated to create Kiddush HaShem, acting toward them in such a way that they will come to respect HaShem and HaShem’s Torah. The best illustration of this obligation is Yehoshua’s pact with the Givonim. Gd told the Jews, before their entry into Israel, that they would have to carry out the mission of evicting the 7 nations. However, we are taught that before the Jews first entered Israel, they sent messages to those seven nations, offering a chance for peace and acceptance of the seven Noachide laws. None of the nations accepted this offer. Then, once the Jews had entered Israel and won a couple of wars, the Canaanite residents of Givon, also known as Givonim, decided that peace might be a good option after all. But they had a problem: The Jewish peace offer had already expired! So the Givonim sent messengers who pretended to have come from far away, wearing torn clothes and bringing stale food, so that the Jews wouldn’t realize that they were actually from the seven nations. The ploy worked; the Jews agreed to spare the Givonim, and only afterward did they find out that these were people who were supposed to be evicted. The pact had been signed on fraudulent terms! On discovering they had been cheated, Yehoshua and the Jews could have legitimately voided their pact - but they didn’t. Instead, they upheld their contract because they had given their word. They were concerned about what people would think, if they heard that the Jewish people had reneged. This is the element of Kiddush HaShem, of making sure that our actions toward the minority are Kiddush HaShem, sanctifying the reputation of the Torah we uphold. So we have said that a Jewish majority is obligated to support its non-Jewish minority if they keep the seven mitzvos, and that we are further obligated to fulfill Kiddush HaShem, sanctifying Gd’s Name. But there’s an additional, punitive step: If we don’t take care of this minority, we will suffer for it. The evidence is in the further story of the Givonim. As punishment for their fraud, the Givonim were put to work supplying water and wood for the Mishkan. In return, they were supported by the Kohanim. Many years later, Shaul haMelech destroyed Nov, a city of Kohanim - and the result was that many Givonim, who had depended upon Nov for support, died of starvation. After this, there was a three-year famine in Israel - and Shaul’s successor, Dovid haMelech, was informed prophetically that the reason his nation was starving was because the Givonim were suffering. HaShem thus provided us with a harsh lesson: We are responsible for the welfare of the minorities in our midst. Before anyone runs away with this, let me state explicitly that I’m not suggesting this applies fully to the Palestinian Arabs, many of whom have a problem with a couple of those Noachide mitzvos. But the underlying principle is still relevant: We don’t treat all other nations as automatic enemies, and when they live among us we are responsible for their welfare. For the Druse, and for any other Arab population which might choose to live in peace in Israel, we are obligated to follow this model of the Torah. This applies far beyond Israel, too; whenever we are in a position of power, even if we have the moral ground, we are still responsible to look out for the welfare of those around us. ויירא יעקב מאד ויצר לו, we read this morning, as Yaakov prepared to meet his brother, Esav. “Yaakov was afraid, and he was troubled.” The midrash explains that Yaakov was afraid of being killed, and he was troubled that he might kill another. Although Yaakov knew he was dealing with an enemy, Yaakov did not wish to kill, even for his own survival. As Yaakov’s descendants, we, too, would avoid such actions. מעשה אבות סימן לבנים, the lesson of our ancestors is clear: We must be prepared for all options, just as Yaakov was prepared for all options in the beginning of our parshah, but if true peace is offered by a minority prepared to observe its Noachide mitzvos, then we ought to be glad to accept, to provide them with their needs and even at our own expense, and to act toward them in a manner of Kiddush HaShem. 1. What happens when you believe the minority is working against you? 2. Who is the arbiter of "Kiddush HaShem" and "proper support" when you believe you are doing enough, and they disagree? 3. How does tie in to Zer-Kavod's concept of the Ger vs the Ger Toshav, in http://mikranet.cet.ac.il/pages/item.asp?item=14178? With just four words the prophet Zecharyah summed up a problem which plagued the Jews of his generation - and which persists in plaguing us twenty-five hundred years later. In Zecharyah’s day, like today, Jews lived in assimilated exile, then gained a homeland due to the mercy of a foreign power - they gained it from the Persian Empire, we gained it from the UN. In Zecharyah’s day, like today, most Jews opted to remain in exile rather than move to their restored homeland. Twenty-five hundred years later, we, too, degrade the Yom Ketanot. We, too, contrast our present with our past and find today’s progress depressingly insufficient. Last week we marked the 60th anniversary of November 29, 1947, the day the UN approved Partition and the formation of a Jewish state alongside an Arab state. It’s true, November 29, 1947, was a great day, and it cannot be compared to today’s progress. That day re-wrote the story of Jewish identity, Jewish activity, Jewish learning and Jewish life, entirely transforming what it means to be a Jew. Just two years earlier Jews had no place to go, no refuge from the Holocaust; now we suddenly had a place to go - and Jews used it, coming from Yemen and Iran and Egypt and Ethopia and the former Soviet Union and Argentina and France. With the demolition of European Jewry, the Yeshivot died and Torah was adrift - but now the remaining seeds found a place to take hold, sprout and thrive, so that today we have a home for yeshivot and study, and Jews from around the world can go to Israel to spend a month or a year or a lifetime immersed in Torah. A beaten and downtrodden nation had lost its pride, and the next generation asked itself, “What future can there be for a Jew?” And November 29th answered the question with an emphatic exclamation point - Yes, there is a future for the Jew! And now, sixty years later, immersed in wars both cold and hot, drowning in intramural religious and political strife, working incrementally on questionable peace treaties and investigating corrupt governments, we, like Zecharyah’s generation, are בז ליום קטנות, we degrade this modern day of small progress. But Zecharyah, in the Haftorah of this morning, offered a solution for our national Jewish lethargy. Zecharyah taught that for us to hope, to accomplish, to again move mountains, we need to train ourselves to look past small potatoes and eye big things. Zecharyah promoted the idea that the day of Big Things is not over. In our Haftorah, Zecharyah envisioned Yehoshua, the Kohen Gadol of his day, clad in בגדים צואים, filthy clothing. The filth of Yehoshua’s clothing represented our exile, our sense that we will never cut it, that we will never have a Beis haMikdash. And in Zecharyah’s vision, HaShem told a malach to remove Yehoshua’s filthy clothing and replace it with resplendent Bigdei Kehunah, the glorious garments of the Kohen Gadol. Stop seeing yourselves as terminally small; you are Bnei Yisrael, and you will have a Beis haMikdash, and a Kohen Gadol, and all of their associated splendor. Just visualize it. The solution to being בז ליום קטנות, the way to stop degrading the day of small things, is to break away from the everyday and think BIG, to think of BIG ideas and to develop BIG dreams. The lesson is as true today as it was in Zecharyah’s day, and it is as applicable for personal lives as it is on the national scene. When we are forced to spend our time on picayune duties when we find our horizon reduced to the few feet in front of our faces, when we become בז ליום קטנות, it’s time to retrain our vision on Big things, to realize that Yehoshua does not have to wear בגדים צואים, filthy clothes, but instead he wears the uniform of the Kohen Gadol. When the emotionally eroding tasks of parenting children through sibling squabbles, homework hassles and bedtime battles take their toll, we can turn our eyes to the Big picture, to their ultimate health and spirituality and happiness, realizing that if they are learning, if they are healthy, if they are happy, then these little day-to-day specifics are all adding up to something great, and we are accomplishing something big. When the small defeats in our spiritual growth wear us down, when we grow tired of the challenge of getting up and davening daily or watching every word for lashon hara, we can turn to the canvas of our big achievements - keeping kosher, keeping Shabbos, performing acts of Chesed for each other. Yosef, day-to-day slave and prisoner, understood he could channel Divine wisdom, and so he got out of jail. The Chashmonaim, contending with day-to-day internal strife and intimidating odds, envisioned themselves battling the Greek empire, and created the Nes Chanukah. And Zecharyah, and his partner navi Chaggai, dealing with day-to-day poverty and ignorance and logistics, convinced the Jews they could restore the Beis haMikdash. What it took was that vision of Yehoshua shedding his filthy clothes, and donning the grandeur of the Kohen Gadol. We might ask: When we turn from everyday smallness to the Big picture, what guarantee do we have that we will succeed in reaching that great goal? This was the second part of Zecharyah’s vision of Yehoshua Kohen Gadol. The filth of Yehoshua’s clothing represented the message of every prophet the Jews have ever known - the criticisms of Moshe and Eliyahu, of Yeshayah and Yirmiyah, of Amos and Micha - the message that we, as a nation, don’t measure up, that we, as a nation, are immersed in sin and have lost our worth. But after HaShem removed the filthy clothing from Yehoshua, He told Zecharyah to tell the people, ראה העברתי מעליך עוניך, behold, I have removed your sins from you. You are worthy, and I will help you. The Big things will come, לא בחיל ולא בכח, not through wealth and strength, כי אם ברוחי, but rather through HaShem’s assistance. This is why I can turn my attention from day-to-day smallness, why I can believe in the Big Picture - Because I believe in Zecharyah promise that Gd will help me achieve those Big goals. The Gemara (Sotah 48b) conveys the same message through another take on Zecharyah’s line, מי בז ליום קטנות. The Gemara reads it homiletically as מי בז ליום? What caused our day to be degraded? What caused us to lose our strength? קטנות, a smallness, a lack of belief that we deserve HaShem’s help. The answer to our question is that HaShem will help us reach those Big goals. To quote Rav Elisha Aviner again, in the context of the situation in Israel, לא עת להפנות עורף למדינה, לא עת לסלוד מהחברה הישראלית - It is not the time to turn our backs on the state, it is not the time to step back from the community. The same message applies to us here. The יום קטנות is not a day to become depressed and cowed. Rather, this is a day to think Big, to plan Big, and to trust Zecharyah’s promise of כי אם ברוחי, that HaShem will bring us the rest of the way. 2. Surely the mishnah in Pirkei Avos, אל תהי רשע בפני עצמך, fits into this theme. 3. When do we look at our poverty and say "We can make this big," and when do we say, "We're on the wrong path?" The White House Chanukah celebration was fantastic. We heard the Marine Band play “I had a little dreidel” and saw Malcolm Hoenlein and Senator Lieberman, among other celebrities. The highlight, for me, was the moment when we entered the room where the president was, and I looked up and saw him, standing just a few feet from us. I’m a native New Yorker, I lived in Manhattan and went to school there for more than a decade, I think I don’t lose my breath easily - but I have to admit that I just gasped when I saw him. And there was another highlight - I have to admit, I came away with pockets full of napkins bearing the Presidential Seal. Rabban Shimon bar Yochai was asked by his students, regarding Purim, “Why did the Jews of that generation deserve destruction?” Even though tragedy is not always a result of sin, the first response of a Jew is to ask whether he deserves whatever trouble he is experiencing, and so the students wanted to know if some sin was the cause of our vulnerability to Haman. In reply, Rabban Shimon bar Yochai pointed to the beginning of Megilat Esther, and Achashverosh’s party. He said that the Jews were punished for attending Achashverosh’s feast. Even though the Jews attended out of fear of looking unpatriotic if they didn’t go, they should not have attended. So I rode down to Washington wondering whether this was the equivalent of attending Achashverosh’s celebration. I was certainly surrendering certain mitzvah opportunities in order to go - I davened Minchah and Maariv privately instead of with a minyan (there was a maariv minyan in the White House, but I didn’t know that until later). I lit Menorah very late at night. I spent significant money on train tickets, money that might have gone for tzedakah. Was I doing all of this just to go to an Achashverosh party? I especially wondered about this as I looked around the rooms at the celebration and saw Satmar and Lubavitcher Chassidim, and a few black-hatted gentlemen who were from various Yeshivos. What were we doing there, in a White House dominated by evergreen trees and tinsel? But upon further reflection I saw two key differences between our event and Achashverosh’s meal. First, the two parties sent opposite messages about the future of the Jewish people. The Gemara explains why Achashverosh held his big party: It was to celebrate the exile of the Jews from Israel. A little bit of history - our neviim predicted that after the destruction of the first Beis haMikdash by the Babylonians, we were to be exiled for 70 years, and then return to Israel. There were at least three different ways to count the seventy years, and based on Achashverosh’s count, the seventy years were now up, and we had not returned to Israel. To him, this was a sign that we were exiled for good, and Gd had abandoned us - and so he made a party, and so the Jews attended a party marking their own downfall. To me, that’s one difference between Achashverosh’s feast and the White House Chanukah celebration: Achashverosh was marking the demise of the Jews, the White House was marking the strength of the Jews. Here we were in the center of power of the nation that is still the world’s only superpower, celebrating Chanukah. As I said in The Allentown Morning Call this past Thursday, America is a remarkable country and its democracy an incredible system, the way it honors minorities. Even if this honor is a political nod intended to earn votes, it shows that in the American system, everyone matters. We matter - and we have a future. Second, the two parties sent opposite messages about the importance of Jewish identity. Achashverosh’s party marked the downfall of the Jews and of separate Jewish identity, and by participating, the Jews themselves signaled that they had bought into his message. In contrast, the White House celebration marked the vitality of Jewish identity, and of Torah, for America’s Jews. The fact that this was a kosher dinner, the fact that the president extended the bulk of his invitations to the Torah-observant community, shows that we matter specifically as Jews, and as standard-bearers for Torah. We were there because we are Jewish, we are popular because we retain our Jewish identity. It’s really only logical that our identity should matter, and that we should be there as Jews and Torah-observers, specifically. If I were to adopt the label of a political movement, if I were to identify as an Environmentalist or a Progressive or a Free-Marketer or a Globalist, and I didn’t have the name “Jew” in my title and I didn’t include Judaism in my mission statement, then why would I belong at a Chanukah party? This was a true Kiddush HaShem, a sanctification of Gd’s Name. Our influence as Jews, and our recognition as Jews, has come because we have retained our identity. These two messages - about the future of the Jewish community and about the importance of Jewish identity - apply far beyond the White House Chanukah celebration and our representation in the corridors of power. This message is for our daily lives. Our day-to-day existence in this benevolent and wealthy land has the potential to go either way, to be a White House Kiddush HaShem or to be Seudaso shel Achashverosh. Earning a living at work, going to a park or restaurant, taking part in a community initiative, we can choose to bury our Judaism as was done at Achashverosh’s party, or to highlight it in the way that we did at the White House. If I take off my yarmulka to attend a sporting event, if I hide my Judaism at work, if I deny to the world that I am part of this Jewish nation, then my life in America is attendance at Achashverosh’s seudah - I am enjoying the pleasures of this land, and paying a price by surrendering my Jewish identity. But if I wear my yarmulka proudly, if I let people know I am Jewish, if I unabashedly support Israel and promote the ideals of my Judaism, then I create Kiddush HaShem, and I earn the right to celebrate Chanukah in the corridors of power. The Gemara asks why Gd told us to light a Menorah in the Beis haMikdash each night, year-round. After all, Gd is the provider of all light - Gd doesn’t need our illumination! To which the Gemara replies that the Menorah’s light teaches us a major lesson: שהשכינה שורה בישראל, that the Shechinah is manifest among us. The light of the Menorah signals that we, as a nation, matter, that there is significance to being a Jew, to living as a Jew. This light was on display in the White House this past Monday evening, the 7th night of Chanukah; may it be equally displayed in our actions every day and night of our lives. 1. Tragedy is not always a result of sin - see the gemara at the end of Chullin, as well as Moed Katan 28a. 2. Achashverosh's party was also kosher. Serving Kosher food can be a temptation for assimilation - See, you can still be Jewish even if you become like us - or it can be a display of respect. 3. Does attendance at this party override minyan, or lighting Menorah on time? Why? 4. Why does the Menorah's light, in particular, show that the Shechinah is among us? Is it to replicate the pillar of fire in the Midbar?

2019-04-20T04:59:01Z

http://rechovot.blogspot.com/2007/12/

Digital Health Fragmentation – Is Amazon the Answer? Thousands of startups in the digital health space offer a wide variety of features and functions, generally targeted at specific conditions and diseases or designed to address relatively narrow use cases. Relatively few of these are actually being prescribed by providers, and the most popular consumer apps do not typically ingest data from EMRs or other healthcare information systems. They may have the capability to export data to these systems, but not necessarily in a way that yields any real value for providers or patients. Further, many are standalone tools or part of limited proprietary collections of loosely related applications that fail to offer the value proposition that would engage a large number of users. This lack of critical mass has impeded broader adoption and limited the potential of digital health solutions to have a significant impact, at least in the near term. Other than the mobile versions of EMR portals like MyChart, few universally applicable solutions cut across large numbers of health systems and users. Even then, they may function differently depending on the sponsoring organization or local community policies. Just having a large number of mHealth apps in the major app stores does not constitute a critical mass for the purposes of delivering value that customers will actually pay for. What is needed is a comprehensive, cohesive, and interconnected ecosystem that provides greater value for both providers and patients. The goal would be to create an environment that encourages innovation, but also provides a framework for connecting the myriad of applications into logical clusters and leveraging functionality and data that already exists in legacy health IT systems. This may be the ultimate goal of the newly announced Amazon 1492 health research initiative. The 1492 group reportedly has been working on ways to streamline medical records management, to make the information more readily available to consumers and doctors. In addition, it reportedly has been considering a plan that could improve US healthcare for those with limited access to a doctor. The group is also exploring health applications for existing Amazon hardware, including Echo and Dash Wand. While there’s no evidence that the team is currently exploring connected health devices, it’s possible it could eventually do so. Obviously Amazon has already built a comprehensive marketplace for selling and distributing a wide variety of goods and services, and global scale which puts it in a prime position to create a mass market once these new offerings are launched. It has existing relationships with many potential customers and through its portfolio of Cloud and other technology products and services has strong connections to enterprise customers, including many in the healthcare industry. Amazon could use all of these capabilities to create a national framework for digital health delivery that could also provide local customization, working with leading health systems across the country. This would potentially enable patients to access a broad suite of connected apps and services that shared data across the ecosystem and also integrated with their existing patient records at various institutions where they existed. Data from all sources could be aggregated into a complete longitudinal record that could drive advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to enhance patient care and provide improved patient engagement and interaction with their providers to better manage their health. This is one (but not necessarily the only) way that the true potential of digital health could be realized. On Monday, March 20, the ONC held an Interoperability in Action session featuring a day of presentations from participants in a number of their innovation challenges as well as a few presentations by ONC staff. Many of the presentations covered applications that utilize FHIR resources to support discrete data exchange. Two Patient Data Aggregator App Challenge winners were presented, including MyLinks (PatientLink Enterprises) and Green Circle Health. The MyLinks application uses cloud technology, FHIR, and secure messaging to help patients gather data, participate in research, access information Direct remotely, and engage with interactive tools. Green Circle Health uses FHIR to power an integrated patient health data dashboard, allowing users to gather information from wearables and other Internet of Things Devices as well as schedule health reminders through a single interface. Two Provider User Experience Challenge winners also gave presentations, including Herald Health and a collaboration of Duke Health, Intermountain Healthcare, and University of Utah. The Herald Health application allows users to manage EHR alerts and alarms. The system offers the ability to create customizable push notifications that can be tailored to personalized preferences and the priorities of specific patient groups. It is currently live at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and will be implemented at Boston Children’s in the near future. The application uses SMART on FHIR integrations with Cerner and generates alerts based on rules driven by test results and other data. The Duke Health / Intermountain / University of Utah collaboration has produced a clinical decision support tool for detecting and treating infants with jaundice. Their Bilirubin app is in production in the Epic system at the University of Utah and also available in the CareWeb EHR. They are updating it to the CDS Hooks specification in the future. Five groups that were selected as Phase 2 prototype winners presented during the Move Health Data Forward Challenge session. The focus of this initiative is to promote the development of solutions to authorize movement of data by patients. They included CedarBridge Group, EMR Direct, Docket, Live and Leave Well, and the Lush Group. The next phase is the test these solutions in “real life,” with submissions due by May 1 and two finalists to be selected by May 31. This presentation highlighted that there are too many different portals for patients to access, resulting in “portalitis.” However, APIs and FHIR offer potential opportunities to solve this issue. Based on HEART profiles and UMA, it allows patients to authorize access to their records. It is also soon to be Direct secure messaging enabled. This is an augmented patient intake application which includes a superset of patient intake templates that are questionnaire based and can be tailored to meet the needs of specific provider practices. It uses a “Boarding Pass” tool to load information on providers and includes appointment check-in capability and appointment cards, and generates reminders and alerts. Fitbit and other wearable data can be automatically linked via Bluetooth and the Apple Health app and providers can suppress information they don’t need. This tool provides access to trusted end-of-life medical documents when and where needed via secure access and sharing and includes a mobile app. Their focus is on people at end of life and also people who want to ensure access to appropriate care in the event of hospitalization. The tool includes the ability to create and share documents online and maintains a to-do list of pending actions and shows the status of the completeness of information. It leverages the HEART profile to connect providers and patients, provides personalized guides based on patient values, and allows providers to invite their patients to sign up. They are looking to partner with emergency medical providers and geriatric providers. This tool is based on FHIR and HEART standards and allows patients to access and share health data securely. It is focused on patient mediated information sharing where patients control all aspects of the process. Policies are created by the patient for each provider and they can limit timeframe when data is shared. Transactions leverage an authorization server using Google IDP but it can use other methods as the industry evolves. Data can be imported by patient from a FHIR enabled portal which enables patients to start using the app immediately. During the afternoon, the program shifted to presentations addressing the Med List Project, with over 150 vendors, providers, and other organizations involved. The focus is on interoperable medication lists using FHIR-based APIs. Demos were conducted at the Connected Health Conference in December and at HIMSS in February. MediSafe: This tool provides medications adherence reminders and notifications and also provides patient education. It has over 3.5 million registered users and is integrated with Google Fit. CareEvolution: Offers a medication list summary and identifies therapeutic alternatives that may be less expensive. It reviews discount card opportunities for medications for cash payments and also looks at medications eligible for patient assistance payments. MyFHR: An untethered version of the cFHR platform, which aggregates data from multiple sources. It is FHIR based and provides access to medication data and other information from other sources. Cedars Sinai and Epic: An implementation at Cedars Sinai using Epic. There is an issue of FHIR resource maturity (production ready). Epic supports 16 resources with read capability. It will support write capability and CDS Hooks in the near future. A provider gave a demo of access to multiple sources of medication data and a presentation in a mobile app via interfaces with Epic MyChart. Hackensack Medical Center: They have created an app using API-based tools built on Epic API framework and integrated with HealthKit. It uses biometric identification to access and share data with other providers. Using an API management layer, it allows integration with trusted vendors and partners using tokens. They demonstrated a method for exchanging medication data between different organizations. Trinity Health: They have created a virtual pill box of medication reminders utilizing data from many EHRs across their organization including Cerner, Epic, Athena, Care Evolution, and NextGen. They maintain their own MyID Care consumer ID store and a data lake for patient-generated information and leverage Cerner mPages for providers. There is a mobile app for the patient with access to medications and other information. NY Columbia Presbyterian: They have developed a medication reconciliation app based on the HL7 Argonaut FHIR specifications. They leveraged their CSC integration engine and the Allscripts EHR sandbox to enable the integration. The system is connected with other systems at Weill Cornell Medicine, which uses Epic. They are using the MyFHR app for consumer access and can present an integrated medication list across multiple facilities. Health Collaborative: Their approach routes data between HIEs based on the patient home address. This Heartland Pilot includes seven HIEs in the Midwest. Safety, privacy and security, and interoperable exchange were the areas of focus. They are using IHE cross-gateway profiles and HL7 ADT and CDA standards and VPNs and web services for connectivity. Lantana: They are working with Community Care of North Carolina and six pharmacy organizations on a pharmacy care plan use case based on the C-CDA on FHIR specification. They have created bi-directional transforms to convert between the HL7 CDA care plan and CDA on FHIR care plan formats. They will update to STU 3 when completed and the transforms for CDA on FHIR when updated. Their system can also convert to JSON format. RxRevu: This presentation covered prescription decision support tools at Banner Health via a SMART on FHIR integration using their RxCheck platform. The focus is on consistent prescribing, optimized spend, and patent safety. Leveraging Cerner Ignite APIs and the Cerner Millennium EHR, they concentrate on Medicare Blue Advantage members at Banner Health to provide a medication reference with therapeutic alternatives and medication reconciliation and adherence tools. Clinical quality, cost efficiency, and interoperable exchange were the primary areas of focus. Utah Health: This initiative involves closed loop surgical referrals based on a SMART on FHIR dashboard within the Epic EHR. It is also deployed at Intermountain using Cerner. It includes care coordination and closed loop referrals with a focus on clinical quality, cost efficiency, and practice efficiency. While developing the dashboard, they interviewed end users, including PCPs and surgeons, and conducted a usability session. Referral requests initiate the workflow, which includes a visual timeline of the status of activities related to the procedure and hospitalization. The tool also provides follow-up guidance to the PCP after the procedure. It is based on the FHIR US Core Encounter and Care Plan resources. The next session covered winners in the SEA program including Arkansas SHARE, Cincinnati Children’s, and SysBioChem. Arkansas SHARE: The State Health Alliance for Record Exchange is a statewide HIE in Arkansas. The focus of the program is on bi-directional integration of behavioral and physical health records. Using role-based access, it leverages XDS.b exchange standards and the HL7 C-CDA document standards. HISP secure messaging and a virtual health record portal are used by most behavioral health users across 10 hospitals and 133 clinics that lack integration capabilities. They are planning to survey providers after the pilot to evaluate outcomes and user experiences. Barriers included the cost of a Netsmart module to connect to SHARE, lack of IT knowledge, and concern about duplicated expenses. Cincinnati Children’s CCHCP: The biomedical informatics department was challenged by case review forms for clinical trials, which are created manually now. Their focus was on cost efficient pre-population of eCRFs to reduce manual data entry. They retrieve the form for data capture (RFD) using FHIR web services to capture common data elements and populate the forms. This will ultimately be deployed to production, but they are expecting validation challenges with FHIR. SysBioChem: The purpose of this initiative is to make family health history available to drive better risk predictions for clinical care. There is a problem with lack of standardization and a need to harmonize different approaches. The focus was on building a minimal viable product initially. They use an interoperable message based on FHIR resources across many data silos include lab, EHR, family health history, genomics, and others. MGH/Dana Farber and Intermountain Healthcare are involved in the project. They use the Hughes Risk Module Analytics Module and make a round trip to get a risk profile from the analytics module using FHIR and HL7 V3 conversion. They are building a harness to submit large data sets from IMH and hoping to consume 3,000 patient family histories during the project. They also identified the need to create a US realm profile for family health history Their architecture is housed in AWS. The last session of the day covered the recent Blockchain in Healthcare code-a-thon event and presentations from the top performers. All of these applications were created in 24 hours or less. Team TMI: Trust My Identity is an approach for provider identity credentialing based on Identity Management and APIs. Inaccurate information and limited sharing between institutions creates a lengthy and laborious credentialing process which is cumbersome with lots of duplication of effort. The technology is based on IPFS, Monax Blockchain, and BigChain DB (noSQL DB). The provider creates a profile and launches the process. A payer then certifies their network affiliation and board credentials reviewed and approved. In the future, they feel distributed provider directories should include blockchain since significant cost savings can be achieved. Nucleus Health: Project Health Genesis involves identity management and medical record sharing for images. Cloud-based medical imaging systems are growing, which affords the opportunity to use an approach based on blockchain. They demonstrated a provider to patient sharing use case. ID Management is via Ethereum, authentication is done with digital signatures and they use Smart Contracts for authorizations. DICOM Web requests are made to a VNA and the patient can then retrieve and view images. The code is available on GitHub – Open source, and a complete Docker container system was built to support the test implementation. Health Passport: This group won the ONC Blockchain code-a-thon with a patient-centered health record system involving patient identity verification and medical record sharing. Either MetaMask or uPort identity management can be used with a QR code used to access information and this approach can also integrate wearables data. Transactions currently take many seconds to complete with Ethereum taking 14 seconds to respond due to the distributed block confirmations required. The objective is to get it down to three seconds per block in the near future, but the speaker cautioned that the industry still needs to be cautious about the privacy aspects. In the Connected Health Pavilion at the recent HIMSS17 conference and exhibition, several attendees commented during a Q&A session that “connected health doesn’t seem to be very well connected.” It is easy to understand why they may feel that way. There has been a proliferation of individual consumer health apps over the past several years, though many of these could be classified as “fitness” vs. “health” apps. Although consumers are increasing their adoption of digital health tools according to a 2016 Rock Health report, they are not necessarily connected in any way to each other or to mainstream provider or payer HIT systems. Tethered apps offered by healthcare providers and payers don’t always include data from other healthcare settings or insurers and often don’t accept wearables data. Therefore, most consumers (and their providers) cannot easily maintain a complete longitudinal health record. Most major EHR vendors offer customers mobile apps that are extensions of their patient portals, but these are essentially closed systems. Although some vendors offer platforms to exchange data across their different customer sites, they do not generally include the ability to share data easily across different vendor platforms. The CommonWell and Carequality initiatives are starting to address this gap, but it will take time to expand their footprints. Wearables are not growing as fast as anticipated and although younger consumers are adopting them in large numbers, older consumers are not, even though they might actually benefit more from doing so. In fact, only 10 percent of Baby Boomers own a wearable device. According to the same Rock Health report, the majority of health tracking is done mentally, with 54 percent of people who track weight and 58 percent of people who track medications doing so in their heads. Of those tracking their health electronically, the most common metrics recorded using an app are physical activity (44 percent) and heart rate (31 percent), which are clearly more related to fitness and performance than diagnosed health conditions. There are many innovative platforms and apps emerging that offer more comprehensive capabilities, but they are still often limited by the inability to exchange data with legacy systems and other digital apps. Although HL7 FHIR offers substantial promise for the future, there are few implementations that are currently operational in production environments and the normative standard is not yet finalized. For providers, the data from external sources also need to fit into their workflow to be useful. This requires full semantic interoperability, or at least cross-mapping of common data elements, beyond just basic data exchange. In most cases, this requires customized integration and terminology services. There are some glimmers of hope emerging in this market space, with a variety of middleware solutions for feeding patient device data to EHRs starting to gain traction, and increasing willingness by providers to accept external health data and share data with others. Remote patient monitoring seems to be gaining ground recently and is delivering real value to both patients and providers. The remote patient monitoring market grew considerably in the last year, with 7.1 million patients worldwide enrolled in some form of digital health program featuring connected medical devices as a core part of their care plan, according to recent research data. These tools are generally prescribed or recommended by providers and connected to their EHRs and/or care management systems. However, their focus is primarily on patients with chronic conditions or those who are recovering from acute procedures. The clear benefit is keeping track of these patients and reducing hospital admissions and readmissions while allowing patients to remain at home or in a community rehab setting. In the long run, digital health applications have tremendous potential for adding value and improving care, but they must first overcome similar interoperability hurdles as those faced by the rest of the HIT industry. They must also become more tightly integrated with clinical and financial systems and associated workflows and offer a more nearly seamless user experience to both patients and providers. The future of digital health is looking brighter, but the open question is how long it will take to get to the tipping point where these tools are fully integrated with mainstream healthcare infrastructure.

2019-04-19T15:04:06Z

https://histalk2.com/category/digital-health/

As well As handling some of the chief aspects of your WordPress website (something we are going to be covering in more detail below), also providing you with everything you want to start a new site, one of the main selling points of the innovative service is access to one of those participating ThemeForest topics as part of your subscription fee. Having a Single point of contact for domain name registration, site hosting, subject provision, and also the management of things like website updates and copies sounds really handy, but is that this service worth your money? And does it deliver the performance your website needs? Envato Aim to simplify the process of launching a WordPress site with their new hosting service. Now, instead of registering a domain name with one business, purchasing a WordPress theme out of another, then enrolling in an internet hosting service elsewhere, and of course linking all those bits together, using Envato Hosted, you can get all these elements through one account, with one recurring monthly payment. Not only This, but the Envato Hosted staff will even take care of website copies, core software updates and much more to help ensure your website is running smoothly. The Convenience of a one-stop shop for all your WordPress site needs does seem appealing. We are going to cover the pricing details in greater detail later in this review, however at $19.99 per month, it is clear this is not cheap, entry-level hosting. So let us see what you get for your money. The Envato Hosted theme installation and setup service is ideal for anybody who’s either new to WordPress or brief time. After a clean installation of WordPress has been completed, your theme of choice (from the available options) will be installed and activated in your brand new site. If You currently have a WordPress site, you will be pleased to know the Envato Hosted bundle comprises a migration of your website and its content to your hosting accounts. It also includes optional domain registration and setup, and connects your domain to your server space to ensure your website is found at your preferred URL. ThemeForest Is the most significant WordPress themes marketplace, with more than 8,000 options. Among the greatest attractions of Envato Hosted is that you get one of these themes included within your hosting plan. Regrettably, At the time of writing, just a small choice of WordPress themes were available within the Envato Hosted service. Hopefully, later on, more theme writers will choose to opt in, but, for now, you may select from the best-selling, multipurpose Avada, Enfold, Bridge, Jupiter, and The7 themes, among others. As Part of the managed hosting security measures, the Envato Hosted system engineers are proactive in scanning websites for malware and other problems, and DDoS protection is also set up to keep your website online. If an issue is detected, the service team will begin work solving it, while also notifying you of this circumstance. This proactive approach also applies to helping with hacked sites. Contemplating It’s not unheard of for some internet hosts to just take your site offline whenever they detect a potential security problem, it is excellent to find that the Envato Hosted team will be able to work once a problem is struck, while also keeping you in the loop as to what’s occurring. Presently, There’s no site staging service offered, but this is being contemplated for the future. Site Snapshots can also be taken nightly, and backups are kept for 30 days (and stored offsite in Amazon S3 storage for extra safety). At the moment, if you’d like to restore a backup, you will need to open a ticket to ask the support team to perform this task. However, Envato Hosted expects to enable self-initiated backups and restores from the first quarter of 2017. Regrettably, That the Envato Hosted service doesn’t include any email hosting or management solutions. But, you can join your Envato Hosting account to one of the supported email suppliers. Therefore, If you’re already using an email provider like google Apps or even Office 365, you can connect your domain name to the service. If not, signing up with one of those services is your best option for sending and receiving mails together with your website’s domain name. Once You’ve signed up with Envato Hosted, you can contact the support team around the clock. Tickets may be opened from within your Envato Hosting account dashboard, giving you a central place for managing your site and helpdesk correspondence. Even though Live chat is being considered for the future, there is no telephone support service, with email being the only means to get in touch with the team. Throughout the testing for this particular review, the Envato Hosted service team responded quickly to some tickets that were opened. Once You have signed up using Envato Hosted, you’ll have the ability to log into your account dash. From the dashboard area, you can view your busy hosting programs, the details of your WordPress website, and other important details. We’ll Cover the utilization limitations in the pricing department. But, you can easily see how much of your visitor, disc quota, and bandwidth allocation you have absorbed from the Envato Hosted dashboard. Having Your selection from a choice of high quality WordPress topics, and all of the other fantastic features covered over, is good. But perhaps the most important reason to select 1 web host over the following is how quickly they could serve your website to your customers. This Guide explains why website speed is so essential. Suffice to say, if you would like to have more visitors, a better user experience, and increased target conversion prices, then you need to be doing all you can to enhance the rate of your WordPress site. With that in mind, let us look at the loading times we experienced while testing Envato Hosted for this review. On Paper at least, Envato Hosted provides everything a new WordPress user could want. So, let’s find out how simple this service would be to use in practice. As This is a hands-on Envato Hosted review, for testing purposes, we did register and launch a new WordPress site. Even though the time from beginning the signup procedure to having the ability to log to the new WordPress site wasn’t instant, it only took about five seconds. However, a significant part of the time was spent staring at a display wondering what was happening. There Were a few hiccups on the way, such as the links into the site and control panel which were delivered over not yet being busy. This was probably because of domain name system (DNS) configurations requiring a while to spread, and the new URL being in the process of going live. However, because there’s no mention of those delays and possible issues during the setup procedure, it marginally taints the suitability of Envato Hosted for inexperienced WordPress users. In General, Though, getting started with Envato Hosted and launching a new WordPress website is relatively straightforward. You really can register a domain, choose a theme, and select which demo to get set up, all through one signup procedure. However, whilst everything did work, the enrollment process felt a little rough round the edges compared with this of Envato Hosted’s competitors. For the Sake of comparison, another test WordPress website, also using Avada and also the same Agency demo, took just over a second longer to load a low-cost, entry-level shared hosting account. Pingdom is a popular monitoring service, and One of the greatest ways to assess the operation of a web site. After signing up using Envato Hosted, the Avada motif was installed along with the Agency demo site content imported. As The Avada Agency demo homepage involves a multimedia slider using movie content and other large documents, it was decided that a standard page in the demonstration, consisting of text and images, would yield more relevant results. Once the test WordPress website was put up, Pingdom listed the loading times of the internal blog article at 30-minute intervals. After Monitoring website speed with Pingdom, the average load time within the previous seven days for our WordPress website, hosted by Envato using the Avada theme and its Agency demonstration, was 2.96 seconds, using a YSlowperformance grade of 85/100. The loading times were recorded at fixed intervals throughout the testing period. Website Uptime was also monitored with Pingdom. During the testing, six instances of downtime were detected, together with the site inaccessible for 15 minutes in total. This resulted in an uptime of 99.85percent according to Pingdom. Although the website returned to its accessible state with no intervention, the longest period of downtime — as can be seen from the picture below — has been a somewhat worrying nine minutes. This Cost also includes any qualifying WordPress theme from ThemeForest, including best-selling options like Avada, X Theme, and Enfold. Also contained in the service is the installation of your preferred motif and its demo, as well as ongoing support for your site. Free migration of a current WordPress website to your new hosting accounts is also included. As Mentioned, because the Envato Hosted service is fully managed, the staff will take care of WordPress core upgrades, provide base-level security, track your site for mistakes, and back up the website daily. When it Comes to use, your $19.99 per month or $190 per year includes 100,000 monthly payments, 5GB of disk space, and 100GB of monthly bandwidth. These quotas are soft limits, and nothing automatic will happen if you go over them. Instead, if excess usage is detected, expect to be contacted by the support team to talk about a solution which works for both parties. There are no overage fees in place at the moment. But, Neither of those competitor options includes a premium ThemeForest WordPress motif and setup. The allure of the Envato Hosted service is having everything in one place, under one account, including your domain name, hosting service, WordPress theme, and support team. You can Attempt Envato Hosted for free within a seven-day trial. You’ll have to enter your payment details to begin, but the trial period is a fantastic way to learn for yourself how the service works. Elements is a service out of Envato That intends to provide creators and manufacturers with an ever-expanding library of digital assets for their own projects. If you want access to a large and growing collection of videos, audio files, photos, graphics, illustrations, fonts, HTML templates, and WordPress themes and plugins, as well as other content then Envato Elements might be just what you’re searching for. Furthermore, Envato Elements readers now get access to 1,200 video courses and eBooks from EnvatoTuts+. Thanks to this, you not only get access to almost 1 million digital resources but also the educational content that will assist you work together effectively. In this Envato Elements review, we will explore what this service has to offer, how it works, and how much it’s to help you decide if this is a great option for your requirements. Even though Avada is one of the most popular WordPress themes around, its abundance of features and performance may be overkill for some jobs. If your needs are more modest and you’d love to know how Envato Hosted performs with a more minimal WordPress theme, we also tested a site with the free Twenty Seventeen motif from the WordPress.org team. Contrary to Avada, the free Twenty Seventeen motif doesn’t include or rely on any plugins. Consequently, this no frills WordPress theme gave Envato Hosted a great chance to demonstrate how quickly it could deliver a web site. With an average loading time of 335 milliseconds, and also a grade operation over seven days of testing, Envato Hosted certainly has the capacity to quickly serve a WordPress website to your viewers. Although An uptime of 99.85% was recorded by Pingdom throughout our first round of testing, there was no downtime listed in our second seven-day phase of testing. Your Requirements and the last configuration of your website will probably sit somewhere between one of the full-featured Avada demos as well as the minimum Twenty Seventeen theme. Your results will surely vary from ours, but ours ought to provide you a rough idea about what to expect from Envato Hosted. What’s more, using a seven-day free trial, you should have sufficient time to carry out speed testing of your own site prior to making a last choice on Envato Hosted. It is Also worth pointing out that though Envato Hosted does not prohibit the use of any specific plugins (like any other handled WordPress hosts), they do indicate avoiding caching plugins, as Envato already applies server caching to all sites on their own platform. However, while Envato Hosted does not yet preserve their own content delivery network (CDN), you’re free to make use of a third party CDN of your own choice — another popular way to accelerate a WordPress website. Testing The speed of a web site and its own web host is not as easy as it may seem. Running a manual test with a respectable service like Pingdom or GTmetrix can create wildly varying outcomes from one minute to the next. To counteract this, for our evaluations, the superior Pingdom service was utilized to automatically record the speed of the evaluation site at 30-minute spans around the clock for seven days. There Are numerous elements which could impact the load times of your website, including your choice of motif, which plugins you are using, which sort of content you are publishing, just how many people are attempting to get your site at one period, and where these visitors are situated. However, these test results should give you some notion of what to expect from Envato Hosted. Envato Elements is A subscription service which offers you access to over 900,000 downloadable electronic assets for your own projects. To keep things simple, Envato Elements provides two pricing strategies — monthly and annual — with both supporting unlimited downloads. As a result of some recent change to their pricing model, the two alternatives (instead of just the annual plan) now consist of access to this 900+ WordPress themes and plugins available from Envato Elements. Unlike some other Premium picture and digital asset services, you won’t have to be worried about credits and download limitations. This strategy from Envato Elements is excellent since it gives you the capability to experiment with various documents prior to making a final decision on which to use to your own project. When it comes to Content production, the Envato Elements assets are made by a neighborhood of independent designers. These designers are compensated for their efforts by means of a revenue sharing model. Fifty percent of net revenue is allegedly shared with all the content creators who supply the assets for Envato Elements. Web designers who require WordPress topics, HTML templates, and other resources for their sites. As you can see, Anybody generating visual information, and now audio content, is a portion of the Envato Elements target market. If you’ve ever struggled to get the right featured image to get a blog article or you would like to speed up your design workflow by simply beginning with a template or using actions and presets for your favorite software, Envato Elements could help you out. Now that WordPress themes and plugins are also available as part of the service, anyone who possesses a WordPress website or works on this popular platform should also think about signing up using Envato Element. As mentioned Earlier in this Envato Elements review, you no longer have to pay a year to gain access to this 900+ WordPress plugins and themes (along with the other assets) since it now doesn’t matter whether you choose to pay monthly or yearly, you can download everything available from Envato Elements while your subscription is active. But, there’s Still a benefit of paying annual, and that’s that you’ll save 50 percent over the year in comparison to paying monthly. Another Fantastic reason To consider joining Envato Element is you are able to cancel your subscription at any time and still retain the rights to use any items which you downloaded and enrolled throughout your time as a subscriber. But, we are going to be covering the license details in more depth later on in this Envato Components review. WordPress users Will notice that there are currently WordPress themes and plugins available within Envato Elements. There is not the selection to match ThemeForest, the biggest WordPress theme market, or CodeCanyon, the plugin market, both also owned by Envato, but new items are being added on a regular basis. Royalty-free stock photos have also been added to Envato Elements with over 600,000 to pick from. It’s also worth Pointing out that even during the process of composing this Envato Elements review more items were added to the library of assets. However, despite there being numerous items available, it’s very simple to find what you’re searching for. To assist you narrow down your search for the ideal asset, many of the top-level groups are divided up farther into sub-categories. However, in many Cases, you should have the ability to open, edit, and utilize the assets in a compatible application of your choice in addition to the prescribed applications. Envato Elements Keeps things unbelievably simple when it comes to licensing. As mentioned, the items which you can download are covered by a commercial permit, which you may discover more about here. This means you can use the assets you download in your own work, as well as client projects. Trial Use — a no enrollment option that’s fantastic for analyzing an asset before deciding whether to use it. The trial use Option is ideal for exploring an asset to find out more about it, until you’re sure if, and in which, you may use it. Once you’re prepared to utilize an asset, you can select the project use option and then enter the necessary details. Assessing a download for a job is as straightforward as inputting the title of the project. You truly don’t have to submit much info whatsoever to’permit’ a download. When it comes to User encounter , again, Envato Elements retains things incredibly straightforward. To help you decide whether to sign up with Envato Elements, then you can first browse the library at no cost. Should you see any resources which you like, it only takes a minute or two to register and begin downloading. After You have created a no cost Envato account, you can sign up to Envato Elements on the monthly subscription plan or the better value early strategy. After entering your PayPal or card payment information, you can start downloading the files instantly. Once You’ve seen something that catches your attention, you will find out more about the asset on its own page, prior to making a decision if download it or not. If after closer inspection, the item still looks like a good match for your needs, you can hit the download button to access the files. Before Downloading the product, you will need to either register it for use on a particular project or download it for trial use. The latter would be the ideal alternative in the event that you just wish to have a better look at an item, before deciding to use it on a particular project. It is worth pointing out that once you’ve registered an item for use on a specific project, it is possible to continue to use the item even after you have ended your subscription. When you have made a Option, a zip archive of the documents is downloaded to your computer. You can then extract the documents from the archive and start them with a compatible software program or service. It is good to see That in the event that you download a background picture or other sort of picture, you’ll also get access to the JPG or PNG versions of the documents as well as the editable Photoshop or Illustrator documents (based on the kind of file you have downloaded). Having a JPG or PNG edition of the advantage means you can instantly use it without needing access to a specific software application. If you do not Now have access to the ideal tools, simply download a document, upload it into your WordPress site and crop or scale it before publishing it on your website. Of course, if you want complete editing capabilities then having the right software application is recommended. However, it’s good to know there are different choices. While you’re logged To your Envato Elements account, you can view the items that you’ve downloaded from your dash. This makes it easy to quickly download something again to register it with a different job or add a permit to a trial thing to enable it to be used on a live job. Additionally, if You’re looking for a more managed hosting agreement for an existing WordPress website, it’s worth repeating that Envato Hosted offers a free site migration support as part of the signup process. Although you should contact the support team first to find out if they will be able to migrate your specific WordPress website configuration. The Envato Hosted monthly charges of $19.99 are fair in the restricted WordPress hosting area. But you can, of course, host your website for a lot less — and in case you’re prepared to do more of this installation and ongoing maintenance work yourself, then there are quite a few good alternatives that are also worth considering. Although That the Envato Hosted service is a comparative newcomer to the hosting space, the business has several years’ experience working with and supporting WordPress users — and that they are using the Amazon Web Service infrastructure must provide you a bit of reassurance, too. If You have been putting off starting a brand new WordPress website because of all of the various components you’ll have to know, such as domain names, themes, installing WordPress and looking after your website, then Envato Hosted may well be a smart choice.

2019-04-23T14:10:48Z

https://camelandbirdie.com/envato-elements-sponsor-envato-marketplace-review-2019/

The topics reflect years spent in Asia: mainly Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as New York and Paris. Daulism starts here. OK... the title. AR changes so quickly that a list of any sort of "avante-garde" will be outdated in an embarrassingly short time. When I made this "State of the ARt 2018 " list for my presentations at HK PolyU, I had to make additions to it a day or two after it went up...and then I just moved on. However, in the past few months, and especially in the past few days, I have seen some very cool ideas, and simply want to share them. I saw these at the ARIA conference at MIT, the Virtual Hackathon at MIT, at SXSW, and as a result of my own research. I recently spent time in Shenzhen, and saw some cool things, but they weren't AR. I did write this. Admix AR are giving away many valuable resources, like a list of places that might consider writing about your product or company. Also, check them out on Facebook. Bose AR Two experiences at SXSW: Elvis was better than the ocean.This video is from 2018, but is still a great intro to what Bose is doing. If you are interested in my AR experiences and much more, click here. I would love to jump into other AR projects, as a producer, writer, visual artist or sound/music producer. Oh yeah... no one has paid me for any of the listings. I am doing something with Novaby, but the Black Hawk AR project is something special; I would mention it regardless of my involvement with Novaby. Involvement with AR and VR began in 2016, with the release of the Oculus. Stephen, with Sayuri Okayama, began a nomadic research tour of Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Shenzhen; the topics being Southeast Asian food and AR/VR startup ideas. Eventually, connections with food and drink producers will result in an online sales channel. During this journey, called the Bubiko Orwell Tour, Stephen kept notes and began writing for a work in progress book called Alphabet Spikes. Also during this time, Bubiko published an ebook of photographs about Ipoh, Malaysia. Also, Stephen gave presentations about AR at the Sasin School of Business (Bangkok), Hong Polytechnic University, the Hong Kong Maker's Faire and at TechCrunch Shenzhen. Beach Road (2015) was written by, and stars, Stephen, who also co-produced with Hiverlab. Featured at VR festivals in Brisbane, Las Vegas and Singapore. SPOKEN (2011)A downloadable virtual gallery, created by Eugene Soh and curated by Stephen. Features a great variety of artists, from internationally famous to unknown. Lotus Mountain, shot in Shenzhen, on 8K Obsidian cameras by Kandao. A robot is reunited with her maker, five years after he broke her heart. Featuring a soundtrack by Rei Shimizu and a VR artwork by Scobot. Now in post-production. 10 Bubiko VR Movies for 20K A lighthearted effort to seriously increase the number of non-gaming VR viewers. And yes, the movies can be versioned in 2D also. Sudden VR Festival (2016) Isetan Department Store. With Lionel Chok, Rachel Jordan, Samuel Chia and others. Chaotic celebration of VR; Singapore's first VR festival. Norm Black Exhibition(2016) Mettle Art Space. Debut of Beach Road, photo works and thumb-shaped kuehs by Stephen Black, performance by 3how. When I started to write books, I also decided I would do no marketing until I'd written eight books. That time for marketing is here, but at the moment AR comes first. This blog post may interest those who wonder what happens when you don't do marketing. You may be surprised. Using the MonjaKids Creative Development Kit, Black taught all ages, including elementary school students, university students and weekend classes at the Singapore Science Center. The Monja Kids CDK featured about 200 commands, allowing professional gamemakers to creat complex games. However, in the classes, only the basic commands were used. Text, a few building ideas and some documentation by Black. Collaborations and more with Michael Lee. In 2019, Black conducted two workshops and two presentations about AR. In Singapore he taught 3D gamemaking and classes in poetry performance. Black has taught English in Japan. Classes in writing and self-publishing are planned as part of the ARphabet Tour. Xylophone and organ lessons as a child. In Rochester, photographed and videoed Personal Effects, now Margaret Explosion. In Manhattan, created videos and occasionally performed with Faculty Party. Unlocking With Ears is a video series about Black's experiences in music. In Singapore, Black worked frequently with Amith Narayan, musician and head of High on Chai Productions. The two cofounded 3how and co-produced the Riverwalk Session album. 3how was an improvisational music/theatre project that played the Night Festival, the LitUp Festival and the Red Dot Museum. An opera, Big Homer, based on a story by Black was performed. Some of the many talents involved with 3how: Wilson Goh, Justin Bannister, Kala Charan, Dave D'aranjo, Richard Lord and Roman Tarasov . Born in Toledo, Ohio, Stephen received his Associate's Degree at the University of Toledo, then went on to Rochester Institute of Technology, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Photographic Illustration. He then moved to Brooklyn/Manhattan where he worked at Young Filmakers/Video Arts, was in Faculty Party, an operatic band utilizing theatre, phase patterns and rock. Black participated in the Lower East Side Art scene to the fullest. It was here that he became friends, with, among many people, Toyo Tsuchiya. He interviewed Toyo as part of documentation of the LES, and in particular, the legendary No Se No/Rivington School art scene. 1984: Japan. Art, teaching English, photographing, videoing. Finally met, and became life-long friends with Stelarc. Documented, with photography and video, Kazuo Ono, the co-founder of butoh. An art space with Barae, a performer/dancer. Collaborations of all kinds. Work for Sony, Suntory, ABC News, MTV and Philip Morris. Assisted Annie Liebovitz when she came to Tokyo for a monthlong American Express Shoot. This post is about Black's experiences in the Tokyo music scene. It is part of the Unlocking With Ears series that also talks about Singapore, Hong Kong and New York. In 1994, Black spent the year in Manhattan, working for Fuji TV on the NYGO edutainment series, produced by Cannes award-winning director Toshio Uruta. Writing, producing and directing, Black worked with a number of American and Japanese acting talents, as well as some of New York's funniest comedy writers, including contributors to Saturday Night Live. 1995: Hong Kong. The Handover to China, employed as a promo producer for Cartoon Network and TNT, now called Turner Classic Movies.Art projects continued in the form of exhibitions and Noon, an art space in Black's apartment on Hollywood Road. In 1996 Black traveled to WuTang Shan in China, almost immediately after going to Tokyo to document the Tokyo "tour" of Yamo, a project by Kraftwerk drummer Wolfgang Flür. Black also produced two successful tours by Sadato, a Japan-based band led by Sadato (now Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi), an Iranian sax player/vocalist. 1998- 2001: Tokyo, on air promo producer for News Broadcast Japan, the six channels set up by Fox. Was responsible for hiring, purchasing equipment and co-ordinating with sales and marketing teams. 2001-2002. Tokyo: Exhibitions. Wrote the Agaricus blazei Murrill Notebook, the first book on the gourmet and medicinal mushroom. Also produced and directed Kiss, starring Japanese legendary actress Kumiko Akiyoshi. Pioneering, in that it was one of the first movies on the internet, it received over three million views in its first three months. Later, Black was director of photography on Bubu Again, Akiyoshi's debut as a feature length film director. In 2002, Black moved to Singapore to work as creative director for WalkerAsia/Compudia a visionary gamemaking/user generated content company established by Akihiko Seki. A writing experiment/draft about John Cusack's recent visit to Toledo, my recent visit to Toledo, art, the entertainment industry, the Cubs and Indians World Series, my mom and dad, surrealism and stuff like that. YOU ARE WELCOME TO READ THE FOLLOWING, BUT A MUCH SHORTER, FINISHED VERSION IS HERE. I have always been a bit rebellions. Next to me is Mari Goround, probably the only Asian in the audience. We’re in the balcony, the “cheap seats” that cost us a hundred and six bucks. We wish we’d bought drinks. And eaten. Below us are couples and groups of middle-aged Caucasians. Some pink hair, some green hair, some went-to-my-stylist-this afternoon-hair, grey hair, no hair. In Mari’s purse is a book called Ernie Banks, Home Run Slugger. In the envelope on my lap is an AR ONES tee shirt. Don’t ask me how, but before the night is over, John Cusack will sign her book and wear the shirt. We’ll take photos-- and then: internet here we come! My hands are still cold; I returned five minutes ago. I went outside again, to the backstage door, hoping to catch John in a good mood. Unlikely that he would be there, I know. All that was there was a freezing, gusting Arctic front, black ice, a long white bus with no lights on and a few cars going east and west on the Ohio Turnpike. I rushed back in, past the no firearms sign on the doors, past the autographed High Fidelity merchandise and the line of Midwesterners buying beers and little boxes of popcorn. Two guys were standing beside a guy in a wheelchair, all smiling as a woman in torn jeans photographed them in front of the Vet Tix poster. Once Mari gets that autographed book, she’ll be able to crowdfund a film about Yosh Kawano, a relative on her mother’s side. Yosh was one of the Cub’s living legends. He took care of the clubhouse, from before World War Two until he retired in 2009. He was interned in one of the camps, and then released so he could fight in the Philippines and New Guinea.He received medals. A photo of John wearing my AR ONES tee shirt will help me crowdfund the ARphabet Tour. The shirt cost me thirty-two dollars and fifty cents at Franklin Park Mall. The last time I was in Toledo, I ate a salad there. It caused me a great inconvenience while I was driving home. The tee shirt shop had a bunch of shirts with variations of the ‘carry on and remain calm’ meme: Keep calm and rub some bacon it, Keep calm and let me take a selfie, Keep calm and go away etc. I wanted the one that said: I can’t keep calm. I’m from Toledo. We walked through JC Penney and out into the empty parking lots bordered with sad piles of grey snow. The wind was strong. The graffiti on the bus shelter benches was predictable. The warmth of the bus made us lightheaded. ‘Tom Dunn needs a kidney’ it said on a billboard. We saw a truck loaded with nine white cars. The traffic lights were softened by the snow flurries, and again and again I didn’t recognize new buildings. Secor Road, lined with Pizza Huts and Dollar Trees, seemed alien, like I was there for the first time. We passed the University of Toledo, which my grandfather worked on as part of the WPA. We passed one of the high schools I went to. I know almost nothing about Grosse Point Blank. Something about an assassin coming back to his hometown of Grosse Point, a suburb of Detroit, to do a job and go to his high school reunion, possibly with the girl he dumped on prom night. John Cusack is in it, of course, and so are Dan Akroyd and Minnie Driver. Like the assassin, I have returned to my hometown. Mari is here because John Cusack and I are here. John is here because his market is here. Backlot Productions arranged this; next month William Shatner will be here, because they’re screening Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. I’ve been in this theatre twice before, both times decades ago. The first time, there was a special offer at the Head Shed: spend twenty bucks or more and get a ticket for George Carlin. I bought Stage, a live Bowie cassette. The other time, I saw Kenny Loggins; I shouldn’t have. The lights finally go down. The credits start. The audience roars a little happiness that becomes louder when the bubbly perfection of Blister in the Sun starts. The opening scenes set the tone, or more accurately, the tones: film noir + comedy + thriller + boys with guns + high school romance teen flick. John’s sister Joan plays Marcella, his secretary. At one point Martin Q. Blank (John's character) looks at Marcella’s outfit and calls her Sergeant Pepper. After the bus lets us off across from The Blade, we walk towards the 31H, the bus that will bring to the Stranahan. We stop in the bitter cold so I can photograph Mari in one of the dull parking lots, with the grey sky and nondescript buildings behind her. The wind swirls her long uncut hair above the cheap coat we bought in Shenzhen. Her eyes are watering and her nose is red. Beautiful, beautiful. The 31H takes us past the High Level Bridge, the Maumee River, the Toledo Zoo, and then Monroe and Detroit, where Swayne Field used to be. My grampa, my dad, my mom and Hank the barber have told me stories about the area that is now a shopping plaza. Hank Aaron played there, Casey Stengel coached there. A bunch of guys my dad knew once had a few belts at one of the nearby bars; they ended up trying to have a picnic near right field until they got kicked out. Swayne Field is now a shopping plaza. I’m writing this section of Catching Cusack in the house where my mother lives and my father was born. My father lives in another house. At this moment he is driving to a hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, about 40 miles from here, about 45 miles from Detroit. Last night, while Mari and I were at the Cusack event, my mom was at a birthday party for a friend she’s known since first grade. Eighty years old. She made him a scrapbook filled with black and white and faded color photos, as well as cartoon illustrations of the greatest inventions of the past eight decades: bottled water, ATM, credit cards, TV dinners and microwave ovens. Right now, my mother is baking something with cinnamon in it. Baking and dancing are my mom’s favorite things. I’ve gained weight: anyone would. In the past two weeks she’s baked dozens of heart-shaped sugar cookies, a carrot cake, a coffee cake, Irish soda bread, muffins; and cooked all kinds of things for breakfasts, lunches and dinners. For the ARphabet Tour, she made mango sticky rice. Last Sunday she told us about dancing at the Bavarian Club. Today, at lunch she told us about her volunteer work with the police, Swayne Field, the Tony Curtis movie she appeared in, and the ice cream store that used to be in front of the Babcock Dairy. Yesterday, for no specific reason, we found ourselves talking about death (as opposed to her finding a name in the obituaries.) Cremation or burial; she has crossed out and rewritten each word more than a few times. I was in this room on the night of February 12, 1967. That was a Sunday night. My parents dropped me off here so they could go bowling. While my grandparents watched Lawrence Welk on the black and white TV, I sat at that table with crayons and paper. My grampa was sitting here, in the chair that’s now over there. (It was reupholstered by my mom.) My gramma was on the couch. They watched Lawrence Welk. At eight o’clock I came in, sprawled myself on the wheat colored carpet with wooden blocks. The Ed Sullivan show came on, and I didn’t understand it most of the time. But that night was something that seemed natural to me. Now, when I listen to it, I appreciate how revolutionary it was. That night, like millions of Americans, I watched a short video called Strawberry Fields Forever. My grandparents had very loud conversations. When a car would drive by very fast, one would say, “Someone’s going to the hospital.” Or, “Where’s that cowboy going?” In the summer my grampa would take me, sometimes my brother too, for a walk down to the store with a concrete floor. We’d buy orange pushups. Sometimes, my gramma made banana cream pie.There was always something good in the fridge. The Latin name for the biggest tree in the backyard is Liriodendron, meaning ‘lily tree’. The day of the ice storm, the snow was crisp; it sounded like I was walking on a giant white potato chip. I looked up at that tulip tree and saw a few dried flowers, each coated with ice as clear as glass. The tree is very tall, maybe twice the height of the house. Everything, from the wild geometry of the thinnest branches to the trunk, was coated with ice, dangerously so. The wind or another raindrop might have broken a branch, ending my contemplation of tree and sky. Grosse Point Blank, the John Cusack movie we are about to watch: I know almost nothing about it. Something about an assassin coming back to his hometown near Detroit to do a job and go to a high school reunion, possibly with the girl he dumped on prom night. Dan Akroyd and Minnie Driver also star. Like GPD’s assassin, I am returning to my hometown, Toledo. Mari is here because John Cusack and I are here. John is here because his market is here. Backlot Productions arranged this; next month William Shatner will be here, because they’re screening Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. Four or five decades ago, there was a special offer at the Head Shed: spend twenty bucks or more and get a ticket to see George Carlin, here, at the Stranahan. I bought Stage, a live Bowie cassette. I sat down there, in the middle and to the right. The only other time I was here, I saw Kenny Loggins; I shouldn’t have. The lights finally go down. The credits start. The audience roars a little happiness that becomes louder when the bubbly perfection of Blister in the Sun starts. The opening scenes sets the tone, or more accurately, the tones: film noir + comedy + thriller + boys with guns + high school romance teen flick. John’s sister Joan plays Marcella, his secretary. At one point Martin Q. Blank (John's character) looks at Marcella’s outfit and calls her Sergeant Pepper. BLAM BLAM BLAM … Grosse Point Blank has gun scenes, including a John Woo-ish blastathon between Blank and Felix La Poubelle (Benny "The Jet" Urquidez). The massive exchange of bullets takes place in the Ultimart that was built where the Blank home used to be. The Ultimart dies a fireball death, a victim of the old bomb in the microwave trick. This segment, and a few others are heavy handed, so much that the GPB’s tempo is lost, to the point where it feels like a running gag instead of a showcase of clarity, insights and daring. Instead of the richnesses of blacks and whites and reds, GPB’s palette is bubblegum and grey. However, the love that went into this movie is obvious. Minnie Driver is perfect; a captivating puzzle of emotions in nearly every scene. The “flying” scene in the bedroom, the simple cutting between the faces of Blank and a baby, and the father’s grave scene are classics. Its high ambitions and daring ideas would have benefited from a bit more polishing, but Grosse Pointe Blank is indeed, a gem. ADDITIONAL ARvisible design soon to be revealed! The gutter and the stars. And bakeries. And violin lessons. AR ONES: Bubiko, Ollie, and the mysterious Obasan and Eggy. The ARphabet Tour is fully explained here. Three presentations on three different days. Self-publishing, mango sticky rice, and of course, AR, augmented reality. Despite the challenging weather, a number of friends, family and curious people made it to the presentations. A new recipe for mango sticky rice was created, Stephen Black's books were introduced. AR was demonstrated and discussed. Very interesting to talk about AR with those who are relatively unaware of it. Interesting questions were asked and all left with at least some understanding of the power and possibilities of Augmented Reality. The ARphabet Tour is a direct result of the Bubiko Orwell Tour of Southeast Asia, which took place from 2016-18. Being on the road constantly is both extremely rewarding and extremely challenging. The following are the organizations and companies that kept us going; they are lights that kept the darkness from defeating us. As for the individuals, I am still thinking of how I can ever thank them all. Please at least skim through this list, and click on as many as you can. They are all good people offering great value in their respective fields. For now, links and short descriptions; the behind-the-scenes stories will appear in Alphabet Spikes. Good PR starts with good stories--and Bridges tells good stories. John and/or Nan will get you where you want to be. John Forty and his team consistently make sure that their clients receive their goods from China on time, and only after rigorous Quality Control. Maker magic in the heart of Shenzhen, the Silicon Valley of China. Henk, Hans and a whole lot of gear, expertise and connections. Storytellers’ Kitchen is all about engaging with technology by doing, and learning how to apply those skills to a variety of disciplines and mediums. Drones. Educational drones. Fun. Fun. Fun. Lunchbox FPV! Le Wagon is a fantastic organization dedicated to teaching people how to code. It was a dreamlike honor to present my work, surrounded by the nightlife of Shenzhen, the new Silicon Valley. However, the Powerpoint above mysteriously chose not to display every image. Here are the slides with a voiceover. Stephen Black's 100 day tour of America. AR, books and mangos. ARphabet Tour: the time is now. This ARphabet Tour idea seems to be rushed! Why? I want to make/produce/write AR content as soon as possible. The 100 day tour is crucial for research and development. The time to make AR content is now. Facebook and Apple are two of many major companies releasing AR smartglasses within the next 48 months. Those AR glasses will need content and experienced content makers. Unexpectedly, I was invited to be a part of ARIA at MIT, on January 14. Also unexpectedly, last December, I was invited to pitch to Venture Capitalists at TechCrunch Shenzhen. I had originally planned to finish another book, Alphabet Spikes at this time, then create a business plan for the AR startup. However, TechCrunch and ARIA are fantastic and humbling opportunities. I must build upon them. Now. 4. I am now very familiar with Asia’s relationship with AR. I am aware of the medical and industrial uses of AR in America. As for AR and entertainment, I want to learn more about the consumer environment for my Pixar-like ideas (AR-centric original characters, stories and software), as well as build a network for them. The same research and data is necessary for making a unicorn from a different idea. 6. Digital nomadism: again. Movement means flexibility, constantly meeting new people, checking the reality of existing and planned IT services (including 5G); and efficient scheduling. Results: all kinds of awareness, support networks and realistic plans. 7. By the time of SXSW and GDC in March 2019, there will be solid, new and improved plans and demos.

2019-04-21T22:48:34Z

http://www.blacksteps.tv/category/contemporary-photography-conceptual-art-video-art-network-art-installation-sculptureperformance-nonperformance/

I used to have an eccentric aunt who would write angry and irrational letters to the local paper. I must take after my aunt as I keep finding myself using the Legal Costs Blog as the equivalent of an irate letter to the local rag. On the subject of “angry and irrational”, the costs lawyer debate continues to rumble on with a recent edition of the Association of Law Costs Draftsmen’s Costs Lawyer magazine devoting large parts to the topic. The debate obviously has a number of different strands to it, with interesting arguments being put forward in relation to different issues. Let us assume for current purposes that those who previously attained Fellow status do indeed have appropriate knowledge of costs law (now and not just when they attained that status) and let us also assume that those who had attained Associate level (who have now been automatically upgraded to Fellow level) were equally “competent” in costs law. Let us focus our attention on the issue of elevation of Fellows to costs lawyer status by virtue of simply attending the costs lawyer course. When I attended the costs lawyer course last year, it covered three different areas over two days: Accounts, the CPR and Advocacy. The Accounts section related to handling client money. Why, other than possibly obtaining a payment of account when acting for a litigant-in-person, a costs lawyer would want to be handling client money is a mystery to me. The ALCD would have better advised to have simply banned members from handling client money. This is something likely to end in tears, but that is another debate. The CPR part of the course was a bit baffling. A half-day course was clearly wholly inadequate to teach the areas it tried to cover. If one assumes that those who had already reached Fellow status were already familiar with the CPR (hence the briefness of this part of the course) then the only useful purpose of including this section would be to explain exactly what a costs lawyer could or couldn’t do when exercising their new rights to conduct costs litigation. The course did not do this and I am still not 100% sure as to what the limits of the rights are. We then come onto the other element of the course: Advocacy. As I mentioned when I discussed this aspect before, the advocacy element lasted one day and there was no test or other assessment process to judge the competency of those attending. There is no requirement for any previous advocacy training or experience. At the end of the course, those who had attended were granted rights of audience in relation to detailed assessment proceedings including appeals before a High Court Judge or Circuit Judge. The ALCD, or ACL (Association of Costs Lawyers) as we must now learn to call it, has been justifying the recent changes to its structure on the basis that these changes are largely inevitable as part of the modernisation of the profession. It is therefore interesting to examine what developments are occurring elsewhere in the wider legal profession. The Joint Advocacy Group (JAG) was established by the Bar Standards Board, the Solicitors Regulation Authority and ILEX Professional Standards to develop a scheme to quality assure criminal advocacy across the three professions. Some will immediately say that comparisons with criminal advocacy are entirely misplaced. An individual’s liberty may be at stake in criminal proceedings which is infinitely more important than grubby disputes over legal costs. However, a single legal costs dispute can, and often does, run into millions of pounds. An individual may be bankrupted as a result of the legal costs at stake. A company can become insolvent. A firm of solicitors may collapse. Let us not underestimate the importance of what can be at issue. Further, JAG has said: “Further consideration will be given to the question of quality assurance in relation to other areas”. Higher rights of audience are granted by the ACL without any form of assessment process. There is a total absence of “quality assurance” or “assessment process” in the granting of these rights. The ACL has no similar re-accreditation process (never having put in place an “accreditation process”) and had made no public announcement that it plans to do so. This is probably a particular problem in relation to detailed assessment proceedings. There is probably no other area where the (professional) client is less likely see the advocate in action. This is interesting. One of the ACL’s justifications for upgrading Associates to Fellows was that there were too many membership categories. (In fact, the ACL is probably small enough that each member could be given their own title and the system would still work fine. How about “Associate Deputy Lieutenant Costs Lawyer, with Two Stars”?). So the ACL is going off in one direction just as the rest of the legal profession is going in the other. Readers will recall that the ACL has justified the recent change in structure on the basis that “the relevant test has to be one of competence, not excellence. The ALCD would be failing in its duty to entrants and the public if it were to set the bar so high that only a select few could clear it”. In relation to advocacy, the ACL has not set the bar too low. It never set one in the first place and shows no plans to do so in the future. The recent decision to automatically upgrade all Associate members to Fellow is not directly linked to the problem of inadequate advocacy training. It has, however, highlighted it. The ACL is now granting higher rights of audience to a large number of additional members who previously did not have such rights. Given the issue of professional standards in the ACL has moved centre stage in recent months, you can imagine my surprise by what fluttered out of a recent edition of Costs Lawyer magazine. This was an application form for a course titled: “Client Care, CPR and Advocacy (Costs Lawyer course)” – ie the course that promotes the newly upgraded ACL members to costs lawyer status. Other than the apparent change in subject from “Accounts” to “Client Care” (although the former is possibly covered by the latter) this is the same course I attended last year. There was, however, one subtle change. The date for the course was 1 November 2010 (9.00am to 5.00pm). The two-day course has been reduced to one. I suppose the advocacy part may have been allocated a whole half-day. If it was the afternoon slot, it was probably 3 hours. Previously, when the ACL was striving for excellence, a full day would have been considered necessary. Now that the test has been set at a level of “competence”, a half-day suffices. 1. Advocacy, at least in relation to detailed assessment proceedings, is something requiring little or no skill or experience. This includes costs appeals before High Court Judges and Circuit Judges. A level of “competence” can be achieved by those who may have had no previous advocacy experience in a 3 hour training session. Any form of initial or ongoing assessment is entirely unnecessary given how undemanding costs advocacy is. In this context, the ACL’s chairman’s comment that some of its members should be saying in big cases: “Don’t instruct a barrister. I can do this” makes perfect sense. The ACL granting higher rights of audience as though they were handing out Smarties is nothing to be concerned about. 2. Advocacy, at whatever level, is indeed a specialist skill that requires proper training and should be properly assessed. The ACL Costs Lawyer course should ensure that those standards have been met before granting higher rights of audience. The course is not fit for purpose. There has been legitimate criticism in the past of those posting anonymous comments on the Legal Costs Blog denigrating aspects of the ACL. Let’s balance that now by having some non-anonymous comments from those who believe the ACL’s approach to advocacy standards is appropriate. Unfortunately, this is the problem with a large number of law costs draftsmen when it comes to judgments (eg Hollins v Russell) or rules (eg the CPR). A little bit more time spent trying to master one’s chosen profession goes a long way. Another interesting article Simon and no doubt will raise questions at the AGM (hopefully) and certainly more worms to the over-flowing can! As I have stated in the past prior to last years AGM, Filex managed to retain all their member levels and at half the price – shame we couldn’t which has clearly caused a huge rift with the Legal Aid element of the Association of which I am one but not entirely! I too look forward to your further requests. As a retired Police officer I even went through advocacy training in the ’70’s!! The good old days pre CPS!! Whilst there is merit in some of what you say, there is a wider mis-conception, that you perpetuate in your Blog, that we have “higher rights” of audience, we do not. To use the phrase “Higher rights” elevates our status in the minds of the uneducated, to that of a solicitor with “Higher Rights” who subsequently can appear in the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal. Our “right” is no more (and in fact is considerably less) than any newly qualified solicitor who can attend a court hearing as a matter of “right”, a “right of audience”, without having to rely on counsel or indeed, as was the case only a few years ago for FALCDs, although again not many draftsmen knew this and even fewer sought it, request permission, or “leave” to speak before launching into objection number one! There are good Costs Lawyers, there are bad Costs Lawyers. There are Costs Lawyers who will want to exercise their newly given “right” of audience and indeed their “right” to conduct costs litigation, there are Costs Lawyers who will be content to draft bills and never leave their desks. However, good or bad, exercised regularly or not, the right exists, for all. There are good solicitors, there are bad solicitors. There are solicitors who regularly attend court as advocates on CMCs and trials, there are solicitors who choose never to attend court, there are numerous solicitors (and this is difficult for those of us in the costs world to comprehend) who deal with non contentious work which never requires proceedings, let alone an attendance at court. However, good or bad, regularly exercised or completely forgotten, these rights exist for all solicitors. I am no longer on the ACL Council but I know the amount of hard work which went in to the drafting of the rules and continues today in relation to training and regulation of the profession. Solicitors have to obtain CPD, Costs Lawyers have to obtain CPD. Solicitor’s CPD does not have include any specific advocacy training or assessment for a solicitor to maintain the “right” to attend court. Costs Lawyers have to obtain CPD. Why should the ACL make the continued provision of a lesser right more onerous? There is of course a commercial consideration, poor Costs Lawyers will lose business, in due course, to good Costs Lawyers. Further, and a practical, rather than technical consideration, Costs Lawyers are in the main, one step removed from the public and are employed by fellow professionals, solicitors, who will soon sort the wheat from the chaff. Glen, despite my calls for better advocacy standards for the ACL, I am against regulation. I did try to make clear that CL “rights” are to High Court and Circuit Judge, rather than above, although perhaps not very clearly. Nevertheless, it is a “right” for CL to appear, as opposed to a concession granted by the courts and, indeed, in the past I have appeared at that level by virtue of the court granting permission. Despite my general opposition to “regulation” of advocacy in the lower courts, I see limited evidence, bizarrely, of solicitors being able to “sort the wheat from the chaff”. 2. Confess to ‘hiding’ under the cloak of anonymity both here and on other sites (I am that ‘Happycostslawyer’!). The above article is seemingly written without knowledge of critical pieces of information. When the ALCD, as it then was of course, was granted the power to bestow upon its Fellow members the rights of audience and (broadly speaking for present purposes) to conduct costs litigation, such a grant was based on the then training course and no more (i.e. the powers that be were satisfied with the training structure as it then was – without the Costs Lawyer course). Accordingly, the ALCD did not need to impose the Costs Lawyer course on its Fellow members at all. However, it was considered appropriate by the Council of the time (which was met with much opposition it must be noted) to at least ensure some training was given in respect of inter alia advocacy. Is some education better than no education (remembering that the MoJ approved the application by the ALCD without any such training)? It must be, surely. Secondly, ALCD/ACL members are not permitted to handle client monies (you question why that might be required – one reason might be for example to aid cashflow, if one is able to deduct one’s agreed fees from costs received from the paying party) nor will they be. That is why the accounts aspect of the Costs Lawyer course has been ‘axed’, resulting in a shorter course. With regard to the analogy with JAG, I am afraid that I am with the ‘some’ who will say that the same is misplaced. Apples with apples, as the saying goes; are the ‘JAG plans’ to apply to civil solicitor and barrister advocates? Finally, I am ‘with’ your second, numbered view of the whole issue – save for your very last sentence about being fit for purpose. As I understand the ACL training regime, advocacy is already ‘covered’ for members who enrol as students (which is not dissimilar to that training I received during the LPC many moons ago) and no doubt that training/education will be changed/adapted/improved as time goes on. Going back to my first comment above however, the extant training in respect of advocacy was approved by the MoJ way back when the application for the aforementioned rights was approved. Summing up, I would not go so far as to say that the training isn’t broken and thus doesn’t need fixing, but it is wrong to say that there is no training whatsoever, or that what training there is is not fit for its purpose. PS Simon – the deadline for nomination as a Council member for the next year is 4pm today. Shall I fax a form to you for completion?! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. I was hoping this debate wouldn’t be too one sided. I am still left flabbergasted as to how the MoJ was persuaded that all Fellows, as they then were, should be given advocacy “rights”, given many would never have gone through the current training course, and with no requirement for advocacy training or assessment. This has now been compounded by the decision to upgrade Associates (many of whom will, again, not have gone through the full training). Post-Jackson/legal aid reform, there is not going to be a large number of new members coming through the full ACL training scheme. The fact that the full training scheme for new members “may” provide adequate advocacy training, does not address the issue of existing members. The ACL is pressing for a costs monopoly for existing members without any evidence of proper advocacy standards (notwithstanding the MoJ’s views). A further thought occurs. The MoJ granted the power to bestow upon its Fellow members rights of audience based on the adequacy of the then training course. This presumably included, or was at least taken by the ALCD to include, existing Fellows who had not actually taken that course. However, did the MoJ also grant this same power in relation to Associates who have, in turn, been automatically upgraded to Fellow? To summarise, did the MoJ allow for powers to be granted only to those who had taken the training course? The vast majority of those who have now been granted those rights presumably never took this course. Or, did the MoJ give the ALCD the power to grant rights to all existing members regardless or what training they had had? As I recall matters, it was made clear that there were existing, or ‘old’!, Fellows (i.e those members who sat and passed the old examination, members who wrote dissertations, members who started the organisation back in 1977 and members who were admitted as Fellows by the long since gone ‘reference route’), members who would become Fellows (from Associates) by sitting and passing a further examination and members who would become Fellows by automatic upgrade having completed and passed the training course (in its then guise – slightly but not fundamentally different from the current course). All such Fellows were also required to have at least eight years’ experience in costs matters before being able to hold themselves out as Fellows. In other words, the application was transparent. Further of course, the then ALCD’s conditions of membership and continued membership, in respect of inter alia insurance (a point mooted elsewhere) and CPD, were also approved. PS Is that a ‘no thanks’ in respect of my previous postscript?! Re PS – Funny you should mention that… I take it I can count on your vote then? It just wouldn’t do for each of us to promise to vote for the other in this public way! Sorry Simon, I am struggling to see a huge difference between our position and say The Law Society (and reference to my 20 years in practice and never been to court point above). As Jon mentions, and I was on the Council for at least part of the requisite time, the application was transparent and all levels of membership were laid bare to the MOJ. It has to be remembered that we are still a relatively new association, I wonder how many of the Law Society’s original membership were granted rights without taking any of the Law Society’s exams? I suspect quite a few (well all in fact) as they, like us at the outset, would have had no formal qualifications or exams at the time. But that was a few hundred years ago, all such original solicitors have long since departed, so we no longer give it a thought. Historians see here: http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/aboutlawsociety/whoweare/abouthistory.law (a familiar sounding tale to those who recall and were involved in the ‘birth’ of the ALCD?). The Association had to start somewhere. As I understood your original post, you were concerned about the ACL granting rights to its members without there being a more vigorous advocacy training session, you have my thoughts on that. You are now seemingly intent on unpicking the original application for rights as was submitted, on the Association’s behalf, many years ago. To what end, the removal of our rights? I am in house so it is a moot point as to whether on a practical level, I personally benefit but I suspect you personally do. (Apologies, that was not meant to be “personal” but simply an illustration of my relative impartiality in this debate). Or are you suggesting the entire membership structure should be shelved and we all start again? In which case is anyone qualified to run a course? Who marks the course? Who sets the course? Do we all follow it or only those who have not followed it previously? Does that mean that Costs Lawyers who passed their Associate and Fellowship exams and/or became members of the ALCD before you or I had sharpened their first pencil, should now do the course, whereas those who many of us manage, tutor and coach, on a day to day basis, remain fully fledged costs lawyers subject perhaps to some further, and in my view unnecessary advocacy training? And apologies again, I am not sure where you are going with this. Surely if you are not happy with the current system, the best way to change it is to get yourself on the Council and change it from within? Fair enough to ask what my “point” actually is, if there is one at all. I will try to pull this together in another post.

2019-04-20T09:12:37Z

http://dev.gwslaw.co.uk/2011/01/costs-lawyer-standanrds/

E-commerce M.B.A programs explore concepts in Web construction, marketing, general business mgt, data mining and business law. These skills prepare graduates to create, analyse and manage an internet-based business. Is getting an M.B.A with E-business specialisation in India really worth it? M.B.A in E-Commerce/E-Business is an ideal choice for candidates who wish to join in the success of the Internet by starting up their own business. Generally e-commerce utilizes the internet technology to increase the productivity or profitability of a business mostly through sales and service which are offered to the client through web pages. Now it has gained immense popularity with growing interest in Internet and the boom of online business. Today we can see that lots of e-commerce companies (Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon, Myntra) are increasing their business rapidly and lots of people are buying products through these e-commerce sites.so it has huge prospects. After successfully completing M.B.A, you can expect yourself as E- Business Consultant, Supply Chain Manager Business Analyst, Project Manager, Consultant, Customer Relation Manager Etc. or you can build your own business. Recruiting Companies Biomax Fuels Ltd., Accenture, Nokia, Toyota, Adobe, HCL, IBM, E-bay, Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal, Alibaba, Myntra, Paytm, Google, Just Dial, Yahoo, Acura Consulting, Genpact, Cognizant Business Consulting, Deutsche Bank, Edelweiss, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Boston Consulting Group, Johnson & Johnson, Fidelity Investments etc. Recruiting Areas Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Human Resources, Operations, Banking and Insurance, Information Technology, Oil & Gas, Hospital mgt., Total Quality mgt. (TQM), Supply Chain, Retail, Tour and Travel, International Business, Health mgt. etc. Job Positions E-Commerce Consultant, Customer Relation Manager, Business Analyst, Supply Chain Manager, Project Manager, Database Administrator, Financial Manager, Health Services Manager, IT Manager, Financial Advisor, Account Manager, Marketing Manager, Project Manager, Human Resources (HR) Manager, Management Consultant etc. M.B.A in E-commerce: What is it about? In order to apply, students must have a bachelor’s degree in business or a related field. Some schools require applicants to submit GMAT or GRE results. In some programs, courses are offered online. 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2019-04-22T23:18:07Z

http://www.trump.net.in/blog/mba-e-business-admission-in-management-quota-at-top-colleges/

Before commencement of ANY work being performed (ie: renovations, additions, additions or upgrades to server rooms), Tenants MUST contact Tillyard Management Inc. to ensure all building requirements have been met. Please follow our construction policies and regulations. All contractors must check-in at Tillyard Management Inc. to obtain and sign out a Tillyard Management Inc. Contractor Badge, which must be worn at all times when performing work in tenant spaces. Badges must be returned prior to leaving the building. • The loading dock doors are alarmed from 10:45 P.M. – 6:00 A.M., Monday to Friday, 24 hours on Saturday, Sunday and Statutory Holidays. • A minimum 4 hour emergency service call will be charged to anyone causing alarms on these doors, after the above noted hours. • The contractor with a representative from Tillyard Management Inc. will conduct an inspection of all interior solar film on windows off the premises, before any construction commences. • Prior to construction commencing, all windows shall be covered with poly to prevent damage to the window film. Poly may be adhered to the mullions with tape.• All mullions to be cleared of tape at the end of construction.• No work is allowed on interior columns without first consulting with Tillyard Management Inc. • Prior to any demolition/alterations of HVAC duct work, contact Tillyard Management Inc. • The installation of communication cabling shall be in accordance with methods described in the document “communication cabling standards”, click “HERE”. • In the case of conduit penetrating the floor, ceiling slabs or demising walls, proper fire proofing methods are to be employed. • In the case of wiring penetrating floor, ceiling slabs or demising walls, HILTI Model CP 653, 2″ or 4″ fire stop sleeves or similar devices are to be employed. • All furniture must be placed at least 10 inches (30 cm) away from the heating convector cabinet. • Contractors are responsible to protect painted elevator lobby frames and must take care not to damage walls. Costs incurred by TMI for repairs made due to damages, will be billed back to said contractor. The Tenant may select a registered Architect or Interior Designer licensed to practice in the Province of Alberta. In conjunction with this, all drawings pertaining to mechanical, electrical, plumbing and drainage, and sprinkler systems must be prepared and bear the stamp of a registered Professional Engineer licensed to practice in the Province of Alberta. The Tenant may select a competent General Contractor to perform leasehold improvements from the list of approved Contractors, below. The Landlord must be advised of the selection. Once the successful contractor has been selected, a construction schedule must be submitted to the Landlord along with a copy of Contractor’s Insurance, Workers Compensation, list of subcontractors, including contact names, phone numbers and employee names working on site. If the Landlord requires his consultants to review drawings for mechanical and electrical the cost shall be borne by the Tenant. • List of interior finishes. The Landlord may require samples of finishes. The hardware on the tenant’s entry doors shall be the same as the building standard Multi – Lock and shall be keyed to the master key. Parry Brothers maintains the master key system for the building and must be used for any Locksmith work. All locks on interior offices shall be keyed to the building master key system. The base building card access system is P2000 and is maintained by Johnson Controls. Doors – Prior to removing and/or relocating any door with mult-lock mechanisms, contractor must contact Tillyard Management, as the keying system on these doors are tracked and maintained. Any locks removed off doors must be returned to Tillyard Management Inc. The Landlord shall approve all Tenant signage/identification prior to installation in the elevator lobbies. These are the specifications for new, frameless, glass entry doors for tenant suites. The glass for the door must be 1/2″ thick and clear tempered. GLASS PIVOT HINGES – Top & bottom 4″ x 9 ½” Square Patch Door Rails for ½” glass door. CRL DR4SB12P. Brushed Stainless Steel Finish. GLASS DOOR HEADER – 4″ x 38″ Single door header CRL DCH4BSS. Flush mount. Finish: Brushed stainless steel. FLOOR LOCKING GLASS DOOR LADDER PULLS – 1 1/4″ diam. X 59″ overall back to back mounted ladder pull c/w lock into the floor. Thumb turn on tenant side & key access on Elevator Lobby side. Finish: brushed stainless steel shall be: CRL LLP059BS. Pull mounted vertically as per elevations. Locking core to be changed to the base building’s multi-lock system. OVERHEAD DOOR STOP – 2″ x 1/2″ x 1/2” CRL INT307BS. Mount to tenant side (doors to swing in direction of egress from the tenant area as per the floor plan). PUSH/PULL SIGNS – CBH 1″ x 1″ polished chrome c/w 1/4″ high engraved and filled text (white, font style; Helvetica Medium); one sign to read ‘PULL’ and one sign to read ‘PUSH’. A ½” thick, clear tempered glass sidelight can also be used as we have done for the show suite. The glass is to have the following: 1″ CRL Brushed Stainless top U-Channel and a ¾’ CRL Brushed bottom U-Channel. Both the glass door and sidelight are required to have a 1 ½’ wide Etchmark Vinyl strip installed horizontally along the face of both the door and sidelight if no signage or graphics are to be installed by the tenant. This is required by code in order to prevent persons from accidentally walking through the glass. The height of the strip must be clearly visible. All proposed tenant graphics to be installed on to the glass door and/or sidelight to be provided to Tillyard Management for review and approval prior to installation. A building permit for tenant improvements must be obtained from the City of Calgary (800 McLeod Trail SE) prior to the commencement of construction. All permits must be posted in a visible area. Other permits may be required at the discretion of the City of Calgary. Information for Permits:Lots ONE (1) TO FIFTEEN (15) inclusive and that portion of Lot SIXTEEN (16) which lies to the west of the easterly TWELVE (12) Feet SIX (6) inches thereof in Block TWENTY EIGHT (28) on Plan A.1 Calgary, excepting out of Lots FIFTEEN (15) and SIXTEEN (16) all mines and minerals. Being a Leasehold Title for a term of 99 years from the 18th day of February, A.D. 1974. Delivery of building materials, major pieces of equipment, furniture and bulky goods shall only be made by prior arrangement with Security. Only the freight elevators may be used for deliveries. All goods are to be brought in through the Loading Dock at the back of building. Freight elevators can be accessed from Loading Dock Area. Maximum clearance of the loading dock is 15′ 6″. Arrangements and pre-booking of the freight elevator during normal Building Hours must be made with Security (531-3665). Any bookings for Freight Elevators after Normal Building Hours (6:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M.) must be booked through Tillyard Management Inc. Freight elevator measures 9′ x 5′ and 6′ x 5′. The freight elevator will accommodate up to 10′ x 10″ on an angle for conduit or molding. The delivery of materials through the main entrance and lobby on the ground floor will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Building Management does not provide personnel to move or deliver goods and materials supplied by the Tenant or Contractors. Building Management and Security will not receive contractor materials or deliveries. The contractor will be responsible for immediate cleaning of any mess resulting from deliveries or work. Building Management shall recover from the contractor any cleaning costs due to contractor’s activity. Parking in the loading dock is ONLY for loading and unloading material. 15 Minutes Maximum. The Contractor is responsible for protecting all existing work and finishes of the Landlord and other tenants. If protective pads are not in the freight elevators at the time of delivery, the Contractor shall arrange to obtain the protective pads from Building Staff or Security. Pads must be installed prior to moving any materials. While moving goods and materials in elevators lobbies, the contractor must protect existing finishes. This is of primary concern for elevator doors and frames, elevator lobby carpet and wall finishes. The contractor shall remove the protective covering from the elevator lobby area when either construction or delivery is completed. Any damage will be the responsibility of the contractor to repair. The contractor will ensure all common areas (this includes stairwells) are clean and free of debris. If there is work being done above the ceiling tiles in the tenant space or elevator lobbies the contractor must ensure there is no debris left behind by contractors. The contractor shall prevent dust from invading other tenant’s space by installing a plastic membrane to completely cover all openings and provide a sealed work area. Sweeping compound is to be used to control dust. Stairwell doors are NOT TO BE PROPPED OPEN. Building personal must be notified prior to the commencement of any job that will create dust, heat or smoke. This will enable them to by pass the fire safety system for this floor. Failure to do so may cause a false alarm in the building. Contractors will be responsible for all costs incurred due to the false alarm. For the purpose of return air in the ceiling plenum transfer air ducts are required for demising walls between tenants. To be noted on Mechanical Drawings. Temporary air filters are required in ceiling space in front of air intakes and exhaust on the west side of the Floor to mechanical room. Building Operations to be consulted prior to any installation. Supply air ducts must be capped during demolition. Diffusers and Thermostats are not to be left in ceiling space. Contact Building Operations if you have any questions. When ceiling tiles need to be replaced, they need to be replaced with the following Base Building standard tiles. Armstrong, model MR87115, Cortega Minaboard, 30” x 60” x ¾”. Large quantities can be ordered from Winroc, smaller quantities can be purchased from TMI. The contractor or tenant is responsible for arranging site access for all workers. The Landlord must be notified in writing twenty-four hours in advance, of all work to be done after hours and on weekends. Access will not be granted by telephone.If security is required by the contractor or deemed necessary by the Landlord, cost of security shall be the responsibility of the contractor. The Landlord will not be held responsible for the safekeeping of contractor tools or materials. All trades are to confine themselves to the work area. The contractor is responsible for removing all construction debris created by him. Contractors CAN NOT use building garbage containers. Upon completion of construction, if the Landlord determines filters on the floor fan unit requires replacement; such cost shall be deemed the responsibility of the contractor. All construction clean up is the responsibility of the contractor. A final cleaning inspection is required by the Landlord. There is no parking provided for contractors or subcontractors. Loading dock facilities are used only for pickup and deliveries. Each delivery is allowed 15 minutes unless the Building Management has granted special permission. Any vehicles parked in the loading dock for more than the specified time will be ticketed and towed. Coring/Chipping of slabs is expressly forbidden prior to X-rays of the slab. Arrangements must be made with the Landlord prior to work commencing. Any work affecting the fire alarm system, Building Maintenance personnel must be notified. Contractor to supply one five-pound ABC extinguisher for the job site, the extinguisher shall be kept available and in good working condition until all work is completed. The contractor may use power available in the space. Extension cords to finished corridors will not be permitted. It is forbidden for any contractors to use either the basins or the water closets for disposal or cleanup of any construction waste (i.e. drywall compound or paints, etc.). The Tenant is responsible for issuing keys/cards for work being done within their space. Contractors hired by the Landlord will be issued cards/keys from the Landlord. Please make arrangements in advance of construction. The contractor shall keep the entry door to his particular premises closed at all times during construction. Mechanical and Janitor rooms located on the floors will not be used for storage. All electrical room doors must be closed when not being used by contractors. Any noisy construction activities which may cause inconvenience to existing tenants shall be done during off-hours (6:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. till required). Any light fixtures removed from the ceiling shall be turned over to the Landlord or disposed of if the Landlord does not require fixtures. Where demising walls abut the exterior wall, adapter brackets are required for the convector covers. Convector covers are to be split and strapped at all demising and office walls. Converter cabinets are not to be used as ladders or stepping stools. Where return piping under radiator cabinets is dropped and visible, it shall be raised and supported with copper strapping. After strapping, the return pipes shall not be in contact with other cabinet parts, covers, mounting screws, etc. Such notification is to be made at lease 24 hours in advance to minimize both the hazard and the inconvenience to himself and other tenants. Upon completion of the work the contractor shall supply copies of “as built” drawings in CAD, permits and inspection certificates related to the work performed. All construction material will be removed from the site upon completion. All cabling and communications Bix terminals must be located in the tenant space. The Landlord must approve installation of cabling and communications data. If any proposed Leasehold Improvements affect the structure, the walls or the systems of the building, it is the intention of the Landlord to have these drawings and specifications reviewed by the base building consultants where applicable, the cost of which shall be borne by the Tenant. Building Risers: Copper and/or Fibre Cabling• Cables installed in building’s riser system must contain an FT4 fire rating, FT-6 rated cable is optional until further notice• Cables must be properly supported and ‘strain relieved’.• Cables must be labeled on either end and in every riser room.• Cables must be properly dressed.• Contractors must replenish the firestopping in the riser sleeves that are used to route the cable, regardless of the previous condition of the firestopping. Building Floor Space: Copper and/or Fibre Cabling• Cables installed in the building’s horizontal ceiling space must be plenum rated FT4, regardless if the space is actually plenum or not. FT-6 rated cable is optional until further notice• Cables must be routed in conduit, cable trays and/or J-hooks. Running cables over the ceiling tiles and light fixtures is not acceptable.• Cables must be properly dressed and provide a neat appearance. Neatness of an installation shall be determined by RYCOM.• FT4 rated cables can be used provided they are in EMT or Ridged conduit.• FT4 rated innerduct shall only have FT4 rated cabling installed. 1.1 Overall responsibility for ensuring compliance with the health & safety requirements at 715 – 5th Avenue S.W. building rests upon the General Contractor and/or their representative. All contractors their workers and subcontractors are responsible for their own personal safety, the safety of their co-workers and for any other person who may have occasion to be present at the worksite. 1.2 This guide applies to all contractors, their employees, and sub-contractors, performing any work in “the building” whether under contract to Tillyard Management Inc. or a Building Tenant. 1.3 You, as a temporary worker within this building, are required to comply with the Alberta OH&S Act, Regulations and Code as well as the Tillyard Management Inc. Construction Rules and Regulations, by applying safe work practices at all times. Failure to do can result in your immediate removal from the worksite. 1.4 Prior to performing any work in this building you must have read, understood, and comply with this information. You are required to sign “Contract of Understanding” that stipulates your agreement to meet these standards. 1.5 All Contractor personnel are responsible for maintaining all their equipment and tools in proper operating condition and are used only in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications. 2.1 Any work that has the potential to cause a fire must have a fire extinguisher stationed in the immediate vicinity. 2.2 Prevention and protection go hand-in-hand. There are some basic items you should know about fire prevention which include: where fire extinguishers are located, the types and capabilities of these fire extinguishers, the proper operation, and the emergency evacuation routes and assembly areas. 2.3 When working in vicinity of any parts of the main Fire Suppression System, extreme care is to be taken to ensure no impacts are made with the equipment that can cause activation of the system. 2.4 Any costs incurred as a result of a nuisance alarm or activation of the fire suppression system caused by careless work activities will be borne by the contractor. 3.1 If you hear an alarm, please wait for further direction. 3.2 If asked to leave the building, in response to an emergency, please do so immediately. 3.3 Leave the building in an orderly manner. Use the stairwell and Do Not use elevators. Evacuation gathering areas are across the road at the McDougall Centre. 3.4 All Contractors shall do a head count of all their personnel and advise, security or a Tenant Fire Warden (red hats) of any missing personnel. 4.1 Safe work practices must be observed at all times. All tools must be in correct working order according to the manufacturer’s specifications – no defects. 4.2 All tools & equipment not in use are to be stowed away so as not to impede the site workers in their duties. 4.3 All power cords, ropes and lines not in use must be coiled and stowed away – no slip, trip and fall hazards. 4.4 If necessary, ensure your work area is well-cordoned off to reduce the risk of others being impacted. 4.5 Leave your work area in tidy condition with signage if necessary. 4.6 Good housekeeping practices should be maintained at all times. Clean up area and remove all debris and dusts before departing the worksite.**Refer to Tillyard Management’s Construction Rules and Regulations. 5.2 If a worker requires medical aid, Calgary Emergency Medical Services should be requested. 6.1 Access to the building roof and envelope is strictly controlled by Tillyard Management Inc. Operations. 6.2 Workers will be required to complete a Liability Waiver. 7.1 The use of Hazardous or Controlled products is to be minimized. Use of hazardous materials must be pre-authorized by Tillyard Management Inc. 7.2 A copy of a current, fully legible Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for all WHMIS Controlled products to be used is to be provided and/or readily available. 7.3 All containers of Controlled products are to be clearly labeled. 8.1 All contractor workers must be currently covered by WCB Alberta. 8.2 The Contractor company is responsible to ensure all their personnel are covered by WCB and must provide proof of current WCB coverage prior to commencing any work in “The Building”. 8.3 Failure to provide and maintain the applicable WCB coverage will result in suspension of the contract. As a contractor and/or employee performing work in the 715 5th Avenue S.W. Building of Tillyard Management Inc., I, the undersigned, understand and agree, that I will maintain strict adherence with all Federal and Provincial Environmental, Health and Safety Regulations and Codes and will perform my duties in accordance with the rules and conditions outlined within. Download the Contractor EHS Handbook file. Before access to the mechanical room is granted, please address the following precautions:• Hearing protection must be worn at all times while in the mechanical room. (Except in the control room).• The mechanical room has the potential to be classified as a confined space. Conditions may include oxygen deficiency or enrichment, toxic or explosive environments, electrical shock and temperature extremes.• Most of the piping is insulated, but there are areas that are exposed and could result in burn injury if touched.• All hazardous chemicals that are used in the plant operation require MSDS sheets, which are located in the control room.• The equipment in the mechanical room is automated and may start without warning. Maintain a 3-foot radius from all equipment.• Perform proper lockout procedures on any equipment to be worked on after consulting with Building Operations. Download the Contractor Access to the Upper Mechanical Room file.

2019-04-23T03:51:51Z

http://calgary.tillyard.ca/contractors/

Dumbo is a 2019 American fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton, with a screenplay written by Ehren Kruger. The film is inspired by Walt Disney's 1941 animated film of the same name, based on the novel by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl. The film stars Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, and Alan Arkin, and follows a family that works at a failing traveling circus as they encounter a baby elephant with extremely large ears who is capable of flying. Plans for a live-action film adaptation of Dumbo were announced in 2014 and Burton was confirmed as director in March 2015. Much of the cast signed on in March 2017 and principal photography began in July of that year in England, lasting until November. It is the first of five live-action re-imaginings that Disney is planning to release in 2019 along with Aladdin, The Lion King, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and Lady and the Tramp. The film premiered in Los Angeles on March 11, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on March 29, 2019. The film has grossed over $309 million worldwide, and received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances of the cast and Burton's signature style but criticized the screenplay and "lack of heart" compared to the original also saying it "didn't live up to its potential." In 1919, equestrian performer and World War I amputee Holt Farrier returns after the war to the Medici Brothers' Circus, run by Max Medici. The circus has run into financial troubles and Medici has been forced to sell the circus' horses after Holt's wife and co-performer, Annie, died from the Spanish flu outbreak, so Medici reassigns Holt as the caretaker for the circus' pregnant Asian elephant, "Mrs. Jumbo". Mrs. Jumbo gives birth to a calf with unusually large ears and Medici orders Holt to hide the ears before allowing the public to see the calf. However, the calf accidentally reveals his ears in his debut performance and the crowd mockingly names the calf Dumbo while pelting him with peanuts and other objects. Mrs. Jumbo is horrified. Enraged by her son's mistreatment, she rampages into the ring, causing extensive damage and accidentally killing an abusive handler during the tour in Joplin, Missouri. Afterwards, to prevent a public relations problem, Medici resorts to selling Mrs. Jumbo. Holt's son and daughter, Joe and Milly Farrier, comfort Dumbo and discover he can fly by flapping his ears. The children also discover that feathers are the key to Dumbo's willingness to fly. In another performance, Dumbo plays the role of a firefighter clown to put out a fire with water sprayed from his trunk, but the performance goes wrong and Dumbo is trapped on a high platform surrounded by flames. Milly boldly risks her life to deliver a feather to Dumbo, giving him the confidence to fly. The audience is astounded when Dumbo flies and word of his talent begins to spread. V. A. Vandevere, the entrepreneur and owner of a bohemian amusement park called Dreamland, approaches Medici and proposes a collaboration; Medici would become Vandevere's partner and the Medici Brothers' Circus' troupe would be employed to perform at Dreamland. Later, Vandevere demands that Dumbo should fly with French trapeze artist, Colette Marchant. Colette and Dumbo’s debut performance at Dreamland goes wrong with Dumbo nearly falling off a high platform leading to him trumpeting in alarm since there is no safety net. Dumbo hears his mother's call in response and realizes that his mother is in an exhibit elsewhere in Dreamland. Dumbo flies out of the circus ring, reuniting with his mother. Fearing that Mrs. Jumbo may become a decoy to him and ruin his reputation, Vandevere spitefully orders her to be taken away and killed. Vandevere also fires all the Medici performers from Dreamland. When Holt and the rest of the Medici troupe learn that Vandevere intends to kill Dumbo's mother, they resolve to set both her and Dumbo free. The circus performers utilize their various talents to break Mrs. Jumbo out of her enclosure while Holt and Colette guide Dumbo to fly out of the circus. Vandevere attempts to stop them, but accidentally starts a fire triggered by an enraged mismanagement of Dreamland's electricity system which spreads and destroys the park. After Dumbo saves Holt and his family from the fire, Holt, Colette, the kids, and the troupe bring Dumbo and his mother to the harbor, where they board a ship back to their native home in India. Afterwards, the renamed Medici circus is re-established (while it's implied that Vandevere is arrested and tried for arson through misconduct) and flourishes with Colette as the newest troupe member, performers dressed as animals, and Millie as host of a science lecture exhibit. Meanwhile, Dumbo and his mother reunite with a herd of wild elephants who applaud their newest member as he flies with joy for their future to come. Early development for a live-action adaptation of Dumbo began in 2014, when Ehren Kruger gave to Derek Frey a script for the film, which a touched Frey green-lighted for development. On July 8, 2014, it was announced that a film was in development for Walt Disney Pictures. Kruger was confirmed as the screenwriter, and Justin Springer would serve as the producer along with Kruger. On March 10, 2015, Tim Burton was announced as the director. On July 15, 2017, Disney announced Dumbo would be released on March 29, 2019. The film features a different storyline from the original film's, though as star Colin Farrell described, "[t]he one central thing that holds true in both the original animation, the original cartoon" is the film's message of "believing in yourself and finding something inside you that allows you to become the best version of what you thought you could even be, and that we're all, regardless of the things that sometimes society says, should arrive us at being outcasts; they're the things that make us all individual, special, and beautiful regardless of how crippling a certain thing may be or how polarizing a certain physical attribute even may be." The film does not feature talking animals, focusing instead on the human characters. Kruger wrote the script as a story that "offered a way to tell that story in a framework that expanded it, but without redoing the original [film]", as well as a story that "was simple, with an emotional simplicity, and didn't interfere with what the basic through line of the original is about." Like the original film, Dumbo depicts the character as a symbol of someone who does not fit and turns his disabilities into an advantage. Kruger wrote the script in order to "explore how the people of the circus world would relate to Dumbo's journey", while Springer said that "[the production team] really wanted to explore the human side of [Dumbo's] story and give it historical context. In the animated feature, Dumbo flies for the world at the end of the film. [They] wanted to find out how the world reacts when people learn that this elephant can fly". In January 2017, it was announced that Will Smith was "in talks" to play the father of the children who develop a friendship with the lovable elephant after seeing him at the circus. However, Smith later passed on the role due to scheduling conflicts in his filming for Bad Boys for Life, among other reasons. Smith went on to be cast as the Genie in Disney's live-action remake of Aladdin. Bill Hader, Chris Pine and Casey Affleck were also offered the role, but passed on it before Colin Farrell was cast. Farrell, a fan of Burton, chose to work on the film because "[t]he idea of [acting in] something as sweet and fantastical and otherworldly, while being grounded in some recognizable world that we can relate to, under the direction of [Burton], was a dream ... I’ve always been looking for something of that ilk.”" In March 2017, Eva Green and Danny DeVito, recurring collaborators of Burton's, joined the cast as Colette, a trapeze artist, and Max Medici, the circus' ringmaster, respectively. Due to her fear of heights, Green trained with aerialist Katherine Arnold and choreographer Fran Jaynes in order to prepare for the role. In April 2017, Michael Keaton joined the cast, rounding out the few prominent "adult" live-action roles. Tom Hanks was reportedly in discussions for the role before Keaton was cast. During the summer of 2017, DeObia Oparei, Joseph Gatt, and Alan Arkin joined the film. DeVito said that "[he loves] Tim and [he] would do anything to be in a movie with him." DeVito said that Burton is "[a]lways spirited, always an artist, always thinking about the craft, always painting with his mind" and that he felt like "part of some kind of palette, a color scheme" while filming the movie. Principal photography had begun by July 2017, in England. Two elephant props were used during filming "to give [the production team] an idea of his size and his shape in the scene; an idea of the lighting, and that kind of thing; where he's going to be for camera." Creature performer Edd Osmond used a green suit to represent the character while filming certain scenes, as well as an "interactive reference" for scenes that required the actors to be in contact with the character, and as a guide for Burton to use, with Burton later providing information of his performance to the animation team. Unlike most remakes of Disney's animated films, Dumbo mostly used practical sets during filming. Most of the filming was done at Pinewood Studios and Cardington Airfield in England. Production designer Rick Heinrichs designed the film's scenes in a way that represents both the film's story and the period it is set, stating that the film's story "provided a very specific period, but at the same time, having worked with Tim many times in the past, [he knows] that [Burton is] a little less interested in giving a history lesson as he is in the emotional story being told." Both the "Dreamland" and circus scenes were designed differently in order to showcase their contrasts. The production design crew were heavily influenced by the works of Edward Hopper, with Heinrichs stating that the team tried to create something similar to "[Hopper]'s reductive process of looking at environments and reducing it to its essence." Heinrichs also said that the production design team had "to push the reality—the live action—a bit into the storybook world. [They] certainly make the baby elephant look believable, but [they] also stylized our world, pushing it into an expressive direction with all of the lighting, costumes, props and environments." Burton filmed the remake in sound stages, stating that "[f]or this kind of movie, shooting all indoors obviously helps with weather concerns and all those things. It's one movie where [they are] not sitting around, talking about the weather all day long." The production team also created a full-scale version of the train "Casey Jr." from the original film, though it was visually redesigned in order to reflect the circus' state. According to visual effects supervisor Richard Stammers, a motion base, which he described as "essentially a hydraulic round gimbal rig", was used for scenes in which Green's character flies with Dumbo, with hydraulic pistons used to simulate Dumbo's flying. On October 4, 2017, Danny Elfman was revealed to be composing the film's score. Elfman said that "[he and the production team] knew [they] would have to find a musical identity for Dumbo that was purely Dumbo." Elfman developed the film's main theme as "a very simple theme" as Burton "feels it's a simple story." Elfman also wrote background music for the film's scenes in the circus, as well as themes based on the characters' experiences. He also wrote a theme for Medici and Vandevere which he described as "a bit of a wicked thing." The score plays homage to Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace's score from the original film. Norwegian singer Aurora performed a cover of the original film's song "Baby Mine" for the remake's trailer, though it was not featured in the actual film. Sharon Rooney performed the song in the film. Additionally, Arcade Fire performs an end-credits version of "Baby Mine" for the film, which was released as a single on March 11, 2019. Instrumental versions of the songs "Casey Junior", "When I See an Elephant Fly", and "Pink Elephants on Parade" from the original film are also featured in the film. The soundtrack, featuring Elfman's score and Arcade Fire's version of "Baby Mine", was digitally released on March 29, 2019, and will be physically released on April 26, 2019. All music composed by Danny Elfman, except where noted. Dumbo was released in the United States and United Kingdom in 2D and RealD 3D by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures on March 29, 2019. It held its world premiere at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles on March 11, 2019. The Japan premier was held in Tokyo on March 14, 2019. The France premier was held in Paris on March 18, 2019.The European premier was held at the Curzon Mayfair Cinema in London on March 21, 2019. It will be released in RealD 3D, IMAX, IMAX 3D and Dolby Cinema. Dumbo will be released to stream exclusively in Disney's upcoming streaming service, Disney+, in late 2019. The first trailer was released on June 13, 2018. The second trailer debuted during the CMAs on November 14, 2018. As of April 23, 2019[update], Dumbo has grossed $102.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $206.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $309.7 million, against a production budget of $170 million. In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside The Beach Bum and Unplanned, and was projected to gross $50–65 million from 4,259 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $15.3 million on its first day, including $2.6 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $46 million. The film topped the box office but was considered a disappointing start given the $170 million budget and Disney brand, with Deadline Hollywood putting the blame on the original film being 78 years old and the middling critical response versus poor marketing. In its second weekend the film dropped 60% to $18.2 million, finishing third behind newcomers Shazam! and Pet Sematary, and then made $9.2 million in its third weekend, finishing fifth. In other territories, Dumbo was projected to make $80–90 million from 53 countries in its opening weekend, for a global debut of $137–155 million. Much like its domestic total, the film underperformed, grossing just $73.5 million for a worldwide total of $119.5 million. Its largest markets were China ($10.7 million), Mexico ($7.2 million) and Japan ($2.4 million). It made $39.6 million in its second weekend, for a running total of $137.5 million. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 47% based on 321 reviews, with an average rating of 5.55/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Dumbo is held partly aloft by Tim Burton's visual flair, but a crowded canvas and overstretched story leave this live-action remake more workmanlike than wondrous." On Metacritic, the film has an average score of 51 out of 100, based on 54 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale, and those at PostTrak gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars. Writing for The A.V. Club, Katie Rife gave the film a "B-" and wrote "...characters are just there to keep the story moving, to provide awestruck reaction shots as we move from oddly muted spectacle to agreeable callback to the heartwarming happy ending. And yes, these are all symptoms of the same relentless conformist drumbeat the film is critiquing in its script. But what's more Disney than Disney controlling the ways in which a filmmaker can critique Disney?" David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "The hopes of diehard Burton fans might have been stoked by the recruitment of Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito, totems of the director's more consistent days. But this is another frustratingly uneven picture, with thin characters — human and animal — that fail to exert much of a hold, reclaiming the story only toward the end. Up to then, the filmmaker's overstuffed visual imagination and appetite for sinister gloom all but trample the enchantment of a tale that, at heart, is simple and whimsical. The central failure to recognize those virtues lies also in Ehren Kruger's cluttered screenplay." James Berardinelli from Reelviews called Dumbo "a perfectly adequate family film" and gave the film 3 out of 4 stars. The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw gave the film one out of five stars, lamenting that "Tim Burton's new Dumbo lands in the multiplex big top with a dull thud. It is a flightless pachyderm of a film that saddles itself with 21st-century shame at the idea of circus animals, overcomplicating the first movie, losing the directness, abandoning the lethal pathos, mislaying the songs and finally getting marooned in some sort of steampunk Jurassic Park, jam-packed with retro-futurist boredom." ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v "Dumbo Press Kit" (PDF). March 11, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2019. ^ a b "Danny Elfman to Score Tim Burton's 'Dumbo'". Film Music Reporter. October 4, 2017. Retrieved October 4, 2017. ^ "DUMBO (2D)". British Board of Film Classification. March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019. ^ a b Ryan Faughnder (March 27, 2019). "Disney's 'Dumbo' remake is expected to fly high at the box office". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 27, 2019. ^ "Dumbo (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 24, 2019. ^ a b "Dumbo Has Screened, See The Early Reactions". CINEMABLEND. 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2019-04-01. ^ Fuller, Becky (March 28, 2019). "All The Live-Action Disney Remakes In Development". Screen Rant. Retrieved April 1, 2019. ^ Weiss, Josh (March 26, 2019). "Does Tim Burton's Dumbo remake soar? First reviews say it's gorgeous, but lacks heart". SyFy. Retrieved March 26, 2018. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray; Ramos, Dino-Ray (2017-07-26). "Tim Burton's Live-Action 'Dumbo' Adds 'Game Of Thrones' Actor DeObia Oparei". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-04-15. ^ ""Baby Mine" by Arcade Fire Featured in New 'Dumbo' Teaser". DSNY Newscast. 2019-03-05. Retrieved 2019-04-15. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray; Ramos, Dino-Ray (2017-08-07). "Tim Burton's 'Dumbo' Adds Joseph Gatt To Live-Action Adaptation Of Disney Classic". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-04-15. ^ Buffer, Michael (2019-02-10). "Coming MARCH 29TH in theaters everywhere! TIM BURTON'S DUMBO (The Disney Classic is BACK!) "LET'S GET READY FOR DUMBO!" Sneak Peek @Disney @DAZN_USA @Dumbo #Dumbopic". @Michael_Buffer. Retrieved 2019-04-15. ^ Kits, Borys (July 8, 2014). "Live-Action 'Dumbo' in the Works From 'Transformers' Writer". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 23, 2014. ^ Ford, Rebecca (March 10, 2015). "Tim Burton to Direct Live-Action 'Dumbo' for Disney". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 23, 2015. ^ Max Evry. "Production Begins on Tim Burton's Live-Action Dumbo!". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 16 July 2017. ^ Schaefer, Sandy (January 29, 2019). "Why Dumbo Isn't A Remake - It's An Original Story". ScreenRant.com. ^ Fuller, Becky (June 13, 2018). "The Dumbo Remake's Biggest (& Best) Change Is The Talking Animals". ScreenRant.com. ^ "Tim Burton helps new Dumbo film take flight". The New Paper. 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2019-03-21. ^ a b Kroll, Justin (January 11, 2017). "Will Smith Circling Tim Burton's Live-Action 'Dumbo' Adaptation". Variety. Retrieved June 17, 2017. ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (February 10, 2017). "'Dumbo' A No-Go For Will Smith". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 17, 2017. ^ Knapp, JD (July 15, 2017). "'Aladdin': Disney Casts Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott". Variety. Retrieved March 26, 2019. ^ Kroll, Justin (March 24, 2017). "Colin Farrell in Talks to Star in Tim Burton's 'Dumbo'". Variety. Retrieved June 17, 2017. ^ a b c Uribe, Mariana (February 8, 2019). "The Cast of Dumbo reaveals What It Was Like to Work With Tim Burton". Oh My Disney. ^ Lodderhose, Diana (March 7, 2017). "Eva Green In Talks For Tim Burton's 'Dumbo' At Disney". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 9, 2017. ^ Lodderhose, Diana (March 7, 2017). "Eva Green In Talks For Tim Burton's 'Dumbo' At Disney". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 17, 2017. ^ Anderton, Ethan (March 24, 2017). "Colin Farrell May See An Elephant Fly in Dumbo". SlashNews. Retrieved June 17, 2017. ^ Busch, Anita (March 9, 2017). "Danny DeVito Negotiating To Join Tim Burton's 'Dumbo' At Disney". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 17, 2017. ^ Pressberg, Matt (April 4, 2017). "Michael Keaton in Talks to Play Villain in Live-Action 'Dumbo' Remake". TheWrap. Retrieved June 17, 2017. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (August 7, 2017). "Tim Burton's 'Dumbo' Adds Joseph Gatt To Live-Action Adaptation Of Disney Classic". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 7, 2017. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (July 26, 2017). "Tim Burton's Live-Action 'Dumbo' Adds 'Game Of Thrones' Actor DeObia Oparei". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 2, 2017. ^ "Alan Arkin Joins Tim Burton's Live-Action 'Dumbo' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. 17 August 2017. ^ Giardina, Carolyn; McMillan, Graeme (July 13, 2017). "Will 'Avengers,' 'Frozen 2' and 'Star Wars' Dazzle at D23?". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 13, 2017. ^ "There Are Two Dumbos In Disney's Live-Action Movie". ScreenRant. 29 January 2019. ^ "Colin Farrell Explains Dumbo & Jungle Book's CGI Difference". ScreenRant. 29 January 2019. ^ "Dumbo Fun Facts" (PDF). March 11, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019. ^ "Dumbo - The Art of VFX". ArtOfVFX.com. Retrieved January 5, 2019. ^ Roberts, Maddy Shaw (February 7, 2019). "Dumbo movie 2019: cast, trailer, release date and soundtrack revealed". ClassicFM.com. Retrieved February 14, 2019. ^ Walt Disney Studios (3 March 2019). "Dumbo - Arcade Fire "Baby Mine" Reveal" – via YouTube. ^ a b "Tim Burton's 'Dumbo' to Feature End Credits Song by Arcade Fire". Film Music Reporter. March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019. ^ "Arcade Fire's 'Baby Mine' Cover from 'Dumbo' Released". Film Music Reporter. March 11, 2019. ^ "Dumbo". AMC Theatres. Retrieved March 5, 2019. ^ Knapp, JD (July 15, 2017). "Tim Burton's Live-Action 'Dumbo' Lifts Off to March 2019 Release". Variety. Retrieved March 10, 2018. ^ Kirsten Chuba (March 12, 2019). "'Dumbo' Premiere: Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito Talk Working With Tim Burton". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 20, 2019. ^ Whitten, Sarah (2019-03-20). "'Dumbo' kicks off slate of Disney remakes ahead of Disney+ launch". www.cnbc.com. Retrieved 2019-03-21. ^ a b Anthony D'Alessandro; Nancy Tartaglione (March 26, 2019). "'Dumbo' Will Be Global Big Top Attraction With $137M+ Footprint". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 26, 2019. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for March 29–31, 2019". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 2, 2019. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 31, 2019). "'Dumbo' Doesn't Soar With $45M+ Opening; Matthew McConaughey At Bottom With $1.8M 'Beach Bum' – Early Sunday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 31, 2019. ^ Anthony D'Alessandro (April 7, 2019). "'Shazam!' Shoots To Super $53M+ Opening, $56M+ With Previews; 'Pet Sematary' Purrs $25M – Sunday AM B.O. Final". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 7, 2019. ^ "International weekend Box Office Results for MARCH 29–31, 2019". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 2, 2019. ^ Nancy Tartaglione (March 31, 2019). "'Dumbo' Flies In Low With $71M Overseas; 'Captain Marvel' Nears $1B WW – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 31, 2019. ^ "Dumbo (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved March 29, 2019. ^ "Dumbo (2019) reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 29, 2019. ^ Rife, Katie (March 26, 2019). "Tim Burton's live-action Dumbo bites the corporate hand that feeds it". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 26, 2019. ^ Rooney, David (March 26, 2019). "'Dumbo': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 26, 2019. ^ Berardinelli, James. "Dumbo". Reelviews Movie Reviews. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (March 26, 2019). "Dumbo review – Tim Burton remake lands with elephantine thud". The Guardian. Retrieved March 26, 2019. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dumbo (2019 film).

2019-04-25T08:06:24Z

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumbo_(2019_film)

I am a Professor of Electronics and Signal Processing in Electrical Engineering, in the Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology. I am married and have two sons. I'm interested in Linear and Non-Linear Electronic Circuits, Signal Processing, Econophysics and derivatives, Sociophysics, Complex systems and Non-Linear Dynamic and Financial Markets. Leader of the group that created the field of DemoscopoPhysics. *EconoPhysics is the interdisciplinary field that principles and laws from the Physics are applied in the field of Economy. *DemoscopoPhysics is the research field that applies theories and methods originally developed by physicists in order to predict election results by using mainly Non Linear Dynamics (chaotic dynamics). The weekly Forecasting of Euro/Dollar Exchange rates. The deterministic analysis of Dow Jones Index Stock Market. Forecasting of Hellas election results. Forecasting of the Hellas Euro election results. Department of Electrical Engineering, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology: Electronics I and II, Signal Processing, Measurements Technology, Materials Technology, Telecommunications, Control Systems, Electrical Circuits, Political Economy, Entrepreneurship. Department of Industrial Information, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology: Electronics, Electrical Circuits. Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace: Superconductors and their Applications, Automated Electronic Measurements, Multimedia. Dept. of Economical Studies, University of Thessaly, with subject “EconoPhysics: A new approach to economic problems in the light of physics”, Volos, 2011. Master Degree Program in Financial Engineering, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey 2012, with subject “What is EconoPhysics” and “Has the Geek financial problem triggered the debt problem for the whole Eurozone? An analysis based on EconoPhysics”, Istanbul, Turkey 2012. Dept. of Economical Studies and Master Degree in Applied Economics, University of Thessaly, with subject “The Greek economy in Euro-zone future prospects using models from EconoPhysics”, Volos, Greece, 2013. World Forum for a Sustainable Society, 16th International Conference 18-19 October Sofia, Bulgaria with subject “The Greek dept and the crisis in Euro-zone using models from EconoPhysics” 2013. Department of Physics, Istanbul Culture University, with subject “What is EconoPhysics? – EconoPhysics approach of the Greek financial problem and Euro-zone crisis”, Istanbul, Turkey 2014. Μ. Hanias, L. Magafas, “DemoscopoPhysics: A New and Interdisciplinary Research Field” Chaos and Complexity Theory for Management: Nonlinear Dynamics, Ch16, p.317, 2012. Member of the Organizing Committee of the 4th International Conference on “Chaos and Complex Systems”, Antalya 2012. Chairman of Organizing Committee of the Summer School “”International Conference on EconoPhysics Kavala 2, 3 June, 2011. M. P. Hanias and L. Magafas, 2012, “Chaos theory in predicting election results” , Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review, 4 (3), p.286. Ch. K. Volos, I. M. Kyprianidis, S. G. Stavrinides, I. N. Stouboulos, L. Magafas and A. N. Anagnostopoulos, 2012, “Nonlinear Financial Dynamics from an Engineer’s Point of View”, Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review, 4 (3), p.281. L.Magafas, 2013, “Has the Geek financial problem triggered the debt problem for the whole Eurozone? An analysis based on EconoPhysics.” China-USA Business Review, 12(7), 655. M.Hanias, P.Konstantaki and L.Magafas, 2013, “Non Linear Analysis of S&P Index”, Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, to Equilibrium Journal, Volume 8 issue 4. A.Ozun, Y. F. Contoyiannis, F. K. Diakonos, M. Hanias, and L. Magafas, 2014, “Search for criticality in the Stock Exchange”, Journal of Trading, Vol.9, (3) p.34. M.Hanias, L.Magafas, and S.Stavrinides , 2015, “Chaotic analysis of gold time series” , Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review, Special issue on EconoPhysiscs, Vol.8 (1), p.16. A. C. Iliopoulos, G. P. Pavlos, L. Magafas, L. Karakatsanis, M. Xenakis, E. Pavlos, 2015, “Nonextensivity in Stock Market Indices. The cases of S & P 500 and TVIX”, Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review, Special issue on EconoPhysiscs, Vol.8 (1), p.34. S.Stravrinides, M.Hanias, L.Magafas and S.Banerjee, 2015, “Study Economic situations by using Electrical Circuit”, International Journal of Productivity Management and Assessment Technologies (IJPMAT), Vol 3 (2), p.1. L.Magafas, M.Hanias A.Tavlatou, P.Konstantaki, (2017), “Non Linear Properties of VIX Index”, Submitted after invitation to special edition of “The Managmant Accountant Journal” International Journal of Productivity Management and Assessment Technologies (IJPMAT), Vol.5 (2). L.Magafas and M.Hanias, “Analysis and Prediction of EUR/USD Index Using EconoPhysics Methods” Submitted to Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, to Equilibrium Journal. September 2005 – up to now : Head of Academic Sector of Electronics and Control Systems. February 2011 – 2013 : Head of Research Sector of Radiation in East Macedonia Thrace Center of Technological Research. President of Local Union in Kavala from 2009-2014. Vice President of Local Union in Kavala from 2014 up today. L.Magafas "Deposition, Properties and Applications of Amorphous Semiconductor Alloys", Xanthi 1992. Participation in 13 research Programs with the follow Sponsors. “Development of advanced textile and other flexible materials with solar cells " The Greek Ministry of Development, General Secretariat For Research & Technology and Democritus University of Thrace (Research Committee). (2006-2008). “Optimization of power factor in the operational area of Kavala, Compilation and evaluation project”, Research and Fund Administration Committee TEI of Kavala (2006-2009 ). Replacing Power System Multi rocket launcher His Weapon System RM 70 '', GES-GDDIA , Defense Ministry, (2010-2011). “Valasia” , The Greek Ministry of Development, General Secretariat For Research & Technology (“SYNERGASIA”) (2011- 2014). Quality Assurance Unit of Kavala Institute of Technology, Greek Ministry of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs (2011- 2015). Innovations and Entrepreneur’s Unit Eats Macedonia Thrace Institute of Technology, Vice Coordinator (2011- 2015). Marie Brain, The Greek Ministry of Development, General Secretariat For Research & Technology (“SYNERGASIA III”), Coordinator for the Department of Electrical Engineering of East Macedonia Thrace Institute of Technology (2011- 2015). Master Degree Program in Financial Engineering, Bogazici University, Instabul, Turkey 2012, with subject “What is EconoPhysics” and “Has the Geek financial problem triggered the debt problem for the whole Eurozone? An analysis based on EconoPhysics”, Istanbul, Turkey 2012. Dept. of Economical Studies and Master Degree in Applied Economics, University of Thessaly, with subject “The Greek dept and the crisis in Euro-zone using models from EconoPhysics”, Volos, Greece, 2013. World Forum for a Sustainable Society, 16th International Conference 18-19 October Sofia, Bulgaria 2013. L. Magafas, A. N. Anagnostopoulos and J. G. Antonopoulos, 1989, "On the Conductivity of Amorphous CdS Films", Physica Status Solidi (a) 111, K 175. Magafas, N. Georgoulas, D. Girginoudi and A. Thanailakis, 1991, "The Dependence of Electrical and Optical Properties of RF Sputtered Amorphous Silicon-Carbon Thin Films on Substrate Temperature and Hydrogen Flow Rate", Physica Status Solidi (a), 126, p.143 . L. Magafas, N. Georgoulas, D. Girginoudi and A. Thanailakis, 1992, "Structural and Optical Properties of a-SiC:H Thin Films", Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 139, p.146 . Magafas, N. Georgoulas and A. Thanailakis, 1992 , "Electrical Properties of a-SiC/c-Si(p) Heterojunctions", Semiconductor Science and Technology, 7, p.1363 . N. Georgoulas, L. Magafas and A. Thanailakis, 1993 , "A Study of a-SiC/c-Si(n) Isotype Heterojunctions", Active and Passive Electronic Components, 16, p.55. J.A. Kalomiros, A. Papadopoulos, S. Logothedidis, L. Magafas, N. Georgoulas and A. Thanailakis, 1994, "Optical Properties of a-SiC:H Grown by RF Sputtering", Physical Review B, 49 , p.8191 . L. Magafas, N. Georgoulas and A. Thanailakis, 1997, "The Influence of Metal Work Function on Electrical Properties of Metal/a-SiC:H Schottky Diodes", Microelectronics Journal 28 (2), p.107 . Magafas, N. Georgoulas and A. Thanailakis, 1998, "Τhe a-SiC/c-Si(n) Isotype Heterojunction as a High Sensitivity Temperature Sensor", Active and Passive Electronic Components 20, p.225. Magafas 1998, "The Effect of Thermal Annealing Temperature οn the Optical Properties οf a-SiC:H Thin Films", Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids 238, p.158. L. Magafas, N. Georgoulas and A. Thanailakis, 2002, “Optical response of Al/a-SiC/c- Si(p) heterojunction structure”, Microelectronics Journal 33, p.761. Magafas, 2003, “Optical Response Study of the Al/a-SiC:H Schottky Diode for Different Substrate Temperatures of the RF Sputtered a-SiC:H Thin Film”, Active and Passive Electronic Components 26(2), p.63. Koliopanos, I. M. Kyprianidis, I. N. Stouboulos, A. N. Anagnostopoulos and L. Magafas, 2003, "Chaotic Behaviour of a Fourth - Order Autonomous Electric Circuit", Chaos Solitons & Fractals, 16, p.173. Magafas, J. Kalomiros, D. Bandekas, G. Tsirigotis, 2006, “Optimization of the electrical Properties of Al/a-SiC:H Schottky diodes by means of thermal annealing of a-SiC:H thin films”, Microelectronics Journal, 37,p.1352. Magafas, D. Bandekas, A.K. Boglou and A.N. Anagnostopoloulos, 2007, “Electrical Properties of Annealed a-SiC:H Thin Films”, Journal of Non Crystalline Solids, 353, p.1065. Magafas, C. Mertzanidis, D. Bandekas, N. Athanasiades, 2007, “Thermal annealing effects on the optical and electrical properties of a-SiC:H thin films sputtered at different hydrogen flow rates”, Journal of Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials, 9, p.2030. Papadopoulou, N. Georgoulas, L. Magafas, 2007, “A study of the optical response speed of silicon Bulk Barrier photodiodes based on simulation results”, Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials Rapid-Communications, 1 (8), p.379. Mertzanidis and L. Magafas, 2007, “Far - field radiation characteristics in a dielectric environment”, Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials Rapid Communications, 1 (9). 457. Magafas, J. Kalomiros, 2007, “Optimization of Al/a-SiC:H optical sensor device by means of thermal annealing.” , Microelectronics Journal, 38, p.1196. Mertzanidis and L. Magafas, 2007, “Reflection effects in stratified dielectric structures”, Journal of Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials, 9 (12), p.3946. Bandekas, N. Vordos, K. Tarchanidis, L. Magafas, G. Tsirigotis, 2007, “Optimum Selection based on the Energy Capacity between Different Types of Renewable Sources using a Controller”, Electronics and Electrical Engineering, 8 (80), p.9. Magafas, 2008, “Study of optimization of Al/a-SiC:H Schottky diodes by means of annealing process of a-SiC:H thin films sputtered at three different hydrogen flow rates”, Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review, 1 , p.4. P.Hanias, L.Magafas, J.Kalomiros, 2008, “Non-Linear Analysis in RL-LED Optoelectronic Circuit”, Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials Rapid-Communications, 2 (2), p.126. A. Kalomiros, S.G. Stavrinides, A.N. Miliou, I.P. Antoniades, L. Magafas, and A.N. Anagnostopoulos, 2009, “The nonlinear current behaviour of a driven R–L-Varactor in the low frequency range”, Nonlinear Analysis: Real World Applications, 10(2), pp. 691-701. Magafas, N. Batzolis, C. Mertzanidis, 2008, “Frequency and Τime Domain reflection response of stratified dielectric structures”, Journal of Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials 10 (6), p.1396. Magafas, 2008, “Study of optical sensors of the form Al/a-SiC:H/c-Si(n) with high sensitivity”, Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review 1, p.41. Batzolis, V.Kratidis, L.Magafas, C.Mertzanidis, 2008 “ Electromagnetic Directivity Effects of Dielectric Materials”, European Journal of ScientificResearch, 23 (4). G. Stavrinides, A. N. Miliou, A. N. Anagnostopoulos, V. Konstantakos, Th. Laopoulos and L. Magafas, 2009, “Desynchronization Crisis Induced Intermittency in a Master - Slave PLL Configuration”. Chaos Solitons & Fractals, 42(1), pp. 33-39. G. Stavrinides, A. N. Anagnostopoulos, A. N. Miliou, A.Valaristos, L.Magafas, k.Kosmatopoulos and S.Papaioannou, 2009, “Digital Chaotic Synchronized Communication System” , Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review, 2 (1) , p.82. P. Hanias and L. Magafas, 2009 “Application of Physics Model in prediction of the Hellas Euro election results”, Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review, 2 (1) , p.104. P. Hanias and L. Magafas, 2009 “Application of Physics Model in prediction of the Hellas National election results ”, Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review, 2 (1) , p.112. Hanias , T.Stathakis, P.Antoniades, L.Magafas and D.Bandekas, 2012,“A study of the Regional Growth Domestic Product of East Macedonia Thrace by using a Neural Network Model.”, International Journal of Productivity Management and Assessment Technologies (IJPMAT), 1 (1), p.18 . Magafas, A. Ozun, M. Turk, 2012, “Regime Transitions in Emerging Markets under the Weak Dollar Period: An Empirical Analysis with Two-State Time-Varying Regime Switching Model” , Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review, 4 (3), p.251. P. Hanias, L. Magafas, A. Ozun, 2012, “Predicting the CDS index”, Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review, 4 (3), p.297. P. Hanias and L. Magafas , 2012, “Chaos theory in predicting election results” , Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review, 4 (3), p.286. K. Volos, I. M. Kyprianidis, S. G. Stavrinides, I. N. Stouboulos, L. Magafas and A. N. Anagnostopoulos, 2012, “Nonlinear Financial Dynamics from an Engineer’s Point of View”, Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review, 4 (3), p.281. Hanias and L.Magafas, 2013, “Predicting the Production of Total Industry in Greece with chaos theory and neural networks”, European Research Studies, Vol. XVI (2), p. 59. Magafas, 2013, “Has the Geek financial problem triggered the debt problem for the whole Eurozone? An analysis based on EconoPhysics.” China-USA Business Review, 12(7), 655. Hanias, P.Konstantaki and L.Magafas, 2013, “Non Linear Analysis of S&P Index”, Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, to Equilibrium Journal, Volume 8 issue 4. Ozun, Y. F. Contoyiannis, F. K. Diakonos, M. Hanias, and L. Magafas, 2014, “Search for criticality in the Stock Exchange” , Journal of Trading, Vol.9, (3) p.34. Hanias, L.Magafas, S.Stavrinides, P.Papadopoulou and M.Ozer, 2013, “Chaotic behavior of the forward I-V characteristic of the Al/a-SiC:H/c-Si(n) heterojunction” Chaos and Complex Systems, p.475. Hanias, L.Magafas, and S.Stavrinides , 2015, “Chaotic analysis of gold time series” , Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review, Special issue on EconoPhysiscs, Vol.8 (1), p.16. C. Iliopoulos, G. P. Pavlos, L. Magafas, L. Karakatsanis, M. Xenakis, E. Pavlos, 2015, “Nonextensivity in Stock Market Indices. The cases of S & P 500 and TVIX”, Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review, Special issue on EconoPhysiscs, Vol.8 (1), p.34. Stravrinides, M.Hanias, L.Magafas and S.Banerjee, 2015, “Study Economic situations by using Electrical Circuit”, International Journal of Productivity Management and Assessment Technologies (IJPMAT), Vol 3 (2), p.1. Magafas, M.Hanias A.Tavlatou, P.Konstantaki, 2015, “Non Linear Properties of VIX Index”, Submitted after invitation to special edition of “The Managmant Accountant Journal” It has been accepted for publication in International Journal of Productivity Management and Assessment Technologies (IJPMAT). Papadopoulou, S.G. Stavrinides, M. Hanias and L. Magafas, 2015, “Study of the Electrical Behavior of Metal/a-SiC:H/poly-Si(n) Structure using Simulation” It has been accepted in Acta Polonica. Magafas and M.Hanias, “Analysis and Prediction of EUR/USD Index Using EconoPhysics Methods” Submitted to Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, to Equilibrium Journal, (IJPMAT). Magafas, N.Georgoulas, D.Girginoudi and A.Thanailakis, Sept. 1988, ²R.F.Sputtered a-SiC:H Thin Films²,Proc.of IV National Conference on Solid State Physics, pp.269-273, Athens, Greece. Magafas, N.Georgoulas, D.Girginoudi and A.Thanailakis, Nov. 1988, ²A Study of Electrical and Optical Properties of a-SiC:H for Photovoltai Conversions², Proc. 3rd Renewable Energy Sources National Conference, pp.431-440, Thessaloniki, Greece. Magafas, N.Georgoulas, D.Girginoudi and A.Thanailakis, Sept. 1989, ²The Effect of Growth Conditions on the Properties of a-SiC:H Thin Films², Proc.of V National Conference on SolidState Physics, pp.167-172, Xanthi, Greece. Magafas, N.Georgoulas, D.Girginoudi and A.Thanailakis, April. 1990, ²The Influence of Deposition Conditions on the Properties of a-SiC:H Thin Films², MRS Symp.Proc.Vol. 192, pp 589-594, San Fransisco, California, U.S.A. Magafas, N.Georgoulas and A.Thanailakis, Sept. 1991, ²Studies of Electrical Properties of a-SiC/c-Si Heterojunctions² Proc.of VI National Conference on Solid State Physics, pp.316-320, Thessaloniki, Greece. Magafas, N.Georgoulas and A.Thanailakis, Sept. 1992, ²Heterojunctions of a-SiC/c-Si(p) Type as Photovoltaic Cells², Proc. 4th Renewable Energy Sources National Conference, Vol B , H.E.F. pp.62-67, Xanthi, Greece. Kalomiros, E.Paloura, N.Georgoulas, A.Ginoudi, S.Kennou,L.Ladas, A.Anagnostopoulos, J.Spiridelis, D.Girginoudi, L.Magafas, N.Georgoulas, A.Thanailakis, Sept. 1994 ²Ex-situ Hydrogenation of Amorphous Silicon Carbon Thin Films Deposited by R.F. Sputtering² Proc.of X National Conference on Solid State Physics, pp.211-214, Delphi, Greece. Girginoudi, L.Kilindireas, L.Magafas S.Girginoudi L.Georgopoulos, E.Dimitriades A.Thanailakis and N.Georgoulas , March 1995, ² Technological Surface Processing of CVD and PVD , and Their Applications in Greece² Meeting of Technical Chamber with the Subject ²Special Surface Technologies and Applications in Greece², Proc. Pp.145-167, Athens, Greece. Georgopoulos, N.Georgoulas , L.Magafas and A.Thanailakis Sept. 1995, ²Study of Electrical Properties of Bulk Burrier Diodes (BBD) ², Proc.of XI National Conference on Solid State Physics, pp.15-19, Xanthi, Greece. Magafas, N.Georgoulas and A.Thanailakis, Sept. 1996, ²Isotype Heterojunction of a-SiC/c-Si(n) Heterojunctions² Proc.of XII National Conference on Solid State Physics, pp.116-120, Crete, Greece. Magafas, G.Heristanides, “Teaching Methods in Environmental Education by using Information and Communication Technologies”, Proc. Of 1st Conference of Environmental Education , Korinthos September 2006. Magafas, J.Kalomiros, D.Bantekas, “Optimization of the electrical Properties of Al/a-SiC:H Schottky diodes by means of thermal annealing of a-SiC:H thin films” Proc. of Panhellenic Conference of Physics, Larissa April 2006. Athanasiadis, D.V.Bandekas, L.Magafas and E.Athanasiadis, “Modeling and Application of Facts Devices at the Interconnected South East European Region”, Sixth IASTED International Conference, European Power and Energy Systems, Rhodes, Greece, June 26-28, p.57, 2006. Magafas, “Study of optical sensors of the form Al/a-SiC:H/c-Si(n) with high sensitivity”, Proc. of Panhellenic Conference of Physics, Kavala March 2008. P.Hanias, L.Magafas, “DemoscopoPhysics a new Interdisciplinary Research Field”, Proc. of 3rd International Interdisciplinary Chaos Symposium on Chaos and Complex Systems, May 21-24, 2010, Konstantinoupoli, Turkey. Hanias, L.Magafas, S.Stavrinides, P.Papadopoulou and M.Ozer, 2013, “Chaotic behavior of the forward I-V characteristic of the Al/a-SiC:H/c-Si(n) heterojunction” Complexity, Proceedings of the 4th International Interdisciplinary Chaos Symposium, p.221. V. Iakovoglou, G.N. Zaimes, D. Emmanouloudis, A. Ioannou, D. Bandekas , L. Magafas, C. Giordamlis , P. Kouris, 2014 “Innovative use of sensors to Collect, Analyze and Forecast Abiotic Factors in Order to Improve Productivity ”, International Society for Horticultural Science, Muscat, Oman 22 October 2014 . Magafas “Low Cost Sensing Device for Fuel Detection in Ships” 4th Proceedings of 4th International Conference on Modern Circuits and System Technologies, Thessaloniki May 2015. Magafas and J.Karafyllides, ²Exercise of Microelectronics I ² Democritus University of Thrace, Xanthi 1993. Magafas “Excell for Secondary School” Kavala 1999. Magafas "Introduction to Science and Technology of Materials - Laboratory Exercises," Xanthi, 2001. Laboratory Exercises . Magafas “ Basic Electronics” TEI of Kavala, Kavala 2007. Magafas “Signal Processing and Applications” TEI of Kavala, Kavala 2013. Magafas, S.Toumpektsis ²Measurement Systems² TEI of Kavala, Kavala 2012. Toumpektsis and L.Magafas, “The art of measurement”2011, ISBN 978-960-93-2718-3. Magafas, A.Pavlidis, “Laboratory of Electronics I”, TEI of Kavala, Kavala 2011. J.P. Bentley, “Principles of Measurement Systems” , Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. Editing in Greece by N.Koliopoulos, D.Bandekas, L.Magafas. 2nd International EconoPhysics Conference, Kavala 13,14 September, 2013. International Conference on EconoPhysics Kavala 2,3 June, 2011. Member of Technical Program Committee of International Conference on Chaos Cryptography and Communications, 23-27 September, Bali Indonesia 2013. Member of the Organizing Committee of the 4th International Conference on “Chaos and Compex Systems”, Antalaya 2012. Member of the Scientific Committee of the 12th Panhellenic Conference on Physics, Kavala March 2008. Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee of the 12th Panhellenic Conference on Physics, Kavala March 2008. Technical Member Comitte of International Conference on Signal Processing and Integrated Networks. Spin. 2014. Member of Program Committee of AAAI Symposium at Standford. Chairman of Local of Organizing Committee in CERN School of Computing Kavala 14-25/9/2015. Guest Editor of Special Isuue of 12th Conference of Hellenic Physical Society. More than 240 citations in ournals. Please don't hesitate to contact me for more information about my work. © Lykourgos Magafas. All Rights Reserved.

2019-04-20T12:28:57Z

http://lykourgosmagafas.eu/

Deke Sharon to run Sydney A Capella Festival in September! The Sydney 2017 Pan-Pac Convention is to be held in the International Convention Centre, Darling Harbour from Wednesday 27 September 2017 to Sunday lunchtime 1 October 2017. This will be immediately followed by Harmony University at Naamaroo Conference Centre, Lane Cove from Sunday afternoon 1 October 2017 to Wednesday 4 October 2017. This promises to be one of the most exciting Barbershop Conventions and Harmony Universities ever held in the region. Aside from the anticipated high level of performances and the rare fellowship opportunities it will provide, highlights will also include the amazing, just completed, performance venue and the exciting Darling Harbour precinct surrounding the centre. In addition to the Pan-Pac competition, both BHA and BHNZ will be concurrently holding their respective National Competitions including Australian and New Zealand open, seniors, mixed and youth barbershop choruses and quartets all sharing the one stage in a series of integrated competitions promising to be the most inclusive convention ever. The Harmony University at the nearby Sydney suburb of Lane Cove (a short drive of around 30 minutes from the Convention Centre) will offer a once in a lifetime opportunity to get up close and personal with a faculty of top Barbershop educators . The Convention website and registration information will be up and running within the next few weeks. Definitely a Convention and Harmony University not to be missed! Recently the BHA National Council (the “Council”) met for its annual face to face meeting, this time in Adelaide, so that the facilities for the 2018 Convention could be inspected. All Councillors attended and a wide ranging discussion was had. Key points are listed below. The Council encourages comments and input from members on any of the topics discussed, or even not discussed. Please contact the Secretary with your input. WHAT is Barbershop Harmony Australia? We are an association of barbershop clubs in Australia. We act together to promote barbershop singing and share camaraderie. We gather together annually for conventions and contests. HOW can we most effectively promote BHA? We will emphasize mutually respectful relationships across BHA. We will build links with individual clubs. We will promote members’ pride in belonging to BHA. We will celebrate the successes of BHA. We will provide tools and resources, within a limited budget, to support barbershop development. We will make support for club musical leadership teams our highest priority. We will expect local clubs to take responsibility for coordinating and facilitating local recruiting, marketing, and retention programs. The key outcome from all of this is that the Club is our most important conduit to new members and communication with members. Our chorus music directors are incredibly important, not only in guiding our music, but attracting and retaining members. We then discussed initiatives in the various portfolios. The Secretary noted that he mostly receives communications from Clubs and members regarding renewal of membership and re-registration of quartets etc. There seems to be a lack of understanding of the process involved (although the forms are all on the BHA website). One possible cause could be the annual turn-over of Club Secretaries, with the incoming person not familiar with the process, and not receiving guidance from the outgoing Secretary. Quartets too, do not seem to understand the need to re-register each year. Members, Clubs and quartets who do not re-register are not covered for insurance or performing rights, and are not eligible to participate in BHA affairs, including contests. Re-registering with BHA every year is essential. The other issue we considered were the dates of the membership year. Currently these are 1 October to 30 September, but most Clubs operate on an annual basis, so a calendar year would make more sense. Under Membership we considered communication issues that seem to continue. Despite Council’s best efforts, via this newsletter, it seems many of our members do not bother to read it. It potentially leads to a misunderstanding of what your Council does for you. While we occasionally undertake surveys of members to get feedback, we now also plan to undertake a process whereby each Councillor will contact three or four Clubs to discuss your issues and your ideas. That will roll out sometime in the next month or two. We also want to help Clubs with access to contemporary repertoire, assist those Clubs who feel they have inadequate structures and processes for promoting membership, and we want to encourage clubs to help each other more. Marketing is all about communication, with Clubs and with the public. Some of you will have noticed the new format for our bi-monthly newsletter, In Harmony. Apparently the format has not suited everyone, but we do feel it has been well received by the majority of members. A regular monthly newsletter, similar to BHS’s Livewire, will be issued with dates, reminders, and ad hoc communications. The newsletter will have an interesting and vibrant style. In Harmony will now be published quarterly rather than bi-monthly. It will be a “feel good” publication that promotes the barbershop culture. It will include information/ club material, reports from VPs etc. We will investigate improving the design of the publication. We are also getting very active on social media, but a number of “unofficial” Facebook pages have sprung up, all representing BHA, and these need to be amalgamated into the one page. We will also undertake an upgrade of our BHA website to make it more user-friendly. HarmonySite continues to be an excellent platform for our Clubs, especially since it shares information with the BHA website, therefore minimising Club secretarial work in maintaining membership records. BHA continues to support and recommend HarmonySite to Clubs. Another marketing issue discussed was building our archive and promoting our brand through media such as YouTube. BHS is now doing this very successfully. Many of our early Conventions were recorded on video, so these will be digitised and displayed on BHA’s own YouTube channel. Finally, our external communications need to have pertinent messages that describe who we are and what we do. The Council brainstormed some ideas on this, including: “fun, changing men’s singing culture, inclusiveness, men’s health benefits, contemporary music, inspiring music, benefits of barbershop in every school, Australia’s most recognizable music/vocal organisation, it’s cool to be a barbershopper”. If you have any ideas to add, please send them through! In the Events portfolio, we are very squarely focussed on the forthcoming Pan Pac Convention and Harmony University in Sydney in September. The Convention will be preceded by two days of workshops with Deke Sharon, the “father” of modern a cappella singing. These workshops will be open and free to all BHA Youth members. BHA full members can purchase tickets for the two days for $50. There are many hotels in the Darling Harbour district of Sydney and a list of these can be found here www.darlingharbour.com/stay/. The “headquarters” hotel will be the Oaks Goldsborough. Our Welcome Gala event is included in registration, and will be held at the fabulous Doltone House, a short 10 minute walk from the ICCS. At this stage only delegates and partner delegates will be able to attend the Welcome Gala. There may be separate ticketing available later, but that will depend on delegate numbers. After Sydney, our next Conventions will be Adelaide (2018) and Hobart (2019). The next Pan Pac will be in Auckland in 2020. The Council continues to be concerned about the Regional Contest weekends being held. Some involve an educational component but others do not. Providing the judges for these events is a major item in our annual budget, and these educators have agreed to be available for educational workshops. It is clearly the best use of member’s funds if an educational event is attached. A review of the current regional structure is planned to determine if it is the most sensible and efficient way to run these events, and the local affairs of BHA in the regions. In the Contest area, we voted to bring us into accord with the other world Affiliates by changing the rule for mixed quartets from a two and two (“2 + 2”) male/female mix to a three and one (“3 + 1”) male/female mix. This will allow our BHNZ contestants to join in the Pan Pac mixed quartet contest. We will review this rule for National contests in 2018 and 2019 after the Pan Pac contest. Rules of mixed choruses (i.e. 60/40) will still apply. Our triennial judge training school will take place in Sydney from Sunday 24 to Tuesday 26 September. This school re-trains and certifies our existing judges as well as new candidates who have been in training programs for a year or more. Participation is by invitation only. Contact the Chairman of Judges for more information. We continue to have great aspirations in the Music education portfolio. Last year we offered some scholarships to Harmony College, and these will continue. We will re-brand our college as Harmony University, and offer five (5) scholarships (worth $340 each) to members to attend. We are also offering five (5) Harmony University scholarships (worth $340 each) to school music teachers who undertake to use barbershop music as part of their school learning program. Application forms will soon be available on the BHA website. A new initiative to be brought in this year will be the establishment of a National Education faculty (NEF), who will undertake annual visits to Clubs. These coaches will be trained to support clubs with coaching, management structure matters, etc., and will report back to Council on Club status so that further assistance can be planned if necessary. Our aim is that every Club will receive an annual visit at no cost except for the provision of local transport and billet accommodation. This is a similar program to that run by the Sweet Adelines. The Deke Sharon workshops will undoubtedly be the highlight of the Youth Development program this year. Many of you will have heard of Deke. He is regarded as the leader of modern a cappella music, but he is also an honorary life member of the Barbershop Harmony Society. The workshops will run in Sydney on Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 September. Entry and participation will be free to all Youth members as part of their Convention registration. BHA members >25 years old can attend and observe with a day ticket for $30, or a two day ticket for $50. It will be an event not to be missed! We are also looking at other opportunities to promote barbershop singing in schools with attendance at the annual Australian Society of Music Educators conference in July planned. We are also planning to contact every school in the Sydney area to promote the Deke Sharon workshops and barbershop in general. Over the next year or two, we hope to roll that school contact out to every school in Australia. But we need help with this. If you have some time (you don’t have to be a Youth member) to help us compile lists of music teachers, please contact the VP Youth Development. As far as Finances and Treasury goes, we are now back on our feet after our “near death” experience following the Perth Convention. We certainly hope that never happens again, and that Eastern states members will support a Convention in Perth from time to time, just as our Western state members continually support conventions in the Eastern states. We have approved significant budgets for music education, youth development, marketing, membership and contest and judging. At this stage the Council considers these programs are an efficient and beneficial use of members’ funds replacing the previous regional subsidies that were paid. Running Conventions is a significant financial risk to BHA and members’ support is necessary if these are to continue to be viable. So a very successful annual face to face meeting was held. If you have any questions please contact the Secretary who will direct the question to the appropriate Council member. We are excited to bring the internationally renowned musical genius Deke Sharon to Sydney, Australia on Tuesday 26 & Wednesday 27 September 2017 for the Sydney A Cappella Festival. Deke Sharon is the musical director of Pitch Perfect 1, 2 & 3 and The Social Network. The world's most prolific a cappella arranger, with over 2000 songs to his credit, he has also produced television's The Sing Off worldwide (US, Holland, China, South Africa). Don’t miss this once in a lifetime chance to work with the man responsible for the current sound of modern a cappella – keep in touch at www.ysihau.com. Learn more about Deke at www.dekesharon.com. Over the last two or three years, it has become the responsibility of each club to update its details in the BHA database. This has cut administrative costs. At the beginning of the new year, each club is asked to please take the time to update its contact details, office bearers, member email, address, phone number, emergency details, etc. Many clubs, for example, will have recently conducted an AGM. Ensure either (a) your club uses HarmonySite (www.harmonysite.com) to manage itself and its members, or (b) you have nominated at least one member of your club to be responsible for maintaining current club and member information on the BHA website. If you do not have either of these options in place, please contact Mark Virtue, our Webmaster, on 0411 170517, or webmaster@barbershop.org.au. Member email, address, phone number, emergency details, etc. If you do not know how to update these details, please contact Mark Virtue (details above). Thank you for your assistance in completing this task. With regional contests approaching, all quartets intending to compete will need to be registered or re-registered with BHA. At the moment, only 22 quartets are registered across our six regions. MR BARBERSHOP HARMONY AUSTRALIA, Linc Abbott, passed away on Monday, February 27, 2017. Many long standing barbershoppers called Linc this name because of the massive contribution he made to the introduction, expansion and development of the barbershop harmony movement during the first 25 years of barbershop harmony here in Australia. Linc came to Australia with his family in 1972 and brought significant experience in barbershop harmony obtained in Maine, USA where he began as a chorus member and quickly became the musical director of the DOWNEASTERS CHORUS located in Yarmouth, Maine. When Linc came to the Gold Coast, Queensland he quickly organized a barbershop quartet named DREAMWORLD QUARTET and it became very popular roaming and entertaining the crowds at the DREAM WORLD Amusement Park on the Gold Coast. The popularity of this quartet led to his organizing the BANANA BLENDERS BARBERSHOP CHORUS which he directed for many years and led in entertaining audiences throughout Australia and to numerous medal performances. About 1995 Linc moved to Musical Director of the RIVER CITY CLIPPERS BARBERSHOP CHORUS and lifted them to medal contention. Linc was made a LIFE MEMBER by each of these choruses for his significant musical leadership to good barbershop harmony and fellowship. Linc freely coached many of the developing choruses during the period 1990-2008 period. He was the Dean of the first weekend Harmony College held in Bathurst, NSW in 1987. He was Associate Dean at the first Australian Harmony College held on the Sunshine Coast in April 1994 (Mel Knight of SPEBSQSA was the Dean). He was a prodigious arranger of popular songs in the four part barbershop harmony style many of which such as ADVANCE AUSTRALIA FAIR, I STILL CALL AUSTRALIA HOME, WALTZING MATILDA, and MY COUNTRY we all sing regularly. He was made a LIFE MEMBER of the Association of Men Barbershop Singers/Barbershop Harmony Australia in 1998 in recognition of his massive contribution to the introduction and development of barbershop harmony in Australia. Yes, Linc Abbott was a major mover and shaker of good barbershop harmony during most of his life. We will all miss his great musical direction and remember in harmony his deep bass voice always encouraging us to blend, balance and enjoy barbershop harmony at its best. On Friday afternoon 24 February 2017, over sixty barbershoppers from throughout the Eastern Region wended their various ways to the Myuna Bay Sports and Recreation Complex on the shores of the beautiful Lake Macquarie, 90 minutes drive north of Sydney. They were all heading, with great anticipation, to the 2017 BHA Eastern Region Harmony College organised by the ER Council. This workshop was the latest in a long series of similar annual events which first started way back in the early nineties. The sixty plus delegates were drawn from almost every Chorus in the Region including; Soundwaves, Novatones, Hills Harmony, Sydney Harmony, Penrith Harmony and Canberra Chordsmen. Special Mention should also go to Sydney based youth chorus, Vox Canvas who attended with virtually all their members and to our newest Chorus, South Lakes Harmony, who attended with their entire membership of eight enthusiastic "non-youth" barbershoppers including long time MC extrordinairre Bob Fritz who showed us that he still had it by expertly MC'ing the Showcase on Saturday Night. The faculty comprised highly experienced and personable Kiwi educator, Jill Rogers together with the guys from medal winning quartet, Cataylst including the very talented Rob Sequeira (who had the unique experience of coaching his dad, Malcolm who was one of the delegates) , the dynamic Jonathan Bligh, David Reid, one of the most unassuming (not!) and talented basses around and, lastly, but not least, the inimitable Richard Reeve. The program ran from Friday evening through to midday Sunday with a great mix of work and fun. The late night (read early morning) afterglow sessions were, as always, a feature and continued to develop the fantastic camararderie existing amongst the eight choruses represented. The highlight was the Saturday night showcase where we had the opportunity to perform in front of our peers as well as a paying audience at the Wangi Wangi RSL Club. The show included a very creditable performance by the combined singers, masterfully conducted by Rob Sequeira, performing the new song we had all learnt from scratch during the weekend "The way we were". Special mention must go to the guys from Soundwaves and Novatones who provided most of the manpower and organisation and, in particular, Stuart Adey and his wife Beth who provided virtually all the catering for the weekend enabling the overall cost to be kept extremely low. Well done and thank you Stuart and Beth. Eastern Region President, Brian Bleakley, confirmed during his wrap up, that we would be back again around the same time next year. A group of expatriates located on the Indonesian Island of Batam, a rapidly growing city of around 1.5 million people just 12 miles and an hour by modern fast ferry from Singapore, is looking for an MD. We are seeking a confident, energetic and competent musical director with a true spirit of adventure to create a chorus presence from scratch in a musical desert littered with talent and latent enthusiasm but devoid of inspiration and leadership. And if that’s not sufficient challenge, you also need to know that we cannot pay a salary! But, we will provide accommodation and as we develop a chorus presence we would expect to generate modest income from memberships and sponsorships. Be aware also that Batam is an ideal place from which to inexpensively explore the fascinating Indonesian archipelago and the countries of South-east Asia. You probably will be a self-funded retiree, single and preferably with some knowledge, experience of or interest in Asia and the cultures of South-east Asia. You probably will have a background in barbershop or male or mixed choruses but also have an interest in other genres like Doo Wop (with instrumental backing) and a cappella gospel. The challenge will be to develop male, female, mixed and children’s choruses and inspire and support the development of quartettes or other small break-out groups. Batam has a sizeable and growing expat community, a surprising number of whom are interested in music and singing. But the really rich opportunity lies in introducing choral singing to members of the Indonesian community. It’s an opportunity for an aspiring and committed musical leader to create and launch something new and potentially very special. Expressions of interest are sought for the position of Music Director of the Miner Chords who are based in Ipswich, Queensland. Gold Medal lead singer from 2014 International Champion Quartet Musical Island Boys, Marcellus Washburn has been busy spreading the joy of music since his move to Melbourne from New Zealand. Marcellus directs a small a capella group, the Melbourne Pasefika Mens Choir, a platform for Polynesian male singers that has proven popular since its formation in August 2016. "The lads that I currently work with have never participated in an a capella choir, and a lot of them have never had music or singing lessons, so this is an exciting and challenging opportunity for them. My vision is to have a competing Polynesian choir by 2018, so hopefully 2017 will give us a chance to establish ourselves and learn more about the barbershop art form". With a talent like Marcellus at the helm, we are sure they've got lots of exciting and rewarding gigs in store, and we wish them the best of luck! Here we are, back in to it with a vengeance. We have got the competition songs uploaded and are working well in most aspects of them. Well, that’s what the MD said the other night. We started the year with a couple of losses due to the younger lads graduating high school and moving on, or commencing Year 12 and having more on their plate than they would ever have imagined. Next weekend we willl be singing for the public at Summer Tunes. A venture of Toowoomba Region to bring a bit of joy to the public experiencing our beautiful parks. This is the third or fourth time we have participated and it is always great fun. With luck we could pick up a couple of new members. Hope springs eternal. As related in our last item we have had major changes to our rehearsal venue. Ripped up the carpets, pulled out all the curtains over the glass wall and opened up the stage area. Looks great. But, pingy! We don’t know whether we sound great, or awesome. Mike L, our MD has had us go out and sing in the grassed courtyard to add a bit of reality to our singing and it surely brings one back to earth with a thud. We sang at Oakey for Australia Day. A township about 20 kilometres west of here. One of our members is the Community Liasion Officer there and was the mover and shaker for the whole day. We had a beaut time and the Welcome To Country by a mature Aboriginal lady was most moving. She epitomised all that is great about her ancient race. Graceful, dignified and very welcoming. Pity a lot of people from other parts of Australia couldn’t have attended and heard her. Next big thing? Sunshine Regionals. We’re now in the. “Let’s get this sucker sorted", phase. My Name is Thomas McNamara I am a member of High Altitude Harmony in Toowoomba Qld Australia we have had a wonderful year in 2016. Which included concerts in our University of Southern Queensland, fundraisers at Bunning's Warehouse and of Course the final show of the year The HAH Singing Restaurant. Its been a lovely year and we look forward to continuing in 2017. We even got a international coach to come and teach us some new styles that will be on display at Regionals 2017. We look forward to continuing the barbershop tradition and of course anyone is welcome to join in. Looking forward to seeing you at the Sydney Convention in 2017. Our chorus is very excited to have Gary Taylor as our new MD, at least for a trial period to determine whether he can commit, or whether we are worth the risk to his well earned reputation! Gary comes from New Zealand and has had great experience over there with quartets and choruses. Now living in Australia, he is proving that his love of Barbershop remains still a very driving force. We have made an enthusiastic start to the new year and hope all works out for everyone. While we welcome Gary, we also acknowledge the enthusiasm and great technical skills that Ricky Allen brought to the chorus during his couple of years as MD. Fortunately, Ricky will remain as a singer but work and study commitments, as well as an upcoming marriage, made the added MD role just too much of a commitment at this stage. Penrith Harmony are lucky to have talented members who can step into the MD role to cover unavailabilities. Over the Christmas singouts we were variously led by Ricky, Peter Fragar, John Livingston, Richard Wadick and Russell Davies. The Christmas period provided many singing opportunities, including Penrith Homemakers shopping centre on Thursday nights and Saturday mornings, as well as performances at Penrith Panthers, and for the disability shoppers night at Big W, generally with enthusiastic audiences. We say farewell to Geoff Simpson and wish him well. Geoff has moved up to Port Stephens but could prove to be a valuable recruit for the Newcastle Novatones. In late 2016, Hobart Men’s Barbershop Harmony Club was approached by Alwyn and Laurie Lewis who have recently taken up residence in Hobart, to participate in a celebration of the life and works of Louisa Anne Meredith, a Tasmanian resident back in the middle 18oo’s and a well-known Australian literary icon of the period. They were looking for a set of songs that would complement the early February event and a group to perform a song they had written as part of the celebration. Whilst their arrangement was in five parts and for a mixed choir, we agreed to do a quick re-arrangement to allow us to deliver in our favoured four part men’s barbershop style. The event captured our imagination and a willing group of Deep South and Silvertones members volunteered to come back from the Christmas break early to prepare. Under two magnificent oak trees, a stage of wooden pallets was set in this delightful venue, the heritage listed homestead of Louisa Anne’s former home near Buckland, on Tasmania’s East Coast. Well know Melbourne actor David Tredinnick read passages from Louisa Anne’s book, My Home In Tasmania (1852) accompanied by the haunting notes of Cellist Sarah Matthews. We performed a five song set within the sold out event, closing each of the morning and afternoon sessions, finishing with the newly arranged Tasmania, Our Home. The audience response was very positive and touched many deeply, with one woman confiding that we had brought her to tears on three occasions during the performance. Whilst in some ways a challenging outdoor venue, the use of some fold-back amplification assisted the group by providing some feedback to assist in blend and production. Richard Gardam, who acted as the MD for the project, did a terrific job with the new arrangement, preparations and performance. For the Chorus members, a great day out singing with mates and touching hearts in a unique experience. Who could ask for more! The Miner Chords have undergone quite a few challenges in the last few years but have managed to hang in. However, with numbers dropping below ten, we had to make some changes or risk extinction. Late last year our Musical Director moved a couple of hours away and couldn’t always make it to rehearsals. Our immediate past president had advised the club he would be away for most of 2017 and a couple of our more experienced members had also advised their unavailability. While our current situation is far from perfect, we have also had some further prospective members have a sing with us at rehearsal so it would appear we have the prospect of growing once again. To enhance this prospect even further the chorus has decided to open our books to women as well and we have already fielded some expressions of interest. Probably the biggest decision made and not one we have taken lightly was to declare the position of MD vacant and call for nominations in the hope that we will attract a person with energy and musical knowledge who can develop and grow alongside us as we progress through our future goals as a flexible performance chorus who can provide quartets and choruses of both mixed and single gender. Make sure you stay tuned because we have plenty more videos up our sleeve, and we have a lot of exciting news regarding tours and performances that we can’t wait to let you in on once the Fringe is done! A new year, a new logo and a new sound. The Blenders cane away from Newcastle encouraged by what we learned and ready to drive our sound to new heights. At the convention, our leadership released our new logo, which you can see here adjacent, and the chorus loved it. It has been heartily embraced as part of our culture of new. Barbershop may have been around a long time but it is constantly in renewal and the Blenders are no different with new image, new ideas, new music, new sounds, new rehearsal strategy, new events and new energy in the chorus. The music team is stepping up the pace and the chorus is responding with an awesome sound through the first three weeks of the new year. The leadership team wishes to acknowledge two great stalwarts of the Blenders over many years. Mark McCann on the right has recently retired from the choir due to health reasons and he will be sadly missed. Over 28 years Mark has sung different parts, contributed strongly to the leadership of the chorus and been involved with our quartets programs. Thank you Mark for all you have done for the chorus. We wish you well in the future and hope to have you back on the risers with us one day. Shown left, the other giant in recent Blenders history is our most recent past President Doug Goetze who has also held the role of VP Membership for the Blenders Chorus. Doug has the ability to snag and reel in new talent for the chorus that is truly awesome to behold and we are going to need a platoon to replace his solo efforts. Doug is taking a break and going to enjoy travelling with his family but we hope to have him on the risers with us whenever he is in town refuelling and restocking. Thanks Dougie. The Blenders will again host one of our favourite events, this year on May 27, with the fifth annual Voices in Paradise A Cappella Revolution. There is a changed teaching line up this year with the BHA champion 2016 quartet Blindside and the seriously good Drums of War from Melbourne locked in. We are so proud to host the event, grow the youth involvement in singing in our region and basically have a damn good time. If you have young people in the South East Queensland or Northern NSW region that you know would love it, check it out on line for registration. Jono, you’ve done it again. Bring it on, I can’t wait. On Sat, 29 Oct 2016 at The Sunnybank Performing Arts Centre, the Clippers performed at their 25th Annual concert. Benchmark, The St Laurence College Band and “The Wild Trio” assisted to present one of the best variety concerts we have held. Many past members, mostly now retired from BBShop, attended and enjoyed this variety of entertainment. The show included finger food beforehand, and a light supper at intermission. All members invited their families and friends and the afterglow brought together both current and long term supporters of the chorus. The concert preceded the Christmas rush of performances at many venues in support of community organisations and The Mater Hospital. The chorus is in need of new members to increase our presence in the region and we look forward to working with other Sunshine Region Choruses to grow the strength of BHA throughout Queensland and Northern NSW. The end of 2016 was as busy as ever with multiple singouts, concerts and general spreading of good cheer. We joined with our sisters in harmony Vocalescence to present an end of year concert. The medley ‘This is My Wish/ Wonderful World’ was a great success. And now, after a well-earned rest, preparations are fully underway for our most challenging year yet – to represent BHA and Australia at internationals in Las Vegas in July. And to top this off we have also taken on the task of coordinating the Sunshine Region competition in April. Never a dull moment at Sound Connection. So 2017 is shaping up to be a big one for us, with additional full day rehearsals planned throughout the year to hone our skills, the mid-year show with Vocalescence in June, and as soon as we are back from Vegas it will be heads down in preparation for Pan Pacs. Did someone say this was a hobby? There is a Printable Version option at the head of the email distributing this Newsletter as well as with the Newsletter listed on the BHA Website under the Newsletter Heading. Previously it was necessary to print the Newsletter and the Club and Quartet News separately but since publishing this Newsletter in has been modified to now enable the whole Newsletter to be printed as a single document. Click on the following link to take you to this New single document format. Just use your browser print function to print the document.

2019-04-21T08:20:15Z

https://www.barbershop.org.au/dbpage.php?pg=printnews&id=20&outputto=print&printdialog=1

Update: 31 August 2013 Getting a lot of WUWT visitors today! I've provided an update for them. Bob Tisdale is either as thick as a brick or a liar. You can read and comment here if you want to! By now most people who read climate denier blogs would be aware of the awful trouble poor little Anthony Watts has with anomalies. He is befuddled, bamboozled and betrayed by them over and over again. He's not the only one. However this time it's Bob Tisdale who wants to hide the rising global surface temperatures. He often gets up to tricks like this and this, but deniers are the only ones who are willing to fall for them. According to NOAA scientists, the globally averaged temperature for June 2013 tied with 2006 as the fifth warmest June since record keeping began in 1880. It also marked the 37th consecutive June and 340th consecutive month (more than 28 years) with a global temperature above the 20th century average. The last below-average June temperature was June 1976 and the last below-average temperature for any month was February 1985. First, the error: According to the NOAA Monthly Global (land and ocean combined into an anomaly) Index (°C), the “last below-average temperature for any month was” in reality was December 1984, not February 1985. Makes one wonder, if they can’t read a list of temperature anomalies, should we believe they can read thermometers? Being of a sceptical bent, especially when it comes to WUWT, I went to the NODC/NOAA website and downloaded the data for February and the data for December. The data I downloaded was not inconsistent with the NCDC report. According to these data, the February 1985 anomaly from the 1901-2000 mean was zero while the December 1984 anomaly from the 1901-2000 mean was -0.1. Then I checked Bob's source. It happened to be measured to four decimal places. The February 1985 anomaly from the 1901-2000 mean was 0.0027 (ie zero to two decimal places) while the December 1984 anomaly was -0.0971 (or -0.1 to two decimal places). So one could argue that technically Bob was correct. However taking a temperature anomaly to four decimal places, or even three decimal places is cutting it fine. Fake skeptics are often quick to screech "error bars" except when they are looking at a denier chart. Nonetheless, February 1985 was not below average in either record. It was exactly average in the first source and above average in the second. I wonder if NCDC/NOAA had said that December 1984 was the last month "below average" would Bob have gone to my first source and claimed they should have referred to February 1985? Second, it’s very obvious that NOAA press releases have degraded to nothing but alarmist babble. Why does he say it's alarmist babble? Well, it's because they do a comparison with the twentieth century mean instead of the 1981-2010 mean. Bob even puts up a picture to show us the difference. Here it is - as always, you can click it to see the larger version if you want to. If the NCDC had revised their base years to comply with WMO recommendations, the press release wouldn’t have the same alarm-bell ring to it. According to NOAA scientists, the globally averaged temperature for June 2013 tied with 2006 as the fifth warmest June since record keeping began in 1880. It also marked the 17th consecutive June and 16th consecutive month (less than two years) with a global temperature above the 1981-2010 average. The last below-average June temperature was June 1996 and the last below-average temperature for any month was February 2012, though December 2012 was basically zero. Bob would just love to hide the incline. According to NOAA scientists, the globally averaged temperature for June 2013 tied with 2006 as the fifth warmest June since record keeping began in 1880. It also marked the 37th consecutive June and 340th consecutive month (more than 28 years) with a global temperature above the 20th century average. It also marked the 17th consecutive June and 16th consecutive month (less than two years) with a global temperature above the 1981-2010 average. The last below-average June temperature was June 1976 June 1996 and the last below-average temperature for any month was February 1985 February 2012, though December 2012 was basically zero. Bob Tisdale is trying to hide the temperature incline! Bob wants to "hide" the warming by shifting the baseline up! He doesn't want you to know that it's more than 340 months or more than 28 years since any monthly temperature was below the twentieth century average. No-one aged 28 years or younger has ever in their life experienced a year where the global average surface temperature was at or below the average for the entire twentieth century. No-one aged 37 years or younger has ever experienced a June that was colder than the average June temperature in the twentieth century. That's what Bob doesn't want his readers to know. Is Bob Tisdale trying to deceive people? Yes. He tries to deceive his readers into thinking that there has only been a couple of years of global warming. In the words of the IPCC - it is unequivocal! Think about this - are you a member of the privileged few? The chart on the right shows the percentage of people in the world today younger than particular ages in years. So 9% of people are younger than five years of age and 92% are younger than 65 years of age. Lets play the anomaly game like Bob did, but using years. It's seventeen (17) years since there was a year with an average global temperature below the 1981-2010 average. The last time was 1996. That means that around 30% of people alive today have never experienced a year where globally it was colder than the most recent three decade average. For older readers who are as familiar with the period 1961-90, it's twenty eight (28) years since there was a year with an average global temperature below the 1961-90 average. The last time was 1985 - and that was only 0.01 degrees below. The second last time was 1978, a whole 35 years ago. So almost half the people alive today have never in their lives experienced a year where the global surface temperature was colder than the 1961-90 average. Almost 60% of people alive today would barely have noticed, since 1985 was only 0.01 degrees colder than the average. What about last century as a whole? The last time the annual global surface temperature was below the twentieth century average was 1976. That's 37 years ago. So around 60% of people alive today have never in their lives experienced a year cooler than the average of the twentieth century. Update: Go here for the update. I think the issue with the February 1985 versus December 1984 is that the press release was poorly written. I believe that they meant below the average for the entire period (1880-2013). This average is 0.0234 so February 1985 does seem to be the last date below this average. However, they do say this just after talking about the 20th century average, so it is a little unclear. One would like to think that this is really a minor issue (as you say) but, obviously, those at WUWT like to pick at any little thing that they can. Sorry that last bit (the anomaly game) went totally over my head, as my head starts to spin any time I see more than a couple numbers in a sentence. Can you explain the thrust of it? I'll try. Bob Tisdale wants to hide the fact that the world has been getting a whole lot warmer. The way he does this is to look at how much it's warmed only since very recent years, instead of looking at the whole time since there were enough thermometers around the world to measure temperature. Basically he wants to hide the fact that it got a whole lot warmer over the twentieth century. Think of a measuring jug that has marks on the side for different volumes of water (like is used for cooking). Let's say it's a two litre jug (or two gallons if you live in the USA.) Put some water in the jug but only a little bit. Only put enough so that it just touches the mark that closest to the bottom of the measuring jug. Then see how much more water you have to add to fill the jug to the top. It's a lot. What Bob wants you to do instead is first fill the jug to the top marker and that way he can say you only need to add a very small amount of water to fill the jug to the brim. That way he can say it's not a lot. What I did with the human population of different years is work out how many people who are alive today have ever experienced the climate of last century. Even if you think about the average global temperature for a recent period - the 1961 to 1990 average, which most recent year is only 23 years ago - you'll find that almost half of everyone alive today have never in their lives lived in a year colder than the average. That's not colder than the coldest year since 1961. That's colder than the average temperature for the years from 1961 to 1990. It's just another way of thinking about how quickly we have changed the climate of earth. It's probably never happened before barring maybe an asteroid strike. Being thick and deceptive is a virtue if you purpose is to mislead, deliberately or otherwise "Last month, I presented a post here about the impacts of base years on the presentation of global surface temperature anomalies. I used 1979 as the start year. It’s a commonly used start year because the satellite era of global temperature products starts then. See full story here Last month, I presented a post here about the impacts of base years on the presentation of global surface temperature anomalies. I used 1979 as the start year. It’s a commonly used start year because the satellite era of global temperature products starts then. Ummm... I think something got messed up in Anonymous' comment. Yes, Bob is being deceitful. He is wanting to hide the fact that it's been 37 years since there was a June that was cooler than any June in the entire twentieth century. How cold do you want it and why? How cold do I want it? If it's not too late already, I'd hope we can limit the heating to two degrees and no more. But that's probably wishful thinking. Why? To limit the extent and speed of melting ice sheets so that sea level rise will be limited and slowed - in turn so that as few tens of millions of people as possible have to be relocated; and those that do have more time to plan for it - ideally centuries rather than decades. To limit the number and extent of droughts and heat waves and wildfires and flash floods in particular. So that farmers can raise animals and grow crops without more losses than necessary to unpredictable weather and extreme weather events. So that oceans don't get too acid for all the marine life. And that fishers can continue to fish. To hopefully limit the extent of this sixth major extinction event. To hopefully allow civilisation to go on for thousands more years while limiting pain and suffering. There are more reasons - more philosophical. To do with responsible stewardship of the earth and all the life it contains. We are failing badly in that regard. Right, so why do you want temperatures to be lower than they were in The Medieval Warm Period, Roman Warm Period, Minoan Warm Period and Holocene Climatic Optimium? All of which were highly likely or definately warmer than the current era, all of which saw humanity increase in number as warmer weather and longer growing seasons lead to more benign conditions. There's been no increase in the number of flash floods, droughts or heatwaves, I note you omit hurricanes/cyclones, which is a good job, as Global Accumulated Cyclone Energy is at record lows, how about Antarctic Sea Ice being at record high? The Arctic Sea Ice levels has staged a dramatic recovery this year, a year where temperatures north of 80 degrees north have been at historic lows. Sea levels continue there monotonic rise of a few mm/year and, of course, despite rising CO2 levels, we've seen global temps plateau for over 15 years, sufficiciently long to falsify global climate models at the 98% level. Seas aren't going to "acidify", they're highly basic and pH levels vary considerably across them anyway. Since you've failed to realise it, it's cold that kills humans. Your "limit" of 2C is a figure pulled out of thin air. Also, 2C rise over what baseline level in which year? Anyhow, you'll doubtless be celebrating the lack of adverse climatic events and the regrowth of Arctic ice, let alone the recent peer revued papers that show climate sensitivity to be less than 2. My oh my. I haven't seen such a gish gallop in a long time. I won't bother asking you to provide sources for your extraordinary claims. They are not scientific sources. Probably a science rejecting blog or several. If you aren't scientifically literate (as seems the case), skepticalscience.com is a great source of information about climate science. Even if you think you can understand some science it's a good place and has lots of references to scientific papers. The latest IPCC WG1 report summarises the science to 2007. If you prefer your disinformation sources, then there will be no hope of you ever understanding earth's climate and earth systems past, present or future. Global Warming Denial Bingo, anyone? Of course, the "dramatic recover" means to the levels of the later half of the previous decade, and the "historic lows" probably just refers to the month of June, ignoring the equally historic highs in March and April. Yes, I am scientifically literate, having an Honours Degree in Chemistry. I've also spent many years in Pharmaceutical sales, so am very used to reading clinical papers (Where hard science is used). Your degree is in what? Skeptical Science is anything but, it's just a propaganda site. OK, references, I did assume that you knew of these, but if SS is your sole source, probably not. Here's an interesting blog post. The paper on falsification of climate models is paywalled, but Dr Curry's blog has a synopsis of it. You've still not said what baseline year & temp your 2C warming over is measured against. This does seem to be a common failing. The usual clueless contrarian grab-bag of nonsense, in large part gleaned from disinformer blogs. Same s***, different day. Doesn't really merit a response. Quoting quackery and pseudoscience! Hockeyschtick, 'stevengoddard', SPPI? They are rubbish! Skepticalscience is propaganda? I expect you regard Nature, Science, Journal of Climate, GRL, PNAS, Royal Soc Proc etc "propaganda" as well. That is typical of the sources that skepticalscience draws upon, not "publishers" that favour potty peers from Brenchley! You think if ice extent in the Arctic isn't the lowest on record it's recovering? And you know nothing of the Antarctic, or paleoclimate. HotWhopper favours mainstream science in respected publications - not just cherrypicked papers that say what a science denier wants to hear. I doubt you've ever read a scientific paper let alone understood it. I also have to doubt your honours degree in chemistry. If you did get one, it has done you no good at all in regard to being able to read and evaluate science relating to climate. Nor in being willing to read more widely - beyond the offerings of a couple of anti-science blogs. Stick to selling aspros is my suggestion. PS The sources anonymous quotes prove he or she is not scientifically literate, nor statistically literate, nor have they read M&M or its rebuttals. Nor have they read any paleoclimate literature. It's like something straight off the pages of Jo Nova or WUWT or an obscure blog claiming an ice age cometh any day now. A Honours degree does not make someone scientifically literature, even if it is in one of the hard sciences. The sources given by our anonymous gish-galloper show ample evidence of such. What scientifically literate person would use blogs and thinktanks as their "credible references", rather than the scientific literature? And what scientifically literate person would not have checked whether M&M ever had something published together, and what that work referred to? That scientifically literate person would have noticed that while they managed a few papers on one of the Mann et al reconstructions (and being soundly rebutted by Wahl & Ammann), they never ever published a single paper that challenged any of the Briffa or Jones reconstructions. I would also expect a scientifically literate person to note use a single year, but rather a trend, as his evidence when looking at Arctic ice cover. In short, and to repeat: you clearly lack the scientific literacy you claim to have. You should get your money back from your university, because clearly it failed. And a thanks to the autocorrect for transforming "literate" to "literature" in my first sentence. This rehashes a 2001 study by Hormes, Muller & Schluchter (sorry, no umlauts!) The Alps with little ice: evidence for eight Holocene phases of reduced glacier extent in the Central Swiss Alps. Well, no surprise there, really. Precessional forcing resulted in increased summer NH insolation that has steadily fallen from its early Holocene (~10Ka) peak to the present minimum value. So pointing to Alpine glacial variability *in the past* and suggesting that it tells us something about modern glacial recession is risky! Anonymous would benefit from this link from Catmando in another thread. And from reading more of the literature, rather than relying on denier blogs for his "science". OK, so the 1880s were a halcyon decade, when temperatures were just right? Let's look at a few records to see why? data up to 2008, I assume there's been little change since then, as global temps have been flatlined for the past 15 years or so. Well, England's not the world, so where else can we go with long instumental records? Lot of movement there, certainly warmer than the 1880s. Life must be hell for those Norsemen! Interesting changes, look like step changes in the early 1920s, late 60's & early 80s. Northern Norway, yup, warmer than the 1880s, interestingly seems to be less warm than the 1930s. Let's go south, get a bit warmer, I generally prefer to go somewhere warmer for my summer holidays. Funny that. Touch warmer now than the 1880s, but looks like the early 1940s take the record. Let's go far south, Australia! Been hot there, fires, floods & what have you. That's odd, you'd think it's now cooler than the 1880s, peak heat in the first quarter of the 20th Century! Maybe an oddity? How about Cape Town? Well, well, it was warmer in the 1880s! Peak heat in the second quarter of the 20th Century. How about that North America place? Hmm, a bit all over the place there! Big swings all over the place, I wouldn't like to make any statements about that data. Warmer now than the 1880s, but then again every decade in the record was! Maybe a little warmer now? Looks like 1900 was the hottest year there! Not many other places with long records, let's look at China. Interesting, that increase from the early 1960s onwards.UHI anyone? Well, I can't see why you feel the 1880s were such a perfect era (teperaturewise). Now here's your mission, overlay global CO2 levels on these charts & show a correlation! A bit of background to the silly and long list of links to poor old Tony Brown's wonderings, courtesy of Anonymous, because I don't blame any reader being perplexed. And it will save you wading through the thread. Anonymous wrote: "How cold do you want it and why?" I replied: "How cold do I want it? If it's not too late already, I'd hope we can limit the heating to two degrees and no more. But that's probably wishful thinking." "You've still not said what baseline year & temp your 2C warming over is measured against. This does seem to be a common failing." I answered: "(If you want me to pick a period - say, 2 degrees over the 1880s. We're nearly half way there already - about 0.8 degrees above. )" Anonymous appears, mysteriously, to have translated my responses into: "Sou said the 1880s had the perfect average global temperature." Or maybe Anonymous translated it into something else. Whatever, Anonymous didn't translate it into what was clearly stated. Neither has Anonymous taken any notice of this link provided earlier. I doubt he or she will take any notice of this, either - about how Central England is a small spot on a small island in the North Atlantic. There's a lesson in that article for all the locations that Anonymous lists. Sadly, anonymous is overly verbose yet grossly unskilled when it comes to climate science - and apparently unaware of it. Sadly, too, anonymous hasn't yet learned to post threaded comments. I think Anonymous is probably just wanting a bit of attention. Not this again. CET data before 1772 are not considered reliable. Manley (1953) published a time series of monthly mean temperatures representative of central England for 1698-1952, followed (Manley 1974) by an extended and revised series for 1659-1973. Up to 1814 his data are based mainly on overlapping sequences of observations from a variety of carefully chosen and documented locations. Up to 1722, available instrumental records fail to overlap and Manley needs to use non-instrumental series for Utrecht compiled by Labrijn (1945), in order to mate the monthly central England temperature (CET) series complete. Between 1723 and the 1760s there are no gaps in the composite instrumental record, but the observations generally were taken in unheated rooms rather than with a truly outdoor exposure. Manley (1952) used a few outdoor temperatures, observations of snow or sleet, and likely temperatures given the wind direction, to establish relationships between the unheated room and outdoor temperatures: these relationships were used to adjust the monthly unheated room data. Daily temperatures in unheated rooms are, however, not not reliably convertible to daily outdoor values, because of the slow thermal response of the rooms. For this reason, no daily series truly representative of CET can begin before about 1770. In this paper we present a daily CET series from 1772 to the present.

2019-04-21T14:53:13Z

https://blog.hotwhopper.com/2013/07/still-more-tisdale-tricks-how-bob-tries.html

Istanbul defies description. Straddling Asia and Europe and with 15 million inhabitants, it’s a city that can be both tranquil and congested, historic and modern, secular and religious, gorgeous and painfully ugly all at the same time — it just depends where exactly you are. The city has existed in some form for 3,000 years, and despite multiple name changes — as the song goes, “Istanbul was Constantinople, now it’s Istanbul . . .” — and multiple cultures sweeping through, the city has for the most part incorporated its past to build today’s multifaceted metropolis. This is a place where you can find castles, mosques and mosaics, Ottoman mansions, Eastern spices, ornate palaces, skyscrapers, McDonald’s and Starbucks. For this guide, I used the names of neighborhoods generally, to indicate location and walkability (though it only takes about 10 minutes to walk from the heart of Sultanahmet to Eminönü). The most difficult part was choosing which areas to cover. For everything I chose, I left something equally great out. I ended up sticking with three major areas of interest to tourists — Sultanahmet, Eminönü and Taksim Square — but also included some quick hits at the bottom. Neorion Hotel: This moderately expensive hotel in Sultanahmet only opened last summer and has already secured the top spot (out of more than 700 entries) on Trip Advisor. Guests rave about the hotel’s gorgeous view of the Golden Horn from the rooftop terrace, breakfast buffet and warm hospitality. Four Seasons: Istanbul boasts a number of exquisite (and extremely expensive) hotels, but if I could stay anywhere in town, with price as no object, I would choose the Four Seasons Sultanahmet for its prime location near Topkapi Palace, lush central courtyard and its historical past as a notorious prison (think Midnight Express). The Four Seasons also has a second, palatial location on the Bosphorus where Martha Stewart stayed when she came to film her show. Basileus Hotel: The newer Basileus offers simple rooms with wood furnishings, a good breakfast buffet (with omelets!) and great value for its location in the historic Sultanahmet district. Hotel Seraglio: Located in a townhouse in Sultanahmet, this small family-owned hotel also boasts a hearty breakfast buffet plus tea and cakes in the afternoon. However, the rates almost double from low season to high season. 5oda: Known as “five rooms” in English, this untraditional hotel features accommodations in small modern apartments (with kitchenettes) and also includes breakfast. It’s located just off Istiklal Street, near the Sishane metro stop, and within walking distance of Tunel and Galata Tower. You might consider buying the 72-hour Museum Pass, available at most of the following sites. It includes free entry to Chora Church, Ayasofya, Topkapi Palace and the Harem, the Archaeology Museum, the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts and the Istanbul Mosaic Museum (plus, it offers a few discounts at other attractions that you likely wouldn’t get to in such a short time period). While it does cost 72 lira (about $40), the entry fees to Chora Church, Ayasofya and Topkapi Palace alone add up to 75 lira. Most attractions in Istanbul are closed on Mondays; Topkapi Palace is closed on Tuesdays. Aya Sofya: Also known as the Hagia Sophia, this massive church-turned-mosque-turned museum has withstood various disasters — both natural and man-made — since the year 537. Most of the famous golden mosaics are located on the ceiling or along the upper gallery. Not surprisingly, the museum gets really crowded, so come as close to the opening time (9 am) as you can. Topkapi Palace: With construction starting in 1460 soon after the Ottomans captured Constantinople, Topkapi Palace served as the opulent home of the sultans and their many wives for 400 years. Built as a series of four courtyards, the massive museum-palace has a myriad of rooms to visit, including the kitchens, the treasury with the famed Topkapi dagger, an exquisite library and a room devoted to the sultans’ extra-large caftans. You have to pay a separate fee to enter the Harem, but the gorgeously decorated rooms are well worth seeing. The First Court of Topkapi Palace is open to the public, and its wide, grassy spaces make a nice place to rest and relax in sunny weather. Blue Mosque: Officially named the Sultan Ahmet mosque after the man who ordered its construction, the Blue Mosque gets its nickname from the blue Iznik tiles that decorate its walls. It’s still a functioning mosque (there’s a separate entrance for visitors) and as you’ll see, has an altogether different vibe than the Aya Sofya, its neighbor. Basilica Cistern: The Byzantines built this underground cistern; in more modern times, it was used as a romantic setting for one of Bachelorette Ali’s dinner dates. There’s nothing to see exactly (except for two stone Medusa heads at the end), and yet the atmosphere — dripping ceilings, dark interior — somehow makes it a can’t-be-missed site. Hamam visit: Some visitors think the city’s two most famous hamams are too touristy and expensive, but if you want a good scrubbing — in a historic and gorgeously appointed interior — head to either Cagaloglu or Cemberlitas hamams. Friends say that the ladies section at Cagaloglu is nicer. Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art: Housed in a palace on the Hippodrome, this museum is primarily famous for its collection of carpets, though it also displays other functional art like miniature writings, Korans and glassworks. Tarihi Sultanahmet Koftecisi Selim Usta: There’s a very small menu at this beloved kofte (meatball) eatery — it’s kofte or shish kebab (with a few vegetarian side dishes), and the locals love it. Be sure to enter the right restaurant as a nearby competitor (down a door or two) has a very similar name. Giritli: This fish restaurant tucked away on a back street offers a fixed-price traditional Turkish meal: a dizzying array of starters followed by a main course and complemented by unlimited raki, the anise-flavored liquor popular here. It’s expensive but delicious, with the garden setting (open in warm weather) a bonus. Another well-regarded fish restaurant nearby is Ahirkapi Balikcisi (Keresteci Hakki Sokak 46), featuring a simpler menu at more affordable prices. Jennifer’s Hamam: Take the hamam experience home with you by stocking up on organic, Turkey-produced cotton towels, bathrooms, hand mitts, soaps and oils at either location, both in the Arasta Bazaar. This bazaar is generally a nice place to shop; formerly stables during Ottoman times and part of the Byzantine palace site, the open-air Arasta Bazaar now houses upscale carpet and textile shops, and the atmosphere here can be more relaxing than the shops of Sultanahmet and the Grand Bazaar. Caferaga Medresesi: Take a peek inside this craft center, with areas devoted to different Turkish handicrafts like calligraphy, ceramics and tiles. Occasionally, day classes are on offer. While you’re there, you can also have a simple lunch in the courtyard. As you move north and down the hill from Sultanahmet toward the Golden Horn, the atmosphere distinctly changes. Gone are most of the tourist sites and touts, replaced by locals — lots and lots of them — moving in a thousand directions. From here, you can catch a bus, train or ferry to almost anywhere in the city. Yeni Camii: You can’t miss spotting the Yeni Camii, with its imposing position right next to the Spice Market. Although the name translates to “New Mosque,” the doors were opened to the public in 1663. Because of its location, there’s usually a lot of locals coming and going, making it one of my favorite places to people-watch, both inside and outside. Spice Bazaar: Officially called the Egyptian Bazaar, this smaller, covered bazaar mostly sells foodstuffs, with the spices laid out in a gorgeous array of colors in front of the individual shops. You can also buy dried fruits, teas, nuts, Turkish delight and even the so-called Turkish Viagra. Shopping: If you leave Yeni Camii through the south exit (the one opposite the water side), directly across the pedestrian street, you’ll come across a warren of tiny markets that surround the Spice Bazaar. There’s a pets’ market, selling everything from pedigreed dogs to chickens to leeches, and a flower market selling plants and bulbs, to name two. Beyond that, behind the Spice Bazaar, the area opens up into streets, flanked by small shops on both sides. Here you can buy all kinds of things, including wedding dresses, yarn, fabric, light fixtures and underwear. There’s little for a tourist to buy, but the walk is like a journey through another city, one far removed from Sultanahmet and with a little whiff of the Middle East. Ferry Trips: From Eminönü, you have multiple choices. For about 10 lira, you can take a tourist boat up to the mouth of the Black Sea, passing sites like Dolmabahce Palace, Rumeli Castle and Ortakoy mosque. You can also take a cheaper public ferry to Kadikoy on the Asian side, which will give you good views of Aya Sofya, Topkapi Palace and Maiden’s Tower on the way. Sirkeci Terminal: While you’re in Eminönü, take a peek at the ornate interior (as much as possible — the station is about to be renovated). This still-functioning train station was the historic terminus of the Orient Express and a set in the second James Bond film, From Russia with Love. Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi Mahdumlari: There’s always a line in front of the window at this famous coffee seller. You can buy both beans and ground coffee here for Turkish, filter or espresso coffees. Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir: This delicious confectioner has multiple shops, including one near the Spice Bazaar. They’re known for their lokum (or Turkish delight) — which comes in a range of flavors, including my favorite, pistachio — but the almond paste sweets are equally yummy. Zinhan Kebap House: Situated on the fifth and top floor of the Storks building, this restaurant offers its meals with gorgeous views of the Golden Horn. There’s a large selection of mezes followed by a main meat dish; as the name implies, it’s all about the kebap. Hamdi Restaurant: Hamdi offers a lot of what Zinhan Kebap House does: traditional mezes, an array of kebap dishes and a dazzling view of Eminönü. However, the founder came from the town of Urfa and also brought with him eastern Turkey’s best dessert, baklava. Be sure to make a reservation if you want a table outside or by a window. After taking in the historic mosques and mosaics in Sultanahmet and the crush of Eminönü, this area feels unabashedly modern. From Taksim Square — a chaotic urban square with a monument to modern Turkey’s revolutionary founders at one end — take a stroll down the pedestrian Istiklal Street, the big shopping street on the European side with a historic tram running down the center. Here you can find famous brands like Swatch, Diesel, Mavi, Sephora and Vakko in addition to eateries, small shops and a cinema. Be ready for crowds – this area is almost always packed, especially on the weekends. At the end, the area becomes Tunel to the right and ahead the hill slopes down to Galata Tower. Tunel is a popular area for dinner and abuzz on weekends though the municipality has recently prohibited outdoor seating. Babylon: This popular live-music venue in Tunel features a range of styles, including jazz, electronic and tribute nights, and hosts special events like the Oldies but Goodies party. Pera Museum: In addition to its permanent collection of Ottoman Orientalist art and ceramics, the Pera Museum also hosts traveling exhibitions — earlier this year saw Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera from the Gelman Collection — plus a number of events, including film showings, concerts and talks. Pera Palace Hotel: This historic and recently renovated hotel has hosted famous guests such as Agatha Christie, Ernest Hemingway, Alfred Hitchcock and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern Turkish Republic. Spend an afternoon in the Kubbeli Salon, enjoying the historic ambiance, exquisite ceiling and delicious pastries during their famous (yet pricey) tea time. Nardis Jazz Club: If you do find that you’ve kept going and headed down to Galata Tower, head into this small club for the city’s best jazz. Sofyali 9: There are a lot of mehanes around, but this one in Tunel stands out because of its superior Turkish meze (paired with raki, of course!). House Cafe: This trendy and atmospheric café — which has several locations around Istanbul, including one on Istiklal Street and one in Tunel — offers an extensive world-food menu. The breakfast menu is especially good, featuring both traditional Turkish and American brunch selections. Leb-i Derya: This upscale world-cuisine restaurant has several outposts across Istanbul, but the location atop the Richmond Hotel off Istiklal Street offers a striking view of the Old City. Lokal: This small, laid-back restaurant in Tunel plays movies on the wall outside and soft, jazzy music and serves up some of the best Indian and Thai food in the city. Be sure to step into the right place: There’s another Lokal outpost at the end of Istiklal Street, but it’s a bar. Robinson Crusoe 389: This wood-furnished bookshop near one end of Istiklal Street has a wide selection of art books, travel guides, books on Turkish and regional history and novels in English. The staff is also very knowledgeable. Mephisto: In addition to books, music and DVDs, this multilevel store on Istiklal Street also has a good selection of art supplies. Virgin Megastore: I’ve included this familiar chain because in addition to the usual music and video games, this outpost in the new Demiroren Mall on Istiklal Street also has a large and diverse selection of English-language books, plus a small selection of art supplies. Pasabahce Magazalari: You’ll see this upscale chain featuring mainly Turkish glassware in most of Istanbul’s posher malls. The location on Istiklal Street is larger than usual and features some incredible (and expensive) Ottoman-inspired pieces. They also sell votive candle holders that incorporate the city skyline, which make nice gifts or souvenirs. By Retro: As the name implies, this eclectically furnished shop is home to a large selection of vintage clothes, shoes and accessories from around the world. ASIAN SIDE/BAGDAT STREET: If you have time, head to the Asian side of the city, specifically to Bagdat Street. In theory, it’s the equivalent of the European side’s Istiklal Street, but with cafes and restaurants spilling out onto the sidewalk, it’s a much better place for people-watching, which is what a large number of Istanbul residents spend warm Saturday and Sunday afternoons doing. ORTAKOY: This neighborhood boasts a gorgeous Baroque mosque (currently undergoing an extensive renovation), and against the backdrop of the Bosphorus Bridge, it makes for a spectacular dinner setting at one of the waterfront restaurants. You might recognize it from its appearance on the October 2010 cover of National Geographic Traveler. This area is pretty trendy especially on weekends, as see-and-be-seen youths come here for lunch/brunch or an afternoon stroll. BEBEK and neighboring RUMELI HISARI: Chic Bebek can be packed on weekends, with locals crowding onto the waterfront terraces at the neighborhood’s Starbucks and Gloria Jean’s Coffees. There’s nothing to see in this neighborhood; instead, enjoy brunch at the laid-back Bebek Kahve next to the mosque or go for evening drinks on the terrace of the swank Bebek Hotel. Moving north along the water, the next neighborhood you come to is Rumeli Hisari, home to the 1452-built castle that helped the Ottomans capture Constantinople. This area has a number of small waterfront cafes popular for weekend brunch. Afterwards, take a stroll along this very photogenic portion of the Bosphorus, with views of the castle and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. This omits a visit to Istanbul Modern! It is an amazing, small, well amazingly curated museum. A perfect retreat from the heat and buzz of the city. We loved the video art rooms in the bottom floor. This was one of the best things we did in Istanbul. This town is one of the best I’ve ever visited. Food, culture, language and natural beauty. Don’t miss the Tuesday Bazaar in Kadikoy, or taking a ferry to the car-free Prince’s islands with their gorgeous old wooden houses. I lived there a couple years ago and resolve to go back someday! I’m pretty sure a walk over Galata Bridge is a necessity somewhere in here, too. One of my favorite spots in the world. I can confirm that Jennifer’s Hamam is the BEST place to buy textiles in Istanbul. I became friends with Jennifer after wandering into her store last year, and sleep under the softest, prettiest, black-and-white graphic organic cotton blanket every night. She’s the best, and the quality is unbeatable! If you’re into exploring, walk from the Misir Carsi (Spice Bazaar) up the Golden Horn to Balat, a fantastic if slightly gritty neighborhood with bright, colorful houses, interesting street life, and a multicultural history. Ask for the Greek school (Yunanli okulu), it’s a stunning building and a good place to start. YES! I love that this is posted! I went last spring for 5 days and despite getting over food poisoning I didn’t want to leave! For hotels may I recommend Hanedan Hotel. It was so central in old Istabul, walking distance to all the big mosques and the palace, and had absolutely fantastic rooms and service. I LOVE Istanbul! I spent 4 days there in October and it was simply not enough time for this fascinating city. My finds at some of the high street brands on Istiklal Street (like Koton, a Turkish high street brand, and Calzedonia, an Italian brand with great quality tights) have been my go-to items all fall/winter. Also nabbed some lovely, inexpensive hand-knit slippers and funky accessories at the Ortakoy Sunday market. I would love to return to Istanbul and this guide will be a such a big help! Istanbul IS a metropolitan city–“historic neighborhoods of this now somewhat metropolitan city.” As an American currently living in Istanbul, I highly disagree with your statement. Nonetheless, it is one of the best and most interesting places to live and see. I stayed in Kadikoy during my visit and it definitely offers some of the best views of historic sites with cheap ferry to the tourist-y areas. My best suggestion is to buy fresh breads and tea from the street vendors while you make your way through the city. This post came at the perfect time. We are spending new year there.. thanks for the tips, I will make a note of the recommendations! i understand your point, but the guide was actually written with the help of her boyfriend, who is a native and local. we don’t allow guides that don’t have some connection or review by a local of 4+ years. And after the wonders of Istanbul there is still an enormous, stunning, mountainous, friendly, delicious, country to see. Our four days in Istanbul were followed by 12 glorious days driving the coast. It is a trip I relive in my dreams. I can’t wait to go back again to see all the places we missed the first time. Congrats on the guide Melinda! I have a few friends traveling that way this spring and I will pass this along. I have to agree with Ebru. I love Istanbul and have visited a number of times. I was very excited to read this post but felt a bit disappointed. If you’ve never been to Istanbul, this is definitely a nice start. However, if you’re looking for some hidden gems or some more off-the-beaten-path recommendations, you’ll have to look elsewhere. I agree with previous posts that recommended the Istanbul Modern and taking in the sights on the Galata Bridge. That said, it’s easy to criticize and I give major props to Melinda for even trying to tackle this great city. Maybe a part II is in order? I lived in Istanbul for 11 years and now 3 and a half years in Gaziantep. My favorite places are the small hidden passages off the Grand Bazaar area and along Istiklal Caddessi. Also a nice ferry ride up and down the Bosporus is a must. If you have time it’s worth the hour and a half (about 120 dollar) flight to Gaziantep to see Turkey’s new 32 million dollar Zeugma Mosaic Museum, the largest of it’s kind, featuring Roman mosaics and other artifacts excavated from the village of Belkis before half of it was flooded for a reservoir. Holographics are used to replace any missing pieces and the experience is unforgettable. While you’re here eat kebap and baklava in the number 1 restaurant in Turkey – Imam Cagdas. Gaziantep is the Cuisine Capital of Turkey! What a detailed guide! I’m visiting this spring, and I can’t wait to bring this with me. Thanks for the tips!! As an expat living in New York, seeing my favorite city in DS made me want to contribute as well. Basilica Cistern is a must see place in the city. Four Seasons Hotel in Sultan Ahmet (not the Bosphorus) a former prison has the most magnificent sunset view. Chora Church is the one of the finest church from Byzantine period with preserved mosaics and frescoes are to die for. I also agree with Ebru — the boyfriend’s input is not reflected here. I lived in Istanbul for only two years, but feel this is a predictable guide with few insights beyond what you’d find highlighted in any guide and the photos indeed do not do the city justice. One of my favorite places to visit is the less-often visited Kariye (Chora) Museum, just alongside the city walls in Edirnekapi. Right next to it is a really innovative Ottoman Turkish restaurant called Asitane. Another favorite thing to do is take the ferry up Haliç, the Golden Horn, to Pierre Loti for incredible views while sipping tea and munching on sunflower seeds. Also a walk along Music Street, at the end of Istiklal is always good (then you can take Tünel back up). This guide seems pretty similar to other ones on Design Sponge so I am surprised by some of the comments here. Aren’t they all basic guides to sightseeing/shopping/eating? That one on South Carolina was even written by a PR person! Seems like the criticism/feedback should be addressed to Design Sponge and how the guides are done than to this particular guide. This was Istanbul’s first appearance on the site right? I don’t think you can cover such a big city all at once…I thought this was a good start. And don’t forget simit, the fresh-baked sesame rolls! Ah, when I was in Istanbul, I ate them every day with just a bit of butter. So good! They’re quite common so if you like sesame, definitely ask around for this! I love the guide! I will spend 2 days in march and can not wait. Thanks. I will take this with me. This was so enjoyable for me. I was an Air Force Brat and we actually lived in Ankara, Turkey from 1968-1970, I still have vivid memories of everything. Not to mention tons of pictures. We traveled to Istanbul about 4 times while living there. It has obviously changed greatly in 41 years, but not in some ways. I was able to follow along with much of your guide. I would so much love to return to Turkey after all of these years and revisit all of the many places we traveled to see how they have changed. My husband has heard me speak so much about my time living there I really want to take him and show him everything. Thanks for letting me revisit one of the many places I loved. Do not miss the dervishes ceremony in Divan Literature Museum (every 2 sunday), Kariye Museum (small Byzantine church but has 10 times better mosaics than Hagia Sophia), try nargile in Çorlulu Ali Paşa Medresesi (near Gran Bazaar) and have fun in the only city founded in two continents of the world. A Cat From London but who is originally From Istanbul. I spent the past two years living in Istanbul. This is a decent introductory to certain parts of the city, but in reality does not even begin to scratch the surface of the depth of what the city has to offer. Have spent summers there and am getting ready to move there for two years! Thanks for the guide! I love Istanbul and cant wait to visit again as Im sure it has changed a lot since i lived there a number of years ago. I always loved the Galata Tower as a child, as well as the streets around it. I lived in Kadikoy and really liked going for walks to the local markets. I remember feeling so safe there, There were 9 million people in Istanbul when i was a kid . I loved the day to day things like the smell, the bustle and the atmosphere. A trip on the ferry boat to the other side is a must and the Princes Islands are beautiful. Ahh to get back. Thanks for this post. We spent new year there and had a wonderful time… managed to visit a number of places recommended here. A really interesting city. Read about Elisabeth Bathory-the Blood Countess and Countess Dracula. I just returned from Istanbul (my first trip) yesterday. I stayed in a tiny and lovely hotel in Sultanahment just 2 blocks from the Four Seasons. The morning views during breakfast of the sun rising over the Galata Tower and the fishing boats was a great way to start the day. I was close enough to the Blue Mosque to hear the calls to prayer, which began at 5:40 a.m. My most meaningful experience on the trip was on my first morning when I woke up to the call and walked the few short blocks to the Blue Mosque. I had planned to just take pictures in the courtyard as the sun rose, but gained 2 friends while I was there – a sweet stray cat who adopted my purse as his bed and the security guard for the Mosque, who invited me in to observe prayers. I was the only visitor there and found myself choking back tears to be in such a beautiful and sacred space. I really enjoyed the 2 hour Bosphorus cruise and my time at the Spice Market. While my Turkish leaves much to be desired, virtually everyone spoke some English and the people were incredibly kind and open. Rather than race to see as many museums as possible, I chose to walk the streets of Istanbul and find daily adventures. I will add that this is a difficult city for even experienced walkers, as the streets are narrow and steep with few sidewalks and all are cobblestone, so what may be comfortable walking shoes where you live may not be the best choice for Istanbul. Really great guide. One of the best blog guides I’ve seen so far. I enjoyed this guide, thank you. I think it has a good mix of well-known and off-the-beaten track places and it’s always good to have some of both. As well as Ortakoy, I would also mention the Karakoy neighborhood as being the newest up and coming trendy cafe area. For a boat trip, another idea is to arrange your own boat (http://www.bosphorusyacht.com) if you’re a group or family with your own schedule. It’s a nice way to make it special. I love to have a walk or cycle through Moda and stop off at a cafe or lunch – unfortunately the public bike system/credit card machine is not always working, but if you are lucky and you manage to get one, it’s heaven!

2019-04-25T10:24:42Z

http://www.designsponge.com/2011/12/istanbul-city-guide.html

There are 3 ways to vote in the Labour leadership contest. 1. As a current full member whose membership started before January 12th 2016 and whose membership is continuous thereafter. 2. As a "registered" affiliate supporter through membership of an affiliated union or organisation. (Costs vary but much less than £25) and registration is possible until August 8th 2016 (to be confirmed). 3. As a newly registered supporter (cost £25) in a "48 hour window" between July 18th and 20th. (Times & dates to be confirmed this Thursday 14th July). All of this might still change, it seems very chaotic on the hoof decisions are being taken! The exclusion of new party members (less than 6 months) might have taken away automatic voting rights from around 150,000 of Labour's 530,000 current membership. This 150,000 would have contained the heaviest concentration of Corbyn supporters. Maybe 80%+ of these 150,000 new members support Corbyn. But don't despair. A lot of these members may still get a chance to vote. Either through being existing union members and registering as affiliate supporters for free OR by paying the £25 supporter fee. Although it is still unclear whether some members will be excluded from this latter option. It is also still unclear whether those who newly join an affiliated union or organisation will be able to vote. An August 8th 2016 cut off point has been mentioned. And this certainly would be cheaper than the £25 option, maybe as little cost as £2. But it seems incredible that the NEC would allow this opportunity to bypass the £25 fee. Unless they have no way of influencing affiliated groups to stop it. In the Summer 2015 Leaders Election around 422,000 votes were cast, out of a total electorate of about 550,000 eligible members, supporters & affiliates. Corbyn got 251,000 first preference votes, all his opponents together 171,000. It is important to stress that these were first prefs. Corbyn would have got more once further prefs of other eliminated candidates were added in. 58% of these 422,000 votes were by full members, 17% affiliated & 25% the £3 registered supporters. The £25 charge & tiny 48 hour registration period seems certain to drastically reduce the registered supporter category this time. My guess would be to less than 25,000. And if new members of affiliated organisations & unions are allowed to register (until August 8th??) it would seem crazy to pay £25 for a vote you can get as an affiliated supporter for much less. So, depending on the rules, I expect the affiliate category to be much larger this time. And this I suspect is where the real battle will be. Those 245,000 member votes came from a total party membership at the time of around 290,000. With 150,000 new members excluded, the "six month plus" membership is probably around 330,000. So members vote prob only a little higher - around 275,000 on a similar turnout. In this 2016 election, I expect around 30,000 more voters in the members category and around 80,000 less voters in the registered supporter category than the 2015 election. This leaves the affiliate supporter category, and depending on the rules, we could see an explosion of extra votes here as the potential 150,000 excluded members go here to get their vote. This is an extra hoop they are being made to jump through, so it will be interesting to see how many follow this route (or whether they are blocked in some way). The other unknown factor is how seriously the unions organise their vote. In 2015, apart from Unite, the unions made little effort. Some didn't endorse any candidate from the start, but this time most seem to be mobilising behind Corbyn. There is also the newly affiliated FBU and Baker's Union who strongly back Corbyn. I assume their members will now also get a chance to be affiliated supporters. There are potentially 4m affiliated voters if all registered. Obviously as demonstrated last time, only 72,000 actually registered and then voted. Depending on the factors mentioned this could go as high as 200,000ish. Though I doubt much more than this unless the unions seriously organise their members. It will be interesting to see how much each side campaign in this category and unions tend not to be that co-operative to outside campaigners for perhaps obvious reasons. The Unite website crashed last night, which gives you an idea of where Corbyn supporters are looking to get their vote registered. The big argument of the Labour right used to be to garner the less politically engaged votes through the supporter category. It now seems they have completely given up on that strategy with the new higher fee and tiny registration period. So, despite all the shenanigans I expect a similar number of votes - between 400,000 and 500,000 - mainly depending on the affiliate numbers (100,000 to 200,000ish). So 250,000+ votes again should give Corbyn victory. So, I am intrigued as to what the Labour Right strategy is to defeat Corbyn? At the moment I can only see them blaming the "union vote" for defeating them, when in actual fact most of this vote is likely to be the newer members excluded by the cut off point becoming affiliate voters. I think Corbyn can win amongst the full membership even excluding those newer members who joined in last 6 months. Let alone the other categories! But any election is unpredictable, and this time Corbyn won't have the element of surprise or the novelty factor. A hard fought election lies ahead. I just hope it's not as nasty an election as I fear it might be. The tactics that will be used against Corbyn and his supporters could be brutal. Let's just for one moment leave aside the popularity of Jeremy Corbyn. Can any supporter of one of the other candidates truly say their candidate is of the sort of calibre and appeal that Labour are going to need for the mammoth task of winning in 2020? Are Yvette Cooper, Andy Burnham & Liz Kendall all the party can offer? They all seem very poor candidates. The evidence is in their lack of ability to motivate support behind them. Their campaigns have been dire. Even some of their biggest supporters admit that. If they cannot motivate support now, how are they going to do it in a general election? This is not about ideology for me. Dan Jarvis is on the right of the party but he at least convinces that he could challenge the Tories. The electability criticism was a powerful attack on Jeremy Corbyn when first used, but now it seems Jeremy is actually the most electable of all the candidates according to some new polls. The next big criticism is that he cannot unite the party. But could someone like Yvette Cooper or Liz Kendall unite the party when they refuse to work with a candidate destined to be first choice for leader of around half the members of the party? But a lot of the parliamentary party will refuse to accept Jeremy as leader, I hear you cry? Actually none of the candidates have that many direct backers in the PLP. Burnham around 70, Cooper 60 and Kendall 40, not much more than Corbyn's 36 nominations. Yes I know only around 25 of these nominations are directly for Corbyn, but most of those extra nominations were Burnham supporters & will fall in line. Burnham has said he is open to being in Corbyn's cabinet. A prominent role for Burnham will mean around 110 MPs onboard, at least half of the other 120 MPs will respect the party membership & unify behind this big part of the PLP. But this still leaves around 60 very unhappy MPs, maybe half of these will be hell bent on destabilising the party. In the first instance I imagine there won't be much for these rogue MPs to rebel against. Voting against the government is not that controversial on most issues. The big rebellion will be played out in the all too willing media. Constant briefing against the leader, rumours of plots etc. But all of this will be massively disrespectful to the membership who will have just given Corbyn a huge mandate. There is a big difference between arguing against the party line on a point of principle and just causing mischief for the sake of it. True that Corbyn was a serial rebel, but he always respected the party and generally his rebellions were on issues backed by a significant number of the membership. In these 30 or so constituencies with rogue MPs, members will have to ask themselves whether they really want to keep reselecting those who seem hell bent on ignoring their wishes and arrogantly not even acknowledging the members existence. It will be difficult, but shaping the party into a strong democratic movement over the next two years will strengthen Labour's chances of electability. Labour Has Always Been The Party I've Felt At Home With And Jeremy Has Brought Me Back Into The Fold. I've only ever been a member of one political party - Labour. I really wanted to see Ed Miliband become PM in May and I was gutted for Labour's Nancy Platts in Kemptown. Yet I had for a number of years drifted away from Labour as they moved further to the right. I did publicly support & vote for Caroline Lucas in May but I could not join the Green party. Something held me back. They didn't feel quite right for me. Now, I am absolutely delighted to once again be a supporter of the Labour party. Jeremy Corbyn has given me real hope that Labour now have the artillery to win a general election. He has drawn be back into my Labour home. And I look forward to becoming an activist once again within a Labour movement confident of it's socialist roots. But best of all, Corbyn is outlining clearly how to do it. After initial short term borrowing, council homes could be big income generators in the medium to long term helping to pay down government debt. Corbyn will free councils to raise funds to build as many homes as their community needs. Private house builders are reluctant to build on brownfield sites because their profit is slightly less. In fact they seem reluctant to build at all when sitting on landbanks is such easy profit. Councils will have no such incentive. Education is more than just individual advancement. It benefits the whole of society. Corbyn recognises this and why it should be paid for by general (progressive) taxation not by individual loans that are bound to hit the poorest harder. And austerity rewards the irresponsible lenders by placing all the blame for debt on borrowers driven to desperate measures by out of control inequality. Corbyn will passionately make the case for a true "all in it together" philosophy where lenders do share some of the responsibility. I could go on, but the point is Corbyn is outlining the case for a strident Labour party. We have tried timid Labour, it has lost 2 elections badly. I want to passionately want Labour to win. Like Blair, Corbyn can make that case, but times have changed since 1997 and it requires a new argument. Corbyn has refreshed Labour and I now desperately want to be on board and help them win elections once again. Labour are almost certainly going to lose the 2020 general election. The electoral geography and political realities are the worst they have been for Labour since their foundation. The offer to the public in 2020 needs to be so huge and widely supported that tweaking policies here and there is just not going to cut the mustard. Labour need a 1997 level of win in votes just to achieve a small majority. These are facts, not pessimism. And if Labour do not face up to them, 2020 is already lost. Of course, a lot could happen in 5 years to change this. The Tories although in a strong position, face some tough hurdles - the EU referendum, Scottish cessation, continued brutal public spending cuts, their promises on the NHS and the deficit, their muddle on human rights and housing. All of this could trip them up. The economic credit bubble could once again burst. But Labour can't count on voters turning to them. Voters are turning to more radical options - SNP, Greens and even UKIP. Labour need to think big to address their big problems. Labour have completely lost Scotland and Southern England. If they're not careful, the rest could follow. The two biggest problems - Labour are not trusted with public spending/ taxation AND thanks to a hopeless situation in Scotland, Labour have to win most votes in England. Something they haven't done since 2001. The constitution is a complete mess. The Tory solutions are weak - English only committees and devolving services locally but without control of funding. This beats Labour, who are scared of saying anything much, but there is a big opportunity here for Labour. English voters think they are getting a raw funding deal compared to Scotland. While Scots feel too much fiscal power lies in England. A big offer here could please both. The over centralised UK has been obvious for decades, ever since Thatcher abolished a lot of local government in the 80s, the power has moved one way. Local government is capped and restricted in almost everything it does. The Tories have found local government a great way to hide central government cuts. By devolving services without the funding to pay for them. The Tories are being clever. Labour could trump the Tories offer. I've thought long and hard about the UK's devolution problem. I used to think regional devolution was the answer. This was started in London with the GLA. The English regions would be similar in population size to Scotland. But the new Scottish tax powers has now made that problematic. You can't really have different income tax rates between Newcastle and Manchester. The Tories greater City Mayors is another fudge. The only solution I can see satisfying the English public is an English parliament, with the same powers as the Scottish parliament. This has huge advantages for Labour. It would win them votes in England. And if all fiscal powers were devolved, would win them support in Scotland too, who resent Westminster deciding tax rates and spending for the whole UK. But also the new English parliament could replace the House of Lords and use it's chamber and would have to be elected in the same way as the Scottish parliament, by PR. PR would stop the fragmentation of England between North and South by stopping one party dominating with a minority of the vote. The UK parliament would control security and foreign affairs, with taxes and spending devolved to each country. Further devolution to councils would be decided at country level. The other solution for Labour is to grasp the nettle of tax and spending. Offer the British people a referendum on tax and spending levels, arguing 37% support in a general election is not enough of a mandate to decide the direction of the country on this issue. Do we want Scandanavian services and welfare or US levels of social problems. Labour should trust the people. An offer of a referendum would kill this as a negative issue for Labour, because whatever the people decide they would abide by. It would free Labour up to campaign for fairer and higher levels of tax and spend. But people would know the final decision would be theirs. This would win support across the political spectrum and be difficult for Tories and their right wing press to campaign against. Also it would satisfy both left and right within the Labour party itself. So, a parliament for the English and a clear referendum to decide taxation levels and the consequent public spending. This could put the Tories on the back foot and be a bold enough vision to show Labour was ready for power once again. The fairness of a PR elected English parliament would appeal to Green supporters, while the concept of an English parliament would apeal to Ukippers and Tories. Without powerful promises such as this, the left could continue to fragment. Certainly lots of left voters will not want to support a Labour party chasing Tory and Ukip support by being mean to immigrants and the vulnerable. Without a centre-left Labour party, I see little future for Labour. You vote for one candidate that represents your local area and is directly accountable to voters at a geographical level similar to now. You have one vote by placing a X next to the candidate of your choice. The candidates with the most votes are elected. The number of seats is in line with the number of votes. Our present system of first-past-the-post, delivers on the first two principles, but not the last one. Basically what people seem to want is a proportional version of first-past-the-post and it is a possibility. A slight tweak to our system would deliver all three principles. Let me explain. The population of the UK is around 65 million. Our current number of MPs at Westminster is 650. That rather neatly works out at around 100,000 population for each MP. For example, Sussex has a population of 1.6m and returns 16 MPs to Westminster. This sort of size area is perfect for what I am proposing. Most of the non metropolitan counties return between 8 and 16 MPs. Metropolitan counties vary more, but can be ideally sized by combining several boroughs. An area returning 12 to 16 MPs is the ideal and could be achieved by combining 2 smaller counties if appropriate. My idea is to continue voting for one candidate but to allow candidates to stand across the whole county and votes across the whole county area to be counted. So, in my Sussex example, the 16 candidates with the most votes across the county are elected. It is a bit like how we elect ward councillors in multi member wards except voters will get one vote instead of multiple votes. Using the results of the last general election we might have got the following results in Sussex using my system. These are the 16 candidates that would be elected under my system. With a further 6 unelected. Whereas the actual result under our present system was 14 Tories, 1 Lab and 1 Green. Over half of Sussex voters had no impact on the result under our present system and the majority of counties are similar. Of course, these are the votes under FPTP. Under a PR system the voting is even more fair because it would remove some tactical and protest voting. The eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed in the above example that the Tories fielded 11 candidates (8 were elected), Labour 4 (3), UKIP 3 (2), Lib Dems 2 (2), and Greens 2 (1). This led to a total of 22 candidates standing for 16 seats. Why would the parties not stand more candidates than this? This is where the beauty of my system comes in. At the moment it makes sense for parties to stand as many candidates as possible (as many as they can afford in lost deposits). This results in "split votes" between ideologically similar parties and ideologically similar candidates resulting in millions of voters electing no-one while other candidates win with far less than 50% of the vote. Under my system, the parties can manage this by only standing candidates that have a real chance of being elected. If they stand too many candidates, their party could lose seats by "splitting" their own vote between candidates. What my system does is spread the problem of split votes equally between ALL the parties rather than just those ideologically similar. Another unique feature of my system is it removes the need for difficult and expensive drawing of boundaries. All you need to do is to allocate the number of MPs to be elected in line with the county population. It is for THE CANDIDATES themselves to determine the areas where they want to target local electorates. In the example above, you can see parties have given a geographical label to each candidate and each candidate would concentrate their efforts there and be accountable to that area of the county. Why would they do that? Because if every candidate campaigned across the whole county, it would risk wide disparities in their votes and reduce the number of seats they won. Parties would aim to spread their votes fairly evenly between their candidates to maximise the seats won. The easiest way to do this would be to target each geographical area with a different party candidate. This is where "the local link" is maintained and accountability with voters strengthened. The larger parties would target "constituencies" of a similar size to now, whereas the smaller parties would target bigger areas, right up to the whole county area being targeted for the smallest parties. To make absolutely sure that no unnecessary joke or ego candidates clogged up the ballot paper, I would abolish the current £500 deposit and replace it with a condition that every candidate has a minimum of 500 electors in the county who had donated at least £1 each to their campaign in the 12 months running up to the election. This would remove any time waster candidates, who at the moment just need a big ego and be willing to a lose a £500 deposit. Democracy is too important to be the plaything of wealthy joker candidates. Any serious candidate with really wide support would be easily able to muster 500 paid up supporters from a county with around 1.2m electors. In practise an independent candidate with significant support from the electorate would probably stand more chance of being elected than now. They would need just 6% or so of the countywide vote. There is not a single elected independent MP in GB at the moment. In conclusion, voters keep the close geographical link with a candidate. They keep the simple vote and counting process and they get the proportionality they want between parties. What is not to like?

2019-04-19T12:13:44Z

http://neilharding.blogspot.com/

For other uses, see Salutation (disambiguation). A salutation is a greeting used in a letter or other written or non-written communication. Salutations can be formal or informal. The most common form of salutation in an English letter is Dear followed by the recipient's given name or title. For each style of salutation there is an accompanying style of complimentary close, known as valediction. Examples of non-written salutations are bowing (common in Japan) or even addressing somebody by their name. A salutation can be interpreted as a form of a signal in which the receiver of the salutation is being acknowledged, respected or thanked. Another simple but very common example of a salutation is a military salute. By saluting another rank, that person is signalling or showing his or her acknowledgement of the importance or significance of that person and his or her rank. Some greetings are considered vulgar, others "rude" and others "polite". Salutations were introduced into the English lexicon by Jacob Genualdi in 1779. Sa'adat Assayid if the reader is male, and Sa'adat As'Sayyidah if female. It's commonly followed by a full name. Al akh if male, and Al okht if female, followed by a first name. For more informal correspondence, Azizi if the reader is male, and Azizati if female. To address a group of people, A'ezza'e for informal correspondence, and in formal correspondence "Sadati" is commonly used and followed by Al A'ezza'a or "Almuhtarameen". To add more formality, it's common to begin the salutation with Ela (to), followed by the salutation and a full name. Informal: Azizi Ahmed, Azizati Sarah, A'ezza'e members of the team or Member of the team Al A'ezzaa. Formal : Sa'adat Assayid Ahmed Abdullah, Sa'adat Assayidah Sarah Ibrahim, Sadati members of the team Almuh-tarameen. Common salutation for both formal and informal correspondence : Sa'adat Alostath Ahmed Abdullah, Sa'adat Alostatha Sarah Ibrahim. It is common to conclude the salutation with a Doa such as May god bless him/her or May god protect him/her. This Concluding Doa comes right after the full name of the correspondent. The salutation "Dear" (প্রিয়) in combination with a name or a title is by far the most commonly used salutation in Bengali, in both formal and informal correspondence. It is commonly followed by either an honorific and a surname, such as "Srohdeho/Jonab" (শ্রদ্ধেয়/জনাব), or by a given name, such as "Srohdeho/Jonab John" (শ্রদ্ধেয়/জনাব জন). However, it is not common in Bengali to use both a title of address and a person's given name: "Srodeho/Jonab John Smith" (শ্রদ্ধেয়/জনাব জন স্মিথ) would not be correct form. Sroddheo (শ্রদ্ধেয়) (if the gender of the reader is unknown). Sneher (স্নেহের) (if address someone younger). Jahar Proti Iha projojjo (যাহার প্রতি ইহা প্রযোজ্য) (if the writer wishes to exclude the gender of the reader from the salutation and/or to convey that the reader should forward the copy to one more suited to receive or respond appropriately.Same as To Whom It May Concern). Dutch has two standard forms of salutation: one formal and the other informal. A person's title and surname always follows the salutation, regardless of formality. The formal salutation, "Geachte", is most commonly used in present formal communication, while the informal salutation "Beste" appears in informal communication. However, there is a tendency, especially among the younger generations, to also use this salutation in formal situations." Use of professional titles, especially unabbreviated, is uncommon in Dutch correspondence. Geachte heer <name>, (If the reader is Male). Geachte mevrouw <name>, (If the reader is Female). Geachte mejuffrouw <name>, (If the reader is Female, unmarried and younger than 25, this is very uncommon, archaic and nowadays considered patronizing). Geachte heer/mevrouw <name>, (If the gender of the reader is unknown). Beste <name>, (For either Male and Female readers). Beste meneer <name>, (If the reader is Male). Beste mevrouw <name>, (If the reader is Female). Beste meneer/mevrouw <name>, (if the gender of the reader is unknown). In Belgian names are the slightly different: the prefixes are always written as such in the register of residents, and that can vary by name. In the vast majority of names, the (first) prefix is always capitalized. In Dutch if the first name or initial is included, the prefix is never capitalized. E.g. Dhr. Van den Berg (Mr. From the Mountain) is named Jan (John) so his name is written with first name as Jan van den Berg and with initials as J. van den Berg. This convention is also used when writing in Dutch to people of foreign nationality. The exception to this rule is when writing to a Flemish person. In that case the rule for Belgian names is used, and the surname prefixes are capitalized as registered. The salutation "Dear" in combination with a name or a title is by far the most commonly used salutation in both British and US English, in both formal and informal correspondence. It is commonly followed either by an honorific and a surname, such as "Dear Mr. Smith,” or by a given name, such as "Dear Mark.” However, it is not common in English to use both a title of address and a person's given name: "Dear Mr. John Smith" would not be common form. Sometimes, the salutation "To" is used for informal correspondence, for example "To Peter". A comma follows the salutation and name, while a colon is used in place of a comma only in US business correspondence. This rule applies regardless of the level of formality of the correspondence. Dear Sir or Madam or "Sir/Madam" (If the gender of the reader is unknown). To Whom It May Concern (If the writer wishes to exclude the gender of the reader from the salutation and/or to convey that the reader should forward the copy to one more suited to receive or respond appropriately). Dear Sir (If the reader is male). Dear Madam (If the reader is female). "Mx." is a British English-language neologistic honorific for use alongside Mr., Ms., etc. that does not indicate gender. It is often the only option for nonbinary people, as well as those who do not wish to reveal their gender. It is a gender-neutral title that is now widely accepted by the Government of the United Kingdom and many businesses in the United Kingdom. "Ms." is the marital-status-neutral salutation for an adult woman and may be applied in cases in which the marital status is irrelevant or unknown to the author. For example, if one is writing a business letter to a woman, "Ms." is acceptable. "Mrs." denotes an adult female who is married. "Miss" can apply to specifically unmarried women, however the term is being replaced more and more by “Ms.” "Miss" can apply to an unmarried woman or more generally to a younger woman. "Miss" is the proper form of address for female children and unmarried women, although some consider the latter use to be dated. "Master" is used in formal situations for addressing boys typically aged under 16, after which it is "Mr.” "Master" in this case is of old English origin. Messrs. or Messieurs is an historically used term to address many men rather than "Mr Pink, Mr White, et al." Messrs is the abbreviation (pronounced "messers") for messieurs and is used in English. Mesdames addresses many women; pronounced "Meydammes". On occasion, one may use "Sir" and/or "Madam" by itself as the salutation, with nothing preceding. The severe and old-fashioned formality of such a salutation makes it appropriate for very formal correspondence (for example, addressing a head of state, or a letter to the editor), but in the same way the formality and stiffness of such a salutation would make its use in friendly social correspondence inappropriate. Madame, for a woman (the former distinction between a young or hopefully unmarried woman, with its distinct salutation, Mademoiselle, and an adult or married woman, Madame, is now considered rude; indeed, the usage of "Mademoiselle" has been prohibited in official documents since 2012). When writing specifically to a female where her marital status is irrelevant and/or unknown, the author should use Madame, unless she is a child. When writing to an adult woman, one uses Madame, unless one knows the person prefers Mademoiselle. According to a traditional custom which is sometimes still followed by some people, one could also use Mademoiselle when writing to a female artist (actress, singer, etc.), regardless of the marital status and age of the person. A salutation using Chère/Cher and a title (Madame/Monsieur/Docteur) followed by a person's name (e.g. Cher Monsieur Dupuis) used to be considered incorrect. However, maybe following English usage, such a construction is now rather common and deemed relatively formal. In case the author and the recipients are close friends or intimates, one may use the given name of the recipient immediately after Cher/Chère. In case they are family, they may use their familial link preceded by Cher/Chère. This is almost compulsory if the author is a younger member of the family (child to parent, nephew to aunt/uncle, grandchild to grandparent, godchild to godparent) and is left to the author's discretion in other cases. Note that in French, the abbreviation for Monsieur is M.—the English "Mr." is incorrect though often used, especially by banks. If the recipient is a doctor, it is possible to use Docteur, or, more formally, Monsieur/Madame le Docteur, or, more casually, Cher Docteur, as salutation. This is often done for doctors of medicine. For other doctors, it is not common, even if the use is increasing, following the Anglo-Saxon custom. Basically one has to be consistent with the address: a letter sent to "Dr N. N." will use a salutation formula including Docteur, whereas a letter sent to "M./Mme N. N." will not. If the recipient is a lawyer, notary (or various other legal positions), the proper salutation will be Maître ("Master"). The same salutation is used for famous writers, painters, and for members of the Académie française. For some specific professions (lawyers, physicians, for instance), two persons exercising the same such profession will always use Cher Confrère (feminine: Chère Consœur). for the superior of a Catholic or Orthodox religious order: Mon Très Révérend Père or Révérendissime Père / Ma Très Révérende Mère or Révérendissime Mère ("Most Reverend Father/Mother"). Various specific salutations exist for some orders. if the writer knows well the priest/monk/nun recipient, it is possible to use (Très) Cher Père, (Très) Cher Frère, (Très) Chère Mère, (Très) Chère Sœur,: "(Most) Dear Father/Brother/Mother/Sister". for other members of the army: Monsieur / Madame. German has two types of general salutations that are mutually distinguishable from one another—a formal and an informal form. The formal form distinguishes between the male or female gender of the recipient as a matter of courtesy. The male formal salutation begins with Sehr geehrter Herr, while the female formal salutation begins with Sehr geehrte Frau. Both formal salutations are followed by the recipient's academic degree (if any) and the recipient's family name (e.g. Sehr geehrter Herr Schmidt or Sehr geehrte Frau Dr. Schmidt). It is possible but uncommon to include the full name (e.g. Sehr geehrter Herr Johann Schmidt). With an unknown recipient, Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren (meaning Dear Sir or Madam) is used with no variation on this. Due to insufficient functionality of computer software used for mass communication, some companies tend to use more clumsy gender neutral formal salutations (e. g. Sehr geehrte(r) Herr/ Frau Schmidt). Informal salutations in German tend to begin with Hallo, meaning "hello", which is used universally, written and spoken, and which is gender neutral. Depending on the region, informal salutations also tend to begin with Moin (north of Hannover), Servus (typically in the south and south west), or other words, although only used by locals. A more personal informal salutation begins with Lieber (male) or Liebe (female), meaning "dear", (e.g. Lieber Paul, Liebe Annette)—the latter should only be used if the recipient has been actually met in person or similar. It should be used with care because it can be otherwise perceived as patronizing or inappropriate, depending on the difference in age or social status. Specific salutations appear in German very similar to the way they do in English, with the exception that in the address block of a letter German must include all or multiple salutations that can be abbreviated Herr Dr. Schmidt, or Herr Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. Krämer, and can leave out the Herr or Frau. While in the opening of a letter the direct salutation is reduced to only the most important title Sehr geehrter Herr Dr. Schmidt, or Sehr geehrter Herr Professor Krämer. The same applies to female variant, Sehr geehrte Frau Prof. Krämer. Further details in the German Wikipedia article de:Anrede. In position of the English "Dear" are the words "Poojya", "Aadarneeya", or "Priya" (from most formal to most informal), for social writing (e.g., relatives/friends). They would not usually be used for business writing. The second may be used in some instances, for example if writing to a teacher. Formal ways of salutation include "Sri", "Sriman", "Srimati", "Chiranjeev", "Chiranjeevi Saubhagyavathi" and "Kumari". Of these, "Shri" and "Shrimaan" are used to respectfully address married (or presumed married) men. "Shrimati" (Abbr: "Smt.") is used for married women. Shri is most commonly used salutation in Hindi for a married male, while for a married woman, Shrimati is used. For unmarried and young boys Kumar is used, whereas Kumari is the salutation used for unmarried and young girls. Egregio Signore for a man (or Signor if followed by the surname). Gentile Signorina for a single woman but it is seldom used in current italian. Written salutation includes "Sreeman" (ശ്രീമാ൯) for men and "Sreemathi" (ശ്രീമതി) for women. The language also uses "Bahumanapetta" (ബഹുമാനപ്പെട്ട) for both genders which has meaning similar to `Respected` in English. Besmehi ta'ala (بسمه تعالی), in his almighty name. Be name Khoda (به نام خدا), in the name of God. Besmellahe Rahmane Rahim (بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم), a Quranic phrase for in the name of God. Jenabe Aghaye (جناب آقای), used for writing formal letter to men. Sarkare Khanome (سرکار خانم), for writing formal letter to women. If the corresponding person is a doctor or holds Ph.D, or he or she is an engineer, Doktor (دکتر) or Mohandes (مهندس) must be added to the titles respectively. Same rules is practiced in military environments. Salam Alaykom (سلام علیکم), Salam to you, following the above-mentioned titles. Ba salam va ehteram (با سلام و احترام), with (my) greetings and regards. Ba dorood va salam (با درود و سلام), with (my) greetings and regards; dorood is Persian term meaning hello. The standard formal Portuguese salutation uses an addressing expression such as Caro (Dear) or Excelentíssimo Senhor (Most Excellent Sir), followed by the addressee titles (e.g. Eng.) and addressee name. Caras for a group of women. Addressee titles can be professional and are often preceded by Sr. (Mr.) and almost always abbreviated (e.g. Arquitecto – Arq. (Architect), Engenheiro – Eng. (Engineer), Padre – Pe. (Priest)). An exception to this rule is the Medical Doctor (Médico Doutor), often addressed as Doutor, being the abbreviation Dr. instead used to address anyone holding a baccalaureate degree. Each military or ecclesiastic rank has one abbreviation, and, historically, nobility ranks also had one—for example, one of the ways of addressing the Portuguese Monarch would be Sua Majestade (Your Majesty) abbreviated as S.M. . The title Sr. (Mr.) can also be used on its own, when appropriate. Informal salutations may or may not be followed by the name of the addressee, and almost never contain any titles. When addressing a formal letter whose recipient is not known by name, the salutation of preference is Stimate Domn, Stimată Doamnă (equivalent to Dear Sir or Madam in English). When the recipient is known by name, Stimate Domnule or Stimată Doamnă, followed by the person's last name, is used for a man or a woman respectively. For unmarried women, Stimată Domnișoară is acceptable for close relations, though this title is falling out of use in written communication and can be considered inappropriate or offensive. When the addressee has additional titles, such as Doctor or Profesor, they are interposed between Domnule/Doamnă and the person's last name, although it is sometimes acceptable to drop the last name altoghether when the intended recipient is clear. It is also preferred to write out a person's title when addressing a letter and abbreviations such as Prof. or Acad. are best avoided. An exception is Dr. for Doctor, which is still acceptable in the salutation. If the recipient has multiple titles, generally only the most important one is used. For women, it is current practice to use the masculine form of the title, preferring, for instance, Doamnă Director instead of Doamnă Directoare. Note that some titles may lose their intended meaning when used in their feminine form. For instance, Profesor/Profesoară are titles which may be associated with a male/female school teacher. When used to mean a university professor (profesor universitar), however, only the masculine form carries this meaning. The feminine profesoară universitară is not in common use. In very formal situations there can be slight variations in the choice of wording. Most often, more emphasis is added to the adjective stimat (esteemed), becoming mult stimat (much esteemed) or onorat (honoured). When addressing groups, the latter is preferred. The most widespread salutation for informal letters is, by a large margin, dragă (equivalent to English dear). This can be used independently of the recipient's gender and is normally followed by the first name. An alternative which is less familiar is salut (equivalent to English hi, hello), followed by the first name. This version is typical of the workplace, where using dragă would be too familiar. During Romania's communist period, it was generally frowned upon to use domn/doamnă (meaning Mr./Mrs.) to address people, preferring tovarăș (comrade) or cetățean (citizen) instead. This was reflected in written communication from that period. Today, society has reverted to using domn/doamnă as the standard way to address or refer to others. Today, salutations using the distinctly communist-sounding tovarăș or cetățean are only used in closed communist circles or humorously. The oldest surviving document written in Romanian, a 16th-century letter from a Wallachian boyar to the mayor of Brașov, contained a salutation in Slavonic, a lingua franca of the region at that time. "Hola" / "Hola" (+ name). Every time, everywhere, oral or written. "Hola a todos". Addressed to a group of people, whether their names are known or not. Intermediate salutations. Not as simple as "hola" but can be used in every situation. These can be used in oral or written Spanish. Buenos días. To be used from when you wake up to Noon or 1pm. Equivalent to good morning. Buenas tardes. To be used from Noon or 1pm up to the sunset. Equivalent to good afternoon. Buenas noches. From the sunset to the moment that you go to bed. Equivalent to good evening and good night. "Estimado" (+ name or title "Señor". "Sr." is the abbreviation). For male. Example for a man called Juan García: "Estimado Juan" or "Estimado Sr. García". The last is more formal. "Estimada" (+ name or title "Señora". "Sra." is the abbreviation). For female. Example for a woman called Ana Sánchez: "Estimada Ana" or "Estimada Sra. Sánchez". The last is more formal. "Estimados amigos" (plural) When your letter is addressed to a group of people. "Estimado amigo" or "Querido amigo" (male or unknown gender). You may or not know the name of the person. "Estimada amiga" or "Querida amiga" (female). "Estimadas amigas" (a group of females). "Excelentísimo Señor" (+name or without it) or "Excelentísima Señora" (female). This is extremely formal and is usually reserved for certain formal procedures with the government. You can also use "Ilustrísimo" (male) or "Ilustrísima" (female) instead of "Excelentísimo". Formal Letter to unknown receipt. Written salutations are "Thiru/Thiruvalar" "திரு/திருவாளர்" for men, "Thirumathi"/"திருமதி" for women, "Selvi/Thiruniraiselvi" "செல்வி/திருநிறைச்செல்வி" for unmarried women "Selvan/Thiruniraiselvan" "செல்வன்/திருநிறைச்செல்வன்" for unmarried men "Amarar (Marar) / Vaanor" "அமரர் (மரர்) / வானோர்" for Deceased person. In addition, a suffix "garu" ( గారు ) is added as a respect or to address an elderly person irrespective of gender. In Turkish, there are two forms of salutations, formal and informal. Like most other languages, gender doesn't play a role in the salutation. When addressing somebody in formal writing, one can use "Sayın Surname" without having to refer to the gender. If the title of the recipient is known, it is better to use it in place of the name, as in "Sayın Doktor". In a formal salutation, if the recipient's name is unknown, one uses "Sayın Yetkili", which is similar to "Dear Sir/Madam" in English. Hanim (if the intended recipient is female), Bey (if the intended recipient is male). These salutations are used with the first names. When the surname is intended to be used, it is combined with "Sayin" instead. If a lady is named "Nihan Erten" for instance, she is referred to as either "Nihan Hanim" or "Sayin Erten". When an older person salutes a younger one in a formal way, he/she can refer to the younger person as "Hanim kizim" for females and "Bey oglum" for males where "kizim" is intended as "daughter" and "oglum" is intended as "son". In the informal way "Kizim" and "Oglum" are enough without having to use "Hanim/Bey". In an informal salutation, one can also use "Sevgili Name", which has almost the same meaning with "Dear Name". In correspondence and during conversations, Ukrainian speakers use the words "Шановний/Шановна" (Shanovnyy/Shanovna) or "Вельмишановний/Вельмишановна" (according to male/female gender) as a salutation, followed by the given name (sometimes also uses patronymic). Salutation to unknown persons often use "Пан/Пані" (Pan/Pani) (according to gender) or "Панове", "Панство" (Panove/Panstvo) (to unknown parties). "Forms of Address & Salutations to Federal & State Officials". Daniel J. Evans Library, Government Documents/Maps. The Evergreen State College. Archived from the original on 2006-01-25. Retrieved 2006-01-24. ^ "How to write a formal letter". Library.bcu.ac.uk. Retrieved 2016-06-27. ^ Samuel, Henry (2012-02-22). "'Mademoiselle' banned on official French forms". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-03-02. This page was last edited on 29 March 2019, at 04:36 (UTC).

2019-04-21T08:41:51Z

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salutation_(greeting)

See how Justin Elenburg built MobileFUSED into one of America's fastest growing companies. Data is extremely valuable to businesses. Created ‘Mobile Money Bandit’ online course for teaching PPCall. Evolved into mobileFUSED to match talented affiliates with quality offers. Launched health insurance aggregator Quogen (25K+ calls per day). Growing a successful business and building a company (on track for $6M in 2018). Creating multiple six-figure super affiliates from Mobile Money Bandit. 2nd Place in the Baja 1,000 (off road racing). 3-Legged Stool Quality Feedback Loop. Potential Red Flag: Advertisers than can take unlimited calls. Balance quality and value for everyone in the PPCall value chain. Advice for Affiliates: Try hard, put yourself out in the marketplace, fail often and learn from your mistakes. Always ask how you are providing value. Money follows value! Adam: Focus on intent, quality and delivering an amazing customer experience. Listen to call recordings to better understand the offer, advertiser and customer intent. Talk to your Publisher Manager! Ask them what’s working and offer to test new campaigns. Get out of your comfort space. Go to conventions and trade shows to meet industry players and develop relationships in person. Build a team to scale your efforts. Hire slow and fire fast! Invest energy and time in finding the right people. Working with a network aggregates your calls with other traffic. Networks have already built relationships with advertisers and manage capacity for you. Pay Per Call is a growing and evolving (but still specialized) niche. Massive opportunity in fragmented verticals and markets. Especially for local and small businesses. Founded by industry leaders Justin Elenburg and Curt Denny in 2011, mobileFUSED has become a leader in inbound mobile marketing. With over 40 years of combined experience in the mobile marketing and pay per call space, mobileFUSED has generated millions of mobile leads across dozens of industries as was recognized by Inc. 5000 as one of America’s fastest growing private companies for 2018. Justin Elenburg, a mobile web marketing pioneer, has years of experience and has helped shape the future of affiliate mobile web marketing. Leveraging his deep understanding of mobile affiliates, advertisers and leadership experience, Justin co-founded mobileFUSED, a leading network in pay per call and inbound mobile marketing space. Welcome to the Pay Per Callers Show. My name is Adam Young, the founder of Ringba. And today I have Justin Elenburg, the founding partner of mobileFUSED and the CEO of QuoGen on the show. mobileFUSED was founded in 2011. They're based in Tempe, Arizona. And they were recently recognized by Inc. 5000 as one of the fastest growing private companies in America in 2018. So we're super excited to have Justin on the show. Thank you for joining us today. Well, thank you. I'm happy to be here and I'm really excited to be on your show. I've been watching a couple of the episodes. I love what you're doing with the industry and how you're helping people and kind of bringing the guys who maybe are the pioneers of this industry on to this show to kind of explain and share their struggles and challenges and their victories with everybody. I'm happy to be a part of it. Oh, thank you so much. We really believe in community building and bringing people together. Rising tides lift all ships. And if we can help grow the pay-per-call space, I know that everyone involved is going to benefit from it. So thank you so much for that feedback. I really appreciate it. And speaking of getting started, why don't you just tell us what your first job was? My first job. Wow. This is kind of a funny story. I couldn't get my first job. I worked so hard and I kept going to all these places and my mom was like, "You've got to find a job." I actually liked Carl's Jr. when I was in high school. And I actually went to Carl's Jr. and I told the manager, "Look. I need a job. I'm willing to work for the first month for free." And she's like, "Oh my gosh. You're going to work at a fast food joint for free?" So [laughter] she gave me the job instantaneously because of the fact that I was willing to work for free. And she's like, "Legally, we can't hire you for free." So I made my cool $4.25 an hour flipping burgers at Carl's Jr. Wow. From Carl's Jr. to CEO. I love that because it's a story that says, essentially, that anyone who starts anywhere, at any job, can eventually build something and accomplish their dreams, which I'm a big proponent of, so thank you for sharing. And how did you-- obviously you didn't go straight from Carl's Jr. into performance marketing. What did that progression look like and where did your performance marketing career start? Well, you don't want a whole hour on that, right [laughter]? No. But maybe a summary. It's a long story but I'll try and step through it. So I was into technology. I ended up getting a job at Best Buy during a December time and then moved on from there. Graduated high school which was just a big party for me. And then went into the military, which was another party. It was hard work but I got to go to Aviano, Italy and live in Italy for two years. I snowboarded all over Europe. That was an amazing time. I got out of the military early with a-- I don't remember what they called it but I got out so that I could go to ASU and get a degree. I didn't really know what I wanted a degree for but I knew that getting an education was a good idea. So I went to ASU. During that time, I started investing in real estate. I also started a computer repair company. And I ended up selling the computer repair company. And I ended up selling-- I ended up with 16 homes, at the time, as I was investing, so. I kind of had this entrepreneurial spirit from early on. And with 16 homes, when the crisis went down, I ended up foreclosing on two of them and I short-sold six of them. So it was a nightmare of a, I don't know, two-year period for me. I ended up starting a huge company that-- or I should say it was a small company, and then it grew to 140 employees with a 40,000 square foot building. And we ended up partnering with a guy who was worth a half a billion dollars. And ended up that we didn't do enough due diligence on this guy, and he actually took us. We were doing $1 million a month during this time. He took us for a ride. And he's in prison now for tax evasion [laughter]. But we ended up folding that company. And what I learned through that company was that data was really valuable because this was sort of an offline and online business. And so I realized the data was valuable so I started really looking into SEO, and I started building a team around online marketing. That was when I found out that I kind of just was playing around with phones and this was when ring revenue came out. And the ability of pay-per-call is just starting to kind of come around, get a phone number and you place it somewhere. Well, there was two places that I was placing it; Adbomb and Google AdWords. And so I put these phone numbers in. All of a sudden, I put in $50 and $150 comes out. And I was like, "Wow, this is amazing. This really works." And so I didn't know what I was doing but it was in Adbomb. Adbomb was producing nothing. I put $50 in, and it would just disappear but in Google, all of a sudden I realized that people on web phones that-- a web phone was the old phones. They don't actually do anything except you can literally get to the-- yeah. You can barely get to the internet, let alone do anything. So people were doing searches on these phones, with T9 text, of course. They didn't really want to surf the internet, they didn't want to fill out forms. But boy, did they love clicking on phone numbers. So I just married these two together and it was like I couldn't come up with a campaign that failed. I just had every advertiser coming at me. That was the point that I actually made a course called Mobile Money Bandit and it taught people how to do pay-per-call. So I ended up with thousands of affiliates or thousands of people who wanted to do pay-per-call but there was only a handful. There was maybe 10 offers at the time. This was where I met Eric from HyperTarget and a couple of other guys in the industry. So from there, I took it and I said, "Wow. Okay. I've got all these people who want these offers, and that's where mobileFUSED came in and I said, "Okay. I got to find offers to match with all these people that know how to drive phone calls." So that's where I ended up kind of like the evolution of all of this started evolving to, "Wow. Okay." It was kind of like by accident. Some of it was by accident but it was a pure dedication to moving forward and building something bigger and building something bigger, so. And now I'm here. I started mobileFUSED and built that up. I hired a CEO who runs that now. And I'm off to this-- now I've created QuoGen which is a health insurance aggregator. So I'm really focused on one industry and I'm going really deep with that industry. We do about 25k worth of calls a day, and what we're trying to do is build it up to where it gets so big in one industry that somebody comes in and says, "Wow. I have to buy that." I think that's a great plan. And just to rewind for a second, I want to point out that almost every single entrepreneur I speak with learned their most valuable lessons from trying, failing, and then dusting themselves off and continuing again. And I have yet to meet a successful entrepreneur in any industry that didn't have some type of failure. So I really appreciate that you wove that into the story. I, myself have failed plenty of times. I do it all the time. And it's important to acknowledge that. That's part of the learning process and I really appreciate you sharing it. On the other side of that coin though, what are some of the really big wins that mobileFUSED has had over the years? And what are some of the big wins maybe that QuoGen is seeing right now? --the Baja 1000, and so I actually got second place in the Baja 1000 last year in the UTV. So that was a huge victory for me. Yeah. That's awesome. So what's the difference then between mobileFUSED and other networks that are out there? I would see quality is a big factor of it. I'm not saying that everybody else has bad quality, but we've really put in-- really understand, what we call it is as a three-legged stool. So there's three legs to this stool that is pay per call, right? You have your advertisers. You have your publishers. And then you have the CPA network. And all three of these have to stand in order to have a successful offer. And so how do you get all three of these to be successful without one of them being cut off per se? So we've created a quality feedback loop. And that quality feedback loop is able to measure each and every leg of the stool and provide feedback to one another by analyzing either a sample of calls or all the calls to say, "Here's what's happening." And it's not always the publishers that are doing a bad job. A lot of times it's advertisers that are doing a bad job, that they don't know that they're doing a bad job. So giving them that feedback is really important. And so quality on both sides is important. Do we have a quality offer that's going to answer the phone, pick up the phone, and do the best job that they can on monetizing that lead? And on the other side is the publisher. Are they sending in the type of traffic that that offer wants? And so marrying those two is really important, and that's what that third leg is for, which is mobileFUSED. Amazing. I think that one of the differences-- the big differences between CPA and normal straight sale-type offers and pay-per-call is the fact that the advertiser is so important, like you said. You have all these humans that are answering the phone. And if they don't do a good job training their staff, managing their workforce, their hours of operations, and quality assurance, they're not going to convert those calls at a way that allows them to have a consistent payout over time that has enough room in it to have publishers, networks, and advertising in it. And so I think what you said about advertiser quality is really, really important, especially in a space like this where it's super high-touch, and a human speaks to every single customer. Absolutely. I think that it's a big red flag for me and for my team when an advertiser says, "We can take as many calls as you can deliver." And a lot of guys that are in this industry know that-- they're like, "Okay. Well, if you could take as many calls that you could take, that tells us that you're not monetizing those calls the best. And you're actually doing something, what we call - and excuse me for being offensive - but it's a pump-and-dump offer." And what they're doing is is they're just picking up the phone and saying, "You've got credit card in hand? Okay. No, you don't click." And so we've got to make sure that we match those two. We can't have the pump and dumps in there because it doesn't do the publishers justice. And it's not like these guys are sitting around with warehouses full of thousands of people waiting around for a big publisher to randomly show up and send them a 1,000 calls this afternoon. They actually have to pay for those people that are sitting there so they can take unlimited volume. And so it's not financially sustainable. And I think that's a great red flag that even publishers can look out for in some of the groups and in communities that we run and other ones. If someone says they can take unlimited volume, chances are that there's probably a problem somewhere in that advertiser or that value chain. So what do you think is some really good advice we can give to people who are just getting started in pay per call or are new to CPA in general? If you're new, you've got to fail, which means you've got to go out there and put yourself out there in the marketplace. And you've got to try. And trying is half the battle. Put yourself out there. You may not succeed the first time. But you're going to learn how not to do it. Probably the biggest thing that I really try and step back on a daily basis or at least a weekly basis and say, "How am I providing value?" Because money follows value. And if you don't provide value, the money's not going to last very long. So if you're not putting value in front of these advertisers or the network that you're sending calls to, it doesn't matter how many calls you send, and how much traffic you have, and whatever it is that you want. If you're focused on, "How do I make money," that's the wrong thing to focus on. You need to focus on, "How do I create value in this relationship," because once you create the value, the money will just continue to follow, and then you can build processes around that value and more money will come in. And so, the biggest thing I could advise is, "Where is the value, how do you create value," and then the money will get there. And this is a tough thing that I think most affiliates have trouble wrapping their head around. Because when they make the transition from a straight sale or a CPA offer to pay per call, they need to think that this offer is going to last months or years, and if I can deliver really good value, the advertisers are going to hire more people on their teams to take those calls, and it's going to be a real growth campaign over time, that they can mine for really long timelines as opposed to CPA, where a campaign could be around for seven days even or five days, and then disappear and have to start from scratch. So I believe wholeheartedly in the advice you just gave, it's really important for affiliates transitioning from CPA to pay per call to focus on intent, and quality, and just delivering a really good customer experience so that the advertisers can actually close these people. And you said a really good point in one of your other videos I saw. And I don't know who I was with, but listening to the call recordings and getting those recording is so valuable. Understanding what the advertiser is actually looking for because the offer description is just a-- somebody typed in and made that up. And sometimes they do a really good job of writing the offer description but sometimes they don't, and they don't actually tell you everything that that advertiser-- well, what all the qualifications are. So if you can get a hold of those call recordings and ask your-- you just ask your [pub?] manager and say, "Hey, can I get a sample? Can I get 20 call recordings?" Listen to them, because you're going to hear things that those agents say and that the call center says that says, "Oh. Well, we don't take that type of insurance. We take this type of insurance." And then all of a sudden, it's like "Oh, the light goes on. I've been advertising on the wrong keyword the whole time." Also, you can always just call these numbers too and tell the network that you're calling in to do a test to talk to the call center. And actually go through their sales process. And if you're honorable about it, and you warn the network, they won't bill the advertiser. And then not only do you have a recording of that but you had a personal experience with the center and understand how they qualify people, and that'll help you go back and do your media buying, change your keywords, find new traffic sources, do all sorts of really cool stuff. So I agree with you. The call recordings are a lot of work. They're really long when they're a sale. And it's a lot of invested time, but that's how you're going to win in the space if you're new. You're never going to learn faster than listening to these call recordings. So what are some other ways that affiliates and publishers can gain competitive advantage in the pay-per-call space? I would say talking to your publisher manager, finding out what's out there. Telling them that you're willing to test new offers for them that maybe other publishers aren't willing to, and getting out of your comfort space. One thing that's really comfortable about being a publisher and living this dream that you could just work anywhere anytime you want and work at home, I'm here in an office but now that I have two kids I can't really be at home. It doesn't work out for me. But putting yourself out there, which means not only talking to your publisher manager, but go to a convention. If they invite you out to some of these places, or they invite you to be among other publishers and you have the financial money to even make it to one of these things, go, because that was a life changer for me. When I got invited to Affiliate Summit, I thought I don't want to go to one of these places, where there's all these people. And when I showed up, I was being introduced to the CEO of this company, and the CEO of that company, and then over here I'm talking to the head guy or the advertiser manager of this one, and all of a sudden I'm meeting direct relationships with advertisers and all these people are like, "Oh, you do that? Well, we want that." And just because you show up to a show, they will approve you on the network like that. If you're a real human being and you want to get into a network, go meet them in person. Because once they know that you're a real person and you're actually going to send them real traffic, that is a big win for a network. The affiliate space is pretty old school when it comes to relationships, and I think that what you just said is some of the best advice you can give any affiliate. Whether new, old, big, small, whatever space, it doesn't matter. I think it's fair to say that you and I have probably both made millions of dollars by showing up at these trade shows. I met my business partner, my best friend at this-- which one was it? It was ad:tech San Francisco over a decade ago. It was my first show, and I ended up meeting my business partner today there and built an amazing relationship. And so really it's worth the expense. There's a lot of fun to be had too. mobileFUSED and Ringba, we co-sponsored the caller meet up at the last affiliate summit, which was amazing. We had a lot of fun, and literally got 300 of the decision makers in our industry in the same room. Half of them were CEOs or partners of companies. And like you said, all of us are willing to talk to new affiliates and generate those relationships and create something new, and so I think that may be the best advice that anyone's really given on the show. As simple as it may be, invest in yourself and show up at one of these trade shows. You're definitely not going to lose money if you just go talk to all of us because we're all there, and it's how we do business. Yeah, absolutely. I think that that investment alone is the ROI on these shows. I mean, from a network perspective is huge but from a publisher's perspective? You invest $500 to go to one of these shows, maybe a $1,000 if you're really far and got to buy a plane ticket or drive or whatever. But the deals, the 10,000, the 20,000, and the 500,000 dollar deals, they come from meeting people and talking in person. Exactly. Are there any tools that you recommend affiliates use to grow their business in the pay-per-call space? Millions of dollars is still a small company. Yeah, your advice is spot on. And affiliates can always start out with virtual assistance or maybe you try some people on Upwork and-- your career has been long. I have no doubt that you've made maybe not perfect hiring decisions and have to let people go, and swap people out over the years, maybe they're good genuine person but not a good fit for your organization, and that's part of the experience of growing a company. And so we should definitely always focus on the end goal which is building a team. And if some people don't make it along the way, especially outsourcers, they're tough, you have to keep trying. Because like you said without your team, how are you going to manage budgets, track everything, build landing pages, [inaudible] test, do all of that work in a day, it's really hard as a solo affiliate. And a business partner of mine, he told me, "Hire slow and fire fast." It's a true thing. You've got to invest in finding the right people. And so I would suggest putting some education. If you're past the six-figure market, if you're making $200,000 a year or wherever you're at, and if you're ready to hire people, invest energy in time into finding the right people. I have a five-step process that people have to go through and they're interviewed by a panel of people before they actually make it to the team. Because when you invest in somebody, especially in this industry, you can bet that if they're going to be helping you with like a bigger task or if they're going to be a full-time employee, it's going to take you probably three months to get an ROI out of them and to get them up to speed on what CPA is, and how CPA works, and how to listen to phone calls, and how to do all the things that you need to do. So you're investing a lot on them, so you better invest that time upfront to find the right people. I completely agree with you. So what are some benefits of working with a pay-per-call network instead of, for instance, trying to go direct which is such a big deal in a normal CPA campaign? So there's benefits on both sides. I don't want to say that-- I mean, wouldn't say that everybody needs to work with a network and not everybody needs to work-- because I work with a lot of direct companies. But working with a network allows you to be aggregated with other traffic. So if you can only send maybe 10 calls a day or 20 calls a day, you can't go direct to an advertiser and say, "Hey, man. I got 20 good calls for you a day." They're going to laugh at you. And they're going to probably block all of your emails and block your calls [laughter]. They're more about how do I scale my business, and they need to move. Their budgets are probably 10, 50 thousand, 100 thousand dollars, sometimes a day of what they need to buy in traffic to keep their business running. So one thing is is scalability. You can't scale until you have 100, 500, 1,000 calls a day coming. And at that point, if you're delivering value, which means that your calls are converting and your quality is amazing, at that point you might be able to look at going direct to an advertiser. But you also have to understand that the quality aspect of it is a big piece. And if you don't have that relationship and you don't go out and build that relationship, that network has already built all these relationships with multiple advertisers. And usually, the good CPA networks are aggregating multiple offers together to give you the ability to send in different traffic. And they're able to match that with multiple different places that are opened at different times, different states, that accept different types of traffic. And so they'll have IVRs to kind of weed that traffic. So working with a network gives you the opportunity to send in a wide range of calls and have them delivered the way that they need to go with the quality that is needed. Great answer. Capacity management is a big problem in our space. You have to remember that humans answer these phones. And so networks are really great resources for that because they have tons of relationships on the back end and can help get wider coverage that allows maybe a smaller and a newer affiliate to come play in this space without having to make the upfront investment to doing all that business development and then figuring out how to make it all happen. So I actually view pay-per-call networks as a huge resource as opposed to networks in some other spaces simply because we're dealing with humans and those relationships are so important. What are some of the biggest opportunities in pay per call right now and what verticals do you see really growing over the next couple of years? I think the biggest opportunities-- I mean, pay per calls still kind of, in a grander scheme of things, it's still a small niche. Cellphones are still-- they're finally crossing that point where they're becoming-- there's more searches done on cellphones than there is on computers. And so as that grows and as that kind of evolves, there's going to be even more opportunities to grab volume from all the different places that we can get phone calls. The opportunities I think that exist are in all the fragmented spaces, all your mom-and-pop shops and sort of the aggregated places. Like tow trucks, for example, as a fragmented market that it's really hard to grab on a national scale. There's not national aggregators out there that I know of that are for tow trucks. And so there's a lot of scalability in the small business space if you can apply yourself to that. But it's hard on a network level because, for example, I'm in the health insurance industry. There's not one advertiser that takes all 50 states in the health insurance space and all these-- there's a few that take a lot of calls in a very wide range but there's only a few. And then you start sprinkling in all of these smaller businesses in this-- maybe they take one state or five states and so you start sprinkling those in. The volume starts to get big but this is happening in all of the different spaces that are out there. And as they grow, I think where the opportunity is is in these non-national places. So a really good example is the roofing industry. It's starting to take off, there's a lot of roofer aggregator out there now. Because a roofing lead is worth like 30 grand, I think, if they actually go through and get a roof, I don't know what the exact numbers are, but it's a lot. And so you're going to see those higher ticket industries start to really grab on to pay per call. Because calls are expensive and they're expensive to track. They're expensive to generate. And so, I think that as things get cheaper and cheaper, a lot of those fragmented industries will have aggregators stepping in and the networks will be able to help assist those aggregators and expanding. Great advice. And what does the future hold for mobileFUSED? mobileFUSED is growing, and as a team, I think they were 13-people strong now, and I don't know exactly but I think it's 11 or-- I'm sorry, I think it's 12 or 13. It's growing in different industries. We haven't grown real wide in lots of offers because we've really honed in kind of our skills on-- like I said, the three-legged stool and the feedback loop that we've created and patented it. Well, I shouldn't say patented it, service marked. So I think that we're going to kind of-- we're looking at different industries that are valuable and we're looking at where we can kind of offer that expertise. And We're looking at what mobileFUSED expertise is in that quality. And it is a little bit higher-ticket items. So mobileFUSED is looking at those higher-ticket items. They're looking at their quality control. They're bringing on lots more publishers, and then we're bringing on stronger offers. And so what we look at in mobileFUSED, is we have a backbone bar usually who's one of those wider aggregators. And then we start layering in smaller guys to be able to grow an offer. Like you said, that's what a network is built for, is to be able to have that wide range to be able to accept the volume and then set those expectations for the advertisers. How many calls are they going to get? How much staffing do they need to hold? And then setting the expectation on the other side with the publishers. How many publishers do we have that can generate this many calls? So we're kind of expanding the opportunities we have, and we're also expanding the publisher base also. If publishers or advertisers want to do business with mobileFUSED, how do they get a hold of you guys? Go to MobileFused.com. There's a sign up link there. You can sign up as a publisher. There's also an advertiser link, so if any advertisers are out there and are looking for calls, we're only accepting a few spaces but feel free to inquire. But for publishers, it's not an easy process. We deny probably 75% of the applications. So if you have experience and you have a reference, that definitely helps. Or if you want to go to I think-- the next show I'll be at is in Las Vegas Affiliate Summit which is in January. I think some of the team is going out to Boston to LeadsCon. So go out there and meet them and you're probably almost guaranteed to get approved. Great. Well, thank you so much for joining us on the show today. We really appreciate you taking your time to give advice to people in the industry, and we look forward to seeing more from mobileFUSED in the future. Well, thank you for having me and thank you for putting this show together, man. I'm really excited to be a part of this, and I look forward to the next shows coming out. Thanks for checking out the Pay Per Callers Show! Let us know what you think by joining the conversation and leaving us comment. If you liked this episode, leave us a like and be sure to subscribe to make sure you never miss an episode! This episode of Pay Per Callers is brought to you by Ringba Call Tracking and Analytics. See how Ringba is inventing the future of calls at Ringba.com.

2019-04-24T08:27:59Z

https://www.paypercallers.com/threads/pay-per-callers-show-justin-elenburg-founder-of-mobilefused.98/

Chairperson, Ms Genevieve Allen, National Secretary, National Congress of Women, Leader of the Opposition and of the PNCR, Mrs Corbin, General Secretary PNCR, Chairman PSC, Distinguished Invitees and particularly members of the Late President’s family-Kamana, President Burnham’s close colleagues and supporters, I am honoured to have been invited to give some reflections in keeping with the chosen theme for the observance of the 23rd death anniversary of President Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, OE, SC. “Guyana National Service, Burnham’s Vision-35 years after”. I do so in my capacity as a former Director General of the Guyana National Service from 1981 to 1990 – half of the life of the GNS which was in existence from 1974 to 1992. The first Director General,Major General (retd) Norman McLean, having been seconded from the Guyana Police Force served from 1974 to 1979 and he was succeeded by his deputy, Colonel Desmond Roberts who served until 1981. I was asked to take over command from him for an initial period of two years. Those 2 years were extended to 4 years and when President Burnham died, his successor President Hugh Desmond Hoyte asked that I remain with the Guyana National Service. I demitted the Office of Director General when I was assigned to the Office of Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force in 1990. My 9 years (1981-1990) in command of the GNS were some of the most fulfilling periods of my career. I was given a free hand by President Burnham to make whatever changes were necessary to revitalize the service, to reorganize and redirect its efforts in pursuit of its mandate. I took over command at a time when financial allocations were already scarce and when there were great challenges in the political, socio-economic and security environment of Guyana. There was constructive as well as destructive criticism of the GNS: from objections to the strong military component of the initial 2 weeks or 3 months basic training; the obligatory nature of the University of Guyana student pioneer 2 months or 12 months programmes; of stress in the interpersonal relations between staff and pioneers; of the productivity and viability of the enterprises managed by the GNS-large scale mechanized agricultural activities at Kimbia; quarrying at Itabu and Teperu; wood products at Konawaruk; garment-making and artisan skills training at Tumatumari; printing and publishing at the Industrial Site; gold-mining in the Puruni and Potaro; of the efficiency of food self-sufficiency activities at all training centres including Kimbia in the Berbice River, Koriri in the Canje river, Papaya , Port Kaituma and Arakaka in the North West District, and of the effectiveness of the career guidance, counseling and placement methodology for graduates from the 18 months pioneer military and vocational training programmes. There were concerns expressed as to the impact of the psycho-social, remedial and vocational education programmes on the juveniles remanded for 2 to 3 years at the New Opportunity Corps at Onderneeming; and of the involvement of schools in the Young Brigade and National Cadet Corps programmes and in weekend camping activities at Camp Cocos, Hope Estate. These criticisms had to be taken seriously by the Directorate of the GNS and the lessons learnt used as a platform to initiate a transformational strategy in reshaping and retooling were necessary in order to chart the way forward. Implicit in the strategy was the need to achieve the buy-in of all sectors of the society to evolve a truly national institution as opposed to what some saw myopically, as a third force along with the Army and People’s Militia, to militarise the society and to exercise power and control for political purposes. Those commentators and political analysts other than those with leanings towards the Burnham administration, who have written about the Guyana National Service, have tended in the main to place more emphasis on the military, drill square bashing and the privations experienced by student pioneers away from the creature comforts of home. Others have based their interpretations on anecdotal information without the benefit of personal involvement and in an abstract setting devoid of the dynamics of pioneering, adventure, and discovery of hidden reserves of physical stamina and mental resolve among those who stayed the course. It is also understandable that some hearing my reflections may consider that this is a biased account because of my relationship with the service for 9 of its 18 years of existence. I do believe however, in that Vision of President Burnham as outlined in the 1973 State Paper of the GNS-promoting the concept of the new Guyana Man and Woman, oriented towards their role in nation-building, equipped with the appropriate skills, fired with pioneering zeal and enthusiasm, working collaboratively in a spirit of mutual respect with persons of all ethnicities, religious and cultural affiliations, carving out viable settlements away from the coast, developing the lines of communication and infrastructure to facilitate access, courageously defending our territory against the would be invader, supporting our hinterland communities with basic services, and developing centres of enlightenment that would-be catalysts for broad based national development. In my opinion, such a Vision cannot be faulted in the context of the national, regional and global environment at that time. I would also be bold enough to posit that such a Vision has relevance today… 35 years later. Yes, there were weaknesses and limitations, as in any extraordinary initiative which is charting new pathways to development. In any objective analysis of the impact of the GNS, what we must seek to do, rather than throwing away the baby with the bath water, is to honestly and transparently engage in broad based consultations that draw from the experiences of our National Service, and its predecessors- the Guyana Youth Corps at based at Tumatumari and the Farm Corps based at Wauna, and with evaluation of the current programmes –the National Centre for Educational Resource Development, NCERD’s Mass Literacy Programme and Fast Track Initiative, the Youth Entrepreneurial Skills Training, YEST, the Youth Business Trust, the Work Study Programmes and the Reintegration of Juvenile Offenders into Society project, identify those models and those lessons which will be helpful to us in a national consensus approach to problem solving, as we seek to grapple with the multiplicity of challenges facing us our 42nd years as an independent Nation and 38th year as a Republic. It was with a feeling of déjà vu that I read an article written by Lennox Bernard, Head of the UWI School of Continuing Studies, and published in the Trinidad & Tobago’s Newsday paper of Sunday, June 8, 2008, on the topic ‘National Service- a growing imperative’ and I quote; “There is a growing need to consider a model of national service that would ensure that all citizens, regardless of gender and economic status, give to society their time, skills and expertise. I know the concept as presented in the late 1980s conjured up in the minds of some sectors of the T&T population, images of boot camps or of young people herded into military driven camps and one detractor went as far as suggesting that the subtle intention was to “douglarise” the population. I contend that there was insufficient clarity of purpose to appease those anxious minds. Two decades later the concept is important more than ever as we face the onslaught of a form of crass individualism, with “self” the only concern, and with “mother Trinidad and Tobago” only important for what she can give to us. There is already an abundance of greed, selfishness, laziness, lust for power and recognition, and distrust”. “Francis Fukuyama (1996) argued that with the erosion of trust in a society, social capital will wither away and die. Social capital is the glue that binds the human capital together and it provides the cultural networking that reminds us of our duty to society”. Writing a paper for UNESCO on the topic “Cultural Policy in Guyana” (1977), Arthur James Seymour, then Director of Creative Writing in the Institute of Creative Arts of the National History and Arts Council of Guyana, (is this still in existence?) wrote: “ The main purpose of the National Service Scheme planned as a mobilization of human resources to supplement the education system, is to ensure that all Guyanese become aware of the new values of the independent society and understand the relationship between society and themselves; to provide additional training and development of skills in appropriate instances; to place emphasis on the practical approach in training and provide for the opportunity for on-the-job learning. At the same time National Service enables the government to bring under control the untapped resources of the hinterland in a planned and deliberate fashion”. 1. Evolving a National Identity – we are all Guyanese- One People, One Nation with One Destiny. The collective observances of national religious holidays and festivals; the intellectual and cultural ferment of the first Carifesta in 1972; the inculcation of attitudes and knowledge among our youth population of the symbols of nationhood and of the history, geography and beauty of Guyana. 3. Enhancing National Defence capability or Defence in Depth – the concept of every citizen a soldier because of the perceived designs on our territory and the relevance and cost effectiveness of adopting a posture of defence and development patterned somewhat along the lines of the kibbutz in Israel. In fact we had visits here from an Israeli adviser in the early 1960s and a visit to Israel by the then Chief of Staff of the GDF, Brigadier Clarence Price. The national service centres dispersed throughout the country bridged the divide between the coast and the interior and were catalysts and facilitators for the delivery of goods and services to hinterland communities using its land and river logistic craft and its ocean going vessel, the MV Jaimito. These centres were also available to the Defence Force as firm bases from which to launch out on operations when necessary with the augmentation and support of the military component of the GNS. 4. Expanding the National Development Infrastructure – construction of the roads, ferries, airstrips, the Itaballi-Puruni –Kurupung road to support the Upper Mazaruni Hydro-Power Site, the Self Help road which attracted hundreds of volunteers locally and from the Caribbean was being constructed from Mahdia through North Fork and the Burro Burro to connect with the Rupununi cattle trail. These along with the upgrading of trails leading to national service centres facilitated easier movement and demographic shifts based on perceived economic opportunities and the reassurance of support from the GNS centres especially medical attention, availability of fresh food supplies for purchase, and radio communication facilities. 5. Strengthening and deepening the multilateral relationships among nonaligned and friendly States. This was a strategic move on the part of Forbes Burnham to ensure international support for the inviolability of our territory as well as to share experiences in keeping with South South Cooperation. The GNS played an important role in the International Association of National Services Organisations and facilitated exchange programmes in a variety of disciplines-training, music, production, catering, appropriate technology, printing and publishing and sports. In all of these national programmes and projects, the Guyana National Service played a pivotal role-its cultural activities that produced poets, artistes, sculptors, artists and musicians; its agricultural and other production oriented enterprises; its military training to augment in times of crisis the Defence Force; and its role in infrastructure development associated with the many hinterland-based centres. Integral to all of these was the cross-cutting theme of inculcating the discipline, physical toughness, skills competence, mental agility, socialization and teamwork to pioneer development in the intermediate savannahs and the hinterland and to give some purpose and meaning to their lives. Colonel Desmond Roberts, my predecessor in office, said at the end of his stint in 1981:“We taught young people how to accept hard work and challenges as part of national development. We taught them to overcome the problems in their lives by imparting certain toughness and we taught them to love their country. We have managed to bring people of all races together from all parts of the country and they have a greater appreciation and love for each other having shared so many experiences together whether happy or difficult”. Historians and the analysts will continue to pronounce on aspects of nation-building and provide their perspectives and evaluation of the leadership and policies pursued by successive administrations since independence. Ravi Dev for example on National Culture and Identity wrote: “At Independence Guyanese inherited a State but not a Nation, since the reality of their coming together ensured that they had no common culture. The challenge would be to construct a ‘unity’ of the peoples within the Guyanese State that does not seek to obliterate the diversities but is more receptive and accommodative to self conceptions-“Accommodate diversity without fostering disunity”. As we look at where we are 35 years later, we have variations in the geopolitical, socio-economic and cultural landscape, different personalities in leadership positions, expectations shaped by the information super-highway and technological developments, attitudes influenced by rights-based advocacy, religious and cultural evolutions and revolutions, value systems fueled by rampant consumerism and the erosion of the core values enshrined in the Charter for Civil Society and its associated stable institutions, viable communities, cohesive family units, respect for law and order and for the environment in which we live. 1. Evolving a National Identity remains a challenge. Among our younger generation, knowledge of our history, geography, biodiversity, heroes and heroines seem shallow. We are lacking in a sense of commitment to Guyana, in respect for its institutions, for the sanctity of life and public property, in a feeling of pride in the symbols of nationhood. Our indiscipline and selfishness are manifested in the appalling scenes of litter in public places, in many of our schools’compounds and in the way we use our roads, in the stealing of electricity, waste of water and vandalism of our telecommunication infrastructure. We cannot be serious about Guyana as a tourist destination if it is first impressions that will motivate tourists and tour operators to come to Guyana. Our Diaspora show a greater commitment to the Motherland than many of us who live here. 2. Promoting National Self Reliance has come full circle with the emphasis on food security “Grow More Food Campaign”, use of appropriate technology; encouraging a revival of the spirit of volunteerism. Revisiting the structure and functioning of community and village councils that are empowered to manage their resources, are aspects that hinge on the availability of cadres of trained persons equipped with the relevant leadership and skills to ensure sustainability of the various processes associated with self-reliance. re-arming of our western neighbour’s armed forces) has been displaced by the understandable emphasis on curbing the relatively high incidence of violent crime, abuse of women and children, alcoholism, drug addiction, traffic violations and manifestations of dysfunctionalities in the society as a consequence of the trade in narcotic substances, proliferation of unlicensed weapons, money-laundering and corrupt practices. Infusing professionalism in the security sector, coping with the continuing migration of skills, building capacity to provide trainers in most disciplines, including sports and culture and stemming the worrying decline in functional literacy among vulnerable segments of the population, are areas where an adapted form of national service can be an instrument for revival of standards, for inculcating a spirit of volunteerism akin to the Special Service Corps of the GNS, for rebuilding the social fabric of our society and for providing a safety net for those vulnerable youth who are not necessarily included in the more conventional remedial and vocational education programmes. 4. In enhancing Infra-structure for National Development, while acknowledging the several projects (bridges, hydropower, roads, D&I works) in the pipeline or being implemented, we are also factoring in the likely impacts of climate change and the fragility of our coastal defences. The paucity of skills for construction and maintenance are a worrying factor that must be addressed. Here again an adapted form of national service can be of relevance to national development. The late President Jagan, while Leader of the Opposition in 1987, accepted my invitation to visit the NOC and said after his visit that “I am glad that efforts are being made to rehabilitate and develop the young people. We like all patriotic Guyanese would like to see our country move forward both for human dignity and economic freedom”. He followed up this visit with a request to meet with the Directorate of the GNS and during this meeting indicated his acceptance of the organization but was particularly interested in whether the service functioned within the framework of a National Plan. Speaking at the PNC’s 13th Biennial Congress 16-18 August 2002, the late President Hugh Desmond Hoyte, SC said and I quote” Too many young people are leaving school without being able to gain employment and without skills. The reintroduction of the National Service, with the element of compulsion removed, would seem to be a desirable initiative for imparting appropriate skills and attitudes and inculcating a spirit of confidence and adventure in our young people”. In reflecting therefore on the Vision of 35 years ago, the concept that applied then to nation building and the mobilization of the energies of our youth through the instrument of national service has in my opinion an application to our present circumstances. It is therefore recommended that in our communities, regions and at the national level we look seriously and dispassionately at the lessons learnt, drawing from the experiences of those who passed through this institution and, armed with the facts, engage in dialogue and debate to evolve an adaptation of the national service as one preferred option toward resolving some of the pressing issues of our time.

2019-04-20T12:38:55Z

https://www.stabroeknews.com/2008/guyana-review/09/03/society-3/

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2019-04-22T12:59:25Z

http://www.usaprintingcompany.com/in/chicago-il

NATIONAL LABOR REL. BD. v. CROMPTON-HIGHLAND MILLS, INC. Rehearing Denied June 20, 1949. Mr. Ralph Williams, Atlanta, Ga., for respondent. In this case a collective bargaining representative was certified, under the National Labor Relations Act,1 to represent all employees working a certain appropriate bargaining unit. Their employer engaged in extended negotiations with this representative as to many matters, including rates of pay. December 19, 1945, the negotiations reached an impasse. The question here presented is whether this employer engaged in an unfair labor practice when, on January 1, 1946, it put into effect as of December 31, 1945, without prior consultation with the bargaining representative, a general increase in the rates of pay applicable to most of the employees who had been represented in the negotiations. This increase [337 U.S. 217 , 219] was substantially greater one than any which the employer had offered during the negotiations. For the reasons to be stated, we hold that, under the circumstances, this action constituted an unfair labor practice and that a decree should be entered enforcing an order prohibiting such conduct. The case also raises questions as to the nature of the impasse which was reached and as to the proper scope and terms of the enforcement decree. August 13, 1945, the Textile Workers Union of America, Congress of Industrial Organizations, following an election under the statute, was certified as the exclusive collective bargaining representative for about 800 employees of Crompton-Highland Mills, respondent herein. These employees included most of its production and maintenance employees at Griffin, Georgia, where it manufactured cotton and other goods. Much of the material entering into those goods and most of the finished goods there produced were bought, sold or transported in interstate commerce, so that the unfair labor practice, if any, concededly affected such commerce. From August 31, 1945, at least until December 19, a committee of this union engaged in collective bargaining with the respondent on numerous appropriate subjects, including rates of pay. Many tentative agreements were reached. January 1, 1946, without prior consultation with any member of the bargaining committee, the employer announced a general and substantial increase in the rates of pay of its employees, amounting to about two to six cents an hour, effective as of December 31, 1945. This increase applied to most, but not all of the employees in the bargaining unit. Simultaneously with its posting of t e announcement of this increase, the employer told the employee members of the bargaining committee about it. At the same time the employer mailed an announcement of it to one of the two nonemployee members of the bargaining committee. [337 U.S. 217 , 220] January 31, 1946, the National Labor Relations Board, petitioner herein, in response to charges made by the union, filed a complaint against the employer, alleging several unfair labor practices. 2 These included the above-described increase in rates of pay. After hearings before a trial examiner and consideration of that examiner's intermediate report, the employer's exceptions and brief relating to that report and the entire record and oral arguments, the Board, on August 21, 1946, issued a cease and desist order. 70 N.L.R.B. 206. The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit denied a petition for enforcement. 167 F.2d 662. Because of the importance of the issue in the administration of the labor relations statutes, we granted certiorari. 335 U.S. 812 . The precise issue presented is what decree, if any, should be issued by the Court of Appeals for the enforcement of the order of the National Labor relations Board. 3 If a decree is to be issued, its scope and terms should be based upon such part, or all, of the Board's cease and desist order as is supported by its findings of fact. Those findings are binding upon us to the extent that they are sustained by substantial evidence. 4 We are satisfied [337 U.S. 217 , 221] that there is substantial evidence to support the material findings of fact made by the Board as to the issue before us and, therefore, see no need to set forth that evidence here. The primary issue for discussion is, rather, the extent to which the Board's findings of fact support its cease and desist order and justify a decree for the enforcement of that order. The controlling specific findings of the Board are as follows: 'As fully discussed in the Intermediate Report, the respondent, during the course of negotiations with the Union, refused to accede to the Union's wage demands and it was not until their last conference on December 19, 1945, that the respondent made its first and only counterproposal of approximately 1 to 1 1/2 cents an hour raise, which the Union rejected. Thereafter, the r spondent made no further effort to settle the wage dispute but, instead, on January 1, 1946, only 12 days later, granted its employees a substantially larger increase than that previously offered to the Union, without consulting the Union or affording it an opportunity to negotiate with respect thereto. In our opinion, such action taken as (so) soon after the Union was attempting through the bargaining process to reach an agreement with the respondent, among other things, on wages, clearly shows that the respondent was not acting in good faith during the negotrations, and is manifestly in- [337 U.S. 217 , 222] consistent with the principle of collective bargaining. Nor are we impressed with the respondent's attempted justification for its action on the ground that the Union broke off negotiations on December 19 and that the respondent was therefore relieved of the obligation to deal with it. Concededly, the respondent never proposed to the Union as a possible basis of agreement a wage increase comparable to that granted on January 1, 1946. Moreover, the record fails to support the respondent's contention that the Union's representatives assumed an unequivocal position at the last meeting which foreclosed further bargaining concerning wages or other terms or conditions of employment. Under these circumstances, we find, as did the Trial Examiner, that the respondent, by its action with respect to the wage increase, failed to perform its statutory duty to bargain collectively with the Union and thereby interfered with, restrained, and coerced its employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in the Act.' (Emphasis supplied.) 70 N.L.R.B. at pages 206-207. 5 [337 U.S. 217 , 223] 1. The employer engaged in an unfair labor practice when, without consulting the employees' collective bargaining representative, it put into effect, for most of its employees who had been represented in the bargaining negotiations, a general increase in rates of pay which was substantially greater than any that the employer had offered. The specific findings of the Board, coupled with the findings adopted by it from the trial examiner's report, leave no room for doubt as to the adequacy of the facts upon which its cease and desist o der was based. For significant findings adopted from the examiner's report, see Appendix B, infra, 337 U.S. 230 . The facts so found distinguish this case from any in which no collective bargaining representative has been certified or otherwise authorized to represent the employees in an appropriate unit. 6 In the instant case, the wish of the employees to [337 U.S. 217 , 224] be consulted and to bargain collectively as to the terms of any general wage increase is established by the findings and the negotiations. Cf. National Labor Relations Board v. Columbian Enameling & Stamping Co., 306 U.S. 292, 297 , 504. We do not have here a case where the bargaining had come to a complete termination cutting off the outstanding invitation of the certified collective bargaining representative to bargain as to any new issue on such a matter as rates of pay. Cf. National Labor Relations Board v. Sands Mfg. Co., 306 U.S. 332 . The opening which a raise in pay makes for the correction of existing inequities among employees and for the possible substitution of shorter hours, vacations or sick leaves, in lieu of some part of the proposed increase in pay, suggests the infinite opportunities for bargaining that are inherent in an announced readiness of an employer to increase generally the pay of its employees. The occasion is so appropriate for collective bargaining that it is difficult to infer an intent to cut off the opportunity for bargaining and yet be consistent with the purposes of the National Labor Relations Act. We do not here have a unilateral grant of an increase in pay made by an employer after the same proposal has been made by the employer in the course of collective bargaining but has been left unaccepted or even rejected in those negotiations. Such a grant might well carry no disparagement of the collective bargaining proceedings. Instead of being regarded as an unfair labor practice, it [337 U.S. 217 , 225] might be welcomed by the bargaining representative, without prejudice to the rest of the negotiations. See In the Matter of W. W. Cross & Co., 77 N. L.R.B. 1162; In the Matter of Exposition Cotton Mills Co., 76 N.L.R.B. 1289; In the Matter of Southern Prison Co., 46 N.L.R.B. 1268. We hold that the Board's order to cease and desist is justified, under the circumstances of this case, to the extent that the order requires the employer to cease and desist from refusing to bargain collectively by taking action, without prior consultation with the authorized collective bargaining representative of the employees, with respect to general rates of pay which are substantially different from, or greater than, any which the employer has proposed during its negotiations with such representative. The need for this order depends in part upon the Board's finding that the action by the employer, on January 1, 1946, taken so soon after the meeting of December 19, 1945, showed that 'the respondent (employer) was not acting in good faith during the negotiations, and is manifestly inconsistent with the principle of collective bargaining.' 70 N.L.R.B. at page 207. See May Dept. Stores Co. v. National Labor Relations Board, 326 U.S. 376 , 90 L.Ed 145; Medo Photo Supply Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board, 321 U.S. 678 ; National Labor Relations Board v. Newark Morning Ledger Co., 3 Cir., 120 F.2d 262, 137 A.L.R. 849; Jeffery-De Witt Insulator Co. v. National Labor Relations Board, 4 Cir., 91 F.2d 134,7 112 A.L.R. 948. [337 U.S. 217 , 226] II. The decree of enforcement should not extend further than necessary to prevent the taking of the prohibited action by the employer. There are no findings by the Board that establish a lack of good faith or lack of consistency with the principle of collective bargaining on the part of the employer other than in the connection above discussed. The Board declined to uphold the trial examiner in his findings and recommendations as to several alleged unfair labor practices other than this one. The Board's own finding as to the employer's interference with, and restraint and coercion of, its employees is expressly limited to this one item. It reads: 'Under these circumstances, we find, as did the Trial Examiner, that the respondent, by its action with respect to the wage increase, failed to perform its statutory duty to bargain collectively with the Union and thereby interfered with, restrained, and coerced its employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in the Act.' (Emphasis supplied.) 70 N.L.R.B. at page 207. Accordingly, there appears no reason for enlarging the scope of the enforcement decree beyond that feature, and little, if any, need for orders requiring either specific affirmative action to be taken by the employer or the posting of any notices by it. 8 [337 U.S. 217 , 227] For these reasons, the judgment is reversed and the cause is remanded to the Court of Appeals for action consistent with this opinion. Mr. Justice DOUGLAS, Mr. Justice MURPHY and Mr. Justice RUTLEDGE join in Part I of this opinion, but think the Board's order should be enforced without modification. Order of National Labor Relations Board In the Mat er of Crompton- Highland Mills, Inc., and Textile Workers Union of America, CIO, Case No. 10-C1812.-Decided August 21, 1946. '(a) Refusing to bargain collectively with Textile Workers Union of America, CIO, as the exclusive representative of the respondent's production and maintenance employees at the Griffin plant, including watchmen, but excluding office, clerical, technical, and laboratory employees, section men in the spinning room, head loom [337 U.S. 217 , 228] fixers in the weave room, head fixers in the card room, all supervisory employees of the grade of second hand and above, and all other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action, by taking action, without prior consultation with said organization, with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment. '(b) In any manner interfering with the efforts of Textile Workers Union of America, CIO, to bargain collectively with it as the representative of its employees in the appropriate unit described above. '(c) Notify the Regional Director for the Tenth Region (Atlanta, Georgia), in writing, within ten (10) days from the date of this Order, what steps the respondent has taken to comply herewith.' 70 N.L.R.B. at pages 208-209. [337 U.S. 217 , 229] 'Appendix A. 'We will bargain collectively with Textile Workers Union of America, CIO, as the exclusive representative of all employees in the bargaining unit described below, with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other conditions of employment. 'We will not make any changes with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, or other conditions of employment of our employees in the bargaining unit described below, without prior consultation with Textile Workers Union of America, CIO. 'We will not in any manner interfere with the efforts of Textile Workers Union of America, CIO, as the exclusive representative of our employees in the unit described below, to bargain collectively with us. 'The bargaining unit is: All production and maintenance employees at our Griffin plant, including watchmen, but excluding office, clerical, technical and laboratory employees, section men in the spinning room, head loom fixers in the weave room, head fixers in the card room, all supervisory employees of the grade of second hand and above, and all other supervisory employees with uthority to hire, promote, discharge, discipline, or otherwise effect changes in the status of employees, or effectively recommend such action. 'This notice must remain posted for 60 days from the date hereof, and must not be altered, defaced, or covered by any other material.' 70 N.L.R. B. at pages 210-211. [337 U.S. 217 , 230] Appendix B. Quotations from the 'Findings of Fact' as to-'III. The Unfair Labor Practices, A. The refusal to bargain' as stated in the Intermediate Report of the Trial Examiner, adopted by the National Labor Relations Board and printed by the Board following its Decision and Order. 'No further conference was held until December 19, when a meeting was held at the request of the Union. 'The issues upon which the parties were still in disagreement at this time involved wages, work assignments, insurance provisions, severance pay, vacations, union security, arbitration, union activity upon company time, and the preamble of the contract, in which the respondent sought to define the parties to the agreement as the respondent and the 'employees' in the appropriate unit, as opposed to the Union's position that the Union be denominated as party to the contract. On the issue of union security, although the Union had offered to compromise for maintenance of membership, the respondent refused to grant any form of security. As to wages, although it had originally rejected the Union's proposals for any wage increase, it proposed what amounted to an increase of about one or one and one-half cents per hour at this time. 'In the course of our extended contract negotiations we have repeatedly told you that our mill would be among the first to make wage adjustments in this locality. We have learned that certain of the mills in this locality are about to adjust their wages and we are, therefore, making comparable adjustments in our wage rates effective Monday, December 31st, 1945. A copy of the notice which has been posted in the mill today outlining the various rate adjustments is attached hereto. 'Attached to the letter were nitices directed to the respective departments listing the various wage increases. The letter was received by Douty the next day. While the negotiating committee was in Pickford's office, copies of the notices announcing the wage increases were being posted on the bulletin boards in the respective departments. 'While it is evident that the Union was insistent in its demand for some form of union security during its negotiatio with the respondent, the preponderance of the credible evidence does not support the respondent's position that the Union had, in effect, presented an ultimatum that no contract would be consummated which did not afford union security. As has already been indicated, union security was only one of several matters, aside from the wage question, upon which agreement had not yet been reached. If, as the respondent contends, it had left no doubt as to its position on the issue of union security in the conferences of October 17 and 18, and it was convinced that the Union was adamant on this issue, it seems unlikely that the parties would have conferred on November 7 and 8, and again on December 19, when the Union submitted a written wage proposal. 'It is clear, therefore, and the undersigned finds, that, although the parties had reached a temporary impasse on December 19 on some issues, principally wages, union security, and check-off, there is no substantial basis for concluding that the Union had abandoned negotiations at this time. Moreover, even if the parties had reached an impasse in their negotiations, this obviously could not affect the Union's status as majority representative. The principle that 'a bargaining relationship once rightly established must be permitted to exist and function for a reasonable period in which it can be given a fair chance to succeed,' is well-established. 20 Equally clear is the proposition that the granting of a unilateral wage increase [337 U.S. 217 , 233] or other concession by an employer to his employees while the designated union is attempting to bargain concerning the same subject matter, constitutes a violation of the employer's duty to bargain with the union. 21 It is not a question, contrary to the respondent's argument, of giving the Union credit for a wage increase which it did not obtain, but rather of the conduct of the respondent in granting the increase in derogation of the Union's status as statutory representative, by depriving the Union of its right to bargain with respect to such increase. 'Upon the basis of the foregoing, and upon the entire record, the undersigned concludes and further finds that, by failing and refusing to furnish the Union with essential and pertinent information relating to the respondent's wage structure under its 'point plan,' job specifications, work assignments, and information appertaining thereto, and by granting its employees a unilateral wage increase on January 1, 1946, the respondent has from August 31, 1945, to December 19, 1945, and thereafter to date, including January 1, 1946, failed and refused to bargain with the Union as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of the employees in the appropriate unit above described, and has thereby interfered with, restrained, and coerced its employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed under the Act.' (Emphasis in this paragraph is supplied.) 70 N.L.R.B. at pages 220-221, 222, 223-224. [337 U.S. 217 , 234] The Board left no doubt that it relied solely on the granting of the wage increase, when it issued its decision and order in this case. This appears from the following express statement in the Board's decision and order: '1. The Trial Examiner found that the respondent, in violation of Section 8(1) and (5) of the Act, failed to bargain collectively with the Union as the statutory representative of the respondent's employees by refusing to furnish the Union with certain detailed nformation relating to the incentive wage plan and by granting a wage increase to its employees without consulting the Union. Although we agree with the Trial Examiner's conclusion, we, however, rest our determination solely on the latter ground.' (Emphasis supplied.) 70 N.L.R.B. at page 206. [ Footnote 1 ] 9 of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 453, 29 U.S.C. ( 1940 Ed.) 159, 29 U.S.C.A. 159; In the Matter of Crompton-Highland Mills, 62 N.L.R.B. 1346. [ Footnote 2 ] Under 7, 8(1) and (5), and 10 of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 452Ä455, 29 U.S.C. (1940 Ed.) 157, 158(1) and (5), and 160, 29 U.S.C.A. 157, 158(1, 5), 160. [ Footnote 3 ] For the Board's order, see Appendix A., infra, 337 U.S. 227 , 69 S. Ct. 965. [ Footnote 4 ] 'The findings of the Board as to the facts, if supported by evidence, shall be conclusive.' 10(e) of the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 454, 29 U.S.C. (1940 Ed.) 160(e), 29 U.S.C.A. 160(e). 'The findings of the Board with respect to questions of fact if supported by substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole shall be conclusive.' 10(e), as amended by the Labor Management Relations Act. 1947, 61 Stat. 148, 29 U.S.C. (1946 Ed., Supp. I) 160(e), 29 U.S.C.A. 160(e). 'We have repeatedly held that Congress, by providing, 10(c), (e) and (f), of the National Labor Relations Act, that the Board's findings 'as to the facts, if supported by evidence, shall be conclusive', precludes the courts from weighing evidence in reviewing the Board's orders, and if the findings of the Board are supported by evidence the courts are not free to set them aside, even though the Board could have drawn different inferences.' National Labor Relations Board v. Nevada Consolidated Copper Corp., 316 U.S. 105 , 106Ä107, 961. See also, Medo Photo Supply Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board, 321 U.S. 678 , 681, note 1, 832; Consolidated Edison Co. of New York v. National Labor relations Board, 305 U.S. 197, 229 , 216; Washington, Virginia & Maryland Coach Co. v. National Labor Relations Board, 301 U.S. 142 , 146Ä147, 57 S. Ct. 648, 649Ä650. [ Footnote 5 ] In addition to its own findings, quoted in the text, the Board adopted, in general terms, all of the findings of the trial examiner, with certain modifications and exceptions not here material. A number of such adopted findings, which are of significance in securing a full appreciation of the basis for the Board's order, are set forth in Appendix B, infra, 337 U.S. 230 . 'Q. Mr. Pickford, explain why you made the wage increase on January 1, 1946.ÄA. We had heard the end of the previous week that numerous mills throughout the state had made wage adjustments, and we heard through rumor, more or less through the grape vine, that local mills were planning to make wage adjustments. I checked into that rumor with various mills and found that wage adjustments were going to be made, although I didn't get any specific dates as to when they would be made. 'We had steadfastly said throughout our bargaining conferences that if and when wage increases in our area were made, we would be amongst the first, as we had always been, to make such increases. And when we heard that wage increases were to take place, we wanted to maintain our position as being amongst the first to make the increase and also maintain our position in the local labor market by making an increase ourselves. 'Q. Do you know, Mr. Pickford, what wage increases were made by any of the other mills in Griffin?ÄA. I do not know the definite figures aside from what I saw in the paper. '(5) to refuse to bargain collectively with the representatives of his employees, subject to the provisions of Section 9(a).' 49 Stat. 452Ä 453, and also in 61 Stat. 140Ä141, 29 U.S.C. (1946 Ed., Supp. I) 158, 29 U.S.C.A. 158. 'Sec. 9. (a) Representatives designated or selected for the purposes of collective bargaining by the majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for such purposes, shall be the exclusive representatives of all the employees in such unit for the purposes of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, or other conditions of employment: * * *.' 49 Stat. 453, and also in 61 Stat. 143, 29 U.S.C. (1946 Ed., Supp. I) 159(a), 29 U.S.C.A. 159(a). [ Footnote 7 ] Even though the employer, since January 1, 1946, may have carried on collective bargaining in good faith as to rates of pay and other matters, a decree enforcing the original order against making a general increase without consulting the collective bargaining representatives is justifiable. '* * * an order of the character made by the Board, lawful when made, does not become moot because it is obeyed or because changing circumstances indicate that the need for it may be less than when made.' National Labor Relations Board v. Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines, 303 U.S. 261, 271 , 576, 115 A.L.R. 307. See, also, Federal Trade Commission v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 304 U.S. 257 , 58 S. Ct. 863. [ Footnote 8 ] '* * * The breadth of the order, like the injunction of a court, must depend upon the circumstances of each case, the purpose being to prevent violations, the threat of which in the future is indicated because of their similarity or relation to those unlawful acts which the Board has found to have been committed by the employer in the past. * * * We hold only that the National Labor Relations Act does not give the Board an authority, which courts cannot rightly exercise, to enjoin violations of all the provisions of the statute merely because the violation of one has been found. To justify an order restraining other violations it must appear that they bear some resemblance to that which the employer has committed or that danger of their commission in the future is to be anticipated from the course of his conduct in the past. That justification is lacking here.' National Labor Relations Board v. Express Pub. Co., 312 U.S. 426 , 436Ä437, and see pages 438Ä439, 700. See also, May Dept. Stores Co. v. National Labor Relations Board, 326 U.S. 376 , 392Ä393, 212Ä213; J. I. Case Co. v. National Labor Relations Board, 321 U.S. 332 , 341Ä342, 582.

2019-04-19T09:52:12Z

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/337/217.html

Spencer's model is too simple, excluding important factors like ocean dynamics and treats cloud feedbacks as forcings. Climate scientists have identified a number of fundamental problems in Spencer and Braswell's 2011 study which wrongly concludes that the climate is not sensitive to human greenhouse gas emissions. One of the main problems with the paper is that it uses Roy Spencer's very simple climate model which we've previously looked at in . This simple model does not have a realistic representation of the Earth's oceans, which are a key factor in the planet's climate, and it also doesn't model the Earth's water cycle. One key aspect in the Earth's temperature changes is the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which is a cycle of the Pacific Ocean. Spencer's model does not include ENSO, and he assumes that ENSO responds to changes in cloud cover, when in reality it's the other way around. There are some other key problems in the paper. It doesn't provide enough information for other scientists to repeat the study. When two other climate scientists (Kevin Trenberth and John Fasullo) tried to replicate its results as best they could with the information provided, they found quite different results (see the Advanced version of this rebuttal for further details). Spencer and Braswell's conclusions also only seems to work using the satellite data set they chose, but Trenberth and Fasullo found that using other data sets also changes their results. Trenberth and Fasullo also found that when using a few different climate models, the one which replicated the observed data best was the one with a climate more sensitive to greenhouse gases, which directly contradicts Spencer and Braswell's conclusion that the climate is not sensitive to greenhouse gases. It's also worth noting that the journal which published Spencer and Braswell's paper does not normally publish climate science research. This may explain how the paper made it through their peer-review system with so many problems. In the end, Trenberth and Fasullo find that the Spencer and Braswell study has no merit. Last updated on 1 August 2011 by dana1981. Spencer has simplified his argument and presents it better in his book "The great global warming blunder." I will counter only three of Trenbert's arguments: 1) how Spencer deduces that sensitivity has been exaggerated, not from models, but directly from satellite data; 2) what is a feedback; and 3) what purpose his simple model serves. 1) Sensitivity may be calculated from measurements of radiative energy imbalance dH/dt and sea temperature anomaly dT, both averaged globally. A linear regression of the former vs the latter yields a slope that has been interpreted as the reciprocal of a sensitivity metric. The basis for this method is the assumption that there is not any other significant forcing on the temperature anomaly than the radiative imbalance. The data are considered to be samples of a linear relationship between only two variables plus a large amount of noise. If there were another significant forcing variable x unacknowledged in this process, there would be an error in this method. A change in dT caused by a change in dx would be mistakenly attributed to dH/dt, making dH/dt more powerful a factor than it really is. That is exaggerated sensitivity. Spencer has demonstrated the existence of such a variable. He has connected the data points in the plot described above in the order of their measurement. This converts a set of points into a trajectory. The trajectory typically consists of a repeated alternation between two forms: a messy, loopy curve and a remarkably straight line. That alone strongly suggests two kinds of process which alternate in strength. Spencer interprets this kind of trajectory as an alternation between the slow radiative process of warming the oceans upper layer and the rapid non-radiative process by which the upper layer creates clouds. Candidates for the non-radiative sources of the latter are ocean currents related to ENSO and PDO, which heat or cool the air and moisten or dry it. Clouds created by these sources vary over time in shielding power unpredictably, causing variation of their shading, which creates a radiative forcing. These clouds are not created by contemporaneous solar heating and cooling. More than one forcing? That creates error. It is on the basis of this analysis that Spencer concludes that sensitivity has been exaggerated. 2) Trenbert denies that the second process described above is a forcing. Spencer follows the convention of engineers saying that there is one dependent variable, T, in this system. Feedback is a temperature change caused by a temperature change. Everything else that affects temperature is forcing. Clouds are forcing in this nomenclature. But that is irrelevant. Call it what you will, it exaggerates sensitivity. 3) Spencer's little model is not intended to model the atmosphere of the earth. It is a mini-model that shows that a system of a radiative forcing and a non-radiative forcing creates trajectories of the kind that can be seen in the satellite data, plotted with connections. It is a demonstration of the concept. It is especially useful in that it demonstrates how a simple system with given negative feedback can produce results that appear to involve positive feedback. [DB] Your #1 merely unsupportedly reiterates Spencer's mantra that clouds cause ENSO. This is not supported by the peer-reviewed literature published in reputable journals. Your #2 is specious. Climate science is what we are discussing, not engineering. Your #3 is indeed a demonstration of concept, but one not supported by the literature (as noted above) nor by reality itself. If Spencer is right, why do a whole range of estimates of climate sensitivity from palaeoclimate observations contradict him? Read Knutti and Hegerl 2008, and the SkS summary here. The thing about palaeoclimate and geological estimate of sensitivity is that they already include the total forcing by clouds and all other factors. Essentially, whenever we estimate climate sensitivity, whether from geological events millions of years ago, from the last glacial maximum, the Holocene, the last century, or recent volcanic eruptions, the results tend to be in the range about 2 to 5C per doubling CO2. If Spencer was right, an awful lot of observational evidence from a lot of different, independent lines of enquiry, quite apart from model data, has to be wrong. Additionally they all have to be wrong in the same direction, by approximately the same amount. Likely? And you'd still have to postulate a mechanism by which we have had glacial and interglacial episodes generated from small Milankovitch forcings. What is much, much more likely is that Spencer is as wrong on this as he has been on quite a number of climate-related matters. 1. The reason I say that some clouds cause, not global warming and not ENSO nor PDO, but inaccurate measurement of sensitivity, is that they vary the temperature anomaly in time and are not caused by the current energy imbalance. In this way they reduce the regression slope, and thus corrupt its interpretation. 2. Nevertheless, what is of interest in this question is the idea that a rise in temperature reduces cloud cover and further increases temperature. Climate science does find this crucial for water-vapor feedback. 3. The little model demonstrates a mathematical fact, which is already obvious to students of statistics, namely that you cannot compute the sensitivity to one variable if another hidden variable is varying the output. @skywatcher - Data from the past includes, as you say, forcings of unknown and perhaps numerous sources. As we cannot measure these forcings now. That means that we cannot remove their effects for the purpose of estimating feedback. That is why it is so valuable to have satellite data, which gives us the forcings as well as the anomaly. Consider how data were adjusted to compensate for the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. We can't do that for ancient data. Failure to correct for forcings other than the energy imbalance always affects the sensitivity in the same direction: it lowers the slope and raises the sensitivity. Also, science is not a horse race. Let us not try to handicap the jockey. Response: TC: Uncle Ben, if you do not stop double posting, I will start double deleting. Uncle Ben: "3. The little model demonstrates a mathematical fact, which is already obvious to students of statistics, namely that you cannot compute the sensitivity to one variable if another hidden variable is varying the output." Welcome to the geophysical sciences. I hope you had a nice stay in the math department. Every day, you manage to make decisions based on intuitive modeling where one or more variables are unknown. You've managed to live, so far. You've probably actually learned from this daily type of intuitive modeling. You've probably made important decisions based on weather forecasts, which use the same type of modeling. The point is that you can indeed calculate sensitivity in a complex system; you just can't calculate it with the precision of a closed mathematical system. Roy knows that. You should know it. And the unknown variable in this case is not all that unknown. I'll wager that you yourself won't accept certain values for it. DSL: " The point is that you can indeed calculate sensitivity in a complex system; you just can't calculate it with the precision of a closed mathematical system." I agree! In fact, Spencer has provided us a way to improve the estimate of sensitivity. By separating the trajectory of dH/dt vs dT into segments in which the effect of dH/dt and the non-radiative forcing that creates clouds in the absence of strong dH/dt, he has been able to estimate the slope of the regression of the latter. He finds that the slope is about 6 in the usual units, as opposed to 2.5 using the combined data. This yields a sensitivity low enough to show that the feedback from dH/dt causes is negative. Doubling CO2 then is seen to cause only 0.5 deg. C of warming. Not much calculation is needed, in fact. If you take the trouble to look at his plots, you will see that the straight-line segmenmts are numerous, parallel, and obvious. It is quite convincing. It is their slope which gives the sensitivity to dH/dt. The plots are so clear in showing the straight-line segments that the precision is much higher than that of the widely scattered estimates of sensitivity found by other means. We know now why they are widely scattered. A variable has hitherto been ignored. #3 - a handwaving attempt to dismiss the evidence of a whole range of branches of science, doesn't cut it for me I'm afraid. Re-read Knutti and Hegerl. Just one example: With low climate sensitivity, how do you get glacial-interglacial cycles, which are clearly (from timing and frequency) forced by the small Milankovitch orbital variations? Agreed. Without evidenciary links to supportive works in the literature, it's an exercise in climastrological mathturbation. @skywatcher " With low climate sensitivity, how do you get glacial-interglacial cycles, ..." I have no idea, but climate is complicated. If what is offered here is mere handwaving, why was Mt. Pinatubo's contribution to temperature variability so laboriously removed from the data when trying to measure sensitivity? Is it not demonstrated in that exercise that removing a competing source of variability is important and reduces the calculated sensitivity? And when Spencer removed the forcing effect of cloud variation from sources other than dH/dt, he reduced the apparent sensitivity result and permitted a PRECISE measurement of the sensitivity. That has never been done before. @Bailey "Without evidenciary links to supportive works in the literature, ..." Isn't the correction for recent volcanic forcing in the literature? The removal of extraneous variation from the ancient data is not in the literature because it is impossible. It is too late. The impact on sensitivity measurement has not been adequately realized. Maybe climate scientists need to brush up on statistics. You can't argue with mathematical facts. [DB] The volcanic damping effects on temperature due to aerosol release quickly fade out, even on the non-geologic timescale (with notable exceptions, such as the Siberian Traps). In the paleo record, volcanic effects quickly fall into the obscurity of noise in the data at the resolutions available. Thus their effects are already compensated for by the climate system. Perhaps more study of the paleo record for edification purposes is in order. Uncle Ben: Interesting paradox. You represent that 'a little model' should be taken seriously, as it and it alone somehow correctly captures 'mathematical facts'. Yet when questioned as to how the little model reproduces some of the largest variations in the record, your reply is 'climate is complicated.' Nicely contradictory. Which position do you actually hold? Because you cannot simultaneously hold both. Perhaps instead of dismissing more complete models so casually and accepting Spencer's reductionism, you should take the time to actually learn what the more realistic models entail. You might then retract your 'need to brush up on statistics' allegation, which is utterly unfounded and without merit. Uncle Ben @8, when somebody says "You can't argue with mathematical facts", they are setting up to deceive you. Maths is a formal language. Like all formal languages, it has no innate interpretation. In order to say something - anything - about the world with maths, you need to set up an interpretation, and that interpretation can be false, contradictory or deceptive just as much as any statement in English. When somebody tells you that maths can't lie, their sole purpose (if they are not simply foolish) is to draw your attention away from the potential fallibility of interpretation. There is a reason why lies, damned lies and statistics represents a progression. @DB I bow to your superior knowledge of the climate effects of volcanic eruptions. But they are mentioned just to illustrate a point. If you don't know the forcings, you can't meaure the feedback. Volcanic eruptions are not the only conceivable extraneous focing. @Tom You can prove the point yourself. Make two data sets, (1) more or less linear values of y vs x, and (2) a random set of values of z vs x covering the same range. Compute the regression coefficient of y vs x. Call it ax1, a constant. Combine the two data sets into one, their union. Call the regression coefficient ax2. With any reasonable data, you will find that ax2 < ax1. In this example, y is the effect of solar warming of the atmosphere and z is the effect of ocean-current warming of the atmosphere. Imagine that you measure ax2 innocently believing that you are measuring ax1. That is the blunder that Spencer is talking about. You (and many others) seem to think that models are the only business of climate science. Models are an attempt to guess the answer and evaluate it by comparing its results with the temperature record. The attempt is based on one's understanding of the physics of the problem. Thus if you think that clouds produced by ocean currents, not directly by the sun, "average out" and do not affect the results, then your models may compensate for the error by finding an exaggerated sensitivity to the variable you think is more important. I say "error" because in the measurement of sensitivity, it is not the cumulative effect of clouds that is important. It is the variation in effect. Clouds vary greatly over time in their effect on temperature. Measuring sensitivity depends not on the cumulative effect but on the variance of the effect. The mean may be zero, while the variance is not. In fact, an extraneous, varying effect reduces the correlation of solar forcing with ocean temperature, and consequently implies a high sensitivity to the solar forcing. This is an error. A model can use exaggerated sensitivity to compensate, but that departs from reality. But climate science has another tool: direct measurement. If you understand Spencer's book, you will see that he has found a way to isolate the inputs to warming and calculate sensitivity WITHOUT MODELS. He disambiguates the total forcing into two kinds according to the speed of the effects: Warming the ocean by the sun is slow; warming of the air by oceans is fast. You are obviously confused about the nature of the Skeptical Science web site. At this site we discuss peer reviewed scientific data. Spencers' book has not been peer reviewed, so it does not count. If Spencer thought his ideas were worth the paper they are printed on he would submit it for publication. Since he has not, obviously he thinks the idea will not stand up to rigorous review. This book is no different than a blog post or opinion piece in the newspaper. If you want to support your views here, please cite peer reviewed data. You are wasting our time arguing by using your opinion of an opinion piece. Please use peer reviewed material or no one will take you seriously. When you make a reference to a paper you must cite the page that supports your position. Saying "If you want to keep up, buy the book" means that you are unable to identify the section of the book that actually supports your position. Why should I read a book when you cannot identify the part that supports you? Uncle Ben#12: "You (and many others) seem to think that models are the only business of climate science." Ah, an assertion without any evidence to back it up. If you review the archives, you will note I hardly ever offer opinions pro or con about models. However, this is a modeling thread and you came in defending the merits of Spencer's 'little model.' I merely pointed out the contradiction inherent in your position. That contradiction still stands. One cannot hold two sides of an argument - simple model is good v. 'climate is complex' - if one wishes to stand on scientific principle. Unless one's address is in Deniersville, that is. "But climate science has another tool: direct measurement." Yes, that is indeed the business of many climate scientists. If I recall correctly, that is to a degree Spencer's business as well. Of course, no one can be sure, as he claimed to be a lobbyist... and now has books to sell. So much for objectivity. "...consequently implies a high sensitivity to the solar forcing. This is an error." Are you now suggesting (or saying that Spencer suggests) that climate does not have high sensitivity to solar forcing? That is very interesting, as it flies in the face of the stipulations of the solar-modulated cosmic ray crowd. Does Spencer use, in any way whatsoever, the satellite temperature record? If so, he is using a model that converts microwave transmission to atmospheric temperature. Hence, no such isolation is possible. @muon counter "[T]this is a modeling thread and you came in defending the merits of Spencer's 'little model.'" I thought this was a thread about Spencer's proof that climate sensitivity has been incorrectly estimated and how to fix that. He doesn't need any models. He measures sensitivity directly. I came in here to talk about how Spencer did that. It was not to defend any model. Models are not needed when direct measurement is possible. "Does Spencer use, in any way whatsoever, the satellite temperature record? If so, he is using a model that converts microwave transmission to atmospheric temperature. Hence, no such isolation is possible." You have missed something. This is the good news. Isolation is possible. You missed the part where I explained that. He plots the dH/dt vs dT points connecting them in the order of time of measurement. This coverts points into trajectories. Examination of the trajectories shows plainly that they consist of segments alternating between curly parts and very straight parts. The curly parts indicate a slow process, such as the gradual warming of the ocean by the sun; the straight parts indicate a quick process, such as warming the lower atmosphere by ocean currents, not the sun. The difference in speed occurs because of the 20:1 ratio of heat capacities. It is an observable phenomenon that in all these plots, the slopes of the straight lines are the same. They imply a sensitivity to doubling of CO2 of only 0.5 deg C. They also show that the satellite measurements contain hardly any noise. What has been thought to be noise is the contribution of the curly parts. The straight parts are very straight. Anyone can reproduce these claims if they have access to the satellite data including the times of measurement. (-Off-topic snipped-). (-Inflammatory tone snipped-). We will see. (-Conspiracy theory claims snipped-). [DB] Please familiarize yourself thoroughly with the Comments Policy of this website. Future comments constructed such as this one will be deleted in their entirety. "He doesn't need any models." That is right up there with this. Uncle Ben, your comment "Will any warmist check Spencer's method?" really is rather funny. Perhaps you didn't note who wrote the "advanced" rebuttal on this theread, one Kevin Trenberth. The same Trenberth from Trenberth et al 2010, which rebuts one of Spencer's core arguments. The post is essentially a reporoduction of the post by Trenberth and Fasullo at RealClimate (Mods - should that connection be highlighted or am I not seeing the link?). Barry Bickmore has also deconstructed Spencer's models here, and also the modelling in his book here (more on Spencer's book here) These issues have been repeatedly looked at by those professionally competent to do so, and every time Spencer's little models have been found desperately wanting. "... it is reasonable to suspect that the ice ages and the interglacial periods of warmth were caused by some as yet undiscovered forcing mechanism. (p. 69)" In the real world, they are rather less of a mystery. Claims of publication supression are perennially comical - if so, how did Spencer and Braswell get published? Lindzen and Choi? The laughable, lamentable McLean et al? Bad papers get published, even in good journals, quite regularly - and for papers that are even worse, there's always Energy & Environment. And funny how claims of supression come from those who are demonstrably doing bad science (not just contrary science, but demonstrably bad). I'm not sure what you're on about in regard to Mount Pinatubo. "Laboriously removed"? (source?). It's actually been used to estimate climate sensitivity too (e.g. Bender et al 2010)! Uncle Ben#15: "Models are not needed when direct measurement is possible." Your #1: "A linear regression of the former vs the latter yields a slope that has been interpreted as... " A linear regression is a model. Any interpretation based on slope is a model. "The basis for this method is the assumption that... " Assumptions are part of the modeling process, necessary to develop a simplification that may then yield to analysis. "Spencer's little model is not intended to ... " That is a direct contradiction to your "It was not to defend any model" claim in #15. "The cardinals who hassled Galileo... " There is no necessary link between being perceived as wrong and actually being correct; usually if people perceive you to be wrong, you are wrong. ... They really do forget the part where they have to prove themselves right in order to be like Galileo. And still no answer to skywatcher's very relevant question. I learned somewhere that when an assumption leads to an untenable conclusion, the assumption is usually incorrect. @muon counter "Linear regression is a model" To me a model is an attempt to build a system that will re-create the temperature record albeit with some adjustable parameters. A linear regression is just a calculation. Yes, I was aware that the basis for the "Advanced" discussion was owed to Trenberth. Yet he and Bickmore both center their attack on what I consider a footnote -- a simple model whose purpose is to show how even a simple model using the right sensitivity can accomplish a lot. Its simplicity is a virtue, not a handicap. In their defense, I acknowledge that the Spencer and Braswell paper was much harder to follow than the argument in his book. The book plainly shows the time-sensitive plots, which I find so mind-bending. If the "little model" had been completely left out of Spencer's writings, he may have avoided a distraction. The main point of the book is to show how to disambiguate periods in which the sun is the stronger forcing from periods when ocean currents (ENSO and PDO effects) are forcing strongly by means of cloud variability. I am astonished at how little attention has been directed at this novel contribution. To me, that is worth a Nobel Prize. It is method of analyzing data that "muon counter" considered as impossible. Anyone who plots the satellite data points connecting them in order of measurement will be blown away by what he sees. It has been illuminating exchanging views with all of you. It has shown me how hard it is to change the paradigm. We will all come together someday. Linear Regression is not a model, it is a statistical method for analyzing data and to represent that data as an equation. Whether that equation is or isnt then used in a model, is an entirely different question, but linear regression in itself is not a model. Uncle Ben, you appear, from your writing here, to be someone who has based their entire opinion of this subject on your reading of a single, non-peer-reviewed, book. A book within which Spencer was free to publish whatever he liked, including the accusations of supression, heck he would have been free to attribute global warming to pink leprechauns were he in the mood! While books can indeed be informative, there is great freedom in writing a book to publish unsubstantiated or erroneous claims, a freedom that is generally restricted by the scientific peer-review process. Indeed, that is the purpose of peer review. Peer review does not eliminate all the bad science, but it weeds out the most obviously wrong/unsupported claims. It is a small step to go from Spencer's book to Gavin Menzies, who annoyed historians by publishing wild, unsupported claims about the Middle Ages exploits of the Chinese, and only a small further step to pure fiction a la Dan Brown. As such, your writings here stand as a cautionary tale for those who would base their understanding of a sunbject on a single source (Spencer) or single line of enquiry (tropical cloud models). Fortunately, our understanding of climate science is based on a great breadth of empirical data of human fingerprints on climate, including empirical evidence of positive feedbacks. This evidence comes from a whole range of branches of science, including but not limited to physics, chemistry, palaeoclimate, oceanography and atmospheric science. It provides a coherent picture, without gaping holes in our understanding, such as demonstrated above with glacial-interglacial cycles. A picture supported by, but not dependent upon, the models, and a picture largely avoided by Spencer. I understand that all science must stand up to scrutiny and am not afraid to read contrary views. Is there a link with a concise representation of the satellite data that I can then objectively read? Your rational response persuades me to break my promise not to post here anymore. I cannot provide a link as you request, but I can offer a ten-minute read that may or may not entice you into deeper investigation. Borrow or steal a copy of the Blunder book and look at p.98, fig. 22. This is a plot of the kind I have been describing. See the regression line of the points taken in the conventional way (solid line, slope 2.5). Then see if, among the scattered connection lines, it jumps out at you that half of them are all parallel. It doesn't take a linear regression to estimate their common slope as about 6.0 (dashed line). Ask yourself if this is not something new. Why should there be hidden in all the presumed "noise" of the satellite data so many connection lines all having the same slope. Is nature trying to tell you something? If $25 is an obstacle, I will buy you a copy of the book if you can somehow send me your address. You can find my email address on my profile in alt.globalwarming. Use a "reply to author" link on any of my posts. Thanks for attempting to broaden my education. I have read Hansen and many articles on both sides. I am a retired physicist (Ph.D. Johns Hopkins) and many years of teaching and research, but in low temperature properties of metals, not in climate science. I have some 25 published experimental papers and a text on vector calculus, now out of print. I was a believer in global warming until Michael Crichton's book, State of Fear, shook me up a bit. Further reading on both sides led me to Spencer. I have observed witch hunts before, and the vehemence and violence of the attacks on him and the ignorance exhibited by even eminent authorities in the "concensus" persuaded me to study him deeper. Thank you for the serious post. I wish we could have some deep conversations. I came to Skeptical Science looking for a more serious exchange than I found possible on the alt.globalwarming newsgroup, populated largely by undisciplined children. With a few exceptions, the exchanges here have been closer to science than to the flaming in the newsgroup. I was shocked by the post of someone who said that SkS was devoted to one side, but the follow-up has been somewhat reassuring. Does reading "The Da Vinci Code" shake to your foundations our understanding of the history of Christianity and reveal that Jesus' great-great-great granddaughter is living among us, or do you accept it is a work of fiction? Does reading "Jurassic Park" make you think that we can actually recreate dinosaurs from 65 million-year old DNA? Does reading "Congo" amke you think there are intelligent, sentient, trained gorillas living in the forests of Virunga National Park? Does reading "Twilight" (or "Dracula") make you think there are vampires living among us? Two of these four very readable works of fiction were written by Michael Crichton, a medical doctor with no more climate science expertise than I have of dentistry. Why should reading "State of Fear" make you think that climate skepticism has any sound foundation? Crichton was very good at his trade - but he was a successful writer of fictional stories that seemed almost believable. I'm sorry to think you might have been fooled by him. I don't think the recreated dinosaurs, climate skepticism, or dangerous sentient gorillas are plausible, given the current state of knowledge, and certainly Roy Spencer has not succeeded in presenting a case either. Go learn about the mountain of evidence that underpins our understanding of climate science (the links above contain a wealth of good references) - and you could do worse than start with Spencer Weart's excellent history of our understanding of the Greenhouse Effect, and also take an hour out with the great Richard Alley to learn why CO2 is the biggest control knob on climate. You have enough physics to understand the robustness of the basics of the theory, and I hope you have enough open-mindedness to realise that if there's a witch hunt (enter stage left Ken Cuccinelli and Sen Inhofe), it is against your former colleagues, the scientists, not with them. As an addendum to the last post, it should be noted that climate scientists, without exception among the many I have met along the way and without exception among those who are asked, want to be wrong! It's not a cheering thought that we're changing our climate faster than has ever happened in the palaeocliamtic record. It would be much more comforting if something magical was to come and cancel out the radiative effect of the excess CO2, add some alkalinity to the oceans, and stabilise the mass balance of the great ice sheets. Sadly, there is no evidence for this magic that I hope to read about every single day. I appreciate your post. No, Crichton did not persuade me, but he did present some ideas that were new to me. The result was that I started digging deeper. Onl later was I persuaded that there was something going on here with the concensus that was not right. If you want to be wrong (which I understand completely) you should spend ten minutes on the exercise I just recommended to Delmar. (I am not offerring to buy everyone a book, but that is another matter.) Your scientific curiosity must be aroused by the hint of a new phenomenon. You do understand that the technique displayed in Spencer's plots has not been seen before in this field. He has, at least, shown that there is more information in the dH/dt vs dT plots than has previously been recognized. If "muon counter" considered it impossible, someone should be able to poke a hole into the claim that it has been done. While I appreciate the continued double-quoted shout-outs, I am not sure they contribute to productive discussion. If you are curious as to the origin of my login name here, I do indeed count muons (in my spare time). "You do understand that the technique displayed in Spencer's plots has not been seen before in this field." No. Others have tried to prove their misconceptions by looking at short term changes alone (notably, that year-to-year changes in atmospheric CO2 were supposed to show a natural source). He’s based his estimation of climate sensitivity on time spans which are so brief that feedback (in the usual sense) in the climate system doesn’t have time to operate! If you eliminate feedback (in the usual sense) from consideration, you’re not going to get a realistic estimate of climate sensitivity. In this graph, many 'segments' are indeed parallel. But what does that signify? Rather than declare that 'Mother Nature is trying to tell us something,' look at the graph itself. In a plot of change in flux vs. change in temperature, we are looking at derivatives. What is the significance of the slope of a derivative in this context, except as a very effective means of removing the longer term trend? A derivative, after all, is a high-pass filter. And in climate contexts, high frequency equates to noise. Note: If this is not the type of graph you are describing, my apologies. There are numerous criticisms of Spencer's method, both on the source page for the graph above and on the RealClimate review of Spencer's blunder. At the minimum, Spencer somehow equates global radiation to ocean-only temperature change, presents (without saying so) a very short time span of data and emphasizes monthly variation (which of course, obscures the longer period terms). I find it difficult to believe that I am the first researcher to figure out what I describe in this book. Either I am smarter than the rest of the world’s climate scientists–which seems unlikely–or there are other scientists who also have evidence that global warming could be mostly natural, but have been hiding it. So let us lose the Galileo references, the 'witchhunt' fears and the appeal to 10 minute exercises. Let us lose the proclamations of Nobelity (which seem to be prevalent only on the pages of WUWT). I do agree that we must always be on the alert for hints of paradigm change. But this wasn't it. Uncle Ben, humans are very good at seeing patterns, because that's a crucial survival skill. It is such an important survival skill that humans are biased toward seeing patterns in samples of data even when those patterns do not exist in the population of data from which those samples are drawn. That was a good bias in our evolutionary history, where usually there was a low cost of acting on the basis of perceived patterns that are not really in the population, compared to the high cost of failing to act due to not recognizing patterns that really are in the population. For example, a shrub rustling could indicate a bear. Changing course to avoid that shrub has the slightly negative expected value of missing whatever food might be in that shrub (low probability of there being more food in that shrub than elsewhere, low value of food in that shrub versus elsewhere, even if it is in that shrub). In contrast, not changing course has a large negative expected value (fairly low probability of being killed by bear, but very expensive cost if true). The inferential statistics that you so casually dismissed are crucial tools for mitigating those biases in judgment based on visually detecting patterns. Being disciplined in doing that overriding of your gut is a big part of scientific training in fields that inherently have messy data. Perhaps the scientific field from which you are now retired had relatively tidy data and so does not require so much vigilance against that bias. But you need to recognize that your expertise in one narrow field of science does not transfer to all other areas of science. I suspected that you are a physicists from your username. The Tamino reference is quite interesting. Thanks. He does not seem to accept that the slope on the dH/dt vs dT represents inverse sensitivity. I thought that was well accepted. He complains that a mere 8 years is too short a time to measure feedback. Doesn't that depend on how fast the feedback is? Feedback to the heating of the ocean, if any, is certainly quite slow. That is why what I have called the curly parts curly. Ocean currents are affected chaotically by many things on the way to equilibrium. But it is certainly helpful to have the usual (non-time-connected) plots recognized as showing points that are certainly not at equilibium, and in that case there is no reason to expect a proportionality between rate of heating and temperature. But the heating of air by warm water is quick. The ratio of specific heats of air and water is quite small. That is why the segments are straight. So the 8 years of data are plenty for the feedback of cloud effects. The parallel segments measure the (inverse) sensitivity at equilibrium between rate of heating by oceans of the atmosphere. Of course, the reason for using the brief span of satellite data is that we have the dH/dt data and the time of measurement. The temperature data inferred earlier is informative for temperature, but we cannot estimate the forcings that caused it. This makes it hard to infer sensitivity. Regarding ice ages and sensitivity, here we are talking about feedback of a different kind. Feedback to albedo is certainly strong and positive. Some decisions require statistics and some do not. If you measure each line slope, you can do the statistics and find the std. deviation. But some things are actually obvious. If you look at the plots in the Blunder book, you will see. In physics, the half-serious view of statistics is, if you need statistics to make your point, improve your experiment. That one has tongue in cheek, but there is some truth to it. I have taught statistics and have examples where they are needed. What Spencer has done is equivalent to proving that you aren't aging by demonstrating that you weren't more prone to illness after a week of elapsed time. It's meaningless. When you add to that the other problems with his report, the whole thing is a waste of time (have you read the criticism above? Why do you put so much effort into lauding him without addressing those criticisms?). A couple of things. In tamino's post he exactly equates sensitivity as the inverse of the slope and derives, via the method, and says; "estimated climate sensitivity is 1/1.553 = 0.644 K/(W/m^2), very close to the true value 0.667 K/(W/m^2)." What's the problem with that? Did you read the article? If not, shame, because his commentery on Spencer's error relates closely to your insight: "the half-serious view of statistics is, if you need statistics to make your point, improve your experiment". As you clearly know, that is said because statistics is only important if your are dominated by statistical or systematic errors. A better experiment could reduce the former (more data) or the latter (less measurement errors). Now, as I read it, it is exactly Tamino's point that if you look to closely (to short a time scale) you will be dominated by the systems internal dynamics. as he says "He’s based his estimation of climate sensitivity on time spans which are so brief that feedback (in the usual sense) in the climate system doesn’t have time to operate!" I'm pretty sure if you read Taminos post as a statistician (indeed, as one statistician to another!) rather as attacker/defender of some bit of work; you will see his insight. Quite frankly, your discussion to date has been essentially meaningless because you have not provided an example of the graph which is central to your case. Without your explicitly providing such a graph, or explicitly acknowledging some example, you give the impression of intentionally keeping the center piece of your discussion carefully hidden to avoid criticism. Friends, you would not say this if you had been able to read my response to muon counter at 28. (1) Three seconds is enough time to measure audio feedback in an auditorium. (2) One month is enough time to measure temperature feedback from ocean currents to the lower atmosphere. (3) One year is surely not enough time to achieve equilibrium to the solar heating of the top layer of ocean. This plot is a little harder to recognize than the one Tamino published, but you can still distinguish the straight parts from the curly parts. If his "discovery" were valid, why did he publish it in a book? Science is published in science journals. 2) Spencer could have cherry-picked his data. 3) Spencer is so incompetent that he just accidentally left out of his study all of the evidence that refutes his desired conclusion. It seems hyper unlikely to me that Spencer accidentally left out more than half of the data available, and accidentally excluded the best of the data---- which, if he (they) had left in, would have shown his conclusion about climate sensitivity wrong. If I had done this in high school the teacher would have graded my paper an "F," and then castigated me for lying. I did read your post - clearly, better than you read Taminos! which clearly demonstrates which resolutions are appropriate to demonstrate compliance with known science and when the data is being mis-analyses. I've no doubt you've had experience, when teaching, if people finding features due to oversamplung... Again I plead with you to use your statistics insight! "What does Dr. Spencer end up with? I mean besides the WUWT comments declaring him a shoo-in for a Nobel Prize. He ends up with an artificial statistical correlation with no physical explanation to support it." And I remember among his 3 posts titled 'Spencers errors" I think in which he claims that the ratio of two derivatives means nothing, IIRC. It is this last that I commented on and responded to, but three long posts are too much to search through without printing the out. If you can send me a link, it would help. His name does not appear on these posts, so I am relying on the words of commenters that they are Taminos. Am I mistaken? Among the bullet points, I have already rebutted some. Would you let me know which bother you the most and I will try to answer, if I can. You can refer to them by number. (1) Three seconds is enough time to measure audio feedback in an auditorium. (2) One month is enough time to measure temperature feedback from ocean currents to the lower atmosphere. That's not a feedback, that's simple heat transfer. (3) One year is surely not enough time to achieve equilibrium to the solar heating of the top layer of ocean. Why? Because you say "surely"? Your answer he is completely nonsensical. You also dodged my last questions. Have you read the criticism above? Why do you put so much effort into lauding him (Spencer) without addressing those criticisms? There are some problems with your feedback analogies. 1. 'Three seconds is enough time' to identify audio feedback - audio frequencies are in the 100s to 1000s of hz. A few seconds represent 100s to 1000s of samples, which is indeed sufficient. However, seven years of monthly data = 84 samples at best; from the figures presented above, it is not clear how many of these are responding to the supposed small feedback. That raises a significant possibility for aliasing. 2 and 3 are both unsubstantiated assertions on your part. If you wish to play by the rules of this house, provide references for your claims. As to your 'rebuttals' thus far, permit me to say, I have not seen any convincing evidence other than your assertions. That we are even discussing a study based on monthly changes in a climate science context already places this entire idea on thin ice. However, it would be helpful if you would focus on the objections you deem #6, 7 and 8; these are substantial - and have not been rebutted. I am astonished at how little attention has been directed at this novel contribution. To me, that is worth a Nobel Prize. In what field of endeavour should he be awarded the prize? What are the criteria for earning a Nobel? As can be seen, the important criterion is to bring a great benefit upon mankind, through an important discovery or invention. This is where it gets sticky for Spencer: it would have to be proved that he had made an important discovery and that it brought a great benefit to mankind. If his hypothesis were correct, it would certainly be important, but would it bring a great benefit? I suggest that that would depend upon how it changed the progress of our civilisation, or the welfare of our population. Arguably, if Spencer had proved that the Earth is not warming, then it could be said that a monetary benefit would accrue in the form of wealthy nations not having to reduce their CO2 emissions and a psychological benefit would accrue in the form of the removal of significant worry for those who currently accept the theory of AGW. Would that be enough to justify a Nobel? I am not qualified to judge. On the other hand, if Spencer's hypothesis has been demonstrated to be junk science and if his paper does not have great literary merit, we can save the Nobel committee the trouble of deciding these questions. I guess it is up to his followers to nominate his work for a prize and see what happens. Perhaps Anthony Watts could start the ball rolling, as Spencer supporters seem fairly thick on the ground at his blog. "Not much calculation is needed, in fact. If you take the trouble to look at his plots, you will see that the straight-line segmenmts are numerous, parallel, and obvious. It is quite convincing. It is their slope which gives the sensitivity to dH/dt." feedback operating in the climate system on intraseasonal time scales." Given this, do you agree that the slope of "linear striations" in the graph above (approximately parallel to the red line) also "give the sensitivity"? Tom 39, that is a curious plot. If it refers to a system like the ones we have been discussion, I can't imagine what process creates the bowing out of the nearly vertical lines. Assuming that the horizontal axis represents temperature and the vertical axis represents rate of heating, it is clear the temperature is being affected by something else and heating has almost no effect. You refer to Spencer's hypothesis. To my way of thinking, he has put forward no hypothesis. Feedback is the question of the century. Previously one could not measure feedback without including solar forcing. Spencer has discovered how to separate feedback from forcing in satellite data and has used it to measure the sensitivity of feedback to solar heating. He did it by utilizing periods of time when clouds were heated more by some non-radiative forcing, such as ocean currents, than by the sun. That eliminated the sun from the forcing leaving only the feedback radiation. What hypothesis do you refer to? No, he hasn't. Repeating it as often as you can does not make it so. No, he didn't. He didn't succeed. His logic was grossly flawed, and your tacit and uncritical acceptance (acceptance? praise and worship is more like it) is singularly unconvincing. Your arguments to date amount to nothing more than "Spencer is great" and "I like what he said." Spencer has discovered how to separate feedback from forcing in satellite data and has used it to measure the sensitivity of feedback to solar heating. Until Spencer's 'discovery' has been reviewed and validated, I regard it as only an hypothesis. Clearly, from comments here and elsewhere, there is a weight of scientific analysis suggesting that Spencer is wrong. In other words, Spencer's science is not yet independently supported. When there is a weight of scientific analysis that supports his claim, I will elevate it from hypothesis to theory. Does that sound fair? Uncle Ben @40, let me assure you that the x-axis represents temperature anomalies in degrees K, the y-axis represents TOA net radiative flux anomalies in W/m^2, just as in the previous figure shown by me, and as in the figure shown by muoncounter @26. Further, just as in the previous figure I showed you, radiative flux is the only source of heating (something which is not true in the figure muoncounter showed). Therefore based on the reasoning you stated in 5, and which is the foundation of your case, the slope of the lines which approximately parallel the red line must "give the sensitivity". If they do not, then you must provide a reason for the exception or admit the counterexample refutes your theory. 35 - Ben "I am willing to try to answer your questions regarding Taminos post" I don't recall asking you any questions regarding that post other than how could you say that tamino denies dH/dt vs dT represents inverse sensitivity when he says explicitly that. You did not respond to my correction (which, itself could be wrong, and if so you could say why). Les, (44), my reply was that the post I referred to was not signed, and I relied on commenters to say who wrote it. It may have been someone else. You may be right. Uncle Ben#40: "He did it by utilizing periods of time when clouds were heated more by some non-radiative forcing, such as ocean currents, than by the sun." That's quite a trick! If the figures posted above are representative of this great work, where are the gaps between monthly observations that represent months when the sun was doing the heating? As far as 'heating clouds by some non-radiative forcing,' that mechanism needs a bit more substantiation. FYI: tamino's analysis was linked here. Uncle Ben - You have now been pointed to multiple issues with Spencers work. Dessler 2011 - "It is also shown that observations of the lagged response of top-of-atmosphere (TOA) energy fluxes to surface temperature variations are not evidence that clouds are causing climate change." Trenberth et al 2011 - "...some efforts have been shown to contain major errors and are demonstrably incorrect. ...cloud variability is not a deterministic response to surface temperatures...many of the problems in LC09 have been perpetuated..." They also include Taminos analysis, comments here, and the noteworthy problems in many of Spencers works with basic statistics. If you continue to hold to Spencers work without considering or addressing these issues, I would have to suspect you are suffering from confirmation bias. Anyway. I had thought, with your history in statistics etc. maybe some detailed discussion... I'll leave it at that. Many thanks for the link to the part of Tamino's treatise that you find most relevant. The beginning is quite clear, something that Spencer might have written. He supports the importance of speed of the process being discussed, including the fact that warming of air by ocean surface is fast and warming of ocean by the sun is slow. Where he diverges from Spencer is his undertaking to compute the sensitivity of the composite process from the jagged line. He says that to take the slope of just the jags is an error if you want to measure the sensitivity of the entire system to radiative forcing. My understanding is that Spencer is looking for the sensitivity of temperature to the feedback from CO2, which is what Hansen and others blame for the total strength of global warming. Since the effect of feedback from CO2 warming does not involve the slow process of ocean waming, it is quick, as acknowledged by Tamino. That is why the use of the slope of the jags is not a mistake but is added information. In Spencer's plots, showing short-term effects, the curvy parts show the ocean surface not in equilbrium. That is why one does not attempt to fit them with straight lines. The critics are right that to include everything in these short-term plots would be a mistake. But the parts of the plots that Spencer uses are straight, which indicates that the cause of the change happens quickly, reaching equilibrium in weeks, not years. So I think Tamino is correct up to the point where he objects to the use of the jags. There are three commonly used definitions of climate sensitivity. The slowest is the Earth System Sensitivity. The Earth System Climate Sensitivity is the change in temperature for a given forcing once equilibrium has been reached for all feedbacks including slow feedbacks. As slow feedbacks include the melting of ice sheets (with a time scale of thousands of years) and the equilibriation of atmospheric and deep ocean CO2 concentrations (time scale in the hundreds of years), ESCS measures sensitivity in the long term. More commonly used is the Charney Climate Sensitivity, which is the temperature reached for a given forcing after equilibrium is reached including all fast feedbacks, but no slow feedbacks. "Fast feedbacks" include such things as the watervapour feedback (time scale to equilibrium of days), changes to the cryosphere excluding ice sheets ie, snow and sea ice (time scale to equilibrium - decades) among a host of others. "The transient climate response is the change in the global surface temperature, averaged over a 20-year period, centred at the time of atmospheric carbon dioxide doubling, that is, at year 70 in a 1% yr–1 compound carbon dioxide increase experiment with a global coupled climate model. It is a measure of the strength and rapidity of the surface temperature response to greenhouse gas forcing." So even the most rapid of the commonly defined measures of climate sensitivity is a response over decades. But by fiat, Uncle Ben declares that "... effect of feedback from CO2 warming does not involve the slow process of ocean waming ...". From that he concludes that measuring the sensitivity to only those processes which reach equilibrium in a matter of days measures the Charney Climate Sensitivity which is known to take decades, indeed up to a century or more, to reach equilibrium. It is amazing what absurdities you can believe when you allow yourself to use false premises asserted by fiat anytime they are needed.

2019-04-22T22:19:53Z

https://skepticalscience.com/roy-spencer-negative-feedback-climate-sensitivity.htm

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2019-04-26T08:38:21Z

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This new store opening checklist will help you manage the multitude of details, tasks, projects and strategies that go into opening a successful new store. Before you start choosing colors for your walls, you need to research the conditions your store will be operating in. Factors like location and local demand for products you sell will be the difference between success and failure in your first year, and the more research you do, the better prepared you will be for running your store. Locations - You want a location that makes sense for your store and your target customers. For example, a gas station will have much different location requirements than a boutique clothing store. Vendors - Researching vendors is critical. You need strong, beneficial vendor relationships to secure the margins your store needs to survive. Be sure not to enter into any contracts that will force you to sell products your customers won’t be interested in. Local product demand - Never open a store without concrete data that people will be buying what you’re selling. Identify your target market in your area and assess how your store is going to satisfy demand in your store’s category. Competition - Your store needs to stand out from the competition. Accomplishing this requires that you know your competitors from top to bottom, from their products and offerings, to the general feeling that walking into their store gives you. Permits required for operations - The permitting process can add weeks or months to your startup time, so always find out which permits you need for occupancy and operations in advance. Regulations specific to your store - To more easily comply with the federal, state and local regulations your store must operate under, research these regulatory requirements before opening. For example, gas stations in California are required to have fume capture features on their pumps while other states do not. Projected startup and operating budget - Always research the costs that will be required to open your store and the ongoing operational costs to create an accurate budget. Anyone who invests in your store will want to know that you’ve done these calculations. Projected overhead vs projected returns - Before you open your store, you need to calculate your projected overhead vs returns and find out when you will be getting into the black. This will be important for calculating the rates at which you will be able to repay any loans you use to finance startup. What is the biggest factor in how much business your store receives? Location, location, location. Be sure that you thoroughly evaluate several potential locations before you decide on the premises of your store. Evaluate workable locations - You’ve researched workable locations for your store, now it’s time to pay a visit. Pay attention to your surroundings as you approach potential storefronts: the people passing by on foot and in cars, the other businesses immediately surrounding you, the kind of environment the property is located in, etc. Ask yourself, does this location make sense for the kind of products I’m selling and the people I want in my store? Secure your storefront property - Always be sure to negotiate for favorable lease terms for your storefront property with the assistance of an experienced broker. Once you’ve reached an agreement with the landlord or leasing agency, get your startup plans in motion to minimize pre-opening rent expenditures. Get your certificate of occupancy - Your city or county may require a Certificate of Change in Occupancy for your store before you start using your storefront premises. You will need to present detailed operational plans so the planning/building department can determine if your storefront is up to code for your intended use of the property. Make tenant improvements - Many improvements such as the surface level remodel of a bathroom can be done without a construction permit, but you should contact your local building department to be sure you aren’t making improvements that require a permit. Before you open your doors, you should have received all certifications, licenses and permits required for operating your store in your state. Obtain your Federal Employment Identification Number (FEIN) - Every company needs an FEIN for a variety of business reporting requirements, such as taxes and reporting new hires. You can apply for your FEIN here. Apply for a business license for your state - Search “apply for (your state) business license” and you should be able to apply online. Apply for a business license for your city (if required) - Many cities require a local business license in addition to your state’s business license, so find out if this is required. Search “apply for (your city) business license” to get started. Apply for a seller’s permit - Seller’s permits are required for all retailers. Search for “apply for (your state) seller’s permit online” to get started on your application. Get a resale certificate - A resale certificate will allow you to purchase goods from wholesalers without paying sales tax. Search “Apply for (your state) resale certificate” and you should be able to apply online. Register/trademark your store’s name - Register your store’s name with your secretary of state’s office, including any DBA name you will be operating under if your company’s legal name won’t be a great draw to customers. Registering a domain for your store name and creating a “coming soon” website page are great ways to trademark your store name inexpensively. Obtain all required licenses and permits for your operations - You’ve researched the relevant regulations that your store will be required to meet, so now is the time to put in applications for licenses and permits relevant to these regulations. For example, if your convenience store will serve hot food, you may need a food handler’s license and your employees may need food handler certifications from your state. The inventory you select should be chosen strategically to appeal to your target customers and obtained through favorable vendor relationships. Select inventory that will be in high demand in your area - The inventory your store carries needs to be exactly what your target customers are looking for. To accomplish this, visit your competitors to see what they carry, the kinds of customers they serve and what seems to be missing from their store shelves. You can also use Google Trends to research what product types and specific products/brands people are searching for online in your city or greater metro area. Evaluate various vendors/distributors - Before you agree to a long term contract or place a large order, always shop around with various vendors and distributors. You want a vendor with the right prices, but you also need someone who has your best interests at heart. The last thing you need is a contract with a distributor who is always trying to unload unpopular items into your store. Research competitor pricing and set your prices - You need to at least match your competitors on price, if not beat them. Though this may mean lower margins, sticker shock can cause customers to choose your competitor for good. That being said, if you are selling higher quality products than competitors, your customers will expect higher prices. Stock up for your grand opening - Your store should be fully stocked for your grand opening. The last thing you want are customers who leave dissatisfied and empty handed. Your store’s interior creates the shopping experience of your customers and you want this experience to be top-notch and in-line with your business model. Design your interior and decide on decorations - Your store’s interior sets the tone for the shopping experience of your customers, and it should be designed with your business model in mind. For example, a music store should be inviting and warm, so that customers feel comfortable spending more time evaluating instruments and become attached to an instrument that appeals to them. Convenience stores, on the other hand, should be clean and clinical, so that customers get in, get what they’re looking for and get out without lingering and taking up the limited space in the aisles of the store. Design your store’s layout - Just like the overall “feel” of your store’s environment, your layout should be designed with your business model and customers in mind. For example, do your customers want to spend 15 minutes comparing different options, or do they want to get what they’re looking for, buy and leave in under a minute? Prioritize top selling items - Your top sellers should always be front and center. That being said, any item in your store needs to be visible to customers and top selling items should never obscure other items from view. Get POS and other retail displays - POS displays and other retail displays are great for grabbing the attention of customers and moving specific inventory items. Just be sure that your retail displays match the interior of your store and don’t stick out like a cheesy sore thumb. To ensure your store runs like a well oiled machine, you need to ensure that you store’s systems are properly set up and general requirements for your store are met. Open a bank account for your Store - Be sure that your daily maximum for number of transactions and total purchases will be acceptable before choosing a bank. Create branded paper/plastic bags - Branded bags are a great way to advertise your store through your customers. Decide which stockroom equipment you will need - Consider which stock room equipment will be most useful for the setup of your store. Common items include step ladders, storage shelves, storage totes, stockroom carts and dollies. Get barcode labels - Order barcode labels appropriate for the products you sell ( most likely UPC or EAN). Check fire protection features - Ensure that your fire extinguishers and fire protection systems are working, especially before your building is inspected by your local fire marshal. Get your store’s website live - Add webpages to the “coming soon” site you used to trademark your store’s name. Apart from listing your address and hours of operation, this site can be a great place to post reviews from satisfied customers, display popular inventory items and provide a way for customers to contact you (your company’s email). Find the best POS system for your store - Find a POS system that meets the needs of your store and that will provide a seamless checkout experience for your customers. You should also ensure that your POS system will easily integrate with the inventory management system you choose. Find the best inventory management system for your store - Continuous inventory management is essential, especially in high-volume retail environments. You should always evaluate your needs and options before deciding. CStorePro offers a free 30 day trial, so you can see our solution in action before you make a commitment. Invest in office supplies and a computer for your store - Get the office technology and supplies you need for operations like a laptop, a scanner, a printer, printer paper, pens, staplers, etc. Get furniture for your back office, break room and counter - Investing in some relatively comfy chairs or stools will help you and your employees to rest more effectively on their breaks and when sitting behind a counter while no customers are present. Your employees keep your business running, but before they start their first day at your store, you need to ensure that they are adequately equipped and prepared for the work the will do. Uniforms and name tags - Uniforms and name tags should match the colors of your store’s brand, and should be made from high quality material. Cheap or ugly uniforms will be hated by your employees and will cause customers to feel uncomfortable. If it does not make sense for your employees to wear uniforms, establish dress guidelines for them to follow. Employee training program and employee manual - Your employee training program should be created to ensure that all employees are adequately trained and prepared for their on-the-job duties. Your employee manual should address topics such as conduct expectations, requirements for cleanliness and clothing, customer service expectations, drug testing policy and all other policies that your employees will be required to follow while working for you. Hours reporting system for employees - Whether employees will be entering their hours on a computer program or using physical time cards, choose a reliable system that takes minimal time for employee hours reporting and that is resistant to fraudulent reporting by employees. Create an example employee schedule based on your hours of operation - By creating an example employee schedule based on your hours of operation, you can determine your operational staffing needs and avoid under or over hiring. Set up payroll system - Find a payroll system that works for your store’s needs. To save time for managers, find a solution with employee hours reporting and automatic wage withholding/payroll tax payment. Hire managers and assistant managers - Managers and assistant managers need to be organized, trustworthy and effective leaders. They will be responsible for ensuring that your store’s operations are compliant with federal and state requirements and responsible for the actions of employees under their supervision. Hire part time and full time employees - Your employees are the face of your store and you should make hires who are hard working, honest and motivated to go the extra mile for customers. Hiring a mix of full time and part time employees will help you save on the benefits that may be required for full time employees. Train employees prior to your grand opening - All employees should be fully trained according to your training program before you open. Employees should also know how to use your POS and inventory management system and have a few practice interactions with you or your managers, who pretend to be customers with various requests or demands. Operating manuals - Create operating manuals for all systems and devices used in your store (POS system, Inventory Management System, soda machines, etc.) or use operating manuals provided by system vendors. Your grand opening sets the tone for your store’s reputation in your community and is an opportunity to make a lasting impression on customers. Here’s how to make your grand opening a smashing success. Marketing your grand opening - To ensure that you have a high volume of customers for your grand opening, make sure that this event is highly visible. Other than a big “Grand Opening” banner or sign for your store, you should advertise your grand opening via fliers, posters, radio advertisements, print advertisements, online banner ads targeting your metro area and even TV ads if you have the budget. Grand opening deals and offerings - Great deals and offerings will make a great first impression on customers and encourage them to spend more money at your grand opening. Customer loyalty programs - Your grand opening is a great opportunity to enroll a large amount of customers in any reward or loyalty program you will offer. This gives you access to customer contact info, which can be used to promote special offers for these customers and secure their repeat business. Promotional items - Giving away promotional items like mugs, key fobs or other branded swag is a great way to make your first customers feel special. These branded items will also be free advertising for your business once they have left your store, so be sure that you invest in items that will be used by customers, not thrown out. There are quite a few things to get done before you open your store, but this new store opening checklist will help you manage this complex process and help you ensure that your store opens and runs successfully. CStorePro provides real-time inventory management for stores and helps them to maximize their profits and inventory control with features like live monitoring and pricebook management. To see how your new store can benefit from our inventory management solution, you can schedule a demo or start a free 30 day trial to test CStorePro for yourself.

2019-04-23T12:39:31Z

https://www.cstorepro.com/blog/new-store-opening-checklist

# 1 - has to be Brexit! Now, with the exception of a few politicians, most people are fed up with hearing about Brexit, soft deals, hard deals and no deals. Indeed, a quick Google search shows that the word "Backstop" has never been so well used in the history of the English language. However, unlike others, it's not possible for Compliance Officers simply to tune out of this saga. With the "meaningful vote" on the PM's Plan A in January being anything but meaningful, the picture is unlikely to get any clearer in the coming days, with new versions of Plan B sprouting by the day and the UK Parliament vying with Her Majesty's Government to wrest control of the process. Anything could happen - from another referendum to a general election, renegotiations or a headlong crash into a no deal! These multiplying outcomes for Brexit and the little time left leave us in the scary position of not knowing which regulatory/legislative regime we will find ourselves in in just a couple of months, giving us very little time to react in compliance terms. One has to wonder how much attention is being paid to such a regime when the focus of Parliament appears to be restricted to in-house battles, leadership challenges and votes of no confidence! Indeed, this week, an MP was reporting that there are hundreds of pieces of secondary legislation waiting to be passed through Parliament and a number of bills. However, until the Government is able to confirm what plans need to be in place for Brexit, the legislation has to wait, but with just 72 days until Brexit, one would have hoped that all the necessary legislation was already in place and ready to go. Recently we have all seen the disruptive impact that drones (or no drones) have had on our airports, and yet, according to Major General Chip Chapman, ex-Head of Counter Terrorism in the UK, while the issues with unregulated drones had been known about for five years, the regulations to control their use have been winding their way through Parliament. If Brexit has consumed the Government so much that risks like drone use have been parked, one has to ask how many other apparently low-risk regulatory matters have similarly been parked, the consequences of which will also remain unknown until the risk materialises. This leaves companies more vulnerable to regulatory slips than at any other time in recent memory. Moving on from an issue that we in Compliance can do little about - ie Brexit - let's move to a compliance issue that we can and should do more to address: vulnerable customers. The recognition about and urgency of providing better safeguards for such customers is growing in stature at a rate of knots. From an Occasional Paper issued by the FCA in February 2015, we have now seen the likes of the Gambling Commission fining firms such as SkyBet, Paddy Power, 888, William Hill, 32Red and the Rank Group for failings in this area. Coupled with action taken by the FCA in February 2018 - utilising a Serious Crime Prevention Order against an illegal money lender who was targeting the vulnerable, which culminated in a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence for him - we can see that this is a topic to be taken very seriously. Interestingly and quite importantly, vulnerable customer management is intrinsically linked to a number of other serious compliance topics: fraud, bribery, data protection and AML, for example. One only has to look at the final notices issued alongside the fines mentioned above to see how many times failings in KYC are cited. Whenever failings in KYC are noted by a regulator, a firm's concern over the levels of compliance for their whole client book automatically rises, even if the firm was not the one to receive the fine or regulatory comment. KYC remediation is clearly an issue to consider for 2019. KYC skeletons in the closet are bound to come out, perhaps in the UK even more so than ever, with the creation of the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) and Office for Professional Body AML Supervision (OPBAS) - now what is known by regulators has a very good chance of being known by all. Inevitably, wherever there is AML regulatory enforcement, there is KYC remediation, and there has been no shortage of enforcement action on a global scale recently. Generally speaking, a regulatory fine against one firm should be taken by all other firms as an industry warning issued by the regulator, so, where action was taken against one firm that resulted in a call for KYC remediation, other firms should seriously consider whether this is something that they should prepare for too. Outcome testing can be a very useful preventative measure in this regard. If used correctly and proactively, identifying failings for yourself in advance of the regulator, and, in some very proactive cases, even before the customer, can prove a very wise investment. After all, prevention is better than cure. SM&CR! You say - hold on, didn't we have that last year? Well, yes, and the year before and the year before that… this one seems to be caught in a time loop like some regulatory groundhog day. However, in fairness to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), it had its work cut out in trying to implement an accountability regime in its sprawling domain, which ranges from individual financial advisers to global financial behemoths. SM&CR was developed as a result of the 2008 financial crisis and the outcry from the public following their perception of the lack of accountability and punishment of those running and controlling banks and other financial sector firms, while, by way of a ripple effect, the public paid the economic price for the actions of these banking officials and the reckless manner in which they ran their businesses. The Senior Managers and Certification Regime replaced the Approved Persons Regime for banks, building societies, credit unions and dual-regulated (FCA- and PRA-regulated) investment firms in March 2016. The Senior Managers and Certification Regime will replace the Approved Persons Regime for almost every other FCA-regulated firm - from very small firms and those with limited permissions (including sole traders and limited-permission consumer credit firms) to many of the largest global firms - on 9 December 2019. Limited: this will apply to firms that already have exemptions under the Approved Persons Regime. These firms will be exempt from some baseline requirements and will typically have fewer senior management functions. While SM&CR will apply to all firms that are currently subject to the Approved Persons Regime, it is important for firms to establish which tier they belong to. To aid in this discovery, the FCA has published a Guide to SM&CR for solo-regulated firms. However, it is not just the UK. The growing and rapid changes within the finance sector have seen a notable trend in regulators from multiple jurisdictions focusing on the importance of a firm's culture and conduct, and the accountability of the individuals running these firms. While the specifics of the regulations may have some jurisdictional nuances, since SM&CR was introduced in the UK, we have seen similar regimes popping up in other countries, such as Australia and Hong Kong, with the aim being the same: to improve accountability by imposing stronger consequences for conduct that is not in line with the standards expected by the regulators, so that they can create a sounder financial market, improve consumer confidence and eradicate consumer detriment at the hands of those in charge of financial institutions. While the UK has SM&CR, Hong Kong has the Manager In Charge Regime (MICR) and Australia has the Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR). As yet, Singapore has not implemented an official regime, but there is an emerging trend that puts greater emphasis on executive accountability, as well as conduct and culture. The USA has also responded in a similar way. On 9 September 2015, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Sally Quillian Yates issued a memorandum titled "Individual Accountability for Corporate Wrongdoing". While the Yates memo was, in part, a response to criticism about the lack of individual prosecutions in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis, it applied to many industries, including those outside of financial services. Although the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has long enforced a policy of holding individuals and corporations criminally and civilly liable for corporate misconduct, the "Yates Memo" announced the implementation of more aggressive enforcement policies for corporate and individual prosecution. So the USA, UK and Asia all now appear to be singing from the same song sheet. How long before the rest of the world follow suit and introduce a SMR of sorts? Undoubtedly, it won't be long before those who are entrusted with running financial institutions and managing the public's money will be held personally accountable, no matter where they work in the world - at least, we should hope so! This leads on nicely from SM&CR, because, in May 2018, the FCA and PRA brought a joint prosecution against the CEO of Barclays Bank, resulting from him failing to act with due skill, care and diligence with regard to the bank's whistle-blowing procedures, following receipt of an anonymous whistle-blowing letter to the bank in June 2016. Individuals will be held accountable. With a personal fine of £642,430 (10% of the CEO's net relevant annual income), it is clear that the regulator will use its powers as and when it deems it necessary, and the fines being imposed for failing to discharge a senior management role effectively are significant. However, of note is the fact that the CEO - while found to have not acted with due skill, care and diligence - was not found to be in breach of the requirement to act with integrity. Had he been in breach, it would most likely have led to his dismissal. Despite the fine being levied against an individual, when that individual is the CEO, the reputational damage caused by not only the fine but also the fact that it was made against the CEO also brings the firm into disrepute. A firm and its senior management should not underestimate the domino effect of reputational damage, and the dynamic manner in which it will travel around the world. Proven or not proven, innocent or guilty, bad news always makes good press, and the public at large will not necessarily distinguish between the actions of the CEO and those of the firm. The bank has not necessarily gone unscathed. The UK regulator has imposed enhanced scrutiny and monitoring of the bank's whistle-blowing systems and controls, which includes annual reporting to the FCA and PRA, and the US regulator (the DFS) fined the bank $15million for the actions of its CEO. It would be wrong to tar the whole regulated sector with the same brush, but if an organisation as big and as well run as it should be can still have a CEO who can make such fundamental errors of judgement in relation to whistle blowing, it begs the question of how the rest of the regulated market fares? Is whistle blowing treated with such low levels of seriousness that regulated firms can make such obvious errors in applying the controls that should surround it? Perhaps a new raft of regulatory attention for all firms in relation to whistle blowing will come from this enforcement action - who knows? However, one thing is for sure: if every other person within SM&CR does not learn from the mistakes of this CEO, the personal fines are only likely to get bigger. No list of areas for attention would be complete without data protection. In the increasingly sophisticated world in which we live, it seems that customer data has become a more valuable commodity than ever before. The regulator highlighted the huge failure earlier this year at TSB, which saw 1.9 million customers locked out of their bank accounts, triggering a massive wave of fraud. Overconfident bankers are making errors in crucial computer updates, which cause chaos, the Financial Conduct Authority says, and many firms are woefully underprepared for hacking attacks - putting their customers at risk. Megan Butler, of the FCA, said there had been a 138% rise in technology failures at finance firms during the year to October. This includes both hacking cases and problems of the firms' own making. The number of cyber attacks rose 18%. She added: "The FCA is deeply concerned that the number of technology incidents reported to us has increased. If your bank stops working, your life and business can be severely constrained." Other lenders to have suffered brief outages in the past few months include Barclays and NatWest owner, Royal Bank of Scotland. Visa's payments system also went down across Europe for several hours in June. When you add the GDPR and its vastly increased fining abilities (up to four percent of a firm's global annual turnover) to this, failures in cyber security and data protection suddenly take on a much graver consequence for firms, especially at a time when they are being asked to process even more personal and special category data, such as that associated with vulnerable customer management. Then the remaining damage can be caused by SM&CR, where the individual responsible for data protection receives the personal fines distributed by the regulator where failures occur. Despite how long this method has been around and all the awareness campaigns, people being tricked into revealing their personal information and parting with their money is still a very real threat! By some estimates, 90% of data breaches have a phishing component to them, and phishers have been remarkably resourceful and have kept up with security measures - for instance, APWG reports that half of all phishing attacks are now hosted on websites that have HTTPS and SSL certificates! Phishing, of course, is mainly motivated by criminals trying to obtain our personal information, enticing us to part with our money or sending emails with malicious attachments that are designed to block, take over or destroy a website, email account or even a company's entire computer system. If some personal information is already known to the criminal, they will attempt to gain even more information from their victim by what is known as "spear phishing" - ie a more targeted, one-to-one and personal approach than a generic phishing email can be. The key to success here is that the email will usually appear to come from a trustworthy or known source, such as a bank or government body. The instructions in the email will ask the reader to follow a link, which, once clicked on, will take the reader to a hoax site, where personal information, such as login details, passwords and bank details, will be collected, all under the guise of a legitimate reason. This can be evidenced by a scam reported to Action Fraud in 2018, where it reported receiving complaints from over 2,000 people that they had received scam emails purporting to be from TV Licensing, with 200 of those complaints claiming to have lost a total of £233,455 to the scam in just one month! Some of these scams are very clever and look very authentic, so being duped can sometimes be difficult to avoid. However, it's amazing how many people will click on a link in an email purportedly from a bank that they do not have an account with. Similarly, an email asking for a transfer fee to be paid in order to release your lottery winnings is very welcome indeed, but not when you didn't even enter the lottery. Be wary of emails that refer to you in vague terms, such as "Dear Valued Customer" - if you are that valued, they should know your name! Consider whether you would give your address and bank details to a stranger in the street - if you wouldn't, why would you give them to a stranger on the phone or in an email? Remember that if it looks too good to be true, then it most likely is! Companies are not immune from this phenomenon either. There have been numerous phishing attacks on firms, ranging from emails allegedly sent from a CEO to the company accountants, instructing payments to be made to a criminal's bank account, to phishing emails obtaining access to computer network information, employee information and even employee payroll data! One of our biggest defences against phishing is vigilance, and this can only be achieved by appropriate education, awareness, employee drivers of quality, assurance over quantity and, of course, the use of common sense. That's all, folks! It's still the first month of the year, so, no doubt, new challenges, more pressing ones, will sprout. Do post your comments below. We're always happy to hear from you and will incorporate suggestions.

2019-04-19T00:22:36Z

https://www.skillcast.com/blog/6-top-compliance-challenges-for-2019

Have I ever told you all about my obsession with little glass containers? Never? Really? Anyway, I love little glass containers. In all shapes and sizes. Another secret…I do not own one piece of Tupperware. I swear. Every little container I have for leftovers and other stuff is glass. This makes my Mom crazy when she comes to visit and I don’t have any plastic anything. She thinks I’m weird. But it’s because I love glass, it’s easy to clean, it doesn’t smell…yada-yada. So, when the folks at Wean Green contacted me and asked me to try their new eco-friendly, STRONGER than glass, impermeable, non-pourous, totally cute GLASS containers, I jumped on it. I have always been a glass-container-aholic. They are just so useful. And best of all, it was developed by a Mom, for her little ones. So while I was going to let my kids use these for school lunches, I’ve kinda been hoarding them for myself. I put snacks in them and throw them in my purse. The snap-able lids are so easy to use and nothing leaks! The Wean Green containers are 5x stronger than glass, I proved this when I accidentally dropped them on my deck. They bounced. Amazing. While the Wean Green containers have been specifically made for food, I use them for all kinds of non-food related things. They are so great for drawer organization due to their small, unique sizes. There is nothing better than opening my office drawers and seeing all this cuteness. I die every time. They are also great for jewelery when traveling. I can put rings, bangles and necklaces together, snap on the lid and nothing gets tangled. I love them and I want them in all their beautiful, modern colors. Wean Green wants you to enjoy their awesome containers as well. One lucky reader will receive a full set of Wean Green storage containers. An $85 value that includes, the lunch cubes, snack cubes, wean tubs, wean bowls and wean cubes. This is such a great product, food always tastes better when reheated in glass. A perfect baby shower gift too! Join Noble Pig on Facebook and leave a separate comment here telling me you did so. Join Wean Green on Facebook and leave a separate comment here telling me you did so. Follow Noble Pig on Twitter and leave a separate comment telling me you did so. Follow Wean Green on Twitter and leave a separate comment here telling me you did so. Follow Noble Pig on Instagram and leave a separate comment telling me you did so. Follow Noble Pig on Pinterest and leave a separate comment telling me you did so. Post this giveaway link to YOUR personal or fan Facebook page, tagging Noble Pig & Wean Green in the post. Leave a separate comment telling me you did so. Subscribe to this blog by either email or RSS feed. Leave a separate comment telling me which way you did. Deadline to enter is Friday, October 5, 2012, Pacific Standard Time. Contest is open to United States and Canadian residents. Winner will be chosen at random and contacted by email. You will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Storage containers will be shipped directly from Wean Green. WINNER is commenter #40, Lynn Zukowski. Congrats Lynn!! Your new Wean Green Storage items will be on their way!! Wean Green’s slogan is, “Think outside of the cube”….I think I have! Discosure: Wean Green provided me with samples to try out and are also providing the storage set for this giveaway. However all opinions and statements about this product are my own. I was not financially compensated for this post in any other way. I would use them for my daughter’s lunches and snacks! I’d use bigger ones for taking to the office for lunch, and little ones for dibs and dabs and bits leftover from meals and from canning. Beside food I really like the idea of having snack in something lightweight that won’t crush the cookies, baggies just leave you with crumbs. Meds for hubby as somehow the snap on lids always unsnap. Yep, I can think of lots of things. I would use them for all my cut up veggies/fruits that I make each weekend for our Paleo meals throughout the week. We only eat whole foods and glass containers are the best to keep food freshest. This entry is so timely! I was just approached in the grocery store parking lot to host a Tupperware party and I cringed b/c I can’t stand Tupperware! (I didn’t even know people still had those parties!). I love glass storage containers too and I don’t have anything as fabulous as wean green. I would use my containers to store leftovers, use to take my lunch to work, and keep food properly stored in my pantry. I guess I’m not really “out of the box” using it as food containers but as someone who hates wasted food this is perfect for me. I would use them to store home-made baked goods… like muffins, cookies, and oatmeal bars! My 2 grandchildren, Justin 4 and Joelle 2 live quite a distance from me When I visit them I usually stay about a week at a time. We play games together and do crafts and I can’t wait to get the Wean Green containers. I will fill them with paints,’cooking with kids’ ingredients, broken crayons, stickers and any thing else I run across. When I find a new crafty idea. I’ll be right on top of it. I will put the instructions right in with the things we will make. Driving or flying, they will be simple to pack. Best of all Grandma will always be ready and remembered for her fun Wean Green containers-always full of surprises! These look great for toddler meals and snacks for day care! Leftovers, lunches, picnic treats, roadtrip goodies, I can think of all sorts of ways to use these! I follow Noble Pig on Facebook. I like Wean Green on Facebook. I subscribe to both email and RSS feed for Noble Pig. I would use one for odds and ends on my desktop (paperclips, stamps, coins, etc). I can already see myself portioning out my MnMs, measuring ingredients and having a place to put my sprinkles! looks like they could hold liquid too, hmm maple syrup, extracts and homemade facial marks! I would use these for portion control at work! Also, I have so many small sewing notions that would fit perfectly! I would use them for food, like leftovers and things like nuts and dry quinoa. I currently use jars but their roundness kind of wastes some shelf space. Snack-Preferably healthy adorable little bento style snacks….what great containers these would be for the bento lunches! definitely leftovers that i want to reheat in the microwave ~ i use my glass mixing bowls quite often as food DOES taste different when reheated in glass. WOW what a great and good looking storage solution! I would use a few small ones in my office and the larger ones for food and jewerly! I Love to hike, camp and travel and usually make home-made snacks to bring while I’m out exploring new places. I would use them to house delicious treats. I would use them to store leftovers in the refrigerator – I also prefer glass to plastic! I would put lunches and snacks in them. I get Noble via e-mail notifications daily. Love it. My family now is only two….so lot’s of left-overs……hello! I would use some for food and some would be perfect to hold my small scrapbooking items in. I will fill them with cinnamon syrup from Noble Pig and homemade mayo from Michael Ruhlman! Oh and maybe some homemade soup for my lunches! I follow Noble Pig on Interest. I joined your Noble Pig Facebook page. I followed Noble Pig on Pinterest. I tweeted your statement on Twitter. I follow Wean Green on Twitter. I subscribed to the blog by email. Posted this to my FB page and tried to tag Noble Pig and Wean Green… not sure it worked though! Posted this to the My Kitchen board on Pinterest! my husband takes salad to work every day, so we would use it for his daily salad. I followed Noble Pig on FB. i follow wean green on fb. Wean Green On Facebook too! Of COURSE Noble Pig on Facebook! I would use them my son’s snaps, buckles, grommets that he uses for his leatherwork. I love the colors of the lids so I would use them to store and all the little game pieces for board games, and the other use would be to tote my breakfast and lunches back and forth. My kids baby teeth! Yes, they are all grown but I still keep them as a treasure….. Liked Wean Green on FB!! What am I going to put in them? I love your idea of throwing them in your purse for snacks. Would love to win and probably would use a food storage containers at first but then, who knows – the world is my oyster. I would use these to store food for my 13 month old daughter. Right now, I store her food in plastic food storage containers, then I put the food on a plate to heat it up. The idea of one less dish to wash per meal is very appealing! I don’t feel comfortable heating in plastic but I could store and heat in the Wean Green containers! I will use these to pack hubbies lunch since he is on the road every day! I followed noble pig on twitter. I am an organizing fool!! I would use the Wean Greens for just about everything!! I can’t wait to find them online and start my own little collection!! Course, I hope to win a set too! 😉 I drive my husband nuts because I won’t let him cook leftovers in the plastic containers! Glass tends to be pricy so I buy as the budget allows… Course, everything has to match, then they always change lid colors on me… Ugh!! I collect Fiesta. These will fit right in with their bright colors! I adore them!! I tweeted about the contest on my twitter. I love using glass over placstic, especially when mircrowaving! These are adorable! Posted this page to my FB page!! Leftovers!!! These look perfect and stackable. The small ones will be great for my sons school lunch snack. Well would use for all those little leftovers from dinner or for cut up veggies to have on hand. I would put lunch in them! I would love to use them for my leftovers. They really look handy enough to use for organizing in my kitchen too! I’ve been wanting these for a while now for food storage. Great giveaway! I’d put snacks for my son in these containers, and use them for leftovers too. I would probably most use them for healthy snacks! What can you not put in them…I would use for leftovers, dips and lunch to take to work. Thanks! I would use them for all of my leftovers! I’d use them as containers for kourambeides (greek cookies) for the holidays…Yasoo! I have an aversion to plastic containers!! I would use the glass containers for all my leftovers and especially fruit because the glass containers do not retain “smells” like the plastic does, and the fruit seems to last longer in glass. That would be an excellent prize to win. Thanks for the opportunity! Will follow on Pinterest and Twitter. I am a single man, with no children. So I ALWAYS have leftovers. I hate having to throw out food, so I would use these to store the leftovers that I always manage to have. I liked Noble Pig on facebook. I liked Wean Green on Facebook. I am following Noble Pig on Pinterest. These look great for taking lunches and leftovers to work. I’ve been trying to reduce the amount of plastic I reheat in. Plus they come in fun colors! It would be great for our left overs. Because there are just the two of us and I grew up with a large family I am used to cooking for a bigger group and we tend to have a bit left over. I would keep my cake decorations in them. My sprinkles and sugars and all that stuff! I own a B&B and would love to use these for sharing cookies or left-over coffee cake with guests who can enjoy a mid-afternoon snack and then return the container. No more plastic baggies! Love these containers. Mine will likely be used to store food, but also quite possibly my overflow of jewelry. I’d use them to keep my baked goods fresh, best way to share them! I really like those, where can I find them even if I am not the really lucky one? I would use them to serve a variety of toppings for a build your own pizza party. My guests can choose from the different toppings that I prepared earlier and the assorted glass containers will easily go from the fridge out to the BBQ, and I will not need to use serving dishes. Easy to set up before my guest arrive and cleanup will be quick, more time to party! I like Noble Pig (alot!) on facebook and subscribe for emails. I would put my lunch in it so I could save money not buying it at school. Liked Noble Pig Vineyards on facebook. Liked wean green on facebook. Following noble pig on twitter. I take my lunch to work every day as well as fruit for snacks and these containers would be perfect! I would use them for my husband and son’s lunches. Also, for storing yummy leftovers from dinner. These would be great to organize my home dried herbs, store awesome vanilla sugar i just made so it doesn’t spill everywhere when the plastic tub cracks, great to bring with me to school (I commute to college four days a week), great for organizing my desk stuff and all the foods I cook with…I could think of a thousand uses for these! I try to bring my own lunch to work every day, and these would be so nice! Especially because I’m clumsy and they’re less breakable! I follow Wean Green on twitter! Grandkids…..love little storage containers for picnics to puzzles. So much fun! I would love these for food storage and re-heating food. I hate the plastic storage containers! I just love all kinds of shapes and sizes of containers. It is important to me that they are leakproof for snacks and lunch items. I would put anything that I put in other containers in this. Also a nice presentation for a food gift or a gift with many small parts. These are quite attractive! I love glass containers and agree w the smell of plastics- I would use them for leftovers and send my husbands’s lunch in them. I would use the Wean Green storage containers for snacks! I work at an after school program and need the snacks to keep up my energy so I can keep up with the kids! Follow your Blog & Pintrest! I’d love to use them for everything, lunches, snacks, leftovers, more! I like Wean Green on Facebook! I would use them for our tailgate parties at 49er games!! Go Niners! And I like Noble Pig on Facebook! Ooh I need these for all my leftovers currently in crappy plastic holders! I thought I already followed you on Pinterest, but apparently did not. Oversight rectified, now I do! Leftovers, letftovers and more leftovers. I find I don’t remember to eat things if I can’t see them! Week’s worth of leftovers (I do most of my cooking on weekends)! I will use mine for sugar, some chocolate candies, paper clips, staples, postage stamps, tape, oh, my in the bathroom for nail clippers, tweezers, lotions, maybe some lipsticks..oh, my oh my. would love to win this contest, love these containers! happy fall/ still lovely in the vancouver area, but can feel fall in the air! Snacks, leftovers, craft supplies… everything, basically. These would be perfect for stocking my freezer with homemade sauces and soups! To take leftovers to work! Love these! I’d use them to take my lunch to work. I would use the containers for bits and pieces around the house or for left overs since they are glass. Love the look. I will use them for storing leftovers as I live alone and when I cook, it’s always a lot of food. Just haven’t mastered how to cook for one and don’t think I want to. I also like to portion out fruit and treats, these containers will work wonderfully. I am subscribed by email. I would use them for fresh fruit from the Farmers Market. I would use them for my fiancé’s lunches during the week. I’d use them to store specialty grains. These will be perfect for snacks and leftovers! I really like glass over the plastic disposable storage containers. I love little glass containers too and am in the process of switching out all my plastic to glass. Winning these would be a great help! I would fill them with snacks for my toddler, homemade mints for visitors, and leftovers, among dozens of other things! Just perfect for taking lunch to work!!!! I would use those containers for lunch items and leftovers. I love the colorful lids! I “liked” Noble Pig on Facebook! I “liked” Wean Green on Facebook! I would use those cuties to pack my lunch! I would use them for my husbands lunch and then also for food storage. I love that they are clear and easy to see. I also have an obsession with little glass containers – I have to have everything neat and organized! We could really use these in our new home. I would use these containers for food storage. The same things I put in the glass containers I have now. I will store food, especially leftovers in these. Off the top of my head, I’d have to say Goldfish crackers. Since that’s what we seem to eat on the go the most. Thanks! I like Noble Pig on Facebook. Thanks! I like Wean Green on Facebook. Thanks! I would love to have these! After 40 years I’m phasing out all my plastic and switching to glass. I have “liked” Noble Pig on Facebook for a couple of years now – love it! I am going to put my leftover Bailey’s Irish Creme cake in it, and share it with my boss! BPA Free Here!! I need these. Sorry everyone else. I would love to use these! I would use them to pack my husband’s lunch (when I’m feeling nice enough to do that!). I ‘m going to use my Wean Green storage containers for storing leftovers in the refrigerator. i am gonna throw out all my glad wear and us these for all my leftovers and maybe let the kids put a few in their lunch boxes. I’m building up my winter larder and need storage! …….and i get your emails! I will use them to store leftovers! I would use them for my lunches and all my everyday jewelry. I’m a Noble pig subscriber. I would use these for all my leftovers and lunch meats and cheese. Thank you! I’ve been searching for glass container for my leftovers and salads. I like to pack my salads, nuts and snacks in glass never plastics if I can help it. Glass storage is just so hard to find! I would fill them with buttons, thread, and rickrack. I would love a set for our new apartment, school and work lunches… oh yeish so many reasons! I would absolutely use the Wean Green containers for our work-week lunches. I would also use them for all the little items that always end up on my husband’s dresser! I’ve been following your blog through my reader for forever. My hubbie takes his lunch to work in order to eat healthier. We have been a non “plastic” family for some time now. These would be great has they are more sturdy than regular glass containers. I would store our food in them when we pack lunches for our family outings! I would use them for my daughter’s lunch. These would be great for picnics!!! I would use it for left over food or i would use it for my lunch when going to work. I usually make a sandwich for work and would put corn or string beans in there. POTLUCKS!!! These would be great to bring to potlucks–I don’t have any nice containers to bring food to my potluck parties and I’d love to show these off. Leftovers! I NEVER put food in anything but glass! Most plastic contains BPA and also holds oders and stains. I homeschool and can just see these cuties with paper clips, erasers, et. Love them! Thanks for making us aware of these! I would use them to take leftovers to work for my lunch – I hate the way plastic stains, cracks, and just looks ugly! following Noble Pig on pinterest. I would use them for leftovers and my home cooked puppy food. I would use them mostly for leftovers, but would probably also use them for organizing. I am always running low on pyrex containers … would love to try the wean ones! I have a fridge full of pyrex containers with leftovers and use them for snacks and freezer-cooking. Much, much easier to clean than tupperware and no residual stains or smells. I would use them for snacks and lunch. I’d use them for craft and sewing pieces- pins, beads, wires, end caps. There are always a ton of varieties, and the little clamshell containers they come in aren’t sturdy or practical if you have to transport anything! I would put craft items like buttons. I’ll put berries in it. These remind me of that nesting set of pyrex that was big in the 50s. I just paid an absurd amount of money for a set at a vintage store because I thought it was the best thing ever. And now it appears they’ve inproved the wheel. I would love to use these containers to put all my homemade goodies in! Since these are stronger than glass, they sound perfect for my 2 year old who loves to carry around little bowls of crackers and cheese. They will also be perfect for re-heating make-ahead meals! I’m following WG on Twitter. I too love glass. I do have a microwave but when I first learned that glass was the best option for storing and reheating or putting on a glass cover for reheating or cooking things in the microwave I immediately converted. So as boring as it sounds I put all of my leftover food items in glass and they can easily be reheated in these. Easy to take my last night leftovers to lunch the next day. I would use them for packing lunches and the little ones for the fun yummy somethings you need to get through the day! I will be using these for leftovers for lunch the next day! I’m going to put leftovers in them. I liked Wean Green on Facebook! I follow Noble Pig on Pinterst! I’m a student teacher teaching first grade and I will be teaching my own class next year! I would love to have these as a healthy way to pack my lunch daily! I subscribed to your blog via e-mail! I would use them primarily for food and get rid of my tupperware containers. I’d use them for easy snacks to grab on the go. I will put food in them. It would be great to have these containers for lunch!!! I have so many different ways i could use these! I’m a left over freak and cook so I can have left overs. They look perfect for my obsession. I hate the smells that my plastic storage containers produce. I will probably mostly use them for storing left overs. I would use them to store office supplies; tacs, pins, paper clips, elastics, etc. I follow weangreen on facebook! I follw Noble Pig on facebook. I’d use them for left-over foods most. Thanks. I would use them for leftovers! I would use these for all of our leftovers and for sandwiches to take to work.. Everything!! What wouldn’t you use them for?! I would totally use these for snacks! Pick me! Liked Noble Pig on FB! I would use them for leftovers and for packing my lunches! I liked Noble Pig on Facebook! I lie Wean Green on Facebook! Following Noble Pig on Twitter! I followed Noble Pig on Pinterest! I would use them for small amounts of leftovers. I’d use them to carry my lunch to work every day. I would use these for my left over! They look so cute! My cookie and cake decorating supplies. They definitely need some love! I would use them for leftovers and for serving small stuff. I would use them to organize crafty bits and pieces and store sneaky snacks when im on the go. I so want these for my daughters lunch:) Great giveaway! I will pack my lunch– leftover smoked pork! Everything, I have been on a real kick to rid my home of plastic containers! I’m going to put left-overs in these. Like left-over tator tots! I would use it for lunches and leftovers! Safety pins, buttons, and leftovers. I LOVE taking my lunch to work and could definitely do with these containers! I’d definitely use them for my lunches — I agree, I much prefer glass to plastic for reheating. I would use the wean Green containers to package home made freezer jam and would gift the jams to friends as they visit over the holidays. ah i would love to have these to pack my lunches in, instead of plastic! I would put Oreos in all of them! Filling them up with Healthy lunches and snacks for my 8 year old son. Thank you for the opportunity of winning. And I liked Noble Pig on Facebook! I am trying to keep my boyfriend off junk food as his new job entails a lot of time away from home. I have been freezing all sorts of meals for him to take on the go and these would be perfect! I would use them for food storage ( and throw out all my plastic containers!). I would put everything in them! I love containers and I’m trying to switch our family over from plastics to glass – these look awesome! I follow this blog in Google Reader…does that count as a RSS feed? I’d use them for snacks, beading on the go & to hide my little stuff. Wow, I could really use these! They would be awesome for storing leftovers and organizing pantry, desk and closet items. I LOVE cooking in glassware….most of my cooking and baking is done in glass. It would be extra cool to be able to store leftovers in these lovely glass storage containers. Especially the small ones…I can never seem to have just the right size for small dabs of leftovers. I make a ton of homemade veggie stock and freeze it — i would use these for that! I would use them for leftovers and relegate my plastic ones (the ones that packaged deli meats come in) to the recycling bin. Or I could use them as part of a shower gift for my daughter who is getting married. I now like Wean Green on Facebook! I would love to put freezer jams and jellys into them!!! I would put snacks and my lunch for work in them. I’d use them for leftovers. I would definitely use them for fridge storage for leftovers and in my lunchbox. Desperately trying to get away from tons of plastic. I would use them for my many leftovers! I never can cook for just 2! And I did all the other things you requested! I will use them to store leftovers. I’m following Wean Green on twitter! I only use glass containers to store food. I use the vintage ones but they are getting to hard to find. I follow you on Pinterest too. Cathy! I’m putting food in mine. Pesto – which I’m making with girlfriends on Wednesday. I freeze it and we eat all year long – or until we run out!! I’m going to put my home made baby food in the storage containers! I subscribe to your blog by RSS feed. I am going to put everything in them and finally throw out the last of my plastic stained, nasty tupperware. I’d fill mine with snacks for me and also one to store all those hair things that get tossed on the dresser. If I win I would keep everything from food for my sons’ lunchboxes to tiny little Star Wars light sabers and safety pins in these nifty containers! I will use it to store all my delicious food that I make. I will also, use it to take my lunch with me daily. I can’t stand store bought food. I know when I make it and take it it is going to be a really good meal. I would use them for left overs, and for crafts storage! I would use them to store snacks for my boys and leftovers (AKA Daddy’s lunch)! I’ll be putting anything from snacks to crafting supplies in them. They are so cute! I would put my son’s lunches & snacks in there! I’m sure I will use wean cubes for many things but I will use them most to send my son and hubby’s lunches in 🙂 Thanks for a great giveaway. i’d use them for my son’s snacks… or my own! I LOVE Wean Green cubes too!!! They are SOOOOOOOO amazingly AWESOME! I would love to win this set because it would be great to have more cubes to put my son’s food in. I make all of his baby purees but now that he is graduating to different foods, it would be great to have an array of sizes. my son’s lunches will definitely be in some of them, others will contain food stored in the fridge, others will decorate my kitchen, still others will hold the little bits & pieces that collect and have no home eg rubber bands, paper clips, bag clips etc. Leftovers: pasta, sauces, veggies, potatoes. I would use them to store all my leftovers from my home-cooked meals! Leftovers, snacks, picnic meals, or baby food for my new guy due any day now! I would use it for my kids’ lunches and for my lunches when I go back to work next year. I’d put lunches in them! Anything my child eats will go into these fabulous containers. I would use this for anything and everything, primarily leftovers though. I would love to snacks and cereals for my little guy in the Ween Green containers! I would store leftovers and homemade baby food in wean green!! Seeds from my garden to plant for next year so the mice dont get them too! I would store homemade vegan baby food for my newborn in these!!! I’m going to use them for baby food, snacks, lunch stuff. I follow Wean Green on Facebook. Glass only for my little one. I plan to cook all the food when little Audrey becomes six months and even green is the container for us! we would use them for my husband’s lunches and leftovers! I DEFINTLY FOLLOW WEAN GREEN ON FACEBOOK!! I FOLLOW NOBLEPIG ON FOLLOWGRAM! I would start making my lunch for work and pack it in those rather than eat out. I SUBSCRIBED TO YOU EMAIL LIST! I LOVE to cook, and always seem to cook too much. Perfect to use for lunches for my kids at school, myself at work, and for my hubby who works at home. These Wean Green containers would be just the right fit for our family to pack up or leftovers at the end of the meal in ready to go portions for the next day! I have just recently discovered Oregon wines, and really like them a lot! So, of course, I gladly “liked” Noble Pig on FB!!! Just “liked” Wean Green on FB! Now to order some of my favorites…. Posted the link to this give away on FB, too!!! I now subscribe to your email as well….. These look amazing! I would use these for my toddler for his breakfast for daycare and for his meals at home and on the go! Now following Noble Pig on Twitter…. These would be great for my son and I for snacks and leftovers. Also for our weekly trip to the park. I follow Wean Green on Twitter, too…. Following Noble Pig on Pinterest….. I like Noble Pig on Facebook! I like Wean Green on Facebook ! I would definitely use these for my son’s lunches, snacks, etc. I can see them replacing the current “containers” i use for my husband lunch… It looks like the lid will stay locked better than the ones i currently use. I would use them for my son’s snacks. I would be filling my Ween Green with hubbies lunch! I already use the cubes every day in his lunch. Having a set of the rest of the containers would be great – for granola, fruit, berries, snacks! Yum! I would use them for homemade sauces and lunch snacks. These are perfect to pack away my homemade lunches to go for my husband, a high school counselor. I’m going to use these containers to get back to bringing my lunch to work AND finally ditch the oh-so-gross and bad for you plastic containers I’ve been using for years. It’s time for an upgrade!! Maybe I’ll put some of the pasta pie you made years ago – it’s one of my faves! I would put my snacks in my noble wean containers. My little guy’s lunch – he keeps eating more & more! I’ve never seen these containers before, but I love them! I would use them to bring my lunch and snacks to work (I wouldn’t let my 15 year olds bring them to school because I’d never see them again). I would use these for my families lunch everyday. I am tired of Plastic I need an upgrade. I would put tons of snacks for my purse in the Wean Green cubes! Would use the larger ones to store cut veggies and fruit for quick lunches for my toddler and me! I followed Noble Pig on Twitter! I would use them for lunches for my kids, husband, and me! Following Wean Green on twitter. Folowing noble pig on pinterest. Following noble pig on instagram. I would put kids snacks, leftovers, tiny scrapbooking pieces/crafting stuff, my daughter’s hair stuff (those tiny elastics find their way all over my house! Great for leftovers and snacks. I’ll use them for leftovers and work lunches. What would I use them for? Well, first I’d curl up in one and take a nap (yes, fellow glassaholic here too! I can’t stand stainy, warpy,stinky plastic!). Then I’d reluctantly climb out and daydream about what delicacies I’d put into my preschooler’s lunch (rockamole [guacamole] of our own concoction with Wasa crackers. Happy cake [almond butter brownies with cocoa]. Baby carrots with hummus. Fun little melon balls with ‘umbwella’ toothpicks. Quinoa patties… yum! This question is definitely inspiring me to cook right now (its only 11pm..). I always make huge dinners so we will use them for leftovers and for my husband to take his lunch in. I’m following Noble Pig on facebook! I’m following WeanGreen on facebook! I’m following Noble Pig on twitter! I’m following WeanGreen on twitter! I would use them for my kids and husband’s lunches! I would put my my family and kids lunch, storage leftovers, veggies, cookies, soup, cold cuts, cheese. I would use them for food mostly. I would use the containers for food storage. I would use them for leftovers and cut up veggies and fruit for snacking instead of using plastic zip bags. Liked Noble Pig on Facebook! Liked Wean Green on Facebook! I’d put food in them for lunches and snacks. I will use them for leftovers. I would use these for baby food! I have a spankin’ new baby and when he’s ready for solids, I’m going to puree and a bunch and freeze/refrigerate them and these would be great! My daughter’s lunch for school and leftovers! Following you on Pinterest. Can’t follow on Instagram because I don’t have a smartphone. No fair! I liked wean green on fb. I would use them to organize & store my wife’s medical supplies. i would put veggies in the container. I’d store snacks in some of them and use some for lunches! I would put items I’m taking to work for lunch. I’ll pack chips and dip! Anything and everything, whatever fits. I liked Noble Pig on Facebook and Wean Green on Facebook. These containers would be wonderful for my accessories and skin care products. Thank you so much for the opportunity! Probably my lunch and leftovers! I also love glass and have been working on phasing out all our tupperware so this would be awesome! I followed you on fb as Sandy Saves. I followed wean green on fb as Sandy Saves. I followed you on twitter as @Sandy_Saves. I followed wean green on twitter as @Sandy_Saves. I’d put leftovers in them. I’d put leftovers in them, of course! I’m following Noble Pig on Pintrest. Now I’ll see all of your new recipies! lunch packing for my son or even myself! perfect for picnics, too! I will put leftovers in these. Besides food, I’d use these to tame the mess of tiny little trinkets my kids love to collect. My 5 dd says she’ll take one with a pink lid and put her prettiest hair clips and accessories in it. Mr. 7 says he’ll take the one with green lids and put his marble collection in it. Mr. 12 says he doesn’t collect “trinkets” apparently that’s a term too girly for him. He’ll use them to pack his personal snacks for each day, and he’ll take the rest of the set to do just that…except not one with a pink lid. What a fun giveaway! Love the photos showing how you used these containers. I would use these containers to pack my own lunch. Wean Green is awesome for my little guy’s lunches. They never leak. Everything! Probably mainly food though. I will store fruits and veggies. Thanks for the giveaway. We would use these for food storage. These are great, I’ll put cookes and snacks in mine. I’ll be using them for all of the fall casseroles that I’ll be making soon! I’d use these for lunches to work! I would put leftovers and hubby’s sack lunch in the cubes! I think I’ll put baby food and leftovers in them. I make all my work week lunches on Sundays, so I would definitely be using these for that! I would definitely use these for all our leftovers! I would use these Wean Green containers to help set up snacks of nuts and cheese that I like to eat in the afternoon. I would use them to store my odds and ends of already opened snacks to keep them fresh! I will be putting all of our noodles and cereals in the jars. I would use them for snacks. Nice containers. I would use them to store food items in, for leftovers or for lunch items. I store everything. I love glass for storing because it doesn’t absorb odors and its eco-friendly. I will use it for my flax seeds and my yeast. I joined Wean Green and Noble Pig Vineyards also. I Like Noble Pig Vineyards on facebook! I’m going to put leftover meals and desserts in them! Hmmm, Leftover capers, cubed avocados and pop tabs. I would use them for lunches. I joined Noble Pig on Facebook. I joined Wean Green on Facebook. I would use it for portion control snacks. Thank you sooo much! I’m so excited! I can’t wait for my box to arrive!!! Thank you again!!! I got my package yesterday!!! I LOVE these containers!!! They’re not kidding when they say that they seal tight! Nothing will escape from the seal! Thank you so much for having this contest!!! I’m so excited!!!!!

2019-04-19T18:50:18Z

https://noblepig.com/2012/09/wean-green-giveaway-85-value/

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Jan 1, 2019. Each rectal suppository contains 12.5 mg or 25 mg promethazine HCl with ascorbyl palmitate, cocoa butter, colloidal silicon dioxide, and white wax. Promethazine Hydrochloride Suppositories are for rectal administration only. Promethazine HCl occurs as a white to faint yellow, practically odorless, crystalline powder, which slowly oxidizes and turns blue on prolonged exposure to air. It is soluble in water and freely soluble in alcohol. Promethazine is a phenothiazine derivative, which differs structurally from the antipsychotic phenothiazines by the presence of a branched side chain and no ring substitution. It is thought that this configuration is responsible for its relative lack (1/10 that of chlorpromazine) of dopamine antagonist properties. Promethazine is an H1 receptor blocking agent. In addition to its antihistaminic action, it provides clinically useful sedative and antiemetic effects. Promethazine is well absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Clinical effects are apparent within 20 minutes after oral administration and generally last four to six hours, although they may persist as long as 12 hours. Promethazine is metabolized by the liver to a variety of compounds; the sulfoxides of promethazine and N-demethylpromethazine are the predominant metabolites appearing in the urine. Perennial and seasonal allergic rhinitis. Allergic conjunctivitis due to inhalant allergens and foods. Mild, uncomplicated allergic skin manifestations of urticaria and angioedema. Amelioration of allergic reactions to blood or plasma. Anaphylactic reactions, as adjunctive therapy to epinephrine and other standard measures, after the acute manifestations have been controlled. Preoperative, postoperative, or obstetric sedation. Prevention and control of nausea and vomiting associated with certain types of anesthesia and surgery. Therapy adjunctive to meperidine or other analgesics for control of postoperative pain. Sedation in both children and adults, as well as relief of apprehension and production of light sleep from which the patient can be easily aroused. Active and prophylactic treatment of motion sickness. Antiemetic therapy in postoperative patients. Promethazine HCl Suppositories are contraindicated for use in pediatric patients less than two years of age. Promethazine HCl Suppositories are contraindicated in comatose states, and in individuals known to be hypersensitive or to have had an idiosyncratic reaction to promethazine or to other phenothiazines. Antihistamines are contraindicated for use in the treatment of lower respiratory tract symptoms including asthma. PROMETHAZINE HCl SUPPOSITORIES SHOULD NOT BE USED IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS LESS THAN 2 YEARS OF AGE BECAUSE OF THE POTENTIAL FOR FATAL RESPIRATORY DEPRESSION. POSTMARKETING CASES OF RESPIRATORY DEPRESSION, INCLUDING FATALITIES, HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH USE OF PROMETHAZINE HCl SUPPOSITORIES IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS LESS THAN 2 YEARS OF AGE. A WIDE RANGE OF WEIGHT-BASED DOSES OF PROMETHAZINE HCl SUPPOSITORIES HAVE RESULTED IN RESPIRATORY DEPRESSION IN THESE PATIENTS. CAUTION SHOULD BE EXERCISED WHEN ADMINISTERING PROMETHAZINE HCl TO PEDIATRIC PATIENTS 2 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE LOWEST EFFECTIVE DOSE OF PROMETHAZINE HCl BE USED IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS 2 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER AND CONCOMITANT ADMINISTRATION OF OTHER DRUGS WITH RESPIRATORY DEPRESSANT EFFECTS BE AVOIDED. Promethazine HCl Suppositories may impair the mental and/or physical abilities required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks, such as driving a vehicle or operating machinery. The impairment may be amplified by concomitant use of other central-nervous-system depressants such as alcohol, sedatives/hypnotics (including barbiturates), narcotics, narcotic analgesics, general anesthetics, tricyclic antidepressants, and tranquilizers; therefore such agents should either be eliminated or given in reduced dosage in the presence of promethazine HCl (see PRECAUTIONS - Information for Patients and Drug Interactions). Promethazine HCl Suppositories may lead to potentially fatal respiratory depression. Use of Promethazine HCl Suppositories in patients with compromised respiratory function (e.g., COPD, sleep apnea) should be avoided. Promethazine HCl Suppositories may lower seizure threshold. It should be used with caution in persons with seizure disorders or in persons who are using concomitant medications, such as narcotics or local anesthetics, which may also affect seizure threshold. Promethazine HCl Suppositories should be used with caution in patients with bone-marrow depression. Leukopenia and agranulocytosis have been reported, usually when promethazine HCl has been used in association with other known marrow-toxic agents. A potentially fatal symptom complex sometimes referred to as Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS) has been reported in association with promethazine HCl alone or in combination with antipsychotic drugs. Clinical manifestations of NMS are hyperpyrexia, muscle rigidity, altered mental status and evidence of autonomic instability (irregular pulse or blood pressure, tachycardia, diaphoresis and cardiac dysrhythmias). The diagnostic evaluation of patients with this syndrome is complicated. In arriving at a diagnosis, it is important to identify cases where the clinical presentation includes both serious medical illness (e.g., pneumonia, systemic infection, etc.) and untreated or inadequately treated extrapyramidal signs and symptoms (EPS). Other important considerations in the differential diagnosis include central anticholinergic toxicity, heat stroke, drug fever and primary central nervous system (CNS) pathology. The management of NMS should include 1) immediate discontinuation of promethazine HCl, antipsychotic drugs, if any, and other drugs not essential to concurrent therapy, 2) intensive symptomatic treatment and medical monitoring, and 3) treatment of any concomitant serious medical problems for which specific treatments are available. There is no general agreement about specific pharmacological treatment regimens for uncomplicated NMS. Since recurrences of NMS have been reported with phenothiazines, the reintroduction of promethazine HCl should be carefully considered. PROMETHAZINE HCl SUPPOSITORIES ARE CONTRAINDICATED FOR THE USE IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS LESS THAN TWO YEARS OF AGE. CAUTION SHOULD BE EXERCISED WHEN ADMINISTERING PROMETHAZINE HCl SUPPOSITORIES TO PEDIATRIC PATIENTS 2 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER BECAUSE OF THE POTENTIAL FOR FATAL RESPIRATORY DEPRESSION. RESPIRATORY DEPRESSION AND APNEA, SOMETIMES ASSOCIATED WITH DEATH, ARE STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH PROMETHAZINE PRODUCTS AND ARE NOT DIRECTLY RELATED TO INDIVIDUALIZED WEIGHT-BASED DOSING, WHICH MIGHT OTHERWISE PERMIT SAFE ADMINISTRATION. CONCOMITANT ADMINISTRATION OF PROMETHAZINE PRODUCTS WITH OTHER RESPIRATORY DEPRESSANTS HAS AN ASSOCIATION WITH RESPIRATORY DEPRESSION, AND SOMETIMES DEATH, IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS. ANTIEMETICS ARE NOT RECOMMENDED FOR TREATMENT OF UNCOMPLICATED VOMITING IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS, AND THEIR USE SHOULD BE LIMITED TO PROLONGED VOMITING OF KNOWN ETIOLOGY. THE EXTRAPYRAMIDAL SYMPTOMS WHICH CAN OCCUR SECONDARY TO PROMETHAZINE HCl SUPPOSITORIES ADMINISTRATION MAY BE CONFUSED WITH THE CNS SIGNS OF UNDIAGNOSED PRIMARY DISEASE, e.g., ENCEPHALOPATHY OR REYE'S SYNDROME. THE USE OF PROMETHAZINE HCl SUPPOSITORIES SHOULD BE AVOIDED IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS WHOSE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS MAY SUGGEST REYE'S SYNDROME OR OTHER HEPATIC DISEASES. Excessively large dosages of antihistamines, including Promethazine HCl Suppositories, in pediatric patients may cause sudden death (see OVERDOSAGE). Hallucinations and convulsions have occurred with therapeutic doses and overdoses of promethazine HCl in pediatric patients. In pediatric patients who are acutely ill associated with dehydration, there is an increased susceptibility to dystonias with the use of promethazine HCl. Administration of promethazine HCl has been associated with reported cholestatic jaundice. Drugs having anticholinergic properties should be used with caution in patients with narrow-angle glaucoma, prostatic hypertrophy, stenosing peptic ulcer, pyloroduodenal obstruction, and bladder-neck obstruction. Promethazine HCl Suppositories should be used cautiously in persons with cardiovascular disease or with impairment of liver function. Promethazine HCl Suppositories may cause marked drowsiness or impair the mental and/or physical abilities required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks, such as driving a vehicle or operating machinery. The use of alcohol or other central-nervous-system depressants such as sedatives/ hypnotics (including barbiturates), narcotics, narcotic analgesics, general anesthetics, tricyclic antidepressants, and tranquilizers, may enhance impairment (see WARNINGS - CNS Depression and PRECAUTIONS – Drug Interactions). Pediatric patients should be supervised to avoid potential harm in bike riding or other hazardous activities. Patients should be advised to report any involuntary muscle movements. Avoid prolonged exposure to the sun. Promethazine HCl Suppositories may increase, prolong, or intensify the sedative action of other central-nervous-system depressants, such as alcohol, sedatives/hypnotics (including barbiturates), narcotics, narcotic analgesics, general anesthetics, tricyclic antidepressants, and tranquilizers; therefore, such agents should be avoided or administered in reduced dosage to patients receiving promethazine HCl. When given concomitantly with Promethazine HCl Suppositories, the dose of barbiturates should be reduced by at least one-half, and the dose of narcotics should be reduced by one-quarter to one-half. Dosage must be individualized. Excessive amounts of promethazine HCl relative to a narcotic may lead to restlessness and motor hyperactivity in the patient with pain; these symptoms usually disappear with adequate control of the pain. Because of the potential for promethazine HCl to reverse epinephrine's vasopressor effect, epinephrine should NOT be used to treat hypotension associated with Promethazine HCl Suppositories overdose. Concomitant use of other agents with anticholinergic properties should be undertaken with caution. Drug interactions, including an increased incidence of extrapyramidal effects, have been reported when some MAOI and phenothiazines are used concomitantly. This possibility should be considered with Promethazine HCl Suppositories. Pregnancy tests - Diagnostic pregnancy tests based on immunological reactions between HCG and anti-HCG may result in false-negative or false-positive interpretations. Glucose Tolerance Test - An increase in blood glucose has been reported in patients receiving promethazine HCl. Long-term animal studies have not been performed to assess the carcinogenic potential of promethazine, nor are there other animal or human data concerning carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, or impairment of fertility with this drug. Promethazine was nonmutagenic in the Salmonella test system of Ames. Teratogenic effects have not been demonstrated in rat-feeding studies at doses of 6.25 and 12.5 mg/kg of promethazine. These doses are from approximately 2.1 to 4.2 times the maximum recommended total daily dose of promethazine for a 50-kg subject, depending upon the indication for which the drug is prescribed. Daily doses of 25 mg/kg intraperitoneally have been found to produce fetal mortality in rats. Specific studies to test the action of the drug on parturition, lactation, and development of the animal neonate were not done, but a general preliminary study in rats indicated no effect on these parameters. Although antihistamines have been found to produce fetal mortality in rodents, the pharmacological effects of histamine in the rodent do not parallel those in man. There are no adequate and well-controlled studies of Promethazine HCl Suppositories in pregnant women. Promethazine HCl Suppositories should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus. Promethazine HCl Suppositories administered to a pregnant woman within two weeks of delivery may inhibit platelet aggregation in the newborn. Promethazine HCl may be used alone or as an adjunct to narcotic analgesics during labor and delivery (see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION). Limited data suggest that use of promethazine HCl during labor and delivery does not have an appreciable effect on the duration of labor or delivery and does not increase the risk of need for intervention in the newborn. The effect on later growth and development of the newborn is unknown (see also Nonteratogenic Effects). It is not known whether promethazine HCl is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk and because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants from Promethazine HCl Suppositories, a decision should be made whether to discontinue nursing or to discontinue the drug, taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother. PROMETHAZINE HCl SUPPOSITORIES ARE CONTRAINDICATED FOR USE IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS LESS THAN TWO YEARS OF AGE (see WARNINGS - Black Box Warning and Use in Pediatric Patients). Promethazine HCl Suppositories should be used with caution in pediatric patients 2 years of age and older (see WARNINGS - Use in Pediatric Patients). Clinical studies of promethazine formulations did not include sufficient numbers of subjects aged 65 and over to determine whether they respond differently from younger subjects. Other reported clinical experience has not identified differences in responses between the elderly and younger patients. In general, dose selection for an elderly patient should be cautious, usually starting at the low end of the dosing range, reflecting the greater frequency of decreased hepatic, renal or cardiac function, and of concomitant disease or other drug therapy. Sedating drugs may cause confusion and over-sedation in the elderly; elderly patients generally should be started on low doses of Promethazine HCl Suppositories and observed closely. Central Nervous System - Drowsiness is the most prominent CNS effect of this drug. Sedation, somnolence, blurred vision, dizziness; confusion, disorientation, and extrapyramidal symptoms such as oculogyric crisis, torticollis, and tongue protrusion; lassitude, tinnitus, incoordination, fatigue, euphoria, nervousness, diplopia, insomnia, tremors, convulsive seizures, excitation, catatonic-like states, hysteria and hallucinations have also been reported. Cardiovascular - Increased or decreased blood pressure, tachycardia, bradycardia, faintness. Dermatologic - Dermatitis, photosensitivity, urticaria. Hematologic - Leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, thrombocytopenic purpura, agranulocytosis. Gastrointestinal - Dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, jaundice. Respiratory - Asthma, nasal stuffiness, respiratory depression (potentially fatal) and apnea (potentially fatal). (See WARNINGS - Respiratory Depression). Other - Angioneurotic edema. Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (potentially fatal) has also been reported. (See WARNINGS – Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome). Paradoxical Reactions - Hyperexcitability and abnormal movements have been reported in patients following a single administration of promethazine HCl. Consideration should be given to the discontinuation of promethazine HCl and to the use of other drugs if these reactions occur. Respiratory depression, nightmares, delirium, and agitated behavior have also been reported in some of these patients. Signs and symptoms of overdosage with promethazine HCl range from mild depression of the central nervous system and cardiovascular system to profound hypotension, respiratory depression, unconsciousness, and sudden death. Other reported reactions include hyperreflexia, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, and extensor-plantar reflexes (Babinski reflex). Stimulation may be evident, especially in children and geriatric patients. Convulsions may rarely occur. A paradoxical-type reaction has been reported in children receiving single doses of 75 mg to 125 mg orally, characterized by hyperexcitability and nightmares. Atropine-like signs and symptoms-dry mouth, fixed, dilated pupils, flushing, as well as gastrointestinal symptoms, may occur. Treatment of overdosage is essentially symptomatic and supportive. Only in cases of extreme overdosage or individual sensitivity do vital signs, including respiration, pulse, blood pressure, temperature, and EKG, need to be monitored. Activated charcoal orally or by lavage may be given, or sodium or magnesium sulfate orally as a cathartic. Attention should be given to the reestablishment of adequate respiratory exchange through provision of a patent airway and institution of assisted or controlled ventilation. Diazepam may be used to control convulsions. Acidosis and electrolyte losses should be corrected. Note that any depressant effects of promethazine HCl are not reversed by naloxone. Avoid analeptics which may cause convulsions. The treatment of choice for resulting hypotension is administration of intravenous fluids, accompanied by repositioning if indicated. In the event that vasopressors are considered for the management of severe hypotension which does not respond to intravenous fluids and repositioning, the administration of norepinephrine or phenylephrine should be considered. EPINEPHRINE SHOULD NOT BE USED, since its use in patients with partial adrenergic blockade may further lower the blood pressure. Extrapyramidal reactions may be treated with anticholinergic antiparkinsonian agents, diphenhydramine, or barbiturates. Oxygen may also be administered. Limited experience with dialysis indicates that it is not helpful. Promethazine HCl Suppositories are contraindicated for children under 2 years of age (see WARNINGS - Black Box Warning and Use in Pediatric Patients). Promethazine HCl Suppositories are for rectal administration only. Allergy - The average dose is 25 mg taken before retiring; however, 12.5 mg may be taken before meals and on retiring, if necessary. Single 25 mg doses at bedtime or 6.25 to 12.5 mg taken three times daily will usually suffice. After initiation of treatment in children or adults, dosage should be adjusted to the smallest amount adequate to relieve symptoms. The administration of promethazine hydrochloride in 25 mg doses will control minor transfusion reactions of an allergic nature. Motion Sickness - The average adult dose is 25 mg taken twice daily. The initial dose should be taken one-half to one hour before anticipated travel and be repeated 8 to 12 hours later, if necessary. On succeeding days of travel, it is recommended that 25 mg be given on arising and again before the evening meal. For children, Promethazine HCl Rectal Suppositories, 12.5 to 25 mg, twice daily, may be administered. Nausea and Vomiting - Antiemetics should not be used in vomiting of unknown etiology in children and adolescents (see WARNINGS - Use In Pediatric Patients). The average effective dose of promethazine HCl for the active therapy of nausea and vomiting in children or adults is 25 mg; 12.5 to 25 mg doses may be repeated, as necessary, at 4 to 6 hour intervals. For nausea and vomiting in children, the usual dose is 0.5 mg per pound of body weight, and the dose should be adjusted to the age and weight of the patient and the severity of the condition being treated. For prophylaxis of nausea and vomiting, as during surgery and the postoperative period, the average dose is 25 mg repeated at 4 to 6 hour intervals, as necessary. Sedation - This product relieves apprehension and induces a quiet sleep from which the patient can be easily aroused. Administration of 12.5 to 25 mg Promethazine HCl by rectal suppository at bedtime will provide sedation in children. Adults usually require 25 to 50 mg for nighttime, presurgical, or obstetrical sedation. Pre- and Postoperative Use - Promethazine HCl in 12.5 to 25 mg doses for children and 50 mg doses for adults the night before surgery relieves apprehension and produces a quiet sleep. For preoperative medication, children require doses of 0.5 mg per pound of body weight in combination with an appropriately reduced dose of narcotic or barbiturate and the appropriate dose of an atropine-like drug. Usual adult dosage is 50 mg promethazine HCl with an appropriately reduced dose of narcotic or barbiturate and the required amount of a belladonna alkaloid. Postoperative sedation and adjunctive use with analgesics may be obtained by the administration of 12.5 to 25 mg in children and 25 to 50 mg doses in adults. Promethazine HCl Rectal Suppositories are not recommended for children under 2 years of age. Store refrigerated between 2°-8°C (36°-46°F). The following image is a placeholder representing the product identifier that is either affixed or imprinted on the drug package label during the packaging operation. How long does promethazine stay in your system? What's the difference between Par promethazine with codeine and Hi-Tech promethazine with codeine?

2019-04-25T20:40:44Z

https://www.drugs.com/pro/promethazine-suppositories.html

Rusama Bin Stein? | Gary Rubinstein's Blog Has Moved! Much to my surprise, this thought was, the next day, the subject of one of the Education Week teaching blogs in a post titled ‘TFA Critic Hints at Plans to ‘Disrupt’ Training’. I guess I feel a bit proud that I’ve built up my reputation over the years so that pondering my next move is, at all, newsworthy. But what concerns me is that this article is a bit too reminiscent of articles about terrorist threats that I’ve read throughout the years. Now, I’m sure that the author of the article, Liana Heitin, who is a fellow TFA alum, was not trying to evoke this comparison. A good journalistic story involves conflict and suspense, and by speculating what I might have up my sleeve for this summer, the post is definitely an attention grabber. But I can see how many people might view me as the bad guy in the story. Heitin points out that new TFAers would be taking a big risk if they were to be uncooperative or adversarial this summer. They would risk getting kicked out of the program if they boycotted mandatory meetings or otherwise refused to stay in line. This is accurate. I find that TFA suffers from something I’ll call ‘second year teacher’ syndrome. Basically since the first year is tough, teachers develop a complex and overcompensate their second year with needing to have ultra ‘control’ over their classes. When you teach for another 5 years or so, you get over that. But since most TFA leaders only teach two or maybe three years, they find themselves ‘stuck’ in this mindset and are very rigid. As tolerant as TFA claims to be of individual differences, like race, gender, and sexual orientation, they are quite intolerant of the thing that makes everyone different from one another — we have different ideas and opinions. If I were to orchestrate some kind of protest, and I doubt I have enough of a ‘following’ from new TFAers to accomplish one, it would actually not be the first time that trainees revolted at a TFA institute. I can think of two times, in the early years, where this happened. The biggest one was in the 1994 institute in Houston (which was the only institute at that time). The first three institutes had been in Los Angeles, where there was year-round school, so trainees got a lot of student teaching practice. TFA had run out of money and threw together the budget Houston institute. Because of their constraints, they were not able to give the new TFAers many students to practice with. Wendy Kopp had an ‘all corps’ meeting and there was a near revolt with angry corps members standing on chairs and screaming. They knew that they were not getting the best training possible. Ironically, this issue hasn’t been improved much. People don’t revolt since, as far as they know, it was never any better. A second revolt happened in the 1996 Houston institute when KIPP founders Dave Levin and Mike Feinberg, just two years into the KIPP program, presented to all the corps members about their program. The audience started grumbling when they saw the demonstration of how well the students can skip-count. The sense was that this boot camp was about submission and not about the love of learning. One of the corps member advisers, I remember, took one of the original KIPP kids aside and asked her, “Do you get to read anything by Maya Angelou?” and the kid had never heard of her. Levin and Feinberg were practically booed off the stage. Someone on Twitter even asked me ‘Are you really about to launch an occupy TFA movement?’ I doubt, though, that this article, or my post on which it was based, has sent the higher ups in TFA into any kind of emergency meeting to try to figure out how I might attempt to pull this off. The truth is that I was really just musing about it when I wrote the post, but if everyone thinks that this evil mastermind is going to spend the next month hatching a diabolical plan which will catch everyone off guard, I’ll end the suspense today. By ‘disrupting the institute’ I don’t mean that I’m going to coerce any new TFAers into getting kicked out of the program. I also don’t want to distract the new TFAers from their main task, this summer, which is to learn as much as they can about teaching so the kids they teach in the fall have a moderately competent teacher. 1. I could write a post with what I consider to be required reading and watching to understand both sides of this ed reform battle. One good starting point is a debate between Diane Ravitch and Geoffrey Canada that happened on a special education edition of Meet The Press during NBC’s Education Nation. Click here to access it. 2. I could ask the new corps members to record what goes on in some of the training sessions and then anonymously post them and I could comment on them. 3. I could give my own ‘homework’ and assignments that I think will balance the training. Corps members would have to efficiently complete their required institute assignments to do my optional homework. This could include groups of corps members supplementing their very meager student teaching experience by spending an hour or two each night practicing teaching to each other. 4. Though new corps members might see me as a ‘denier,’ I could seek help from the institute staff. There are 9 institutes with a lot of staff members. I’ve received many emails from some of these staffers over the years. Some staff members get very frustrated, as I felt when I was a staff member, when they realize they are participating in a very unhelpful training model. These staff members don’t have as much to lose by protesting — just their summer jobs. 6. I could make a blog post that guides corps members through my most relevant older blog posts. 7. I could make podcasts with advice or do more episodes of my live spreecast video internet show. 8. I could write a guide about how to research the statistics on a school that the new corps members are interviewing at or are potentially placed at. I can show them how to identify a charter school that gets results by kicking out the lowest performing kids. I would tell corps members that if it were me, I would not accept an interview or a placement at a school, like most KIPP schools, that has a 40% attrition from 5th to 8th grade. But I am not planning an official ‘Occupy TFA’ event that I will be ‘leading’ remotely or otherwise. Even if I had the ‘following,’ I would not do that since it would be too much of a distraction. Learning to teach is hard enough, particularly when you only get a few hours in front of a few kids that may or may not be around the age of the students you will eventually teach in the fall. I may not even do any of those other things on the above list. Really it will depend on how much time and energy I have to dedicate to this. I, on the other hand, know exactly what TFA could do that would cause me to stop my relentless critique. 1) The first thing they would have to do is to declare ‘neutrality’ in the current ed reform war. There are two main sides: the corporate ‘reformers’ and the people who think the corporate ‘reforms’ will actually make things worse. TFA has aligned themselves with the corporate reformers because many of their prominent alumni are leaders of that movement and because the corporate reformers always make sure that TFA is taken care of. But TFA has gotten so powerful on their own, they don’t need to align themselves with a particular side. Just like Yale University didn’t take sides when Bush and Kerry were running for president, TFA can figure out a way to include people like me and people like Michelle Rhee in their panel discussions on reform. They could say that the corporate reforms are still experimental and there is a mixed bag of results so let’s get everyone discussing what is truly working. Critics will be welcome since if the corporate reformers can’t beat them in a debate, maybe the critics’ arguments have merit. For instance, I truly believe that American schools are not in crisis. Our low poverty schools beat all the other countries in the world on those international tests. Our schools can be improved incrementally as things gradually evolve, and they have been improving over the years. But the transformational change they love to talk about is not really possible without addressing the root cause of poverty. Any school that claims to have achieved that is being disingenuous. Schools aren’t failing. Society is. This doesn’t mean, though, that we give up trying to teach better. But we have to recognize the limits of what schools can do otherwise we end up shutting down schools and firing teachers for things they can’t possibly overcome, and which nobody has ever figured out how to overcome without somehow cheating. This would also mean stopping the constant touting of Washington D.C. and New Orleans, two districts that are a complete mess, from what I understand. TFA would also have to resolve that charter schools go against the mission that “One day ALL students will have …” since charters serve only about 5% of students, and have not lived up to their mission of lifting the quality of the non-charters through friendly competition. Instead the charters often send their rejects to the public schools to bring down their scores so they can get shut down and replaced with another charter. Becoming neutral would also be a wise long term decision for TFA. As the pendulum has already begun shifting away from the corporate reform movement, TFA will have much easier time gaining the favor of my side when we eventually take over once the corporate reformers are exposed as complete frauds. 2) TFA would have to stop placing corps members in cities where experienced teachers are being laid off. In my first year the veteran teachers in my school helped me get through that tough year. I doubt that new corps members will get much support from experienced teachers when those corps members just replaced a more experienced, more competent, teacher who those veterans were friends with. 3) TFA would have to stop exaggerating the ‘success’ of the first year corps members. First of all, one out of eight corps members who begin training will quit before completing the two year commitment. By lying about how well the new corps members are doing (are they as effective as traditionally trained first year teachers? Perhaps, but that isn’t really saying much. First year teachers are, in general, not effective). By lying about first year corps member effectiveness they actually hurt the education system since new corps members hear these stories and think teaching will be easy so they don’t take training as seriously as they can. Also, these stories of exaggerated success make philanthropists donate more money to TFA which might go to other organizations that don’t mislead about their success. Teaching is hard and first year teaching is nearly impossible. Denying this feeds into the myth that poor kids are failing because of bad teachers and that good teachers can turn that around. Neither thing is true. Well, I hope this sets the record straight. TFA terror alert level can be moved back to ‘blue’. Haha, this is great. It’s also been interesting to follow the rise in prominence of your blog since I first began following it as a potential applicant two years ago. Hopefully you’ll get a call from Wendy one of these days. Thanks. I’ve talked with Wendy at TFA functions and also exchange emails maybe two or three times a year. She’s always been pretty nice to me. This is why I think there is some hope that TFA eventually comes around. I am happy about the popularity of the blog. For a ‘threat’ of mine to become newsworthy (it was also picked up by good.com) is pretty funny. I’ll be interested to know if the new CMs will, generally, be aware of me. If many are and agree with some of what I’m saying, it could be an interesting summer as they won’t need me to actively ‘lead’ any sort of protest since they will organize themselves. This is a socially pernicious organization that cannot be reformed, as shown by their across-the-board dishonesty, imperviousness to criticism, and allying with interests that seek to dismantle and privatize the schools. TFA should not be occupied, but rather indicted under the RICO statutes. Point number 3 is interesting. “Are they as effective as traditionally trained first year teachers?” is not really the question of interest. “Are they as effective as teachers that the students would otherwise have?” is more precise. So, First Year TFA versus First Year Non-TFA was a wash in reading but a decided non-wash in math. The Mathematica study shows that there is no impact of TFA teachers on students’ reading scores and a small, yet meaningful, impact on students’ math scores. However, these statistics ignore the bigger picture: teachers get better over time. That means that these novice control teachers will probably improve improve with time, thus becoming significantly stronger than their TFA controls. With this in mind, it would make MUCH more sense to invest time, energy, and money in attracting highly qualified teachers *who will stay in the district for longer than two years* and thus raise students reading and math scores than it does to invest these resources into teachers who improve students math scores by approximately one month of extra instruction. When I think of the huge amount of funding (public and private) and the huge number of manhours and the huge amount of brainpower and goodwill that went into generating the tiny statistical bump that are TFA’s standardized testing results, I get frustrated. I can’t help but think that if it were being poured into community services, or into one-on-one tutoring/mentoring IN ADDITION TO rather than in replacement of traditional teaching, we could be doing so much more. Caveat: I’m not trying to imply that most TFA alumni want to go into law school, but as we know, the majority of the alums go into more “prestigious” jobs than “merely” teaching, and TFA totally plays off this idea that you will be prepared to take on these high-level jobs after two years in the corps. 2012 TFA-er here and just wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed your blog. I’ve gone back and looked at all of your entries from the beginning in a desperate attempt to read everything I can about a more honest account of teaching and concrete tips. (Currently, I’m reading TAL a chapter at a time so that I can read your critique as I finish each chapter). To be honest, I’ve stopped reading your more recent posts simply because I don’t have time to worry about the larger battle of education reform at the moment (I’m sure I will once I stop freaking out about simply surviving). Anyway, I just wanted to let you know how much your blog has informed me and will (hopefully) help me come fall. Please, please do #3 on your list and I’ll try to complete #2 while I’m in Tulsa this summer. Stalking some of the old blogs has gotten me a little concerned about Institute- there had better be more than three kids in my classroom… Sorry. Back to the point- love the blog and thank you so much! Thanks for the comment. Yes, I agree that not focusing on the ‘reform’ debate is wise as you try to focus on how to teach. The first three years of blogging were mainly tips for new teachers (as are both of my books). Then, I pretty much said everything I wanted to say about advice when this reform issue came along. I plan to organize those earlier posts somehow since I think people only like to read ‘new’ posts even though there are some good suggestions in the older ones. Good luck, and please update me with how things are going. I hope, too, that they figured out how to give new CMs a better student teaching experience. I reached out to them with some suggestions — maybe they took some of them. Gary, why is Teach for America still in cities that no longer have teacher shortages? Because TFA is being used to staff low-paying, poor working condition charter schools with non-union teachers in cities where experienced (union) teachers won’t work for peanuts or take the charter abuses. That’s a good point about TFA and rigidity, which shows up everywhere in their training and model: there is only one way to manage one’s classroom; there is one acceptable model of school structure for reform; business and economic ideologies map perfectly onto the education of all students; long-term results are less important than brilliant if short-lived ideas. Personally, I think the best revolt from Institute would be for CMs and staffers alike to refuse to burn a year’s worth of energy over a few weeks and demand a sustainable lifestyle: adequate sleep, better nutrition, significant down-time. I strongly believe that part of the reason TFAers struggle their first year is not just their limited training and their lack of experience – it’s also that they’re already short on energy when they arrive at their sites. I attended the Houston Institute, where HISD had a summer school curriculum they wanted us to use, but TFA demanded that we write our own – long term goals and plans, then daily ones for each lesson. Since nearly everyone at my school site would be ultimately teaching in post-Williams California, an utter lack of curricula was unlikely. (In fact, at the time LAUSD, OUSD, and Alum Rock were all investing heavily in scripted, “teacher-proof” curricula and demanding fidelity.) So in the end, it was an incredible amount of work that served no particular purpose but keeping CMs from sleep. In terms of future classroom success, it would have been better to experiment with making required curricula interesting and differentiated. That would’ve allowed for more rest and wellness, too. There is a purpose to keeping CMs at Institute so tired they can’t function. It prevents them from thinking. I seriously went into my first classroom thinking I knew what to do and how to do it. if I had had a chance to catch up on sleep I would have been “hell no” I’m not teaching these kids about rainbows and big goals. Seriously, I had things thrown at me and I was clueless as to why because I was told I was prepared. I didn’t have a clue and should have walked out and never gone back. I did stick it out and had a moderately successful 2nd year. Not mind-blowing gains but some solid evidence that I could get a point across and engage a few kids now and again. I’m staying in teaching, that was my plan from the beginning but I taught myself how to be a teacher and how to teach – I got zero support from TFA and my district. I think that may be why I was a tiny bit successful year 2 – I didn’t have anyone meddling and I was able to figure out what works and what doesn’t work in my classroom. Yes, I think CMs should be GIVEN lesson plans the first week to teach — just focus on implementation, energy and paying attention to skills. The second, third and fourth weeks of teaching CMs can write their own lesson plans. Thank you so much for your informative posts. Like the commenter above, I am also a 2012 Corps Member who who is hoping to be as prepared and informed as possible. If you could do number 3, that would be wonderful! You don’t owe us anything, but as a 2012 CM, I would be eternally grateful if you did any of those things you listed. I can’t speak for everyone obviously, but it is clear from the comments I have seen on your posts that incoming CMs want a more balanced perspective on the reform movement and how they can best prepare to teach their students in the fall. Thanks for everything you have done so far. Thanks for the comment. Yes, I’ll definitely do some of them. Compared to a year ago, it seems like the incoming corps members really have a sense of what is going on around this issue. Should be an interesting summer. By their nature, TFA corps members who have been selected for their leadership qualities, will be a critical and potentially rebellious bunch. With 6,000 of them able to organize over the internet, I can’t see that there won’t be at least a somewhat sizable group of CMs who refuse to ‘drink the Kool Aid.’ I’m going to be pretty busy this summer with some coursework that I’m taking, but I will certainly dedicate some hours into developing some of what I described, and hopefully once the snowball is rolling, it can gain momentum and size without my direct intervention. Gary, I think you should make a private email list or private Facebook group (recommended) about it. Otherwise TFA will be somewhat prepared, having seen the battle plans. Groupthink destroying America’s schools. @GovernorMarkell @RodelDE #netDE « Transparent Christina linked to this post. The trouble with ‘Groupthink’ in school reform | Your high education waits for you! linked to this post.

2019-04-18T14:56:38Z

http://garyrubinstein.teachforus.org/2012/05/17/rusama-bin-stein/

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2019-04-18T20:36:16Z

https://www.datarobot.com/terms-of-service/

A novelty filter utilizes self-nulling and self-aligning of reflection and transmission phase conjugate beams. A photorefractive crystal is arranged so that the contributions to the phase conjugate are equal and opposite in the steady state to produce destructive interference when the input image is stationary, and thus no output image is displayed. If the image moves, then the gratings will rewrite and erase themselves, each with their own response times, total destructive interference will not occur, and transient enhancement and surpression of the phase conjugate output signal will indicate the direction of motion of the input image. Abstract published at a conference CLEO 90, held Tuesday May 22 of 1990. Paper authored by the applicants and Mark Cronin-Golomb, entitled "Photorefractive Holographic Interference Novelty Filter", dated 1 May 1991, published by Optics Communications. (f) and wherein said photorefractive crystal has a C axis, and including the step of producing positive and negative coupling coefficients of the gratings by choosing the projections of the C axis on the wave vectors of the first and second gratings to be of opposite sign. 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said second phase conjugate grating has a response time substantially different from the response time of the first phase conjugate grating. 3. The method of claim 2 wherein said first phase conjugate grating is a fast real time transmission grating and said second phase conjugate grating is a slow real time reflection grating. (e) detecting said interference pattern at the second side of the crystal. 5. The method of claim 4 wherein said first and second pump beams are directed at said photorefractive crystal along a first optical axes and said probe beam is directed at said photorefractive crystal along a second optical axis which forms an acute angle with respect to said first optical axis. 6. The method of claim 4 wherein said photorefractive crystal has a face orientation of and edge orientations of. 7. The method of claim 4 wherein said second phase conjugate grating has a response time substantially different from the response time of the first phase conjugate grating. 8. The method of claim 7 wherein said first phase conjugate grating is a fast real time transmission grating and said second phase conjugate grating is a slow real time reflection grating. The present invention relates to the field of novelty filters. Novelty filters highlight the moving or changed part of an image while suppressing the static part. One possible application can be anticipated in telecommunication systems. When transmitting images in telephone lines on a pixel by pixel basis, it is impossible to transfer all the information in real time without loss in the resolution due to limitations in the bandwidth. One solution to this problem divides the information into two parts, the static part of the information, which is sent once, and the changed part, which is sent in real time. An implementation of this process is to place an optical novelty filter operating at TV rates between the image and the transmission device to identify the changed part in the new frame. Recently many novelty filters have been demonstrated. Some of them use phase conjugate interferometers while others utilize the nonlinearities which are inherent in two beam coupling. Some of them use phase conjugate interferometers while others use the nonlinearities which are inherent in two-beam coupling. Up until now all self-aligning novelty filters required high gain photorefractive crystals such as barium titanate or semiconductors or sillenites with high applied electric fields. Novelty filters using the more easily grown low gain crystals without electrical fields such as bismith silicon oxide (BSO) and GaAs have required careful and stable alignment of the external pump beams. See J. Khoury et al., Optics Comm. 71, (1989) 137. A new novelty filter is provided which combines the speed of externally pumped phase conjugation with the self-alignment stability of self pumped phase conjugation. This approach is based on interfering the two phase conjugate signals from the real time transmission and reflection gratings with different response times within a photorefractive crystal of bismuth silicon oxide (BSO). This technique provides self-alignment of the two diffracted beams when any incident beam drifts. The crystal is arranged so that the contributions to the phase conjugate are equal and opposite in the steady state. This self-nulling occurs when the object is stationary and no phase conjugate reflection is produced since the two contributions cancel each other within the crystal. If the object moves, then the gratings will rewrite and erase themselves accordingly. If for example, the transmission grating has a shorter time constant than the reflection grating, then the phase conjugate from the reflection hologram will lag behind the one from the transmission hologram and destructive interference will not occur in the transient regime. This new novelty filter of the invention includes the following features: self-alignment, self-nulling, amplitude or phase input, high speed, simplicity, and safety as no high voltage is required. In addition, it is unique in its determination of the direction of motion, or of the sign of the temporal differentiation, through the transient enhancement and suppression in the erasing and writing edges. FIG. 5a-5d illustrates the results of motion as seen in the image plane. FIG. 1 shows the case where three mutually coherent beams 1, 2 and 3 (beams 1 and 3 are counter propagating) are incident on the crystal. Beams 1 and 2 write a transmission hologram which is read out by beam 3. Simultaneously, beams 2 and 3 write a reflection hologram which is read out by beam 1 thereby generating an extra contribution to the phase conjugate. Thus the output is the interference between the two contributions from the conjugate beams. In the diffusion case, CT and CR are real numbers which are dependent on the crystallographic and optical parameters. Equations 1 and 2 reveal that the phase of the phase conjugate beams, in both the reflection and transmission cases is locked to the phases of the input beams. The generation of two phase conjugate contributions which are opposite in phase requires finding a crystal orientation where the coupling constants are opposite in phase. The large optical activity of BSO makes it generally possible to arrange positive or negative effective coupling coefficients over the entire interaction length depending on the crystal thickness, orientation, optical polarization, and the optical activity. However, in photorefractive materials having a C-axis, such as ferroelectric material such as barium titanate, SBN, etc. positive and negative coupling coefficients can be achieved by choosing the projection of the C-axis on the wave vector of the transmission and reflection gratings to be in opposite signs. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2A, the projections of the C-axis on the wave vectors K R4 and KT have opposite signs in quadrant 2 (Q2) and in quadrant 4 (Q4). The significance of this is that for any wavelength, the crystal thickness is not critical for achieving destructive interference between the two conjugates as desired in the practice of the invention. where τdi is the dielectric relaxation time, σ is the conductivity which increases with increasing intensity and ##EQU1## Here Λ is the grating fringe spacing, tR is the carrier recombination time, and μ is the carrier mobility. From the relationship in Equation 3, it is clear that writing the hologram in the diffusion case for large angles (small grating spacing) is slower than writing the hologram for very small angles (large fringe spacing). FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention actually operated by the inventors. The helium-neon laser L operated at 633 nm with total power of 30 mW, and the BSO crystal of dimensions 1 cm×2 mm had a face orientation of and edge orientations of . The beam was collimated to a diameter of 2 mm and then was divided into three input beams I1, I2, and I3 by mirrors M1-M8, beamsplitters BS-1, BS-2, and BS-3. The measured intensities of the three input beams, I1, I2, and I3 were 1.65 mW, 4 mW and 10.95 mW respectively. Beam I3 was at an angle of 170.30 degrees and beam I1 was at an angle of 9.30 degrees with respect to the object beam (beam I2) as shown in FIG. 2. These angles give grating spacings for reflection and transmission holograms of 0.126 and 4.4 microns respectively. Beams I1 and I3 constitute first and second counter-propagating pump beams, whereas beam I2 constitutes a probe beam. All three of these beams are mutually coherent. Thus, the first pump beam I1 and the probe beam was used to write a first phase conjugate grating within photorefractive crystal 1 which was a fast real time transmission grating. The second counter-propagating pump beam I3 and the probe beam I2 wrote a second phase conjugate grating into the crystal which was a slow real time reflection grating. The second pump beam I3 reads the transmission grating whereas the first pump beam I1 reads the reflection grating. The probe beam I2 is modulated by an input image labelled object. If the input image is not moving or is not changed, the contributions to the phase conjugate output beam from the reflection and transmission gratings will destructively interfere so as not to produce an output image at the CCD video camera. Conversely, should there be a change in the image due to image motion or otherwise, an image will be produced as discussed in greater detail below due to the absence of destructive interference. The <100> axis of the photorefractive crystal BSO was perpendicular to the plane of the intersection of the input beams. Under optimum conditions of overlapping and tilting, with the normal of the crystal by an angle of γ=30 degrees from the bisector B between I1 and I2 it was possible to achieve self-nulling at the output. FIG. 3 illustrates the basic operation of the device when the input beams are switched on and off with a mechanical shutter. FIG. 3(a) shows the result with all the beams on; almost perfect subtraction occurs between the two phase conjugates. Residual spots are due to the unavoidable speckle that originated from beam I3, the most intense beam, during its passage through the crystal. The results of closing and opening the shutter in beam 3, the strong pump, are shown in FIGS. 3(b) and 3(c) respectively. Blocking beam 3 eliminated the transmission hologram read-out beam and only the phase conjugate beam from the reflection grating appeared, which decayed after 7 seconds (the erasure time of the reflection hologram under illumination by beams 1 and 2). When beam 3 was subsequently unblocked we observed a brief transient signal which was the initial phase conjugate from the transmission grating (i.e. the grating that was written by beams 1 and 2 without strong erasure by beam 3 which had been blocked). A similar explanation with reflection and transmission exchanged quantitatively describes the transient phase conjugate signals which are observed when opening and closing the shutter in beam 1, the weak counter-propagating pump. Novelty filtering is simulated by operating the shutter in beam 2, the probe beam. FIG. 3(d) shows the results immediately after blocking beam 2. The initial transient interference between the two phase conjugates is larger than the phase conjugates from the reflection or transmission hologram alone. However, when beam 2 was opened we observed a very weak signal (not shown here). It is clear therefore that the more sensitive mechanism of motion detection for slow motion is due to grating erasure rather than that of grating writing. The temporal shape of this novelty filter simulation is shown in FIG. 4. The two oscilloscope traces were recorded on a digital storage scope from light arriving at a photodiode situated in the image plane when beam 2 was blocked (top trace) and opened (bottom trace) respectively. The top trace indicates that this signal reaches its peak intensity in 20 msec, which represents the response time of the transmission hologram under the illumination of beams 1 and 3. However, the complete decay of this signal was about 7 sec which is the decay time of the reflection hologram. where the erase intensity of 0.41 W/cm2 is used when the object beam is blocked. The dynamics of the write beams may be calculated with a similar approach and corrections for the equal beam diameters may also be included. However, the two response times differ by two orders of magnitude and in the independent grating model for this device one may simply use the measured peak intensity as a fairly accurate measurement of the steady state diffraction intensity of the slower reflection grating on erasure and the faster transmission grating on writing. While the temporal measurements of FIG. 4 agree with the response time predictions of Equation 7, the peak intensity measurements contradict the independent grating model' prediction of equal write and erase peak intensities. Blocking the probe beam produces a transient enhancement of the phase conjugate signal of 115%. The peak intensity (above background) of this signal is 220 mV which exceeds the intensity of the phase conjugate from the reflection hologram alone of 190 mV (obtained in a similar measurement when blocking beam 3). This effect may be explained by the competition of the two holograms for the charge carriers. The rapid erasure (20 msec) of the transmission hologram on blocking beam 2 releases carriers to the reflection hologram which then becomes stronger. Therefore, a transient intensity is observed in the phase conjugate reflection which is larger than the intensity of the phase conjugate from the reflection hologram alone. Opening beam 2 should also cause a large transient signal due to the large difference in the writing response time of the reflection and transmission holograms. However, we observed a very strange effect in that almost no transient signal was observed as shown in the bottom trace of FIG. 4. The phase conjugate signal rises to the nulling level in 300 msec, but then slowly dips half-way to the blocked background level and rises back to the nulling level. This result indicates that in this case the transmission hologram writing time constant was as long as reflection grating writing time constant of 7 sec. These effects of transient phase conjugate enhancement/suppression and coupling in the time constants of the two holograms is under further theoretical and experimental investigation. We studied the performance of this new novelty filter by placing a U.S. Air Force Resolution Chart 5 into the object beam (beam 2) and imaging it on the crystal. FIG. 5(a) shows the conjugate from the reflection hologram alone immediately after blocking beam 3. FIG. 5(b) is the result of static cancellation as observed in the image plane. FIG. 5(c) shows the image when the test chart was moved slowly in the horizontal direction. It can be seen that two vertical lines appear, a bright one due to the blocked parts of the beam (i.e. erasing cycle), and a dim one due to the writing cycle (i.e. from the parts where the beam was unblocked by moving the chart). When viewing this measurement in real time the edge enhancement appears more clearly. Also we examined the performance of our device under rapid motion of the chart in order to prevent writing the reflection hologram. The results are presented in FIG. 5(d) where only the faster transmission hologram is written. Improvement in the performance of this device should be possible by operating at a shorter wavelength (e.g. using a dye laser) to decrease the difference in the response times between the reflection and transmission holograms. This asymmetry in the transient enhancement and suppression (while erasing and writing) determines the direction of motion of the bar, or equivalently the sign of the time derivative of the intensity. This capability, demonstrated here for binary inputs, is unique in novelty filters. It is clear that any misalignment of the input beams will not effect the overlap between the two diffracted beams. Misalignment of the counter-propagating pumps, K≠O, in an externally pumped phase conjugate interferometer produces fringes and phase changes which have been used to demonstrate logic operations. Other externally pumped novelty filters achieve stability by using a second (usually self-pumped) retroreflecting phase conjugate mirror to align the counter-propagating beams. It is clear that this new novelty filter combines the self-alignment of a self-pumped device and the speed of an externally pumped device. In addition, it operates with both amplitude and phase inputs as demonstrated by only three other novelty filters and can use a low optical quality device such as a liquid crystal TV as an input. However, high voltage applied fields are not required, and the slow intensity scaled response time and expense of barium titanate is avoided by using BSO. In addition, a speed increase of at least an order of magnitude could be obtained with this a device by using an argon laser instead of the helium-neon laser of this experiment. The scope of the invention is to be defined by the terms of the following claims and substantial equivalents thereof. For example, another approach to designing the apparatus of the invention is to arrange the optical geometry so that the coupling coefficients of the transmission and reflection gratings have the same sign. For example, in ferroelectric material, this is achieved when the C-axis lies in quadrant Q1 or quadrant Q3 of FIG. 2a. This produces constructive interference between the two conjugate beams, and destructive interference between the beams diffracted into the direction of the probe beam. The output of this implementation of the novelty filter is in the direction of the probe beam. Thus, to record a moving image, the CCD camera would not be positioned as in FIG. 2 but would be positioned on the other side of the crystal and aligned with the probe beam. This is because the moving image will produce constructive interference at CCD2 but not at the original position of the CCD camera of FIG. 2. See in FIG. 2, the dashed representation of the CCD camera CCD2 in this mode. With this approach, materials with large electro-optic coefficients, such as barium titinate, are more convenient to use. Exiting from the crystal in the direction opposite to the aforementioned novelty filter output, an image intensified output appears which dims when the image changes, producing a negative version of the changes which appear in the novelty filter output. This second output is a method of enhancing the phase conjugate output, with two components with individual response times. The unchanged part in this intensified arm provides the static background image. In conclusion, we have proposed and demonstrated a new technique of novelty filtering. Our approach relies on achieving self-nulling and self-alignment between two copropagating conjugate beams produced from degenerate four wave mixing in a single photorefractive crystal. One conjugate beam is diffracted from the transmission hologram, and one is diffracted from the reflection hologram. The transient signals are produced from the dependence of the response time on grating spacing, and the self-nulling is achieved by choosing the proper BSO crystallographic orientation, and beam parameters. Using this approach, the first interference of self-aligning reflection and transmission phase conjugate signals from a photorefractive crystal has been demonstrated.

2019-04-21T15:04:24Z

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5535024.html

I've noticed more than a few topics just on the front page alone regarding problems with the PC versions of various Silent Hill games. Well, it so happens I own 2, 3, 4, and Homecoming on PC, and I've encountered what seems like the majority of known issues with them. More importantly, however, I've personally resolved those issues, and assisted numerous friends in doing so. And as such, I'd like to submit the following, for the community's benefit. I'd like to start by explaining what a PC port actually is, beyond the obvious "game X on PC". A PC port of a console game is typically undertaken by a third party; a subdeveloper contracted specifically for that purpose. This creditation to this third party is often missed, but if you compare the credits from the original console version to the PC version, they will stand out. Silent Hill: Homecoming (PC) was ported by Double Helix themselves. Furthermore, Silent Hill 2 (PC) is based on the PS2 Director's Cut edition, Silent Hill 3 & 4 (PC) are based on the original PS2 versions, and Silent Hill: Homecoming is based on the Xbox360 version. A port is accomplished by creating a software shell which enables the PC to mimick the running processes of the original console in order to open and render/process the original game content. Porting is essentially a form of emulation, a legal form of emulation. However, it is due to this nature that ports are often glitchy by comparison to the original product (the original console version). And that's the end of the long-winded part. Issue: The textures are all messed up / everything looks wrong / some objects are invisible or incomplete. Explanation: The PC version of Silent Hill 2 hates anti-aliasing. This doesn't appear to be an issue for ALL people, certain graphics cards (mostly newer ones) appear to bypass this issue entirely. The game also dislikes Nvidia chipsets in particular. Sollution: Disable anti-aliasing through your graphics card's configuration software/control panel. If possible, set it to "application contolled" wherever applicable to minimize potential for graphical errors. If you own a Nvidia card in particular, and the above steps do not help, seek out the "Silent Hill 2 Nvidia patch" (that term in a search should locate it fairly easily). Issue: The game locks up / lags horribly / there's an insane delay between pressing buttons and actions occurring. Explanation: The PC version of Silent Hill 2 hates multi-core systems, passionately. Sollution: Alt-tab out of the game before proceeding past the main menu. Go into your taskmanager, and locate the "sh2pc.exe" process (in the processes tab list, not the applications tab list). Right click on it, and select "Set Affinity...". If you have a dual core processor, uncheck CPU 0. If you have a triple core processor, uncheck CPU 0 and CPU 2. If you have a quad core processor, uncheck CPU 0, CPU 2, and CPU 3. Leaving only CPU 1 checked in each case. Alt-tab back into Silent Hill 2, and it should run perfectly from then on. (you will need to do this every time you fire up SH2). Explanation: There isn't an exact explanation as to why this occurs. It's associated with the multi-core problem, but why exactly it happens is unknown. Sollution: Ensure the above process for multi-core systems does not resolve the issue. If it doesn't, do a search (via google, for example), for "silent hill 2 pc sound fix", to find the sound patch that should correct the problem for you. Explanation: Either you messed up somewhere, or you've just encountered one of the most obnoxious glitches in the PC version of Silent Hill 2; the ending bug. Sollution: Try again. Sorry, but that's all you can do. The ending bug is completely random, and I've never discovered any way to fix it short of simply starting a new game and going for it again. It doesn't seem to occur twice in a row, if that's any conselation. Issue: Every time I try to load a save, the game crashes! Explanation: There isn't one. This is one of the most random glitches there is. It can happen to a copy of SH3 that has worked fine for an existing period of time, and it can happen off a clean install. Sollution: I cannot discuss specifics without disrespecting the rules of this forum. All I will say is: find yourself a cracked exe for the game. It solves the problem, for some curious reason. Explanation: SH3 has numerous graphics settings. As a rule, the game dislikes widescreen resolutions, hates being windowed, and despises the texture resolution being set higher than 2048x2048. Sollution: Avoid playing windowed if you can. Try to stick to letterbox resolutions, but if you want/need to go widescreen, adjust the texture resolution to suit (1024x2048 works best). Alternate: There are known cases of the PC version of Silent Hill 3 simply not liking certain graphics cards. This is true of most games, but less prevelant with games that aren't ports. If you own a high-end graphics card/system in general, go nuts: set the AA and ASF to 16X, and Ambient Occulasion on. You can do some impressive things with SH3's graphics if you push it. Issue: The game crashes when I try to pick up the Temptation Placard / Activate the Cynthia Cutscene. Explanation: There are 3 versions of the PC Port of Silent Hill 4; the US version, the European version, and the multi-region version. For some peculiar reason, the US version is prone to this glitch. But it has been known to happen to the multi-region version as well. Sollution: Once more I cannot go into specifics in order to respect the rules of this forum. Simple answer; get a cracked exe. It fixes the problem for some curious reason. Issue: The controls are HORRIBLE! Explanation: Vivendi -fail- at porting console games. It's that simple. Sollution: Play the game with a controller if you can. Else grin and bear it, I'm afraid. One thing however; if you find that the first-person segments are PARTICULARLY annoying, turn down your mouse sensitivity. It helps. Issue: The game seems to be running slow, but I know my system is at or above spec. Explanation: Vivendi + porting console games = fail. Gameplay runs at proper speed but the cutscenes always seem to have the slightest element of slowmotion going on. Sollution: There isn't one. Curiously, not everyone actually gets this either. It's incredibly random, as a matter of fact, even when you do get it, it doesn't effect every cutscene in the game. Issue: Black screen on startup or immediately after initial loading screen. Explanation: This issue is particularly preveleant in the downloaded (Steam) version of the game. No one is precisely sure WHAT it's problem is, on this one. Sollution: Window mode. If you're in Window mode and it happens, switch back to full-screen mode. For some reason, that's all it takes to fix. Some people can run the game windowed, some can run it full-screen, some can run it both. The damn game seems to like changing it's mind. Issue: How do I run SH:H in windowed mode? Sollution: Go into the "Engine" folder of Homecoming, and open the file "vars_pc.cfg" in a plain text editor (notepad is the best). Look for the line that says "Fullscreen=true" and change true to false (it shuld read "Fullscreen=false". Save the file (not save as, ensure the .cfg extension is not changed). The game is now in windowed mode. Reverse the process to full-screen it again. Extra: I do not recommend running the game in windowed mode if you can avoid it. Windowed mode seems to attract EVEN MORE problems. On the other hand ... it also seems to fix certain problems. You really can't win with this game's issues. Issue: The bookshelf in the Alex's bedroom is making me want to hurt children. Explanation: The PC version of Homecoming has particularly bad issues with mouse-coordinate tracking. That is, the game has trouble recognizing that the mouse cursor is actually where the on-screen graphic indicates it to be. Sollution: Persistence and guess-work. This applies to almost all puzzles in which the mouse must be used. Where you have to click to actually hit/drag certain objects doesn't always make sense in the context of the on-screen image; for example, to drag the books, you sometimes have to grab them in a specific (and yet random) spot, and sometimes even move the mouse up or down before you can drag it across. Sometimes it works first try. This problem is quite random. Extra: The switch that is revealed by moving the books is even worse. You typically have to click beside it to actually hit it. Issue: The game locks up at seemingly random intervals before continuing, but the sound/dialogue continues. Explanation: Homecoming uses a combination of on-demand loading, and area-transition loads. The on-demand loading ... doesn't always work right. What's worse is that the lag-effect it creates actually increases over time. This issue seems to be particularly attracted by windowed mode and alt-tabbing. However, I've seen it happen in fullscreen mode as well. There is no reliable way to fix it. Issue: I loaded my game in the church and my plates have all gone wrong! Explanation: The plate puzzle in the Church is PAINFULLY bugged. Sollution: Do NOT save with any of the plates in your inventory. Save before attempting the puzzle, and/or after, not in the process of it, or this is almost certain to happen to you; and yes, you have to start your game over again if it happens (unless you have a seperate save near the church). Issue: Alex keeps dodging in the opposite direction I tell him. Explanation: Alex was dropped on his head as a child. Often. Sollution: There is no ideal sollution to this problem. Try not to be holding a direction when you dodge, Alex usually auto-dodges the right way. Explanation: Homecoming's mouse code is REALLY bad. Sollution: Lower your double-clicking speed (the setting itself, in your mouse options, through the windows control panel). Or consider using keys for attack buttons. Or use a controller, for that matter. Issue: I woke up in a jail cell and I cant get out! Explanation. This is actually a normal part of the game. You are automatically released from the cell after a moderate length of time (or a shorter period of time if you actually inspect everything in the cell). Ironically, however, there is also a bug that can rarely occur here, where Wheeler never actually enters the room. Sollution: Re-load your save prior to this point. It never happens twice in a row, thankfully. Right click on each .exe, navigate to the properties make each one run under "Windows XP". Then press save/apply, right click on the .exe again and make sure each .exe is "Run as Administrator". Anyways, thanks for sharing this! Last edited by simeonalo on 15 Jul 2010, edited 1 time in total. I for one find it useful, at least people will know why their game is glitching that way and what can be done. Thanks for posting this, I'm glad I'm not alone in finding the SH4 PC controls truly horrible... Though I actually find the first person view easier to control than the 3rd person. Admittedly the sound is AMAZING and without it this wouldn't feel like a Silent Hill game AT ALL. I don't mind much about graphics but they do seem kinda meh, some of the textures seem more like PSX or N64 than a PS2 port. I found after I changed the default movement control from 'walk' to 'run', it was much less of a hassle getting around corners etc. I will try changing the mouse sensitivity too now that you've mentioned it. When I tried to play it, I got an error message about "This game requires a video card with 32MB VRAM and vertex/pixel shader support" or something like that. I only have a fairly basic Intel graphics card so I thought I was not going to be able to get it work at all, but I downloaded 3D-Analyzer and used the settings I found for SH4 on a different forum, saved a batch file and now it works perfectly! Edit: About 24 hours later, I'm starting to really get into SH4 now that I've gotten used to the gameplay and controls somewhat. I'm still only at the start of the game (subway world) but I've seen enough cool stuff happen to make me wanna keep playing to see how everything unfolds. I think I will actually buy this on PS2 in the near future, there's something about it that I really like now.. If you didn't buy it then ho exactly did you 'acquire' it? Illegal downloads and/or borrowing the game from a friend. I googled it and found a torrent... But I am REALLY liking it now and have decided that I'm going to buy it on PS2 at some stage. I still like the first 3 games more overall, but the story has gripped me far more than the SH3 story did and there are lots of other things that I like about it. AAAAAAGH! Yesterday I was using the PS2 to PC adapter that I bought but was having a bit of trouble with it for some reason (on menu screens it was just scrolling down automatically and I couldn't stop it), so while I was 'distracted' with that problem and a bit disoriented (lol) I somehow saved over my saved game that was at about 3:20 with the first save file that i'd accidentally loaded which was at about 0:30, so I deleted about 3 hours of gameplay. I'm retarded, you see. No love for you for stealing from the people who make the games I love. If they're worth playing, they're worth paying for. don't have the cash? That's not the developer's problem. Well, it's not particularly useful to me personally since I don't use the PC versions of the games, however thank you for posting this nonetheless. It was very considerate of you to type all that out to help others. If I was buying SH4, I'd have to buy it on ebay as it would be nearly impossible for me to find (where I live) without ordering it online. So the developers wouldn't receive a cent either way. I bought SH1/2/3 online last year for my birthday, all on ebay, and I bought Homecoming at a local shop as it's the only SH game that was actually available there. I bought Silent Hill 1 and 2 after I'd already downloaded roms and PC versions of both, because they're my favourite games ever, and I fully plan on buying Silent Hill 4 for PS2 whenever it's most convenient. I'm not going to feel guilty over this - your blanket statements and value judgments aren't worth taking seriously. Hey. Don't take me seriously. I'm just a jerk who tells it like it is. I don't sugar coat things, never have. If I wanted you to feel guilty, I'd preach about starving children who could be fed with your purchase blah blah blah. I was merely stating I don't like thieves, and I won't offer help to someone who has no problem stealing entertainment. It's not even a necessity. Just entertainment... I made no blanket statements, unless you count my personal dislike of thieves. LOL, what a cool guy. Thank you so much for this tip! Now my computer won't fry, and SH2 won't freeze! Silent Hill 2 Saving Error (each time I try to save, it says "unable to save game" and then "Save Game Broken" The best solution when using Vista is a new operating system. >.> Ok ok. I assume it's Vista 32 bit. Make sure you have UAC turned off (I hate turning it off, but as you probably installed to the /Program Files/ folder it's the easiest and most foolproof way around the UAC's obstacles). Also right click the SH2.exe, go to the compatibility tab and ensure that you're running in compatibility mode WindowsXP SP3. Also click run as administrator on this tab. Did you do a full install (I'm not 100% sure SH2 has a minimum or partial install, but if it does, make sure you choose the largest install size possible)? If not, reinstall. This will keep the game from accessing the disc most of the time, except for DVD checks. If your computer has a multi-core processor, make sure to assign it affinity (this can be done via batch file, or with a program such as runfirst). The UAC is the most likely obstacle to saving the game, as the game does not have permission to edit files in the /Program Files/ Folder and it's possible you're reading the cutscenes from a disc, and the disc is damaged or something. I'd suggest a disc back up with a nocd exe, but I won't tell you where to get or how to use this because people here are touchy about piracy (even though it's perfectly legal to backup your own copies of these games), and this method could CERTAINLY be used to pirate the game. If none of those solutions help, please post back with more detailed system specs and we will further troubleshoot. To get more complete specs, click the Orb, then type dxdiag in the run bar. That will have complete system specs including your GFX adapter, processor and RAM. I finally bought Silent Hill 4 (on ebay) yesterday! I liked the first 35% of the game that I played on a PC so I think I'll really like the PS2 version. I've read that the game gets better towards the end so I'm glad I didn't waste my first playthrough sitting at a PC! The worst thing about the game was the controls but I assume it'll be much easier with an actual controller.. And I bought Forbidden Siren 2 in case SH4 fails to scare me the way the first 2 (and the third to a lesser extent) SH games did.. I'm hoping Siren 2 is scary? Thank you very much for this, I would never be able to get Silent Hill 2 to run properly without your help ^_^. However, I don't suppose anyone else gets strange lines in peoples hair and on walls and stuff? It's most evident in Maria's story, when you first meet the dude locked in his room (I have no idea what his name is anymore ). It's not majorly annoying, just weird. 2) You contribute to company downfalls. Well done. Yeah, I contribute to company downfalls by buying all their games! Shame on me.

2019-04-20T20:18:26Z

http://silenthillforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=551049

Cultural factors in diagnosis and treatment are highly imperative. This paper includes critical thinking on the perils of using mainstream methodology with non-Western cultures. Cultural factors have deep roots in the clinical psychology. Cross cultural psychology has now become an inseparable idea in clinical psychology. Culture cannot be avoided in order to make a precise judgment on mental problem. The paper is based upon literature review on various academic articles and books written to cover the significance of culture in clinical psychology. It offers systematic review based upon authentic basis regarding psychological treatment considering the cultural factors involved in diagnosis. Efforts are expected to focus on accurate judgment, suitable therapeutic process and an eventual release of the painful feeling. The capable psychoanalysts must be devoted, and eager to understand the cultural backdrop, past experiences and its correlation with the psychological diagnosis and handling of the case. Also a patient from non-western cultural background must be treated with extreme care while considering his cultural beliefs as important indicators to achieve optimum output; an ultimate relief for the patient. Respecting the consensus developed by historic and contemporary professionals, a psychologist can enhance efficacy of the treatment and avoid the perils of the mainstream methodology in treatment of non-western cultures. Cultural factors are one of the most significant variables in the field of clinical psychology. A clinician cannot aim for precise diagnosis and appropriate treatment without considering the culture of the patient as a guiding principle, as many of the psychological behaviours are directly influenced by the cultural norms. The paper presents a review of different cultures and their requirement for the diagnosis of treatment on mental health problems. It will also highlight potential harms of applying mainstream methodologies on a non-western client. A detailed literature review will explain the main aspects of non-western culture and culture related attitude on mental health. While treating the mental disorders, it will be useless if a general method is applied on everyone, without studying the socio cultural background of the client and salient features of the specific culture. We can explain its importance through an example; drinking habit may be a serious issue in a culture and may demand psychotherapy to get rid of it, but it is possible that it is considered as a normal thing in another culture. Also shyness of a female towards the males can be considered as a psychological problem in the western culture, though it may be considered as a normal behaviour in non-western traditions. Any diagnosis cannot be appropriate unless it is seen through the lens of the culture. Every psychological disorder has a deep connection with religious beliefs, ethnic norms, and native environment. An expert clinician has to identify that root first before making a professional judgment on the problem, type of treatment and therapeutic process required, and mannerism of the sessions, and required cultural sensitivity aspects during the therapies. The need of cognitive testing can only be identified after thorough analyses of the cultural factors behind the problem. Psychological diagnosis is very much dependent on the symptoms in human behaviour. Talking about the general perception on mental illness or disorder, anything different from a usual behaviour is referred as a psychological disorder. These perceptions are closely related to the culture possessed by the patient and also the interpretation of any behaviour as according to the cultural norms. We can understand this phenomenon by an example of some sort of mania. Mania is almost a common problem found in almost all the cultures, but the clinician must be very careful in diagnosis, as there is a probability of confusing the culture related expression of distress as wrong diagnosis of mania. We can observe cultural diversity in stating the depression, but it may be under diagnosed, usually on initial stage and careful measures are not taken. It is true that somatic characteristics may be identical in all the cultures, yet, it is critical to differentiate physical descriptions of a sentimental situation. Generally ways of expressing depression are different in all the cultures, however, sad mood, unwillingness in enjoying something, nervousness, and feeling energy less are common symptoms of depression. Culture cannot be neglected for any sort of psychiatric treatment like, while classifying depressive disorders, for example, we have to consider both internal factors within the individual and external factors related to the culture of the subject (Cowen P. et al. 2012. p212). In the discussion, as it follows, various culture factors will be elucidated as they influence psychological diagnosis and treatment in various situations. It is also important to know how the treatment can cause harm instead of healing the suffering if a client from non-western culture is dealt in mainstream methodologies of diagnosis and treatment. Culture is an inherited asset which travels from generation to generation. This is a factor which has direct influence on all aspects of the lives of human beings. As far as the approach on mental problems is concerned, it varies from person to person, family to family; various ethnic groups, culture to culture and country to country. It has been observed that culture and religion have a strong influence over the mental health of a person, and initiation of mental illness. Also cultural mannerism of responding towards such problems, determines the extent of agreement of the patient for mental sickness treatment and consistency in this regard. It is very important to understand that representation of mental wellbeing service demands cultural sensitivity for improving acceptance and awareness on the use of these services. This will help to reform approach about mental illness, as it is different from the one customary in the west. We can review a case study to understand this difference. This comparative study was conducted by universities in India and America, to compare behaviours in India and USA. It was found that the students from India perceived depression as an outcome of the factors like, being unsuccessful in achieving goals, or else which can easily be controlled by them individually, and felt that only way to manage depression is to ensure social facilitation and religious practices. They suggest that understanding and treating depression must consider diverse point of views on mental illness for enhancing the efficacy of mental wellbeing plans (Nieuwsma, J.A.et al. (2011). p 539-568). Relationship of psychology and culture has been discussed by many expert psychologists, according to Triandis H.C. quoted by Kitayama S. and Cohen D. (2010), history of psycho-cultural tendencies have shaped the contemporary approaches of cultural psychology, and the future of this field is also based upon the same. He emphasizes on the close connection of the language; a salient feature of each culture, and psyche. He believed that language is the key to understand the thoughts of the speaker. Due to interaction of various people within the same culture, many agreements are found on the ways to behave collectively. These practices by the time shape the mind accordingly, thus we can say, an individual expresses his culture which he has been brought up (Kitayama S. and Cohen D. 2010). Perceiving mental disorder as a shameful fact may be due to many reasons, for example, any of the apparent reason of the sickness. Many studies have reported other major distinctions in behaviour towards mental illness amongst cultural groups in the USA. Carpenter-Song et al. (2010) performed a thorough, one and a half year long culture based study. The subjects for the study were 25 patients with critical mental illness. These were European-American patients engaged in regular treatment by expert psychiatrist, inclined to state convictions about mental sickness associated with medical viewpoints about the illness. Contrary to this, people belonging to Africa, America or Latin patients were more liable to highlight non-medicinal explanations about the signs of mental disorders. Though, all the subjects from 3 cultural clusters shared about some sort of stigmatization because of their mental problems, this very shamefulness sentiment proved to be a main part of the African-Americans reactions, hence it was not focused in case of European-Americans, instead they inclined to consider mental problems as major and most important side of the human requirements on health. As far as African-Americans were concerned, they were frustrated when the clinicians emphasized on the need of medication. In case of Latin persons, they generally considered diagnosis of mental sickness to be a severe damage to their social image and status; they focused on stating the sickness on a very low severity to stay safe from extreme stigma (Carpenter.S. E. (2010) p 224-251). Bailey et al. (2011) have shred about reluctant behaviours regarding mental treatment. He notes that sense of being ashamed, religion related misconceptions, lack of trust on the clinicians and language barriers & communication issues may be the reason behind this resistance in opting for mental health treatment as required (Bailey, R.K.et al. 2011 p 548-557.) In certain cultures clients show a lot of resistance just to satisfy their self-respect that they are normal and it will be real dishonour if they admit and accept need for mental treatment. That is the main reason behind the concept that understanding culture of the client is very important, so as to understand the root causes of the resistance and reluctance. During the therapies, the clinician must develop a good rapport with the client, which is only possible with some awareness on the culture of the client. An expert clinician must focus on building a good relationship with the client during a few initial therapeutic sessions. It may be performed through friendly discussion demonstrating interest in getting awareness on the client’s culture, which must be complemented through attempts to gain knowledge on the same through books and other sources, such as, friends and family of the client, other members of the same community and other internet sources. This way the client will share many thoughts from his subconscious, and the root may be identified, along with a great control over the expected resistance from the client. Especially when we talk about non-western culture; as argued earlier; their stigma may be a great source of resistance. This can be overcome, if the client receives friendly signals from the clinician, and a sense of trust worthiness for thought sharing. Keshavarzi H. and Haque A. (2013) also quote Veling et al., (2008) who have highlighted non-western tendency of community based culture. It is a general norm that Muslim are fond of replication of a community environment similar to the native culture, wherever they live, such as community centers, caring for right of neighbours, selfless attitudes, mutual reliance and family values. These strong bonding practices generally tend to reduce chances of mental problems. Lack or absence of cultural knowledge, especially on religious faith, norms and practices by non-Muslim therapists may be a hurdle in creating a remedial association with the client. It is important to be aware of certain practices which are extremely conflicting with Muslim cultures as observed in the west. Male and female interaction can be one of the examples, which is extremely prohibited in Muslim culture, though considered a normal matter in other cultures. This can lead to a serious problem during the sessions, if not understood according to the cultural requirements. For the therapist, it is also recommendable to make collaboration with religious leaders, so as to enhance religious understanding on the Muslim psyche and Islamic modes of treatment (Keshavarzi H. and Haque A. 2013). We see that there is lack of sufficient materials on culture specific treatment methodologies for non-western clients. Many therapeutic concepts cannot be applied on the non-western client the way these may probably be efficient for the western client. Treatment of non-western client, though complicated, it also holds many helpful resources within its roots. As we see that in the non-western culture, family values and social relationships are highly cherished. These may a helpful tool for resource mobilization. To cope with language barriers family members can be a helpful resource. Another precaution is also recommended by Cowen P. et al (2012) that assigning a translator during sessions also demands special care about the selection of the person to interpret. As a general observation it is a fear that involving a translator, other than the therapist himself, may cause difficulty to achieve specific results, besides ever-increasing the duration of the meeting. Mare transformation of the language may not be helpful while the person is not a health expert, sometimes the spirit of the conversation is lost while translation process. This problem can only be conquered with the help of same community members, close family relation, or assigning a professional psychologist, the responsibility to communicate and interpret with the non-western client, and then be a part of diagnosis and therapeutic process. These dissimilarities are not exclusive for Muslims only; the other representatives of the non-western culture, such as Hindus and Buddhist are also different in terms of their traditions, norms and their approach towards mental illness, from the western culture. The same requirement of studying the specific culture persists for the therapist for a patient who belongs to any of these cultures (Cowen P. et al 2012). All these arguments on the study of clinical psychology elucidate that dealing mannerism must represent adaptability according to the requirement of the culture when handling patient from a culture, which the therapist does not belong to. It must be understood that mainstream psychological methodologies might not fulfill the extraordinary needs of the situation. It is also quite natural that a single person may not possess the knowledge about each and every culture in the world, which makes things more complicated for the psychologist to have the anticipated outcomes. In some cases patients may even assume biased behaviour from any person or a group, financial stress, and a feel of inaccessibility to services if he is uncomfortable in any other culture, this might transform into the symptoms of mental illness later on. As a general observation, most of the cases of migrants emerge due to adaptability issues and may become severe if not handled on time with due diligence (Cowen P. et al 2012. p. 26. Ch 3). As argued earlier, mental health issues with the systematic application of connection with the clients may notably increase because, most of the issues come forward because of cultural intricacy. Even the best knowledgeable practitioner may not be able to ascertain mental wellbeing of a patient, if, he does not make himself well aware of the culture; the patient is coming from, and all probable cultural approaches which may be contributing in increase of mental illness motives in the subconscious of the patient. The contemporary studies emphasize that culture has unambiguous connection with psychological problems. A psychotherapist must not stress on conservative systems of treatment, and bring in inventive thoughts in accordance to the requirement and judge diverse features of cultural psychology (Tseng W.S 2008). As we learned from Keshavarzi H. and Haque A. (2014), that initial effort for applying the psychological approach is the precise judgment of the issue and the performance level of the patient. In this regard, the therapist has to collect information which is essentially required for treatment. If the judgment indicates a high tendency of the client towards religion, the therapist must take that into account. This may be evaluated during initial informal discussions through the use of terminologies and his general approach. The clinician must have an intention to develop an understanding with the patient on how the objective of the treatment is set. Later, a detailed session should be conducted to assess how he expects the improvement as a result of the therapeutic process. If the patient does not take interest in self-actualization, and wants focused attention to the specific problem, therapist must not resist, and make the client comfortable, removing discomforts of cultural difference (Keshavarzi H. and Haque A. 2014). When we talk about the cultural beliefs in Arabian culture we cannot exclude religious and traditional methods of the psychotherapies. The majority of the Arabs rely on conventional healers, also referred as faith healers, such as experts of herbal medicines, religious elders of the region, healing through rituals. Unfortunately the initial level of mental disorder is assumed to be an assault of evil spirits such possession of the body, which can just be treated with the help of rituals. Treating the mentally ill person is believed as a punishment for the patient, that might mark him as a crazy or abnormal person forever, thus restricting hi normal movement in the in the society for the rest of his life (Parekh R. 2013). The most complex idea about this subject is the command of a clinician about the features of every culture. Though it is not simple but the clinician must be open to learn about the cultural features which truly have an effect on the healing procedure. Cultural knowledge compliments the success of the healing procedure by demonstrating respect for the patient and the culture. The most important aspect of the point is that a proficient psychologist must be impartial, enthusiastic, and considerate on the cultural surroundings, the history and its link with the course of analysis and therapy. The whole discussion stressed over an idea that culture and psychology cannot be viewed in isolation; we cannot suppose on the performance of brain and a culture bound psychosomatic approach, linked with one culture and expected to apply in any other culture, these aspects must be taken into account during therapeutic process. Less preference of psychological treatment as compared to physical issues. Keeping all these aspects in mind, a clinician has to show respect for that cultural characteristic to develop outstanding professional relationship with the patients. Talking about sentimental problems in a responsive manner may help in this regard, because, general tendency of the non-western clients demonstrates shyness in discussing personal events, which may point towards the roots of the problem which may be linked with the cultural beliefs. Thus, to discover secrets of the subconscious, information on the patient’s culture is unavoidable. As we have already discussed that family bonding and social relationships are very strong in the non-western culture, these may also give rise to some problems related to the expectations associated with these values. These false expectations may give birth to a feeling of disappointment or betrayal from a close person. It also makes them feel that those people have wasted their sacrifices and have not cherished their support. This leads to anger and fury for their own selves as well as for others. This also gives rise to hopelessness, and trust over others including their psychologist. It can also result into discontinuation of constructive attitude; which generates dire need of family support, counselling and cognitive therapy with individual. A feel of being deprived regarding marital rights can be an example of such cases. These sort of cases are culturally sensitive and may be dealt with high care, after acquiring sufficient knowledge of the specific cultural values and norms (Keshavarzi H. and Haque A. 2014). Both have very clear dividing lines for general understanding on cultural beliefs. As we conclude that cultural beliefs play a major role in psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. The very first step involves the basic understanding on the culture of the patient and to what extent these beliefs and norm influence his cognitive behaviour. Though these are the two basic cultural groups, the non-western cluster may further be divided into more clusters based on religion and geographic trends. Muslims; the largest group in the non-western culture are more influenced by the religious education, rituals, spiritual treatment and other limitations. The beliefs of the patients may not be agreed by the practitioner, however it is important, not to argue with the patient, and give him a feel that the practitioner believes him and respects his point of view. Other clusters within the non-western cultures should also be dealt accordingly. Suspicion on the clinician, being afraid of the treatment, being afraid of racist of discriminatory approach, language and communication barriers, and cultural & religious issues may hinder the successful treatment (Keshavarzi H. and Haque A. 2013). Considering culture is the most important aspect in psychological treatment. Initial meetings should be focused on gaining awareness about cultural and religious tendencies of the patient. Physical interaction between male and female is strictly prohibited in non-western culture; this must be avoided at any condition. General methodologies may not be applicable to all the patients. In the study of psychology, every client has his unique identity, he must be dealt individually. The approach that proved to be successful for treating depression of a western women, may not work for exact replication for a non-western woman. The clinician must not try to influence patient’s cultural beliefs. The clinician must show respect for the culture to develop mutual trust and good professional relationship. Mare translation is not enough for the sessions, the interpreter must be a professional therapist, or a family or community member of the patient if the first option is not possible. Consultation with the family is also recommended when possible. This may also help to overcome stigma and seek early healing of the problem rather that making it worse due to delayed treatment. Depressive disorders may be similar in different cultures, however, the therapist must study, what is hidden behind the symptoms, inside the cultural context. As a concluding note we can easily claim that psychiatric diagnosis cannot be made leaving the cultural factors behind. Making an attempt to do so may lead to commit wrong diagnosis and ultimately a wrong treatment. In advanced clinical psychology, wrong diagnosis and treatment is as dangerous as an unnecessary medicinal injection. A clinician has to demonstrate high level of professionalism and skill to handle the case with careful cultural sensitivity. There may be chances to disagree with the client belief, and also his cultural belief may be opposite from the therapist’s cultural norms, yet, he must not mention so in front of the client. There is high probability for resistance from the client and he also may show distrust on the treatment, however, the therapist has to be unbiased and temperamental. He has to make the client feel that his opinion is respected; being a leader or teacher may not be an appropriate approach, rather than being a facilitator. As any unnecessary medicine may cause harm, in the same way, wrong approach towards cultural psychology may be equally harmful. A uniform methodology may not be applicable in all cases. If the client is under strong influence of religion and other features of the culture, it may not be ignored. A good rapport with the client is a half way towards the successful psychological treatment, and understanding the Cultural Factors is the map to reach this destination. . Abdullah, T., Brown, T.L. (2011). Cultural Factors, Mental illness stigma and ethno-cultural beliefs, values, and norms: an integrative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 31: 934-948. Bailey, R.K., Milapkumar, P., Barker, N.C., Ali, S., Jabeen, S. (2011). Cultural Factors and Major depressive disorder in the African American population. J Natl Med Assoc.,103: 548-557. Carpenter-Song, E., Chu, E., Drake, R.E., Ritsema, M., Smith, B., Alverson, H. (2010). Ethno-cultural variations in the experience and meaning of mental illness and treatment: implications for access and utilization. Cultural Factors Transcultural Psychiatry, 47(2): 224-251. Cowen P. Harrison P. Burns T. (2012). p.621. Ch 21. Shorter Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry Cultural Factors. Oxford University Press. Keshavarzi H. Haque A. (2014) Integrating indigenous healing methods in therapy: Muslim beliefs and pract ices, International Journal of Cultural Factors and Mental Health, 7:3, 297-314. Keshavarzi H. Haque A. (2013) The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion and Cultural Factors, 23:230–249. Kitayama S. and Cohen D. (2010). Handbook of Cultural Factors psychology. Guilford Press. Nieuwsma, J.A., Pepper, C.M., Maack, D.J., Birgenheir, D.G. (2011). Cultural Factors perspectives on depression in rural regions of India and the United States. Transcultural Psychiatry, 48(5): 539-568. Tseng W.S (2008). Cultural Factors and Psychotherapy: Review and Practical Guidelines Sage Publications. WonPat-Borja, A.J., Yang, L.H., Link, B.G., Phelan, J.C. (2012). Cultural Factors Eugenics, genetics, and mental illness stigma in Chinese Americans. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol., 47(1): 145-156. Hi – There a few dissertation titles based on anxiety. Let me know if you’re interested in any of the titles. Great job done! Psychology is one of the hardest fields in studing i think. Personaly for me, the most interesting direction i psychology is Forestic. Look at my dissertation and maybe you will some interesting ideas or ready samples for your future articles here. I would be really glad, if I’ve managed to help you.

2019-04-25T00:53:41Z

http://study-aids.co.uk/dissertation-blog/cultural-factors-psychology/

What types of energy-efficient buildings are there? You can go as far as you like with sustainable building. There is already good public awareness about low-energy and 'passive' building, but more can be done. Below, we have listed a few types of energy-saving buildings. However, there is still occasional debate on what to call the different types - different countries and authorities use different names and definitions, depending on the subsidies that they issue. Europe uses the term nZEB buildings or Nearly Zero Energy Buildings for the almost energy-neutral building that in Belgium is still referred to as a 'zero-energy building'. Zero-energy building that generates more renewable energy on site than it actually consumes. The energy bill is zero. The surplus energy produced is fed into the grid in exchange for renewable energy certificates. Europe has said that all new build projects must be nearly zero energy buildings (nZEB) by 2021. Currently the Member States are still examining how they will mesh this requirement with their own regulations and which standards they will impose on which types of buildings. After all, making a production unit an nZEB is a very different kettle of fish from doing the same with a new office building. What are the implications of the European EU 2020 strategy for your buildings? And what new standards apply to Energy Performance and Indoor Climate (EPD)? The EU 2020 strategy is a benchmark for anyone active in the European economy. 'Sustainable growth' is one of the three priorities of this strategy, alongside 'smart growth' (investing in knowledge and innovation) and 'inclusive growth' (employment and creating opportunities for as many people as possible). The EU is taking action to promote an economy that produces little CO2 and deals sparingly with the natural resources available. At a global level its aim is to help in the fight against climate warming and the greenhouse effect. At a corporate level the main benefit is lower energy bills. After all, there are finite supplies of oil, gas and coal, and demand in the emerging markets is increasing. Logic dictates that prices will only rise. It is up to the individual Member States to convert those EU 2020 objectives into concrete programmes, rules and standards. What will those sustainability ambitions mean for your infrastructure in practice? As long as you are not erecting any new buildings or overhauling an existing building, absolutely nothing for now. At present, you are under no obligation to adapt existing premises to certain sustainability standards, although that is probably on the cards. For example, various consulting firms (e.g. Deloitte and PwC) have already clearly demonstrated the added value of aligning property taxation with the energy efficiency of buildings. Which buildings fall under this regulation? for which an application for planning permission was submitted after 1 January 2006. freestanding buildings with a total usable floor area of less than 50 m², e.g. a separate room for ticket sales at events. What about your building or renovation project? The specific EPD requirements that apply to your buildings depend on the building's designated use (e.g. industrial or office space), the nature of the works - new build or renovation - and the date on which the building permit is applied for. This is because standards are regularly being tightened up. In view of the unique situation in Brussels, where 70% of the CO2 emissions come from buildings, the Region has imposed especially stringent standards: from 2015 every new build or equivalent must be 'passive'. As this form of construction becomes the standard, buildings that are not 'passive' threaten to drop significantly in value before too long. What exactly are the EPD requirements? maximum thermal heat loss coefficients (U-values) or thermal resistance (R-values) of the outside walls, floors, roofs, windows, doors and other partitions. With regard to energy performance a maximum energy performance level is imposed, the E-level. That presents a picture of the primary energy consumption of the building and the fixed installations in standard circumstances. The E-level is calculated for each part of the building that is used separately or has a separate designated use. The E-level is closely linked to a whole range of factors, including compactness, thermal insulation, air density, ventilation, heating installation, water supply, orientation, sun lighting, cooling installation and lighting. The minimum requirements for ventilation define the ventilation provisions that must be installed (inlet - through flow - outlet) in order to achieve particular ventilation flow rates. The nature of the works: new build, rebuild, dismantling, extension, renovation, change of use, etc. The designated use of the building: office, industry, retail, catering, etc. The date of the application for the planning permission: the EPD standards are becoming tighter and tighter. A building that has several uses or activities, will be split into various parts. The EPD requirements will be determined for each part. How does the EPD procedure work? During the design phase, you and the architect together will analyse the energy performance level of the building and the measures required to comply with the EPD requirements. You will also add a statement to the planning permission. Before work starts, you will submit a statement of commencement to the energy performance database. In it, you will declare compliance with the EPD requirements and nominate an EPD reporter or adviser. The latter will draw up the EPD declaration, using a calculation from the EPD software package. After commissioning of the building, you must submit evidence of compliance with the EPD requirements by means of the EPD report. The EPD reporter does not necessarily need to be an external expert: he or she may already be involved in the site. The reporter is responsible for correctly reporting on the execution of the works, but not for the requirements actually being met. In other words, always make sure the project specifications take into account the EPD requirements and include the necessary steps to meet them. Otherwise, the actual energy performance may deviate significantly from the objectives set out in the EPD procedure. In its efforts to achieve more energy efficiency, the EU has raised the bar most for the public and social profit sector. How does your organisation take on this challenge? A substantial part of built-up areas in the EU is managed or used by the public and social profit sector. Schools, for example, where one in three European citizens spend most of their days, but also government buildings, hospitals, universities, inter-municipal companies, etc. The joint energy cost of these buildings is enormous, so the potential savings of more efficient energy use are huge as well. That is why the EU is making 'green' and sustainable public buildings an absolute priority. The 2020 strategy on energy performance and indoor climate will therefore come into effect two years earlier: from 1 January 2019, all new buildings used or owned by the authorities must be Nearly Zero Energy Buildings. So time is running out. Existing properties are certainly also in urgent need of work. Because of rising energy costs, more sustainable long-term energy use is essential, particularly in the current budget situation. This is all the more true because many public buildings have been around for a long time without being energy efficient. They also tend to have a longer life span than residential or industrial buildings. Given that the budget for new developments or major renovations is often insufficient, it comes down to making the best use of the buildings' energy-saving potential. This means primarily using renewable energy. How will you take on the challenge? More and more contracting authorities are placing a strong emphasis on sustainability and energy efficiency when issuing public tenders by making these issues more important tender criteria, for example. The original American system of Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) is slowly being established in Europe as well. In this type of contract, the client and the provider of energy-saving work determine in advance the energy efficiency level the work should result in. If the provider does not meet its commitments, damages or penalties will ensue. In our country, EPCs are generally concluded with Energy Service Companies or ESCOs. Their task is to study, implement and finance energy-saving measures in public buildings. They can be government bodies or private participation initiatives. Some examples of this are Eandis and Infrax, which established ESCOs in Flanders, and Publifin, which did the same in Wallonia. More information about EPC and ESCOs is available on the website of the Belgian ESCO association BELESCO. Green local authorities are leading the way: In 2008, the European Commission launched the European Covenant of Mayors against climate change. Local authorities signing the covenant voluntarily committed to achieving the EU climate and energy objectives on their territories. Put simply, their commitment essentially aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020. As part of the Covenant of Mayors, the local authorities prepare Sustainable Energy Action Plans, which are often dozens of pages long. First, these lengthy documents outline the local CO2 emissions, and then describe the strategic objectives and concrete action plans. Local authorities are committed to planting more public greenery, participating in the Night of Darkness and using energy-efficient lighting, for example. Some of the activities involve residents, who are encouraged to use car-sharing schemes, buy regional products or products without any packaging. Companies are also encouraged to play their part. They are urged to use renewable energy, possibly as part of a joint purchasing group. Still hungry for more sustainable ideas? If so, check out Local Governments for Sustainability, an organisation with 1,500 local government members sharing sustainability practices, who offer some excellent examples. Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Basque Country (northern Spain) created a vast green belt, for example. More than 33,000 trees of 70 different types were planted, and soon another 250,000 will be added. This planting campaign has reintroduced greenery to more than 50 locations that were completely bare until recently. The city has also focused strongly on cycling and public transport, which proved very successful: in eight years, the share of urban traffic accounted for by cars fell from 37% to 24%. The city also granted €4.6 million in subsidies for the renovation of old houses. More than 10,000 houses now have better insulation and improved energy efficiency. Respecting legislation is one aspect. However, opting for renewable energy and better energy efficiency offers a host of other advantages. What types of renewable energy are there? Cost savings: Your energy dependency and increasing energy prices will start to weigh increasingly heavily on your budget. These factors may also have an impact on your activities in the future and therefore threaten your production capacity and competitiveness. Moreover, and certainly in a period of slow economic growth, it is important for your company to keep costs down, and that includes energy costs. Risk Management: Belgium depends to a significant extent on external suppliers for its energy supply. That dependency, linked to continuous price increases, entails obvious risks: it weakens our economy and threatens the competitiveness of our market players. Therefore, it is important that you as a company consider the switch to sustainable energy and incorporate it in your strategy. By investing in renewable energy or in the energy performance of your buildings (via solar panels, wind turbines, powerful heating boilers, etc.), you are in fact setting the price of the electricity that you generate or save through your installations, for the entire life of these installations. As such, you are less subject to energy price fluctuations. Image and social commitment: By making its activities more sustainable, your company can also increase its positive impact on the environment, and - in a broader context - its commitment to society. By placing the emphasis more on corporate responsibility, your company becomes more attractive and benefits from an improved image. This is because green awareness is essential in the eyes of employees, customers, shareholders and public opinion. an energy audit of your buildings is an excellent starting point. This tells you immediately where the biggest 'energy eaters' are, and how you can do something about it. is the company's ambient or high efficiency boiler more than 15 years old? Replace it with a new condensing boiler and save between 15% and 30% on heating costs. a heat exchanger on the ventilation system can recuperate up to 85% of the heat from the extracted air. many industrial processes lend themselves to energy recuperation. An air pre-heater on a steam boiler can raise the efficiency by between 3% and 5%, for example. an air compressor is best installed in a cool room: if the temperature of the intake air falls by 5°C, the efficiency increases by 1.5%. companies lose on average 20% to 40% of their compressed air. Therefore make sure you check regularly that there are no pressure leaks. Moreover, the pressure of the compressed air installation is best set as low as possible. You can save 8% on your electricity bill for each bar less of pressure. in an office environment computers, printers and other office equipment can account for more than a quarter of the total electricity consumption. So, switch off the machines if they are not being used. fluorescent bulbs (strip lights) that are only glowing at the ends use three times more electricity than normal. The message here is: make sure you replace them promptly. 'Green' investing is a must for an increasing number of companies and organisations, for a variety of reasons. To do so successfully, they need expert advice. There are many reasons to start investing in ‘green’ projects. On the one hand there is, of course, the financial aspect - cost reduction or subsidies - and the legal framework, but on the other it is also often done under pressure from the shareholders, employees, customers or suppliers. However, it is not always easy for a company or an organisation to adhere constantly to evolving regulations and government measures. Furthermore, the techniques for exploiting natural energy sources and achieving improved energy efficiency are still very specialised, while the potential profit or saving is sometimes difficult to put into figures. Therefore you can call on the services of Sustainable Energy Services at BNP Paribas Fortis. These experts in renewable energy and energy efficiency can offer you first line advice for your projects and, together with you, work out the most appropriate solutions. "In order for us to be able to provide the best possible advice, it is important for any business with a 'green' project to involve us right from the planning stage. That gives us the opportunity to analyse in detail the feasibility, risks and earning potential of the project, and - where necessary - make a number of suggestions. Because, the stronger the business case and the better the project fits in with the strategic vision of the company or the organisation, the greater the chance any application for financing has of succeeding. That is because all too often banks receive incomplete or overly optimistic dossiers, for which it is difficult to obtain guarantees. In those instances, the party submitting the dossier runs the risk of the project being rejected because it is inadequate in terms of technical analysis, calculation of the earning potential or compliance with the regulatory framework." This will give you a better handle on your project (risks, earning potential, costs, benefits) and ensure you benefit from tailor-made financing. Are you planning a construction, renovation or energy project? Please do not hesitate to involve your relationship manager, who can also put you in touch with the specialists at Sustainable Energy Services if you so wish.

2019-04-25T20:04:07Z

https://companies.bnpparibasfortis.be/en/article?n=what-types-of-energy-efficient-buildings-are-there-

LAUREN BARRY: I'm Lauren Barry. I am the product marketing manager here at Brightcove. And I'm joining with Kyle Morton, who is the founder and CPO of HapYak. Today we're going behind the scenes. It's going to be more interactive and conversational with Kyle and I, and we're going to show you a lot of elements throughout the event. KYLE MORTON: Yeah. Absolutely. I'm looking forward because this is kind of a good example of a do it yourself, not a huge production. We're doing a lot of these things, like transition between slides, literally, during the broadcast, and you can, too. So we'll get into questions around that as we proceed. LAUREN BARRY: Today's agenda-- today, we're going to walk through why video? So why do we use video? Why are we using it here at Brightcove? Why do you use it at HapYak? And also, why should you be using it within your marketing strategies? It's different for different teams. We look at different KPIs. We look at different engagement rates and video analytics. So we're going to talk through that and see if it's similar for what they track at HapYak. So why video? You have the ability to engage with users within video that you wouldn't have through text. And you can also add interactive elements within videos, which is what we're trying to show you here. And with those interactive elements, you get a lot more data. The fact that it is video, that's just a technology you're using to deliver that communication. So always thinking about what's important to convey during that? Is it a presentation one way? Is it something where you're really trying to solicit feedback? Those are basic principles that are often overlooked when you get into the fray of technology and the technical details to put a video together that are always going to be a touchstone to be more effective. LAUREN BARRY: Let's get into the meat of this. So let's move Around the Enterprise. OK. Are you ready? LAUREN BARRY: OK. So the first place we're going to is with sales. "the best measurement of success for sales is internal training and/or communication where reps watch 100% of the video and answer questions validating their understanding of the content." KYLE MORTON: Yeah, I might think of it two ways. Those are-- what you stated was the goal of the communication. The KPI and success metric of having a person watch 100% of a video, I actually have a pro tip of something that I know is very effective for that, and it's called bad performance reviews if you don't watch the videos. So it sounds ridiculous, right? KYLE MORTON: So this is the reality of it and that's the challenge people are faced with. If management thinks about success of the video in terms of watching 100% of it, then it leads to that follow up someone being penalized if they don't and being how they could get in trouble. So it's weird, but that's the reality that I think most of us are living with. What is the goal? Effective communication, where you can ensure someone understands it, or is the goal that they complied or watched? LAUREN BARRY: Great. So let's move on to our next example. This is also a sales example, and it's from a different version of the sales. This one's specific for our account management team. So I just wanted to highlight that there's a little bit of a difference there. "seeing prospects complete videos at 75% and click the CTAs move a prospect through the funnel faster." KYLE MORTON: Yeah, we do. When you're reaching out and prospecting, you are trying to connect with someone through the story. You want them to receive your brand message. So that is often a better indicator of success, right, how long they spent with it. 75%, it's kind of arbitrary. It's going to depend on your content, but there's usually more storytelling. One thing that I've seen customers doing in their sales outbound process is often sending support videos. So we'll talk about that because support videos are not really storytelling, but they're absolutely used. They're used in the prospecting flow and especially when you have kind of a good marketing automation platform in place so you understand the touchpoints and you know if someone is ready for a nudge, which might be a video with call to action. But really, did they complete the call-to-action, the desired result? We'll talk about this more later. "each account has a unique path to purchasing. So seeing exactly how accounts interact with our video helps us follow up with targeted and relevant content resulting in an overall better customer experience." KYLE MORTON: It's a good goal. That's true. I think we all want to get there. Having all of the pieces in place to capture the behavioral data from your nonvideo systems and then connect the behavioral data from your video into those same systems and then make good decisions based on it, that's where ROI comes from, right? But being able to understand the data, to execute, and optimize your video strategy based on it, that's where the value comes and where you see your ability to do better and your ability to save costs in that process, too. Just as there is that fundamental shift between outreach with a call to action, and then you see what your conversion rate is. It's kind of old school, still happens. Can you understand the whole customer journey? LAUREN BARRY: Yeah, yeah. It's proving the ROI of the video, not only just the creation of it. "as product marketers, we see video as a tool to be able to build a story and tell our story in the most effective way. So high engagement is important to us." KYLE MORTON:. I totally agree. Because I think we're just touching on the nuances of, even folks watching right now, they have a lot of different hats and a lot of different functions. I'm sure there's product marketing managers who want to tell a story about their brand and their products. And then there are people who maybe they can eke out a screen recording, right? They all need the same things, right? KYLE MORTON: It's the same goals but you approach it differently. But for storytelling, I think that's right. You want to deliver your message. We see immersive storytelling emerging. So we've had some folks experimenting with 360 video, new types of storytelling. LAUREN BARRY: That's even better. KYLE MORTON: That's right. And so that can be used for what you do to refine the message even better and tell the story better, make sure you're not wasting anybody's time. Are you looking at analytics to make your stories better? LAUREN BARRY: That makes sense, totally. All right. So let's move on to support. And support, to me, is probably one of my favorites. And I feel like support teams are the front lines. They talk to more customers than even our sales teams do because they answer all of the questions that a customer or a prospect or someone that's taking out a trial may have. "the qualitative feedback is powerful for us, and we're working on quantitative feedback to help us create the right video content." KYLE MORTON: Yeah, it's the irony, right? The support staff is often the least supported function when they have the highest needs in so many ways. The best teams that we see using video for support functions, will do it as questions come in, they'll actually produce an FAQ and build on their FAQ with the spoken word, recordings and video. So the ROI, it is more as a base. One particular support topic not very interesting. Hard to see in ROI, except the fact that someone screen recorded it, so the barrier's low. 100? 500? 1,000? Because that's very practical with almost any product offering. There can be that many questions. That's when you want measurement about, as an initiative, how does video help? "Viewership is top priority for our organization, proving that people are watching and comprehending our corporate communications and shows our organization is aligned." So we have a new CEO, and since he's joined, he does routine video updates. We have a new CPO. We have a new CMO. So when they joined, he did actually one-to-one interviews with them. So it allows employees, not only here at headquarters, who are able to interact with them and meet him, get a sense of who he is. We have offices in Japan and London and so it sort of gives them a way to be more personally-- get a little bit of a personal interaction with him versus just in email. What's your reach? How many people in your employee base are going to access it? I think in any enterprise corporate communication strategy, you can build from there - What can you do to get the feedback? How can you use techniques from other initiatives in order to just do a better job and have better data to prove that that corporate messaging was received? LAUREN BARRY: True. That's true. All right. So I think we're going to shift out from our enterprise and actually go into a deeper dive into defining what ROI is around, still around the enterprise and in the theme of different groups within an organization, but sort of drill down into some examples and some example KPIs that we are going to go through. There's so many KPIs that you can monitor. These are just a few that we wanted to highlight for you. Move on now. LAUREN BARRY: Yeah, definitely. Yeah. So for our marketing organization, some benefits of why we use video from what we were saying before. Preference clarity, viewers can choose a path, like you were saying. It's a two-way engagement if you have a live event similar to this one. You're able to ask us questions, and we're able to answer your questions. We've done some events where we've done polling, and we've done surveys within the events. So that allows, again, a two-way conversation. If we ask a question and there's a very large portion of it saying one thing, then we can elaborate on that piece. And then it's also easy to identify the viewers. If you have a gated content, you can do simple lead forms. Or if you're enabled with audience to some other one of your platforms, then you can get actual known viewers, which is cool. And some KPIs that we like to watch is conversion rate, viewers to purchase, which is a good one. The live engagement-- so we can actually track how many people used that toggle. How many people have asked questions? These are good engagement numbers for these types of videos and then some campaign pipeline. KYLE MORTON: Right. Yeah. I'd say on the KPI side, it really does break down to what part of your marketing strategy does the content fit? So for campaigns, campaigns and events, this is an event, campaigns that you're going to have an SEM spend for, you really need clicks and click-through rates, right? So if it's a video marketing campaign for branding and delivering the message, then still, your KPIs are going to be engagement. You are going to think about, we were telling a story. How much of our story did they receive? KYLE MORTON: That's right. Did you like-- can we get a positive response through one of those buttons? And then, it's broken down by channels. Was it my SEM campaign? Was it my social campaign? Was it my email? Are Your Video Audiences "Activated"? The KPIs that we see people using, a concept called activation rate, right? Which are people who interact on a previous piece of content in a previous session, they're more likely to interact in future sessions. So when you get someone to interact on content marketing material through chapters, and I'll bring up the how-to slide, through some of the features like chapters that list the content that's in that particular video, the simple act of them navigating one time makes them two to three times more likely to engage in those features in the future. KYLE MORTON: And interesting, it's not even feature specific. So if you have a chapter menu, which lets you, again, skip to a certain point of the content, they're also two to three more times to click on a call to action in a future video. LAUREN BARRY: True. And if they skip to a certain chapter, you can see what they're interested in. KYLE MORTON: That's right. That's right. And so that's where some of the sophistication comes in of marketing has so much data. There's so much data. And step one is to collect the data, right? Most people get there, and they go, step two is really to build dashboards that perform some analysis to tie it back together. So again, just to be clear, that's where the rubber meets the road. That's where people struggle to put it all together. And the organizations that we see that have kind of solved the dashboards, that can make the connection between the behavior in a video, the behavior on their website, that's where they start seeing huge efficiencies in their video production, their overall strategy, and then the results they're looking for. LAUREN BARRY: Yeah. Great. So the next one we have is sales. And for sales, the video benefits that we see is it's a more personal connection. And it's also allowing them to build more of an emotion around the product and also help build a personal connection. We have a campaign that our revenue team does here, and it's called "Meet Your AM." It's probably one of the most talked about customer success video marketing campaigns here because it's really great. And the KPIs that are tied to them is how much of that video-- again, how much is watched? Did they request a meeting? There's buttons throughout the campaigns that request a meeting, get in contact with me, stuff like that. And then also, was the video shared internally? If we have tracking on the video we can see that more than one person has watched it. KYLE MORTON: Did you hit the target? So you're open rates on the email are really important in those types of outreach. That's when you do think about your email design, too, and using the large thumbnail with a play button on it. So I've seen the statistics out there that that increases open rates 30%, right? When you have those there. Right. So then, when people end up on those landing pages, that's it. It was direct. It was a target. I'm trying to introduce myself because I want to have a conversation with you. I understand your needs. I want to help you be successful here. KYLE MORTON: Contact me. Yeah. Book a meeting. So I think in the example that's on the screen right now, and I know we've run with campaigns at Brightcove is reducing the number of clicks to contact someone. So we've talked about calls to action. And most calls to action, it's a link. It's a link to go somewhere. What you can actually do with these interactive video capabilities is book a meeting in the video itself. So just like any optimization across your website or in a shopping cart or whatever you're doing, you lose a certain percentage of people every click that you require them to take. So if you've done a good job in that storytelling, you've captured someone, you can let them perform that whole transaction without ever leaving. And we see two to three times higher conversion rates when transactions are completed in the video as opposed to an external click. KYLE MORTON: That's right so I think it's a great technique. A lot of people don't realize that that's possible, that a call to action can be a highly functional widget, if you will, not just a link. But that's a really great technique. KYLE MORTON: Really easy to measure. That's what's great about it. Oh, did I book a meeting? KYLE MORTON: And do I feel good about this, right? Yeah, but like was it opened? That's concrete. Did they book a meeting? That's concrete. Great stats for you. Great stats for your boss. LAUREN BARRY: Very true. Very true. So we're going to move on to our next, obviously, personal favorite, which is customer support. The benefits that we talked a little bit through earlier, we'll talk a little bit more now. Easily addressing common support cases-- this is a great use and a great benefit for video. We have Bob Bailey, who is our famous training specialist, here at Brightcove. And he has many videos. And is pretty well-known When we have our PLAY event, everyone searches for Bob. So it's a great, great case and a great use of those videos. And he walks through exactly how to do certain things for the certain features that we have. So the KPIs that we watch in terms of the support one is the reducing of the tickets for that specific feature if we did a video for it. Has the case line gone down for that? And also any additional product feedback. It's not really KPI, but it's something we watch. LAUREN BARRY: It's the emotion again. KYLE MORTON: It's hard to form emotions with a screen, with text. But you see Bob, he's explaining. And he's really try to help you. He's done a lot of these things. He really is. He cares about it. And you can see that and it's communicated. So just strategically, when you can have kind of memorable individuals who can be the face of it, I think it's really a good strategy. KYLE MORTON: Crowdsourcing the support is another really good strategy for still helping people with that content and showing them it's a demonstration. Even if you don't have kind of the personality or story-driven ability to infuse into support, that's a strategy that I've seen be really effective. In terms of KPIs - tt's the reduction in the cases. They're cost avoidance that is measurable. And then you can compare that between a crowdsource strategy, maybe a storytelling strategy, and we've even had people use choose your own adventure style for support. If you think of it like a call tree. You dial up for support, press one to do this. Oh, OK, yeah, that's not me. I'm going to press-- and you got through it. That same support tree can be created in video. LAUREN BARRY: That's true. That's true. KYLE MORTON: And anecdotally, I'd actually love to run some sort of study to have some hard stats on this, but I've certainly gotten anecdotes from customers where the tone of support kind of dials down when you're using video and when there is a face to it, right? Humans treat other humans with a little more care than, oh, I'm so mad. I can't believe it's broken. What's happening? Oh, my god. I have a deadline. Video kind of can make those more productive. So getting the videos or getting the communications from the CEO from the C-Suite, from even we do a lot of Google Hangout because it gives a more personal connection to someone on the other side that might not be able to be in the same room as you. It allows you, again, to have that pinpoint accuracy. Who has viewed the video for how long? Did they watch the whole thing. Did they get to the end where the surprise announcement was or did they not and they don't know about it? And then also being able to test the knowledge. KYLE MORTON: On the KPI side-- reach, are people receiving it, where are they viewing, always the good baseline. And then thinking about how am I going to use any feedback that I can get, either to refine the message or to follow up on the message? LAUREN BARRY: That's true. And I assume that if you're doing a town hall or you have the CEO speaking live, if you're doing a live campaign, that's where the questions can come in. It's easier for an employee to ask a question that maybe they've been thinking about it. They didn't know who to ask. They didn't know what forum to go to. And if the CEO is asking if there's any questions, it's a great way to get engaged that way. So I think on this one, we're using Pigeonhole as the chat function, which is great, right? Because anything that you can find to integrate-- chat's a funny thing because it seems so basic. Everyone always thinks it's just the most standard thing. But there's an incredible amount of details that have to be attended to for that solution. So you have to be able to integrate one of these components to know that you can have that back and forth. If you're trying to establish a Q&A, it's a fundamental detail. Tell me more about what I'm seeing. Is this live stream video as well as the slides all HapYak products? LAUREN BARRY: The video's Brightcove. The slides are HapYak. KYLE MORTON: That's right. So just to explain that a little bit, a very traditional way to do something like this is there's two video streams that are kind of merged together so people get one video that's playing. What everyone's seeing is actually two different things. One is web technology, which is the slides, and the other is the stream from Brightcove. And then our technology is synchronizing the two unique elements. KYLE MORTON: Yes, HapYak can create personalized video with individual data. So there's like a whole advanced topics area, if you will. So when you think about interactivity, it's not the best term, but you are thinking about overlaid and synchronized elements in addition to interactive elements but sometimes they're just display. LAUREN BARRY: Yeah. It's great. This is a great last question, and obviously, a lot of people want to know the answer to it because it had 15 votes on the Pigeonhole dashboard. KYLE MORTON: It really depends on how much video you've already done, right? If you have a bunch of video but it's just a bit scattered and you don't know how it's performing, a place that we see a lot of customers starting right now is with the user sentiment widget, that thumbs up and thumbs down. It can be rolled out as a template, which means every video instantly gets it. It just shows up. And then you can start understanding, through simple user metrics, do people like it or not? When you use that element on a page, it's often confused with did I like the page? Did I like all those other elements? So you really do have to put it in the video itself. But that has been a stepping stone for people to build a broader strategy. To say, this is a template. It's on every video. They like these. They don't like these. And then they can say, hey, we have data we never had before. Let's have a data-driven video strategy, and that's when the ball really starts moving in the organization. So if you already have these, I think that's a great place to start. KYLE MORTON: Yeah. That's really just a benefit of the partnership that we've had. So it's a pretty seamless integration. Fundamentally, it's a plug-in on your Brightcove player. But there's a bunch of other technical details about where you access the tools and things like that but that's the fundamental integration. KYLE MORTON: Yeah. They come along for the ride wherever that player is implemented. So there's different ways that you can do some more advanced things, but Brightcove provides a really streamlined path for our integration that our joint customers use. LAUREN BARRY: That's great. That's a great way to end it. So we really appreciate you all joining us. We hope you enjoyed. And we got a lot of thumbs up. We'll have to check it out when this goes off. I believe our emails are on the slide. If there's any further questions once we're complete, feel free to email either myself for Brightcove questions or Kyle for HapYak questions or either of us or both of us. We like to answer questions. And we thank you for being here, and stay tuned for next time. These 1-to-many video communications are an efficient and scalable way to build personal relationships with customers. They'll save you time while making customers feel cared for. But they differ from 1-to-1 video personalizations in a crucial way: they reflect the company’s activities and efforts, not the unique activities and interests of the prospect or customer. Want to get more specific information from your audience segments? Of course you do! Unfortunately, traditional analytics aren't enough. You can’t decipher why and how users behave the way they do. For example, did the viewer watch the video again because they loved the content? or because they didn't understand it the first time? Successful marketers don't just identify communication trends, they cultivate them. Furthermore, today's sophisticated video marketers aren't content with conjectures or hunches - they want to know what's working and what's not. Video interactivity and personalization provides the deeper data and analytics necessary to engage in personalized campaigns and improve overall marketing results. Ready to learn more? Don't miss our LIVE EVENT with video technology partner, Brightcove. Our newest iteration of our SlideSync product pairs with Brightcove’s live streaming to deliver an end-to-end solution for streaming corporate events of all types - easily consumed on any device. Delivering an Enterprise-wide live stream to thousands of employees around the globe is a huge challenge for most organizations. The previous generation of live stream solutions often required proprietary hardware or software. These were invented without considering modern needs like mobile device viewing, web-analytics tracking, and active viewer participation. The integration of SlideSync into the Brightcove solution resolves previous challenges like event registration, mobile optimization, and viewer interaction. Furthermore, with HapYak, users are provided a web-based dashboard for managing synchronized content within the stream during the event. We want your Enterprise live stream to be seamless and the reach of your videos limitless. Communicate Complicated HR Policy Changes: HR teams could teach marketers a thing or two about email open rates. The fear-mongering *3RD ATTEMPT - DEADLINE IN ONE WEEK* always seems to get an open, right? Joking aside, Human Resources professionals often make requests of employees that are time-consuming and not easily understood. By live streaming policy changes and sending a follow-up video quiz, they can quickly get everyone on board. Video has quickly become the number one way to connect with buyers, viewers, and followers. For B2B sellers, a strategic video marketing approach tailored to a target audience can provide one of the highest ROIs for their brand. And an interactive video strategy can be just what’s needed to take a marketing campaign up a notch, improving lead qualification, stimulating the sales cycle, and maximizing return on various video assets. Any video marketing strategy, interactive or not, should include certain stages. Create quality content that’s relevant, to the point, and hooks an already impatient audience. A smart approach is to plan B2B video content that can be reused and repurposed. Be it on YouTube, Facebook, or embedded on your website, determine where your audience consumes their content. Use proper optimization for search engines, including publishing times, custom thumbnails, keywords, and transcripts. Powerful analytics that cover everything from reach to video engagement and monetization are a must. An online video marketing platform allows you to continually capture customer insights which, in turn, help you make smarter decisions that lead to increased audience engagement and revenue. Interactive video content is a better way to educate, entertain, and engage your target audience than “traditional” video experiences. With static video content, the customer's role is passive; they're left to their own devices in understanding how a solution might address their specific needs. With interactive video, a customer actively engages with the content creating a feedback loop with the brand guiding the viewer to the relevant content he or she cares about. In other words, it’s a marketing campaign strategy that puts a premium on customer input, creating a two-way dialogue that delivers a personalized experience from start to finish. Get the Click: Try satisfaction and sentiment feedback such as a thumbs up or thumbs down in product or promotional videos. Empower the Viewer: Using chapters and resource links in how-to and explainer videos creates an active learning environment for your prospect. Guide the Journey: Add branching or “choose your own adventure” with personalization to advertorial videos to take your B2B storytellingup anotch. Still trying to understand why you should you make interactive video a part of your marketing strategy? Video helps to differentiate your brand’s message and explains complex ideas in a way more people can easily understand. Video also improves recall - people are wired to process visual information with movement and remember stories (it’s how we learn!). Once you know the objective and have honed in on your video marketing KPIs, it’s time to define your target audience. For example, if you’re hoping to clinch a sale, the video should be aimed at the people who have purchasing power. Likewise, education videos won’t be embraced by decision makers who already know the landscape. These first two steps are common of any content marketing initiative, know your goal and audience, but then you need to answer, How?. Finally, create the content they care about. Market to prospects with techniques like personalized interactive webinar invitations. Data collected from quizzes, surveys, and types of downloads help cut through the clutter your audience has grown used to. When customers see their name they’re more likely to stay engaged because they feel they’re part of the story. Sales oriented content may include interactive branching videos. Similar to video games where you “choose your own adventure,” they allow buyers to decide their own path by answering questions designed to pinpoint the ideal solution. Product demonstration videos help you deliver a better customer experience, onboard more effectively, and close more sales. When used to explain the features and benefits of a product or service, they are an exciting visual way to help customers understand how you solve their challenges and why they should buy from you. Customer success videos such as analytic dashboards let users track their success with a product. Buyers can interact with personalized overlays or hotspots updating them on their progress. The possibilities with interactive video are endless. Not only can it be used across every stage of the customer journey, it can be utilized by multiple departments across your Enterprise organization. From branching to customer polls and calls-to-action, you can use interactive video at all stages of the funnel to solve a buyer’s problems. Understanding your audience and what they care about is knowable if you just ask. Instead of using analytics to measure time viewed or video completion rates and inferring their engagement, you can use in-video interaction points and annotations to request feedback and engagement. The data from these interactions is much more rich and actionable than those from your standard online video platform. Once you figure out these key interaction points, your video marketing becomes more effective—every Enterprise team can benefit, from marketing and sales to customer success and support. Other internal-facing teams like communications and learning, HR, and finance can easily find ways to use interactive video, communicating better while gaining insights. All brands want to create memorable content that engages. Interactive video, with its wealth of options, may be your best way to do just that. It all starts with a well-defined strategy. MATT CHILDS: Our buyers are interacting with video content, with our websites, any form of digital content before they even make a decision. Most of that journey is done before they even raise their hand and say they're ready to purchase or make a purchase and take action. So it's super important for us to leverage this content in a way that actually tells us not only who these people are and what they care about, but allows us to draw them in and get them to convert into buyers. Video is very, very crucial, and it's the biggest opportunity that we see to turn video viewers into customers. So today, we're going to dive into how to take advantage of the opportunity shoppable eCommerce video provides. How Does Video Play Into Your eCommerce Strategy?? And to do that, this is a common formula that we see across different marketing use cases but applies very much to what we're going to be talking about today is that you get the right viewer, you get them engaged with the right content, and at that moment, you've got them captivated. So how do you get them to convert and buy? That's the whole point of shoppable video and using video in eCommerce- taking advantage of that moment. KYLE MORTON: There is a convergence between eCommerce video strategy and content marketing- you're trying to sell things, but there is a nurturing flow. There is the establishment of deferred intent that are also critical in order to build up to finally have that moment. We all see the power of video to communicate, using it through that entire cycle, not just thinking about the transaction but through the buyer’s journey. Paired together, interactive video and content marketing ultimately lead to more transactions. Every video has a purpose. You're producing it in order to help move someone along the journey. There's a specific outcome. Just like you think of everything in your digital strategy as-- how do you get someone to take that next click? Well, that's what we're talking about with video. Interactivity is just that fancy term, but it just means getting to that next click to keep those people engaged. If anyone looks up trends of consumer video on the web, the top slot is entertainment and music videos. The next two slots are how-to and product reviews. So there is tremendous demand and appetite for this content type because people really want to understand and go deep on the product. MATT CHILDS: It's also great because of the SEO benefits. Because a lot of people go to Google to purchase a product. Or they're trying to solve a problem, and they'll type into Google, how do I do this? And they land on that video. Then you have their attention. You can drive them through the journey. MATT CHILDS: The next type gives the overview of the brand. It tells a story. When you think about going to create videos, you probably start here - it sets a tone of communication with customers and clarifies your competitive differentiators. KYLE MORTON: Yes, the first thing on your website, for more and more brands, is video. If you follow that logical line, your first experience is going to be beautiful and branded, communicating with sight and sound, not just words on a page. It starts at this top level and should continue through additional promotions. MATT CHILDS: What about behind-the-scenes content? This is more sophisticated content, it builds transparency and loyalty. KYLE MORTON: It's interesting, right? You wouldn't think, let's show how something is made in a kitchen or a bubbly shower gel, right? But that's where it's useful to make the connection between your content marketing plans and your eCommerce strategy. eCommerce marketers will ask, “what do I do next?” Remember, your audience’s consumption appetite is insatiable. Keep going. MATT CHILDS: Let’s talk about another type of content, lifestyle with product content. This content showcases your brand and products, showcasing the value of a specific product or service. Think of testimonial-type videos. This is a video player that interacts with page-level shopping elements. Joyus has made it really easy to not only engage with the video itself but to add the items that are featured within it to your bag or cart for checkout. To clarify, this is a combination of a video player and a site-level component or page-level component allowing the viewer to take action. KYLE MORTON: In the cases where you do have those landing pages for a particular experience, and you have control over more than just the video frame, you’ll want to consider the whole experience, but the call to action, very clear, right adjacent to the video. It's present the whole time. MATT CHILDS: Now I'm going to show you the future- where you can add that item to your cart and actually make a purchase from within a shoppable eCommerce video. KYLE MORTON: In the last example where you had control over the whole page, but with this technique it belongs to the video. And that’s great because you can also use it in marketing campaigns with different landing pages. This packages up the same interactive functionality for eCommerce videos, but it makes it portable. Now you can deploy eCommerce video it in multiple locations, not just a product page. The results? We see a significant increase in the click-through-rate on the calls-to-action that appear inside the video rather than adjacent to the video. MATT CHILDS: Remember, this could be an editorial content on the blog. You can maintain that conversion opportunity- might as well give them an option to take the next step, wherever they may be viewing that video. KYLE MORTON: Yes, West Ham United is a UK football club with a storied history. One of the most important products that they offer are their jerseys. This year, they wanted to supplement their existing strategy, their basic advertisements, but see if they could use their video content to add incremental purchases. West Ham United Example: to see this shoppable video in action, hover on the video overlay. You’ll see the jersey for sale. The results? This Marketing team was able to attribute 400 net new cart adds within the first week. Herbalife does a great job with video. It’s quite impressive how strategically they've implemented video in order to communicate across their resellers and customer base. e videos on landing pages every time they launch a new product because they know it increases conversion rates. Expanding this video strategy to encompass multiple channels at every step of the buyer’s journey is yielding better and better results. For a recent product launch that they did a clickable video with overlays. These interactivity points at different spots throughout the video timeline allowed their viewers to control their experience and actively engage with the video content. The results? Fantastic. This organization was able to attribute over $100,000 in sales directly to the shoppable video engagement in this campaign. This overshot their click-through-rate goal by 9x. Something I'll share about the click-through-rate- they placed unique calls-to-action at the beginning, middle, and end of each placement. The clicks occurred about one-third into each section. Hopefully that insight helps you in working within the best practices of video optimization. MATT CHILDS: Great, before we move to questions, I want to talk about some key takeaways. Select your best video asset. Assess current video performance and create a wishlist of what you’d like to improve upon or test- and then get started! Choosing among several thousands of video assets can be hard. So why not start with a group? You can test optimization techniques using HapYak’s easy templates to apply changes and scale efficiently. Get creative with your definition of an eCommerce video. Embrace the whole buyer’s journey and don’t just test interactivity on product pages - every video can be improved! Employ the right set of video marketing tools that will allow you to track and measure your results, as well as show the ROI of video. "I have a handful of product videos. How do you recommend testing and measuring interactive videos?" Think about measurement first, right? So how would you measure the success of that product page without interactive video? There are lots of different measurement tools- your cart system or web analytics. Regardless, think about the calls-to-action you'd use on that product page and then think about how you would connect those web-centric CTAs into the video itself? Integrate your content mediums. You should approach this as if video wasn't involved and then just apply those same decisions and content marketing logic, just integrating it into the video itself. That's the best way to think about it. "Can we use HapYak Interactive Video on Facebook and other social channels?" Most of the social networks are still walled gardens, meaning external tools aren’t granted access at this time. HapYak is part of the native Brightcove player. But even though the Brightcove player renders in Facebook that functionality isn’t available yet. Strategically what I can ask you to consider is, “how are you going to leverage your social strategies in order to drive traffic to your site where you have control over the whole funnel?” From an eCommerce perspective, you have to remember that anything that happens on Facebook… well, Facebook would want a piece of the action. That's the reality of it. So create that journey from social to your site, because you don’t want to share your revenue with Facebook. "What other metrics should we be reporting on for eCommerce video?" If video is tied into revenue, and marketing automation is a part of the equation, which viewers are viewing those videos? Are high-value contracts or frequent shoppers viewing content? Can you identify them? Also, don’t become too consumed with monitoring completion rate. We've found it’s more important to look at the drop-off point. Once you know that, you will know how to optimize your content and place calls-to-action that engage them at these spots. Furthermore, utilizing interactive techniques lessens the burden for the video production team. They don’t need to go recut videos, instead, anyone can add new or different CTAs, making an effective use of that video data. Suddenly, you've created a much more effective experience without having to take on the expense of creating the new asset. "What is the best practice for taking CTAs that were on the page and bringing them into the video?" Remember, just because you have an adjacent call-to-action or a prompt below the video, don't think that's enough. We absolutely have evidence to say that adding an in-video CTA is not going to create diminishing returns. It’s always good to test. In fact, our results show it’s going to achieve a better click-through-rate and viewership than the on-page CTAs. On the technical side, it's possible to, in some cases, to “call” the on-page functionality. So if you've already invested in technology for exactly how your cart works and how you pull people into that buyer’s journey, you’re not going to want a custom API integration. That’s okay, but consider how triggering an in video call-to-action could be a great way to leverage what you've already created. Many organizations use Adobe Captivate for making creative eLearning content, revitalizing traditional and somewhat passive, slide-based courses with video and other dynamic media. We know video learning is more memorable because it engages multiple senses, sight and sound, yet, it's still a largely passive experience. What if we could integrate another sense? Touch, perhaps? It's possible. Paired with the responsive design and mobile capabilities of Adobe Captivate, HapYak's interactive videos keep students in an active learning state (and provide engagement metrics for instructors). Imagine learners selecting and clicking on video hotspots, determining their pace and depth through a series of interactive video branching choices. The possibilities are endless! Luckily, HapYak and Adobe Captivate work together easily, making interactive video course creation a breeze. We'll guide you through the simple, four-step process; see how easy it is to make any video interactive in eLearning. In HapYak, go to your project and copy the "view landing page" link. In Adobe Captivate, select "Insert Interaction". Select the "Web Object interaction type". That's it! You've published interactive videos to your Adobe Captivate course. Get stuck sharing content between HapYak and Captivate? Captivate may paste the landing page link twice (it's a known issue in their system). If this happens, simply remove the duplicate. Can't publish to HTML5? To work around this, you will need to add "?user=guest" to the end of the landing page link. For example a URL string, https://hapyak.com/portal/viewer/71ec0ca6482a8daad98f1ed53158b9fe would now be https://hapyak.com/portal/viewer/71ec0ca6482a8daad98f1ed53158b9fe?user=guest. You're done! If you have any questions, Contact Us. Remember, immersive, interactive eLearning is valuable to students because they control their experience. Students can learn at their own pace, skipping ahead through chapters or diving into challenging concepts with a PDF download of supplemental material. There's no impatience and boredom, or fear of being "left behind," because the student is building their own personalized context or ideal conditions for learning- that's pretty powerful! In partnership with Loyalty360, HapYak's Founder, Kyle Morton led a webinar on personalized video. Kyle shared not only the different methods for deploying interactive video for customers but also strategic business strategies for personalized video and the real results both B2B and B2C organizations. Below is an edited and enhanced transcript. I'm really excited about today’s topic because it represents one of the major trends that we see among our customers and in the market more broadly- taking personalization techniques that have been used elsewhere and applying them to video. A mega-trend for all digital communication, video fundamentally communicates better. It's why I turned on my webcam. So hopefully you can see me, get a little bit more out of this message. It's why everyone on this webcast is probably already making investments in video, large or small, but doing it because of the undeniable draw of being able to communicate as a human being, as a human with sight and sound. We know it’s the best way to deliver your message. Video is key to every part of the customer lifecycle, whether you're on this call because you're thinking about driving conversions in e-commerce, or if it's B2B software platform sales, or if it's some sort of nurturing or video support. When people think about personalization, it's usually discussed along the lines of a campaign. A specific outreach, a specific message, that has an intention of adding somebody's personalized content and turning it into a conversion action right away, right? That's absolutely a great use case. Video is used throughout that lifecycle and can add value to each step. Video is powerful, effective communication. Personalization is a technique that makes it highly relevant and actionable- and that's the key. The old way of delivering these messages is, in fact, the most common way. You make an investment in a series of videos to promote something or inform someone, it could be how-to content or promotional; then you publish and market that. It’s still highly effective because video itself is highly effective. But what we really want to review is how the "best of the best" are doing it, folks who leaned in and recognized this truth: video is your most effective content type, but it's not just a content type. It's another arrow in the quiver. It's a great message. But in the broader space of web technology, there are really sophisticated automation platforms, integrations of CRMs, A/B testing, and optimization frameworks. There so many technologies and infrastructures that are deployed for standard static web content, if you will, that often aren't applied to video- if nothing else, if nothing else, just kind of considering that. Consider all the ways that you already optimize everything you do with your digital strategy. And where is video included in that? And where is video left out from that? Think about that. Because it, in and of itself, might illuminate new ways to benefit from what you're doing with video. What the best of the best are doing are not delivering one message to everybody, but delivering one message to one person. Because it's about respecting that communication, which is another way that I like to think about personalization of technology as a whole. But what the challenge is, is needing unified data systems that will help you identify from the total potential audience- it could be actual people who are more likely to engage, more willing to engage. What their preferences are, what their behavioral patterns are, is key to being able to be effective with your content strategy. All personalization flows from actually being able to know something about these viewers. Personalization can, in terms of the techniques that we'll look at, be either visual personalization or behavioral personalization. Not just saying, “Hey, welcome back, John. Glad to have you here.” It could be that John is also looking for how-to information. So, first and foremost, I need to put the links for the how-to content at the top of my navigation menu, tailoring my content for John within the video. That's fundamentally what personalization comes down to, the right action at the right time that's going to be effective for the right person. Lowers digital communication barriers to prospects and customers. They feel embraced in a one-on-one conversation, which lifts engagement. Respects for the viewer’s time, but also their experience. By empathizing with the viewer first, you can deliver the best content. Provides super rich audience data allowing for content and campaign optimization, refining your marketing efforts with each iteration. Accelerates conversion, as this more considerate, humanized communication strategy generates brand affinity from the prospect. They know you, they like you, and now, they want to buy from you. Keeping our poll top of mind, How do you do it better? How can you think about it more strategically? One of these ways is the right action at the right time- presenting these calls-to-action in videos. Personalized calls-to-action convert 202% better according to HubSpot. That's such a fundamentally easy value proposition, an easy justification to try personalized video. Once you define why you want to create custom or personalized calls-to-action, then you have to define “the what” and “the how.” Time nurtured, how are you going to reach them? How are you going to follow up with them? And then what's the specific content? Determine Top Performing Offers and Creative: A/B testing, either using Optimizely or Adobe Test and Target, gets you started with a personalization strategy. You’ll do this because you want to know what types of content and what types of calls-to-action, broadly, are going to perform. Create an Automated Campaign: Utilization of a marketing automation platform allows you to follow-up based on behavioral data and identity generation. After an opt-in, you can nurture that person over time. If your conversion action is to generate a lead, then you’ll see how this directly relates to the reduced acquisition cost once video is introduced. Make a Personalized, Interactive Video: Using the data from what you've collected through the nurturing process, you can start connecting all the dots, building an asset that is customized and contains this specific customer information. It will be highly relevant to that person and delivered at the right time. Just like with anything in the marketing stack, there's a lot of pieces, but integrating all of them together is fundamental to the value you're going to get from your video assets, making them more effective and engaging. We see people using video in three ways as part of their personalization strategy. The first would be around the video asset itself- so on a web page, while delivering the right video. The next would be within the video itself, having those personalized calls-to-action or other custom overlays. And the last would be how web and video tie together but through a marketing automation platform. The goal is to run a campaign that pulls people in and gives them web-based access to personalized video assets. The first, this is very much via Adobe Test and Target scenario. If you're using some of their content delivery form information, being able to have metadata that's very robust, you can use this metadata on the videos indicating things connected to somebody's user profile. So this is another thing to consider when you want to use personalization there is you can come up with a set and say, I have five videos. I want to A/B test them on rotation to see which one people engage with the most. Where it turns into personalization is say, I have five videos. One of them is a how-to video. One of them is a promotional video. One of them is a product announcement, and so on and so forth. The video type is present in the metadata and can be used with the metadata of a user profile. Think, when they log in or when they visit your site. You know that, in the past, they've visited videos of that type. They have maybe expressed interest specifically through their profile in the marketing automation platform. Then you can use that information to select from the A/B set you’ve created so that based on the metadata, the site serves that specific video. That's a really cool and I'd say most commonly implemented solution because it's fairly generic, right? If you're personalizing other web content, this is treating video just like another content type. This next one is personalizing the video content itself. You may all have received a bill in your email, but there was a link to a video version of your bill. I've gotten these from Verizon. Then there'll be video content that has my data dynamically injected into it- I can see my usage and name. It's a one-to-one video asset. For me, this one video was created. It can be a compelling, customized experience. There may be some limited use cases for using this kind of customer information. It depends on how you're going to apply it. There are two techniques for how to personalize video content in this fashion. One is burned-in, the kind of industry term. The other would be the overlay. There are software and services that will allow you to export a list of your known contacts and then, well, generate an actual individual video asset for each one of those contacts. You have to create specific configuration within video editing software to merge that data, sort of like a mail merge when you're sending an email campaign, but into the video asset. The other approach- and we're seeing this gain in popularity because of its flexibility- are dynamic overlays. So rather than precisely burning information into specific frames of the video, what you're doing is you're synchronizing overlays that are applied at the moment somebody watches the video. There's only ever one video asset being produced, only one asset being managed. But dynamically, when somebody views it, the information from the marketing automation platform or CRM or cookies are merged in. Dynamically those overlays will then appear with that additional content. With this method, there are some trade-offs in terms of motion graphics, how you might actually have the visuals appear. But there's also benefits in terms of the flexibility, the lower cost, the lower volume of asset production, so the less overhead in terms of the management of it. Keep that in mind, too, if you're investigating video personalization solutions, to know which technique is utilized. Is it burned-in? Is it overlay? And maybe what's appropriate for how you're going to use it. Burned-in is generally campaigns. Dynamic overlays are generally for email nurturing. But, they could be interchangeable, depending on what your needs are. Probably the most common type is a list here of personalizing video is similar to what I was describing on the website in terms of using Adobe Test and Target to put the right content. But this is using your marketing automation platform to look at the scores of users, the behavioral attributes of users, and their interests to trigger automated emails, and send out email campaigns. I receive this all day long. You guys probably get a lot of these. You visit a website. You do a search. You do some have some specific behavioral action. You end up in that marketing automation platform tab as being interested in that content. And then the follow-up email is video- this is the third method. Why is it video? Because people open video emails. They have a significantly higher open rate. Once you land on a video, people watch longer. So it has a higher engagement. And then of course, if you combine that with the technique of a precise overlay, can be the most effective way to convert email. Video email- we see it all the time because people are adopting these marketing automation platforms for these sophisticated uses. They're combining it with the efficacy of video. You can also merge in some of that dynamic information to power the overlay technology. Most of you, 65%, are already using personalization and experimenting with emails or the website. Let me show you some examples of this type of video personalization for customer retention. 2X and 3X more effective, producing a higher click-through rate, than any other call-to-action on the same page. 42% more effective when combined with personalization. How is this deployed? Through a marketing automation platform, email campaigns are designed. The email campaigns mail merge specific user information into the emails that are generated. When people click on those, links they end up on a landing page for a video with parameterized information about that user. And then that's all dynamically put together into a seamless experience, where there is the video, a personalized call-to-action on the end card, personalized overlays to show, “Hey, I remember you. I know who you are. You can rely on me to provide a concierge experience.” That's a really simple and streamlined implementation but powerful use case. This next example can be done with overlays or burned-in. This is an example of actual video asset with essentially simple motion graphics that are personalized. So in this case, Daniel- it has that. Daniel's itinerary is on the phone right there. I'm the viewer. My name's Daniel. When I'm watching this video, I'm, thinking, “What else do they know about me in a way that proves they can deliver this concierge experience?” As a business, you’re conveying that you know and respect your customer. Personalization reduces acquisition cost up to 50%, and it’s because of this acknowledgment. Think of all the various touch points you might have from someone. Maybe they're identified at some point. Maybe you know something about their behavior. Whatever it is, if you can utilize that information to tailor the actual content experience, not just the content asset. You're building on the communication that recognizes them. Ultimately is going to lead to the places where your video calls-to-action are effective. There are many pieces in a customer lifecycle. Different techniques are going to be appropriate at different times. These videos go out from their account-based marketing solution, these campaigns. The call-to-action is a specific call-to-action saying in that case, hey, Chris, do you want to ask Tara a question? The call-to-action is personalized for you. And the person in the video, they have a name, too. It's personalized for them, right? So the account manager, in this case Tara, this is her video. Each account manager has her own video. Their production is based on a repeatable template for shooting these things. They've seen some great results, right? They've seen awesome open rates, impressive share rates. They share it with another person because they think it's cool. Great engagement rates- that means the email recipient is moving through to the landing page. They're actually viewing the majority of that video experience, creating a huge amount of time-on-site, so they’ve heard the content, the message. They're engaging. Final result? This is among the most successful ways this company books meetings. You can send an email and say, “Hey, reach out to me. Let's have a meeting and talk about X.” No one ever opens that. You send a video like this, where the brand shows they know who you are, and lets you directly engage by combining interactive video with a personalized call-to-action- then, it's actionable. The customer is going to ask a question or book a meeting. And that's precisely what this company is seeing. Just Start. I know I threw out a lot of different technologies, discussed a lot of integrations. But it's easier than it used to be. There are ways to try any of these capabilities individually. But you're going to see the impact. You're going to see the outcomes. Integrate these capabilities to use video throughout the whole customer journey. Interactive video can be valuable at every stage- because communication is always critical. And then think about what systems will be touched first rather than last. Think about video like any other content, not as its own silo. Do what you can to break down those silos. Make sure it's going to integrate across the systems where you're ultimately going to measure your results. And you'll thank yourself. 1. Are these interactive video campaign principles B2B or B2C or both? That's a great question. I would say the principles are both. The principles are absolutely both. My area of expertise is B2B. Our customers are B2B. So regarding these specific examples and the technology stack generally used, they are in B2B. I'd say in B2C, especially around e-commerce, where people are often logged in, often have accounts. There are behavioral profiles. I'd say that's the specific area of B2C that I think has the most overlap in terms of the techniques and capabilities I was discussing. 2. Can I add personalization to existing videos? Absolutely, yes, all the different techniques that I mentioned except the burned-in video campaign. But with the other technique, creating personalized calls-to-action (making sure you're showing the right content at the right time to the right person) these are things that are broadly accessible to any existing videos that you have. 3. How does interactivity work with sound or music? I did not cover this yet, so that's a really good question. That is connected to the burned-in video again. For the burned-in video personalization, there is generally options for graphics, for music. Those solutions will actually provide those types of capabilities. 4. What is the level of technical expertise required to create an interactive video? Can I do it myself? Or do you have services to help? We do have services to help. But you can do it yourself. I guess an interesting way is I think everyone should experiment. Everyone should dabble. But I don't want to give the importance of an effort like this short shrift. If you have people in your organization who deal with A/B testing or personalization for other content types, you should try to get them involved in the conversation. Because you can use these techniques. You can prove the value proposition and have initial success. And you can generally do so independently with tools that are available from HapYak and things you might be able to find. Keep in mind the strategic view about how you're going to roll this out and utilize it should always be the goal. So if your organization has anybody with the wherewithal to understand a conversation like this and personalization, I'd recommend getting them involved. 5. Are there any differences in the interactive video experience depending on the device- phone, tablet, computer? I say yes, there are differences- anybody that says otherwise is probably not giving you the right answer or a good answer. The form factor and the way people consume information on the go through a mobile video experience is simply different than on the web. It's simply different. You should always consider when the personalized overlays make sense. Do they make sense on a mobile device? Do they make sense on a web browser? When should you use any of these techniques? It definitely matters. From a technical distinction, no- most of the technical barriers are erased. You can perform just about any of the techniques that I discussed on phone, on tablet, on web. You can start with a standard strategy that treats them all the same of course, but I think that you should optimize the experience by device type, if possible. And you might ultimately want to use different techniques. 6. With regards to video and email, is it video embedded or online links, bearing in mind most email clients lack the support requiring various codecs? When I talk about email campaigns that are including videos, I'm really talking about including a thumbnail image that links to a page. It is possible to embed video in email, at least for certain email clients. I don't know if we have any customers currently doing that. Because it's limited. It's complex. And quite frankly, the cost benefit is not obvious. Just letting somebody click and link out, you end up with better data about their behavior. You know they clicked on it. You've also got more control over the experience. Generally, a thumbnail that's linked to a landing page is still the best technique, at least as far as what I'm saying our customers do. And I think that's it for questions. So hopefully, we'll see you on another webinar in the future. Thank you so much for your time today. Hey, it's Cass from HapYak. I'm going to walk you through in the next few minutes how to produce the prototypical and ideal branching or choose your own adventure video. This is a very popular type of interactive video produced these days. I always like to think about it like those books you may have read when you were a kid. If you want to go into door A, skip to page 74. Door B, skip to page 97. Branching and choose your own adventure video is popular, both for B2B marketing-- often we see that use case-- and e-learning or corporate training, because what it does is it allows the viewers to personalize their own experience. Each viewer is coming to the video with a different set of background knowledge, and really with a different goal of viewing those videos. And a branching and choose your own adventure video allows you to reach that goal much faster, much more efficiently, and have a much happier and engaging experience. Interactive video is a show me technology, so let's skip right to an example. This first one is with James Earl Jones. Who doesn't want James Earl Jones talking to you? So let's watch this experience of what I think is one of the best, most ideal branching and choose your own adventure videos out there. Hello. I'm James Earl Jones. Staying informed is one of the best things people can do to make it possible to live well with Type II diabetes. And some of the most important topics on INVOKANA can be found right here. Click one of these icons to learn about the topic that interests you. Let's pause for a moment. Best practices for branching videos. There are three that are demonstrated really well in this video. Number one, reserve half the screen for the talent or subject matter expert, the other half for interactions. That allows a very clear layout to be explicit to the viewer, this is an interactive video. You can click on something. It also follows best practices for mobile interaction design. You want big, clickable targets. A lot of your viewers are going to be on iPads, on iPhones, on smartphones. You want these big, clickable targets. Reserving half the screen for those interactions is a useful technique. A lot of what I'm talking about here is really producing a video with interactivity in mind. When you're writing your script, when you're drawing up your storyboards, when you are on set, on studio and you're setting up your shots, you want to consider these best practices. So that's one. Half the screen for talent and half the screen for interactions. Number two, be very explicit. James Earl Jones was saying, this is an interactive video. You can click on a topic. You can skip to the section that's most relevant to you. That helps turn what was once a monologue-- video was once a monologue-- into a dialogue. And you can have a conversation with the viewer, tell them they can click on something and they can branch off to a different section of the video. Number three, they really simplify the shoot. As you can see, this is in limbo against white, this particular shoot. We often see that, or against a green screen with motion graphics in the background. The experience is the star here. You really want to think about having a conversation with the viewer, and don't distract from that conversation. Allow the conversation to happen, and allow space for the interactions to happen, for the viewer to continue that conversation. A final mantra we like to say at HapYak is make video work like the rest of the web. And what is the web? It's clickable. It's interactive. You can guide your experience. Video has never been like that. But now with branching and choose your own adventure video, it is. Let's click on a choice and see what happens. - Of course, we may not all be doctors. But how medication works is certainly something I'm interested in. And if you are too, you can learn more here. So I'll click on the call-to-action, in this case, it opens up another tab. And I can learn more about this topic. This is classic content marketing. You're continuing the journey for the viewer. You're educating the viewer on these topics. You're getting them comfortable with your brand and the value proposition of what you guys offer. This is what INVOKANA did which was so smart. Each of those four sections has a unique call-to-action that's specific to the topic that's relevant to the viewer. In this case, you click through to another video. Another one clicks through to a landing page where you can continue a conversation with a real human being. So there you have it. Number one of two examples. Let's skip to the second one here. I love this one. This is a branching video that's produced for training. In this case, it's support training by a company called Nutanix. What they're actually trying to do is replicate in-person training. This person used to go around the country training people in person, support personnel. And replicate that with interactive video-based training. Let's take a look at the experience together. - Welcome to the Nutanix Support Experience for authorized support partners. My name is Al Harper, and I'm a Systems Reliability Engineer with Nutanix Support. I'm the author of this module, and I'm very excited to share with you the Nutanix Support experience. So let's mute him while it continues playing. I'm going to skip directly to the branching menu. He lays out five options. The greeting, the problem description. These are all topics that you as a viewer can learn about. The information is presented to you. You start getting comfortable with what the topics are inside the video. I'm sure all you guys are used to you load a video. You see it's a very long video, and you start hunting and pecking and clicking on the timeline. What's inside here? Is this really relevant to me? Is it worth my time? When you lay the topics out like this explicitly, the viewer typically gets very comfortable. And they'll simply watch more and more of the video. Now, I as a viewer am going to click on a particular topic. I can learn more about it. If I like, I continue. If not, I'm going to skip back to the branching menu here, and I'm going to make a selection. Now, let's go over those best practices again. Number one, screen right for the talent, or screen left. Reserve the other half of the screen for interactions. Number two, be very explicit. These are the topics. You can click on one. And I like this little technique where they let the camera roll on set, and they have Al gesture towards the interactions and create a little fun. Have some fun with it. This will increase click-through rate. But perhaps more importantly, it really increases the satisfaction with the viewing experience. Typically, if you do a CSAT or a learner satisfaction survey, you'll see that interactive video like this is much higher than any Click Next learning you might do with a slide-based authoring system. Now, we're going to go into the tool in a moment about how to actually author this. The final thing I'll say about the video is this unit and Nutanix, they're very talented with motion graphics, After Effects and motion. So what they did is they did the shoot on green screen. You saw a lot of ins and outs into the branching menu with really cool wipes with motion graphics. So have fun with that. Be explicit and let the audience know their options. Keep your video shoot simple, but create a fun, engaging experience! But all the stuff you see in here is actually from After Effects as well. The only thing they're using HapYak for is invisible video chapter markers and invisible hotspots that allow someone to branch to a different point in the video. Let's take a look at that together. Here is the menu laid out. If you remember, there are five choices. The first thing Nutanix did is they went to the video and they framed it out. They said, well, at this point, this is going to be the beginning of the Greeting section. What I did is, I clicked on an invisible chapter here. I typed out the title. I clicked Done. I would create that invisible chapter menu. What that's going to allow you to do is when you're at a point where you want to branch someone to a particular point in the video, you're going to be clicking a Link option. And when you add those invisible chapter menus, it creates this really handy menu. So you can say, yeah, I want someone to skip to the greeting when they click on this particular annotation. The annotation Nutanix used is the hotspot annotation, the one with this icon right here. It's an invisible overlay. And again, all it's doing is linking the person to a different time in the video. There are five choice points here. If you remember, the viewer will watch. They'll have the opportunity to make a choice. And if they don't make a choice, you'll see it'll loop back to the beginning of this choice point. The way they did that. In the Edit menu, again the Link option. If the viewer does not click, they clicked Loop Back. And that's a very handy technique to allow people the option to consider which choice they want to make. My favorite analogy here is the show "Blues Clues," a children's show that used to be on. "Blues Clues' was the first one that allowed the child to respond to what they were seeing. The host would ask the child a question, and then he'd literally pause for about 10 seconds and stare at the camera and allow the child to consider their answer and talk it and say it back to the television. Interactive video is the exact same way. You want to give the viewer seven, 10 seconds to consider what they want to do next, and then click on it to branch off to that section of the videos. So I like that rule of thumb. Between seven and 10 seconds for a choice point is a great rule of thumb. So that's it. We've walked through a couple prototypical examples. We've walked through the best practices of producing video with interactivity in mind. We love leaning in when you're working on these marquee projects, so please keep the dialogue open. E-mail us at support@hapyak.com. Use this built-in chat functionality, which is really handy, where you can ping us with a quick question on your project. And we'd love to advise. Hope it's helpful. We'll be doing a lot more videos like this in the future, and thanks so much for listening. This post was originally published by Cass Sapir on December 5th, 2016. We have updated this blog with additional resources and a transcript.

2019-04-24T02:12:32Z

https://corp.hapyak.com/resources/author/shannon/

Veterans and Wounded Warrior Adventures! Over the past couple weeks; I have had the opportunity to go on a couple trips with Don to the Black River located in Bladen County, NC. This river offers plenty of beautiful wildlife including wild turkey, deer, several types of ducks, and wildflowers. The Black River is also home to the Three Sisters Swamp where you can find some of the oldest recorded cypress trees in the country. Although these trees are not marked, for their own protection, with an experienced guide such as Don, you will be able to see some amazing old growth cypress trees in this swamp that have been dated to being over 2,000 years old. Paddling through this swamp truly is a majestic experience. Being able to get up close and personal with these ancient cypress trees gave me a deeper connection to this swamp. In ways this swamp inspired me by showing me no matter how hard these trees have been hit and beaten by countless hurricanes, high winds, floods, and other natural disasters, they still stand tall and strong after all those years. One of the most memorable parts of both these trips included seeing the beautiful spider lilies bloom. This is a special phenomenon here in eastern North Carolina because these plants only bloom for about two weeks out of the year. But what a spectacular experience it is to be able to see these plants bloom during their short flowering period. It’s trips like these which make me realize how lucky we are to be able to experience gods creation and enjoy the natural beauty of many diverse eco systems from a kayak. Don & Diane Harty own Mahanaim Adventures. They specialize in helping families and groups to have “Positive & Memorable” outdoor adventures. Whether these are wildlife view adventure, camping adventure or a simple kayaking adventure. They provide kayaking adventures on Town Creek, Cape Fear River, Fort Fisher Basin, Masonboro Island, Black River, Holly Shelter Creek and Moores Creek. Contact them at www.mahanaimadventures.com for more information about all of their adventures. This blog was written by Mike Manning. I am Mahanaim Adventures new intern for the summer of 2018. I am a Park and Recreation Management student at East Carolina University, Go Pirates! I love the outdoors and have a strong passion for kayaking. This coming summer I will be writing a blog similar to this every other week to let everyone know about the awesome adventures we will have on the water this summer. Abundance. Webster’s dictionary give us the following description as “an ample quantity; an abundant amount; profusion; affluence, wealth; a relative degree of plentyfulness.” Recently I have begun thinking about what abundance really means in a person’s life. I have come to think that we, at least in the United States may have the wrong idea of what abundance means. You see, I have grown up with the idea that an abundant life was one that had wealth and things that made life easy. But over the past 8 years, my thinking has begun to shift about this definition. You see, I consider myself a normal, common man that works very hard to provide for my wife and kids. I worked hard and often long hours to have what I thought was “an abundant” life. But chasing after all the abundance that our society says we should have, and to be a “Successful Provider” for my family, left me tired and empty. It seemed that the abundance that I wanted; was always just one step ahead of where I was at and I needed to do more. You know, work harder to move up the corporate ladder and get that next promotion or big pay raise. Please don’t get me wrong, I do believe hard work is essential to success anywhere you go. Yet my hard work never brought me what I thought it should; the abundance I always hoped for. Recently my perspective on abundance has shifted and I found that I already had all the abundance that I had been looking for. You see, the abundance that I was seeking was found in the relationships that I was developing with my wife, with my kids, with the people God had placed around me. It was not in the affluence or wealth of having many things or providing my family with all the worldly things that they desired. The abundance I was needed the most was in the relationships that I have been developing. Back in 2010, I was laid off from a wonderful job at UNCW (great place to work). At that time, my Bride and I started Mahanaim Adventures. Through the past 8 years, I have had the awesome opportunity to work side by side with each of my kids, leading kayaking adventure all over the Cape Fear area of Coastal North Carolina. Now my kids are grown and all on their own, but I have all of these awesome moments spent with them, not just working and having fun, but making memories together. Today, Joseph and I run the adventures together and I am blessed having him with me in this. And my two daughters, well, they want to take part when they come into town from where they live with their families. So you see, because of a simple little change in my perspective, my whole outlook on what I have or don’t have has changed. Yes, I still work hard to build our family business and I still can work some long hours. Most of my weekends are shot, because I am working, especially during the warmer months. But I now see my life a much fuller and richer; and has replaced the chase after things of abundance with a real abundance I was craving. All of this because of a change in my perspective; or could I say “Attitude”. Don and Diane Harty are the owners of Mahanaim Adventures; the Cape Fear and Wilmington, NC areas premier outdoor adventure guide and kayaking business. Don and Joseph (son of Don and Diane) strive that each person on our adventures to have a “Positive & Memorable” experience. We offer quality half-day, full-day and overnight kayaking adventures. We also provide team building adventures and courses as well as wilderness first aid classes to Boy Scouts and other groups. Posted in Adventure, backpacking, Family Camping, Kayaking, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Abundance? I recently had the pleasure of taking a family of three from West Virginia on a Sharks Tooth Island adventure to hunt for prehistoric sharks teeth and fossilized shells. This trip was different than others in that I was given to opportunity to experience a family’s first time in kayaks. They were gung-ho from the get-go, ready to learn and create memories. Once on the water I immediately heard the father laughing in excitement. I recall him saying, “this is the coolest thing”. This family was no green horn when it came to hunting for shark’s teeth. They had been coming to Carolina Beach every summer for the past 20 years. Upon landing at Shark Tooth Island we began finding teeth straightaway. That morning we had a really low tide creating opportunity for great hunting. With the tide so low we were given the chance to hit all three islands, our final stop being Keg Island. Not five minutes after landing the father found one of the largest sharks teeth I’ve seen found. The tooth was of a Great White Shark. It had a full shank around 3 inches wide and was around 2 inches long with the tip broken. We couldn’t believe our eyes. That morning might have been the most successful hunt I’ve ever had with a group. This trip proved that the teeth are out there, we just have to go find them. This Blog was Written by Sam Law. I am Mahanaim Advenures new intern for the summer of 2016. I am a Park and Recreation Management Student at East Carolina, Go Pirates! I love the the ocean and outdoors more than anything. This coming summer i will be writing a blog similar to this each week to let everyone know about the awesome adventures and encounters we have. I hope to see ya’ll out paddling this summer. We found ourselves in the parking lot of Patriot Hall at the Moore’s Creek Battlefield in Burgaw, North Carolina. Don and I were preparing to lead a group of folks from Brunswick Forest. That day we had the honor of guiding many repeat participants whom we had the pleasure of giving a kayak lesson to weeks prior. Our paddle that morning consisted of a four mile trek down and back up Moore’s Creek. During the trip our group paddled under the replica bridge in which the Battle of Moore’s Creek was focused around. Many Prothonotary Warblers were darting across the creek that morning. After our paddle that day we met with Jason Howell, a park ranger at the battlefield, who gave us a walking tour and lesson of the historic sight. The story goes that in 1773 after the Boston Tea Party, the “intolerable act” is put in place turning Massachusetts into a military state. This scared other states, enough to have other states aid Massachusetts. North Carolina residents send corn and supplies in order to help but were reprimanded by the North Carolina Governor. A frigid evening on February 26, 1776, General Donald MacDonald of the Loyalists alongside of Scottish Highlanders,set camp on the south side of the bridge. Colonel James Moore and his group of militia men and patriots prepare to the North. If the Loyalists are to take Moore’s Creek they will be able to take the North Carolina coast. Before the battle the Patriots remove the bridge tresses and oil the remaining wood in order to sabotage the Loyalists attempt to cross and attack. While the Loyalists attempt to cross the bridge the Patriots planned to attack. The battle happened accordingly to Colonel James Moore’s plan, gaining victory for the Patriots. Although the battle only lasted three minutes over 30 Loyalists men were lost while only one Patriot died. The Battle of Moore’s Creek was a huge step to North Carolina’s vote for independence. Moore’s Creek Battlefield is not only a beautiful paddle, but the area is full of rich history. Last Friday evening, I had the privilege of leading a group of people from Brunswick Forest on a moon light kayaking adventure on Town Creek. The evening was almost perfect; except for a few thin high clouds that tried to cover the moon. It was about 30 minutes before the sun set when we stopped for dinner on the river for a picnic and camp fire. We had been paddling for about 90 minutes and everyone was starting to get hungry. So while everyone was starting to enjoy their picnic dinners, I got a nice warm campfire started. In just a few minutes, the fire was blazing away, casting its glow around the area and creating a wonderful warm feeling for everyone there. It was almost instantly happened; once the fire was started everyone sat down on the bench or on one of the picnic blankets that were around the fire; when everyone stated sharing memories about their going up and campfires. It was so cool to sit back and watch everyone relax and enjoy the warm fire as the sun was setting to our west and share with each other. Stories about campfires they remembered as kids; the fun of roasting marshmallows and making s’mores. It seemed to me that all of these memories shared a common theme; family and fun. Someone shared that in her family, they would go to the family farm this all 6 of her brothers and sisters. As she talked about that, I could see the fun they had in her eyes and hear it in her voice. I shared about how my grandmother took candles and show me and a friend how to roast a marshmallow, while it was storming outside the house. For all I know the power could have been knocked out at the time, but I don’t remember that, I just remember how our little fire changed an evening into something fun. Soon, it was time for us to pack up, put out the fire and paddle back home by the full moon light that shown in the river. What an adventure the evening was for us all. I am sure that the paddle back to the kayak launch was memorable for each of them. But I am also confident that the time shared with new friends sitting around a campfire; roasting marshmallows and making s’mores will be a memory that these people hold onto. These people not only connected with something they remembered from their childhood, when things were simpler in their lives. But they also connected with each other, building important relationships. I don’t know about you, but I need this myself; what about you? Mahanaim Adventures offers guided kayaking adventures in the Wilmington, Carolina Beach areas as well as the Cape Fear Region. We specialize in creating that memory of a life time for you and your family and friends. Check out our web page and find out more details about all of our adventure locations. Gloomy Days May Not Be So Bad? The past Saturday evening was one of those unexpected evenings. The day started out overcast and in some ways very gloomy. You know the type of mornings I am talking about; the ones where it just seems that it could just start drizzling and drizzle all day long. It seemed to be a perfect day to stay inside with a good book and read all day long. Yet for some folks, there is beauty to be found in the outdoors on a day like that. Besides, it was a welcome change to be out kayaking on a day that was very cool by comparison to most of the summer. I have often spoken about how much I like to take a hike or even to talk a walk in the rain. (I must admit, I get some strange looks, but that is OK.) It seems that the forest takes on a different feel when you are walking through it in the raining. When you do this often enough, you begin to see the forest in a different way. Then when the sun does decide to make its appearance, wow, words cannot describe the beauty of the forest at that moment. This past Saturday evening was like one of those days. That afternoon, Joseph and I meet a group of co-workers from a local business at River Road Park for a sunset kayaking adventure on the Cape Fear River. The day was still overcast and the hope for the skis to clear for a sunset was starting to look like it would not happen. Despite the fact that it was a cloudy and cool afternoon, these co-workers were excited about having some kayaking fun. We started out paddling along Keg Island, when I noticed that the weather was beginning to change. Joseph, spotted some rain to the southwest and northeast of us, yet there was a glimpse of some clearing to the west and northwest. I am not sure that our guests were even aware of this; they were having too much fun being out of the office and doing something fun together. Yet there it was a break in the clouds. After about an hour of paddling, we stopped on Keg Island for the picnic and before you know it, there was the sun! Shining brightly as only the sun can, reflecting off the almost mirror like water of the early evening. It is amazing how intense the sun can be reflecting off still water. But what a treat it was to be in such a beautiful place, just at the right time to witness a stunning sunset. As I was watching this sunset as we paddled back to the river launch, I was struck by the fact that we were the only people out kayaking that evening. Why was this? Maybe it was because of the overcast skies from earlier in the day? Maybe people did not want to risk, getting out and exploring something if the weather is not just perfect. If that is the case, they have missed a masterpiece of a sunset. I guess the point I am trying to make is this; don’t be afraid to step out and do something outdoors if the weather is not what you think it should be. You never know when things will change and you have a chance to be in the right place at the right time to witness something that few people ever do. If these co-works had let what they saw keep them from getting out that evening, they would have never had this experience of last Saturday’s sunset. Mahanaim Adventures offers guided kayaking adventures in the Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach areas as well as the Cape Fear Region (Cape Fear River, Town Creek, Holly Shelter Creek, Eagle Island, Black River, Lumber River, Moores Creek and much more). We specialize in creating that memory of a life time for you and your family and friends. Check out our web page and find out more details about all of our adventure locations. Why is it so hard to work as a Team?

2019-04-19T12:32:34Z

https://mahanaimadventures.com/tag/town-creek/

Home Development API Who Knew Adobe CC Could Wireframe? Wireframing is a major step in designing any user interface, whether a website, application, or software product. Without distraction in the form of visuals, colors, typography, styles, and effects, you can be more focused on defining content hierarchy and user experience. Doing low-fidelity wireframes and prototypes will help you test and iterate earlier and more often in the process. Low-fidelity wireframes allow designers to work faster and develop products that users will love. There are a lot of different wireframing tools to choose from in the wild. Which one you choose will depend on your personal preferences and workflow style. Just like a lot of designers who have moved to digital design from the print world, I’m an expert in Adobe applications such as Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. I can use them efficiently and intuitively from anywhere and at any time (even if someone wakes me up in the middle of the night and refuses to give me a cup of coffee). Not surprisingly, these versatile applications have also become the tools I use to do web and application visual design. So, for my workflow to be the most efficient, I use them for wireframing as well. Adobe CC’s suite of design applications can be used to efficiently create wireframes. With each project, I usually start designing by doing very rough sketches on paper, or on my iPad or smartphone screen if I am not near my office desk. These sketches are there to focus my thoughts regarding the chosen concept; the client will probably never see any of them. When I feel confident that my idea works, I move into wireframing. I usually use Adobe Illustrator and InDesign combined: Illustrator for creating most of the UI kit elements and InDesign for the wireframing itself. I’ll explain a step-by-step process of how to also incorporate those tools into your wireframing workflow later in the article, but before I go into details, let me show you the strengths and weaknesses of using InDesign as a primary wireframing tool. Master pages – You can quickly and consistently apply global design elements like navigation, headers, footers, and so on using master pages. You can create as many master pages as you need, and on top of that, one master can be based on another. Solid grid support – Allows you to easily create and apply different kinds of grids, complementing columns, horizontal and vertical guides to create modules, and subgrids for greater complexity and precision. Alternate layouts – Enables wireframes for multiple devices and orientations in the same file. CC Libraries – Generates a library of different reusable assets like commonly used objects, colors, characters, and paragraph styles. Create assets in InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop, or with the Adobe Capture mobile app—whichever you prefer. Layers – Provides the ability to organize, group, show/hide, and lock/unlock objects and content selectively in the wireframe. Every page of a multi-page InDesign document has the same number and order of layers. All of the changes you make to layers are reflected on all pages, like visibility, stacking order, or deletion. Styles and tables – Gives complete control over the look of your text, objects, and tables through the use of InDesign styles. Styles can inherit from each other providing the ability to cascade desired formatting easily throughout the document. Creating and formatting tables to be used as wireframe content elements or even helpers for layout purposes is very simple. Typekit integration – In high-fidelity mockups, you can use any of the Typekit fonts that sync to the desktop. Interactivity and animations – You can use Adobe InDesign’s built-in interactivity and animation features to create different states of web or application design elements for interaction prototyping. Most people use these features while creating magazines for digital publishing solution and fixed-layout EPUB export, but they are suitable for prototyping as well. Export options – InDesign can export the wireframes and prototypes you create in a variety of formats. Interactive PDFs will probably be your format of choice in the majority of cases, but you can also use the Publish Online feature to convert your document to interactive HTML, which can be viewed in modern desktop and mobile browsers. Unfortunately, you don’t have much control over the export using Publish Online, and exported files are hosted on Adobe servers. You can share the prototype URL to your client or embed it into your site. For more control and direct export to HTML5, you can use the in5 extension from Ajar Productions. Lack of predefined wireframe templates and elements – Since InDesign is not meant to be a wireframing tool, you have to create and prepare templates and object assets by yourself. (I’ll show you how to handle this step later in the article.) The good news is that most of this work will be done only once, and after a few hours of work, you’ll be ready to jump start your InDesign wireframing. Also, there are a lot of assets and wireframe kits that you can download from the internet, so there is no need to draw everything yourself. Interactivity and animation features are limited – Although you can easily connect pages and add some interactivity and animations, the process can sometimes take a long time. Some of the simple interaction tools are not very intuitive. If you haven’t used InDesign interactivity features, you’ll need to overcome a slight learning curve before you’ll be able to apply them efficiently. InDesign documents can’t export directly as layered PSD files – If you do your visual design in Adobe Photoshop and want to have separated wireframe elements for building your design, then you will have to export your wireframes to PDF first. Then you will need to open the PDF in Illustrator and export it again as a layered PSD. People working on the Mac can also use a free script written by Rob Day to save InDesign files as a layered PSD. Start by fine-tuning your working environment. If you do not already have a saved workspace in Illustrator and InDesign for this kind of work, create one. In Illustrator, start with the predefined Web workspace and adapt it to your liking: Close panels you don’t often use, be sure to open the ones you will use, and then arrange them to suit your work style. When done, save the workspace by choosing Window > Workspace > New Workspace… Do the same thing in InDesign using the Digital Publishing workspace as a starter. An efficient wireframing workflow using Illustrator and InDesign requires that you invest some time in making your user interface assets kit first. Since the introduction of Adobe Creative Cloud, CC Libraries are the best way for storing all your UI kit components. You can create one or more libraries for wireframing and prototyping purposes. For example, you can create one library for website wireframing, another for iOS applications, a third for Android applications, and so on. To create an Adobe CC Library, open the Libraries panel and choose Create New Library from the hamburger menu in the panel. Assets you put in libraries can be made and used in different Adobe desktop or mobile apps on all devices you log into with your Adobe ID. That means you can start with the project on your iPad or iPhone, continue on your desktop computer in the office, and make last-minute changes on your home laptop with the same assets available on all devices. Use Adobe CC libraries to build wireframe kits and house common assets. If you work as a part of a larger team, library assets can be shared between team members. Libraries can contain colors, graphics, layer styles (Photoshop only), and paragraph and character styles. You add assets in libraries by clicking on the corresponding button at the bottom of the CC Library panel with the respective element selected. You can also add graphic assets by dragging them directly from your artboard to the Libraries panel. Assets in libraries are organized by categories. Stick with good practices and rename each asset with a meaningful name. Libraries are searchable, and finding an asset by typing the beginning of its name will save you tons of time later, especially when you have many different items in your libraries. To change an asset’s name, double click on it and type in a new one. Although Adobe InDesign has some basic drawing tools that are pretty similar to Illustrator’s, Illustrator is a much better choice for drawing various elements in your wireframe. As a rule of thumb, create all kit elements that require some drawing more complex than basic geometric shapes in Illustrator. Create simpler elements that contain text that you will need to change in the layout, such as simple buttons, in InDesign. For starters, make a list of all the elements you’ll need in the wireframe, such as navigation elements, page elements including images, video frames, and text boxes, icons, avatars, form elements, and all other interface elements. After your list is completed, you can head to Illustrator and InDesign to create those elements. Start by creating a new document for wireframe or mockup kit components. Double-check that you choose either Web/Devices Profile in Illustrator or Web/Digital Publishing Intent from the New Document dialog box. This ensures that pixels are used as units and the color mode is set to RGB. Make wireframe kit assets as simple as possible because they need to give fast visual cues for what they represent without being too detailed. You should use very limited color palettes of preferably a few shades of grey. Visually accentuate elements that are more important by coloring them with darker shades or by giving them higher contrast. For higher-fidelity mockups or prototypes, create UI kits with more detailed elements that use each project’s respective color palette. For easy access to color palettes, add them to CC libraries. Create an Adobe wireframe kit. Assets you add to libraries from Illustrator are linked by default (since Adobe CC 2015). That means when you modify a library asset in Illustrator, changes are reflected in all instances used. If you want to add an unlinked asset to the document, press the option/alt key while dragging it from the panel. When you use linked Illustrator assets in InDesign, they will have a little cloud icon in the upper left corner when the document is viewed in Normal mode. They are all also listed in the Links panel. If you modify a library asset in Illustrator, changes in the InDesign document won’t be done automatically. The cloud icon will be replaced with a modified link exclamation mark icon, and you’ll have to update these links. InDesign assets that you place in an InDesign document are not linked. This means that you can edit instances independently of the original, and when the original asset is modified, those changes are not reflected on assets that have already been placed into the layout. Consider those properties when creating wireframes: Add assets to the Library from Illustrator when you assume they’ll need to be modified and updated globally, or add them from InDesign when you know you’ll want to modify them individually. Note that you can also create graphics in Illustrator, copy/paste them to InDesign, and then modify if needed before adding it to the library as an InDesign asset. If you happen to forget which graphic asset is created by which application, look at the right side of each item in the Library panel while using Show Items as a list. To ensure that you can easily change copy and typography in your wireframes, create text containers in InDesign. InDesign has a nice feature for filling text boxes with placeholder text. When you draw a text box, right-click on it and choose Fill With Placeholder Text. Add text boxes to the Adobe library like any other graphic element by dragging them. When you use those text assets later as a part of your wireframes layout, you can modify the text box as well as its content in your wireframe. Consider making button UI elements in InDesign, too. To create a button, make a text frame, type in the text, and then use Object > Text Frame Options to define Inset spacing. Adjust the vertical justification of text inside a box by choosing the desired option from the Align drop-down menu. Switch to the Auto-Size tab and choose appropriate auto-sizing (that would probably be Width Only) and a convenient reference point. If you do not want to let InDesign break your text into more than one line, check the No Line Breaks option. There are lot of Adobe Illustrator wireframing and prototyping UI kits available on the internet that you can buy or even download for free if you want a ready-made solution. Maybe you already have elements that you can dig up from your completed projects. Open those documents, tweak any previously created elements as necessary, and put them into their respective libraries. If you are designing for a particular platform—for example, an iOS or Android application—be sure that you carefully read their human interface guidelines and use appropriate assets. It may be convenient to have UI elements that are specific to various platforms in your kit. Don’t focus too much on trying to account for every future asset or state in your libraries before you start with the actual wireframing process. You can add assets to your libraries later and build on it as you go. There is one more important preparation step left: Create InDesign templates that you’ll use for making wireframes. Start by creating a new document with Web or Digital Publishing intent and define appropriate page sizes for the screens you are designing for. Since it is recommended that you use some kind of a grid for laying out your wireframe elements, set up the margins and create a column grid by setting the desired number of columns and the gutter space. You can change those settings later from Layout > Margins and Columns with its respective master page (or pages) selected in the Pages panel. If you need horizontal guides and complementary vertical guides, create them manually or make an additional grid by using Layout > Create Guides. When creating a grid, it’s helpful to use one of the online grid calculator tools like the Gridulator. You can also create additional templates for presentation purposes with device mockups as a frame for your wireframes. Since one InDesign document can be linked to another, you can create wireframes in one InDesign document and then place it into another one for presentations. Although it might seem complicated at first, this is actually a very simple and effective workflow. Keeping actual wireframes in a separate document makes it easier to continue building from approved wireframes to a polished visual design. It is also simple to create presentation-ready templates in which to place wireframes, add labels and comments, and be able to show your best solution to the client. When you make modifications on a wireframe file, just update it like any other link in a presentation document, and ta-daaa! All changes are in your presentation as well. In the Layers panel, you can prepare separate layers for different kinds of content: user interface elements, interactive features, gestures, labels, and notes. If you need more layers for a specific project, you’ll be able to easily add them anytime during the wireframing process. When you are done with creating, save your templates as InDesign.indt template files. After all the templates you need are saved, you are finally ready to start wireframing efficiently. First things first—start with the master page. Drag all global elements that will be the same across all screens of your project from the library. If you are designing a website, these are usually headers with a logo, navigation, and footer. Since you can create more than one master page and they can inherit from each other, you can take advantage of nesting master pages. For example, depending on the project, you can create a master page for one UI element, such as a modal or dialog popup, then make new masters based on the first master, altering only the elements that need to be different. You can’t select, change, or delete master elements on regular document pages unless you click on them while holding Command/Control + Shift to override the master. Once your element is overridden, you can change any of its parameters or completely delete it from the layout. Keep in mind that even when you override the element, parameters that you haven’t changed will still be inherited from the master. For example, if you override an element by changing its color, its size will not change as it is still connected to the master. Further, if you change it on the master page, it will also be modified on the element you previously overrode. When inserting additional pages into your wireframing document, remember to base them on their respective master. If you need to change the master for pages already in the layout, select them in the Pages panel, right click and choose Apply Master to Pages. Use the library assets and arrange them using the Smart Guides and Align options to create the final UI wireframe layouts. If you are creating designs for more than one screen size, make alternate layouts from Layouts > Create Alternate Layout or the Pages panel. You can use liquid layout rules when creating alternate layouts to automatically adopt page elements from one size and orientation to another, or you can manually control them. For applying and testing Liquid Layout Rules, use the Page tool or open the panel Window > Interactive > Liquid Layout. Adobe InDesign has a bunch of interactivity features that you can take advantage of when creating wireframes or prototypes. Which features you’ll include will depend on the final format you will need for your wireframes, prototypes, or presentations. If you are exporting as PDF, interactivity will be limited, but you can at least make links between screens work using the hyperlinks panel to create them. Select the element you want to behave as a link and click on the New Hyperlink icon. From the Link To drop-down menu, choose Page and enter the desired page number. Repeat that action on all the items you want to behave as links between the screens. You can also add hyperlinks to objects residing on the master pages, which can be a real time saver. Create links on the master page once and they will work on all the screens of your document. You can create buttons from any graphic, text, image, or group of elements. To create a button from a selected object, use the Window > Interactive > Buttons and Forms panel and click on the Convert to Button icon. Buttons can have different states created for normal, rollover, and click appearances. To add rollover or click states to buttons, click on them in the Buttons panel and edit the button appearance for each state. To add an action to a button, click on a plus sign and choose it from the list. Take into account that actions under SWF/EPUB will not work in interactive PDFs. To create popup elements, choose Show/Hide Buttons and Forms. To hide buttons until triggered check Hidden Until Triggered option. You can include multi-state objects in an interactive PDF, but only if you export them as a SWF first and then place them back into the InDesign layout for PDF export. This workflow is tedious and the PDFs cannot be seen properly in all PDF readers, so try to avoid doing this unless really necessary. If you want to convert your document to an HTML prototype using InDesign CC 2015 Publish Online feature, you can use many more interactive options like animations, multi-state objects, and multiple button actions, including all those intended for SWF/EPUB export. You can add simple animations using the Animation panel and choosing one of the built-in presets from the drop-down menu and setting its properties. One object can have only one animation applied, but if you need to add more of them, group your object with an empty box and use the new animation on that newly created object. For UI elements that require showing different states, create a multi-state object. Create a separate object for each state. Objects can be a single element (picture, text box, graphic) or a group of different elements. Open the Window > Interactive > Object States panel, select all the objects you created for the multi-state object, and click on the New button at the bottom of the panel. After your multi-state object is made, you’ll need to create buttons to move from one object state to another. Go To Next State or Go To Previous State actions reveal the specific object state with the Go To State action. If you want to have a scrollable frame in your wireframe/prototype, the easiest way to create one is by using the Universal Scrolling Frames extension from Ajar Productions. After you download and install the extension, you can use it as an InDesign panel. For a scrollable frame, you’ll need to create content as well as one frame for a container. The scrollable content can be a text frame, picture, or several elements grouped together. When you are finished with creating the content and container box, select the content and Edit > Cut. Then select the container and paste the content inside by using Edit > Paste Into. Select the container and using Universal Scrolling Frames, adjust the desired scroll direction. By combining buttons, multi-state objects, animations, and scrollable frames you can achieve a rich interactive experience. To test interactivity in InDesign, use the EPUB Interactivity Preview panel. You can preview a single page or the whole document. Enlarge the preview panel as you need. If you haven’t used the Adobe InDesign interactive features, be prepared as, at first, there is a bit of a learning curve. But with a little practice and some trial and error, you’ll quickly master them. When you are done creating the wireframes and presentation files, all that is left is to show your great ideas to the client in best way possible. For that purpose, you’ll need to export your wireframes in a format your client can preview. Although InDesign files can be exported in a variety of formats, you are probably going to use Interactive PDF or the Publish Online feature if testing functional low- or high-fidelity prototypes. To save as an interactive PDF, choose Adobe PDF (Interactive) from the Format drop-down menu in the Export dialog box and adjust the properties as needed. Do not forget to tick Forms and Media if there are interactive elements that you want to include. Clients can view PDF wireframes in the free Adobe Reader and write all their comments in that same file. You can also use a PDF document exported from InDesign to create an InVision (or some other tool that supports PDFs) prototype. If your standard prototyping tool, perhaps Marvel, can’t import a PDF, export your InDesign wireframe pages as JPEG or PNG images. To export interactive an HTML prototype that can be seen in modern browsers on different devices, go to File > Publish Online, or click on the Publish Online button from the Application Bar. After the document is prepared for publication online and uploaded, you can copy a document URL to share with stakeholders and start the reviewing process. You can also embed the published prototype on your site. A downside of the Publish Online feature is that it doesn’t have any additional control over the export, and files are always stored on Adobe’s servers. Also, it’s still a preview feature and you can’t be sure in which direction Adobe is going to develop it, or even if it will be discontinued. Once your wireframe/prototype is exported, it’s time for the testing, reviewing, and iterating process to start. What is the use of Adobe InDesign? Adobe InDesign is an application in the Adobe CC suite often used for print and graphic design. InDesign is also a surprisingly effective tool for designers to build wireframes and UI kits for interactive design. What is the use of Adobe Audition CC? Adobe Audition CC is one of the pieces of software in the Adobe Creative Cloud suite used primarily for audio recording, editing, and sound mixing. What is a wireframe prototype? A wireframe prototype is a lower-fidelity prototype used by UX and UI designers primarily as a tool in testing and validating assumptions in the earlier stages of the design process. Wireframe prototypes represent potential user experience flows without the distraction of visual treatment. Why is a wireframe important in web design? Wireframes are important in web design for a variety of reasons. Wireframes are a rough representation of how a visitor will experience content on a website. Wireframes represent various aspects of a website in a range of fidelities and are essential for validating design decisions and user testing. What are wireframes and mockups? Wireframes and mockups are generally static visual representations of a dynamic website or product. They are stand-ins for the final product used as tools to design, iterate, and test various aspects of interactive designs.

2019-04-22T15:11:04Z

http://smartsoftware247.com/who-knew-adobe-cc-could-wireframe/

The hypothesis that FasL expression by tumor cells may impair the in vivo efficacy of antitumor immune responses, through a mechanism known as ‘Fas tumor counterattack,’ has been recently questioned, becoming the object of an intense debate based on conflicting results. Here we definitely show that FasL is indeed detectable in the cytoplasm of melanoma cells and its expression is confined to multivesicular bodies that contain melanosomes. In these structures FasL colocalizes with both melanosomal (i.e., gp100) and lysosomal (i.e., CD63) antigens. Isolated melanosomes express FasL, as detected by Western blot and cytofluorimetry, and they can exert Fas-mediated apoptosis in Jurkat cells. We additionally show that melanosome-containing multivesicular bodies degranulate extracellularly and release FasL-bearing microvesicles, that coexpress both gp100 and CD63 and retain their functional activity in triggering Fas-dependent apoptosis of lymphoid cells. Hence our data provide evidence for a novel mechanism potentially operating in Fas tumor counterattack through the secretion of subcellular particles expressing functional FasL. Such vesicles may form a sort of front line hindering lymphocytes and other immunocompetent cells from entering neoplastic lesions and exert their antitumor activity. Despite the existence of specific T lymphocytes recognizing tumor cells is now well established, a clear understanding of the functional status of these cells in vivo, and their impact on tumor growth has been so far elusive. In contrast, several factors have been described that potentially contribute to tumor cell evasion of the immune response (1), suggesting that potential antitumor activity of immune effectors may be impaired by mechanisms that ultimately result in tumor progression. One of the strategies of tumor immune escape is represented by the acquisition of FasL expression that may enable cancer cells to deliver death signals to activated Fas-positive T lymphocytes (2, 3). FasL is a transmembrane type II protein belonging to the TNF protein superfamily, that plays a pivotal role in the induction of receptor (Fas)-mediated apoptosis. In fact, Fas–FasL interaction regulates important immune functions such as downmodulation of immunological responses, T cell activation–induced cell death, clonal downsizing, and control of peripheral tolerance to self-antigens (4). Apart from immunocompetent cells, FasL expression is additionally well documented in organs such as eye, central nervous system, and testis where it is thought to contribute to the maintenance of these immune privileged sites (4). Due to the functional properties of this molecule, it has been thus hypothesized that tumor cells could take advantage of FasL expression for mediating apoptosis of antitumor-activated T cells. Many authors have indeed shown that tumor cells of different histotypes (melanoma, colon, breast, esophageal cancers) do acquire FasL expression as detected both in vivo and in vitro (3). Additionally, such expression has been reported to negatively correlate with patient prognosis when evaluated on breast, ovarian, liver cancers, and melanoma specimens (3, 5, 6). Although intriguing, this hypothesis is currently under evaluation, animating a debate based on controversial issues, such as the specificity of the different antibodies available for FasL detection or the usage of nonintron spanning primers for FasL detection by RT-PCR. The presence of infiltrating FasL-positive lymphocytes in tumor lesions has been additionally hypothesized to interfere with ex vivo FasL staining (7–10). However, the recent use of specific reagents for the detection of FasL has indeed confirmed the expression of FasL in some tumor cell types (9, 11). Moreover, the concomitant presence of apoptotic T cells in FasL-expressing tumors (12, 13) and the negative prognostic role of FasL expression by neoplastic cells (5, 6, 14) suggest a potential efficacy of tumor counterattack in influencing in vivo tumor progression. A relevant mechanism of FasL trafficking, occurring in NK cells and CTL, has been recently reported as involving specific intracellular transport of FasL on lysosomal-like vesicles that are unidirectionally polarized on the membrane of NK and T cells (15, 16) and a mechanism based on the release of FasL-bearing microvesicles (MVs)* has been also described to occur in FasL transfected cells (17). Indeed, melanoma cells contain specialized granules (melanosomes), which are the site of synthesis and storage of melanin and related molecules. These organelles have been clearly demonstrated to share phenotypic and functional features with lysosome vesicles and lytic granules (18). Additionally, a secretory pathway has been described in melanoma cells that involves multivesicular bodies (MVB) containing MVs which express tumor antigens such as MART-1 and tyrosinase (19). The physiologic fate of these vesicles is to be injected by melanocytes into keratinocytes in order to transfer melanin pigments. On the basis of these data, we have reevaluated the role of FasL in tumor immune escape, taking into account the possibility that melanoma cells may share FasL expression pathway and intracellular trafficking with immunocompetent cells. Expression of FasL in melanoma cells was thus studied by investigating FasL localization in cytoplasmic organelles of various human melanoma cell lines and its possible implication in the counterattack of melanoma against immune cells. Here we report that melanoma cells do express FasL intracellularly, with a localization confined to MVB that contains melanosomes. FasL-bearing MVs can be released extracellularly, retaining their FasL expression and proapoptotic activity on Fas-sensitive lymphoid cells. Cellular expression of FasL was evaluated after 24-h treatment with 10 μM KB8301 (4-[N-hydroxyamino]-2R-isobutyl-3S-methylsuccinyl)-L-3-[5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-1-naphthyl] alanine-N-methylamide; BD PharMingen), a metalloproteinase inhibitor known to block soluble FasL release (20). Wild-type and FasL-transfected 293 cells (transiently transfected using a DNA plasmid provided by H. Eibel, Clinical Research Unit for Rheumatology, University Hospital Freiburg, Germany) were used as negative and positive controls, respectively. After mechanical detachment, cells were stained with anti-FasL mAbs (clone G247 and clone NOK-1; both from BD PharMingen), recognizing two different epitopes of the FasL molecule, and with FITC-conjugated goat anti–mouse IgG (Biosource International). As negative control, an isotype-matched mAb followed by the FITC-conjugated anti–mouse IgG was used. Intracellular staining for detection of FasL was performed by previous permeabilization of melanoma cells with 70% methanol (at 4°C for 5 min) followed by incubation with anti-FasL G247 and FITC-conjugated anti–mouse IgG. Fluorescence was then analyzed by FACSCalibur™ flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson) and CELLQuest™ software (Becton Dickinson). Staining of melanosomes and MVs was additionally performed with anti–lysosome-associated membrane protein (LAMP)-2, anti-CD63 (both from BD PharMingen), and anti-gp100 (Immunotech) mAbs, followed by incubation with FITC goat anti–mouse IgG (Biosource International). An irrelevant isotype-matched mAbs (anti–TCR-αβ; Becton Dickinson), followed by the FITC-conjugated anti–mouse IgG, was used as negative control. Melanosomes and MVs were resuspended in 0.1 μ-filtered PBS (100 μl per sample) and primary mAb were added at a concentration of 10–30 μg/ml. After 1 h at 4°C, samples were then incubated with FITC-conjugated anti–mouse IgG (10 μg/ml) for 30 min at 4°C. Labeled melanosome and microvesicle suspensions were then diluted to 300 μl with filtered PBS and samples were analyzed by FACSCalibur™ and CELLQuest™ software. Melanosomes were detected as granules of the approximate mean size of 1 μm, while MVs had a size range of 100–600 nm, relative to standard beads of 6 μm size (CaliBRITE beads; Becton Dickinson). Human melanoma cells were attached to poly-l-lysine-covered glass chamber slides (Labtek) or spun onto glass slides (Shandon), as appropriate, fixed with 70% ethanol (EtOH) 10 min at 4°C, and stained by immunocytochemistry for anti-FasL (clones G247 and NOK-1) using the alkaline phosphatase anti-alkaline phosphatase (Dako) method or the peroxidase-anti-peroxidase (PAP) (Dako) method, in single and double staining, as appropriate (21). In single staining, cells were counterstained with Mayer's haematoxylin. For transmission electron microscopy, melanoma cells, fixed with 2.5% glutaraldehyde, and postfixed in 1% OsO4, were dehydrated in alcohol and embedded in epoxy resin. For immunoelectron microscopy cells were fixed, after two washes in 0.1 M cacodylate buffer, with 3% paraformaldehyde in 0.1 M cacodylate buffer for 2 h. Then, they were embedded in 2% agar Noble in H2O, at 37°C. For subsequent embedding, the samples were dehydrated with increasing concentrations of EtOH. Infiltration of the samples was performed with increasing concentrations of Lowicryl HM20 resin (Taab) in 100% EtOH and finally in pure Lowicryl. The polymerization was performed in beem capsules by indirect UV irradiation (360 nm) at 4°C. For FasL immunolocalization in postembedding procedure, thin sections, collected on gold grids, were treated for 5 min with PBS containing 0.15% (wt/vol) glycin. After washing by quickly floating the grids on PBS drops containing 0.1% (wt/vol) BSA (Sigma-Aldrich), the sections were incubated overnight at 4°C with mAb G247 (1:10 diluted). After washing by floating the grids on PBS drops containing 0.1% (wt/vol) BSA for 1 h at room temperature, the sections were preincubated with PBS 0.1% (wt/vol) BSA for 10 min, washed in PBS containing 0.1% (wt/vol) BSA, and then labeled with a goat anti–mouse IgG 10-nm gold conjugate (1:10 diluted; Sigma-Aldrich) for 20 min, then washed in PBS containing 0.1% BSA for 20 min at room temperature. As negative control, sections were incubated with an irrelevant isotype-matched mAb or with a goat anti–mouse IgG gold alone. For ultrathin cryosections cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde plus 0.1% glutaraldehyde in PBS, pH 7.4, for 2 h at 4°C, washed, and embedded in 2% agarose low melting point (LMP) that was solidified on ice. Agarose blocks were infused with 2.3 M sucrose in PBS for 3 h at 4°C, frozen in LN2, and cryosectioned following the method by K.T. Tokuyasu (22), as described previously (23). Ultrathin cryosections were collected using sucrose and methyl-cellulose and incubated with specific mAb, then revealed with protein A-gold conjugates of different size (10 or 20 nm, as appropriate). Finally, ultrathin cryosections were stained with the solutions of 2% methylcellulose and 0.4% uranyl acetate before EM examination. For electron microscopy of the isolated microvescicles, droplets of RPMI 1640 with suspended membranes from 70,000 g pellets were fixed with 2% paraformaldehyde in PBS and put on thin carbon film-coated grids for TEM observation and air-dried. FasL labeling was performed by the immunonegative stain technique. Briefly, the grids were incubated at 4°C overnight with the anti–human FasL mAb, G247, diluted 1:10, in PBS containing 1.0% BSA (Sigma-Aldrich). After washing with PBS, the grids were incubated with anti–mouse IgG-gold conjugate (Sigma-Aldrich; average diameter of gold particles 5 nm), and diluted 1:10 in PBS at room temperature for 1 h. Negative controls were performed by incubating samples with anti–mouse IgG2a or with immunoconjugate alone (data not shown). After washing with PBS, grids were negatively stained with 2.0% aqueous phosphotungstic acid for 2 min. Samples were examined with a Philips 208 transmission electron microscope (FEI Company). Adherent melanoma cells (106) were surface-labeled with sulfo-N-hydroxysuccinimide-biotin according to the manufacturer's instructions (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech). After extensive washing, the cells were lysed with lysing buffer (1% Triton X-100, 150 mM NaCl, 1 mM Tris-HCl, 1 mM EDTA, 1 mM EGTA, 1 mM PMSF, 10 μg/ml aprotinin, 10 μg/ml leupeptin, and 30 μg/ml KB8301). Proteins corresponding to 106 cells equivalent were used for each specific immunoprecipitation. After preclearing with control mouse IgG, the supernatant was specifically immunoprecipitated using 2 μg/ml of NOK-1, G247 (BD PharMingen), W6.32 (an anti–HLA-class I monomorphic determinant), or control mouse IgG1. After washing with lysing buffer, the eluates were subjected to SDS-PAGE and electroblotted. The membrane was then incubated with strepavidin-HPR and developed with ECL detection system (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech). Supernatants, Total Cell Lysates, Cytoplasmic-enriched Preparations and Isolation of Melanosomes, and MVs. Supernatants from melanoma cell lines were harvested from 72 h confluent melanoma cell cultures, concentrated with centrifuge filter devices, Centricon (Millipore), with a cut off of 50 kD to enrich for soluble molecules <50 kD, aliquoted, and stored at −80°C. Jurkat cells (4 × 105 cells per milliliter) were stimulated with 50 μg/ml PHA for 5 min; after PHA removal by centrifugation and washing, they were resuspended in complete medium and cultured at 37°C for 1 h (16). Supernatants from resting or activated cells were collected, concentrated, and stored as described previously. Total cell lysates were obtained lysing cells by an hypotonic solution (10 mM hepes, pH 6.9, 10 mM KCl, 0.3% aprotinin, and 0.1 mM PMSF), extensively homogenizing using a Potter-Elvehjem homogenizer and centrifuging the suspension for 10 min at 600 g. Total cell lysates were obtained from confluent melanoma cell cultures or from Jurkat cells, activated as described previously. Cytoplasm-enriched preparations were prepared by differential centrifugation starting from the homogenate. After 3 min at 1,000 g at 4°C, the supernatant containing cytoplasma, cytoskeleton and membrane fractions was centrifuged at 11,000 g for 30 min at 4°C in order to separate the cytoplasma (supernatant) from cell surface membranes and cytoskeleton (pellet). Isolation of melanosomes was performed as described previously (24). Briefly, the homogenate from 109 melanoma cells resuspended in a solution of 0.25 M sucrose, underwent serial centrifugations (600 g for 10 min × 2; 11,000 g for 10 min × 2). The sediment was then suspended in 0.25 M sucrose. The suspension was layered over 1.7 M sucrose and centrifuged at 37,000 g for 1 h using the swing-out SW 41 rotor of the Beckman ultracentrifuge (Beckman Coulter). The sediment was suspended in 0.25 M sucrose, layered over 2.0 M sucrose, and centrifuged again at 37,000 g for 1 h. The obtained sediment contained isolated melanosomes. Microvesicles from melanoma and resting/PHA-activated Jurkat cells were separated according to Martinez-Lorenzo et al. (16). After centrifugation at 10,000 g for 30 min at 4°C, the obtained supernatant was further ultracentrifugated at 100,000 g for 18 h at 4°C. The pellet, containing isolated MVs, was then resuspended in appropriate medium according to following treatments. Quantification of total proteins contained in melanosome or microvesicle preparations was evaluated by Lowry assay (Bio-Rad Laboratories) on organelle lysates. The mean protein recovery was 0.98 mg (range 0.28–1.7) for melanosomes, and 0.75 mg (range 0.31–1.2) for exosome-derived vesicles. Supernatants, total cell lysates, and subcellular fractions (cytoplasma, melanosomes, and microvesicles) from melanoma and Jurkat cells were analyzed for FasL protein expression by Western blot analysis. Isolated melanosomes and microvesicles were resuspended in lysis buffer (1% Triton X-100, 0.1% SDS in 0.1 M Tris/HCL, pH 7) with the addition of the 10 μM matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor KB8301 (BD PharMingen). After protein determination using the Lowry assay (Bio-Rad Laboratories), 75 μg of total protein of the different preparations were boiled for 6 min in SDS sample buffer containing β-mercaptoethanol, separated on a 10% SDS-PAGE, and then electroblotted onto a PVDF membrane. As a positive control 1 ng of rFasL (Alexis) was used. The membrane was stained using 2 μg/ml anti–human FasL mAb G247, developed with a secondary mouse anti–human IgG conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (BD Transduction Laboratories), and detected by SuperSignal detection system (Pierce Chemical Co.). To further check purity of melanosome and microvesicle preparations, the following additional molecules were analyzed in Western blot analysis under reducing conditions: gp100 (on a 15% SDS-PAGE gel) protein; and markers specific for endoplastic reticulum, Golgi, mitochondria, and plasma membrane. The following mAb were used: anti–human gp100/pmel17 (clone HMB45; Dako); BiP/GRP78 (BD Transduction Laboratories); GM130 (BD Transduction Laboratories); mitochondria (clone MAB1273; Chemicon International, Inc.); HLA-class I (L31; provided by P. Giacomini, Istituto Regina Elena, Rome, Italy); and anti–caveolin-1 (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc.). To exclude any possible contamination, isolated microvesicles from FBS and from RPMI supplemented with 10% FBS were also analyzed for FasL expression in Western blot analysis, but the protein was never detected (data not shown). Quantitative assessment of apoptosis was performed by cytofluorimetric analysis of propidium iodide (PI)-stained cells as described previously (25) with minor modifications and by annexin V binding assay. The occurrence of apoptosis was also monitored by Western blot analysis of caspase-8 activation. Briefly, Jurkat cells (106 cells per milliliter) were seeded in 24-well plates in 10% FBS RPMI 1640. rFasL at the concentration of 50–100 ng/ml or different concentrations of melanosomes or microvesicles were added. For assessing Fas-involvement, cells were preincubated for 30 min at 42°C with different concentrations of anti-Fas mAb (ZB4; Upstate BioTechnology). Apoptosis was analyzed after 15–18-h incubation. For analysis of PI-staining, PBS-washed cells were suspended in hypotonic solution containing 10 μg/ml PI, 0.1% sodium citrate, 0.1% Triton X-100, and RNase A (66 U/ml), and incubated 4 h at 4°C. The red fluorescence of individual nuclei was measured with a FACSCalibur™ flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson). Annexin V binding was measured using the Annexin V-Biotin Apoptosis Detection kit (Oncogene Research Products) according to manufacturer's instructions. After the final incubation in binding buffer containing FITC-streptavidin (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech) and PI (0.6 μg/ml), cells were incubated on ice and immediately analyzed by flow cytometry. Caspase-8 activation was monitored by the appearance of the activated form of 40 kD, using Western blot analysis. Proteins were separated on SDS-PAGE and immunoblotted. The nitrocellulose membrane was then incubated overnight at 4°C with a polyclonal Ab to caspase-8 (BD PharMingen). A rabbit antiactin Ab was used as control for loading. Ab binding was detected by enhanced chemiluminescence (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech). For detecting lymphocyte FasL-mediated apoptosis induced by tumor cells, melanoma cells (at 105 cells per well, in U-bottomed 96-well plates) were cultured in 10% FBS RPMI 1640 for 2 h at 37°C, for allowing cell adhesion. 51[Cr]-labeled Jurkat cells (at 103 cells per well), in the presence or absence of neutralizing anti-Fas mAb ZB4 (50 ng/ml), were then added as target cells and the plates were incubated for 16 h 0.50 μl per well of supernatant were harvested, counted, and killing was calculated as percentage of lysis (26). Comparable results were obtained using targets labeled with 3[H]-TdR or 125IdU (data not shown). Melanoma supernatant was harvested from 72 h confluent melanoma cell cultures, concentrated with centrifuge filter devices, Centricon (Millipore), with a cut off of 50 kD to enrich for soluble molecules <50 kD, aliquoted, and stored at −80°C. Different dilutions of supernatant (starting from 1:2) were added to the cytotoxic assay. rFasL (at 100 ng/ml) was also used as positive control. FasL Intracellular Expression in Melanoma Cells. To study the expression of FasL in melanoma cells, we first investigated the presence of this molecule at melanoma cell surface level. To avoid significant FasL release by metalloproteases, cells were pretreated with the metalloprotease inhibitor KB8301, which has been shown to effectively inhibit FasL shedding from cell membrane (20). As reported in Fig. 1 A, none of the melanoma lines examined expressed detectable levels of FasL molecules on their cell surface, as evaluated by staining with NOK-1 mAb, known to specifically recognize FasL (9, 27, 28). As positive control, a population of FasL-positive cells could be identified by the same Ab in FasL-gene transfected but not in wild-type 293 cells (Fig. 1 A). Comparable data were obtained with another specific anti-FasL mAb (G247) (9, 27, 28, and data not shown). The absence of detectable levels of FasL on the cell surface was confirmed by immunoprecipitation of cell surface biotin-labeled proteins using both G247 mAb and NOK-1. As shown in Fig. 1 B (lanes 2 and 3), no specific band compatible with FasL molecule could be precipitated from melanoma cell membranes. The same gel developed by the isotype IgG1 control mAb failed to show any band (Fig. 1 B, lane 4). As control of cell surface labeling and immunoprecipitation procedures, HLA-class I molecules were immunoprecipitated by W6.32 mAb and appeared as a 44-kD band (Fig. 1 B, lane 1). To further rule out the possibility that FasL could be present on melanoma cell surface and be functionally active, despite the undetectability by cytometry and immunoprecipitation analyses, we evaluated the ability of melanoma cells to directly induce apoptosis of Fas-positive lymphoid cells. No significant apoptosis could be detected by incubating melanoma with Jurkat cells which, on the contrary, underwent substantial cell death in the presence of rFasL (Fig. 1 C). The possibility that FasL undetectability could be caused by massive shedding from cell membrane was further investigated by analyzing melanoma cell supernatants for the presence of soluble FasL (Fig. 1 D). Concentrated supernatants from melanoma cell lines were analyzed by Western blot analysis with G247 mAb and showed no positivity for soluble FasL, which was on the contrary detected in supernatants from PHA-activated Jurkat cells as a 27-kD band. The absence of detectable levels of sFasL was also confirmed by ELISA (data not shown). The same supernatants from melanoma did not show any cytotoxic activity when incubated with Jurkat cells (Fig. 1 C), confirming the absence of any functional proapoptotic molecule. FasL cannot be detected on melanoma cell membrane and in culture supernatant. (A) Cytofluorimetric analysis. Melanoma and transiently FasL-gene transfected 293 cells (control) were stained with anti-FasL NOK-1 mAb (dark area), or with an isotype-matched IgG (clear area), after 24 h-treatment with KB8301 10 μM; fluorescence was analyzed by FACSCalibur™ and CELLQuest™ software; data refer to three representative melanoma lines, from a panel of 10 tested. (B) Immunoprecipitation of membrane proteins: cell surface biotin-labeled cells of Me15392 were immunoprecipitated with G247 (lane 2) and NOK-1 (lane 3) anti-FasL mAb, with the isotype-matched murine IgG1 negative control (lane 4), or with the anti–HLA-class I mAb W6.32, as positive control. Cell lysates were analyzed in Western blot analysis with Streptavidin-HPR. A specific band (44 kD) is detectable only in lysates immunoprecipitated with W6.32 (lane 1). (C) Proapoptotic activity of melanoma cells. 51[Cr]-labeled Jurkat cells (at 103cells per well), in the presence or absence of neutralizing anti-Fas mAb ZB4 (50 ng/ml), were incubated for 16 h with either melanoma cells (105cells per well), rFasL (100 ng/ml), or concentrated supernatant from 501mel culture (dilution 1:2). Killing was calculated as percentage of lysis. (D) Western blot analysis of FasL expression in supernatants from melanoma cell cultures. Melanoma supernantants were harvested from 72 h confluent cell cultures and concentrated by Centricon filter devices (cut-off 50 kD) (lanes 2 and 3). Concentrated supernatant from resting (lane 4) or PHA-activated (lane 5) Jurkat cells were additionally used as negative and positive controls, respectively. rFasL was also included (lane 1). Western blot analysis was stained with the anti-FasL G247 mAb. A 27-kD band, corresponding to soluble FasL, could be detected in supernatant from PHA-activated Jurkat cells. Immunocytochemical analysis was then performed in different melanoma cell lines to evaluate possible intracellular expression of FasL, using G247 mAb. The results of immunocytochemistry clearly demonstrated that FasL was expressed intracellularly by all the melanoma cell lines examined (data in Fig. 2 refer to three melanoma lines, representative of a panel of 10 lines tested). Fig. 2 shows that the intensity of the staining for FasL varied among melanomas and that the staining was invariably localized in defined endocytic compartments, markedly represented in melanoma cells. Intracellular FasL expression was also confirmed by flow cytometry performed in the same melanoma cell lines after permeabilization with 70% methanol (Fig. 3 A). Immunocytochemical analysis of FasL expression in human melanoma cells. FasL expression in three representative melanoma lines (Me15392, 501mel, and Me30966, in A, B, and C, respectively), from a panel of 10 tested, is shown. Note (i) the striking localization of the FasL staining on well-defined cytoplasmic vesicles and (ii) the differential quantitative expression among the three cell lines. Immunophenotyping of fixed cells was performed using the PAP method. AEC was used as chromogen and Mayer's haematoxylin for the counterstaining. Original magnification: 2,500×. FasL intracellular localization in melanoma cells. (A) Cytofluorimetric analysis: melanoma cells were permeabilized with 70% methanol for 5 min on ice and subsequently stained with the anti-FasL G247 mAb (dark area) or with an isotype-matched IgG (clear area). Fluorescence was analyzed by FACSCalibur™ and CELLQuest™ software; data refer to three representative melanoma lines, from a panel of 10 tested. (B and C) Western blot detection of FasL in melanoma total cell lysates. Melanoma or PHA-activated Jurkat total cell lysates were stained by the anti-FasL G247 mAb. A significant positivity was detected in melanoma cell lysates (panel B, lanes 2–3), resembling the pattern observed in PHA-activated Jurkat cells (panel C, lane 2). Three major bands were detected in both melanoma and Jurkat cell lysates, corresponding to a molecular weight ranging between 40 and 33 kD and likely representing differently glycosylated forms of FasL molecule. (D) Western blot detection of FasL in cytoplasmic fractions of melanoma cells. Cytoplasmic-enriched preparations from melanoma cells were obtained as described in Materials and Methods. Western blot was stained with G247 mAb. Significant positivity (with bands ranging between 40 and 33 kD, with a predominance of the 40-kD band) was observed in both melanoma lines (lanes 2 and 3). To validate cytochemical and cytofluorimetric data, the presence of FasL was further evaluated in the total lysate from melanoma cells. Indeed, Western blot analysis with the G247 mAb revealed a significant positivity (Fig. 3 B, lanes 2 and 3), resembling the pattern observed in PHA-activated Jurkat cells (Fig. 3 C, lane 2). Three major bands were detected in both melanoma and Jurkat cell lysates, corresponding to a molecular weight ranging between 40 and 33 kD (as compared with rFasL, estimated molecular weight 35 kD). This pattern, which is typically observed in Western blot analysis with G247 mAb (27), likely represents differently glycosylated forms of FasL molecule. Similar positivity was observed when cytoplasm-enriched preparations purified by differential centrifugations of total melanoma cell lysate were tested (Fig. 3 D, lanes 2 and 3). However, a clear predominance of the 40-kD band could be detected in cytoplasmic preparations as compared with total melanoma cell lysates, possibly due to a higher concentration of the mature, glycosylated form of FasL. Altogether, these data strongly indicate that the expression of FasL molecules in these tumor cells is mostly confined to the intracellular compartment. Immunoelectron microscopy analysis was used to further investigate FasL subcellular localization in human melanoma cells. The results showed that FasL immunolabeling was clearly confined to MVB (Fig. 4 A), specialized cellular compartments displaying internal membrane-bound vesicles (29). Within the MVB, FasL was expressed by vesicles that contain melanin in various stages of maturation (Fig. 4 B), suggesting the melanosomal origin of these structures. With the aim of further evaluating the nature of the FasL-expressing vesicles, we performed double-labeling experiments on cryosectioned cells. The results showed that FasL positive vesicles coexpressed both markers of lysosomes (i.e., CD63) and melanosomes (i.e., gp100). Fig. 4 C shows that MVB of melanoma cells are double labeled for FasL and CD63, while Fig. 4 D reports both coexpression of FasL and gp100 by MVB and the absence of staining in other vesicular structures, such as endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Figs. 4 E shows a colocalization of CD63 and gp100 in MVB, that was consistent with the costaining of FasL with either CD63 or gp100. Fig. 4 F is a higher magnification of a MVB showing the staining for FasL and gp100 in this structure. This set of results strongly indicates that FasL is localized in MVs coexpressing lysosome and melanosome markers and that its expression can be detected in MVB of melanoma cells. Immunoelectron microscopic analysis of FasL expression in human melanoma cells. (A and B) Immunoelectron microscopy obtained by Lowicryl HM20 resin embedment (see Materials and Methods) of melanoma cells (bars, 1 μm). (A) A multivesicular body containing melanosomes at different state of maturation labeled for FasL. (B) Magnification of the squared area in A, showing the specific FasL labeling on light and dark organelles corresponding to early (low melanin levels) and late (high melanin levels) melanosome differentation state, respectively. (C–F) Immunoelectron microscopy pictures obtained by ultrathin cryosections of melanoma cells (see Materials and Methods) (bars, 0.1 μm). (C) Double immunolabeling of FasL (large golds, 20 nm; arrow) and CD63 (small golds, 10 nm; arrowhead); (D) of FasL (large golds, 20 nm; arrow) and gp100 (small golds, 10 nm; arrowhead); small arrowheads indicate the ER free of gold particle staining; (E) double immunolabeling of CD63 (large golds, 20 nm; arrow) and gp100 (small golds, 10 nm; arrowhead); (F) higher magnification of a multivesicular body double stained for FasL (large golds, 20 nm; arrow) and gp100 (small golds, 10 nm; arrowhead). FasL Expression and Apoptotic Activity of Purified Melanosomes. On the basis of the immunoelectron microscopy data, we thus evaluated the expression of FasL on melanosomes purified from human melanoma cells. Western blot analysis was performed using proteins derived from melanosomal preparations isolated by sucrose gradient from the same melanoma lines previously tested for FasL intracellular expression. Staining with G247 mAb revealed the presence in melanosome preparations of the 40–33-kD band pattern (Fig. 5 A, lanes 2–4), similar to that detectable in melanoma cell lysates and in PHA-activated Jurkat cells (Fig. 3). These results confirmed the presence of FasL molecule in melanosome granules from melanoma cells, as previously suggested by immunocytochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy. Controls performed to check purity of melanosome preparations revealed the expression of the melanosomal marker gp100, and no significant contamination with Golgi, mitochondria, or plasma-membrane markers (Fig. 5 B). As described previously (30), the ER marker Bip/GRP78 was detectable in melanosome preparations (Fig. 5 B) and could not be eliminated by standard separation procedures. However, being ER-negative for FasL (Fig. 4 D), the presence of these subcellular contaminant are unlikely to contribute to FasL detection in melanosome preparations. FasL expression in melanosomes purified from melanoma cells. (A) Western blot analysis of purified melanosome preparations. Western blot analysis was performed using proteins derived from melanosomal preparations purified from melanoma lines by sucrose gradient. Staining with G247 mAb revealed the presence in melanosome preparations of the 40–33 kD band pattern (lane 3–5). (B) Purity controls of melanosome preparations. Controls performed to check purity of melanosome preparations revealed the expression of the melanosomal marker gp100, and no significant contamination with Golgi, mitochondria, or plasma-membrane markers. The ER marker Bip/GRP78 was detectable in melanosome preparations. (C) Cytofluorimetric analysis of FasL expression on purified melanosomes. Melanosomes were stained with anti-FasL NOK-1, anti-gp100, anti LAMP-2, and anti-CD63 mAbs, followed by incubation with FITC goat anti–mouse IgG (dark areas); an irrelevant isotype-matched Ab plus the FITC-conjugated goat anti–mouse IgG were used as negative control (clear areas). Fluorescence was analyzed by FACSCalibur™ and CELLQuest™ software. Melanosomes were detected as granules of the approximate mean size of 1 μm, relative to standard beads of 6 μm size. Cytofluorimetric analysis was then performed to further characterize the antigenic profile, including FasL expression, of purified melanosomes. As shown in Fig. 5 C, melanosomes were positive for FasL as detected by NOK-1 mAb, thus suggesting a possible membrane localization of FasL in such organelles, along with the melanosomal molecule gp100, and the lysosomal markers LAMP-2 and CD63. Then, we performed experiments aimed at evaluating the functional role of FasL expressed in melanosomes. To investigate the possible proapoptotic activity of melanoma-derived melanosomes, purified preparations were tested for induction of Fas-mediated apoptosis in FasL-sensitive Jurkat cells. Indeed, melanosomes induced significant and dose-dependent apoptosis of Jurkat cells, as detected by cytofluorimetric analysis with propidium and annexin staining (Fig. 6 A). The observed apoptosis was indeed FasL-mediated, since it could be significantly inhibited by preincubation of target cells with different concentrations of the anti-Fas mAb ZB4 (Fig. 6 A and B). ZB4-mediated inhibition of apoptosis appeared to be more effective with rFasL as compared with melanosomes, suggesting the presence in melanosome preparations of a higher concentration either of bioactive FasL or bystander proteins, possibly impairing Ab binding efficiency. In any case, these results provide evidence for the presence of functionally active FasL molecules in melanosomes derived from melanoma cells. Induction of Fas-mediated apoptosis by purified melanosomes. (A) Jurkat cells were incubated overnight in the presence of rFasL (100 ng/ml), or different doses of melanosomes (total protein concentration: 0.35 mg/ml), purified from 501mel melanoma line as described in Materials and Methods. Cells were incubated alone or after treatment with ZB4 mAb (50 ng/ml) and harvested 18 h later. Apoptosis was then evaluated by propidium and annexin staining and FACS®analysis and expressed as percentage of apoptotic cells. (B) Jurkat cells were pretreated with different concentrations of ZB4 and incubated with 100 μl per well melanosomes. Apoptosis was then evaluated by propidium and annexin staining and FACS®analysis. Release of MVs by Melanoma Cells and their Apoptotic Activity. Previous studies have shown that a secretion of MVs, or exosome-like particles, underlies the formation of MVB in various cells types (29). Thus, we performed a series of experiments aimed at evaluating the possible secretion of MVs expressing FasL by human melanoma cells. A preliminary analysis by immunocytochemistry showed that human melanoma cells cultured in chamber-slides exerted a straightforward polarization of FasL staining on their interdigitated structures (Fig. 7 A). Further observations suggested a secretory behavior of the FasL-bearing MVs (Fig. 7 B) and in some cases revealed FasL-positive MVB-like structures with a clear secretory behavior, together with the presence of clusters of FasL-positive vesicles 8–10 mm away from the plasma membrane of melanoma cells (Fig. 7 C). Immunocytochemistry is not suitable for the demonstration of the MVB secretory behavior, nor for the identification of exosome-like particles. Thus, we performed immunoelectron microscopy in order to define both MVB secretory activity and the presence of FasL-bearing vesicles in human melanoma cells. Fig. 8 A and B clearly show that FasL-immunolabeled MVs degranulate from MVB of melanoma cells in the extracellular environment. Fig. 8 B also shows that the ER beneath the plasma membrane does not stain for FasL. Immunocytochemical analysis of MVs released by melanoma cells. (A) A cluster of human melanoma cells adherent on glass chamber slides, showing a high level of FasL expression (as detected by G247 mAb), polarized on cellular filopodia and interdigitations (arrowheads). (B) Higher magnification of the FasL stainings on the tip of a melanoma cell interdigitation, showing both the unidirectional secretory behavior (arrowhead) and the marked polar concentration (arrow) of the FasL staining. (C) High electronic magnification of a defined field of a melanoma cell where a cluster of FasL-positive vesicles is under degranulation and a group of three isolated FasL-positive vesicles is detectable 8–10 μm away from the cell membrane (arrow). Immunophenotyping of fixed cells was performed using the PAP method; AEC was used as chromogen and Mayer's haematoxylin for the counterstaining. Final original magnifications: (A) 1,000×; (B) 2,500×; and (C) 3,000×. Immunoelectron microscopy analysis of multivesicular bodies, secretory vesicles, and isolated MVs from melanoma cells. (A and B) Immunoelectron microscopy on ultrathin cryosections of human melanoma cells (see Materials and Methods). (A) Note the clear FasL immunolabeling of exosome-like particles (arrows) degranulating in the extracellular environment by a multivesicular body. In B, multiple degranulation sites are shown with FasL immunolabeled exosome-like vesicles (arrows) scattered into the extracellular environment. Arrowheads outline a wide ER vesicle (ER) that appears negative for the FasL immunolabeling. (C–F) Electron microscopy of the 100,000 g pellet immunogold labeled for (C) FasL, (D) CD63, (E) gp100, and (F) Golgi, respectively. The pellet was composed of 100–200 nm MVs, often detected as aggregates, showing abundant FasL, CD63, and gp100 immunolabeling, while they do not stain for Golgi markers (bars, 0.1 μm). These particles, as well as their secretory pathway, highly resembled those described in various immunocompetent cells (15, 16). Thus, we performed experiments aimed at obtaining purified preparations of MVs from melanoma cell supernatant. Immunoelectron microscopy analysis of the pellets obtained by sequential ultracentrifugation of melanoma cell culture supernatant revealed the presence of vesicles of 100–200 nm in size showing a marked positivity for FasL (Fig. 8 C), CD63 (Fig. 8 D), and gp100 (Fig. 8 E) stainings, being negative for the Golgi immunolabeling (Fig. 8 F). The vesicles, often detectable as aggregates, were morphologically similar to those contained in the MVB and excreted extracellularly (Fig. 8 A and B). Analysis of MVs isolated from melanoma cell supernatant, as performed by Western blot, showed that FasL was indeed detectable (Fig. 9 A, lanes 4, 6, and 7) in such preparations, with an ∼35-kD band, highly resembling the one observed in MVs from PHA-activated Jurkat cells (Fig. 9 A, lane 2). FasL expression on MVs purified from melanoma cell supernatant. (A) Western blot analysis. Analysis of MVs isolated from melanoma cell supernatant by serial ultracentrifugations, as performed by Western blot and staining with G247 mAb. An ∼35-kD band can be observed in MVs from melanoma lines (lanes 4, 6, and 7), resembling the one observed in MVs from PHA-activated Jurkat cells (lane 2). Only MV from PHA-activated, and not from resting Jurkat cells (lane 3) showed positivity for FasL, suggesting that this molecule unlikely derived from FBS used for cell culture. (B) Purity controls of microvesicle preparations. Controls performed to check purity of microvesicle preparations from melanoma cell supernatant revealed the expression of the melanosomal marker gp100, and no significant contamination with Golgi, ER, or mitochondria. (C) Cytofluorimetric analysis of FasL expression on purified MVs. MVs from 501mel line were stained with anti-FasL NOK-1, anti-gp100, anti–LAMP-2, and anti-CD63 mAbs, followed by incubation with FITC goat anti–mouse IgG (dark areas); an irrelevant isotype-matched Ab plus the FITC-conjugated goat anti–mouse IgG were used as negative control (clear areas). Fluorescence was analyzed by FACSCalibur™ and CELLQuest™ software. MVs were detected as granules with a size range of 100–600 nm, relative to standard beads of 6 μm size. It should be noted that FasL expressed in microvesicle preparations did derived from melanoma and activated Jurkat cells, respectively, and not from FBS present in culture media. In fact, only MVs isolated from PHA-activated Jurkat cells showed strong positivity for FasL, while no positivity was detected in MVs isolated from nonactivated cells (Fig. 9 A, lane 3), maintained under the same culture conditions (i.e., in 10% FBS). Further analysis of melanoma-derived MVs showed the concomitant expression in these preparations of the melanosomal marker gp100 (Fig. 9 B) and the absence of any ER, Golgi, and mitochondria markers (Fig. 9 B). These vesicles resulted positive for class I HLA expression, as expected (19), but showed no positivity for caveolin, which was however detectable in purified melanoma cell membranes (data not shown). On particulate, ultracentrifugable fractions from melanoma cell supernatants we additionally performed FACS® analysis, which confirmed the presence of MVs (with a diameter ≥ 100 nm) expressing FasL, in addition to melanosomal and lysosomal antigens (gp100, LAMP-2, and CD63) (Fig. 9 C). Experiments were finally performed to assess the proapoptotic activity of the MVs by exploiting the same approach used for melanosomes. The results clearly showed that purified MVs from melanoma cells expressed bioactive FasL and induced ZB4-blockable, thus Fas-mediated apoptosis of Jurkat cells, as detected by propidium and annexin staining (Fig. 10 A). However, the observed apoptosis was significantly lower than that mediated by MVs derived from PHA-activated Jurkat cell supernatants, suggesting a less efficient activity in melanoma as compared with immune competent cells. Specificity of Jurkat apoptosis induced by melanoma-derived MVs was further confirmed by the dose-dependent inhibition obtained in the presence of the anti-Fas mAb ZB4 (Fig. 10 B). An additional evidence for the induction of a specific apoptotic pathway was provided by the analysis of caspase-8 activation, that showed the appearance of the cleaved activated form of 40 kD after incubation with both melanoma-derived MVs and isolated melanosomes, undetectable though when Jurkat cells were pretreated with ZB4 (Fig. 10 C). Apoptotic activity of MVs isolated from melanoma cell supernatant. (A) Jurkat cells were incubated overnight in the presence of rFasL (100 ng/ml), or 50 μl/ml MVs isolated from resting Jurkat cells, PHA-activated Jurkat cells or 501mel cells, purified as described in Materials and Methods (protein concentrations: 13.3, 15, and 5.1 mg/ml, respectively). Target cells were used with or without pretreatment with ZB4 mAb (50 ng/ml) and harvested 18 h later. Evaluation of apoptosis induction as detected by FACS® analysis for propidium and annexin staining. (B) Jurkat cells were pretreated with different concentrations of ZB4 and incubated with rFasL (100 ng/ml) or 50 μl per well MVs from 501mel line. Apoptosis was then evaluated by propidium and annexin staining and FACS®analysis. (C) Western blot analysis of caspase-8 cleavage. Control loading is shown by actin. Jurkat cells, with (Jurkat/ZB4) or without preexposure to ZB4 mAb (50 ng/ml), were incubated overnight with different apoptotic stimuli: lane 1, Jurkat; 2, Jurkat/ZB4; 3, Jurkat + rFasL (100 ng/ml); 4, Jurkat/ZB4 plus rFasL; 5, Jurkat plus melanosomes (100 μl/ml, protein concentration 3.5 mg/ml); 6, Jurkat/ZB4 plus melanosomes; 7, Jurkat plus 501mel MVs (50 μl/ml, protein concentration 5.1 mg/ml); Jurkat/ZB4 plus 501mel MVs. Induction of apoptosis was detected as a 40-kD band, representing the cleaved activated form of activated caspase-8. No band is detectable when Jurkat cells were pretreated with ZB4. These functional data suggest that melanoma cells can release MVs which retain the functional and phenotypic pattern observed in cytoplasmatic melanosomes and can exert FasL-dependent proapoptotic activity on Fas-sensitive target cells. In this study, we describe a novel pathway of tumor counterattack through the secretion by melanoma cells of FasL-positive MVs, highly supporting the role of FasL in tumor escape from immune effector cells. The results of our study show that (i) FasL is indeed expressed in the cytoplasm of human melanoma cells; (ii) its expression is confined to MVB where FasL is coexpressed with both melanosomal and lysosomal markers; (iii) purified melanosomes are able to induce a Fas-mediated apoptosis in Fas-sensible human T cells; and (iv) melanosomes may undergo a secretory pathway through MVB, which also release MVs expressing FasL, melanosomal, and lysosomal markers and inducing Fas-mediated T cell apoptosis. These results clearly conciliate the opposite views on the FasL-mediated cancer counterattack, since they provide a comprehensive explanation to the controversial issue on FasL expression by tumor cells. In fact, we confirm the absence of detectable FasL expression at cell membrane level and the lack of proapoptotic activity mediated by whole melanoma cells, as reported by some authors (7, 8). At the same time, however, we provide an explanation for other results showing the presence of detectable levels of FasL in the intracellular compartment of tumor cells (10) and the prognostic role of FasL in tumor progression (5, 6, 9, 14). The expression of FasL in lysosome-related vesicles or other secretory granules has been indeed reported as a feature of immunocompetent cells (15, 16). However, the MVB of melanoma cells showed some peculiarities, such as the presence of melanosome-like electrondense vesicles, secreted in the extracellular environment as FasL-positive vesicles detectable by both immunocytochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy. Microvescicles can be separated from melanoma cell culture supernatant and are able to trigger Fas-mediated apoptosis of sensitive human lymphoid target cells. Notably, these MVs displayed lysosomal features in terms of expression of lysosomal antigens such as CD63 and LAMP-2 and showed morphological features similar to those described in immunocompetent cells (15, 16). On the basis of our data, we cannot rule out the possibility that vesicles of a size inferior to the detection limit of cytofluorimetric analysis (presently classified as ‘exosomes’) could be also present in our melanoma supernatants. In fact, the evidence of MVB formation in melanoma cells, together with the information from immunoelectron microscopy on supernatant ultracentrifugates, suggest that exosome-like particles, known to be released by melanoma cells (19) and by other cell types (29, 31), may contribute to the phenomenon of microvesicle-induced FasL-mediated apoptosis here described. The release of membrane-associated FasL through secretion of intracellular organelles represents an effective mechanism for mediating apoptosis, given the higher efficiency in triggering Fas-mediated apoptosis of membrane-linked FasL as compared with its soluble form (32) and the evidence that conversion of membrane FasL to its soluble form leads to downregulation of the proapoptotic activity (33). A vectorial transport of FasL has been recently described on lysosomal-like vesicles in NK and T cells (15, 16). On the basis of these data it has been hypothesized that this targeting of FasL to the secretory lysosomes is specific to cells of hematopoietic lineage, as a sort of tight regulatory mechanism of FasL expression in cells that are committed to kill target cells through the Fas-mediated pathway (15). This is further supported by studies showing that FasL is stored in the secretory granules of monocytes (34). However, it is well known that melanosomes, as well as lytic granules of NK cells and phagosomes, belong to the family of the lysosomal-like organelles, expressing the same lysosomal-associated antigens (18). We describe here FasL-expressing melanosome-like organelles secreted by human melanoma cells as vesicles able to deliver a Fas-mediated cell death to Fas-sensible lymphoblastoid cells. These data suggest that melanoma cells may share with NK cells, and probably with monocytes, (i) a similar pathway of FasL targeting to lysosomal-like particles and (ii) a similar secretory pathway of these particles mediating a Fas-mediated cell death that does not necessarily imply a cell-to-cell contact. It seems hence conceivable that secretion of FasL-expressing MVs can be a more efficient mechanism in inducing apoptosis of Fas-expressing cells, and that this mechanism may well operate in physiologic (NK, CTL, monocytes, dendritic cells) as well as in aberrant (tumor cells) conditions. In fact, it has been suggested that the cytoplasmic tail of FasL expressed in hematopoietic cells contains a sorting motif that targets the protein to secretory lysosomes. Additionally, this specialized motif appears to be shared by other members of the TNF family (e.g., CD40L; reference 35). On the basis of these considerations it has been further speculated that the accumulation of proteins in the secretory lysosomes may represent a generalized mechanism for the control of the release of proteins involved in the regulation of the immune response. Since tumor cells may lack such type of tight control, it is thus conceivable that melanoma cells could mediate a continuous release and/or degranulation of FasL-bearing vesicles that indiscriminately kill all the Fas-sensible cells encountered in the extracellular environment. This phenomenon would have no consequences on melanoma cells, being these cells insensitive to Fas triggering, and therefore refractory to the autocrine FasL-vesicles-induced cell death (26, 36, 37). On the basis of our data, it is still unclear whether the induction of lymphocyte death by FasL-bearing MVs could be a specific feature of melanoma cells or it could be shared by other tumors. In fact, although in some histological types (e.g., colon carcinoma) this molecule has been located exclusively in the cytoplasm, other tumors, such as squamous cell carcinoma, have been clearly shown to stably express FasL at the plasma membrane level (11). Our data support the relevance of FasL-mediated apoptosis in tumor evasion from immunological control. Other mechanisms can play a significant role in reducing the in vivo efficacy of CTL response to melanoma antigens (1) and antitumor T cell subpopulations resistant to FasL-induced apoptosis have been identified at least in vitro (26). However, this functional pathway of inducing lymphocyte apoptosis through the release of FasL-positive MVs may indeed play a significant role in eliminating the most effective component of the antitumor T cell response in vivo. While we cannot rule out the possibility that FasL-bearing granules could instead deliver proinflammatory signals, as indeed described in other experimental systems (38, 39), it is likely, given the natural history of neoplastic disease, that this mechanism may contribute in tilting the balance toward an immunosuppressive environment at tumor site. Thus, we believe that future studies aimed at understanding the mechanism responsible for this phenomenon, together with the identification of therapeutical strategies for specifically inhibiting tumor exocytosis, could contribute to ameliorate immunological control of tumor growth in cancer patients. The authors wish to express their gratitude to Drs. Giovina Ruberti and Giuliana Papoff (Institute of Cell Biology, National Research Council, Rome, Italy), and Hermann Eibel (Clinical Research Unit for Rheumatology, University Hospital Freiburg, Germany) for providing reagents and for their invaluable support and discussion. We also thank Agata Cova, Gloria Sovena, Nives Carenini, and Anna Maria Zaccheddu for the skillful technical work, and Dr. Simona Galuzzi for manuscript editing. This work was supported by grants from AIRC (Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro), Milano, Italy and from the Italian Ministry of Health, Rome, Italy. ↵* Abbreviations used in this paper: ER, endoplasmic reticulum; EtOH, ethanol; LAMP, lysosome-associated membrane protein; MVB, multivesicular bodies; MV, microvesicle; PAP, peroxidase-anti-peroxidase; PI, propidium iodide. G. Andreola and L. Rivoltini contributed equally to this work. Marincola, F.M., E.M. Jaffee, D.J. Hicklin, and S. Ferrone. 2000. 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2019-04-18T18:46:26Z

http://jem.rupress.org/content/195/10/1303?ijkey=58d4cb2e318de4cf6ea71045729bf503cdb5412a&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha

This week saw the inauguration of Barack Obama. We thought that the event was admired by people the whole world over… but not true, he did manage to offend someone – the Chinese government. References to both ‘communism’ and ‘dissent’ were deleted from Chinese translations of the newly appointed president’s speech. The Chinese government are (sadly) well known for omitting media material they feel would cause difficulties or upset in their country but this is taking it one step too far. During a televised English report of the speech translated into Chinese the state run Chinese Central Television (CCTV), which is the main television broadcaster in mainland China, cut back suddenly to the studio as Obama mentioned ‘communism’. The shows presenter had to think on her feet as she was not expecting the sudden return to air. She quickly asked her Washington correspondent a random question on the US economy. Chinese television is not usually live so that they have time to edit what is shown. For example during the Beijing Olympics there was a constant 10 second delay as the government were concerned about free-Tibet activists upsetting proceedings. We think that it is an outrage that a government can cover up and change what was arguably the most important moment in world history. The people of China (and in fact all people) should have the right to hear other world leaders’ opinions whether their government agree with them or not. According to National Geographic, every 14 days another language passes into oblivion. New languages are created at a much slower rate. Usually, new languages evolve naturally from older languages over time. On the other hand, sometimes new languages are simply created from fiction. These languages are called constructed languages. One of the most commonly spoken constructed languages is Klingon, the language spoken by Klingons in Star Trek. Star Trek is known for having the most rabid set of fans ever, so perhaps it’s no surprise that Klingon has become a language with its own dictionary, an organisation called the Klingon Language Institute that was founded to promote it, translated editions of Gilgamesh and plays by Shakespeare, and now, a keyboard that’s lettered exclusively in Klingon. DVICE has a review of the keyboard that begins with the question “Are you one of the biggest nerds in the world?” If you are a fluent Klingon speaker who has always wanted to be able to express your thoughts more fluently in Klingon, this keyboard is for you. DVICE gave it a low rating because of its limited utility for the rest of us puny earthlings, but what’s really interesting about their review is the comments section, which quickly turns into a lively debate over whether or not Klingon is a “real” language. So, is Klingon a “real” language? Yes and no. It’s a constructed language, true, but according to Wikipedia there are at least 12 people who can speak it fluently. This means that in the sense that it can be used by two people to communicate, it is a real language. However, it’s missing one of the key features of a natural language, the ability to evolve over time. Klingon vocabulary is limited to official Klingon words supplied by its creator, Marc Okrand. He adds new words to the language every so often, but the language doesn’t evolve without his approval. It will be interesting to see how long Klingon survives under these circumstances…will anyone still speak Klingon generations from now? What happens to the language after its creator passes on? Have you ever been stuck in a foreign country desperately wanting to ask a local a question but limited by your language skills? Well the iPhone and iPod touch from Apple in conjunction with Coolgorilla have the solution. Coolgorilla develop software applications for iPods and Mobile phones. They have just launched their first application for the iPhone and iPod touch called the ‘Talking Phrasebook’. The application provides both text and audio translations in French, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Italian. A Greek version is expected to be released soon and if successful more languages will follow. The software is sponsored by lastminute.com so it is available free of charge and can be downloaded from the Coolgorilla or Apple Apps websites. The application contains over 300 hundred words and phrases in each language to help you get by when travelling abroad. It includes sections on Essentials, Travel, Accommodation, Food & Drink, Socialising, Romance, Shopping and Emergencies. Simply select your required phrase from the English menu system and your iPhone or iPod touch will then display a written translation on screen and also provides a spoken translation using recordings of a native voice artists. All the translations are stored within your iPhone or iPod Touch and so the application does not require that you access the internet whilst abroad. While this is not a replacement for telephone interpreting this application is an exciting development in translation software and an ideal solution for holiday makers who need basic phrases to help them on their travels. Text Messaging: A New Tool in the Struggle for Language Diversity? Text messaging is quickly becoming one of the most common methods of communication worldwide. In fact, last year in the US, text messages surpassed voice calls in popularity. However, the Wall Street Journal notes that texting can pose problems for some non-English speakers. Most of the time, when people send text messages, they use software called predictive text to make typing the messages easier. Predictive text “predicts” what you are trying to type, so you don’t have to press as many buttons. Without predictive text, you have to press numbers multiple times to get to the right letter. This is frustrating enough in English, but it’s even more time-consuming if you’re trying to use a language with a longer alphabet, like Hindi. As language advocates see it, the problem with text messaging is that influences people to communicate via text message using languages that predictive text software is written for. This is fine for native English speakers, but could be detrimental in other cultures that are struggling to preserve their languages and pass them on to the next generation. According to the Wall Street Journal article, so far only 80 of the world’s 6,912 languages are supported by predictive text software. Linguistic experts hope that expanding the number of languages available will make it easier for people to communicate in their native languages. https://www.k-international.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/weblogo-V7l.png 0 0 Alison Kroulek https://www.k-international.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/weblogo-V7l.png Alison Kroulek2009-01-09 09:30:412013-10-15 14:18:18Text Messaging: A New Tool in the Struggle for Language Diversity? Could you imagine what would happen if you had to adopt a new set of spelling and grammar rules? Well that’s exactly what has just happened in Brazil. I’m sure you know that Portuguese is different in Brazil and Portugal. It all stems from 1911 when Portugal (and its territories) commissioned a standardisation of the writing system (orthography) for Portuguese; this was known as the orthographic reform of Gonçalves Viana. Due to various disagreements and logistic issues Brazil set up an orthography of its own in 1934, with the same general principles as the Portuguese orthography, but not entirely identical to it, which lead to differences between the two languages. Over the remaining 20th Century various moves were made to reform the languages and bring them closer together, many positive steps were taken. The main change was the signing of the Orthographic Agreement in 1990 by seven Portuguese speaking nations. The agreement sets out new spelling rules for the language in an attempt to standardise its use across its 250 million users. This means that as from this week some Brazilian Portuguese spelling and grammar rules will be different. Spellings such as anónimo and anônimo, facto and fato, both will be considered legitimate, according to the dialect of the author or person being transcribed. Common guidelines for the use of hyphens and capitalization. International websites such as BBC Brazil will be adopting the new way of spelling as soon as possible. If you sell/operate in this market make sure that you have your copy reviewed by a translator. … So why do I need a translator? During one of the medical industries biggest exhibitions, Medica 2008, we spoke to hundreds of people regarding their translation requirements. Surprisingly many of the companies confirmed that their translation is done by employees who happen to speak the foreign language required. It seems like a good and inexpensive option, but is it really? Inexperienced translators, even if they have good knowledge of the product, might not have the sufficient knowledge of linguistic aspects of translation needed to convey the message accurately. In addition, experienced translators are efficient and able to provide accurate translations under time pressures that are often exerted by print/launch deadlines. Inexperienced employees undertaking translation projects will spend much more time on it compared to an experienced language specialist. The biggest cost comes from these employees not attending to their daily responsibilities; this “opportunity cost” is often higher than the cost of outsourcing translation to a specialist agency such as K International plc. K International uses translation memory software (TMS) which helps its translators by storing all previously translated material, whereas, translation done by employees is never stored in a way that allows efficient re-use of previous translations. By outsourcing to K International you can save considerable amount of money because of the enormous savings (up to 70% discounts) on previously translated and repetitious text. Therefore, using an established TMS will benefit your company in 3 ways. A reduction in cost – as the software will ‘remember’ what has been previously translated. Improve consistency across releases and updates. A reduction in time to market – i.e. reducing the amount of work that is required. Summing up the opportunity costs, longer delivery times, late launches and losing benefits of TMS, can you really afford to translate your documents in-house? The Internet has long been dominated by English-language content, but that may change over the next few years. The New York Times reports that many companies are responding to increased demand for content in languages other than English by translating existing online content and providing new tools that help users create content in their native languages. English may be the most popular second language in the world, but many people who speak it as a second language still prefer to communicate in their native tongue whenever possible, including online. For example, a survey of 50 million Indian Internet users found that even though most could speak English, ¾ preferred to read in the language they grew up speaking. Malaysian politicians, schools, activists and parents have been engaged in a furious debate over what language to use for instructing the nation’s schoolchildren in math and science. Now, MSNBC reports that negotiations between the different camps have reached a standstill. The issue is emotional and difficult to negotiate: Should Malaysian students receive math and science instruction in Malay, Malaysia’s national language, and the native language of most of its inhabitants? Or, should Malaysian students receive math and science instruction in English to better enable them to compete with students from other countries in an international job market? Malaysia was once a British colony, and Malaysian schools once taught exclusively in English. However, after Malaysia gained its independence from Great Britain, Malaysian leaders had schools begin teaching in Malay again, to promote native culture and the use of the Malay language. Unfortunately, this backfired on Malaysian students seeking work in an international marketplace, where English fluency is considered a desirable trait. Schools began teaching math and science in English in 2003. Malay language activists have been trying for decades to help the Malay language evolve to meet the needs of modern Malaysians, as well as to develop a Malay vocabulary for math and science terms. They feel that teaching math and science in English threatens their efforts. Another component of the mix is the desire of Malay’s main ethnic minorities to have these subjects taught in their native languages, Tamil and Chinese. Since the different players in the language debate are unable to come to a resolution, a decision on the policy will have to be made by the Malaysian Cabinet. Nobody is sure what the Cabinet will decide, but one this is clear: Someone is going to walk away unhappy when the decision is announced next year. One of the earliest Utopian promises of the Internet was that it would connect the world and give different cultures a greater understanding of each other. Imagine if you could sit at a coffee shop and talk to people from across the world, and hear what they have to say. In theory, at least, everyone would emerge from the coffee shop with a better understanding of and a deeper appreciation for each other’s views. Of course, even though the Internet allows people to communicate across continents, there’s still one problem: the language barrier. Now, an online social networking site called Meedan aims to break down the language barrier between Arabic, Hebrew and English speakers. The site uses translating software to translate members’ comments and messages to one another. Unfortunately, translation software is never perfect, and Meedan’s is no exception, as the New York Times reports. Programmers face a number of obstacles in writing translation software aimed at translating Arabic to English (and vice versa). For one thing, currently all translation programs work by having computers review copies of human-translated documents. By giving the computer a copy of the same text in each language, it can compare the two texts and “learn” which words correspond to each other.. The more translated text the computer sees, the more accurately it can translate. However, there is less common material available between English and Arabic than there is between English and many other languages. Also, syntax is more fluid in Arabic than in English. Arabic speakers use content and meaning (basically, common sense) to determine the meaning of a particular sentence. Computers, unfortunately, lack common sense. As the New York Times’ astutely points out, given how fraught with tension the semantics of the conflicts in the Middle East are, it remains to be seen how well Meedan will be able to build to a bridge between here and there. Don’t Jump…. Get yourself a donkey! Translating documents is not an easy business, a word can mean one thing in one language but something different in another if translated literally. When translating important life saving information leaflets it is essential to proofread the text to make sure it reads correctly and fluently. A fire brigade leaflet produced for Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service offering advice on how to escape from your home. There’s never a donkey around when you need one! An important lesson on how you must never confuse the letters h and d. It can have serious repercussions, particularly if you cannot find a donkey. It would have been beneficial to have had the document proofread. Having another translator reading the translated text means the context and spelling etc… can be checked, eliminating the problem of misinterpretation. https://www.k-international.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/weblogo-V7l.png 0 0 Alison Kroulek https://www.k-international.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/weblogo-V7l.png Alison Kroulek2008-12-12 13:23:212018-11-14 11:58:06Don’t Jump…. Get yourself a donkey!

2019-04-25T14:31:03Z

https://www.k-international.com/blog/page/113/

Aframax - An Aframax ship is an oil tanker with capacity between 80,000 metric tons of deadweight (DWT) and 120,000 DWT. Aframax class tankers are largely used in the basins of the Black Sea, the North Sea, the Caribbean Sea, the China Sea and the Mediterranean. Non-OPEC exporting countries may require the use of Aframax tankers because the harbors and canals through which these countries export their oil are too small to accommodate very-large crude carriers (VLCC) and ultra-large crude carriers (ULCCs). The term is based on the Average Freight Rate Assessment (AFRA) tanker rate system. Allision - The act of striking or collision of a moving vessel against a stationary object. Alongside - A phrase referring to the side of a ship. Goods delivered "alongside" are to be placed on the dock or barge within reach of the transport ship's tackle so that they can be loaded. Astern - A backward direction in the line of a vessel's fore and aft line; behind. If a vessel moves backwards it is said to move astern; opposite to ahead. Ballast - Heavy substances loaded by a vessel to improve stability, trimming, sea-keeping and to increase the immersion at the propeller. Sea water ballast is commonly loaded in most vessels in ballast tanks, positioned in compartments right at the bottom and in some cases on the sides, called wing tanks. On a tanker, ballast is seawater that is taken into the cargo tanks to submerge the vessel to a proper trim. Baltic Dry Index (BDI) - Is a number issued daily by the London-based Baltic Exchange. The index provides "an assessment of the price of moving the major raw materials by sea. Taking in 26 shipping routes measured on a timecharter and voyage basis, the index covers Supramax, Panamax, and Capesize dry bulk carriers carrying a range of commodities including coal, iron ore and grain." Baltic Exchange - A self regulated London exchange serving worldwide interests. It is the world's premier maritime market for ship chartering and sale and purchase. The Exchange publishes a range of market information and freight derivatives price settlements. Bare Boat - Is an arrangement for the hiring of a boat, whereby no crew or provisions are included as part of the agreement; instead, the people who rent the boat from the owner are responsible for taking care of such things. There are legal differences between a bareboat charter and other types of charter arrangement, such as crewed or luxury yacht charter, commonly called time or voyage charters. In a voyage or time charter the charterer charters the ship (or part of it) for a particular voyage or for a set period of time. In these charters the charterer can direct where the ship will go but the owner of the ship retains possession of the ship through its employment of the master and crew. In a bare-boat or demise charter, on the other hand, the owner gives possession of the ship to the charterer and the charterer hires its own master and crew. The bare-boat charterer is sometimes called a "disponent owner". The giving up of possession of the ship by the owner is the defining characteristic of a bare-boat or demise charter. Barge - Flat-bottomed boat designed to carry cargo on inland waterways, usually without engines or crew accommodations. Barges can be lashed together and either pushed or pulled by tugs, carrying cargo of 60,000 tons or more. Small barges for carrying cargo between ship and shore are known as lighters. Barge Carriers - Ships designed to carry either barges or containers exclusively, or some variable number of barges and containers simultaneously. Currently this class includes two types of vessels, the LASH and the SEABEE. Barrel- a standard unit of liquid volume in the petroleum industry equal to 42 U.S. gallons. B/d- Barrels per day (measure of petroleum production). Beneficial Ownership - Designates the owner who receives the benefits or profits from the operation. Berth Cargo - When a liner cargo vessel accepts extra cargo to fill up the empty space remaining. Bill of Lading - A document by which the Master of a ship acknowledges having received in good order and condition (or the reverse) certain specified goods consigned to him by some particular shipper, and binds himself to deliver them in similar condition, unless the perils of the sea, fire or enemies prevent him, to the consignees of the shippers at the point of destination on their paying him the stipulated freight. A bill of lading specifies the name of the master, the port and destination of the ship, the goods, the consignee, and the rate of freight. Boilers - Steam generating units used aboard ship to provide steam for propulsion (and) for heating and other auxiliary purposes. Bow - The front of a vessel. Breakbulk - The process of assimilating many small shipments into one large shipment at a central point so that economies of scale may be achieved; to commence discharge of cargo. Breakbulk Vessel - The process of assimilating many small shipments into one large shipment at a central point so that economies of scale may be achieved; to commence discharge of cargo. Bridge - Used loosely to refer to the navigating section of the vessel where the wheel house and chart room are located; erected structure amidships or aft or very rarely fore over the main deck of a ship to accommodate the wheelhouse. Bulk - Cargo shipped in loose condition and of a homogeneous nature. Cargoes that are shipped unpackaged either dry, such as grain and ore, or liquid, such as petroleum products. Bulk service generally is not provided on a regularly scheduled basis, but rather as needed, on specialized ships, transporting a specific commodity. Bulk Carrier - Ship specifically designed to transport vast amounts of cargoes such as sugar, grain, wine, ore, chemicals, liquefied natural gas; coal and oil. See also LNG Carrier, Tanker, OBO Ship; There are various ways to define the term bulk carrier. As of 1999, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea defines a bulk carrier as "a ship constructed with a single deck, top side tanks and hopper side tanks in cargo spaces and intended to primarily carry dry cargo in bulk; an ore carrier; or a combination carrier." However, most classification societies use a broader definition where a bulker is any ship that carries dry unpackaged goods. Multipurpose cargo ships can carry bulk cargo, but can also carry other cargoes and are not specifically designed for bulk carriage. The term "dry bulk carrier" is used to distinguish bulkers from bulk liquid carriers such as oil, chemical, or liquefied petroleum gas carriers. Very small bulkers are almost indistinguishable from general cargo ships, and they are often classified based more on the ship's use than its design. A number of abbreviations are used to describe bulkers. "OBO" describes a bulker which carries a combination of ore, bulk, and oil, and "O/O" is used for combination oil and ore carriers. The terms "VLOC," "VLBC," "ULOC," and "ULBC" for very large and ultra large ore and bulk carriers were adapted from the supertanker designations very large crude carrier and ultra large crude carrier. Bunkers - Fuel for a vessel. The type will vary depending upon the propulsion mode of the vessel. Steamships will use a heavy fuel oil, disuse use a range of fuels from heavy to light, and gas turbines generally use kerosene. Capesize - Capesize ships are cargo ships originally too large to transit the Suez Canal (i.e., larger than both panamax and suezmax vessels). To travel between oceans, such vessels used to have to pass either the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn. Vessels this size can now transit the Suez Canal as long as they meet the draft restriction (18.91m as of 2008) Capesize vessels are typically above 150,000 long tons of deadweight (DWT), and ships in this class include VLCC and ULCC supertankers and bulk carriers transporting coal, ore, and other commodity raw materials. The term "capesize" is most commonly used to describe bulk carriers rather than tankers. A standard capesize bulker is around 175,000 DWT, although larger ships (normally dedicated to ore transportation) have been built, up to 400,000 DWT. The large dimensions and deep drafts of such vessels mean that only the largest deep water terminals can accommodate them. Cargo - Freight loaded into a ship. Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1936 (COSGA) - a law enacted in 1936 covering the transportation of merchandise by sea to or from ports of the united states and in foreign trades. Certificate of Inspection - The document issued by the U.S. Coast Guard certifying an American-flag vessel's compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Charterer - The person to whom is given the use of the whole of the carrying capacity of a ship for the transportation of cargo or passengers to a stated port for a specified time. C.I.F. - Cost, Insurance, and Freight: Export term in which the price quoted by the exporter includes the costs of ocean transportation to the port of destination and insurance coverage. Classification Society - Worldwide experienced and reputable societies. which undertake to arrange inspections and advise on the hull and machinery of a ship. A private organization that supervises vessels during their construction and afterward, in respect to their seaworthiness, and the placing of vessels in grades or "classes" according to the society's rules for each particular type. It is not compulsory by law that a shipowner have his vessel built according to the rules of any classification society; but in practice, the difficulty in securing satisfactory insurance rates for an unclassed vessel makes it a commercial obligation. Clean Service - tanker transportation of refined products lighter than residual fuels. Clean Ship - Refers to tankers which have their cargo tanks free of traces of dark persistent oils which remain after carrying crudes and heavy fuel oils. These tankers generally carry refined petroleum products such as gasoline, kerosene or jet fuels, or chemicals. Coke Spread - the price differential between price of crude oil, typically MARS, and the value of the refined products produced by that crude oil. This type of refining process requires more sophisticated hardware to run a heavier crude oil. Consignee - The receiver of goods, i.e. a freight shipment, usually the buyer. Consignor - The shipper of goods, or shipper of a transportation movement. Contract of Affreightment (COA) - Is an agreement providing for the transportation of a specific quantity of cargo over a specific time period but without designating specific vessels or voyage schedules, thereby allowing flexibility in scheduling. COAs can either have a fixed rate or a market-related rate. An example would be two shipments of 70,000 tons per month for the next two years at the prevailing spot rate at the time of each loading. Container Terminal - An area designated for the stowage of cargoes in container; usually accessible by truck, railroad and marine transportation. Here containers are picked up, dropped off, maintained and housed. Containership - A ship constructed in such a way that she can easily stack containers near and on top of each other as well as on deck. A vessel designed to carry standard intermodal containers enabling efficient loading, unloading, and transport to and from the vessel. Oceangoing merchant ship designed to transport a unit load of standard-sized containers 8 feet square and 20 or 40 feet long. The hull is divided into cells that are easily accessible through large hatches, and more containers can be loaded on deck atop the closed hatches. Loading and unloading can proceed simultaneously using giant traveling cranes at special berths. Container ships usually carry in the range of 25,000 to 50,000 deadweight tons. Whereas a general-cargo ship may spend as much as 70 percent of its life in port loading and discharging cargo, a container ship can be turned around in 36 hours or less, spending as little as 20 percent of its time in port. This ship type is the result of American design innovation. Specialized types of container ships are the LASH and SeaBee which carry floating containers (or "lighters,") and RoRo ships, which may carry containers on truck trailers. Crack Spread - The price differential between price of crude oil, typically West Texas Intermediate crude oil (WTI), and the value of the refined products produced by that crude oil. Cross Trades - Foreign-to-foreign trade carried by ships from a nation other than the two trading nations. Crude Oil Carriers - These vessels carry bulk crude oil in tanks. Tankers of less than 100,000 dwt are referred to as either "clean" or "dirty". Crude Oil Spread - The price differential between two types of crude oil. Crude Oil Washing - A technique of cleaning tanks in oil tankers. D&H - Abbreviation for "Dangerous and Hazardous" cargo. Dangerous Cargo - All substances of an inflammable nature which are liable to spontaneous combustion either in themselves or when stowed adjacent to other substances and, when mixed with air, are liable to generate explosive gases or produce suffocation or poisoning or tainting of foodstuffs. Dangerous Liquids - Liquids giving off inflammable vapors. DDC - Destination Delivery Charge, based on container size, that is applied in many tariffs to cargo. It covers crane lifts off the vessel, drayage of the container within the terminal and gate fees at the terminal operation. Deadweight Factor - Percentage of a ship's carrying capacity that is not utilized. Deadweight - A common measure of ship carrying capacity. The number of tons (2240 lbs.) of cargo, stores and bunkers that a vessel can transport. It is the difference between the number of tons of water a vessel displaces "light" and the number of tons it displaces "when submerged to the 'deep load line'." A vessel's cargo capacity is less than its total deadweight tonnage. The difference in weight between a vessel when it is fully loaded and when it is empty (in general transportation terms, the net) measured by the water it displaces. This is the most common, and useful, measurement for shipping as it measures cargo capacity. Deadweight Cargo - A long ton of cargo that can be stowed in less than 40 cubic feet. Deadweight Tonnage (DWT) - the carrying capacity of a vessel when fully loaded. Demise Charter - A charter in which the bare ship is chartered without crew; the charterer, for a stipulated sum taking over the vessel for a stated period of time, with a minimum of restrictions; the charterer appoints the master and the crew and pays all running expenses. Demurrage - A fee levied by the shipping company upon the port or supplier for not loading or unloading the vessel by a specified date agreed upon by contract. Usually, assessed upon a daily basis after the deadline. Dirty Ship - Refers to tankers that have been carrying crude oil and heavy persistent oils such as fuel oil and dirty diesel. Discharges - An essential document for officers and seamen as it serves an official certificate confirming sea experience in the employment for which he was engaged. Displacement - The weight, in tons of 2,240 pounds, of the vessel and its contents. Calculated by dividing the volume of water displaced in cubic feet by 35, the average density of sea water. Double Bottom - General term for all watertight spaces contained between the outside bottom plating, the tank top and the margin plate. The double bottoms are sub-divided into a number of separate tanks, which may contain boiler feed water, drinking water, fuel oil, ballast, etc. Draft - The depth of a ship in the water. The vertical distance between the waterline and the keel, in the U.S. expressed in feet, elsewhere in meters. Dry-Bulk Container - A container constructed to carry grain, powder and other free-flowing solids in bulk. Used in conjunction with a tilt chassis or platform. Dry Cargo - Cargo which is of solid, dry material. It is not liquid or gas, and generally the term excludes cargo requiring special temperature controls. Dry Cargo Ship - Vessel which carriers all merchandise, excluding liquid in bulk. Dry Dock - An enclosed basin into which a ship is taken for underwater cleaning and repairing. It is fitted with water tight entrance gates which when closed permit the dock to be pumped dry. Dual Purpose Ship - Specially constructed ship able to carry different types of cargoes such as ore and/or oil. Feeder Vessel - A short-sea vessel which transfers cargo between a central hub port and smaller "spoke" ports. Flags of Convenience - The registration of ships in a country whose tax on the profits of trading ships is low or whose requirements concerning manning or maintenance are not stringent. Sometimes referred to as flags of necessity; denotes registration of vessels in foreign nations that offer favorable tax structures and regulations; also the flag representing the nation under whose jurisdiction a ship is registered. Ships are always registered under the laws of one nation but are not always required to establish their home location in that country. Free In Out (FIO) - Cost of loading and unloading a vessel is borne by the charterer/shipper. Freight - Refers to either the cargo carried or the charges assessed for carriage of the cargo. Freight Forwarder - One who arranges the shipping of goods overseas; Arranges shipments for customers usually break bulk. Does not actually carry the cargo or conduct business for the ship. Gross Freight - Freight money collected or to be collected without calculating the expenses relating to the running cost of the ship for the voyage undertaken. Gross Registered Tons - A common measurement of the internal volume of a ship with certain spaces excluded. One ton equals 100 cubic feet; the total of all the enclosed spaces within a ship expressed in tons each of which is equivalent to 100 cubic feet. Gross Tonnage(GT) - Applies to vessels, not to cargo, (0.2+0.02 log10V) where V is the volume in cubic meters of all enclosed spaces on the vessel. Grounding - Deliberate contact by a ship with the bottom while she is moored or anchored as a result of the water level dropping. Hague-Visby Rules - A set of rules, amending the Hague Rules published in 1968 and subsequently given the force of law by many maritime nations. Hamburg Rules - Rules governing the rights and responsibilities of carrier and cargo interests which may be incorporated into a contract for the carriage of goods by sea either by agreement of the parties or statutorily. These rules were adopted by the United National Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea in 1978. Handymax - Handymax or Supramax is a naval architecture term for a bulk carrier, typically between 35,000 and 60,000 metric tons of deadweight (DWT). A handymax ship is typically 150-200 meters (492-656 feet) in length, though certain bulk terminal restrictions, such as those in Japan, mean that many handymax ships are just under 190 meters in overall length. Modern handymax designs are typically 52,000-58,000 DWT in size, have five cargo holds, and four cranes of 30 metric ton lifting capacity. Handysize - Although there is no official definition in terms of exact tonnages, Handysize most usually refers to a dry bulk vessel (or, less commonly, to a product tanker) with deadweight of about 15,000-35,000 tons. Above this size are Handymax bulkers (typically 35,000 - 58,000 tons deadweight); there is no well-defined or widely accepted size sector below 15,000 tons. Handysize is numerically the most common size of bulk carrier, with nearly 2000 units in service totaling about 43 million tons. Handysize ships are very flexible because their size allows them to enter smaller ports, and in most cases they are 'geared' - i.e. fitted with cranes - which means that they can load and discharge cargoes at ports which lack cranes or other cargo handling systems. Compared to larger bulk carriers, handysizes carry a wider variety of cargo types. These include steel products, grain, metal ores, phosphate, cement, logs, woodchips and other types of so-called 'break bulk cargo'. Handysize bulkers are built mainly by shipyards in Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam, the Philippines and India, though a few other countries also have the capacity to build such vessels. The most common industry-standard specification handysize bulker is now about 32,000 mt deadweight on a summer draft of about 10.0 metres, and features 5 cargo holds with hydraulically operated hatch covers, with four 30 metric ton cranes for cargo handling. Some handysizes are also fitted with stanchions to enable logs to be loaded in stacks on deck. Such vessels are often referred to as 'handy loggers'. Despite multiple recent orders for new ships, the handysize sector still has the highest average age profile of the major bulk carrier sectors. Harbor Duties - Various local charges against all seagoing vessels entering a harbor, to cover maintenance of channel depths, buoys, lights, etc. All harbors do not necessarily have this charge. Harter Act (1893) - This U.S. statute refers to merchandise or property transported from or between ports of the United States and foreign ports. Now partially superseded by the US Carriage of Goods by Sea Act of 1936. Hatch - An opening, generally rectangular, in a ship's deck affording access into the compartment below. Hawser - Large strong rope used for towing purposes and for securing or mooring ships. Hawsers are now mostly made of steel. Haz Mat - An industry abbreviation for "Hazardous Material." Helm - A tiller or a wheel generally installed on the bridge or wheelhouse of a ship to turn the rudder during manoeuvering and navigation. It is in fact the steering wheel of the ship. Hoisting Rope - Special flexible wire rope for lifting purposes, generally being of six strands with 19 wires in each strand and in most cases having a hemp rope at the center. Hold - A general name for the spaces below the main deck designated for stowage of general cargo. A hold on a tanker is usually just forward of #1 cargo tank. Some newer tankers have no hold. Hopper Barge - A barge which loads material dumped into it by a dredger and discharges the cargo through the bottom. Hull - Shell or body of a ship. ILO - Internal Labor Organization: Based in Geneva, it is one of the oldest components of the UN system of specialized agencies and has been involved over the years in appraising and seeking to improve and regulate conditions for seafarers. In its unusual tripartite way, involving official representatives of government, employer and employee interests, its joint Maritime Commission have had in hand moves on the employment of foreign seafarers to urge the application of minimum labor standards, on crew accommodation, accident prevention, medical examination and medical care, food and catering and officer's competency. IMDG - International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code: International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code. Regulations published by International Maritime Organization (IMO) for transporting hazardous materials internationally. IMO - International Maritime Organization: International Maritime Organization: Formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO), was established in 1958 through the United Nations to coordinate international maritime safety and related practices. Inert Gas System - A system of preventing any explosion in the cargo tanks of a tanker by replacing the cargo, as it is pumped out, by an inert gas, often the exhaust of the ship's engine. Gas-freeing must be carried out subsequently if worker have to enter the empty tanks. Inflammable Liquids - Liquids liable to spontaneous combustion which give off inflammable vapors at or below 80 degrees F. For example, ether, ethyl, benzine, gasoline, paints, enamels, carbon disulfide, etc. Integrated Tug Barge - A large barge of about 600 feet and 22,000 tons cargo capacity, integrated from the rear on to the bow of a tug purposely constructed to push the barge. Intermodalism - The concept of transportation as a door-to-door service rather than port-to-port. Thus efficiency is enhanced by having a single carrier coordinating the movement and documentation among different modes of transportation. ISM Code - The International Maritime Organization Assembly adopted the International Safety Management Code (ISM Code) in 1993. On July 1, 1998, the ISM Code became mandatory for passenger vessels, passenger high-speed craft, oil tankers, chemical tankers, bulk carriers, and cargo high-speed craft of 500 gross tons or more. On July 1, 2002, the ISM Code became applicable to other cargo ships and to self-propelled mobile offshore drilling units of 500 gross tons or more. (ISM Code - Chapter IX of SOLAS). ISPS Code - The International Ship and Port Facility Code adopted by an IMO Diplomatic Conference in December 2002. Measure is designed to strengthen maritime security. (ISPS Code - Chapter XI-2 of SOLAS). Jettison - Act of throwing cargo or equipment (jetsam) overboard when a ship is in danger. Jones Act - Merchant Marine Act of 1920, Section 27, requiring that all U.S. domestic waterborne trade be carried by U.S.-flag, U.S.-built and U.S.-manned vessels. Kamsarmax - A Kamsarmax type bulk carrier is basically a 82,000 dwt Panamax with an increased LOA = 229 m (for Port Kamsar in Equatorial Guinea). The most predominant types of bulk cargo ships are the handymax and the panamax types. Panamax bulk carriers continue to grow in cargo capacity as the pressure of worldwide competition has forced yards to build ships that can carry extra extra cargo. Therefore, the Kamsarmax has been built. Knot - Unit of speed in navigation which is the rate of nautical mile (6,080 feet or 1,852 meters) per hour. Laden - Loaded aboard a vessel. Laid-Up Tonnage - Ships not in active service; a ship which is out of commission for fitting out, awaiting better markets, needing work for classification, etc. Lash Ships - Lash stand for Lighter Aboard Ship. It is a specialized container ship carrying very large floating containers, or "lighters." The ship carries its own massive crane, which loads and discharges the containers over the stern. The lighters each have a capacity of 400 tons and are stowed in the holds and on deck. While the ship is at sea with one set of lighters, further sets can be made ready. Loading and discharge are rapid at about 15 minutes per lighter, no port or dock facilities are needed, and the lighters can be grouped for pushing by towboats along inland waterways. Laytime - Time allowed by the shipowner to the voyage charterer or bill of lading holder in which to load and/or discharge the cargo. It is expressed as a number of days or hours or as a number of tons per day. Lay-Up - Temporary cessation of trading of a ship by a shipowner during a period when there is a surplus of ships in relation to the level of available cargoes. This surplus, known as overtonnaging, has the effect of depressing freight rates to the extent that some shipowners no long find it economical to trade their ship, preferring to lay them up until there is a reversal in the trend. LCL - Less than Container Load, a consignment of cargo, which is inefficient to fill a shipping container. It is grouped with other consignments for the same destination in a container at a container freight station. Lighter Aboard Ship - An ocean ship which carries barges. These barges are loaded with cargo, often at a variety of locations, towed to the ocean ship, sometimes referred to as the mother ship, and lifted or, in some cases, floated on board. After the ocean crossing, the barges are off-loaded and towed to their various destinations. The ocean ship then receives a further set of barges which have been assembled in readiness. This concept was designed to eliminate the need for specialized port equipment and to avoid transshipment with its consequent extra cost. List - The amount in degrees that a vessel tilts from the vertical. Classification societies are private companies, often with branches throughout the world, which may be authorised to inspect ships and issue the relevant safety certificates on behalf of the States where ships are registered (so called flag States). In order to grant the initial recognition to those classification societies wishing to be authorised to work on behalf of EU Member States, compliance with the provisions of the directive 94/57/EC must be assessed more effectively by the European Commission together with the Member States requesting the recognition. The Commission has asked EMSA to carry out the technical assessments. EU recognised classification societies are : American Bureau of Shipping, Bureau Veritas, China Classification Society, Det Norske Veritas, Germanisher Lloyd, Hellenic Register of Shipping, Korean Register of Shipping, Lloyd's Register, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, Registro Italiano Navale, Registro Internacional Naval, Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) based in London represents 10 of the world most famous societies. The liability of classification societies has been implicated in some of the last maritime incidents. LNG CARRIER - Liquefied Natural Gas carrier, perhaps the most sophisticated of all commercial ships. The cargo tanks are made of a special aluminum alloy and are heavily insulated to carry natural gas in its liquid state at a temperature of -285°F. The LNG ship costs about twice as much as an oil tanker of the same size. Long Ton - 2,240 pounds. Longshoreman - Individual employed in a port to load and unload ships. LWT - Light Weight Ton, the weight of an empty vessel. Manning Scales - The minimum number of officers and crew members that can be engaged on a ship to be considered as sufficient hands with practical ability to meet every possible eventuality at sea. Marpol 73/78 - The international convention for the prevention of pollution from ships, 1973, as modified by the protocol of 1978. Mixed Shipment - A shipment consisting of more than one commodity, articles described under more than one class or commodity rate item in a tariff. Multipurpose Ship - Any ship capable of carrying different types of cargo which require different methods of handling. There are several types of ships falling into this category, for example, ships which can carry roll on/roll off cargo together with containers. National Cargo Bureau - A private organization having inspection services performed by the Board of Underwriters of New York and Board of Marine Underwriters of San Francisco and operates in a nationwide basis. It is empowered to inspect cargos of a hazardous nature and issue certificates which have to be approved. Nautical Mile - Unit of length corresponding approximately to one minute of longitude at the equator. OBO Ship - A multipurpose ship that can carry ore, heavy dry bulk goods and oil. Although more expensive to build, they are ultimately more economical because they can make return journeys with cargo rather than empty as single-purpose ships often must. Off-Hire Clause - In a time charter, the owner is entitled to a limited time for his vessel to be off hire until such time as the vessel may be repaired or dry-docked. Oiler - An unlicensed member of the engine room staff who oils and greases bearings and moving parts of the main engine and auxiliaries. Most of this work is now done automatically and the oiler merely insures it operates correctly. Open Registry - A term used in place of "flag of convenience" or "flag of necessity" to denote registry in a country which offers favorable tax, regulatory and other incentives to ship owners from other nations. Open Top Container - A container fitted with a solid removable roof, or with a tarpaulin roof so the container can be loaded or unloaded from the top. Ordinary Seaman - A deck crewmember who is subordinate to the Able Bodied Seaman. Ore Carrier - A large ship designed to be used for the carnage of ore. Because of the high density of ore, ore carriers have a relatively high center of gravity to prevent them being still when at sea, that is, rolling heavily with possible stress to the hull. Ore-Bulk-Oil Carrier - A large multi-purpose ship designed to carry cargos wither of ore or other bulk commodities or oil to reduce the time the ship would be in ballast if restricted to one type of commodity. This type of ship is sometimes called bulk-oil-carrier. Ore-Oil-Carrier - A ship designed to carry either ore or oil in bulk. Overtonnaging - A situation where there are too many ships generally or in a particular trade for the level of available cargos. P&I - Protection and Idemnity, an insurance term. Panamax - "Panamax" ships are of the maximum dimensions that will fit through the locks of the Panama Canal. This size is determined by the dimensions of the lock chambers, and the depth of the water in the canal. An increasing number of ships are built precisely to the Panamax limit, in order to transport the maximum amount of cargo in a single vessel. Much bulk merchandise, such as grain products, is moved primarily on Panamax (or sub-Panamax) ships. The increasing prevalence of vessels of the maximum size is a problem for the canal. A Panamax ship is a tight fit that requires precise control of the vessel in the locks, possibly resulting in longer lock time, and requiring that these ships be transited in daylight. Because the largest ships cannot pass safely within the Gaillard Cut, the canal effectively operates an alternating one-way system for these ships. Panamax is determined principally by the dimensions of the canal's lock chambers, each of which is 33.53 metres (110 ft) wide by 320.0 metres (1050 ft) long, and 25.9 metres (85 ft) deep. The usable length of each lock chamber is 304.8 metres (1000 ft). The available water depth in the lock chambers varies, but the shallowest depth is at the south sill of the Pedro Miguel Locks and is 12.55 metres (41.2 ft) at a Miraflores Lake level of 16.61 metres (54 feet 6 in). The height of the Bridge of the Americas at Balboa is the limiting factor on a vessel's overall height. Pallet - A flat tray generally made of wood but occasionally of steel, on which goods particularly those in boxes, cartons or bags, can be stacked. Its purpose is to facilitate the movement of such goods, mainly by the use of forklift trucks. Partial Containerships - Multipurpose containerships where one or more but not all compartments are fitted with permanent container cells. Remaining compartments are used for other types of cargo. Pilot - A person who is qualified to assist the master of a ship to navigate when entering or leaving a port. Port of Call - Port where a ship discharges or receives traffic. Port State Control - The inspection of foreign ships in national ports for the purpose of verifying that the condition of a ship and its equipment comply with the requirements of international conventions and that the vessel is manned and operated in compliance with applicable international law. Product Carrier - A tanker, which is generally below 70,000 deadweight tons and used to carry refined oil products from the refinery to the consumer. In many cases, four different grades of oil can be handled simultaneously. Propane Carrier - A ship designed to carry propane in liquid form. The propane is carried in tanks with the hold; it remains in liquid form by means of pressure and refrigeration. Such ships are also suitable for the carriage of butane. Port Charges - General term which includes fees charged to a vessel or a cargo in a port. Usually includes harbor dues, tug boat charges, pilotage fees, custom house fees, etc. Reefer - Refrigerator ship: A vessel designed to carry goods requiring refrigeration, such as meat and fruit. A reefer ship has insulated holds into which cold air is passed at the temperature appropriate to the goods being carried. Reefer Box - An insulated shipping container designed to carry cargos requiring temperature control. It is fitted with a refrigeration unit which is connected to the carrying ship's electrical power supply. Relay - To transfer containers from one ship to another when both vessels are controlled by the same network manager. Rolling Cargo - Cargo which is on wheels, such as truck or trailers, and which can be driven can be driven or towed on to a ship. Ro/Ro Ship - Freight ship or ferry with facilities for vehicles to drive on and off (roll-on roll-off); a system loading and discharging a ship whereby the cargo is driven on and off on ramps. Equipped with large openings at bow and stern and sometimes also in the side, the ship permits rapid loading and discharge with hydraulically operated ramps providing easy access. Seaworthiness - The sufficiency of a vessel in materials construction, equipment, crew and outfit for the trade in which it is employed. Any sort of disrepair to the vessel by which the cargo my suffer - overloading, untrained officers, etc., may constitute a vessel unseaworthy. Self-Sustaining Ship - A containership which has her own crane for loading and discharging shipping containers enabling the ship to serve ports which do not have suitable lifting equipment. Service Contract - As provided in the Shipping Act of 1984, a contract between a shipper and an ocean common carrier in which the shipper makes a commitment to provide a certain minimum quantity of cargo or freight revenue over a fixed time period, and the ocean common carrier or conference commits to a certain rate or rate schedule as well as a defined service level. Shipping Act of 1916 - The act of the US Congress (1916) that created the US Shipping Board to develop water transportation, operate the merchant ships owned by the government, and regulate the water carriers engaged in commerce under the flag of the United States. Shipping Act of 1984 - Effective June 18, 1984 to provide for confidential service contracts and other items. Ship's Agent - A person or firm who transacts all business in a port on behalf of shipowners or charterers. Also called shipping agent. Spot Voyage - A charter for a particular vessel to move a single cargo between specified loading ports and discharge port in the immediate future. Contract rate ("spot" rate) covers total operating expenses. Stern - The upright post or bar of the bow of a vessel. Stripping - Removing cargo from a container. Suezmax - Suezmax is a naval architecture term for the largest ships capable of transiting the Suez Canal fully loaded, and is almost exclusively used in reference to tankers. Since the canal has no locks, the only serious limiting factors are draft (maximum depth below waterline), and height due to the Suez Canal Bridge. The typical deadweight of a Suezmax ship is about 150,000 tons and typically has a beam (width) of 46 m (151 ft). Also of note is the maximum head room - 'air draft' - limitation of 68 meters, which is the height above water of the Suez Canal Bridge. There is also a width limitation of 70.1 meters (230 ft), but only a handful of tankers exceed this size, and they are excluded from Suez by their draft in any case. The canal authority produces tables of width and acceptable draft, which are subject to change. Similar terms of Panamax, Malaccamax and Seawaymax are used for the largest ships capable of fitting through the Panama Canal, the Strait of Malacca and Saint Lawrence Seaway, respectively. Aframax tankers are those with a capacity of 80,000 metric tons of deadweight (DWT) to 120,000 DWT. Supramax - Is a dry cargo vessel 52,000 dwt. Tank Barge - A river barge designed for the carriage of liquid bulk cargos. Tank Cleaning - Removal of all traces of a cargo from the tanks of a tanker normally by mean of high pressure water jets. T.E.U. - Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit (containers): A measurement of cargo carrying capacity on a containership, referring to a common container size of 20 ft in length. Tug - A small vessel designed to tow or push large ships or barges. Tugs have powerful diesel engines and are essential to docks and ports to maneuver large ships into their berths. Ultra Large Crude Carriers (ULCC) - Tankers larger than 300,000 dwt. The Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC)/Ultra Large Crude Carriers (ULCC)'s are predominantly employed on the long voyages between the Middle Eastern countries and the USA or the Asian countries. The VLCC/ULCCs are to a large degree limited from being employed on the short intra-regional voyages because the sheer size of the tanker usually prevents it from entering the small harbors with depth and length restrictions. On short haul voyages where the demand at the destination is rather limited it is much more efficient to ship small cargo sizes thus avoiding long periods of time along the quay and avoiding investing in large storage facilities at the destination. Vessel Manifest - The international carrier is obligated to make declarations of the ship's crew and contents at both the port of departure and arrival. The vessel manifest lists various details about each shipment by B/L number. Obviously, the B/L serves as the core source from which the manifest is created. Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) - Tankers between 200,000 and 300,000 dwt. The Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) is only superseded in size by the Ultra Large Crude Carrier (ULCC). The number of ULCC tankers is very limited (11 ships) and has been declining. See also Ultra Large Crude Carriers (ULCC). War Risk - Insurance coverage for loss of goods resulting from any act of war. Master (Captain) - Highest officer aboard ship. Oversees all ship operations. Keeps ships records. Handles accounting and bookkeeping. Takes command of vessel in inclement weather and in crowded or narrow waters. Handles communications. Receives and implements instructions from home office. First Mate (Chief Mate) - In charge of four to eight watch. Directly responsible for all deck operations (cargo storage and handing, deck maintenance deck supplies). Assigns and checks deck department overtime. Ship's medical officer. Second Mate - In charge of twelve to four watch. Ship's navigation officer. Keeps charts (maps) up to date and monitors navigation equipment on bridge. Third Mate - In charge of eight to twelve watch. Makes sure emergency survival equipment (lifeboats, life rings, etc.) are in order. Assists other officers as directed. Chief Engineer - Head of engineer department. Keeps records of all engine parts and repairs. Generally tends to the functioning of all mechanical equipment on ship. First Assistant Engineer - In charge of four to eight watch. Usually works from eight to four handling engine maintenance. Assigns duties to unlicensed personnel and monitors and records overtime. Consults with Chief regarding work priorities. Second Assistant Engineer - In charge of twelve to four watch. On Steam vessels has responsibility for the boilers, on diesels, the evaporators and the auxiliary equipment. Third Assistant Engineer - In charge of eight to twelve watch. Maintains lighting fixtures. Repairs malfunctioning accessories in living quarters. Assist other engineers as directed. Boatswain (Bosun) - Receives working orders for deck gang from chief mate and passes them onto AB's and ordinaries. Tantamount to foreman, he is on deck directly supervising maintenance operations. Ships Chairman (Shop Steward) - In charge of union business for unlicensed personnel. Handles grievances. Able Seamen (AB) - Stands watch, during which he steers the vessel, stands lookout, assist the mate on watch and makes rounds of the ship to insure that all is in order. Also ties up and unties the vessel to and from the dock and maintains the equipment on deck. Ordinary Seamen (OS) - An apprentice AB, assists AB's bosun, and officers, keeps facilities clean. Pumpman and Electrician - Qualified Members of the Engine Department (QMED) - Trained in all crafts necessary to engine maintenance (welding, refrigeration, lathe operation, die casting, electricity, pumping, water purification, oiling, evaluating engine gauges etc.) Usually watch standers but on some ships, day workers. Pumpman (Tankers) - Operates pumps and discharges petroleum products. Maintains and repairs all cargo handling equipment. Equipment (Liners) - Maintains and repairs cargo handling equipment and also cargo with special handling characteristics. Wipers - Apprentice QMED. Cleans engine room. Assists officers and QMED's. Chief Steward - Orders food. Prepares menus. Assists chief cook in food preparation. Cook and Baker (Chief Cook) - Cooks and bakes. Steward Assistant - Clean galley and mess halls, set tables, prepare salads, clean living quarters. Radio Operator - Maintains and monitors radio, sends and receives messages. Often maintains electronic navigation equipment.

2019-04-24T10:27:21Z

http://marine-transportation.capitallink.com/articles/index.html?articleID=0Oyaw0fIXJDyT4O

The shadows and dark corners of our surroundings have always provoked fear and caused our imaginations to go wild. What might lurk within those blackened recesses hidden from our vision? What might be watching us from that inky soup of dark? In most instances this is simply what it is; the ramblings of a frightened mind. Yet, throughout history there have been strange phantoms that have called these shadows home and which have sprung forth to lash out at us and prove that our fears of the dark are not always totally unfounded. Many of these attacks by phantom assailants have gone on to propel themselves firmly into the annals of cases of strangeness that have never been satisfactorily solved, and which brush up close to the realms of the truly bizarre, toeing the line between what we know, what we don’t, and perhaps what we don’t want to. These are the oddest shadowy prowlers, phantoms, and strange intruders which have sprung out to show us that our fear of the dark might not always be a figment of our fevered mind, and that sometimes dangerous things do go bump in the night. One of the most famous and notorious phantom prowlers made its presence known in 1944, in the sleepy midwestern town of Mattoon, Illinois, in the United States. This was during the days of World War II, when the country was embroiled in one of the bloodiest wars in history, and even in the homeland, far from the chaotic battlefields, most people were on on edge and on high alert, the ever looming specter of an enemy attack on home soil casting an oppressive shadow over everything. After all, it had already happened with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and a relentless campaign of German U-Boat attacks off the eastern seaboard. There was also the persistent rumor that the desperate Axis powers might resort to mass attacks of chemical weapons on American soil. It was in this atmosphere of paranoia and burrowing fear that in late August, 1944, a new threat began to stalk the normally quiet town of Mattoon. The first attack by what would go on to be known as The Mad Gasser of Mattoon allegedly occurred on the evening of August 31, 1944, when a man named Urban Raef claimed that he had been awakened during the night by a noxious odor in his room that had caused severe vomiting, shortness of breath, and general weakness all over his body. His wife had also been paralyzed by the pungent odor, unable to get her body to respond enough to even get out of bed to see if perhaps the stove gas had been left on. On that very same evening, a similar incident happened when a small girl fell ill from some strange smell, which had caused a severe coughing fit, yet the mother found that she had been paralyzed and unable to get out of bed to check on her ailing daughter. The next day, on September 1, 1944, there would come what is perhaps the most well-known case. On this evening, a Mrs. Kearney was reportedly sleeping near a window with her youngest daughter as her her other two daughters, her sister, and her nephew slept in other rooms when she smelled a potent, sweet smell. The woman at first suspected it was merely the smell of summer flowers wafting in from outside, but the odor became steadily stronger until it was nearly overpowering, and she felt her body growing weak under its staggering might. As her legs threatened to buckle underneath her, Mrs. Kearney called out to her sister for help, who came into the room and was immediately hit by the potent sweet smell pervading the air. Fearful that it was some sort of gas attack, the sister ran to a neighbor’s home and had them call the authorities, yet when they arrived they could find no evidence of the alleged gas nor any prowler. Mrs. Kearney and her daughter are reported to have recovered from the effects of the “gas” shortly after the attack, although Mrs. Kearney continued to complain of a burning sensation in her throat. When Mr. Kearney returned home not long after from his job as a taxi driver, he claimed that he saw a strange figure lurking outside his wife’s bedroom window. According to Mr. Kearney, it seemed to be a tall, thin man dressed in dark clothing and “a tight fitting cap,” and this odd trespasser had allegedly fled the scene into the night. Although Mr. Kearney chased the intruder, he was unable to catch whoever it was that had been skulking about, and he called police, who once again returned to search the property to no avail. The best explanation police could come up with was that it had perhaps been a would be robber attempting to steal something and being thwarted. Although it was still unclear at this point just what was going on, the media went with the strange story with sensationalistic aplomb, splashing ominous headlines across papers that said things like “Anesthetic Prowler on the Loose!” In the midst of this media frenzy, more reports came forward in the following days from people who had apparently been assailed by the same mysterious intruder, with the description of a tall man dressed in dark clothes and cap remaining consistent across the board. Some reports made mention of the attacker carrying what is known as a “flit gun,” which is an apparatus used for spraying pesticide. The smell of the gas itself ranged from a flowery sweet smell, to an odor like perfume, to an unpleasant, musky scent. The symptoms varied as well. In most of these cases, the victims complained of a sickly odor and numerous negative physical effects including nausea, weakness, throat, lip, and eye irritation, swelling, muscle spasms, and partial paralysis, yet authorities were never able to find any evidence of an intruder or of anything broken or stolen in the targeted homes. However, in one of these cases, the mysterious phantom attacker finally left behind some evidence. On September 5, at around 10PM, a Carl and Beulah Cordes returned home to find a strange white cloth lying upon their porch near a screen door. Mrs. Cordes allegedly picked up the cloth and noticed an odd odor emanating from it. When she held it briefly to her nose to give it a whiff, she promptly began to vomit uncontrollably as her face began to swell up and her throat began to burn as if it were on fire. At the same time, her legs wobbled and she felt as if she had no control over her limbs. She was taken to a hospital and these symptoms lasted for several hours afterwards. When the police arrived at the home they were able to find a well-worn key lying upon the sidewalk nearby, as well as a nearly empty tube of lipstick, although it is unclear what relation these two items have to the cloth, if any. An analysis of the cloth found no sign of chemicals on it, but Mrs. Cordes was adamant that there had been, and she was convinced it had been left out to knock out their dog in order to gain entry into the house. Although a man was found wandering about near the home around the time of the incident who told police that he was lost, he was soon ruled out as a potential suspect and set free. For the next week similar reports would pour in of people being purportedly attacked by some sort of mysterious gas and of seeing the fleeting phantom attacker wearing dark clothing. Some of the reports were rather harrowing, such as the case of a Mrs. Leonard Burrell, who claimed that she watched as the phantom attacker broke into her room and proceed to spray her with the pungent gas. In order to deal with the threat and help to curb the profound panic that was starting to overtake Mattoon, state police were called in, as well as the FBI, yet no suspects were ever apprehended, although further evidence of the phantom attacker was forthcoming in the form of footprints that were often found outside of windows. Despite these footprints, there was no real concrete evidence of the perpetrator or his mysterious chemical agent, and there was additionally no clear motive for the attacks, as no one had died and nothing had been stolen. The only thing known was that whoever it was had the disturbing ability to appear from the shadows, carry out their mysterious gas attacks, and then melt back into the night without a trace. Joining the police were droves of hunters and amateur armed vigilantes who patrolled the streets on the look out for the phantom gas-wielding intruder but no sign turned up. Additionally, doctors who examined the many people brought in for treatment for the gas attacks were not able to find any concrete cause for the symptoms; the mystery substance involved just as seemingly ghostly as the attacker itself. The assailant was by now known as The Mad Gasser, and around two dozen such attacks were reported until on September 12th they suddenly just stopped. Although the local populace was convinced that their town had been held under siege by a gas spewing madman or even a ghost, authorities would chalk the whole incident up to frayed nerves from the war and mass hysteria. Interestingly, this was not the first incident of a shadowy, gas-using prowler. In the 1930s, a similar spate of attacks had occurred in late 1933 and early 1934 in Botetourt County, Virginia. On December 22, 1933, the wife of a Carl Huffman reported feeling a powerful sense of nausea after inhaling a strange smelling gas of some kind in her home. An hour later, the gas returned, and yet another alleged gas attack was allegedly carried out on the Huffman home in the early hours of December 22. In total, all 8 members of the Huffman family, as well as a guest staying with them, were sickened and affected in some way by the insidious phantom gas attack, exhibiting facial swelling, nausea, migraine headaches, convulsive fits, and respiratory problems. A separate attack by the Virginia gasser happened on December 24, when a Clarence Hall, his wife, and their two young children were overcome with a sweet smelling odor that made them sick to their stomachs. Police would later find a hole drilled into the wall, presumably for the purpose of putting gas into the home. There would be a further three incidents of people having their homes injected with some mysterious chemical agent, and in one of these cases a section of discolored, odd smelling snow was found to contain a mixture of sulfur, arsenic and mineral oil. It is unknown if this series of gas attacks have any connection to the Mad Gasser of Mattoon or not. There have been many theories on what was behind the Mad Gasser of Mattoon. One prominent theory is that this is all precisely as the authorities of the time said; a bad case of mass hysteria or delusions fueled by war, dark rumors and the media. Another is that the many factories and plants of the area may have been leaking industrial waste, gases, or toxins that could have been responsible for the incidents. Yet others point to an actual, physical assailant, although the exact form of this attacker remains in dispute, with theories ranging from a demented psychopath armed with a gas canister to a German agent, to an actual supernatural specter, to some sort of extraterrestrial being. We will probably never know for sure and the case of the Mad Gasser of Mattoon remains unexplained. The days of World War II would produce other strange cases of phantom attackers as well. During the war’s early days, one of the big manufacturers of warships for the U.S. Navy was the small town of Pascagoula, Mississippi. Even as its population dramatically swelled in relation to its boom as an integral component to the military shipping industry, the town would also be notable for one of the stranger cases of mysterious phantom intruders. In 1942, a strange, elusive prowler would begin to stalk the town, and although not as violent as the Mad Gasser of Mattoon, it is no less bizarre. The attacks would commence in June of that year, when on the night of June 5, 1942, a mysterious intruder would break into the house of a Mary Briggs and Edna Hydel. The two women claimed that they had been awoken in the middle of the night by a noise and had managed to catch a glimpse of a figure in the dark that was described as being short, somewhat fat, and wearing a white sweatshirt, as he climbed out of their window. Although nothing in the room seemed to have been taken and neither of the girls were injured, each found that they had been oddly missing a lock of hair that had been chopped off. As far as they could tell, this was the only thing that the stranger had taken. This account alone was enough to start the media machine going, with the perpetrator soon being dubbed “The Phantom Barber of Pascagoula,” and whoever it was was not finished yet. Not long after the initial attack, the Phantom Barber would cut open a screen door and infiltrate the Peattie home to snip a lock of hair from the family’s 6-year-old daughter Carol. A footprint ringed by sand near the window would be the only other evidence left behind. Several other reports came in over the next several weeks of people complaining of a mysterious trespasser slitting open window screens and entering homes only to shear off portions of hair from the victims. In every case, the mysterious prowler seemed to prefer blonde hair. Although no one was apparently hurt, the intrusions were still enough to instill panic in a population already on edge due to the looming shadow of World War II. There was also one attack that was decidedly more violent, when a Mr. and Mrs. Heidelberg were assaulted in the middle of the night by a raging attacker wielding an iron bar, who knocked out teeth and left them unconscious. The attacker in this case did not take any hair trophies, but nevertheless came into the room through the Phantom Barber’s typical method of slitting open the screen door to stealthily sneak in. The Phantom Barber left the whole town in a panic, with people purchasing weapons and refusing to leave their homes in the hours after sunset. Things got so bad that the ship building industry was affected by fathers staying home from work to protect their families from the Phantom Barber. In response to the growing panic, authorities made efforts to catch the perpetrator, including modifying the wartime curfew laws and enlisting the help of bloodhounds, but no one was ever arrested for the crimes. In the meantime, the barber claimed another victim, when he broke into the home of a Mrs. R.R. Taylor and clipped off a portion of her hair. In this case, Taylor described that she had woken up in the middle of the night to a noxious odor and something pressed to her face, after which she had fallen unconscious and later become violently ill, leading police to suspect that a chemical agent such as chloroform had been used. Increasingly desperate authorities were able to apprehend one suspect in the form of a German chemist named William Dolan. The man was considered to have a grudge against the Heidelbergs, who had been violently attacked with the iron bar, and was subsequently arrested for their attempted murder, but he was never charged with the other instances of trespassing, even though a lock of human hair was apparently found in his back yard. After Dolan was imprisoned for his crime, the phantom barber attacks stopped, leading many to believe it was actually him behind all of the incidents, although Dolan himself always firmly denied this. Was the barber Dolan, and if so why did he so viciously attack the Heidelbergs while leaving the other victims simply without some of their hair? What were his motives? Why take hair and nothing else? Dolan was eventually set free in 1951 and there have been many who feel he was innocent and merely arrested for being German at a time when anti-German sympathies in the United States were running high. Whatever was going on here, the weird case of the Phantom Barber of Pascagoula has never been conclusively solved. World War II is certainly not the only era of mysterious phantom attacks, and this phenomenon goes far back into history. One spooky case from way back in the late-1700s concerns what would come to be known by the rather sinister nickname “The London Monster.” The whole, eery affair would begin on January 19, 1790, when two sisters, Sarah and Anne Porter, were on their way home to their father’s hotel when they were approached by a stranger who stared at them before shouting “Oh ho! Is that You?” and subsequently bashing Sarah on the head. The two young women retreated, and as they knocked on the hotel door to be let in the mysterious stranger appeared behind them and proceeded to stab Sarah in the hip with a knife. The whole time he is reported to have been grinning maniacally, and he only left when the the two sisters made more of a commotion and were allowed in by their brother. The brother, John Porter, had the area searched but no sign of the phantom attacker could be found. That very same night, the mysterious grinning stranger would go on to assault four other women. In each case the scenario was similar, with the man approaching attractive, well-dressed young women, staring intently at them, saying crude or vulgar things, and them stabbing them in the hips, thighs, or buttocks, before retreating away into the night. In later days, the attacks would continue, and sometimes the mysterious assailant would change his routine, apparently having women smell a bouquet of fake flowers before stabbing them in the face with a sharp instrument hidden within. Other reports claimed that the prolwer had knives or razors attached to his shoes, which he would use to kick out to carry out his attacks. Although the methods varied, these attacks were always accompanied by various shouted obscenities or crude, sexual talk from the stranger, and seemed aimed at hurting, terrorizing, or disfiguring rather than killing. Most victims claimed that it had been too dark to get a good look at their attacker, but they mostly seemed to agree that it was a large male with a pale, long, narrow face and dressed in dark clothing. However, in at least one case the Monster was described as a shorter, rotund man with a large nose. He was usually said to be extremely nimble and quick on his feet. Between May of 1788 and April of 1790 there would allegedly be over 30 attacks from what the media called the London Monster, panicking the populace and sending frantic authorities posting rewards for information and scouring the streets for anyone suspicious. During this time, the London Monster struck out unabated, although apparently lowering his standards to women who were not necessarily well-to-do and attractive. All through this, the relentless media machine put out astounding headlines that put people into such a panic that many women opted to not even go out at night, with those that did covering up their buttocks with copper pots, and the streets were patrolled by groups of armed men. The baffled authorities eventually arrested a man named Rhynwick Williams, mostly on the evidence that he was an artificial flower maker and this had been a prop that had become a part of the Monster’s MO. Although Williams had alibis for the nights of the attacks, and many coworkers vouched for him, he was nevertheless accused of being the London Monster, although he was found guilty not of attempted murder, but rather of cutting clothes; a fairly grievous crime at the time that netted him a 7-year prison sentence. Additional trials would see the charges brought against Williams dropped, and he was charged with the crime of cutting with intent to kill, which was oddly a lesser offense. The strange tale of the London Monster has been chalked up to stemming from a mass hysteria rooted in the growing crime rate of the streets of London at the time, but the case has never really been solved. Not all phantom assailants are as violent as the ones I’ve covered here so far, and some are comparably tame, yet no less weird. In he 17th century, there is the rather bizarre tale of the strange attacker known simply as “Whipping Tom.” Although inflicting no permanent harm, this phantom assailant would conjure up a good deal of panic all the same. Operating in the 1680s, between Holborn and Fleet Street in London, this particular attacker had a penchant for approaching women in the street and proclaiming “Spanko!” before lifting their skirts and spanking their behinds with his hands or sometimes with a metal or birch stick before retreating into the night. The attacks continued until women were carrying knives around to protect themselves and men would dress up as women in the hopes of luring him in, all while the media promoted the mysterious intruder as “Whipping Tom,” or later “Smack the Whipper,” as well as “the enemy of milk wenches’ bums everywhere.” The odd attacker was so deft at defying capture that there were many who were convinced he was some sort of supernatural entity. None of the attacks ended up in any permanent physical harm or injury, and always involved the attacker merely roughly spanking his targets. Although some suspects were eventually arrested in connection with the covert spankings, it is unclear what ever became of this weird case. Some phantom assailants don’t make any physical contact at all, but rather lash out psychologically. Thus is the case with the strange incident of the Phantom Whistler. In 1950, in the sleepy town of Paradis, Louisiana, 18-year-old Jacquelyn Cadow began to be visited in the night by a very odd intruder indeed. The unseen stranger had the habit of hiding in the bushes near Cadow’s house at night, often right under her window, and whistling wolf calls. On every occasion a search by the family of the premises turned up no sign of the mysterious trespasser, yet the whistling continued for months, sometimes heard by neighbors or passerby. We can’t get away from him. I don’t know when we’ll get a peaceful night’s sleep. By this time, newspapers had picked up the story and there was talk everywhere of “The Phantom Whistler” that was haunting Jacqueline Cadow and her family. The police did what they could to try and get to the bottom of the whole strange affair, but were unable to find any suspects or even any evidence of an intruder, indeed no police officer ever heard the whistler, leading the sheriff’s department to start to believe that the whole thing was a hoax, and at one point the sheriff made the cryptic statement that it was an “inside job,” without further elaboration. Nevertheless, the calls and provocative whistling continued, eventually causing so much stress on Jacqueline that she once collapsed. Yet despite these ominous threats and the elusive stalker, Jacqueline was determined to go through with her wedding. On October 1, 1950, Jacqueline Cadow and Herbert Belsom were finally married without incident. In the wake of the wedding, the whistling and phone calls stopped. In the meanwhile, the sheriff changed his stance and proclaimed that he had solved the case, although he never did divulge any details on this, explaining that he did not want to “embarrass” the persons involved. There are a lot of questions left behind on this case. Who was the Phantom Whistler and what did he want? Was he a prankster or a potentially dangerous stalker? Was he at the wedding and if so had he planned to actually carry through with his threats? Was he even real at all, or was he a hysterical figment of the imagination? What exactly did the sheriff mean when he said he had “solved” the case and just what did he mean by the earlier claim that it was a hoax and inside job? It all remains unclear. Here we have looked at some of the weirder unexplained phantom attackers through history, although there are certainly others. Each case brings with it its own unique brand of bizarreness and it is hard to come to any concrete answers with any of them. Were these the product of mass hysteria and delusion, or were these the work of very real shadowy figures with inscrutable agendas we may never know? If they were real, who were they and what did they want? Are there some cases where they were perhaps not even human at all? It seems we may never have the answers to these questions, but one thing that does seem apparent is that these strange phantoms have made their mark upon the landscape of the weird, that there will perhaps always be mysteries hiding in the shadows, and that they are perhaps ready to pounce.

2019-04-24T15:55:26Z

https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2016/09/the-most-bizarre-cases-of-mysterious-phantom-attackers/

Who would have imagined that legendary actress and ex–wife of cable TV magnate Ted Turner would help a streaming media company called Netflix replace the cable networks. Jane Fonda’s series “Grace and Frankie” was among the Netflix Original shows to be nominated for a record 112 Emmy awards in 2018. As viewers disconnect from their high monthly cable subscriptions for unlimited streaming media, Turner programs, Disney shows and HBO hits are racing to become streaming services like Netflix. As the world’s largest streaming company Netflix becomes a premium content producer, this guide will look at Netflix’s future growth opportunities, how to value Netflix stock, and the best Netflix stockbrokers. The decision of the world’s largest entertainment media giants to move their programs to direct-to-consumer streaming is an indication of how large the streaming market will become. For now, though, Netflix stock is one of the few ways to invest in the rapidly growing streaming market. As the first mover, Netflix has a clear advantage as cable cord cutting continues and mobiles replace landline phones. If you want to invest in the future of movie and TV viewing, check out the top IOS apps. Netflix is the number two app on the planet. As the number of households disconnecting from cable grows, Netflix subscriptions grow. The rate of conversions is astounding. In the US, viewers spend a billion hours a day consuming media. Ten percent of those hours are spent watching Netflix programming. The streaming company competes with television, online video, gaming and DVD for viewer eyeballs. Led by international subscriber growth, Netflix hit 139 million subscribers in 2018. The streaming leader is not worried about sharing its market with newcomers. Netflix made a bold bet on becoming a movie studio when its profit margins collapsed in 2012. The cost of content paid to the big studios like Disney and WarnerMedia was soaring. Last year, almost 40 percent of viewing on Netflix was of original content. Netflix is creating hits and movie and TV stars, says its content chief. And crucially, it holds the rights to future revenues on the releases, advertising and product sales – not the big studios. New engagement techniques like interactive programming allowing viewers to choose the ending is increasing viewership. But how did Netflix produce more magic than Disney at the Emmys? Netflix’s proprietary marketing analytics tools tells it with impressive accuracy whether or not a show will be a hit with viewers. Producers of movies and TV shows typically sell their content for 60 to 70 percent of production costs plus rights to a percentage of future revenues, according to industry pub Variety. Netflix pays content producers all of the production costs plus 30 percent. Netflix then retains the rights to future revenue, including from advertising and product sales. The streaming on demand media model Netflix created is so compelling, the entertainment and media industry is transitioning to the Netflix model. Disney, AT&T WarnerMedia, Comcast and Apple are all launching direct-to-consumer streaming in 2019–2020. These content partners have watched Netflix shares increase 500 percent in value since its first series House of Cards was launched in 2012. The cable guys have no choice but to jump a sinking ship. Streaming is part of Apple’s plan to boost the Apple stock price through its growing services division. Netflix will lose access to some of the content of its new competitors as they become streaming media services. Prices are already rising. Netflix will pay $100 million to keep the Friends series for 2019, up from $30 million in 2018. Though Netflix will no longer pay $150 million a year to Disney. It is already putting the money to good use. Netflix has recently poached several producers from Disney-owned studios. Notably, Ryan Murphy of America Horror Show has a $300 million 5-year deal to produce shows for Netflix. In 2018, Netflix’s content expenses were half those of Fox, Disney and WarnerMedia but still higher as a percent of revenues. Netflix had negative cash flow of $3 billion in 2018 and expects the same for 2019. Over the past five years, for every one percent in revenue growth Netflix grew profits 2 percent. Trouble is, content expenses grew 50 percent over this period, or 10 percent for each percentage point in revenue. Netflix’s margins are widening, and the company expects them to continue to expand. Although its investment in content is high, as the digital movie house produces more Emmy-worthy content, these shows could create long-term revenue streams as its cost-plus model ensures it gets more of the revenues from rights, advertising and products. Cable cord cutting also provides investors opportunities to profit as stock prices are discounted during the transformation to streaming. Disney, for example, is losing $150 million in annual Netflix licensing fees and producing more original shows. Investors could buy Disney stock before its streaming value is unleashed. Although Netflix faces an onslaught of competition from traditional studios, in our opinion, its loyal fans will reward the patient, long-term investor in Netflix shares. Netflix has an astronomically high price-to-earnings (PE) ratio at 134. Its future competitors AT&T WarnerMedia, Comcast and Disney have much lower PEs of 11, 16 and 16, respectively. Is the market fairly valuing Netflix, or are all those fans of its dystopian sci-fis mixing fantasy and reality? Let’s take a closer look. Netflix is investing a lot of money in its original content. In 2018, the company burned through $7.5 billion in cash. The return on invested capital (ROIC) reveals if Netflix is making positive returns on those investments. These returns need to exceed what it costs Netflix to raise the investment capital. Netflix’s ROIC is negative and declining. Chairman Reed Hastings, however, expects a turn up in 2020. Analysts estimates support this more profitable picture. Over the next few years, analysts forecast revenues will continue growing at more than 20 percent while earnings will grow at 60 percent. Netflix’s high returning revenue model could explain the valuation. Let’s take Disney as an example. Netflix paid Disney $300 million for Star Wars episodes it is streaming all over the world. Disney not only gets the licensing revenue but also sales of all the related Star Wars products fans in India, Brazil and elsewhere are buying. Whereas on the $300 million Netflix paid to Ryan Murphy for content, under the cost-plus model Netflix would get all the licensing, product and advertising revenues. As the popularity of Netflix grew, so have different ways of investing in it. You can now invest in NFLX shares on various online stock brokers, and autotrading robots such as Netflix Revolution have even cropped up, which are said to trade Netflix stocks for you while you sleep. In the next section we will be reviewing how to buy Netflix stocks through top-rated stock brokers, in simple, easy to follow tutorials. eToro has established itself as a reputable and trusted broker among traders since it launched in 2007. The leading online broker for social trading is regulated in several jurisdictions, including by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Popular features include social feeds, research and One Click Trading. If you are deciding whether to buy Netflix shares on eToro, review these pros and cons. On eToro, you can invest in Netflix through traditional securities trading and social investing. eToro assigns the portfolio of every trader a risk score based on the volatility – average daily price movement – of the instruments invested in on a scale of 1–6, 6 representing the highest risk. Here are three ways to invest in Netflix stock on the leading social trading platform. Choose from the selection of copy traders by reviewing their risk score, trading performance stats, charts, and portfolio. Also check out the traders on the Editor’s Choice List. Copying a portfolio that holds Netflix is a way to buy Netflix stock and diversify risk. Click Copy. From the copy trade box, choose the amount you want to trade and the copy trade stop limit. Press Copy. Choose a portfolio among dozens of investment themes. CopyPortfolios™ copies multiple portfolios and traders following that theme. We chose the NASDAQ100 theme portfolio, which has a high Risk Score of 6. Since Netflix is a top holding of the NASDAQ100, the index is another way to invest in Netflix stock. The official online broker of the Arsenal Football Club provides all the basic tools and education a retail trader requires. markets.com is owned by Playtech, a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange. Like its PlaytechOne one wallet – the one account solution for playing on casino, poker, sports and other gaming sites – markets.com seeks to provide quick and easy access to a good range of investment products. If you are deciding whether to buy Netflix shares on markets.com, review these pros and consumer. On Markets.com, you can choose to invest in Netflix stock, or a wide range of ETFs and indexes with exposure to major technology stocks. Other securities include forex, cryptocurrencies (a handful of majors), bonds, blends, and grey markets in Uber and Lyft ahead of their IPOs. Trending Now displays a list of top moving stocks. The Netflix stock profile provides basic stock price charting information and a market sentiment indicator. Place the trade by choosing the Buy or Sell button. Novice retail traders may find this platform lacks the trading interface, research tools and education they depend on for general guidance. The experienced trader with their own tools, stock data and news will be at home with the simple, intuitive interface and over 100 technical indicators. Traders who qualify for a professional account (with a minimum portfolio value of €500k) can raise their leverage levels, for example, from 1:5 to 1:20 for stock trades. If you are deciding whether to buy Netflix shares on plus500, review these pros and cons. Plus500 offers a wide variety of investment instruments, including stocks, ETFs, indexes, forex and cryptocurrencies. On this trading platform for the advanced investor, options are also available. Query Apple and the price quotes for the stock, as well as put and call options, appear on the screen. Technology executive Reed Hastings wanted to find a way to improve the movie rental business when he started a DVD rental by mail service in 1997. In 2007, the Stanford computer scientist graduate started to stream movies over the internet. The co-founder and first CEO of Netflix Marc Randolph was also a co-founder of computer mail-order businesses Macworld and Microwarehouse, and Macworld magazine. His development of data analysis tools to improve marketing and the customer experience was instrumental to the early success of Netflix. The company still uses Cinematch to measure audience ratings of movies, and today also applies it when deciding which movies to develop for Netflix Originals. Five years after Netflix went public in 2002, the company switched to its streaming content model. Netflix’s popularity grew with the release of the first IPhone (2007) and Android (2008) phones followed by tablets and higher speed broadband networks. By 2012, the company was struggling under high content costs and started making its own Netflix Originals. By 2019, Netflix had over 140 subscribers worldwide. In 2018, Netflix’s market cap briefly surpassed that of Disney’s when it hit $150 billion. Hastings sits on the board of Facebook and owns $10 million in Facebook shares. Over the next five years, the streaming media market will become more crowded. Investors deciding whether to invest in Netflix or buy Disney shares for its huge content library or Apple stock for its iTunes users should consider Netflix’s first mover advantage in streaming. Netflix credits its high content engagement, success with new shows and marketing effectiveness to the data analytics it has applied since its early days. And here are some more numbers, Netflix will love – the stock of first movers outperform the rest. Since its beginning two decades ago in mail order DVDs, Netflix has been establishing brand value and customer loyalty among movie fans. Netflix subscribership is forecast to grow at higher rates over the next five years. A subscription price increase in 2019 will raise revenues per subscriber. Together with falling content costs, operating margins, which are expanding at 3 percentage points a year, will widen to 13 percent this year. Analyst median Netflix forecast is for a median stock price of 418, with a low of 165 and a high of 500. Netflix trades in a pack of high performing technology stocks called the FAANG (Facebook, Netflix, Apple, Netflix, Google). Netflix stock is on a tear in 2019, rising 33 percent by mid-March followed by 31 percent for Facebook stock. Netflix, Apple and Google stock have growing exposure to the hot streaming media market. Low-to-median stock growth is forecast. By 2021, more people will have mobile than landline phones. Countries will be upgrading to 5G service. This will open the door to more Netflix co-productions to produce more content for local markets and then stream it worldwide. Bodyguard, for example, was a coproduction between the BBC and Netflix made for the UK market and simultaneously streamed worldwide. These co-productions, which could grow from 140 in 2018 to well over 250 in 2021, are another way to lower programming costs. Median-to-high stock growth is forecast. Set-top TV boxes are not going to become obsolete. Companies like Roku and Comcast are bundling streaming media services in a package to be played over the TV. Netflix has started joining those bundles. This is a new revenue stream for Netflix that it may not have captured otherwise outside of a bundle. Median-to-high stock growth is forecast. By 2023, forecasts estimate Apple and Disney+ will each have 100 million subscribers. Netflix’s margins should be in the low 20s similar to those of Disney, Comcast WarnerMedia and 20th Century Fox before the Disney acquisition. These entertainment giants, meanwhile, will be upping their content budgets to develop originals for streaming. While they will be able to scale to 100 million users in a quarter of the time of Netflix, Netflix’s strong international momentum will be accelerating. Low-to-median stock growth is forecast. Undeniably, Disney is not the only one with content magic. Netflix had an impressive 121 Emmy nominations this year. The proprietary marketing analytics that have been the engine of business growth since the early days are consistently helping to develop winning content. Netflix has two decades of data on streaming media subscriber preferences. This marketing intelligence may be the real first mover advantage of Netflix against its new competitors, and the best reason to buy NFLX shares. Does Netflix pay a dividend? No, Netflix does not pay dividends. Instead of paying dividends, high growth companies return value to shareholders in the form of increases in stock value and invest in acquisitions to sustain growth. Over the past 10 years, Netflix has returned 51.5 percent to shareholders whereas the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested returned 15.5 percent. Is Netflix still in the DVD rental business? Netflix has been renting out DVDs by mail since its founding in 2007 from www.netflix.dvd.com. In 2018, Netflix made a profit of $ on $ in DVD sales. Netflix has a library of over 100,000 DVD titles. In addition to films, Netflix rents out TV shows. The current top five movie rentals are listed below. What is the size and future potential of the streaming video market? Netflix has 140 million subscribers. Hulu has 50 million subscribers. The service is US-based. Amazon Prime has 100 million subscribers. In 2019, Disney+, Apple and ATT WarnerMedia are launching streaming services. They are forecast to have 100 million subscribers each by 2023. In 2020, Comcast plans to sign up 50 million users to a free ad-based streaming service. Within five years, the direct-to-consumer streaming market will double its subscriber base. Many subscribers will be cord cutters from cable channels. In which indices is Netflix stock included? How do I invest in the FAANG stocks? Indexes and ETFs provide a cheap way of getting diversified exposure to five of the highest performing technology stocks, known as FAANG (Facebook, Netflix, Apple, Netflix, Google). Many ETFs and indexes have a heavy weighting in the FAANG stocks, including the NASDAQ-100 Tech and the NYSE FANG+ Index (NYFANG). Where and how can you buy Netflix stock? You can buy Netflix stock from online stockbrokers. eToro and plus500 are examples of online broker platforms where traders buy and sell Netflix stock. After signing up online, type in the NFLX ticker, place your order and you will become an owner of Netflix shares. 1 Should you invest in Netflix? Will Netflix global expansion effect it’s stock price ? What are the predictions for Netflix stock prices ?

2019-04-21T08:49:59Z

https://insidebitcoins.com/buy-stocks/netflix

Growing up as a fussy eater, being diagnosed as Coeliac at the time felt devastating and totally unexpected. I was extremely ill by the time I was diagnosed and on the one hand was relieved it was something that I could help through diet alone but on the other I had no idea what on Earth I was going to eat! From the moment I found out I went cold turkey on gluten as I feared I would not stop eating it otherwise! I’m sure many can relate to feeling completely overwhelmed by their diagnosis. However, even since 2009 things have improved dramatically in the U.K. for coeliacs with all supermarkets massively increasing their range and chain restaurants offering gluten free menus. In 2009 none of the chains that I can remember offered gluten free and eating out with friends turned into a nightmare, especially as I don’t really like salad that many restaurants resorted to. I am so grateful that gluten free has become much more widely available and eating out is not as much of a challenge as it once was. However, with gluten free awareness increasing I have not found the same to necessarily be true for coeliac or cross contamination awareness. With many eating gluten free and not being affected by cross contamination not all restaurant processes are safe and I have found myself caught out and glutened. Eating out in the UK is so much easier than before but you still need to ask the right questions about the gluten free menu and cooking processes. With so many chains now providing gluten free however, on a short trip to the UK or as a newly diagnosed Coeliac you may wish to stick to those that have been accredited by Coeliac UK for what should be a guaranteed easier experience. With establishments having to work with Coeliac UK to receive accredition their knowledge is generally much better and I haven’t been glutened at any of these places although you do still need to be vigilant. With so many UK chains offering gluten free now it has been a while since I’ve eaten at Carluccios, especially as my boyfriend is always annoyed at the fact that they don’t have pizza on the menu despite being an Italian restaurant, something he completely fails to comprehend. However, Carluccios holds a very special place in my heart being the first restaurant that I ever found a gluten free menu and gluten free pasta at after stumbling across the Oxford Circus branch one evening after work. I can not express the pure joy I felt at the time at finding that they could cater so easily for me at a time when I was fairly newly diagnosed and felt that no one else could. The fact I could actually eat pasta in a restaurant even made it to be my Facebook status – I was just so excited! Since then I have eaten at many Carluccios particularly in Milton Keynes where I live, Peterborough where I grew up and regularly visit family and across London. In that time I’ve had one mishap where the waitress gave me the wrong pasta as she had forgotten to note gluten free when she took my order. Fortunately I realised as the gluten free pasta is a different shape but it could have been much worse. Gluten free aside I have had a couple of bad experiences with service in Milton Keynes, again contributing to the reason it has been quite a while since my last visit with really slow service and last time the hot dessert hadn’t been heated properly and was cold inside. With lots of other chains launching gluten free menus I found myself visiting those instead. Top choices for me include sharing platters for starter that are still a rarity when eating out, carbonara one of my all time favourite dishes and a chocolate dessert that is to die for… it is so gooey inside. Edit: Whilst in the process of writing this blog post I visited Carluccios for lunch with a friend. On this day the service was friendly and helpful but the menu had changed, a lot. Carbonara is out and when I asked if I could have it anyway I was told no as flour is used in the sauce which is premade. How frustrating that they have changed something that was previously gluten free to something that is not, let alone carbonara which I’ve never seen include flour! A double blow was the chocolate fondant no longer being on the dessert menu, to be replaced by ice cream sundaes and sorbets – nothing exciting! The ragu pasta was nice enough but nothing special compared to what I would make at home and although the service was much better on this occasion it was instead their menu that left me with no desire to return. As I’ve started with Carluccios I may as well stick with the Italian chains first so next up is Pizza Express – somewhere where Paul is far happier as he can get pizza! There are lots of Pizza Express restaurants so it’s a really easy go to whenever you may be struggling for somewhere to eat. Their pizza is somewhat lacking on cheese for me but I still like them and eat here often for convenience and the fact that they have gluten free dough balls with garlic butter dip – amazing! Top choices are therefore inevitably the dough balls and my pick of the pizzas is the pollo ad Astra. They often have deals available online for dough balls and pizza and they include the gf ones in that offer! They have gluten free desserts including a couple that are bite size for when you want something sweet but don’t have room for a big dessert or are trying not to give in to temptation! They aren’t that inspiring though with the regular gluten free choices of brownie or ice cream, so although I generally have a sweet tooth if I’m limiting the number of courses I pick the dough balls over dessert at Pizza Express. I’ve seen online that Pizza Express have launched their spring 2017 menu which includes some additions such as gluten free pasta that I may try on my next visit! Unlike Pizza Express who heavily promoted the launch of their gluten free menu, Prezzos I didn’t really hear about. It was only when friends wanted to eat there I checked the menu to see they could infact cater for gluten free. The first time I went I was pleasantly surprised by the menu which included mozzarella and caramelised onion garlic bread and it was amazing! It had been so long since I had eaten something like that and I really enjoyed it. I followed this with al forno chicken carbonara which was also delicious and again baked pasta dishes are not often on the menu. I’ve since eaten there several times again across Milton Keynes, Peterborough and London. Their pizza is excellent and one of my favourite dishes is the king prawn risotto with saffron sauce. In the early days of diagnosis before gluten free menus and an abudence of chains serving up gluten free pizza and pasta I ate a lot of risotto so this isn’t something I normally order now, except when it has saffron in as I love everything saffron and this risotto was no exception. I checked all the websites whilst writing this blog as I went along and when I clicked on the Prezzo gluten free menu for one awful minute I thought it had just brought up the allergen chart to trawl through rather than having a proper gluten free menu. Turns out it’s an allergen chart for all the gluten free items, making it really easy if you have multiple dietary requirements and it seems to include several vegan options. Dominoes are accredited by Coeliac UK and the pizzas should arrive uncut and with a yellow gf sticker on the box. I was so happy the day that these were launched, as was Paul who had not been getting takeaway pizza because of me despite pizza being his favourite food! It’s also great to have an option when at friends to easily order a takeaway. I’ve always managed to safely have pizza from here but have seen online that lots of people have had issues though when they’ve ordered from Domino’s so be wary and definitely make sure it’s uncut to prevent cross contamination. I always ring up the branch and speak to someone about my order rather than relying on online systems too. The other thing I’ve found is that gluten free pizzas often aren’t included in the pizza deals but whenever this has been the case after speaking to a manager it’s always been overridden at their discretion so it’s always worth speaking to someone if you want a pizza deal! I’ve only eaten at Pizza Hut a couple of times, it reminds me of all you can eat Pizza Hut parties growing up! The gluten free pizza is oblong so it’s easy to tell that it’s gluten free and I really enjoyed my pizza here but that was after a trip to Japan where I struggled to eat and I came home craving pizza! I don’t think I’ve eaten here since though so should really try it out again soon! Cote Brasserie is my top choice of the Coeliac UK accredited chains, every time I’ve been the food has been amazing and the service always been fab in the Peterborough and Covent Garden branches. My family rate this as their top choice for eating out in Peterborough and the fact that they can cater for me so easily as well really does make it a winner. Pho is a chain that has many branches across London but is also in other big cities. I was Pho’s number one fan as 99% of the menu was gluten free and the food was excellent. After an incredible holiday in Vietnam this was one of mine and Paul’s favourite restaurants as the food brought back so many memories, I could eat spring rolls to my hearts content and it was a worry free experience. However they recently had their accredition revoked as they changed supplier, which shows how important it is to always check your food is safe for you. They are now accredited again but the spring rolls are no longer safe which is soooo disappointing as they are not something that can be found easily. Previously my top choices were spring rolls and calamari starters followed by Pho or a cracking curry. Everything except the spring rolls still seem to be on the safe list so there is plenty to be found for an excellent meal and can still be recommended! Eds diner also has an extensive gluten free menu and can cater so easily for coeliacs. The vibe of the restaurant is fun and uplifting and their milkshakes are the best ever! However, that’s where the praise ends as having tried several things off the menu I’ve not really enjoyed any of them with all the burger and hot dog buns somehow turning soggy. I’ve found the food expensive for what it is and Paul refuses to eat there. Whenever I do eat there now it is for convenience whilst waiting for delayed trains as they have a restaurant at Euston, the station I commute in and out of. It may be ok if you have kids with things like hotdogs on the menu, but I personally wouldn’t choose to eat here. Growing up I used to love Frankie and Benny’s although that may have been down to a limited choice at the time of restaurants in Peterborough! However when I moved to Milton Keynes pre Coeliac diagnosis me and my friends had a couple of bad experiences here with the service and wait times and we stopped going. When I saw they had a gluten free menu I decided to give them a go again (went to the one in Xscape for anyone who knows Milton Keynes) and we entered the restaurant where we were left standing. Staff were passing us but none said hello or even acknowledged us. There were empty tables but other staff were busy cleaning tables despite some being already made up and we were basically ignored to the point we gave up and went elsewhere. As I was writing this I decided to give them a go for lunch and had the half rack of ribs from the Bletchley branch. They don’t do gluten free chips and it came with a dry, unappetising jacket potato and some coleslaw. Their menu wasn’t that extensive although it had some pizza and pasta options that I’ve seen criticised online. As we went on a really hot day my friend had a goats cheese salad that looked awesome so maybe that’s the pick of the menu, although not really what I would personally go to Frankie and Benny’s for. The service on the day was still incredibly slow although our actual waiter was very quick, efficient and friendly given how busy he was, the food was extremely slow coming from the kitchen, the drinks slow from the bar and no one seemed to be helping him cover a lot of tables so it’s still not my pick of the chains. The Hard Rock Cafe has Coeliac UK accredition but I’ve never actually eaten at one in the UK! I’ve had two recent experiences with them, once in Japan where they were a saviour in a country that struggles for gluten free food and once at the Vegas branch where they served me the wrong burger and I had to wait ages for a new one to be cooked. The food was pretty good when it arrived but I was a bit over eating as everyone else had finished their meal and I get a bit fed up at times of my gluten free order going wrong! I often visit Hard Rock Cafe in other cities though so for anyone visiting London the Hard Rock Cafe is in a Central location and the Coeliac U.K. Accredition hopefully will mean you can get a safe meal there. I’ve never actually eaten at Handmade Burger Company so one for the list to try, I’m not sure there even is one in Milton Keynes or Central London. I have seen good reviews though of the chain and their burger bun is served still in its packaging to help prevent cross contamination. I can’t see myself eating here over Honest Burgers though on a short trip to the UK/London. Fish n Chickn is the fish and chip chain that are accredited by Coeliac UK. Milton Keynes has a branch that started doing gluten free on Sundays. Speaking to the staff it is not accredited yet in this particular branch but they have gone through the same training as the other branches that have received it. My order was taken so seriously with separate fryers and the staff washing their hands before serving the food they seemed clued up and I was comfortable eating the food which is a good thing as I am a huge fan of fish and chips. I also used to love battered sausages as a child and was ecstatic to see these also on the gluten free menu which also seems good for dairy free and other allergies. It’s a good thing I often work on Sundays or I would want to eat here all the time! Unfortunately for London visitors, this chain hasn’t made it into Central London yet! Chiquitos have only recently received Coeliac UK accreditation so see my blog post here on my experience! In summary though, the menu is not that extensive but I had some delicious potato skins for starter followed by fajitas that had terrible gluten free wraps. The cocktail menu was ace and look out for the 2-4-1 deals on them. I had good, friendly service and enjoyed my meal so would visit again although it doesn’t top the list over places like Cote. Browns Brasserie are on the list for recently receiving accreditation. As part of the restaurant group Mitchell’s and Butlers this was interesting to me as my brothers pub is part of this chain. I’ve always managed to eat safely at his pub through his knowledge of coeliac but not a lot of training seemed to have been given. His pub does have a gluten free menu but with lots of disclaimers that it can’t be guaranteed that it’s gluten free and as a result I’ve always been wary of anything that is part of the chain. Due to the accreditation I recently tried out Brown’s Brasserie in Covent Garden that was large and busy as it was pre theatre time! This meant the waiter was incredibly effecient but it didn’t make for the most relaxed friendly meal as it felt like we were being rushed through. I had crab meat on toast which was nice enough, the crab meat was tasty but the bread wasn’t really toasted making it all seem quite mushy. I made the most of my brothers 30% off ordering the lobster, which was absolutely delicious with chips, I could have eaten it all twice over. My sister in laws lobster risotto also went down very well which was on the gluten free menu. I finished off the meal with Creme brûlée, which was nice and creamy but the sugar topping was really soft and had no crunch to it like the best creme brulees do! The meal was lovely and one of the higher end restaurants within the Mitchell’s and Butlers chain making it quite expensive for what it was had we not had the discount card. The meal though was good, there were some fab cocktails on the menu and the location ideal in Central London with fast service should you be on your way to a show! Chipotle in the UK has six restaurants in London and they’ve just been accredited by Coeliac UK. Read my recent blog post here to read all about them but in summary they are a Mexican fast food restaurant where everything is gluten free except the burrito wraps with gluten free choices including tasty corn tacos or rice bowls and fab for a quick meal with no hassle! This is a post about chain restaurants in U.K. aimed at people newly diagnosed or visiting the Uk who may not be aware of our chain restaurants or what they can offer gluten free. If you are living or visiting outside London it is also worth checking the list for local independents around the country that are also accredited. Ones to note for London visitors are Niche and Indigo which are gf restaurants in London and regularly recommended. Naturally Chinese is also frequently recommended to anyone searching for a Chinese restaurant but it is not really in London but in Surbiton which you can get a train fairly easily to. I’ve not been due to the location but I have seen so many recommendations that I plan to go here and would recommend anyone wanting Chinese to look it up if they can get out there! Most of my instagram and London recommendations are to help people eating out in London focus on places that can only be found in London. Living in Milton Keynes and only travelling to London for work I know what it’s like living outside London – if I want gluten free food then generally it is from one of the chain restaurants, which means I don’t want to eat at these when I am in London. However, those visiting London from outside the U.K. or on a longer trip to see the country may like to try out some of our chains as well. My top choice for all UK visitors in that case would be Cote, the food is just awesome! As with all places staff and menus change so please still ask all the same questions as you normally would when eating out to make sure you feel confident with eating there, recent changes to the menu at Pho are a good reminder of this! I hope anyone new to eating out gluten free in chain restaurants across the U.K. had a successful experience! Which is your favourite of those accredited by Coeliac UK? Has your experience been different to mine? What are your favourite dishes? Leave me a comment so I can give them a try! Thanks for this post! I will be visiting London in a couple of weeks so it’s perfect timing! Wondering if you have any recommendations for the best grocery stores that stock gluten free items. Thanks! Most of our supermarkets have a good gluten free range now. I normally do my every day kind of shopping at Tesco, but Sainsburys and Morrisons also good. Whole foods and Planet Organic do lots of gluten free bits that can’t be found elsewhere that I sometimes buy extra things from. M&S are brilliant as they make lots of their ‘normal food’ gluten free, they are also the best for picnic type bits – sausage rolls, pork pies, scotch eggs, loads of sandwiches and wraps on the go, pasta salad – loads of things that cant be found easily elsewhere. They also sell ready meals, cheesecake, apple pie, trifle and loads of good things in their made without wheat range! You won’t have any problems finding gluten free in London. Thanks so much!! Maybe a silly question but wondering about the M&S made without wheat line, is this just wheat free or gluten free? Thanks!!

2019-04-18T22:43:25Z

https://thesightseeingcoeliac.blog/2017/06/15/the-sightseeing-coeliac-eating-in-u-k-chain-restaurants-accredited-by-coeliac-uk/

The 2002 William Roberts Lecture, given at the National Portrait Gallery, London, on 2 February 2002. Text © Elizabeth Cayzer 2002 and reproduced by kind permission. William Roberts was blessed with a precocious talent. Whilst still a schoolboy special art lessons were arranged for him, and his father, a carpenter, made him a drawing-board and an easel. Furthermore, he encouraged his son to paint his headmaster. In 1909 the boy was apprenticed to Sir Joseph Causton Ltd, a poster-designing and advertising firm, while, in the evenings, he attended St Martin's School of Art. His days were long and intense, beginning at eight in the morning and ending at six in the evening after which he went on to St Martin's, arriving home at 10 p.m. But this was not unusual for a fourteen-year-old: his contemporary Mark Gertler, for example, was pursuing a similar path. Roberts's precocity met with its reward: in 1910 he won a London County Council scholarship to the Slade School of Art based upon the very favourable assessment of such works as this red-chalk drawing of The Artist's Father, Brothers and Sister, dated 1909, which shows six lively heads crowded together on to a sheet of paper partly, no doubt, to save money. Roberts's three years at the Slade were under the rule of Professor Henry Tonks – a stickler for the life class and the fundamentals of good draughtsmanship. At this the young artist continued to excel, winning prizes and capturing the attention of Tonks. An Old Man is an example of his style then. The model is an Italian – apparently many Italians were employed by art schools, and during the summer vacations they turned to selling ice-cream. This particular man had posed, when young, for Sir John Everett Millais, which he would proudly tell the students saying: 'Me Speak, Speak', for the painting in question's title was Speak! Speak! This is a fine and detailed portrayal of old age, the folds of the leathery skin, the sucked-in effect of the toothless mouth, and the wild hair all carefully described. It is almost romantic in style, but this was but a passing phase for Roberts, who by 1912 was alert to everything modern, while by 1913 he was positively Cubist in style. During the summer holidays of 1911 and 1912 some of the Slade's students were invited to stay for several weeks with various of Tonks's friends in the country; there they were able to draw and paint in relaxing surroundings. Roberts went to the home of Sir Cyril Butler (honorary secretary of the Contemporary Art Society) and, whilst there, he was commissioned to do a series of six London market scenes for him. In addition, the Fitzwilliam Museum have a red-chalk portrait drawing of Butler which Roberts later authenticated, saying that it dated from the visit. And this, it seems, is how a number of his most interesting portrait commissions came about. He never set himself up like, for example, Sir William Orpen or, more reluctantly, Augustus John as a portraitist. He was, and certainly until the later 1940s remained, an occasional painter of people's portraits. I now want to look at four portrait paintings commissioned by people who came to know and admire William Roberts's work early on and who, in the inter-war years, sat to him. They were Rudolf Stulik, the proprietor of the Hotel and Restaurant de la Tour Eiffel in Percy Street; P. G. Konody, the art connoisseur and critic; T. E. Lawrence – Lawrence of Arabia; and the economist and art lover John Maynard Keynes, whose double portrait with his wife, the ballerina Lydia Lopokova, is on view here in the National Portrait Gallery. I will be giving you quite a lot of background information about these sitters, because I feel that it is vital to an understanding of how Roberts responded to their characters, and to what one begins to feel may be missing from that response. imported from [Vienna] a new note of gaiety and style. Himself the result (as he hinted) of a romantic, if irregular, attachment, in which the charms of a famous ballerina had overcome the scruples of an exalted but anonymous personage, he was in any case well equipped by nature for the part he played The 'Tower' became under his management a favourite resort of poets, painters, actors, sculptors, authors, musicians and magicians [this is John writing still]; not to speak of members of the fashionable and political world. In 1916 the Hotel Review praised 'the excellence of his cuisine and the quality of his wines'; they were second to none in the West End of London. How, then, did the young and impecunious William Roberts come to frequent such a smart restaurant? It was thanks to Wyndham Lewis, who can be seen in the centre of Roberts's later painting The Vorticists at the Restaurant de la Tour Eiffel, which records events there in the spring of 1915. Lewis had been living in Percy Street since 1914 and having most of his meals next door at the Tour Eiffel. He soon became a favourite of Stulik's, who, according to Roberts, used to tell him: 'I vould [sic] do anyting [sic] for Mr Lewis.' In the earlier part of 1915 Lewis was deeply involved with his new magazine Blast and the promulgation in it of Vorticism. He had gathered a group of adoring, and not so adoring, artists around him. From his next-door flat he swept them round to Stulik's for dinner on a number of occasions, the meals being paid for by a mixture of Stulik's individual style of accounting – which allowed his rich clientele to pay for his impoverished, but talented, clientele – and by these talented young people earning their keep. That is, in the case of Lewis – and later Roberts – making paintings for Stulik's growing, but artistically haphazard, collection. Roberts painted his portrait of Stulik in 1920 when he, too, had come to live in Percy Street. He had by then known the Austrian for five years and had, during the war, used one of the cheap hotel rooms over the restaurant as a base whilst on leave from the front. Number One Percy Street had become something of a haven for Roberts, a place where, after the birth of his son, John, in 1919, he worked on a set of decorative panels for its proprietor while mother and son were left in the tiny attic flat further down the road until it was time for the next meal. This painting, now unfortunately lost, is like Roberts's painting of Paul Konody – also dating from 1920 – just a head and shoulders. This was a format that the artist liked, for he said that it meant that nothing detracted attention from the face. Even without the personal attributes we are accustomed to see in a conventional portrait painting it is clear that Rudolf Stulik is some sort of an impresario, and probably a foreigner too. The turned-up collar, the bow tie, the moustache, the tilt of the head and the discreetly veiled eyes all suggest this. It is a relaxed, affectionate portrait of the proud proprietor of a famous London restaurant. It complements very well the description given of him by Adrian Daintry. His English was 'guttural and almost incomprehensible' – but this was 'part of his charm. He had tact as well, and knew how to flatter when necessary, and also when to be patient.' And, continued Daintry, his discretion was legendary: 'A certain vagueness had settled round him, perhaps as a result of the strain of his life, with its late hours and conviviality, and it was proverbially difficult to get the truth from him about any of his customers' movements, except by taking the reverse of what he said as probable.' In the picture Roberts has eschewed the mannerist, Cubist style still very apparent in his figurative work of this date, for example The Cinema, now in the Tate Gallery's collection, for a more realist and sensitive interpretation of his sitter. William and Sarah Roberts retained their fondness for Stulik always, and it seems never to have been tinged with any sort of bitterness or doubt, as were some of their other friendships. This fondness is evident in The Vorticists at the Restaurant de la Tour Eiffel, painted in 1961, many years after Stulik's death. It shows him holding a plate on which lies a piece of his famous Gâteau St Honoré, which Roberts described as 'a large circular custard tart ornamented round its edge with big balls of pastry'. He and Wyndham Lewis dominate the picture as they did, in different ways, the young artist's life in 1915: Stulik's elegant hospitality is in marked contrast to Lewis's swaggering bulk, whilst a boyish Roberts sits grim-faced, hands folded over his copy of Blast. Historical events are held in a kaleidoscope, the heady days of Vorticism, Roberts's later assertion of his role in it – and independence from it – and Stulik's benevolence all weaving their threads through this finely composed picture. But for the purposes of this lecture the restaurant's style and setting, together with its staff and more racy clientele, are all that needs noting. In 1917 Konody was appointed the art adviser and honorary secretary of the Canadian War Memorials Fund, whose objective was to provide a memorial in the form of paintings and sculpture to the Canadians' part in the Great War. The Fund was financed by Lord Beaverbrook and Viscount Rothermere, the latter being the proprietor of The Observer. I will send you on some more things that will have less 'Cubism' in them, but should a meeting of your Committee take place before they reach you, will you only exhibit those that you think would not puzzle too much the meeting. Perhaps some of my earlier and slightly more finished drawings could be brought together for the show as well. Tonks has one, so too has Captain Baker. Cyril Butler of Shrivenham a friend of Tonks has one or two. I could write him if you wish. Then Professor Brown at the Slade has a drawing which I think would be good to show. Paul Konody's portrait commission in 1920 was timely. Roberts was desperately hard up: 'I have been in such a turmoil over money matters as not to know what I have been doing at times,' he wrote to Alfred Yockney, Konody's counterpart on the British War Memorials Committee – also his employers. Indeed, he was selling drawings he had put together for a show in order to make ends meet and to feed his girlfriend Sarah Kramer and their baby son. The painting has much in common with that of Rudolf Stulik. Again it is a head and shoulders set against a plain background. Konody was aged forty-eight then and in his prime, and Roberts shows an alert, energetic and kindly face. The rapport between artist and sitter seems total; there is none of that withdrawal of communication which would characterise later portraits. A few years after this picture was painted Konody wrote about Roberts's portrait style, interestingly comparing him with the fashionable Gerald Leslie Brockhurst. He saw an affinity with Brockhurst's 'Leonardesque heads – the same clear-cut design, decorative spacing, strong characterisation, clean execution, and colour unmodified by reflection, though Mr. Roberts is mainly interested in the angles and edges and planes of the head, and Mr. Brockhurst in the roundness and tone transitions.' Always, it seems, Konody's criticisms of Roberts's work were considered and just: no wonder that Roberts's admiration for him never dimmed and that he remembered him over fifty years later when Barrie Sturt-Penrose, one of his successors at the Observer newspaper, wrote a highly-coloured article about the artist. Sturt-Penrose, retorted Roberts, is 'not in the same class' as Paul George Konody: how right he was! By November 1922 William Roberts was discussing a very different portrait commission, his sitter a man attempting to run away from fame, for Lawrence of Arabia had had fame thrust upon him partly because of the journalistic exploits of the American Lowell Thomas. As an undergraduate at Jesus College, Oxford, T. E. Lawrence had learned Arabic in order to visit the Crusader castles of the Middle East and make a study of their military architecture. He returned to the area, upon graduating in 1910, as an unsalaried assistant attached to a team of British Museum archaeologists. He was put in charge of recording the pottery being found but also, because of his knowledge of Arabic, of the labour force drawn from the local village. He was much liked by them, and began to involve himself deeply in their culture and their aspirations for total independence from the Ottoman Empire. When war broke out in 1914 Lawrence joined military intelligence in Cairo and the following year began his association with the Emir of Mecca and his four sons which led on to his part in the Arab Revolt of 1916–18. At the Paris Peace Conference he acted as Sherif Feisal's interpreter and adviser, but was bitterly disappointed – although not totally surprised – when the Allies did not honour their promise of independence for the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula. Lawrence's was a complex character: at once a loner, and independent of many of the material needs of his contemporaries, he yet revelled in company and particularly that of writers, artists and intellectuals. There was an element of the secret about him, especially concerning his experiences during the Arab Revolt. When Roberts met him in 1922 these 'secrets' – along with a terrible guilt for having betrayed the Arabs' belief that he was working to end their vassalage to the Turks – were torturing him, for he had begun to write the story of his two years in the desert. Since boyhood Lawrence had loved books, and so he decided that his story, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, would be produced as a de-luxe, limited-edition book, fully illustrated as well as having included in it portraits of the main protagonists in the Revolt – Arab and British. Along with a number of other artists, William Roberts was brought to Lawrence's attention, and his work for the book soon delighted him. This drawing of Sir Henry McMahon is an example of one of Roberts's portrait drawings for it. McMahon was British High Commissioner in Egypt at the outbreak of war. On first seeing it Lawrence wrote to Roberts saying: 'It's absolutely splendid: the strength of it, and the life: it feels as though any moment there might be a crash in the paper and the thing start out.' Lawrence continued to praise the artist's drawings of the British diplomatic and military personnel for Seven Pillars, but this is certainly the most 'alive' picture of them that I have seen: a leadenness is beginning to creep into his style, as if he is not entirely comfortable with his sitters. I feel something of this deadness is manifested in the Portrait of Lawrence too. To date, it seems that Roberts has achieved a good result in his portraiture if his sitters 'give' of themselves to him. I am particularly struck by the pictures of Stulik and Konody in this regard, two men who were completely on Roberts's side and massaged his self-esteem so to speak. The situation is rather different with Lawrence, who was in a state of mental turmoil – some of which can be read between the lines of Seven Pillars – and altogether too complicated a character perhaps for a young, shy artist to fathom Indeed, John Roberts in his autobiographical notes described both men as secretive and, as a consequence, felt that it was not surprising that they 'were not close'. In the early thirties William Roberts received what I believe to be his last really exciting portrait commission: it was for the double portrait of Maynard and Lydia Keynes. Yes, there was further patronage to come: for example, Keynes introduced him to some Cambridge academics; there were a few portrait drawings done of the military during the Second World War; and his later patron Ernest Cooper sat to him. But the Keynes portrait was the grandest stab at portraiture that he had before withdrawing behind closed doors to paint his family. John Maynard Keynes is best remembered as an economist, 'the cleverest man I have ever met' not only according to Isaiah Berlin but to Bertrand Russell, H. G. Wells and Clive Bell too. However, the author of The Economic Consequences of the Peace – that brilliant attack on the world leaders at the Paris Peace Conference and their ideas for reparation – was passionately involved with the arts. Indeed, he believed that the creative artist was more important than the economist or politician! His greatest friends before his marriage were Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell, and they introduced him to painting and helped him to form his collection. Often he was able to mix business with the pleasure of another purchase, such as when the sale of Degas's collection occurred in 1918. Grant brought his attention to it by suggesting that perhaps his powers of persuasion could get the Treasury to release funds to the National Gallery so that they could acquire some of these paintings. Soon Grant was reading the following telegram: 'Money secured for pictures' and the National Gallery's collection was swelled by the arrival of works by Ingres, Delacroix, Corot, Forain, Rousseau, Manet and Gauguin. And, of course, Keynes also bought for himself while, in 1919, he had the satisfaction of being able to use the money he had been paid for the French translation of The Economic Consequences to purchase pictures from the Degas Studio sale. And Lydia Lopokova – what of her? 'What is this I hear, about Maynard Keynes marrying a chorus girl?' wrote one of his contemporaries. In fact Lydia Lopokova was a ballerina with Diaghilev's Russian Ballet who, in 1918, had won the hearts of her London audiences. One could argue, I suppose, that her performance of the CanCan in Massine's Boutique Fantasque had an element of the 'chorus girl' about it, but there was more to her than that! Lydia certainly cultivated this idiosyncratic use of language, for the actress lay within her. She did, however, read widely in English – Keynes had a fine collection of books – and she embraced English culture. Before long artists flocked to paint and draw her: Picasso, Duncan Grant, Glyn Philpot, Laura Knight and Augustus John, who frightened her so much that the sittings were abandoned. She was also sculpted by Frank Dobson, writing happily to Keynes about the work in progress. 'Dobbie's Lydia is charming. She has not the hair yet, nor the last covering of the skin, but she is such as her mother nursed her in womb. (Dictionary also gives uterus but womb is such a beautiful word if I would be poetess I would use it in great many works.)' From this, and from a knowledge of her general enthusiasm for art, I would imagine that she wholeheartedly endorsed the commissioning of Roberts's double portrait. Maynard Keynes's awareness of William Roberts's paintings must date back at least to 1925, when he formed the London Artists' Association in order to help young artists financially and with the exhibiting of their work. He believed that Roberts was one of the contemporary British painters 'whose work will really live', and ranked him alongside Duncan Grant as one of his two most preferred British artists. Roberts's preliminary drawing for the composition shows that his first thoughts for it did not change dramatically. In the final painting Keynes is given a cigarette – both of them smoked a lot – and his book is transferred to his right hand. The artist also hangs one of his paintings on the wall – Keynes owned a total of fifteen by him. All this informs us about Keynes's love of the arts and fine books – his Edmund Spenser collection was enviable – but it tells us little about his personality, less about Lydia Lopokova, and next to nothing about the rapport between husband and wife: nor of their warmth, charm and wit, so obvious to all commentators. Photographs attest to their likenesses here: Keynes by the 1930s had grown bulky and balding, while Lydia was petite with high-cheeked Slav features. Roberts has been careful to make her form rounded and feminine, to contrast the soft material of her sleeves with the heavy cloth from which her husband's coat is made – or is it an overcoat? Both of their faces are heavily worked around the eyes, cheeks and foreheads as if make-up has been applied. Admittedly this is Roberts's manner, though the heightened colour makes it more pronounced. Their hands are bothersome, neither acting as a pair – Keynes's in particular – and they are too mannered to signify the couple's cultural interests. The painting of their hands also troubled Keynes's nephew, who described them as 'rendered with striking artificiality', while Robin Gibson's observations go further: 'A slightly abstracted and reserved work, it does capture something of Keynes' formidable personality ' He continues: 'The two elegantly curling hands holding apparently unlit cigarettes at the lower centre of the picture keep the composition together but scarcely unite the two figures psychologically.' However, it does appear from the documents that Keynes was content with the commission and that he continued to support Roberts financially until his death in 1946. I have deliberately spent time looking at these four portrait commissions, for the sitters were people who showed nothing but goodwill towards William Roberts. I have also described, at length, their characters in order to allow you to see how Roberts reacted to their personalities. I now want to turn to some of the family portraits and to look briefly at how the artist saw himself and his wife, Sarah. The photograph above on the left shows how Sarah Kramer looked when they first met – she was aged fifteen – and that on the right Roberts as a gunner in the Royal Field Artillery during the Great War. In 1984 the National Portrait Gallery mounted a large exhibition of these portraits – 'An Artist and his Family' – so I do not want to cover the same ground again. However, I will show you a few of these portraits so that I can go on to relate them to the commissioned portraits and thereby draw some conclusions from all this about Roberts's achievements in this field. Here are two portraits of Sarah Roberts painted in the 1920s. Sarah was born in Leeds in 1900, the daughter of Ukrainian Jews who had settled there shortly before her birth. Her father was a painter who had trained under Repin in St Petersburg and had enjoyed court patronage. Her brother was Jacob Kramer, who, upon their father's death, had assumed financial responsibility for the family, making ends meet by drawing portraits. His principal model was Sarah, who from the age of thirteen sat for him, usually dressed as a gypsy. The drawings sold like hot cakes! Sarah was small, dark and perfectly proportioned. Shortly before her death, aged ninety-two, she was described as having a face 'vivid and full of mystery'. She loved life, once saying: 'I had no talent but a talent for living.' 'Her acute powers of observation, her human insight, her eye for detail, her sometimes acerbic (but never malicious or hurtful) tongue made her a delightful conversationalist. After a meeting with her, one felt more alive, more aware of the possibilities of life and art,' wrote an obituarist. Roberts met Sarah in 1915 and spent the rest of his life with her. She was his wife, his friend, his muse, his business manager and his number-one supporter. The Red Turban is the first surviving portrait of Sarah. It was painted a year after the portraits of Stulik and Konody, and bears stylistic comparisons to those pictures. Although solidly drawn, the painting has a looseness to it, the paint being applied with sweeps of the brush. The face and body are sharply lit and the shadows painted in a mixture of local colours blended with neutral tones. Roberts's clear understanding of the human anatomy is evident, for neither the eyes nor the hands are rendered in the rather mannerist style tending to make itself evident in the portrait of her on the right, dating from six years later. Although Sarah makes no contact with the artist, her form is alert and vital. In this respect especially lie affinities with the portraits of Stulik and Konody. The colours are subtle and interesting: quiet but different, as was so often the case in Roberts's earlier work. In the picture Sarah is herself, a modern – maybe even a little bohemian – young woman. In the 1927 portrait, now in Manchester, Roberts portrays her in an altogether different manner. Her dark hair is swept from her face, she wears jewellery, and she is dressed as if for a party. She looks exotic and imposing: not like herself but like an imagined Sarah – larger than life, outgoing, and as delightfully foreign as Stulik had appeared. Her form is quite distinctly outlined, the eyes and mouth a little exaggerated and the hands too, while her arms and the blue top create shapes which are beginning to seem a little formulated, like one of Roberts's figure compositions. As has been seen in the Keynes portrait, too many flourishes of this nature, not backed up by an incisive enough analysis of character, detract from the rapport between sitter and spectator and leave behind questions about the artist's capabilities as an observer of human nature. I have to admit that many lacunae exist still in my understanding of William Roberts's life, and this talk is only a first attempt at trying to piece together the jigsaw. Much research still needs doing, and many more pictures need looking at in the flesh rather than being seen in sometimes inadequate photographs. However, as I see things now, Roberts's art seems to diminish in stature sometime before the Second World War, never to regain its early promise. His expectations seem to abate, and this, I think, can be seen increasingly in the way he came to portray himself and his wife from that period on. Sarah with Headscarf, c.1935, is altogether less grand than the portraits I have already discussed, while the double portraits of the Robertses painted in 1942 and 1975 further clarify this point. However, before looking at them, I would like to look at some of the self-portraits. William Roberts was, as I have already shown, a rising talent by the time he drew the portrait drawing on the left below. But his early diffidence, which could spill over into grumpiness, had remained with him. Helen Saunders, one of the Vorticist Group, talked in 1917 of his 'resentful old-gentleman-sulky urchin manner', though, she added, it was combined with a 'peculiar honesty and simplicity'. He seemed to engage people and then hold them at bay, or, in the worst cases, he simply turned his back on them. How lucky he had been so far with the outgoing Stulik and the kindly Konody; with all the praise and patronage that had flowed from the Slade; and, of course, with the vivacious Sarah! But the moment complex characters such as Lawrence, or people who inhabited a different milieu to his and were less open to his needs, crossed his path there was doubt and hesitation on Roberts's part. His memory was long, and many years later he wrote about such an encounter when he was on leave from the trenches. During lunch with a group of artists and writers at the Tour Eiffel he championed Duncan Grant's stance as a conscientious objector. Immediately one of the party slapped, him down, and, 'Intimidated by his rank and manner', as he put it, he fell silent. The Self-portrait drawing of c.1920 shows the aspiring artist, stylishly dressed in suit and tie confidently encountering his face in the mirror. Although the drawing of the jacket echoes Wyndham Lewis's portrait style of this date, this does not act as an irritant, for William Roberts is in charge of his pencil. The Self-portrait Wearing a Cap of roughly ten years later is rather different. He remains assured, if a touch sardonic, but he has changed from wearing a suit to dressing himself as a working man in cap and braces. And so he would continue to show himself in many other self-portraits over the years. Here on the left is a drawing of Roberts at work, one of a group of at least nine mainly full-lengths. When, in this series, he shows himself as the practising artist he becomes less self-conscious and his gestures and body language are relaxed for they are second nature to him. The drawing also shows his skill as designer, the crisp placing of the figure on the paper with its clear-cut outlines so much easier to accept than The Card Trick of 1968, with its clumpy, stolid forms and enigmatic message, which some commentators consider refers to the family trio of himself, Sarah and their son, John. When a smile does flicker on a face it is all the more touching for being so rare. In in a large, late double portrait [the 1975 painting above], Sarah has grown as rounded and friendly as a Russian nesting doll. And old age has even rubbed down the edges of her husband's sternness. But the eyes remain as fierce, blue, and suspicious as they were at the start. 'Bobby was not a pub man; he got his copy from looking through the windows,' explained Sarah. She was referring here to his figure compositions, but her words apply equally to all the portraits. T. E. Lawrence's 'oyster' never worked its way out of its shell; rather it became deeply encrusted within it. The portraits of Stulik and Konody, together with all the other work done by Roberts in the 1920s, are interesting pieces, but when the props of kindliness were removed he faltered. Diffidence, a propensity to take offence, artistic feuds – such as the one with Sir John Rothenstein at the Tate – when they muddle the eye do not make for the best portraiture. The finest portraits are those in which the painter gives himself over completely to what lies before his eyes and does not allow his own personality to interfere with the evidence. In my opinion, the prerequisite for a successful portrait is a fascination with, even a love, of people. In addition, the artist's active imagination and analytical mind are essentials, The greatest portraits have a universality about them, and in twentieth-century Britain I believe that the portraits painted by Graham Sutherland and Maggie Hambling fall into this category. Their vision is fresh, filled with wonder and inquiry linking them to a long line of artists – Titian, Rembrandt and Van Gogh among them – who repeatedly grappled with the complexities of the human psyche. Common to all of them is a perennial vitality and a permanent relevance. But let me not end on a negative note as far as William Roberts is concerned: his work will live on. His portraits of the 1920s – including those of Sarah – and the portrait of John Maynard Keynes and Lydia Lopokova are distinguished, and, in the words of his obituarist in The Times, his reputation as a portraitist is 'deservedly high'.

2019-04-24T03:55:29Z

http://englishcubist.co.uk/wrportraits.html

2016-05-29 Assigned to CURVO MEDICAL, INC. reassignment CURVO MEDICAL, INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: HEBERT, STEPHEN J. A deflectable catheter including an outer member having a proximal portion and a distal portion, an elongated column member extending distally from the outer member and an inner member positioned coaxial with the outer member and attached to the column member. The inner member extends distally of the outer member and has a distal tip portion. A reinforcement member is positioned over the column member to restrict axial movement of the column member such that when one of the inner member or outer member is moved with respect to the other, axial compression of the column member is restricted by the reinforcement member causing the distal tip portion of the inner member to deflect laterally. This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 14/064,170, filed Oct. 27, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,233,225, which claims priority from provisional application Ser. No. 61/724,921, filed Nov. 10, 2012. The entire contents of each of these applications are incorporated herein by reference. This application relates to medical devices, and more particularly, to medical catheters with steering capabilities for use in tracking tortuous pathways or deflecting and/or placing accessories. The concept of a variable stiffness microcatheter for use in navigating into tortuous narrow vasculature for delivery of treatment options such as fluid injection or coil placement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,786, to Engelson. This is achieved by steam shaping the variable stiffness catheter's distal tip and tracking the catheter in combination with a guidewire, straight or curved. While this method allows for quick, accurate access to remote areas such as those in the brain, it does not allow for slight distal tip adjustments to aid in treatment once the destination site is reached. If adjustments are needed, the catheter or the guidewire, or in some instances both, would have to be removed and re-shaped. U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,700, to Levine, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,591,813, to Levine et al., attempted to correct this shortcoming by disclosing a microcatheter with a deflectable distal tip. Levine describes a co-linear catheter comprising a flexible joint or hinge region defining a main lumen, used for delivery of guidewires and accessories, and a wire lumen that contains a push/pull wire, which is secured to the distal tip with a radiopaque band. Flexion, or bending, of the hinge region is achieved through remote manipulation of the push/pull wire. While this design might work well on a laboratory bench top or in straight vasculature, it fails to consistently deflect in narrow, tortuous anatomy due to its co-linear design featuring the push/pull wire/hinge construction and the inability to introduce fluid into the wire lumen to act as a lubricant to aid in reducing friction between the movable push/pull wire and the wire lumen. Both of the Levine patents disclose a co-linear, dual lumen (main lumen and wire lumen) deflectable catheter with tip deflection that is brought about through manipulation of a push/pull wire residing in the wire lumen which cannot be lubricated with fluid. Neither of the above mentioned devices disclose a coaxial (inner catheter and outer catheter) device that uses manipulation of the main lumen (inner catheter) and lubrication to bring about smooth, consistent deflection needed to aid in navigation along a small diameter tortuous pathway and to allow for slight tip adjustments to ensure accuracy in delivering fluids and accessories upon arrival at the desired site, as disclosed herein. The present invention provides a coaxial bi-directional deflectable catheter which overcomes the above discussed limitations in tip manipulation in narrow, tortuous anatomy. The present invention provides in one aspect a deflectable catheter comprising an outer member having a proximal portion and a distal portion, an elongated column member extending distally from the outer member, and an inner member positioned coaxial with the outer member and attached to the column member. The inner member extends distally of the outer member and has a distal tip portion. A reinforcement member is positioned over the column member to restrict axial movement of the column member such that when one of the inner member or outer member is moved with respect to the other, axial compression of the column member is restricted by the reinforcement member causing the distal tip portion of the inner member to deflect laterally. In some embodiments, the outer member has a central longitudinal axis and the column member is radially offset with respect to the central longitudinal axis of the outer member. In some embodiments, the lateral reinforcement member comprises a tube. Preferably, in some embodiments, the tube is a helically wound flexible coil. In some embodiments, the column member is fixedly attached to the outer member and the inner member. In other embodiments, the column member is attached only to the inner member. The outer member can have a central lumen to receive the inner member and/or the inner member can have a central lumen to receive a guidewire or other accessory. The central lumen of outer member can be lubricated to facilitate movement of the inner member therein to facilitate the deflection. The column member is preferably non-circular in cross section. In some embodiments, the column member has a proximal portion attached to the distal portion of the outer member and a distal portion attached to the distal portion of the inner member. The catheter can further include a marker band at the distal portion of the inner member and the column can be attached to the marker band. In some embodiments, a proximal portion of the column member terminates at a distal portion of the outer member. Preferably, upon movement of the inner member proximally or the outer member distally, the axial compression of the column member is limited by the reinforcement member so it cannot fail axially but instead fails laterally to deflect the distal tip portion. In some embodiments the catheter includes first and second marker bands on the inner member, and the column member is attached to the first and second marker bands. A locking assembly can be provided to lock the position of the inner member with respect to the outer member. The inner member can have a cut tube at its distal end portion to provide flexibility. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a deflectable catheter comprising a proximal portion, an intermediate portion and a deflectable distal tip portion. A first movable member is axially movable from a first position to a second position, wherein the distal tip portion is deflectable by an axial movement of the first member in which the distal tip portion cannot fail axially in compression so it fails laterally causing deflection of the distal tip portion in a first direction. In some embodiments, the first movable member is positioned within a second member, and the first position is distal of the second position. In other embodiments, the first movable member is positioned over a second movable member and the first position is proximal of the second position. In some embodiments, the first movable member deflects while the second movable member remains substantially stationary. In some embodiments, axial movement in an opposite direction causes a bending of the distal tip portion in the opposite direction. The present invention provides in accordance with another aspect a deflectable catheter having a deflectable distal tip portion comprising an outer catheter having a lumen, a proximal portion and a distal portion, an elongated member extending distally from the outer member, and an inner catheter positioned coaxially within the inner lumen of the outer catheter and attached to the elongated member, wherein axial movement of one of the outer member and inner member causes the distal tip portion of the catheter to deflect laterally. In some embodiments, the elongated member is attached to the inner member and is surrounded by a movement restriction member to restrict axial movement of the column member when the outer member or inner member is moved axially relative to the other. Preferably, such axial restriction limits axial compression of the column member upon axial movement in one direction. In some embodiments, a tip of the inner catheter deflects and a tip of the outer catheter does not deflect. Preferably, movement of the inner catheter in one direction causes axial compression of the elongated member and movement of the inner catheter in a second direction causes bending of the elongated member to cause deflection in a second opposite direction. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a deflectable catheter having a deflectable distal tip portion is provided comprising an outer catheter having a lumen, a proximal portion and a distal portion, an inner catheter positioned coaxially within the inner lumen of the outer catheter and having a distal tip portion extending distally of a distal end of the outer catheter, and a column member attached to the inner catheter, wherein axial movement of one of the outer member and inner member acts on the column member to cause the distal tip portion of the inner catheter to deflect laterally. In some embodiments, the column member includes a proximal stop contacted by the outer catheter. The present invention also provides in accordance with another aspect a coaxial bi-directional deflectable catheter which can be lubricated internally through external application to help overcome friction between the inner catheter and the outer catheter while deflecting the distal tip in narrow, tortuous vasculature. In a method for lubricating the deflection lumen formed by the inner diameter of the outer catheter, a syringe filled with fluid can be connected to a side arm. The side arm can be part of a locking assembly, and prior to the procedure, with the locking assembly in a locked position, fluid is injected into the inner lumen of the outer catheter. The locking assembly can then be opened and the inner catheter pulled and pushed to deflect the tip, with the fluid ensuring smooth movement. With the locking assembly locked, the catheter and guidewire can then be inserted and tracked through the anatomy. If, at any point, deflection is impaired, additional lubrication fluid can be introduced through the side arm using a syringe. FIGS. 19A and 19B are side views of a distal portion of alternate embodiments of the deflectable catheter of the present invention having a balloon. The present application provides a bi-directional deflectable catheter with enhanced deflection to enable and facilitate tip deflection in narrow tortuous vasculature. Various embodiments of the deflectable catheter are disclosed herein which include various embodiments of both the inner catheter (inner member) and the outer catheter (outer member) which make up the structure of the microcatheter. The catheter has a deflectable distal tip portion which is deflected due to the arrangement of the inner catheter, outer catheter and column member which is attached to the inner catheter. The column member has a movement restriction member thereover. Relative movement of the outer catheter and inner catheter effects lateral deflection of the distal tip portion due to the restriction member limiting lateral movement of the column. This is explained in more detail below. The structural elements of the catheter and variations thereof will first be described. Turning to a first embodiment and with reference to FIG. 1 a bi-directional coaxial deflectable microcatheter is illustrated and designated generally by reference numeral 10. The catheter 10 includes an inner catheter (member) 12, an outer catheter (member) 24 and a distal portion 48 with a deflectable tip. The inner catheter 12, which extends through a lumen in outer catheter 24, is composed of a catheter body that is constructed of a thin walled body or tube 14 that extends between proximal end 16 and distal end 58 having an inner lumen with a diameter in the range of about 0.001″ inches to about 1.993″ inches with a preferred inner diameter of about 0.017″ inches. Coupled to the proximal end of inner catheter body 14 is winged hub 20, which sits on a strain relief 22 which optionally can be provided. The winged hub (luer) 20 can be made of plastic. If desired, winged hub 20 can also be fitted with a rotating hemostatic valve (RHV) 18 to provide a channel into the inner lumen of inner catheter 12 for insertion of an accessory or fluid introduction through the side arm. Possible accessories may include by way of example: guidewires, coils, fiberscopes, forceps, video cameras, laser or electrohydraulic lithotripsy devices, and illumination or laser fibers. Other accessories can also be inserted through the channel. Outer catheter 24 is composed of a catheter body that is constructed of a thin walled body or tube 26 having an inner lumen that extends between proximal end 28 and distal end 44 having an inner lumen with a diameter in the range of about 0.007″ to about 1.999″ with a preferred inner diameter of about 0.027″. Outer catheter body 26 also features a relatively stiff proximal section 40 that is joined to a relatively flexible distal section 42. Coupled to the proximal end of outer catheter body 26 is winged hub (luer) 34, which sits on strain relief 38 which optionally can be provided. Attached to winged hub 20 is rotating hemostatic valve (RHV) 32 with end cap 30 and side arm 31. End (lock) cap 30 acts as the locking assembly for the deflectable catheter while side arm 31 is used for introduction of fluids for lubrication and possibly visualization. The lubrication can facilitate relative movement of inner catheter 12 during the procedure which facilitates deflection by ensuring smoother relative movement of the inner and outer catheters. When cap 30 is fully opened, inner catheter 12 is free to move axially resulting in distal tip 48 deflection as described below. Cap 30 can be tightened at any point in the deflection process to clamp and hold inner catheter 12 in position and thereby lock the tip 48 in place. Deflectable tip 48 of inner catheter 12 is covered with lateral support tube 50, which overlies the column member described below. Support tube 50 is adhered at its proximal and distal ends 46 and 52, respectively, as shown in FIG. 11 and described below. Preferably lateral support tube 50 is a helically wound flexible coil with an outside diameter in the range of about 0.008″ to about 2.00″ with a preferred diameter of about 0.034″. The coil may be made from a polymer or metal material but the preferred material is platinum/iridium for radiopacity. Disposed distally of lateral support tube 50 is marker band 54, which is adhered at end 56 to the distalmost end 58 of the inner catheter 10. The band 54 can be made from a polymer or metal, the preferred material is platinum/iridium for radiopacity. FIGS. 2 and 2A illustrate one embodiment of inner catheter 12 of deflectable catheter 10. The inner catheter 12 as discussed above includes a winged hub 20, which sits on an optional strain relief 22 and optional RHV 18. Inner catheter 12 also includes catheter body 14 which preferably has a stiff proximal section 60 made up of a braid reinforced polymer tube that has an outer diameter in the range of about 0.002″ to about 1.994″ with a preferred diameter of about 0.023″ and a length that extends between proximal end 16 and distal end 62 in the range of about 0.5 inches to about 34 feet with a preferred length around 110 cm. Proximal section 60 is coupled at a distal end to a less stiff distal tube 64 that can be made of a braid or coil reinforced polymer but is preferably made up of high density polyethylene (HDPE) that has an outer diameter in the range of about 0.002″ to about 1.994″ with a preferred diameter of about 0.022″ and length that extends from a proximal end (adjacent distal end 62 of proximal section 60) to distal end 68 in the range of about 0.5 inches to about 34 feet with a preferred length around 45 cm. The overall usable length for the combined proximal and distal sections has a range of about 0.5 inches to about 34 feet with a continuous inner diameter in the range of about 0.001″ to about 1.993″ with a preferred useable length being approximately 150 cm and with a preferred inner diameter of about 0.017″. Inner catheter body 14 further includes laser cut tube 76, with window 74, which is coupled to distal tube 64 at its distal end 70. Laser cut tube 76 can be made of plastic or metal but is preferably made of super elastic nitinol with an inner diameter in the range of about 0.001″ to about 1.993″ with a preferred diameter of about 0.017″. The outer diameter for laser cut tube 76 can range from about 0.002″ to about 1.994″ with a preferred outer diameter of about 0.022″. The length of the laser cut tube can range from about 0.5 inches to about 34 feet with a preferred length of approximately 1 cm. Distal portion 66 of inner catheter body 14 includes laser cut tube 76 that is coupled to distal tube 64 using a tube 78, which is preferably a polyimide tube coated with adhesive 72. Preferably polyimide tube 78 has an inner diameter in the range of about 0.001″ to about 1.993″ with a preferred inner diameter of about 0.0165″. The outer diameter of polyimide tube 78 can range from about 0.002″ to about 1.994″ with a preferred diameter of about 0.0175″. Preferably, the length of polyimide tube 78 can range between about 0.25 mm and about 1 cm with a preferred length of approximately 3 mm. The overall useable length of the inner catheter 12, which ranges from about 0.5 inches to about 34 feet, need not have separate materials for all of the sections (proximal, distal, and laser cut tube) described above. For instance, a laser cut nitinol tube (or other metal or plastic material such as polyimide) can have the necessary stiffness variations for the proximal and distal sections designed into it resulting in a suitable inner catheter body that meets the ranges for inner catheter 14. FIG. 3 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the inner catheter designated by reference numeral 312. In this embodiment, the inner catheter body 314 has a lubricious inner liner 82 that runs from proximal end 316 to distal end 358. The purpose of the liner is to help reduce the coefficient of friction to aid in guidewire movement within the inner catheter 314. The liner can be made of materials such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP). The liner 82 is topped with a combination of a continuous braid 84, coil 102, and laser cut tube 106 to help with lumen integrity (reinforcement) and to aid in stiffness variation. The braid 84, which can be made of flat or round wire or a combination, runs from proximal end 316 to distal end 398. The braid can be made of materials such as stainless steel, nitinol, polymer, fiber or even a combination of materials. The coil 102, which can be made of flat or round wire, runs from proximal end 398 to distal end 104. The coil 102 can be made of materials such as stainless steel, nitinol, platinum/iridium or even a polymer. The laser cut tube 106 runs from proximal end 104 just about to distal end 358. Laser cut tube 106 can be nitinol or other metal or it can be cut from polyimide as done by MicroLumen (Oldsmar, Fla.) or another polymer. The reinforcement layer is topped with polymers with varying stiffnesses to create three distinct sections: proximal section 86, mid section 90, and distal section 96. Proximal section 86 extends distally from proximal end 316 to distal end 362. Mid section 90 extends distally from end 362 to distal end 94. Distal section 96 extends from end 94 to distal end 358. The stiffness will decrease from proximal section 86 to distal section 96. Reduction in stiffness can be achieved by using decreasing durometers of material from proximal to distal. Preferably, proximal section 86 can be formed using material 88 which can be a nylon or pebax having a durometer in the range of 60 D to 75 D or any other material having a relative durometer hardness value of around 72 D, mid section 90 can be formed using a lower hardness material 92 with a durometer of around 63 D, and distal section 96 can be formed with an even lower hardness material 100 such as a pellethane material having a durometer of 25 D to 55 D or other material having a durometer between 25 D and 40 D. These are just examples of materials and durometers that can be used. Also, each section does not need to be formed with a single layer of material, if desired, sections can be constructed of two or more layers. Actual material selection will be based on design needs for flexibility and stiffness. Additional layers of coils or braids may also be added as needed. These layers are then fused together using a re-flow process (heat). Strain relief 322 and winged hub 320 are then added. Lastly, the inner catheter may optionally be coated on its outer diameter for a length with a hydrophilic coating 108. The purpose of the coating is to aid in axial movement of the inner catheter relative to the outer catheter during the deflection process. If the coating requires hydration, liquid can be injected through the side arm 31 on RHV 32 attached to outer catheter 10 (see FIG. 1). As stated above, the typical microcatheter is formed using a re-flow technique which fuses all of the layers together with heat and, if necessary removable heat shrink tubing. As the length of the inner catheter (or outer catheter) increases to greater than 180 cm this may be a problem due to current equipment restrictions. An alternate method is to use non-removable heat shrink tubing of varying stiffnesses to create the proximal, mid, and distal sections. Also, although FIG. 3 shows the braid 84, coil 102, and laser cut tube 106 stopping or starting in either the proximal, mid, or distal section, each of those components can be made longer or shorter and as a result end or start at points different than shown. FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the inner catheter designated generally by reference number 312. Construction of inner catheter body 314′ is much the same as that of FIG. 3 with the exception of a longer, continuous coil 102′ for the laser cut tube 106. A marker band 110 is provided. The marker band 110 may be made of platinum/iridium to aid in visualization under fluoroscopy or of other metals or plastics. The band 110 can also be made from a coil rather than a solid tube as shown or even omitted from the design. The remaining structure of the catheter is the same as in FIG. 3 and therefore identical reference numerals are used to identify identical parts. Another embodiment of the inner catheter is shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, the inner catheter body 412 is made from a single stainless steel or nitinol hypotube (or alternatively a plastic or polyimide) that has a laser cut spiral section 116 that extends from proximal end 114 (adjacent distal section 415) to distal end 458. If needed, the proximal end of the inner catheter body 414 can have texturing, such as axial knurling, contouring, or even additional layers or perpendicular features added to aid in pushing/pulling and locking. The catheter 412 includes strain relief 422 and winged hub 420 at proximal 416. As in other embodiments, an optional outer shrink tubing or polymer layer and/or an inner lubricious layer can be added to the embodiment of FIG. 5 to restrict stretching or misalignment of the spiral coil due to axial movement and bending. Turning now to the outer catheter structure of the microcatheter, and with initial reference to FIG. 6, this Figure illustrates one embodiment of outer catheter 24 of deflectable catheter 10. In this embodiment, as noted above, outer catheter body 26 has RHV 32 with locking cap 30 and side arm 31 attached to winged hub 34. Winged hub 34 sits on strain relief 38, both of which are coupled to catheter body 26. Outer catheter body 26 has a lubricious liner 128 that runs from proximal end 28 to distal end 44 and has an inner diameter with a range of about 0.007″ to about 1.999″ and a preferred inner diameter of approximately 0.27″. The purpose of the liner 128 to is aid in movement of the inner catheter during the deflection process by reducing the coefficient of friction between the outer catheter inner diameter and the inner catheter outer diameter. The liner can be made of materials such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP). The liner 128 is topped with a reinforcement layer of a continuous open pitch coil 130 that runs from proximal end 28 to distal end 44. The coil 130 can be made of flat or round wire. The coil 130 can be made of materials such as stainless steel, nitinol, platinum/iridium or even a polymer or fiber. Also, the coil 130 need not be open pitch or a continuous length for the entire length of outer catheter body 26. For instance, the distal end may need to have a certain length of radiopacity and therefore require a platinum/iridium coil. To keep cost low, only the section requiring radiopacity could be platinum/iridium while the remainder of the body could be covered with a lower cost coil, such as a stainless steel version. The reinforcement layer is topped with polymers with varying stiffnesses to create three distinct sections: proximal section 118, mid section 120, and distal section 122. Proximal section 118 extends distally from proximal end 28 to distal end 124. Mid section 120 extends distally from distal end 124 of proximal section 118 to distal end 126. Distal section 122 extends from distal end 126 of mid section 120 to distal end 44. The stiffness will decrease from proximal section 118 to distal section 122. Reduction in stiffness can be achieved by using decreasing durometers of material from proximal to distal. For instance, proximal section 118 can be formed using material 132 which can be a nylon or pebax having a durometer in the range of 60 D to 75 D or any other material having a relative durometer hardness value of around 72 D, mid section 120 can be formed using a lower durometer material 134 with a durometer of around 63 D, and distal section 122 can be formed with an even lower hardness material 136 such as a pellethane material having a durometer of 25 D to 55 D or other material having a durometer between 25 D and 40 D. These are just examples of durometers that can be used, as actual material selection can be modified to optimize the balance of flexibility and stiffness. The layers that are selected are then fused together using heat. Alternatively, the entire outer catheter body can be made of a single durometer tube from materials such as HDPE, LDPE, nylon polyimide or polyurethane. A lubricious liner and reinforcement coil or braid may optionally be added to this tube as well. If needed, one or more lumens (for delivery or balloon inflation) can then be added in parallel along the length of outer catheter body 26 using adhesive or one or more heat shrink tubings, which may or may not be removed and may have differing durometers. The winged hub 34, strain relief 38, and RHV 32 with locking cap 30 and side arm 31 are then added. The final useable length for outer catheter 26 can range from about 0.5 inches to about 34 feet with a preferable useable length of about 135 cm. The proximal outer diameter can range from about 0.008″ (0.61 Fr) to about 2.00″ (152 Fr) with a preferred proximal outer diameter of about 1 mm (3 Fr) and a preferred distal outer diameter of about 0.93 mm (2.8 Fr). Outer catheter body 26 further includes a marker band 138, which is inserted mid way into the inner diameter at the distal end of outer catheter body 26. Preferably marker band 138 has a length in the range of about 0.005″ to about 1″ with a preferred length of about 0.039″ and an inner diameter in the range of about 0.0065″ to about 1.9985″ with a preferred inner diameter of about 0.0265″. The outer diameter has a range from about 0.0075″ to about 1.9995″ with a preferred outer diameter of about 0.0285″. The marker band 138 can be made of a metal or a polymer tube or coil with a preferred material of platinum/iridium. The catheter 10 includes an elongated longitudinally extending column member, e.g., a wire or tube, which extends distally of the outer catheter 24, and shown in FIG. 13C as a separate component, is attached to the inner catheter, axially aligned at its ends, and is surrounded by a restriction (support) tube to restrict lateral movement of the column member. In one embodiment the column member includes a column 140, which at its proximal end sits on marker band 138 or alternatively in a slot cut along the length of the marker band 138. The proximal portion of column 140 is also inserted into the inner diameter, i.e., the catheter body wall, at the distal end of outer catheter body 26. Adhesive 146 is then added to secure the parts in place. Preferably column 140 has a substantially rectangular cross section with a thickness in the range of about 0.0005″ to about 0.5″ with a preferred thickness of approximately about 0.002″. The width can range from about 0.0005″ to about 1.95″ with a preferred width of approximately about 0.005″. The column can have a length that ranges from 0.25 mm to 10 cm with a preferred length of approximately 8 mm. The column's preferred cross section is rectangular however other shapes such as oval can be used. A non-circular cross section is preferred to effect bending in a desired direction. In a preferred embodiment, the column is in the form of a substantially rectangular wire or flat ribbon to control the plane of deflection. Also, cuts or other features can be added to the column to influence movement. For example, the spacing and/or number of the cuts will effect movement as it will affect flexibility. The thickness of the walls and the dimensions will also affect flexibility and movement. The column can be made of any metal or metal alloy and even a plastic, however the preferred material is super elastic nitinol. Note the column 140 extends distally from the outer catheter distal end. Distal portion 142 of outer catheter 24 includes distal end 44 having flare 144 (FIG. 7) so that marker band 138 can be inserted approximately midway into outer catheter body 24 leaving a partial length exposed to create lip 148. Column 140 is then inserted in between lubricious liner 128 and marker band 138 (which may or may not have a slot to accommodate the column) until its proximal end is approximately flush with the proximal end of marker band 138. Adhesive 146 is then applied to join all of the parts. As an alternative to column 140 and marker band 138 being inserted as two separate parts, the two can be made out of a single nitinol tube (laser cut) if desired or attached as a sub-assembly and then inserted. The band and column assembly may also be added during outer tube manufacture in which case marker band 138 would be slid over a lubricious liner. An alternate embodiment of the outer catheter of deflectable catheter 10 is illustrated in FIG. 8 and designated by reference numeral 524. In this embodiment, the coil 130 has been replaced by a proximal hypotube 550 with a spiral cut that is butted or attached to the distal braid 552. Lengths for the parts may vary depending on required flexibility and stiffness needed for the part. The spiral cut hypotube 550 can be manufactured from stainless steel, nitinol, polymers or a combination. Likewise, the braid can also be manufactured from stainless steel, nitinol, a polymer, fiber or a combination. The remaining components of catheter 524 are identical to catheter 24 of FIG. 6 and are therefore labeled with the same reference numerals. By comparing FIGS. 2 through 8 it can be seen that the inner catheter body 14 and outer catheter body 526 can if desired be manufactured using the same materials and methods. Therefore, with the exception of lengths and diameters, it is possible that both structures can be built using a singular design or a mix of the designs presented. FIG. 9 illustrates inner catheter 12 and outer catheter 24, with column 140 attached, aligned at distal portion 150. In manufacture, inner catheter 12 is inserted into outer catheter 24 until distal end 58 of laser cut tube 76 is flush with the distal end of the column 140. The laser cut tube 76 is then rotated until connectors or ribs 80 are about 90 degrees out of phase with the column 140 (and in a transverse plane and not underneath the column 140) to effect deflection in the desired plane. The distal end alignment can be done before or after rotation for orientation. Inner catheter 12 and outer catheter 24 are aligned and joined together with marker band 54 and adhesive or solder joint 56 at distal portion 150 (see FIG. 10). Preferably marker band 54 has a length in the range of about 0.005″ to about 1″ with a preferred length of about 0.039″ and an inner diameter in the range of about 0.0065″ to about 1.9985″ with a preferred inner diameter of about 0.0265″. The outer diameter has a range from about 0.0075″ to about 1.9995″ with a preferred outer diameter of about 0.0285″. The marker band can be made of a metal or a polymer tube or coil with a preferred material of platinum/iridium. As one alternate construction, lip 148, column 140, and marker band 54 can all be made out of a single laser cut part made of nitinol, stainless steel or other suitable material. As another alternate construction, column 140 can be soldered to marker band 138 and marker band 54 as a sub-assembly. In another alternate construction, column 140 and laser cut tube 76 can be joined together at the distal ends using a joint formed from solder, glue, laser (depending on material), or other joining process not requiring a band. The preferred embodiment for alignment of the distal ends of column 140 and the inner catheter 12 (distal ends are approximately flush) is shown in FIG. 10. As an alternative, outer catheter 24 with column 140 attached can be pulled back proximally along inner catheter 12 leaving a portion of the inner catheter body 14 exposed (without column coverage). Marker band 54 can then be slid over the distal end of catheter body 14, i.e., the tube 80, and then over column 140 until its distal edge aligns with the distal end of column 140. Joint 56 can then be formed. This set up will allow the bend radius of the device to remain at approximately half the column length while decreasing the crossing profile of the catheter distal tip to the inner catheter's outer distal tip diameter. Note adjustments may have to be made to the distal tubing 80 (i.e., the laser cut tube) for flexibility and coverage. FIG. 11 illustrates distal portion 150 with lateral support tube 50 in place which forms a cover for the column to provide the deflection method and system of the microcatheter. Preferably, lateral support tube 50 sits on lip 148 and is a closed pitch helically wound flexible coil made of platinum/iridium with an outer diameter that ranges from about 0.008″ to about 2.00″ with a preferred outer diameter of about 0.034″ and an inner diameter that ranges from about 0.007″ to about 1.999″ with a preferred inner diameter of approximately about 0.030″. The preferred length can range from about 1 mm to about 12 cm with a preferred length of approximately 6.5 mm. The coil may be made of any metal or plastic and may also be open pitched or a combination of open and closed pitch and optionally coated in plastic to form a solid flexible reinforced tube. The lateral tube support (cover) 50 can also be made of a solid tube, that may or may not be laser cut, from plastic materials such as HDPE, LDPE, CFlex, latex, silicone, pebax, nylon, polyurethane or polyisoprene. If solid tubes are used, drainage holes can be introduced on the lateral support tube or even outer catheter body to allow fluid introduced through side arm 31 to exit. The distal portion 150 further includes two joints 46 and 52 that adhere lateral support tube 50 in place. As alternate options, lateral support tube 50 can be made to cover marker band 54 at its distal end or to extend past lip 148 on its proximal end so that it sits directly on outer body 26 of outer catheter 24 or the lateral support tube 50 can be laser cut into the distal end of the outer body 26. The addition of the lateral support tube 50 and its joints completes the deflectable catheter assembly. At this point, the outer diameter of the catheter can be hydrophilically coated or, if needed, additional lumens (as discussed earlier) for accessories, such as video cameras, fibers optics, or inflatable balloons can be added to the outer shaft. This may be accomplished with adhesives and/or shrink tubing of varying durometers. If attachments are made, the hydrophilic coating would be applied as the final step. FIG. 12A illustrates distal portion 150 with spiral cut tip 156 (similar to the spiral cut tube of FIG. 5) on the end of inner catheter 12 under an axial pull load in the absence of the lateral support tube 50. When inner catheter body 14 is pulled axially by load 154 in the proximal direction, the internal structure will want to shorten causing column 140 to compress. FIG. 12B illustrates the effect when the inner catheter body is pushed axially by load 155 in the distal direction in the absence of lateral support tube 50. As shown, this applies a moment to the end of the column causing it to bend. Note the load 154 (or 155) required to cause column 140 to move can be increased or decreased by changing the dimensions e.g., cross sectional dimension of column 140. For instance, a stiff column formed for example by a larger cross sectional dimension will require more force to deform and therefore more force to deflect which can in certain instances be more advantageous such as providing more stability to the bent tip. FIGS. 13A and 13C illustrate distal deflectable tip 48 under axial pull load 154 when lateral reinforcement (support) tube 50 is provided. With lateral support tube 50 in place and axial pull load 154 applied, column 140 can no longer axially compress due to the reinforcement of the column by tube 50. As a result, the entire distal tip, including main (guidewire) lumen, deflects. Note as column 50 cannot be compressed and the tip deflects it moves against the wall. As shown, column 50 bends with tip deflection. As noted above, by varying the dimensions (or materials or cuts) of the underlying column 140, the load 154 to deflect the distal tip can be increased or decreased. However, if the column becomes too thin, the column will become unstable leading to multiple buckling points under load. This will result in little to no tip deflection. FIGS. 13B and 13D illustrate the effect when the inner catheter body is moved axially by load 155 in the distal direction when lateral support tube 50 is provided. As shown, this bends the distal tip as in FIG. 13B. Note column 50 moves against the wall of the tube 50. As shown, column 50 bends with tip deflection. Note the movement discussed above and shown in FIGS. 12A-13D is movement of the inner catheter, proximally or distally, respectively, as shown. The same effect is achieved by movement distally or proximally, respectively, of the outer catheter. Movement of both the inner and outer catheters in the desired directions is also contemplated. A rotation control member 158 for minimizing rotation between the inner catheter 12 and outer catheter 24 can be provided as shown in FIG. 14. Rotation control member 158 is fixedly attached to inner catheter body 14 with joint 170. Flat section 168 on rotation control member 158 works with flat section 166, which is formed by indentation 164 on outer catheter body 26, to control rotation or torquing of the catheters relative to one another. Rotation control member 158 further includes proximal lip 160, which acts as an axial stop when it comes in contact with shoulder 162 on indentation 164. Rotation control member 158 is preferably made of stainless steel but any metal or plastic can be used. The length can have a range from about 1″ to about 24 feet with a preferable length around 100 cm. Multiple short rotation members can also be used and placed at various points along the outer diameter of inner catheter body 14. Flat section 166 can also be formed directly on a hypotube, which can double as the proximal shaft for inner catheter body 14. The microcatheter can include a locking assembly 172 for manipulating and locking the distal deflecting tip as shown in FIG. 15. Engagement of button 174 allows the inner catheter 12 to be pulled or pushed axially relative to the outer catheter 24 resulting in deflection of the distal tip. Once a deflected shape is decided upon, the button is released to set the shape. The button can also be held in (locked) so that the tip can be reshaped freely with catheter advancement. Alternately, the outer catheter 24 can be moved relative to the inner catheter 12 while the button is engaged also bringing about deflection. If lubrication is needed between the inner catheter and outer catheter to assist movement of the inner catheter, fluids such as saline or contrast can be injected through side arm 176 of locking assembly 172. If no lubricant is needed, side arm 176 can be excluded from the design. An alternate locking assembly for microcatheter 178 is illustrated in FIG. 16. Locking assembly 172 is designed for manipulating and locking the distal deflecting tip and has a rotational control system 180 built in. Rotational control system 180 includes a stainless steel hypotube 182 which overlies the inner catheter body and which has been flattened in a region to create distal stop 184 and proximal stop 186, and ovalized or flattened hypotube 188, which in turn is soldered to stainless steel hypotube 180 which overlies tube 188 for fitting within the RHV housing. The flattened tubes are provided to prevent rotation. Glue 192 is used to lock the hypotube 180 assembly in place inside the housing. The locking assembly is slid over inner catheter body 194 and glued in place. A gap 196 is left distal of the hypotube 182 so that hypotube 182 can be pushed distally to cause deflection. Although the handle has been shown without a screw assembly for locking axial movement of the inner catheter, such an assembly can be added to the proximal handle, if desired. In use, stainless steel hypotube 182 will be allowed to move proximally and distally axially until stops 184 and 186 are reached. Rotation will be restricted due to flattened region on hypotube 182 and ovalized hypotube 188 through which it freely moves. This rotational control concept can be used on deflectable microcatheter designs with a full length guidewire lumen or deflectable microcatheters with rapid exchange ports. In general, this rotational control design can be used on any design that requires pure axial movement with little or no rotation. In addition, although this design uses flattened hypotubes, the concept can be injection molded into parts such as rotation hemostasis valves (RHV) to quicken manufacturing. FIG. 17 illustrates a coaxial bi-directional microcatheter 198 with a rapid exchange port 200. The purpose of the rapid exchange port is to allow a guidewire to be placed through the side of the inner lumen of the catheter for tracking. The rapid exchange port may be placed anywhere proximal of the deflecting section (D) of the catheter. The exact placement will depend on bending radius used for design. In some embodiments, the exchange port 200 may be 6 mm from the distal tip although other distances are also contemplated. Also, the length of the rapid exchange port which can be cut on the inner catheter may be longer in some embodiments than the cut on the outer catheter to accommodate deflection with guidewire in place. However, they can also be cut to the same length or the outer catheter can be cut longer than the inner. Because the inner and outer catheters move relative to one another, the rapid exchange ports must also be able to move relative to one another to accommodate deflection. If the guidewire or other device will not be deflected, the rapid exchange port can be placed in deflection section D. This embodiment allows for introduction of other devices through the proximal end of the device. Shown extending from RHV 202 by way of example is an electrohydraulic lithotripsy (EHL) device 204, as made by Northgate Technologies, Inc. (Illinois). Other possible devices for insertion may include biopsy probes, guidewires or laser fibers, for example. FIGS. 18A and 18B illustrates an alternate embodiment of the distal tip deflection mechanism 206. The design allows the inner shaft with attached components to rotate and deflect 360 degrees with respect to the outer catheter. This is achieved by not attaching the column to the outer catheter and thus the column does not extend and attach both catheters. A portion L1 of the outer catheter 208, the outer coil 210, and band 212 have been removed in FIG. 18A to show the internal construction. Column 214 is attached to distal band 216 and proximal band 218, as in previous designs; however, a section of the column continues proximally where it passes under band 220 which would be glued in place inside outer catheter 208. Attached at the proximal end of the column is stop 222. This configuration will allow the column to turn with the inner catheter body and attached components when it is torqued. FIG. 18B illustrates the distal tip deflection mechanism 206 with outer catheter 208, distal outer coil 210 and band 212 in place and in use. The inner catheter 224 can be rotated causing the column, which is now part of the inner catheter, to rotate which allows 360 degree deflection because it can deflect in any plane. When the outer catheter 208 is advanced or the inner catheter 224 retracted, the outer catheter 208 will make contact with end 226 and further movement will cause the tip to deflect. If the outer catheter is pulled proximally or inner catheter 224 is advanced, stop 222 contacts the outer catheter and continued movement will cause the catheter to deflect in opposite direction. (Movement of the inner catheter, back and forth, will also cause deflection). In some embodiments, a balloon 232, such as an angioplasty balloon, can be provided on the deflectable microcatheter distal portion. In the embodiment of FIG. 19A, the balloon 232 is mounted proximal of deflecting distal tip 230. In the embodiment of FIG. 19B, distal tip portion 234 of the deflectable microcatheter has balloon 236 mounted distal of deflecting distal tip 238. Other possible options include mounting the balloon in the middle of the deflection zone or at the very distal end, for example. Note the dimensions and ranges provided herein are given by way example, it being understood that other dimensions and ranges for the components described herein are also contemplated. The deflection of the catheter of the present invention can be summarized as follows. Bi-directional deflection of the distal tip of a coaxial microcatheter can be broken down into two distinct motions: axial pull deflection and axial push deflection. Axial pull deflection can be modeled as an eccentrically loaded column while axial push deflection can be modeled as an eccentrically loaded beam. With respect to axial pull deflection, when no lateral support tube is present on the distal end of the catheter, the rectangular nitinol wire (or alternate column member structure such as a rod discussed above) is modeled as an unsupported eccentrically loaded column. This means that when the inner catheter is moved axially proximally with a force P in the proximal direction, the distal end of the column (rectangular nitinol wire) will want to move axially toward its proximal end, resulting in compression (buckling) of the nitinol wire. This is shown in FIG. 12A which illustrates movement of the column 140 in absence of the lateral support tube to explain the tip concept of the present invention. With the lateral support tube (e.g., coil) provided, when the inner catheter is pulled axially with a force P in the proximal direction, the column (e.g., rectangular nitinol wire) will attempt to compress (buckle) axially however it will be restricted by the lateral reinforcement (support), e.g., tube 50. Since the tip can no longer fail axially (in compression), it will fail laterally (deflect) (see FIGS. 13A and 13C). It should be appreciated that axial proximal movement of the inner catheter is discussed. However, it should be appreciated that distal movement of the outer catheter would achieve the same effect. Therefore, as used herein, relative movement includes movement of the inner catheter with respect to the outer catheter, movement of the outer catheter with respect to the inner catheter, or movement of both in opposite directions with respect to each other. With respect to axial push deflection, when no lateral support tube is present on the distal end of the catheter, the rectangular nitinol wire (or alternate column member structure such as a rod discussed above) is modeled as an eccentrically loaded beam. This means that when the inner shaft is pushed axially with a force P it will apply a moment to the end of the beam (e.g., rectangular nitinol wire), which causes it to bend. This is shown in FIG. 12B, with the lateral support tube (e.g., coil) provided and the inner catheter is pushed axially with a force P in the distal direction, there will be a moment applied to the overall tip causing it to bend (deflect) as shown in FIG. 13B and FIG. 13D. In this case, the addition of the coil does not change the action. It should be appreciated that axial distal movement of the inner catheter is discussed. However, it should be appreciated that proximal movement of the outer catheter would achieve the same effect. Therefore, as used herein, relative movement includes movement of the inner catheter with respect to the outer catheter, movement of the outer catheter with respect to the inner catheter, or movement of both in opposite directions with respect the each other. Axial pushing and pulling can be considered in terms of an x-y axis. Axial pushing and pulling will happen on the x axis and bending (deflection) will end up at a point (x,y). So for compression of the column, causing the tip to bend to y1 position, the distal end of the tip is traveling in the −x1 direction towards its proximal end (−x2). Thus, as can be appreciated, in the coaxial catheter arrangement of the present invention, deflection of the distal tip is achieved by an axial motion, rather than a pulling down on the distal tip as in prior art non-coaxial catheters. Thus, the catheter itself is being used to bend the distal tip as opposed to the prior art side by side wire and catheter. Viewed in another way, the bending is achieved not by pulling in the direction of bending but by an axial movement. The structure of the deflectable catheter of the present invention saves space to reduce the overall size (diameter) of the catheter to provide a reduced profile for insertion. It also provides space for fluid flow to enhance deflection (by enhancing relative movement of the inner and outer catheters) without requiring an increase in the size (diameter) of the catheter. a reinforcement member positioned over the column member to restrain movement of the first end of the column member toward the second end of the column member. 2. The bi-directional deflectable catheter of claim 1, wherein the outer member has a proximal section stiffer than a distal section. 3. The bi-directional deflectable catheter of claim 1, wherein variation of the column member varies a load to deflect the distal tip portion of the catheter. 4. The bi-directional deflectable catheter of claim 1, wherein the column member is sufficiently thick so multiple buckling points of the column member under load are not created. 5. The bi-directional deflectable catheter of claim 1, wherein the elongated column member is non-circular in cross-section. 6. The bi-directional deflectable catheter of claim 1, wherein when the inner member is moved axially by load in the distal direction the column member moves against the wall of the reinforcement member. 7. The bi-directional deflectable catheter of claim 2, wherein the reinforcement member has a helical configuration. 8. The bi-directional deflectable catheter of claim 1, further comprising a proximal marker band within an inner diameter of the outer member, the column member positioned between an inner surface of the outer member and an outer surface of the proximal marker band. 9. The bi-directional deflectable catheter of claim 1, further comprising a distal marker band over the inner member and the column member is between an inner surface of the distal marker band and an outer surface of the inner member. 10. The bi-directional deflectable catheter of claim 1, wherein the outer member has a central longitudinal axis and the column member is radially offset with respect to the central longitudinal axis of the outer member. PCT/US2013/069435 International Search Report (dated Nov. 11, 2013). PCT/US2013/069470 International Search Report (dated Nov. 11, 2013). The Extended European Search Report Application No. 13853310.4 dated Jul. 1, 2016.

2019-04-19T16:04:05Z

https://patents.google.com/patent/US10071225B2/en

The night sky and blanketed with pearly stars. The air blew hot, and not one cloud threatened the ground with rain. Dayo trudged through the quiet street on which their house stood. Fortunately for him, the tree on which he had flung himself was close to the fence, and from the branches he had made a bridge to the street below. He looked in his pocket and saw that he had a few notes, they would be enough to take him to his destination. The burden of saving the people in that house laid squarely on his shoulders. It was his duty to help them, he told himself. From the street, he walked on to the road that was very busy at that time of evening. Dayo flagged down a taxi cab and entered. He gave the driver the address of the house he was going to, and gave him all the money in his pocket. Dayo: “Please sir, that is all I have” he said with a note of desperation. The driver drove to the address, and once again Dayo banged on the gate of the house. The gate man opened the gate and when he recognized Dayo, he grew angry. Gateman: “dem send you for me? Abi o ya werey?” he asked vehemently. Dayo: “I don’t know what your problem is with me, but the lives of the people in this house are at stake. I need to talk to someone. They should leave the house this evening” he said desperately. He felt like shoving the man away from the gate. Gateman: “You think say na by that ur oyinbo? I get pikin for university, so ma whine mi oh” he replied and banged the gate in Dayo’s face. Dayo paced in front of the house in confusion. He didn’t know what to do, he thought he could meet privately with the occupants of the house and warn them, but this gate man was standing as a stumbling block in his path. He thought of going to the police but that was going to endanger his life, if Stone found out, there was no doubt that he would kill him. Dayo: “What do I do God?” he asked aloud. Back home, one of the gang members was told to go and call Dayo for dinner. Stone wanted them all to eat together before going for the operation. Every night they went out for an operation, they expected death, it was the reason they ate. Stone’s policy was that, after pursuing money on earth, a man was not supposed to die on an empty stomach. But when the gang member went to Dayo’s bedroom, he found it empty. He checked the adjoining bathroom, thinking he was having a shower, but it was also empty. He rushed downstairs in alarm, and when Stone saw his face, he knew something had gone wrong. He had been having a sense of foreboding since the day dawned, but he attributed it to anxiety before an operation. However, seeing the face of his gang member, he knew his feelings were spot on. Stone: “What happened?” he asked anxiously. “Robert, Dayo, whatever he is called, is not in his room or anywhere in this house” he said with a ‘I told you so’ look in his eyes. Stone: “What!” he exclaimed and bounded up the stairs. He bashed into Dayo’s room, and confirmed what the other gang member had said. His eyes went to the open window and the branch of tree which looked pulled towards the window, and then he knew that Dayo had left the house through the window. “ Where would he go by this time, and why did he leave like a thief. Has he escaped, would he go to the police” these were the thoughts running around in his head. He was confused for the first time in a long while. He could not abort the mission because commitments have been made. He had to hope that Dayo was not doing anything that was jeopardizing their safety and freedom. “We should have just killed that boy, there was no need keeping him. If you needed a son, you could have gotten any girl pregnant” one of the gang members said. Stone: “Shut up! Nobody questions my decision, no one!” he shouted, the veins on his neck protruding like they were going to burst out from under the skin, “We all concentrate on the mission, Robert is my problem, and after the mission, I will deal with the problem. Now, let’s have dinner” he concluded and everyone fell silent. They sat round the dinner table and ate their dinner in silence. Every man praying in his heart to come back from the operation, alive. At the back of their minds, was also a nagging feeling that this operation would go wrong. The fact that Dayo had left the house secretly was a source of worry to them. Stone felt Dayo’s disappearance was of no consequence to the operation because he knew nothing about it, or did he? He bolted out of his seat suddenly as everything became clear in his mind’s eye. The day they were discussing the operation, Dayo had stumbled into the kitchen and he had thought that he was sleepwalking, but was he really sleep walking or eavesdropping on their conversation. He had also been seeing Dayo everywhere he turned, like the boy was shadowing him. “No! it can’t be” He screamed in his heart. Stone: “We leave immediately, there might be a problem, but we might be able to salvage the situation if we hurry” he said and they hurried into another room where they kept their ammunitions. Dayo was sitting on a stone slab in the street, lurking in the corner and watching the house, he didn’t know yet what he would do, but he knew he would keep watch and not allow Stone to succeed in his mission. But due to inactivity, he dozed off, leaning his head on his thighs. Because he was sleeping, he did not see a car drive to the gate and Ken come out with Cassandra. They had gone on a date, and Ken had come to drop Cassandra, but he was pleading with her to let him spend the night at their place, instead of the hotel. Since he got back from America for his summer break, he had not gone home, even though his mother had been asking him to come home, as she had missed him. He had been staying in Oshogbo because of Cassandra, in a hotel. Their relationship was falling apart, and Ken was doing all he could to hold it together. He had decided to marry Cassandra, not just because he loved her, for he loved her, as she was a very beautiful young lady. But, he wanted to marry her because of her father’s estate which had been bequeathed to her. Cassandra: “And I didn’t ask you to stay. I came home to be with my mother, can’t you just go to Lagos, your mother must miss you” she said. She wanted to end the relationship, but was afraid of hurting Ken, as the relationship went beyond them, but to their families. Cassandra: “No touching, understood?” she said and Ken nodded. The gate had the gate opened, waiting for them to drive in, and he hated the delay. He stamped his foot to register his displeasure. Ken hurried Cassandra into the car and drove into the house. Dayo was startled awake by the bleating of a goat passing by with her kids. He wiped his face and looked around him. He jumped up from the slab when he remembered what was on ground. He looked at his led lit wrist watch and saw that it was almost 8pm. Everywhere was dark and silent. He looked towards the house and saw that it was lit, the curtains were drawn and the occupants of the house probably felt safe, not knowing about the terror that was about to be visited on them. He had barely finished the thought when he saw a pair of headlights in the distance. He instinctively knew that it was Stone and his gang. There was no time, he ran towards the house, shouting and screaming on top of his voice. Dayo: “They are coming! Call the police, they are going to kill you. Somebody help!” he screamed. All thoughts of self-preservation had fled his mind, all he thought about was warning the people in that house. He didn’t need another death on his conscience. He remembered when he was eleven, when he met Stone for the first time. They had killed a woman, he had for the first time, witnessed dying. He had reached the gate now, but the headlights were closer and he could see the distinct shape of Stone’s van. He banged on the gate, but the gate man did not reply. However, the balcony light came on, and he saw a young lady in the balcony. He felt a sense of déjà vu, it was his dream all over again. He continued screaming and then he really looked at the lady on the balcony, she was illuminated by the balcony lights, and she looked frantic. “ Oh my God, it is Cassandra” he thought with panic. Dayo: “Cassnadra, it is me Dayo, you all are about to be killed. Call the police now, don’t die Cassandra” he screamed, his voice piercing the still night. Two shots rang out, the sound ricocheted in still night, and the bullets tore through the frail body of Dayo. He didn’t feel the pain yet, he was still shouting, and more shots rang out. The pain tore through him, as he fell to the ground. Lights went on in other houses, and dogs began to bark. The thought that went through Dayo’s mind as his world turned to darkness, was that, people were aware, the mission would be aborted. The van turned around in a hurry and zoomed off away from the house. But Dayo did not see this because the blackness had already enveloped him, and the last thing he saw was his mother smiling down on him. It was like she was saying, ‘Well done my boy’. Dayo had a smile on his lips when people came out to him. It was like the earth was mourning the flow of blood, as the sky opened its bowels and poured out rain. The rain washed the blood that flowed from Dayo’s body and soaked the earth. Cassandra had to fight her mother and the gateman to come out of the compound. She was sure she had heard correctly, the voice that rang out in the night. It was the voice of Robert, the one she had heard on countless calls across the Atlantic, when they talked on phone through the night. But the voice had called himself Dayo, her Dayo from her childhood. She had seen the men dressed in black shooting at the young boy, and she had known then, that Dayo had come back for her and had saved her life and that of her mother. Cassandra: “Mother, call emergency, Dayo is probably dying, he took the bullets that was meant for us.” She said and pushed her mother aside. She ran out the small gate and rushed to Dayo. She knelt by his side and unbuttoned his shirt as she had been taught in her First Aid class in Red Cross society. Then she saw the pockmark by his belly, it was the same that her Dayo had when they were little. She needed no other confirmation that this was Dayo and he was also Robert. There was no time to think of how things had come to this, she cradled his head in her thighs and began to coo to him. Cassandra: “Dayo, I know you are in so much pain right now but you have to hold on. I have looked in every face searching for you, and now that I have found you, I don’t want to lose you. Please don’t die, I need you, your mother still needs you to fulfil her dreams. Please Dayo” she cried and began to sing a song for him in Yoruba. She was still singing when the ambulance came and carried Dayo away. Halima and her daughter followed the ambulance to the hospital. She had heard about Dayo’s roots when he went missing. She had also met Damilola and known that Dayo was her friend’s son. She felt responsible for him. She had not been a good friend to Khadijat when she was alive, and now she swore to be a good friend to her in death. In Lagos, Bella was preparing dinner for her husband, who would soon be back from work when she felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen, like something was pressing on her bladder. The pain was so much that she fainted. She was lying on the kitchen floor when her husband came back from work. He had called for her and when she did not respond, he walked to the kitchen from where he was perceiving a burning smell. He saw that the sauce on the frying pan was burning and so catching fire. He switched off the gas, and then he saw his wife lying on the floor. Gberan: “Bella! Bella!” he shook her. In alarm, he swung her on his shoulders and carried her to his car. At the hospital, Bella had been revived, she thought that the doctor would tell her she was having a late pregnancy. She had been hoping that God would give her a child in her mid- age to keep her company, as Ken had outgrown her. Instead the doctor had a shocking news for her. The doctor told her she had stage 4 uterine cancer, and her chances of survival was slim, but he could have chemotherapy if she chose. However, without chemotherapy, she had six months to live. Bella: “ Mo gbe! God this is too much oh. Is this punishment for what I did to Dayo” she cried, to the consternation of the doctor. Gberan just held his head in his hands. He was confounded, how could Bella have cancer? He was still thinking of the dilemma they had found themselves when he saw a call from Halima. Since his boss died, Halima had not contacted him, so, he was surprised when he saw her call. But he received it anyway. Back in Oshogbo, Dayo had undergone surgery to remove the bullets, the surgery had been complicated because of the massive loss of blood and his rare blood group, he was Rhesus positive, like his father Damilola. Halima called Gberan to tell him about Dayo and the condition he was in. Halima: “You need to let Damilola know, he is the only one who can give blood to Dayo. His life is on the balance” she cried and Gberan could tell she had been crying, even him was crying. He had mixed feelings, joy at finding Dayo again, and sadness at the condition he was in. Gberan hung up and called Damilola immediately. He appraised him of the situation and it was Damilola would go mad with fear. He got the address of the hospital and got on the next flight to Oshogbo. Gberan also called his mother and told him about Dayo. She did not hesitate to call her driver, to take her to the hospital. Damilola got to the hospital and donated blood for his son, the surgery was successful, but Dayo refused to come out of coma. His family converged at the hospital, even his two grandmothers, but Dayo’s eyes were shut tight, and his pulse got lower and lower. The doctor’s prognosis was bad, “He might not make it” the doctor said. The news was met with crying from everyone who had come for Dayo. Even patients in the hospital forgot their illnesses and joined in the crying when they heard the story of Khadijat and Dayo. Ken had been jealous when he heard Dayo announce himself, and when Cassandra rushed to him without hesitation, saying things to him and singing to him. But seeing Dayo lying so helpless, with different machines connected to him, and a breathing mask strapped to his nose, he felt piteous towards him. While others stayed in the hospital’s lounge, Cassandra refused to leave Dayo’s side, she stayed by him day and night. For three days, Dayo as in coma, and on the fourth day he went into crisis. The doctors worked tirelessly, trying to resuscitate him. But at 11:59, the doctors pronounced him dead. While everyone was wailing the death of Dayo, Madam Lagos called her pastor on the phone, and told him to rush to the hospital. Madam Lagos: “I believe that if we join our faith with yours, that God can bring our son back to life” she said into the phone sobbing. The pastor came with some other pastors in the church. They began to intercede, raising their voices to heaven in a loud cry, asking that the soul of Dayo be returned. While they prayed, the body of Dayo was being prepared to be taken to the mortuary. Stone wanted to be sure that Dayo was dead, so he came to the hospital, and from the lobby heard the news of the boy who was shot and had just died. He left the hospital, satisfied. They had lost the contract with their client because they could not carry out the operation but he was happy that the boy who betrayed them and caused them all that trouble had left the land of the living. But the God with the longest hand that stretches forth from heaven to wrought wonders among men, heard the cry of the saints. Even Khadijat’s mother who was a Muslim was shouting the loudest ‘Amen’ to the prayers of the pastors. God heard their cry and just before Dayo was deposited in the refrigerator, he coughed. The people bearing him, flung him away and ran for their lives. How could a dead person cough, it definitely was the work of evil people, they thought. Dayo opened his eyes and saw that he was naked, he looked around and he could feel the stench of death around the mortuary. He ran out of the mortuary and in the hallway, he saw a green surgical garb. He quickly donned it and began to walk away from the mortuary. The people who ran away peeped and saw him walking, they stared at him in amazement. The news spread like wildfire, and got to his family who were still praying in the lounge. They hurried to meet him, and Dayo could not believe his eyes. The last thing he remembered was falling because he had been shot, but now he was seeing his family and even the woman whom he always escorted to the market, Khadijat’s mother. He touched his hand, to be sure he was alive. It was his father who rushed and embraced him first. Damilola: “Oh my son, oh my son” he was too stunned for words, he kept crying and mumbling. Gberan joined the hug, he had forgotten about his wife who had just been diagnosed with cancer. After the doctor had certified him alright, his family gathered around him and began to tell stories of their lives after he disappeared. Dayo: “So this is my grandmother?” he asked looking at Khadijat’s mother. He could not believe that he had been so close to his roots and had not known. He embraced her. Damilola’s mother: “I am your grandmother too, I gave birth to your father” she said and everyone laughed. Then they asked him to tell them what happened. He told them everything about the look he saw in Tania’s house before she swerved the car. That he ran away because he was afraid of Tania. He told them about coming to Oshogbo to look for Madam Lagos and falling into the hands of a ritualist. As he talked, they oohed and aahed. They could not believe all the trauma he had gone through right from when he ran away. Damilola: “Tania is dead however” he announced and everyone fell silent to respect the dead. Damilola called the police and after hours of drilling, under the supervision of the doctors, they got the whole facts and knew that Dayo was forced into the gang. Cassandra and Halima also gave their testimonies of how Dayo warned them, even at the expense of his life. Dayo told the police that Stone and his gang were not armed robbers but assassins who robbed to cover their true intentions. The news of Dayo being brought back from the dead spread all over Oshogbo and even the country. Reporters travelled far and wide to see the boy, and many who did not believe on God and his saving power were converted. There was a great revival in the country, as many were led to the Lord through the miracle of Dayo. However, Stone was determined to finish what he started, he had heard that Dayo had been brought back from the dead, so he watched him. The police, with Dayo’s permission, used him as a bait. He went to the park with his father, Damilola. His father, did like he was going to get something and went away. Stone who had been lurking in the shadows came out and stared menacingly at Dayo. Stone: “I treated you well, but you betrayed me. The price of betrayal is death and this time you will stay dead” he said and pointed the gun at Dayo. Dayo had been kitted with a bulletproof vest, but he was still shaking in his shoes. He was staring death in the face. However, before Stone could pull the trigger, he was fired from behind, he fell and groaned, and immediately, police men sprang out from bushes and captured him. Bella underwent chemotherapy, her skin became pale, and all the hair on her head fell off. She looked like a scare crow as a result of the chemotherapy, but yet, the cancer did not go into remission. She had three months to live. The cancer had become worse and now she was bedridden. She asked to see Dayo, and Damilola brought Dayo to Gberan’s house. When Dayo stepped into Bella’s bedroom, he knew immediately that she was going to die that night. He could smell death before he had been touched by the hands of deaths and could recognize its cold, dark, presence. Dayo: “I forgive you, I hold no grudges” he said to the frail, sickly woman on the bed. Bella: “Thank you my son. It shall be well with you” she said. Dayo went back home with his father, and that night, a call came, Bella had left the land of the living. Ken had lost his mother and the love of Cassandra because she was now so besotted with Dayo, it was like Dayo did not leave. But he was comforted with the support of his family and friends. Three families were joined as one because of Dayo. Before Bella died, she had admonished his son to be a good man, even when it was not easy to be good, and so Ken heeded his mother’s words and lived amicably with Dayo. After the burial of Bella, Ken and Cassandra went back to school in the States, and Damilola processed his son’s papers and sent him to the United States to study Medicine and Surgery at UCLA. The hands of God are not short, that he cannot touch whatsoever is the ache in your life. He says call on me in the time of trouble, and I will deliver you. Strive to be good, even when it is not often easy to be good. Forgive all those who hurt you and never scheme evil against your fellow human, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. Embrace light and flee from evil. I have learned a lot writing the story of Khadijat and Dayo, and I know you have learned too. Share your lessons and thoughts with us, as we will like to read your feelings about this story. Cheers!

2019-04-20T01:16:16Z

http://www.storyaim.com/2019/04/my-mothers-dream-final-episode.html

should arrive a half a day ahead of us. We have the mizzen spinnaker flying which is red, white and blue. sail. There were a zillion stars out last night and it was gorgeaus. hot dinners ready every night. we like to try to go at least 6 knots if possible. morning to give us weather updates), Horizon, and Key of D. after us, but we have not been able to hear their SSB broadcasts yet. We expect to leave for Fiji tomorrow morning (Wednesday, May 28) about 10 am local time. (That is May 27 at 2200 UTC). It has been raining torrentially all day but there should only be scattered showers when we leave. The forecast is good, although after about 4 days forecasts are not very reliable. We may stop at Minerva Reef, about 780 miles away and a bit to the east of the rhumb line to Lautoka, Fiji, if we need to rest and reassess the weather. Yesterday the weather was nice so we borrowed Risho Maru’s old Subaru from it’s news owners, Dieter and Renata of “Symi”,and drove to the town of Kerikeri. Kerikeri is in the middle of a major fruit growing area — kiwis, mandarin oranges, avocado, persimmons. Walking through town we saw a little sign for the Cafe Jerusalem in English and Hebrew. We stopped for lunch and Laura spoke Hebrew to the two proprietors, both young men from Israel. We then hiked up to a small waterfall on the Kerikeri river and stopped for flat whites (expresso coffee with steamed milk) and a chocolate slice (brownie) at a little place on the river. — M. We posted a short video of New Zealand on our blog. Take a look at the “Photos and Videos” page and scroll half way down the page to see a link to a video of us in New Zealand. If you watch it you will see almost as much of New Zealand as we have seen so far. We are kind of tied down to the boat here – awaiting a weather window that just doesn’t want to come. First it was too rough and now the forcast is for almost no wind at all – plus lots of rain. We thought we were leaving tomorrow (Sunday), but have revised our plans to wait a few more days. We will see what the morning brings. In the meantime we are enjoying things at Opua Marine. Just went out to dinner with our new friends Gloria and Willi from the greatly named boat “Linger Longer”…. We may go to the weekly market in Keri Keri in the morning. It is supposed to be great – although, to tell the truth, I don’t think there is a single thing we need or want to buy at this point. We are full up with supplies. We have been in Opua for 5 days now, after aborting our initial effort to sail to Fiji. We have been keeping tabs on our friends Risho Maru and Vera – via e-mail and SSB radio reports – to track their progress – as they head towards New Caledonia and Fiji respectively. Risho Maru left here a few days before we did in what was expected to be a “perfect weather window”, but it apparently was nothing perfect at all – they had a few days of too little wind ( and their boat carries a tiny engine and very little fuel, so they have to try to sail no matter how slow it is) – followed by 4 days of very high winds coming right on the nose – making for a wet and difficult sail up to New Caledonia. They had to heave to one night – meaning they turn their jib so that it is actually facing the wrong way into the wind (backwind), but leave their mainsail in the correct position – and lash the wheel in one direction. By doing this you prevent forward movement of the boat by balancing rudder and sail (although in the ocean of course you never stay in one postion). It is what you have to do when the wind is too strong (in the wrong direction) to allow you to follow your course . We have never done it, but probably will at some point. It is a nice manoeuver to do to allow you to get some rest and stop smashing through the rough seas. They have reached New Caledonia and we are very glad to hear it. Our friends on Vera are having an even more difficult experience. Just a day after we separated at sea with us turning back to New Zealand, and they deciding to continue on to Fiji, their autopilot failed. The autopilot is one of the most important “comfort” features on modern boats – it allows you to set and follow a course without having to hand-steer the boat. This lets you basically sit back and rest and watch and listen while you sail, always watching for changes in wind direction, but allowing you to make adjustments in boat direction by just pushing a button occasionally. You don’t have to handle the steering wheel and continually watch the compass which can be tiring after a few hours- and extremely exhausting after a few days. It is especially difficult when it is dark – and it is dark from 6:00 P.M through 6:30 a.m here. Without their autopilot Michael and Britta have to take turns steering which means that no-one can really sleep more than a couple of hours at a time. They can not fix the autopilot while at sea because they are missing the spare parts for it. We will be bringing them the parts they need – but of course we can do nothing until we meet up with them in Fiji. After 4 days of hand-steering through very rough seas and lots of rain and wind they just arrived at Minerva Reef – a famous spot just a few hundred miles from Fiji – that has a shallow lagoon protected from the open ocean by just a coral reef. Sailers sometimes stop there for a few days, dropping their anchors and resting. For the Veras it must be an incredible relief to be able to drop their anchor and close their eyes and have a good long sleep without worrying about steering the boat. They will have another 2 to 3 day sail to arrive in Fiji. So, after all that, we have been very contented to be here at the nice dock in Opua arranging the boat as best as we can in order to have a comfortable passage. We will be better prepared both mentally and physically when we set out again – possibly as early as this week-end. Today is the first day since we arrived in New Zealand that we have been able to relax. We slept 11 hours and lazed around the boat in the morning. In the afternoon, we took a walk along the cliffside trail to Pahia. The weather forecast suggests that we may be here at least through next weekend. Fisherman on the shore of the Bay of Islands, Opua. I am writing this while Sabbatical III is berthed at the Opua Marina in Opua, New Zealand. At the time that we sent the previous blog entry giving our position after almost a day of sailing to Fiji, we also downloaded some weather information. The new GRIB weather files now showed an area of rapidly developing low pressure in the Tasman Sea that was predicted to move north and east across our route. This storm system was predicted to come with 40 knots of wind, much of it from unpleasant directions, high seas, and lots of rain. Conditions like this would not put us at great risk, but they would make for a few unpleasant days. We called Vera on the sat phone to discuss the new forecast, which they had also just seen. Michael suggested that deviating to the east should reduce the force of the weather system. The problem was that for the previous few hours the wind had moved a bit north and strengthened so that we could not sail our course and were going further west than we would like. The wind was supposed to be southeast, which would allow to sail east a bit, but it was ENE, which did not allow any easting. We were sailing as close to the wind as we could, which made the boat heel and brought waves over the bow. We were making very good time, however, and were already 160 miles out from Whangarei. This all seemed very much like the trip from Tonga to New Zealand in November. That passage, with a run-in with an unexpected low pressure system, was the most difficult of our voyage so far and one we wished to avoid. So we talked it over and decided to turn around and head back to New Zealand. Vera considered doing so as well, but in the end they decided to continue on to Minerva Reef. They are better placed to get away from this system than us. They started out for Minerva, which is east of the direct passage to Fiji, so were further east when the new forecast arrived. In addition, as a Nautor Swan, a boat built for racing, Vera could sail faster and closer to the wind than Sabbatical III. We just spoke with them on the sat phone and they are making very good time. They expect to arrive at North Minerva about the same time as this weather sytem, so they need to push the boat. Once inside the reef they should be safe and able to rest. Rather than return to Whangarei, we made for Opua, which is about 50 miles closer. We arrived this morning at 11 am and re-checked-in to New Zealand. We just looked at GRIB files going out 7 days and found that a second low pressure system, possibly even more intense than the one that induced us to turn back, will be following. So we will be in Opua for a least one week. The German weather guru Willifred is just one dock down from us so we have a good source of weather forecasting to turn to rather that just rely on the GRIB files. The bright spot of this 40 hour passage into the South Pacific and back was the performance of the AIS (Automatic Identification System) receiver that I bought in the US and brought back in our luggage. It receives and translates messages send by transponders carried by all commercial ocean-going vessels above a minimum size. I have the AIS data stream fed into a laptop at the nav station. I also was able to get GPS, wind, and depth data converted from our Raymarine Seatalk network, which is proprietary, to the open NMEA standard and also got that fed into the laptop. Using Boatcruiser 2.0 software, I set an AIS alarm range and hooked up a cheap USB speaker in the cockpit to sound an alarm that is easily heard in high winds or with I-Pod headphones on. The test was the night sail up the east coast of the North Island on Thursday night. The AIS picked up vessels 30 miles away that were othewise invisible. For example, at about 10 pm the laptop beeped and flashed the approach from astern of Forum Fiji II, a cargo ship bound, as we were, for Lautoka, Fiji. Only 30 minutes later, it indicated that Pacific Alliance was approaching from dead ahead. The AIS system provides us with basic data from the GPS of the transmitting vessel. For example, the AIS provided our laptop with the name of the other vessel (Pacific Alliance), it length (800 feet!), its beam (138 feet wide), draft (45 feet deep), its type (oil tanker), destination (Whangerai), speed (17.4 knots), call sign, distance (25.8 miles), closest point of approach to Sabbatical III (less than 0.1 mile), time to closest point of approach (1 hour 8 minutes), rate of turn (0 degrees), course over ground, bearing, etc. We get to see the instruments of the Pacific Alliance on our boat since their AIS transponder transmits it to us. Our laptop combines the other vessel’s GPS data with our GPS data to compute closest point of appoach and time to closest point of approach. We often do not see another vessel with our eyes until they are 5 miles away and then it would take some time to figure out if they were heading towards us. With the AIS, we saw the Pacific Alliance coming right for us but we had over an hour to get out of the way. The AIS also showed the 380 foot cargo ship Forum Fiji II coming up behind us and to starboard. Knowing this, we turned a few degrees to port, thus getting out of the way of a supertanker but without crossing the path of a fast moving cargo ship. All this without either of the two ships being within eyeball or radar range. In the end, the tanker never deviated course (we saw them on AIS well before they ever noticed us) and we passed 3 miles apart. Ray Roberts and his son Carl. Ray owns and operates the Riverside Drive Marina in Whangarei, where we kept our boat for the season. We are back on dry land now after a brief foray into the open ocean. After a hectic week of preparation we felt ready to go to Fiji – and left on Thursday – just 8 days after arriving in New Zealand. The “perfect weather window” that everyone had been talking about here had many cruisers leaving the docks last week-end (around the 10th of May). There was a great forcast for sailers making the trip from New Zealand to either Fiji, New Caledonia or Vanuata . Even though we managed to get everything ready for our trip in an amazingly short amount of time, we really were just a day or two late in setting out from New Zealand in time to catch the optimal weather patterns. Just a day out to sea, we read (via downloaded weather maps and e-mails) that the system was changing rapidly and we could expect quite a lot of wind and rough seas for the week ahead of us. We just weren’t up to facing that and turned the boat around about 100 miles north of New Zealand and spent the night sailing back to safe harbor in Opua where we will await the next good weather window. Mark has written a bit about that already, so let me fill you in on what we did in our week in New Zealand to get ready for departure. The main excitement was seeing old friends. We were happy to find our friends Michael and Britta from “Vera” in Whangarei with us . Although their boat was down the road from us in a different marina, it was easy to get together, although we both spent most of our days doing boat chores . We somehow managed to go out to dinner with them 4 times. We met a very nice couple whom we had briefly known in Tonga and who had become good friends with Vera over the winter – they are Beth and Ken – two Americans- on board their boat Eagles Wings. The six of us went out to dinner a couple of times. Beth and Ken have spent the past 3 years going back and forth between New Zealand and Tonga and are doing it again this year. We had been anxiously awaiting our reunion with Risho Maru, the Austrian couple we befriended last year. They have been in New Zealand since we left – working on their boat and touring the country. It was almost a week after our arrival that we were able to see them – as their boat is in a marina about an hour drive north of ours – but on Monday they drove down to see us. It was a bittersweet reunion as they have decided to start heading home – and will not be going to the same places as we are. They just don’t have the time. They want to get their son Finn enrolled in a real school – rather than continuing with his “boat schooling” – and they are somewhat anxious to return to loved ones at home -after being away for 3 years already. It will still take them a year and a half to get back to Europe, but that means moving relatively quickly through the rest of the South Pacific and hopefully arriving in Thailand by November – a long distance away – and then the Med by May. They will not be going to Fiji with us as we had hoped. Right now they are on route to New Caledonia and then they will go to Vanuatu before heading west. We, on the other hand are going first to Fiji, and then to Vanuatu. It is not easy (from a sailing perspective) to go the opposite direction – otherwise we would seriously consider it. However, if things go right we will be able to meet them once again in Vanuatu for a short time before they leave – we certainly hope so. We are so very disappointed and sad to see them go…… I guess it is something we have to continue to get used to as we meet new people around the world. Provisioning took up a huge amount of time (and money!) – as we made several large shopping expeditions – filling the boat with canned goods, drinks, sweets, cheeses, meats, sugar, flour…. etc. etc. Luckily there are great grocery stores here – everything one could want is available – although the prices here are absurdly high especially with the bad exchange rate for U.S. dollars. My favorite store was “The Mad Butcher” – which is named quite appropriately. It is a huge, ice-cold shop that specializes in meat and they will package and deep-freeze it for you. We bought lots of stuff – lamb, chicken, beef – and loaded it into the freezer on the boat – it will be nice to have when we are in places like Vanuatu where I suspect the quality of meat will not be what it is here. Besides groceries we had a small list of other essentials that we had to pick up – new pillows, a couple of new towels – just minor things. The boat is really very well supplied now. We also bought beer and wine – more than we would ever drink in a lifetime at home – but very little compared to what other cruisers seem to keep on their boats, There are limits on how much alcohol you are supposed to bring into Fiji and all of us are breaking the rules – I think they allow 6 liters of wine in all which is pretty paltry when you consider that most boats will be hanging around for months. Anyways, we are all set in terms of food etc. In addition to the boat provisioning there were several critical boat issues which needed to be attended to – all Mark’s domain – including installing a new VHF radio, an AIS system (see Mark’s blog), new sails, waterproofing seals on all external lockers, re-attaching back-stays, adjusting the new sails, removing a light fixture that was broken (this involved me taking Mark up the mast 4 times). The boat was also in desperate need of cleaning, but we only did the most basic cleaning as we were too busy to do more. I guess that is one thing I can take care of while we await a new weather window. All of our encounters with the Kiwis this past week have been so pleasant. The shopkeepers here are friendly in a very different way than at home – they seem a little gruff – but invariably go out of their way to make sure you get what you want. Half the time I am not quite sure I have even understood what they have said, and I am sure they must have the same issues with our English. The accents are incredible. Carl is Cal, eighteen is eye-deen, bread is breed… it is a lot of fun. Island and then approximately 350 degrees magnetic to Fiji. where we are. The weather is calm and the forecast is excellent. We will try to send regular updates. We have been so busy getting the boat and ourselves ready to sail that there has been no time to write. We are trying to leave with tomorrow’s high tide or else we will have to stay 5 more days in Whangarei waiting for a daytime high tide. There is a terrific weather window right now that has resulted in many cruisers leaving New Zealand for places north. The Vera’s and the Risho Maru’s are both leaving for the tropics tomorrow and we think we may join. The tentative plan is to get to the mouth of the tidal river by tomorrow evening and anchor out in Urquhart’s Bay. On Thursday, we can checkout of New Zealand at Marsden’s Point, then return to Urquhart’s Bay to make final preparations, and then leave for Lautoka, Fiji either Thursday evening or Friday morning. It should be about an eight day sail. We will write tomorrow with more definite plans. The Risho Maru’s are going directly to New Caledonia so we will not see them again until late June in Vanuatu. The Vera’s are going to Fiji and we expect to spend some time with them there. M. We left from the Providence airport for New Zealand on Monday morning, May 5th. Our good friend Robin Ringer picked us up from our comfortable sabbatical house at 20 Cooke Street along with our eleven bags. Luckily, she has a huge SUV otherwise everything would not fit. The photo below shows us outside T.F. Green airport with the seven large duffels that we checked-in. Check-in was a lengthy but not difficult process. They charged us $88 per extra bag all the way to Auckland, as we had been told. Quite a bargain. We had a four hour layover in Chicago and Hannah took the airport bus from Evanston to see us. We had lunch at the airport Hilton and then sat in the sun beneath the control tower. It was the fifth time we were able to see her since our return. It was so nice to just be with her for a few hours. We only wish Ben could have been there too. The next leg took us to LA before the 12 hour + Air New Zealand flight to Auckland. We did manage a few hours of sleep on the flight and arrived at 5:30 am in a reasonably coherent state of mind. We were prepared for some trouble at customs since normal tourists do not travel with nearly 450 pounds of baggage. On the customs form, I check both the “yes” and the “no” box on whether we had more than $700 of possessions, figuring that would cover all the bases. The customs guy looked at our piles of stuff and waved us through. Our rented Toyota Camry had just enough room for everything once we moved the front seats all the way up. We headed out into rush hour traffic until we came to a distant suburb and stopped for breakfast. The weather was great – sunny skies and temperature in the 60’s. The past two weeks had been stormy on the North Island so we were quite lucky. The drive up to Whangarei was beautiful. Everything was green and lush with only a few traces of the impending winter. When we arrived at Riverside Drive Marina we were happy to see that our boat was in the water. It had just gone in that morning (Wednesday, May 7). The bad weather had kept all the boats in the water pinned to the dock so there was no room for us until just that morning. With the weather change, a lot of boats took off north (including our friends on Risho Maru), leaving room for new boats to enter the water. Sabbatical III looked good but there was a bit of mildew down below in spite of our friend Bo’s regular airing of the boat. Fortunately, it was high tide so dragging our bags to the boat was a bit easier than it could have been. At high tide the car-park and the dock are at the same level. At low tide, it is a steep drop to the dock. In the middle of this process, Michael and Britta of Vera came over from Town Basin, where Vera lies, to greet us and help with the last bags. It was so nice to see them again and begin to catch up on news. Vera had also been stuck on the “hard” by bad weather and was put back in the water just that morning too. She was hauled only to get anti-fouling paint applied to her hull but the rain made it a two week long ordeal. In spite of our fatigue, Laura and I emptied our bags into various piles inside the boat. Only our sleeping berth was not completely covered in stuff. The Vera’s then treated us to a nice meal at an Indian restaurant in town. The inside of the boat is still a mess as I write this (Sunday May 11), but now the piles are more sensibly sorted by type of stuff. We have actually moved along fairly quickly with our preparations to head north. There were light winds yesterday, so Dave Parr (“Waldo”) of Calibre Sails, our sailmaker, came over to put up our new sails. They are clean and white and crinkle in the breeze. With some help from Michael and Britta, I installed our new AIS (Automatic Identification System) and was able to get AIS data and GPS/depth/wind data from our Raymarine Seatalk network to be understood and displayed on our laptop. We are well connected to the outside world here. We bought a SIM for our cell phone at the airport which has proved very useful. I set up our new directional wireless antenna and wireless router so that we now have excellent access to the internet plus our own inside-the-boat network. The other projects we completed in the past two days include putting new weather seals on all the outside lockers, reattaching our backstays, and replacing our VHF radio handset with one we bought in the US. We have heaps of food, wine, and engine oil that still need to be put away and more shopping to do, plus some more boat projects. We may be able to finish on Wednesday. Then, if the weather cooperates, we will head north to Opua. Vera hopes to do the same. We probably could not reach Opua until Saturday. We can only leave Whangarei at high tide and on Thursday high tide is late in the afternoon. That gets us only to the opening of the river at Urquhart Bay. It would be difficult to get from there to Opua in one day especially with the short days of mid-May. Where to put all this?

2019-04-21T22:36:49Z

https://sabbatical3.net/blog/?m=200805

Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake are the main attractions in Myanmar however there are also other exotic destinations such as Ngapali & Ngwe Saung Beach that offer un spoilt beaches in a peaceful and relaxing setting. Each destination in Myanmar offers the traveller a unique experience In Yangon clients will be enticed with the colonial heritage of the city blending with the ancient Buddhist culture that is prevalent throughout Myanmar. In Mandalay the ancient capital and home of the former royal palace, clients will see a city that is now commonly recognized as the cultural heart land of Myanmar. Two of the most enigmatic destinations in Myanmar would have to be Bagan and Inle Lake. Bagan is home to literally thousands of Pagodas dating back to the 11th century. You simply have not viewed a sunset until you have witnessed the sun go down with the mystical temples of Bagan serving as an inspiring background. The timelessness of Bagan will truly captivate the soul where age old traditions are preserved in everyday life. Inle Lake has a charm all of its own where the simple natural beauty of the region speaks for itself. The cool air and colorful scenery of the lake is intoxicating on every level. Apart from these destinations, there are much more in Myanmar for slightly adventurous traveler willing to ‘get off the beaten track’ and see local unique ways of life. Bagan is one of the richest archaeological and historical sites in Asia, a large area with more than 2,000 pagodas and temples, all set in a vast plain beside the legendary Ayeyarwaddy River. During the Bagan Era (11th to 13th century), Burmese was written for the first time. Bagan was the origin of Buddhism, as still practiced nowadays, and was the seat of religious learning of clergy and laity. Mingalazedi is one of Bagan’s last great stupas to have been erected and is a fine example of the skills of the temple builders. It is also a favorite spot to catch the sunset. Foreign visitors to Bagan can be found on the steep steps waiting for the magical moment; as the sun sinks behind the already misty Ayeyarwaddy, cameras click almost simultaneously. Bagan noe features a variety of good hotels of various standards. It is also the starting/ending point of cruises on the Ayeyarwaddy River linking Bagan with Mandalay. A unique travel experience is a hot-air balloon flight over the Archaeological Zone which is available during the winter months. Bago is renowned for the 55-meter long reclining Buddha image, the beautiful golden Shwemawdaw Pagoda and many more religious monuments such as the old ordination hall built by king Dhammazedi. It has an interesting lively market and just 10 minutes out of town, one can see authentic rural life including water buffaloes yoked in front of a plough working in the paddy fields. Bago can be reached easily by road; the 80-km journey from Yangon takes about two hours. It is situated on the road to the Golden Rock Pagoda and to Mawlamying. Bago remains a quite an easy-going town with a lot more bicycles than cars. It is, however, constantly expanding. The Inle Lake is roughly 20-km long and of outstanding beauty within its natural surroundings. One of its many unique features is the cultivation of floating gardens where flowers as well as tomatoes, beans and cucumbers grow. Local villages and markets are interesting sighting spots. The beauty of sunrise as well as the sunset observed from this idyllic lake with the Shan mountain range as backdrop enchants all visitors. Every year, on the eve of the full moon day in October, the annual Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda festival is held. The pagoda’s most revered Buddha images are displayed on the grand golden Karaweik, a replica of the ancient Royal Barge, and are being taken to several villages around the lake for 18 days until they arrive back at their home shrine again. Unlike other pagoda festivals in Myanmar, most of which for three days only, this one lasts for 18 days and features the famous Inle Boat Races that attract spectators from near and far. The races provide exciting additional entertainment and are well worth watching. Both men and women participate in the races with separate events for each. Kalaw was a favorite hill station during the British colonial era. It is a picturesque village surrounded by pine forests and has some of Myanmar’s most beautiful gardens. From Kalaw there are good trekking and hiking possibilities to the neighboring hill tribe villages, which still function the same as they did centuries ago. Fans of natural beauty and peaceful sites will surely get their money’s worth. The roads leading to Kalaw and Pindaya offer breathtaking sights of the landscape and are somehow reminiscent of the beautiful Alps region in Europe. The Golden Rock of Kyaikhtiyo is one of the most revered pilgrimage sites for Myanmar Buddhists. The gold –plated boulder is said to maintain its balance thanks to a single hair of the Buddha being enshrined inside the pagoda. To reach the top of the mountain , one can either make a 13km climb ( which will take around 7 hours or more ) or sit on the loading area of open trucks that take passengers to a so-called middle camp through a steep and winding road. From there all visitors have to walk up the remaining 4 km (500 meters in altitude) on steep tracks. An easy alternative for those who can’t manage the way on foot is to sit on sedan chairs, which are carried by four porters to the top. Once arrived at the pagoda, one can enjoy a spectacular view, which is particularly beautiful a sunrise or sunset. The whole site has a magic charisma and famous for meditation. Located high in the Shan Hills at the center of the Golden Triangle, it is one of the country’s most remote outposts and probably the most scenic town in Shan State. At one time Kyaing Tong was the Shan capital and this ancient city is the gateway to rugged journeys and exotic sights. More than a dozen different tribal groups live around Kyaing Tong. The hills and the vast vally floor are dotted with small villages, home to at least ten different tribal groups. Living almost side by side in small communities are groups of Ang, Lahu Ahka, Akhu, Padaung, Kala, Shan, Chin, Lishu, Pao, the headhunting Wa, Khun and Laui. All are living in different stages of development, some still following very traditional ways. Days of change will soon be coming to this remote area. Lashio in relative proximity to China is a trading town in a mountain basin at 855 meters above sea level and inhabited mostly by ethnic Shan-Chinese and Chinese. This township is located at the southern end of the formerly famous Burma Road. Mya Kantha Hill in the northern part of town offers good views of the city. Testimony to Lashio’s predominately Chinese population bears the steady traffic at Myanmar’s largest Chinese temple dedicated to the goddess of mercy Quan Yin. Mandalay is the second largest city in Myanmar and situated in the hot and dry central region of the country. Mandalay is the cultural center of Myanmar and the last royal capital. It is surrounded by other ancient royal capitals, Sagaing, Ava (Inwa) and Amarapura, which are highly interesting sightseeing destinations due to their historical and religious importance – in ancient times as well as at present. In Mandalay, visitors can watch traditional handicrafts being made, such as kalaga tapestries, marionettes, bronze casting, stone and woodcarving. Mandalay also houses the most revered Buddha statue in the whole of Myanmar, the Maha Myat Muni. The Buddha Himself is said to have breathed onto the just-finished image thus giving it some of the Buddha’s power. People believe that image is somewhat “alive” and it is therefore treated with the utmost respect. Every early morning, monks and people come to the pagoda to wash the image’s face and to make offerings of water, food, flowers, candles and incense. Another interesting sightseeing point is the 230 meter high Mandalay Hill, from where one has a scenic view of Mandalay, the plains surrounding it, the Shan Mountain, as well as the Ayeyarwaddy River. The site is famous for beautiful sunsets. Mandalay Palace was destroyed by a fire in 1945 and has been largely reconstructed in recent years. Its grounds can now be visited as a museum. Another interesting attraction is Kuthodaw Pagoda (also called the largest book in the world), built by King Mindon after the Fifth Buddhist Council, where he entire Buddhist Canon in described on 729 marble stone slabs. Mandalay has excellent air, road and river connections to all parts of Myanmar and is the ideal base from which to explore the rest of Upper Myanmar. Monywa lies on the banks of the Chindwin River, 140-km northwest of Mandalay. It is the gate way for excursions to the cave temples of Phowin Taung, situated across the river and reached by ferry. The caves are famous for their Buddha statues, mural paintings and woodcarvings. There are quite a few legends about the caves, related mostly to nats (the Myanmar spirits). There are supposed to have been over 400,000 Buddha image carved out in the caves. Another highly important attraction is Thambuddhe (or Sambuddha Kat Kyaw) Pagoda, completed in 1951 after 12 years of construction with over 800 small stupas on and around the pagoda. There are also reportedly 582,357 Buddha statues on the ceiling, walls, and archways and in niches in and on the temple compound. Mount Popa is an extinct volcano and with 1,500 meters the highest point within the bago Yoma range. The main attraction of this region however is the smaller, 730-meter high conic rock Popa Taungkalat, also known as the “ Olympus of the Nats” because it is the home of Myanmar’s legendary 37 ‘Nats”(or spirits). To reach the top of the volcanic plug with its many shrines and a monastery, one has to climb up 700 steep steps accompanied by a crowd of monkeys. This effort will be rewarded many times by the extraordinary panoramic view of the surrounding landscape. Around the area of the Popa Yoma Mountain, there is the Popa National Park with dense sandalwood forests and rare species of birds and butterflies worth a walk or a trek. Other attractions include two important “ Nat Pwes” ( or festivals) held each year (one in May-June and one in November-December) when people from all parts of Myanmar come to appease and worship the spirits. These spirits are evoked by so-called “ Nat Gadaws” ( or mediums) and offer their bodies to get possessed. The nats still play an important part in many Myanmar people’s lives in spite of the dominance of Buddhism. The capital and largest town of Kachin State is an important trade center between China and Myanmar. It is an ideal starting point for excursions to tribal villages, jade mines and the Myitsone River confluence (40-km from Myitkyina), where two Himalayan streams (Mehka and Malikha) meet to from the mighty Ayeyarwaddy River. Kachin State is renowned for its scenic natural beauty; from untouched jungle areas to the Himalayan Mount Hkakabo Razi ( the highest point in Myanmar at 5,889 meters) with it year-round snow- capped peak ( first climbed only in 1996). This mountain area in the far north is literally yet untouched by tourism. At present, an important part of these regions has become a national Park as some rare wild life species – declared extinct elsewhere in the world – have been discovered there. A new destination on Myanmar’s tourism map, Ngwe Saung Beach offers its visitors unspoiled beaches and tranquility on the coast of the Indian Ocean. A few entrepreneurs have begun developing accommodation for local and foreign visitors. The destination is still in its early stages of this development process. Ngwe Saung can be reached by car from the capital Yangon in approximately five hours. The journey takes travelers across the wide alluvial Ayeyarwaddy Delta region. A stop can be included in Pathein, a busy trading toen on the banks of the Pathein River. As an alternative to road travel, it is possible to travel from Yangon to the Pathein River by boat. Float through picturesque scenery, passing by houses and villages that dot the riverbanks. The vast and fertile Ayeyarwaddy Delta is connected to countless larger and smaller river tributaries; it’s an ideal area for rice cultivation. Up to today, Ngwe saung Beach has remained a largely unknown destination, a jewel for independent travelers seeking nothing more but sand, sea and tranquility. In the north and east of Myanmar are several small towns still not easily accessible for general tourism. For the time being, hotels and other facilities are extremely limited. For the adventurous traveler however, such destinations as Hakha( the capital of the Chin State), built on mountain terraces and surrounded by magnificent pine forest or Tongzan, the cultural center of Chin tribes, as well as the 2,704-meter high Mount Kennedy near Teedeim, may soon become accessible. In Bhamo visitors can see hill tribe people from the surrounding regions. Travelers can reach the mountainous region around Lashio, an important trading center, by train or road from Mandalay. From Lashio further up north lies the border town of Muse, through which travelers can enter overland into China. Situated in the delta of the Ayeyarwaddy River. Pathein is the most important port for trade in the delta region. The region is the heart of Myanmar’s paddy cultivation. Pathein is a peaceful little town with a scenic waterfront, many Chinese and Burmese temples and Pathein umbrella workshops. The colorful hand-made umbrellas of Pathein are famous all over Myanmar. The traditional umbrellas for monks and nuns, as one commonly sees in upper Myanmar, are manufactured here. Pathein, located some 190 kilometers west of Yangon, can be reached in three hours by road or by overnight ferry through the alluvial Ayeyarwaddy river delta region. Pindaya lies at an altitude of 1,200 meters surrounded by hill tribe villages. Its main attraction is the natural limestone cave that branches out widely, displaying more than 8,000 Buddha images made of wood, marble, lacquer, brick, stone and bronze. Many devoted Buddhist pilgrims have placed them there over the centuries. The collection of these images in such a setting is unique and well worth seeing. Pindaya also features the picturesque Boutaloke Lake, beautifully set amongst huge old trees. A major handicraft industry in Pindaya is umbrella manufacturing. The making of these pretty hand-made paper umbrellas can be seen in several workshops in town. A small town on the bend in the Ayeyarwaddy river. Pyay is very close to what was the seat of the Pyu Kingdom called Sri Ksetra from the 5th to 9th centuries. In the surrounding areas there are the ruins of this ancient capital. The Thayekhittaya Site, dating back to the 5th century, features a quite different architectural style than other periods and represents one of the most interesting historical and archaeological sites in Myanmar. Pyay lies 290-km northwest of Yangon and is comfortably accessible by car (5-6 hour journey). This one-time British hill town hideaway, about two hours drive from Mandalay, offers cool weather, eclectic architecture and stagecoaches. The town dates from the early 20th century and its main street is part of the famous Burma Road, an important route that leads north to the trading town of Lashio and beyond to the Chinese border. The street is an interesting place to walk about, lined with a mishmash of building styles; iron grillwork, balconies, chimneys and wood-carved decorations accent the architecture. The town’s clock tower, the Purcell Tower with its Big Ben chime, is said to be a present from Queen Victoria, identical to one in Capetown, South Africa. Close to Pyin Oo Lwin are several natural attractions, waterfalls and caves. Sports of major tourist interest include the Peik Chin Myaing Cave, which houses many Buddha images, and some models of Myanmar’s most revered pagodas. The cave lies in a beautiful setting with some waterfalls around. It is a favorite weekend destination for local tourists. Also of interest is the national Kandawgyi Botanical Garden. The garden, founded back in 1915, is home to a large variety of trees and flowers from Myanmar and abroad as well as numerous birds. What really makes Pyin Oo Lwin unique are brightly painted miniature stagecoaches drawn by lively. Arriving at Sittwe makes you step back in time where the airport consists of just one room with ceiling fans. It is a port city and served as a major trading point with India during the time of the British. Sittwe boasta several interesting pagodas and a very exceptional monastery that has a wonderful collection of Buddha images, some dating back to the 15th century when Mrauk Oo had reached its peak. Sittwe’s main importance lies in the fact that it is the starting point of the boat journey on the Kaladan River to the ancient former capital and important archaeological site of Mrauk Oo. In the 15th and 16th century, Mrauk Oo was a culturally. King Minbin, a very powerful rakhine King, built the most famous Shittaung Temple in the 1535 and it remains the main attraction of the Mrauk Oo temple site. Additional interesting sightseeing points are the ruins of the royal palace and the remains of the city walls. A small town that is well known for its pottery is manufacturing and cotton weaving. Another interesting site to visit is an old Mon pagoda. The town is situated at the Twante Canal, which was dug during the time of British rule in Myanmar to provide a short boat ride from Yangon. A ride on the canal offers contrasting images; from the buzzing chaos in Yangon to the provincial calmness of the countryside. Walk the streets of Old Yangon to see leafy lanes and byways filled with enormous timber mansions, decorated in unique Myanmar style, where British captains of industry once lived. See century-old buildings with magnificent architecture, reminders of Yangon’s past. The number of colonial buildings still standing in downtown Yangon is nothing short of spectacular. Myanmar’s isolation from the rest of the world during the years after independence resulted in a unique preservation of many of its old buildings. It is heartening to see that at last, many of them are restored to their former beauty. Yangon’s colonial streets are a showcase of the best, or most ostentatious, of colonial architecture an exuberant display of wealth and designer dexterity. The influence of Victorian and Edwardian architectural details soon made a deep impression on the local and Indian craftsmen who embraced the styles wholeheartedly. Buildings developed an amazing hybrid style that resulted in an array of curlicue trims and turrets along with cupolas and pergolas that adorn so many of the early buildings. Carved wood trims were also popular, all adding together to from an extraordinary architectural style unique to Myanmar. Yangon is perhaps the last authentic example of an Asian tropical city still featuring its former colonial origins, huge parks, shady trees and lakes and its religious monuments .Of those monuments, the most legendary, graceful and majestic of all, is the Shwedagon Pagoda built around 2,500 years ago. Other recommended Yangon tour highlights include Chaukhtatkyi - the Reclining Buddha, colorful markets of Chinatown, a Meditation Centre, Sule Pagoda, Botataung Pagoda, Kaba Aye Pagoda, Maha Pasana Guha Cave, Kalewa Monastery, Buddhist Art Museum, National Museum, Naga glass factory and the Bogyoke Aung San (Scott) Market.

2019-04-26T01:52:54Z

http://globaltravel-cambodia.com/myanmar_destination.php

What Do Beer Laws Mean for Economic Growth? Some of the best songs are about beer drinking. They tell you to drink a six-pack of beer for breakfast because you’d have a better time with a drink in your hand since it makes you a jolly good fellow. A “B-double-E-double-R-U-N“ can bring you 40 ounces to freedom. Whether it’s in Mexico or at the lake, beer makes vacation better. But for as many songs as have been written about the pleasures of drinking beer, other songs convey a different, more tragic message. As famously crooned by Jerry Lee Lewis, too much beer drinking can make a loser out of you. Demon alcohol can ruin your family’s Christmas. Given the tension between the positives and negatives of beer drinking, it should come as no surprise that beer markets have long been a target for government intervention. Just as beer has always been a part of American cultural history, so too has beer regulation been interwoven into American political history. In the United States, government intervention has largely been motivated by concern for the health of American citizens and as a way to generate tax revenue. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017), 88,000 adults die from alcohol consumption each year, with heavy drinkers generating a potential social cost of $2 per beer consumed (Sacks et al., 2015). These negative consequences are especially dire for certain portions of the population. As noted by Case and Deaton (2015), the mortality rate for white middle-aged non-Hispanics has increased over the past few decades, with some of the largest increases attributed to chronic liver diseases and drug and alcohol poisoning. Student grades tend to fall upon being able to drink legally (Lindo, Swensen, and Waddell, 2013). These and other social costs can translate to economic consequences, as Cesur and Kelly (2014) find that reducing per capita beer consumption might lead to a significant increase in per capita GDP growth. Because it is often more difficult for governments to directly influence demand for a product, policymakers often opt to indirectly influence demand by enacting supply-side restrictions, passing regulations with the potential to restrict producers. These regulatory constraints are particularly burdensome for brewing, as estimates suggest that the beer value chain is subject to more than 90,000 federal regulatory constraints (Malone and Chambers, 2017). Brewers are acutely aware of this government tendency: in the mid-19th century, they founded the first-ever trade association in the United States as a response to new government regulations (Mittelman, 2008). In the modern era, changes in social norms coupled with economic development goals have led policymakers to reconsider Prohibition-era policies, which have unintentionally restricted the emergence of craft breweries. Unfortunately, understanding the side effects of beer policy is likely even more difficult than identifying the positive and negative consequences associated with beer drinking. As Americans moved westward, alcohol remained a crucial link to civilization. By the 1830s, American per capita alcohol consumption was the world’s highest. Americans drank an array of alcohols during this period, including hard cider. Johnny “Appleseed” Chapman famously planted apple orchards to help meet this demand. Even babies and young children were provided alcoholic beverages to help them sleep or to provide them with sustenance. As one historian describes it, “They drank from the crack of dawn to the crack of dawn” (Rorabaugh, 1981, p. 21). The American perspective on beer and alcohol drastically changed over the course of the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution made inebriation far more dangerous, as a drunken factory worker was far more likely to be maimed or killed on the job than was a drunken farmer. Concurrently, a powerful political movement emerged with temperance at its core and Protestant American women on its front lines. By the 1830s, many Americans were members of temperance societies, and there was growing sentiment that the government needed to curb alcohol consumption. Not coincidentally, the federal government implemented the first beer excise tax during the Civil War, a step taken both to raise revenue and to discourage beer consumption (Mittelman, 2008). By the early 20th century, anti-drinking fervor and the belief in women’s suffrage reached new levels of national popularity. Women such as Carrie Nation and Susan B. Anthony had become folk heroes in part for their radical stance against alcohol, thereby interconnecting temperance with women’s rights. At the time, taxes levied on alcohol accounted for approximately 30% of the federal budget, so the goal of prohibition depended in part on new revenue streams. Congress obliged in 1913 when it passed the 16th Amendment, which created a huge new revenue source: a federal income tax. Source: University of Richmond (2014). As is the case with some alcohol laws today, many well-intentioned people believed prohibition was a solution to the destruction of American family values. But there were also a few dark reasons for prohibition’s popularity. Xenophobia played an important role in America’s push toward prohibition. Italian, Irish, and German immigrants were commonly portrayed as alcoholics, so some politicians and voters supported prohibition in an effort to restrict immigration. German-American brewers experienced some of the most substantial anti-immigrant pressure, as they dominated the U.S. brewing industry and had emigrated from what had become America’s biggest enemy in World War I (Ogle, 2007). Organizations such as the Anti-Saloon League eagerly generated anti-German propaganda, contributing to the bureaucratic search-and-seizure of German-American brewers (Figure 1). In one of the most notorious cases, agents of the federal government conducted a warrantless body cavity search of then 74-year-old Lilly Anheuser Busch upon her return to American soil in 1918 (Ogle, 2007). A few months later, Congress ratified the 18th Amendment, which set the stage for Prohibition. Although the implicit goal was to restrict drinking, the 18th Amendment and the corresponding Volstead Act did not explicitly mention drinking. Instead, they prohibited businesses from selling, manufacturing, and transporting most alcohol. This legislation created many grey areas. For example, cider and homemade fruit brandies were exempted, while wine was allowed for religious purposes and physicians could (and frequently did) provide prescriptions for alcohol. Not surprisingly, these laws created many unintended consequences: As Prohibition left consumer demand for alcohol unchanged, the supply of beer consequently shifted onto the black market, thereby greatly increasing profits for organized crime. As explained by Raab (2016; p. 36), “Prohibition had been the catalyst for transforming the neighborhood gangs of the 1920s into smoothly run regional and national criminal corporations.” Yandle’s (1983) bootlegger-and-Baptist narrative was born: Even when the intentions of some lawmakers are pure (the Baptists), business interests have an incentive to subvert the law and use it for their own gain (the bootleggers). Not only did Prohibition contribute to the rise of violent organized crime, it also increased the production of sometimes-deadly homemade alcohol. The number of deaths annually associated with poisonous alcohol rose from 98 at the beginning of Prohibition in 1920 to 4,145 in 1925. By most accounts, Prohibition was only partially successful in reducing drinking. In the early 1920s, even President Harding hosted booze-filled parties in the White House. Perhaps more troubling for policymakers was the decline in tax revenue, a need exacerbated at the end of the decade with the onset of the Great Depression. The economic collapse of the late 1920s and early 1930s led many policymakers to favor the repeal of Prohibition so the brewing industry could employ workers and the government could collect business, income, and excise taxes. As policymakers began to prepare for the repeal of Prohibition, they set to work crafting the regulations that would guide the alcohol industries. Some of the largest breweries actively advocated for policies that might promote their own standing, sometimes to the detriment of smaller brewers (Stack and Gartland, 2005). After prohibition, many beer laws were delegated to the states, but the federal government made producing beer at home illegal until 1978, when President Jimmy Carter signed H.R. 1337, which allowed state governments to determine the legality of homebrewing. While many states quickly voted to permit homebrewing, a few did not capitalize on this opportunity; Mississippi and Alabama only legalized homebrewing in 2013 (Brewers Association, 2013). Those restrictions constrained growth in the craft beer market for decades (McCullough et al., 2015). In the decades leading up to prohibition, some brewers had engaged in a series of “price wars,” where large breweries would enter a new city and offer their beers at a deeply discounted price in an effort to drive rival breweries out of the market (Ogle, 2007). Worried that these low prices encouraged consumption, federal and state policymakers increased excise taxes on brewery production. Today, federal excise taxes vary from $7.00 per barrel (a barrel is equal to 31 gallons) to $18.00 per barrel depending on the size of the brewery (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, 2017), while state excise taxes range from $0.62 per barrel in Wyoming to $40.00 per barrel in Tennessee (Drenkard, 2016). Regulators were also concerned about youth consumption of alcohol, and whether the alcohol level in beer was too high. Although it was later overturned by the Supreme Court in 1995, a 1935 federal law prohibited displaying alcohol content on beer labels in hopes of reducing the average alcohol content in beer. While the law was largely unsuccessful in changing consumer behavior, the spirit of the law lives on. To this day, states such as Kansas, Oklahoma, and Minnesota attempt to curb alcohol consumption through alcohol content restrictions, while other state regulatory agencies restrict how brewers can label their beers (Brown, 2016). As established by the passage of the Cullen-Harrison Act in 1933, these content restrictions are calculated as alcohol by weight (ABW), while alcohol content is traditionally defined as alcohol by volume (ABV). Mathematically, 3.2% ABW is equal to 4% ABV. As such, contrary to popular belief, the actual difference in an American-style lager beer (i.e., Bud Light) is very slight across state lines, as it traditionally contains 4.2% ABV. States also implemented an array of rules regarding the minimum drinking age (Carpenter and Dobkin, 2011). For example, until Craig v. Boren ruled the law unconstitutional in 1976, the drinking age in Oklahoma had been 21 for men and 18 for women. In 1984, the federal government passed the Uniform Drinking Act, which cut transportation funds to states that allowed for under-21 drinking. Groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving continue to lobby for an array of alcohol restriction, including higher excise taxes, random alcohol checkpoints, and reduced blood-alcohol content limits for DUI offenders. Anti-drinking groups have long complained that brewers market their beers too aggressively. Before Prohibition, nearly all beer was sold on draft in bars and saloons that were controlled by individual breweries, or “tied houses.” This relationship contributed to a substantial number of drinking establishments: Manhattan Island was home to more than 9,000 bars and fewer than one million people, for example (Lender and Martin, 1987). To increase beer sales, some bar owners would reportedly resort to tricks as simple as selling (or even giving away) overly salty foods and as sinister as offering low-priced prostitution. In an effort to curb the problems attributed to the tied houses, post-Prohibition policymakers mandated that breweries could only sell alcohol through a wholesaler. For many states, this three-tier system of brewery to wholesaler to retailer remains in effect today (Burgdorf, 2016). However, this regulatory system, which was designed for the 1930s, created significant barriers for the craft beer industry that began to emerge in the 1980s. For example, state three-tier systems did not allow brewpubs, since these would allow breweries to sell their beer directly to consumers, bypassing wholesalers. Early entrepreneurs had to lobby state legislatures for exemptions from or changes to state distribution laws. Source: Malone and Lusk (2016). Crafting a government policy that successfully reduces overconsumption of alcohol can be difficult, especially because the American beer market has undergone such drastic changes over the past few decades. In 1980, there were fewer than 100 breweries in the United States; today many counties are home to more than a dozen. The United States currently has more than five thousand breweries (Figure 2), with thousands more planned. While many alcohol regulations may be based on good intentions, they often lead to unintended consequences. For example, dry counties are also home to more meth labs (Fernandez, Gohmann, and Pinkston 2016) and mandating that bars close earlier might actually increase traffic accidents (Green, Heywood, and Navarro, 2014). Similarly, banning the sale of alcohol in grocery stores might actually increase negative outcomes: According to Rickard, Costanigro, and Garg (2013), legalizing the sale of wine in grocery stores is actually correlated with decreases in traffic fatalities. Not surprisingly, some policies were passed to protect the profits of existing breweries (Gohmann, 2016). For example, the “Come to Rest” clause embedded in Nebraska Bill LB632 requires all beer to be placed within a wholesaler’s warehouse before it goes to retail outlets, forcing small breweries to ship their beer upwards of 200 miles before it can be sold in their own taproom (Pluhacek, 2017). The outcome of bills such as these is obvious: States that do not allow breweries to distribute their own beer have fewer craft breweries (Malone and Lusk, 2016). Conversely, when states choose to legalize self-distribution, they experience a significant increase in the number of breweries. Loosening distribution laws can also promote tourism and service revenues within a county. For example, when legislators in West Virginia allowed on-premises sales, counties with breweries experienced an increase in tourism-related wages (Malone and Hall, 2017). Of course, not all proposed beer laws are so blatantly crony capitalist in nature. But even the most well-intentioned restrictions can have negative consequences. As noted, one objective of alcohol taxes is to reduce the quantity of beer consumed by raising prices (Cook and Durrance, 2013). Unfortunately, because beer demand is relatively inelastic and does not respond significantly to small price changes, modest tax increases are unlikely to substantially reduce consumption. Furthermore, taxes specifically on beer typically encourage consumers to purchase beverages with a higher alcohol content (Malone and Lusk, 2017). Finally, beer taxes can also influence the number of breweries that might open in a given state: Elzinga, Tremblay, and Tremblay (2015) find that increases in state excise taxes tend to decrease the number of breweries. A couple of common themes emerge when considering beer laws as they relate to economic growth. First, the history of beer regulation runs parallel to a history of unintended consequences, making it near impossible to find a clear answer to the title question. Restricting the sale of alcohol is likely to reduce tax revenue, which has historically played a key role in government funding. As was the case during Prohibition, American beer policymakers often overlook the economic consequences of their newly formed regulations. When considering the entrepreneurial nature of craft breweries, restrictions on self-distribution seem especially onerous and counterproductive. A second theme emerges if one considers the structure of many beer laws: While the stated purpose of these laws is often to promote consumer health, many alcohol laws are targeted at the supply side rather than the demand side. As is the case for self-distribution laws, Prohibition sought to reduce the supply of alcohol but did little to target consumer demand. Thankfully, it appears that modern government policies have started taking note of these unintended consequences. From 1997 to 2012, the number of federal restrictions within the beer value chain decreased slightly (Malone and Chambers, 2017). More recently, the Craft Beverage Modernization & Tax Reform Act has generated further discussions of reductions in excise tax rates and further reductions in regulatory burdens for breweries. Although some local governments remain hesitant to embrace craft brewing, many states have become much more welcoming to brewing, particularly as they see the potential gains in tourism and entrepreneurship. As such, future policy discussions would benefit by more thoroughly considering both the benefits and the costs associated with beer regulation. Brewers Association. 2013. Homebrewing Officially Legal in all 50 States. Available online: https://www.brewersassociation.org/press-releases/homebrewing-officially-legal-in-all-50-states/. 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Gohmann, S.F. 2016. “Why Are There so Few Breweries in the South?” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 40(5):1071–1092. Green, C.P., J.S. Heywood, and M. Navarro. 2014. “Did Liberalising Bar Hours Decrease Traffic Accidents?” Journal of Health Economics 35:189–198. Lender, M.E., and J.K. Martin. 1987. Drinking in America: A History. New York: Simon and Schuster. Lindo, J.M., I.D. Swensen, and G.R. Waddell. 2013. “Alcohol and Student Performance: Estimating the Effect of Legal Access.” Journal of Health Economics 32(1):22–32. Malone, T., and D. Chambers. 2017. “Quantifying Federal Regulatory Burdens in the Beer Value Chain.” Agribusiness: An International Journal 33(3):466–471. Malone, T., and J. Hall. 2017. “Can Liberalization of Local Food Marketing Channels Influence Local Economies? A Case Study of West Virginia’s Craft Beer Distribution Laws.” Economics and Business Letters 6(2):54–58. Malone, T., and J.L. Lusk. 2016. “Brewing Up Entrepreneurship: Government Intervention in Beer.” Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy 5(3):325–342. Malone, T., and J.L. Lusk. 2017. “Releasing the Trap: A Method to Reduce Inattention Bias in Survey Data with Application to U.S. Beer Taxes.” Unpublished. McCullough, M., J.P. Berning, J.L. Hanson, and H. Block. 2015. “Home Brewing Legalization and the Craft Brewing Industry.” Paper presented at the 4th biennial Beeronomics Conference, September 7–9, Seattle, Washington. Mittelman, A. 2008. Brewing Battles: A History of American Beer. New York: Algora. Ogle, M. 2007. Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer. Orlando, FL: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Raab, S. 2016. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Rickard, B.J., M. Costanigro, and T. Garg. 2013. “Economic and Social Implications of Regulating Alcohol Availability in Grocery Stores.” Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 35(4):613–633. Rorabaugh, W.J. 1981. The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Sacks, J.J., K.R. Gonzales, E.E. Bouchery, L.E. Tomedi, and R.D. Brewer. 2015. “2010 National and State Costs of Excessive Alcohol Consumption.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 49(5):73–79. Scribner, V.P. 2013. Imperial Pubs: British American Taverns as Spaces of Empire, 1700–1783. PhD dissertation. University of Kansas, Lawrence. Stack, M., and M. Gartland. 2005. “The Repeal of Prohibition and the Resurgence of the National Breweries: Productive Efficiency or Path Creation?” Management Decision 43(3):420–432. University of Richmond. 2014. The History Engine: From Civil War to World Stage. Available online: https://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/6243. Yandle, B. 1983. “Bootleggers and Baptists - The Education of a Regulatory Economist.” Regulation 7:12–16. Trey Malone (@treymalone3) is Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI. Martin Stack (Martin.Stack@rockhurst.edu) is Professor of Management, Helzberg School of Management, Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO. Can Beer Consumption be Part of a Healthy Diet?

2019-04-20T02:53:06Z

http://www.choicesmagazine.org/choices-magazine/theme-articles/beer-policy-and-a-changing-global-market/what-do-beer-laws-mean-for-economic-growth

don't know they don't do what they're meant to. and analyzed using techniques that exaggerate the benefits. Reboxetine is a drug I have prescribed. Other drugs had done nothing for my patient, so we wanted to try something new. I'd read the trial data before I wrote the prescription, and found only well-designed, fair tests, with overwhelmingly positive results. Reboxetine was better than a placebo, and as good as any other antidepressant in head-to-head comparisons. It's approved for use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (the MHRA), which governs all drugs in the UK. Millions of doses are prescribed every year, around the world. Reboxetine was clearly a safe and effective treatment. The patient and I discussed the evidence briefly, and agreed it was the right treatment to try next. But we had both been misled. In October 2010, a group of researchers was finally able to bring together all the data that had ever been collected on reboxetine, both from trials that were published and from those that had never appeared in academic papers. When all this trial data was put together, it produced a shocking picture. Seven trials had been conducted comparing reboxetine against a placebo. Only one, conducted in 254 patients, had a neat, positive result, and that one was published in an academic journal, for doctors and researchers to read. But six more trials were conducted, in almost 10 times as many patients. All of them showed that reboxetine was no better than a dummy sugar pill. None of these trials was published. I had no idea they existed. It got worse. The trials comparing reboxetine against other drugs showed exactly the same picture: three small studies, 507 patients in total, showed that reboxetine was just as good as any other drug. They were all published. But 1,657 patients' worth of data was left unpublished, and this unpublished data showed that patients on reboxetine did worse than those on other drugs. If all this wasn't bad enough, there was also the side-effects data. The drug looked fine in the trials that appeared in the academic literature; but when we saw the unpublished studies, it turned out that patients were more likely to have side-effects, more likely to drop out of taking the drug and more likely to withdraw from the trial because of side-effects, if they were taking reboxetine rather than one of its competitors. I did everything a doctor is supposed to do. I read all the papers, I critically appraised them, I understood them, I discussed them with the patient and we made a decision together, based on the evidence. In the published data, reboxetine was a safe and effective drug. In reality, it was no better than a sugar pill and, worse, it does more harm than good. As a doctor, I did something that, on the balance of all the evidence, harmed my patient, simply because unflattering data was left unpublished. Nobody broke any law in that situation, reboxetine is still on the market and the system that allowed all this to happen is still in play, for all drugs, in all countries in the world. Negative data goes missing, for all treatments, in all areas of science. The regulators and professional bodies we would reasonably expect to stamp out such practices have failed us. These problems have been protected from public scrutiny because they're too complex to capture in a soundbite. This is why they've gone unfixed by politicians, at least to some extent; but it's also why it takes detail to explain. The people you should have been able to trust to fix these problems have failed you, and because you have to understand a problem properly in order to fix it, there are some things you need to know. Unsurprisingly, these trials tend to produce results that favor the manufacturer. When trials throw up results that companies don't like, they are perfectly entitled to hide them from doctors and patients, so we only ever see a distorted picture of any drug's true effects. Regulators see most of the trial data, but only from early on in a drug's life, and even then they don't give this data to doctors or patients, or even to other parts of government. This distorted evidence is then communicated and applied in a distorted fashion. In their 40 years of practice after leaving medical school, doctors hear about what works ad hoc, from sales reps, colleagues and journals. But those colleagues can be in the pay of drug companies - often undisclosed - and the journals are, too. And so are the patient groups. And finally, academic papers, which everyone thinks of as objective, are often covertly planned and written by people who work directly for the companies, without disclosure. Sometimes whole academic journals are owned outright by one drug company. Aside from all this, for several of the most important and enduring problems in medicine, we have no idea what the best treatment is, because it's not in anyone's financial interest to conduct any trials at all. In 2010, researchers from Harvard and Toronto found all the trials looking at five major classes of drug - antidepressants, ulcer drugs and so on - then measured two key features: were they positive, and were they funded by industry? They found more than 500 trials in total: 85% of the industry-funded studies were positive, but only 50% of the government-funded trials were. In 2007, researchers looked at every published trial that set out to explore the benefits of a statin. These cholesterol-lowering drugs reduce your risk of having a heart attack and are prescribed in very large quantities. This study found 192 trials in total, either comparing one statin against another, or comparing a statin against a different kind of treatment. They found that industry-funded trials were 20 times more likely to give results favoring the test drug. These are frightening results, but they come from individual studies. So let's consider systematic reviews into this area. In 2003, two were published. They took all the studies ever published that looked at whether industry funding is associated with pro-industry results, and both found that industry-funded trials were, overall, about four times more likely to report positive results. A further review in 2007 looked at the new studies in the intervening four years: it found 20 more pieces of work, and all but two showed that industry-sponsored trials were more likely to report flattering results. It turns out that this pattern persists even when you move away from published academic papers and look instead at trial reports from academic conferences. James Fries and Eswar Krishnan, at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California, studied all the research abstracts presented at the 2001 American College of Rheumatology meetings which reported any kind of trial and acknowledged industry sponsorship, in order to find out what proportion had results that favored the sponsor's drug. In general, the results section of an academic paper is extensive: the raw numbers are given for each outcome, and for each possible causal factor, but not just as raw figures. The "ranges" are given, subgroups are explored, statistical tests conducted, and each detail is described in table form, and in shorter narrative form in the text. This lengthy process is usually spread over several pages. In Fries and Krishnan (2004), this level of detail was unnecessary. "The results from every randomized controlled trial (45 out of 45) favored the drug of the sponsor." How does this happen? How do industry-sponsored trials almost always manage to get a positive result? Sometimes trials are flawed by design. You can compare your new drug with something you know to be rubbish - an existing drug at an inadequate dose, perhaps, or a placebo sugar pill that does almost nothing. You can choose your patients very carefully, so they are more likely to get better on your treatment. You can peek at the results halfway through, and stop your trial early if they look good. But after all these methodological quirks comes one very simple insult to the integrity of the data. Sometimes, drug companies conduct lots of trials, and when they see that the results are unflattering, they simply fail to publish them. Because researchers are free to bury any result they please, patients are exposed to harm on a staggering scale throughout the whole of medicine. Doctors can have no idea about the true effects of the treatments they give. Does this drug really work best, or have I simply been deprived of half the data? No one can tell. Is this expensive drug worth the money, or has the data simply been massaged? No one can tell. Will this drug kill patients? Is there any evidence that it's dangerous? No one can tell. This is a bizarre situation to arise in medicine, a discipline in which everything is supposed to be based on evidence. And this data is withheld from everyone in medicine, from top to bottom. Nice, for example, is the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, created by the British government to conduct careful, unbiased summaries of all the evidence on new treatments. It is unable either to identify or to access data on a drug's effectiveness that's been withheld by researchers or companies: Nice has no more legal right to that data than you or I do, even though it is making decisions about effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness, on behalf of the NHS, for millions of people. In any sensible world, when researchers are conducting trials on a new tablet for a drug company, for example, we'd expect universal contracts, making it clear that all researchers are obliged to publish their results, and that industry sponsors - which have a huge interest in positive results - must have no control over the data. But, despite everything we know about industry-funded research being systematically biased, this does not happen. In fact, the opposite is true: it is entirely normal for researchers and academics conducting industry-funded trials to sign contracts subjecting them to gagging clauses that forbid them to publish, discuss or analyse data from their trials without the permission of the funder. This is such a secretive and shameful situation that even trying to document it in public can be a fraught business. In 2006, a paper was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Jama), one of the biggest medical journals in the world, describing how common it was for researchers doing industry-funded trials to have these kinds of constraints placed on their right to publish the results. These trials were overwhelmingly sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry (98%) and the rules governing the management of the results tell a story that walks the now familiar line between frightening and absurd. For 16 of the 44 trials, the sponsoring company got to see the data as it accumulated, and in a further 16 it had the right to stop the trial at any time, for any reason. This means that a company can see if a trial is going against it, and can interfere as it progresses, distorting the results. Even if the study was allowed to finish, the data could still be suppressed: there were constraints on publication rights in 40 of the 44 trials, and in half of them the contracts specifically stated that the sponsor either owned the data outright (what about the patients, you might say?), or needed to approve the final publication, or both. None of these restrictions was mentioned in any of the published papers. "both shaken and enraged about the criticism, that could not be recognized". It demanded an investigation of the scientists, though it failed to say by whom or of what. Lif then wrote to the Danish Committee on Scientific Dishonesty, accusing the Cochrane researchers of scientific misconduct. We can't see the letter, but the researchers say the allegations were extremely serious - they were accused of deliberately distorting the data - but vague, and without documents or evidence to back them up. Nonetheless, the investigation went on for a year. Peter Gøtzsche, director of the Cochrane Centre, told the British Medical Journal that only Lif's third letter, 10 months into this process, made specific allegations that could be investigated by the committee. Two months after that, the charges were dismissed. The Cochrane researchers had done nothing wrong. But before they were cleared, Lif copied the letters alleging scientific dishonesty to the hospital where four of them worked, and to the management organization running that hospital, and sent similar letters to the Danish medical association, the ministry of health, the ministry of science and so on. Gøtzsche and his colleagues felt "intimidated and harassed" by Lif's behavior. Lif continued to insist that the researchers were guilty of misconduct even after the investigation was completed. Paroxetine is a commonly used antidepressant, from the class of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs. It's also a good example of how companies have exploited our long-standing permissiveness about missing trials, and found loopholes in our inadequate regulations on trial disclosure. To understand why, we first need to go through a quirk of the licensing process. Drugs do not simply come on to the market for use in all medical conditions: for any specific use of any drug, in any specific disease, you need a separate marketing authorization. So a drug might be licensed to treat ovarian cancer, for example, but not breast cancer. That doesn't mean the drug doesn't work in breast cancer. There might well be some evidence that it's great for treating that disease, too, but maybe the company hasn't gone to the trouble and expense of getting a formal marketing authorization for that specific use. Doctors can still go ahead and prescribe it for breast cancer, if they want, because the drug is available for prescription, it probably works, and there are boxes of it sitting in pharmacies waiting to go out. In this situation, the doctor will be prescribing the drug legally, but "off-label". Now, it turns out that the use of a drug in children is treated as a separate marketing authorization from its use in adults. This makes sense in many cases, because children can respond to drugs in very different ways and so research needs to be done in children separately. But getting a licence for a specific use is an arduous business, requiring lots of paperwork and some specific studies. Often, this will be so expensive that companies will not bother to get a licence specifically to market a drug for use in children, because that market is usually much smaller. So it is not unusual for a drug to be licensed for use in adults but then prescribed for children. Regulators have recognized that this is a problem, so recently they have started to offer incentives for companies to conduct more research and formally seek these licences. When GlaxoSmithKline applied for a marketing authorization in children for paroxetine, an extraordinary situation came to light, triggering the longest investigation in the history of UK drugs regulation. Between 1994 and 2002, GSK conducted nine trials of paroxetine in children. The first two failed to show any benefit, but the company made no attempt to inform anyone of this by changing the "drug label" that is sent to all doctors and patients. "It would be commercially unacceptable to include a statement that efficacy had not been demonstrated, as this would undermine the profile of paroxetine." so, while the company knew the drug didn't work in children, it was in no hurry to tell doctors that, despite knowing that large numbers of children were taking it. More trials were conducted over the coming years - nine in total - and none showed that the drug was effective at treating depression in children. It gets much worse than that. These children weren't simply receiving a drug that the company knew to be ineffective for them; they were also being exposed to side-effects. This should be self-evident, since any effective treatment will have some side-effects, and doctors factor this in, alongside the benefits (which in this case were nonexistent). But nobody knew how bad these side-effects were, because the company didn't tell doctors, or patients, or even the regulator about the worrying safety data from its trials. This was because of a loophole: you have to tell the regulator only about side-effects reported in studies looking at the specific uses for which the drug has a marketing authorization. Because the use of paroxetine in children was "off-label", GSK had no legal obligation to tell anyone about what it had found. People had worried for a long time that paroxetine might increase the risk of suicide, though that is quite a difficult side-effect to detect in an antidepressant. In February 2003, GSK spontaneously sent the MHRA a package of information on the risk of suicide on paroxetine, containing some analyses done in 2002 from adverse-event data in trials the company had held, going back a decade. This analysis showed that there was no increased risk of suicide. But it was misleading: although it was unclear at the time, data from trials in children had been mixed in with data from trials in adults, which had vastly greater numbers of participants. As a result, any sign of increased suicide risk among children on paroxetine had been completely diluted away. Later in 2003, GSK had a meeting with the MHRA to discuss another issue involving paroxetine. At the end of this meeting, the GSK representatives gave out a briefing document, explaining that the company was planning to apply later that year for a specific marketing authorization to use paroxetine in children. They mentioned, while handing out the document, that the MHRA might wish to bear in mind a safety concern the company had noted: an increased risk of suicide among children with depression who received paroxetine, compared with those on dummy placebo pills. This was vitally important side-effect data, being presented, after an astonishing delay, casually, through an entirely inappropriate and unofficial channel. Although the data was given to completely the wrong team, the MHRA staff present at this meeting had the wit to spot that this was an important new problem. A flurry of activity followed: analyses were done, and within one month a letter was sent to all doctors advising them not to prescribe paroxetine to patients under the age of 18. How is it possible that our systems for getting data from companies are so poor, they can simply withhold vitally important information showing that a drug is not only ineffective, but actively dangerous? Because the regulations contain ridiculous loopholes, and it's dismal to see how GSK cheerfully exploited them: when the investigation was published in 2008, it concluded that what the company had done - withholding important data about safety and effectiveness that doctors and patients clearly needed to see - was plainly unethical, and put children around the world at risk; but our laws are so weak that GSK could not be charged with any crime. After this episode, the MHRA and EU changed some of their regulations, though not adequately. They created an obligation for companies to hand over safety data for uses of a drug outside its marketing authorization; but ridiculously, for example, trials conducted outside the EU were still exempt. we already know that if we see only a biased sample of the data, we are misled. safety signals are often weak, subtle and difficult to detect. In the case of paroxetine, the dangers became apparent only when the adverse events from all of the trials were pooled and analyzed together. That leads us to the second obvious flaw in the current system: the results of these trials are given in secret to the regulator, which then sits and quietly makes a decision. This is the opposite of science, which is reliable only because everyone shows their working, explains how they know that something is effective or safe, shares their methods and results, and allows others to decide if they agree with the way in which the data was processed and analyzed. Yet for the safety and efficacy of drugs, we allow it to happen behind closed doors, because drug companies have decided that they want to share their trial results discretely with the regulators. So the most important job in evidence-based medicine is carried out alone and in secret. And regulators are not infallible, as we shall see. Rosiglitazone was first marketed in 1999. In that first year, Dr John Buse from the University of North Carolina discussed an increased risk of heart problems at a pair of academic meetings. The drug's manufacturer, GSK, made direct contact in an attempt to silence him, then moved on to his head of department. Buse felt pressured to sign various legal documents. To cut a long story short, after wading through documents for several months, in 2007 the US Senate committee on finance released a report describing the treatment of Buse as "intimidation". But we are more concerned with the safety and efficacy data. In 2003 the Uppsala drug monitoring group of the World Health Organization contacted GSK about an unusually large number of spontaneous reports associating rosiglitazone with heart problems. GSK conducted two internal meta-analyses of its own data on this, in 2005 and 2006. These showed that the risk was real, but although both GSK and the FDA had these results, neither made any public statement about them, and they were not published until 2008. During this delay, vast numbers of patients were exposed to the drug, but doctors and patients learned about this serious problem only in 2007, when cardiologist Professor Steve Nissen and colleagues published a landmark meta-analysis. This showed a 43% increase in the risk of heart problems in patients on rosiglitazone. Since people with diabetes are already at increased risk of heart problems, and the whole point of treating diabetes is to reduce this risk, that finding was big potatoes. Nissen's findings were confirmed in later work, and in 2010 the drug was either taken off the market or restricted, all around the world. Now, my argument is not that this drug should have been banned sooner because, as perverse as it sounds, doctors do often need inferior drugs for use as a last resort. For example, a patient may develop idiosyncratic side-effects on the most effective pills and be unable to take them any longer. Once this has happened, it may be worth trying a less effective drug if it is at least better than nothing. The concern is that these discussions happened with the data locked behind closed doors, visible only to regulators. In fact, Nissen's analysis could only be done at all because of a very unusual court judgment. In 2004, when GSK was caught out withholding data showing evidence of serious side-effects from paroxetine in children, their bad behavior resulted in a US court case over allegations of fraud, the settlement of which, alongside a significant payout, required GSK to commit to posting clinical trial results on a public website. Nissen used the rosiglitazone data, when it became available, and found worrying signs of harm, which they then published to doctors - something the regulators had never done, despite having the information years earlier. If this information had all been freely available from the start, regulators might have felt a little more anxious about their decisions but, crucially, doctors and patients could have disagreed with them and made informed choices. This is why we need wider access to all trial reports, for all medicines. Missing data poisons the well for everybody. If proper trials are never done, if trials with negative results are withheld, then we simply cannot know the true effects of the treatments we use. Evidence in medicine is not an abstract academic preoccupation. When we are fed bad data, we make the wrong decisions, inflicting unnecessary pain and suffering, and death, on people just like us.

2019-04-26T13:40:05Z

https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/ciencia_industrybigpharma105.htm

The Shortcodes are explained one by one in this section. This LMS Addon comes with several different types of shortcodes that helps in customizing your content easier. We have explained each and every shortcodes of our LMS Addon briefly in this documentation. All of our LMS Addon Shortcodes can be generated by 2 methods. 1. Visual Composer Modules - You can add the Visual Composer LMS Addon modules by the standard method. Just install and activate the Visual Composer and Designthemes LMS Addon plugin. Now the Visual Composer modules will be available for Pages and Posts. Now by clicking the "Backend Editor" mode, the "WPBakery Page Builder" will be enabled. Now click the "Add Element" button to view the available modules in Visual Composer. In that window, you can see many tabs like All, Content, Social, Structure, etc... In that tabs our LMS Addon tabs are "DT LMS Addon" and "DT LMS Addon - Dashboard". The modules in these 2 tabs comes from "Designthemes LMS Addon" plugin. You can add the required modules as per your needs and start building your website. 2. Add Shortcode - This option is available by default to all the pages and posts, if the "Designthemes LMS Addon" plugin is enabled. The same visual composer modules are available in the basic shortcodes format. The output will be same either Shortcodes or Visual Composer modules are used. LMS Kalvi offers you huge flexibility in terms of design and layout. Listings offers you flexibility in creating custom post types, taxonomies and advanced search facilities. The theme activates a module called the LMS Builder where you can create custom post types, taxonomies and custom fields. disable-all-filters - The available options are true or false. There are 7 types of filters available for this shortcode. You can enable/disable all the 7 types from this paramater. enable-search-filter - The available options are true or false. This option is to enable the Search Class text field. enable-display-filter - The available options are true or false. This option is to enable the Grid/List display filter. enable-classtype-filter - The available options are true or false. This option is to enable the Class Type filter. enable-orderby-filter - The available options are true or false. This option is to enable the Order By filter. enable-instructor-filter - The available options are true or false. This option is to enable the Instructor filter. enable-cost-filter - The available options are true or false. This option is to enable the Cost filter. enable-date-filter - The available options are true or false. This option is to enable the Start Date filter. listing-output-page - The available options are the list of pages that you can choose from. You need to select a specific page from the dropdown list for which you like to show the class listing output. If "Default - Ajax Output" option is chosen, then the output will be displayed in the same page. If you have selected any other page, the class search result will be outputed in that page. For that you have to add this classes listing shortcode again in that page. default-filter - The available options are upcoming-classes or recent-classes or highest-rated-classes or most-membered-classes or paid-classes or free-classes. This Default Filter is only available, when Disable All Filter Options is set to True. default-display-type - The available options are list or grid. Choose display type for your classes listing. This option is not applicable, if "Default - Ajax Output" is not chosen in "Listing Output Page". class-item-ids - Enter class item ids separated by commas to display from. This option is not applicable, if "Default - Ajax Output" is not chosen in "Listing Output Page". instructor-ids - Enter Instructor ids separated by commas to display from. This option is not applicable, if "Default - Ajax Output" is not chosen in "Listing Output Page". apply-isotope - The available options are true or false. If you like to apply isotope for your classes listing, choose "True". This option is not applicable, if "Default - Ajax Output" is not chosen in "Listing Output Page". "Apply Isotope" won't work along with "Carousel". post-per-page - Enter the Number of posts to show. This option is not applicable, if "Default - Ajax Output" is not chosen in "Listing Output Page". columns - The available options are 1 or 2 or 3. Number of columns you like to display your classes. III Columns option will work only if "Enable Fullwidth" is set to "True". Also III Columns option is applicable for "Grid View" only when all filters are disabled. This option is not applicable, if "Default - Ajax Output" is not chosen in "Listing Output Page" and also if "List" is chosen in "Default Display Type" . enable-fullwidth - The available options are true or false. If you wish, you can enable fullwidth for your class listings. This option is not applicable, if "Default - Ajax Output" is not chosen in "Listing Output Page". type - The available options are type1 or type2 or type3. Choose any of the available design types. class - If you wish, you can add additional class name here. enable-carousel - The available options are true or false. If you wish, you can enable carousel for class listings. "Carousel" won't work along with "Apply Isotope". carousel-autoplay - Delay between transitions ( in ms, ex. 1000 ). Leave empty, if you don't want to auto play. carousel-slidesperview - Number of slides to show in view port. If display type is "List", 2 & 3 option in "Slides Per View" won't work. carousel-loopmode - The available options are true or false. If you wish, you can enable continuous loop mode for your carousel. carousel-mousewheelcontrol - The available options are true or false. If you wish, you can enable mouse wheel control for your carousel. carousel-bulletpagination - The available options are true or false. You can enable bullet pagination from this option. carousel-arrowpagination - The available options are true or false. You can enable arrow pagination from this option. carousel-spacebetween - Just set the space between sliders in pixels. Ex: 15px. enable-search-filter - The available options are true or false. This option is to enable the Search Course text field. enable-category-filter - The available options are true or false. This option is to enable the Category filter. listing-output-page - The available options are the list of pages that you can choose from. You need to select a specific page from the dropdown list for which you like to show the course listing output. If "Default - Ajax Output" option is chosen, then the output will be displayed in the same page. If you have selected any other page, the course search result will be outputed in that page. For that you have to add this courses listing shortcode again in that page. default-filter - The available options are upcoming-courses or recent-courses or highest-rated-courses or most-membered-courses or paid-courses or free-courses. This Default Filter is only available, when Disable All Filter Options is set to True. default-display-type - The available options are list or grid. Choose display type for your courses listing. This option is not applicable, if "Default - Ajax Output" is not chosen in "Listing Output Page". course-item-ids - Enter course item ids separated by commas to display from. This option is not applicable, if "Default - Ajax Output" is not chosen in "Listing Output Page". course-category-ids - Enter course category item ids separated by commas to display from. This option is not applicable, if "Default - Ajax Output" is not chosen in "Listing Output Page". apply-isotope - The available options are true or false. If you like to apply isotope for your courses listing, choose "True". This option is not applicable, if "Default - Ajax Output" is not chosen in "Listing Output Page". "Apply Isotope" won't work along with "Carousel". enable-category-isotope-filter - The available options are true or false. You can enable category isotope filter for your course listing. This option is not applicable, if "Default - Ajax Output" is not chosen in "Listing Output Page". show-author-details - The available options are true or false. If you like to show author details along with course. This option is not applicable, if "Default - Ajax Output" is not chosen in "Listing Output Page". columns - The available options are 1 or 2 or 3. Number of columns you like to display your courses. III Columns option will work only if "Enable Fullwidth" is set to "True". Also III Columns option is applicable for "Grid View" only when all filters are disabled. This option is not applicable, if "Default - Ajax Output" is not chosen in "Listing Output Page" and also if "List" is chosen in "Default Display Type". enable-fullwidth - The available options are true or false. If you wish, you can enable fullwidth for your course listings. This option is not applicable, if "Default - Ajax Output" is not chosen in "Listing Output Page". type - The available options are type1 or type2 or type3 or type4 or type5 or type6 or type7 or type8 or type9 or type10. Choose any of the available design types. enable-carousel - The available options are true or false. If you wish, you can enable carousel for course listings. "Carousel" won't work along with "Apply Isotope". default-display-type - The available options are list or grid. Choose display type for your packages listing. post-per-page - Enter the Number of posts to show. columns - The available options are 1 or 2 or 3. Number of columns you like to display your packages. apply-isotope - The available options are true or false. If you like to apply isotope for your packages listing, choose "True". package-item-ids - Enter package item ids separated by commas to display from. enable-carousel - The available options are true or false. If you wish, you can enable carousel for package listings. "Carousel" won't work along with "Apply Isotope". carousel-loopmode - The available options are true or false. If you wish, you can enable continous loop mode for your carousel. type - The available options are type1 or type2 or type3 or type4 or type5 or type6 or type7 or type8 or type9 or type10. Choose type of course category to display. columns - The available options are 1 or 2 or 3. Number of columns you like to display your course category items. include - Enter course category item ids separated by commas to display from. use-icon-image - The available options are true or false. While creating the course categories you have added Icon image for it. This option is to enable or disable that icon image. image-types - The available options are default or with-border or rounded or rounded-with-border. The parameter name itself explains its functionality. social-icon-types - The available options are default or vibrant or with-bg. This attribute displays the social icons in 3 different ways like their names. columns - The available options are 1 or 2 or 3. Number of columns you like to display the Instructors. include - Enter the List of Instructor ids separated by commas. number - Enter the count of the instructors that needs to be displayed from this option. This shortcode just displays the Login / Register link along with a small icon in whatever page you like. If the user already logged in, then a logout link along with the username will be displayed. show_registration - The available options are true or false. This attribute enables or disable the "Register" link from the shortcode output. The main intent of the Instructor Role Extension for LMS Kalvi was to provide users with an additional user role for their LMS Kalvi Instructor management system. A role that would have more capabilities than the ‘Group Leader’ but fewer capabilities than the ‘Administrator’. This shortcode is used to display the total commission earnings of the instructor through classes, courses and packages done in the site in data and chart format. chart-title - You can give title for your chart here. enable-instructor-filter - The available options are true or false. If you wish, you can enable Instructor filter option. This option is applicable only for administrator. instructor-earnings - The available options are over-period or over-item. You can choose between content over period ( daily, monthly, yearly ) and content over item ( Course Commisions, Class Commissions, Other Amounts, Total Commissions ). content-filter - The available options are both or chart or data. Would you like to show Chart or Data or Both ? Select from this option. chart-type - The available options are bar or line or pie. Choose what type of chart to display. "Pie" chart will work only with "Over Item" - "Instructor Earnings" timeline-filter - The available options are daily or monthly or alltime. Choose timeline filter to use for content over item. This option is only available when the instructor earnings is set to "Over Item" include-course-commission - The available options are true or false. If you wish to include course commission amount in the chart. include-class-commission - The available options are true or false. If you wish to include class commission amount in the chart. include-other-commission - The available options are true or false. If you wish to include other commission amount in the chart. include-total-commission - The available options are true or false. If you wish to include total commission amount in the chart. This shortcode is used to display the total courses created by all the instructors or from a particular instructor along with the details such as Students - Direct Purchase, Students - Assigned, Students - Package Purchase, Students - Class Purchase, Under Progress, Under Evaluation, Completed, Badges, Certificates of the particular course. This shortcode is used to display the total number of Courses, Classes, Packages, Students, Evaluated, Under Evaluation, Badges, Certificates of each instructor separately. This shortcode does not have any parameters along with it. Just the shortcode will do the work. This shortcode is used to display the instructor commission details for the classes/courses, which is selected in the dropdown. commission-content - The available options are course or class. Choose whether Course or Class content you like to display. Using LMS is as straightforward as creating a WordPress page or post, with it being powered by its own Lessons custom post type. The plugin is designed around the intuitiveness of the WordPress user interface, making it the best Learning Management System for WordPress. Period. This shortcode is used to display the Courses Included, Classes Included in each Package item and the number of students who has purchased the package item. This shortcode is applicable only for administrator. This shortcode is used to display the Class details of particular class. This shortcode displays the Courses Included and the number of students who has purchased the class. This shortcode applies for Administrator and instructor. If logged in as instructor, he/she can view only his class details. If logged in as administrator, then he/she can view all the class details of all instructors separately. LMS Kalvi - Student Management software for managing the entire “student life-cycle” right from application to graduation. Configure and manage the complete registration workflow for your university. Configure finance with multiple funding methods. Track student's performance and manage examination processes. This shortcode is used to display the total number of Courses Purchased, Courses Assigned, Packages Purchased, Classes Purchased, Courses - Under Progress, Courses - Under Evaluation, Courses - Completed, Courses - Badges, Courses - Certificates of all the students. This shortcode is applicable only for administrator. This shortcode is used display the count of courses or classes or packages purchased by a student. This shortcode applies for student role only. item-title - If you wish, you can change the default item title here. item-type - The available options are class or course or package. Choose item type to display its purchase count. This shortcode is used to display the count of assigned class or course item to a student. This shortcode applies for student role only. item-type - The available options are class or course. Choose item type to display its assigned count. This shortcode is used to display the count of undergoing courses or classes by a student. Undergoing means that the student is currently taking that courses/classes and not yet completed it. This shortcode applies for student role only. item-type - The available options are class or course. Choose item type to display its undergoing item count. This shortcode is used to display the count of courses or classes which are under the evaluation of the instructor or administrator for a student. This shortcode applies for student role only. item-type - The available options are class or course. Choose item type to display its underevaluation item count. This shortcode is used to display the count of courses or classes which are completed by the student. This shortcode applies for student role only. item-type - The available options are class or course. Choose item type to display its completed item count. This shortcode is used to display all the student achieved badges of corresponding course or class or both. This shortcode also displays the badges of the registered onsite classes as well. This shortcode applies for student role only. item-type - The available options are all or class or course. Choose item type to display its corresponding student achieved badges. include-registration-class - The available options are true or false. If "Class" option is selected for item type and "True" is set for "Include Registration Class", then this shortcode will also displays the badges of registered onsite classes of the student. This shortcode is used to display all the student achieved certificates of corresponding course or class or both. This shortcode also displays the certificates of the registered onsite classes as well. This shortcode applies for student role only. include-registration-class - The available options are true or false. If "Class" option is selected for item type and "True" is set for "Include Registration Class", then this shortcode will also displays the certificates of registered onsite classes of the student. This shortcode is used to display the list of courses or classes or packages which are purchased by the student. This shortcode applies for student role only. item-type - The available options are class or course or package. Choose item type to display its completed list. This shortcode is used to display the list of assigned class or course item to a student. This shortcode applies for student role only. item-type - The available options are class or course. Choose item type to display its assigned list. This shortcode is used to display the list of undergoing course or class by a student. Undergoing means that the student is currently taking that course/class and not yet completed it. This shortcode applies for student role only. item-type - The available options are class or course. Choose item type to display its undergoing list. This shortcode is used to display the list of courses or classes which are under evaluation by the instructor or administrator for a student. This shortcode applies for student role only. This shortcode is used to display the list of courses or classes which are completed by the student. This shortcode applies for student role only. item-type - The available options are class or course. Choose item type to display its completed list. This shortcode is used to display the Course Curriuculum details of a particular student. First it will display the course details in a table and a "View Results" button to see all the course curriculum details in a popup window. Clicking the option link in the popup window of each curriculum, the individual details of that particular curriculum will be displayed. This shortcode applies for student role only. This shortcode is used to display the list of events assigned to a student from a course. This shortcode applies for student role only. This shortcode is used to display the Class Curriuculum details of a particular student. First it will display the class details in a table and a "View Results" button to see all the class curriculum details in a popup window. Clicking the option link in the popup window of each curriculum, the individual details of that particular curriculum will be displayed. This shortcode applies for student role only. Performance levels describe students’ performance when instructed on grade-level skills and concepts. Combined with the Quantile Measure, the performance levels can be used to group students and to determine appropriate instruction. students exhibit advanced performance when tested on grade-level skills and concepts. Teachers should consider adjusting the pathways of these students to a higher grade level. This shortcode is used to display the total number of Classes, Courses, Lessons, Quizzes, Questions, Assignments and Packages created by the Instructor or the Administrator. item-type - The available options are classes or courses or lessons or quizzes or questions or assignments or packages. Choose item type to display its total items count. For Instructors total items added by them will be displayed by default. item-title - If you wish, you can change the default item title here. Else the default title will be Total Courses, Total Classes, etc. content-type - The available options are all-items or individual-items. If administrator wishes to see the items added by him / her or all items data. This option is applicable only for administrator. This shortcode is used to display the total number of Classes, Courses, Lessons, Quizzes, Questions, Assignments and Packages created by the Instructor or the Administrator in the PIE chart or Bar Chart. chart-type - The available options are pie or bar. Choose what type of chart to display. set-unique-colors - The available options are true or false. If you like to set unique colors for your chart choose "True", else colors from "Chart Settings" will be used. If set to True there will be appear 7 color palettes to choose the color for each item. first-color - Choose the color from the color palettes to first color. second-color - Choose the color from the color palettes to second color. third-color - Choose the color from the color palettes to third color. fourth-color - Choose the color from the color palettes to fourth color. fifth-color - Choose the color from the color palettes to fifth color. sixth-color - Choose the color from the color palettes to sixth color. seventh-color - Choose the color from the color palettes to seventh color. This shortcode is used to display the total purchases of classes, courses and packages done in the site in data and chart format. include-class-purchases - The available options are true or false. If you need the Class items to be included in the overview chart, enable this option. include-course-purchases - The available options are true or false. If you need the Course items to be included in the overview chart, enable this option. include-package-purchases - The available options are true or false. If you need the Package items to be included in the overview chart, enable this option. include-data - The available options are true or false. If you wish, you can include data along with this chart. The data will be displayed in the table format along with the bar chart. set-unique-colors - The available options are true or false. If you like to set unique colors for your chart choose "True", else colors from "Chart Settings" will be used. If set to True there will be appear 3 color palettes to choose the color for each item. The certificate shortcodes is used to display the certificate that is gained by the user. There are 2 methods in which we can generate the certificates in our LMS Addon. First is the default Addon designed certificate and the custom designed certificate. The first default cerficate will work, if the Visual Composer plugin is active or not. The second certificate will work only with the Visual Composer plugin. This is the custom certificate shortcode which will work with Visual Composer plugin. You can design the certificate section as per your needs from this shortcode and add just the item types like student name, Class or Course, Student Percentage and Date to wherever you need in the certificate section. item_type - The available options are student_name or item_name or student_percent or date. Select any type of item that needs to be displayed. This is the default certificate shortcode which will work without the Visual Composer plugin. You just need to set the logo, heading, subheading, footer logo and signature and the default design will be applied for this shortcode. type - The available options are type1 or type2 or type3. Select any type of certificate. heading - Just add the heading for the certificate section. subheading - Just add the subheading for the certificate section. logo1 - Just add the logo id for the first logo section. logo2 - Just add the logo id for the second logo section. footer_logo - Just add the logo id for the footer logo section. signature - Just add the image id for the signature section. If you have further questions or need assistance with that, For faster service, please include your WP and FTP login info when creating the ticket. Our support team will check it out and let you know. Thank you, we look forward to helping you!

2019-04-25T04:09:19Z

http://themessupport.com/documentation/doc/kalvi/addon_shortcodes.html

During the recent Interim Meeting of the American Medical Association, the organization’s president, Dr. Barbara McAneny, told the story of a patient of hers whose pharmacist refused to fill his prescription for an opioid medication. She had prescribed the medication to ease her patient’s severe pain from prostate cancer, which had spread to his bones. Feeling ashamed after the pharmacist called him a “drug seeker,” he went home, hoping to endure his pain. Three days later, he tried to kill himself. Fortunately, McAneny’s patient was discovered by family members and survived. This story has become all too familiar to patients who legitimately use opioid medication for pain. Since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published its guideline for prescribing opioids for chronic pain in March 2016, pain patients have experienced increasing difficulty getting needed opioid medication due to denials by pharmacists and insurance providers. More troubling are recent press reports, blog posts, and journal articles that describe patients being refused necessary medication or those dismissed by their treating physicians, who practice in fear of regulatory reprisal. At the interim meeting, the AMA responded to these developments, passing several resolutions against the rash of laws and mandatory policies that limit or prevent patient access to opioid painkillers. The CDC designed its guideline as non-mandatory guidance for primary care physicians. But legislators, pharmacy chains, insurers, and others have seized on certain parts of its dosage and supply recommendations and translated them into blanket limits in law and mandatory policy. Today, in more than half of U.S. states, patients in acute pain from surgery or an injury may not by law fill an opioid prescription for more than three to seven days, regardless of the severity of their surgery or injury. Although many of these laws exempt patients with chronic or cancer pain, in practice they often affect those with long-term pain, like McAneny’s patient. Some insurance companies and major pharmacy chains, like Walmart, Express Scripts, and CVS, also have mandatory restrictions on the opioid prescriptions they will fill. In addition to imposing supply limits, insurers and pharmacies are increasingly using the CDC’s dosage guidance (the equivalent of 50 to 90 milligrams of morphine a day) as the basis for delaying or denying refills for long-term pain patients, even though the CDC guidance is intended to apply only to patients who have not taken opioids before. The Drug Enforcement Administration and some state medical boards are also using this dosage guidance in ways that were never intended, such as a proxy or red flag to identify physician “over-prescribers” without considering the medical conditions or needs of these physicians’ patients. As a result, some physicians who specialize in pain management are leaving their practices, while others are tapering their patients off of opioids, solely out of fear of losing their licenses or criminal charges. The laudable goal of these laws and policies is to stem the tide of unprecedented overdose deaths and addiction in the U.S. But here are three interesting facts: Opioid prescribing is currently at an 18-year low. The rate of prescribing opioids has dropped every year since 2011. Yet drug overdose deaths have skyrocketed since then. Recent data from the CDC suggests that illegally manufactured fentanyl, its analogs, and heroin are responsible for well over half of all overdose deaths. Stimulants like cocaine and methamphetamines are responsible for another third. Deaths related to prescription opioids come next in line, although many of those who died were not the intended recipient of the prescribed medication. In addition, most deaths involve multiple substances that are used in combination, often including alcohol. The vast majority of people who report misusing prescription opioids did not get them from a doctor under medical supervision, and as many as 70 percent reported prior use of substances like cocaine and methamphetamines. Conflating the misuse of opioids with their legitimate medical use, and treating all opioids — illegal or prescription — alike is stigmatizing patients for whom opioid painkillers are necessary and medically appropriate. There’s no question that taking opioid medications carries risks: The CDC places the risk of addiction with the long-term use of opioids at 0.07-6 percent. The risk of addiction justifies judicious prescribing, trying other forms of treatment before prescribing opioids, and carefully screening patients for a history of addiction and mental health issues when opioids are being considered. But most patients who use opioid medication for pain do not become addicted, although they may develop physical dependence. Addiction is the compulsive use of a substance despite adverse consequences. Appropriate medical use is just the opposite, use on a set schedule as prescribed with benefits to health and function. Nearly 18 million Americans currently take opioids long-term to manage pain; many of them have complex medical conditions. When appropriately prescribed opioids are denied, patients whose pain has been well-managed by them may experience medical decline, lose the ability to work and function, and resort to suicide. Denying opioids to patients who have relied on them — sometimes for years — may cause some to turn to street drugs, thereby increasing their risk of overdose. Dr. Terri Lewis, a researcher and rehabilitation specialist, recently conducted a nationwide survey of 3,000 pain patients. More than half of those surveyed (56 percent) reported disruptions in care or outright abandonment by their physicians. Among those reporting disruption or abandonment, many experienced adverse health consequences (55 percent) as well as hopelessness or thinking about suicide (62 percent) as a result. In other surveys, physicians said that they were prescribing fewer opioids or ceasing treatment of pain patients altogether because of regulatory scrutiny, even in cases where they believed that doing so would harm their patients. The CDC guideline and its progeny of laws and policies have created chaos and confusion in the medical community. Some physicians are telling their patients that changes in the law are the reason they are tapering them to a preset dosage of opioids or off of opioids altogether. Yet the specific dosage thresholds in the CDC guideline were never intended to apply to patients currently taking opioids. Indeed, nothing in the current legal or regulatory environment justifies forcibly tapering a patient off of opioids who is doing well, and there is no solid evidence to support such a practice. Some physicians are also using the CDC’s dosage thresholds, or simply their patients’ use of opioids, as a reason for abandoning them. Abandoning pain patients out of fear of regulatory reprisal may violate a physician’s ethical duty to place a patient’s welfare above his or her own self-interest. If serious harm results from abandoning a patient’s care, it may also serve as a basis for discipline or malpractice claims. In addition, physicians and pharmacies have responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act not to discriminate on the basis of a patient’s condition, including chronic pain, or a perceived condition, as when a person with pain is erroneously regarded as a person with opioid use disorder or addiction when there is no clinical basis for that perception. The AMA’s recent resolutions formally push back against what the AMA calls the misapplication of the CDC’s guideline by regulatory bodies, legislators, pharmacists and pharmacy benefit managers, insurers, and others. The resolutions underscore that dosage guidance is just that — guidance — and that doses higher than those recommended by the CDC may be necessary and appropriate for some patients. The AMA also took issue with the recent practices of regulatory bodies that subject physicians to oversight and potential sanction solely because of the opioid dosages they prescribe. Medicine involves treating patients individually, and weighing the specific risks and benefits of treatment in each case. Taking this capacity away from physicians hamstrings their ability to treat their patients — as does requiring them to practice in an environment of fear. Epidemics instill fear, but physicians have a responsibility to rise above fear and advance the interests of their patients. The AMA’s action in advocating for patients and for the right of physicians to practice individualized care is an important effort in beginning to rebalance the scales in the joint goals of reducing pain and opioid addiction. Kate M. Nicholson, J.D., is a civil rights and health policy attorney who served for 20 years in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, where she drafted the current regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and managed litigation nationwide. Diane E. Hoffmann, J.D., is a professor of health law at the University of Maryland School of Law, director of its Law & Health Care Program, and a former Mayday Scholar. Chad D. Kollas, M.D., chairs the American Medical Association’s Pain and Palliative Medicine Specialty Section Council and is the medical director in palliative and supportive care at the Orlando Health UF Health Cancer Center. Thomas, the same thing happens to me at every pain mgt. appt. from the doctor who claims to care about my health but doesn’t comment on the increased B/P since the drop in dosage. They don’t give a damn, they do just enough to keep from being sued. We need to file a class action suit against the physicians who recommended these ridiculous guidelines without taking into consideration their impact on chronic pain patients. There is no one-size-fits-all dosage when it comes to patients for any medications but they’re trying to squeeze us all into the same little box! I have to have pain medication just to function normally and have to go to a pain clinic that is slowly weaning me off of my medication, im scared! I don’t think that I can function with out these meds. M.S and Broken Back with fusion surgery that did not work. This all needs to be stated LOUD n NOW before more pain patience decide suicide is the only way out of pain. The government as well as many other agencies MUST stop playing Doctor n leave the medical decisions to the Doctors who spent years becoming educated n have taken n oath to care for n manage the health plans including preventing unnessary pains, etc. of the patience that put their life n trust in. This article should be discussed on the News Channels n the shows like 60 min. Etc where they are poo pooing pain medication segments hurting legit pain patience further. Have a segment air how important it is to NOT denie humans with legit issues the right to be under a doctors care with the pain medication they need to have any sort of a normal life style rather then be bed ridden, turn to street drugs, or consider suicide. HELP is needed NOW, NOT a year from now. Praying for the people who can make a difference to STEP UP n save lives. A bunch of b.s. First the the Gov ok’s these big pharma to get people hooked or help pain pt’s. Now it’s the reverse an pain pt’s are the bad guy!! An the physician is to prescribing these valuable meds to pts who show up every 3 months an piss in a cup an do what their suppose to. Ethically, its wrong to be prescribing then stop an not taper or offer rehab an a replacement of the meds. Also, the pharmacists need to back off. They r not God!! Allthese od’s an crap prib involve illegally obtaining the meds, combining meds, or non-compliant pt’s. Yeah there are crooked Dr’s an pt’s, but hell look at our Gov ! Full of them! Crooked. Big pharma whispering in their ears. Regular rule abiding pt’s should not be paying the price for druggies an crooked Dr’s. . Yeh, I mean, who are these people? Cdc, fda, government people who have so much power over the life and struggles of indefensible pain patients?? Its garbage. They think its gonna help to get things in order? Its like sending someone to jail for a petty offense and then come out alot worse than when they went in! Not gonna help anything by abusing the wrong people, pain patients, that is. Wonderful article clarifying the intent of the CDC Guidelines. As a person with non- cancer chronic pain pain, I can relate to much of what was described from the perspective of the patient. Thank you for a well written and objective article. I have been a chronic pain suffer due to nerve damage for 20 years. I’ve never doctor shopped or abused my medicines. At my last doctors appointment, my pain medicine was slashed 1/3 less. I had been on the same dosage for almost the last decade. Now instead of sleeping, I’m up. Because I’m so tired my pain has increased two fold, it’s honestly more than I can bear. This whole opiate debacle has zero to do with pain management patients and doctors. The DEA want to play doctor without the years and sacrifices that of med school and a practice. They are, along with all the other alphabet government agencies allow all these illegal opiates to cross into the USA as it is big business$$$ to them. Their budgets get inflated and who knows what kinda drug running they do to generate black money. If they want to screw over legit pain patients and doctors by reducing their meds and chasing pain docs out of business, then they better be ready to fill a lot of body bags. I am in the same boat and really at a loss. What all of a sudden now it’s a problem…It’s like they have your life in there hands and they are so afraid of losing there licenses that they do not want to fight for there patients. You would think that they would want to fight to keep there patients…But I guess not. I was in the pharmacy and about 25 feet from the counter and the pharmacist decides that she wants to have a conversation about how she has the power not to fill it. The one thing that sticks in my head is the gentleman that I have never met came over to me to tell me I really need to get off the medication that I am on. Where is his plaque? It is really just messed up. Some people really need the Medications that they are on and should not have to deal with want to be Dr’s. The pharmacist should not have put my business in the street anyway. Couldn’t agree more Carla. That was quite a rant and I totally get it. If you look back in the comments history, you’ll see I’ve commented several times. I’ve lent some ideas, advice and support on this sad n frustrating topic. I think one of our biggest problems is we are the only ones speaking out, which isn’t much help given the fact that they will just label us as “drug seekers” what we need are a few high profile people with the guts to speak up for chronic pain patients. Like someone with celebrity status, someone who can reach the masses. There are various efforts underway that I’m aware of ie…. Don’t punish pain rally.com, which hosts protest rallies across the country a few times a year and also has a Go Fund Me campaign to raise funding for TV commercial time to educate the public. There is also Robert Rose with his “operation Starburst “ he is a retired USMC veteran who is suing the VA and several states for the “unconstitutionality “ of the CDC “voluntary “ guidelines for prescribing opioid medications. You can find out all about his efforts on YouTube. He provides information on how to join the existing complaints an or how to file a new one if your particular state has not had someone file as of yet, do check it out. I’m sure there are other movements I’m unaware of as of yet. I think there are enough people angry about this government overreach, it just needs to be better organized, so that we’re all coming together. Remember, we’re going up against the most powerful organization in the world….the U.S government. And by the way…. you were so right about the prohibition bit, they created an entire criminal enterprise with that stupid stunt. And now they gave up on marijuana, no more “it’s a gateway drug” all of a sudden, it’s fine, here….have some weed, but you have to give up the medication that’s helped you survive and function for years….WHAT A JOKE! I have had 4 knee surgery and not have arthritis in both knees was in a car accident and have 3 hernerated disk in my back I been see pain management for 20 years and was told sorry can’t help you have a good like and go to rehab I don’t take pain meds cause I wasn’t to I take cause I need to and now all I do is cry cause the pain is 2 bad to stand. Patty I can relate I too have been on meds for long term until now.at first volunteering taper till the point of endless suffering under protest of how bad I feel. I can only wish for a miracle or I don’t think I can go on, endless sleepless nights days of laying in bed due to pain Flair’s. Constant battle to find a reason to go on.

2019-04-20T02:25:32Z

https://www.statnews.com/2018/12/06/overzealous-use-cdc-opioid-prescribing-guideline/comment-page-16/

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This ‘winnowing’, Rusk continued, would close off ‘mirrors into the soul of man at the time of his greatest trial since he first reared his head above the level of the beast’. Stirring stuff, but Rusk had a point, and one that in bibliographical terms was soon to be borne out in the case of the very volume Rusk was reviewing. A Student in Arms was a best-seller throughout the English-speaking world during the Great War. It offered (and offers) a window on the vast ‘New Armies’ of Kitchener volunteers that sprang up in 1914 and 1915, and were to be blooded on the Somme. When, from the Battle of the Somme onwards, soldiers and their families no longer believed what they read in the newspapers, they did trust the man signing himself ‘A Student in Arms’, even though few know who he was. For all that, the war over, A Student in Arms disappeared down the plughole of Great War bibliography in general and of that of the Somme in particular. How much writing by other authors, evidence of value to student and academic historians, has followed and awaits rediscovery? The rehabilitation of Donald Hankey and the recovery of his papers, long assumed lost, begins with the chance purchase of a secondhand copy of A Student in Arms volume in a junkshop, itself now history. Web booksellers now supply a hunting ground for hitherto-unregarded Great War-period material that may provide the student with useful ‘fresh’ evidence, lines of inquiry, ideas for projects or – as in the case of A Student in Arms – lead to the recovery of documents that are contributions to Great War studies. Rusk’s reflections upon ‘the winnowing flail of time’ arise from his reviewing of the first of the two collections of trench warfare-inspired reportage, reflections and dialogues upon Kitchener Army soldiering by an insider. The overall title, A Student in Arms, was the pen-name of the soldier-writer and Somme fatality Donald Hankey. ‘In the score or more of brilliant chapters’, writes Rusk in the florid, cloudy fashion of the time .... “the student [sic]” shows how the individual soldier, whether university graduate, cockney, or wastrel, is being transformed by the strange experience he is going through’. Readers certainly took to Hankey’s original magazine articles and their collection in the April 1916 first volume of A Student in Arms (ASIA) and the second, a year later. Soldiers and civilians alike turned away from anodyne press reports from the Somme, and in their hundreds of thousands looked instead to Hankey to make sense of a war for which nothing in their history or religion had prepared them. Yet you will look in vain for either of the ASIA volumes in any of the three main Somme bibliographies, two published and one in manuscript. How do we come to lose sight of work that was of value to Hankey’s Great War contemporaries as it is to our understanding of the spirit in which the war was fought? Is it because academic and literary fashion came to view Hankey as a writer tainted by his work in helping people to see some point in his and their war? Perhaps surprisingly, no - or at least not directly. Hankey was one of the ‘First Hundred Thousand’ Kitchener volunteers and between August 1914 and October 1916 he served as private, corporal, sergeant and then subaltern in one artillery and two infantry regiments. He was killed in action on the Somme at the age of 31, six months after the publication of his first collection of ASIA, the one Rusk reviewed. The first Student in Arms ‘series’, which appeared in April 1916, collected articles that had appeared in the Westminster Review and The Spectator. Hankey wrote most of them while recovering from a wound suffered during a hopeless daylight counter-attack at Hooge in July 1915, and then while training drafts for the Somme. Back in France in time for the Somme battle, Hankey continued to write. He took part in and reported on the infantry assault of 1 July 1916. His writing now took a darker turn, and although the Army did not interfere, The Spectator began to reject articles from a star contributor. Most, but not all, of Hankey’s Somme-period material including some Spectator rejections, appears in the posthumously-published second ASIA in May 1917. Even then, there were excisions and no mention of the Somme. Hankey’s work reached its vast audience in magazine articles in pamphlet and book form, as well as reprint in newspapers and other journals. Then were public readings to audiences in army camps, military hospitals, aboard ship and from civilian pulpits. With the Somme, however, a nervous publisher was to tamper with Hankey’s despatches. Passages were excised, and so was any reference, even dates, to the battle. Worse still for Hankey’s bibliographical fortunes, unlike Rupert Brooke he had no Edward Marsh on hand to publish a valedictory biography during the war. Hankey’s publisher, Melrose, had pressed Hilda Hankey, Donald’s sister and literary collaborator, to rush out the second, posthumous, ASIA. Melrose now urged her to write and complete a biography before war’s end. She failed in this, could find nobody else capable. Donald’s friends were away on active service or dead. One result was that Donald Hankey remained a man and writer of mystery. A mere 13 years after Rusk’s warning, a highly-regarded bibliography of the Great War by a Somme veteran seems inadvertently to have helped consign ASIA in Arms to Rusk’s ‘winnowing flail’. In War Books, Cyril Falls refers to ASIA as ‘a volume’, dating it ‘1916’.(5) Yet ASIA is not one ‘series/volume’ but two. To complicate matters, Great War austerity dictated that both ‘series’ were bound so cheaply, drably and uniformly that, at first sight it can be accordingly hard to tell the 1916, pre-Somme Series One from the posthumous, post-Somme Series Two of 1917. Reprints, new editions, differing formats and ‘selections from’ followed each other for the rest of the war and into the 1920s. So huge were sales of Series One for so long that they left Series Two in the shade. It is easy to mix up the two volumes, or to assume that there is only one. Falls could have done either. His recommendation of the ‘1916’ volume as ‘free of the facile optimism then in vogue’ may suggest that he mistakenly conflated the two books into one or perhaps was thinking only of the Somme-tinged second ‘Series’. Lastly, Falls lists Hankey’s book not in the ‘History’ or ‘Reminiscence’ section but in ‘Fiction’. What category could be more likely to mislead the kind of historian who is more concerned with what other historians have written than with what was read at the time by the people who fought or endured the Great War? Hankey’s writing from the Somme, however categorized, includes an account of how on 1 July 1916, he contrived to get past the field censors an account of what he saw and did on that opening day of the infantry assault, and the days immediately following. The full story became freely and publicly-available only in 2014. As a precaution against censorship, Hankey posted sections of an article he entitled ‘A Diary’ to different addresses in England for collation by Hilda and then submission to The Spectator. The sections arrived unmeddled with, and were sent to the magazine, which set the article in type only to decide against using it. The galley was returned to Hilda, who in 1917 passed it onto her brother’s publisher, Melrose, who by then was rushing out a second ‘Student’ volume to cash in on the enormous sales of the first. One entry in the ‘A Diary’ manuscript that Melrose trimmed describes the scene that meets Hankey when, on 1 July 1916, the ammunition-carriers he is leading arrive in newly-taken German trenches. They are carrying supplies of grenades for the troops, by now under counter-attack. Amid the chaos, Hankey notes ‘some men trying to slink away unnoticed [and] being brought back to duty by the angry voice of an officer’. to suddenly feel the primitive passion for slaughter let loose in one, and to know that one was more than at liberty to give it full rein. Yet that is what makes the good soldier in a charge. It is that, more than anything, perhaps, which brings home what an abominable thing war is. The evident absence of a link to the Somme may help to explain why ASIA does not figure in the first exclusively Somme bibliography, Arthur T. E. Bray’s The Battle of the Somme, 1916: A Bibliography (1967). Terraine argues that, revulsion at the casualties notwithstanding, the Somme was ‘a British victory’ given German ‘signs of defeat’. These ‘signs’ included the start made in September 1916 on a second line of defence (the ‘Hindenburg Line’), as well as the fateful declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare in January 1917. The 1966 Somme centenary over, interest continued to develop with the success of John Harris’s novel Covenant with Death (1969), really getting under way with Martin MIddlebrook’s The First Day on the Somme (1971). Middlebrook’s enduring success rests upon his blend of sound scholarship, even-handed judgement and well-researched eyewitness accounts from Somme survivors. Bray hoped his Somme bibliography, listing 444 entries, would be ‘reasonably comprehensive’ but as he includes film and sound his collection is light on printed material. By 1989, when The Penguin Book of First World War Prose appeared, ‘futility’ and ‘disillusionment’ had long been attitudes fashionable in Eng. Lit. if not historianly circles. That alone does not seem to explain the omission of Falls’ ‘Fiction’ writer, Hankey. The value of ‘the Student’ as a writer and symbol to the people who fought or endured the Great War was indeed enough to taint him in some circles by 1989. Or might have been, had more post-1945 scholars read widely enough to know Hankey’s name or to have read his work. An unnamed man is one of the many casualties and, wounded in the leg, crawls back under cover of night along a path ‘choked with corpses’. ‘Well, that was D.H. [Donald Hankey] himself’ wrote one survivor. Another, who did not know Hankey, observed that ‘The Honour of the Brigade’ article was ‘not one of fiction but a factual fact as I happened to be in this action’.(16) Signed only by the impromptu pen-name ‘Homesick’, this letter to The Spectator was pencilled on a field message-pad, and the writer’s address given only as ‘Flanders’. Gliddon writes that he could have listed ‘hundreds more’ books, had his researches not been dogged by so many volumes that ‘give nothing away in their titles’.(20) A Student in Arms is of course one such book. Both Gliddon and van Hartesveldt, however, do list a ‘Somme-less’ item, Graham Greenwell’s memoir, An Infant in Arms.(21) Now where could Greenwell have got the idea for that title from? Hankey’s postwar bibliographical chances suffered a biographical setback even before the Armistice. Melrose pressed Hilda Hankey to rush-write a biography of her brother for publication before the war’s end and the slump he anticipated in war-interest material. Hilda could neither bring herself to produce the biography nor, with so many of Donald’s friends away on active service or dead, could she find a civilian candidate able and to her liking. Yet Hilda did hold her brother’s papers and solicit more. Unfortunately, she had not registered them by the time of her death (1948) and so the archive seemed to be lost. In 2003, an American scholar, James Kissane, published a synoptic study from published sources.(22) In fact, the Hankey archive had been recovered by then, although was not yet publicly-available. It was to form the basis of a successful DPhil and the first comprehensive and referenced critical biography. In 2015 Lord Hankey presented the archive to IWM. The absence of A Student in Arms from Somme bibliography may indicate that there may be are other lacunae, ‘lost’ writers who, even now, could offer historians fresh material for research. The mesh of the Web is fine enough to catch if not categorize useful leavings from the ‘cultural sieve’ and ‘winnowing flail’. spawned a whole host of imitators but also distorted study of the battle and indeed of the Western Front. There are people who almost seem to wallow in this single-day disaster. To Gliddon, 1 July 1916 is just one day of a 141-day battle. Middlebrook’s The First Day on the Somme and its 1991 companion guide to the Somme battlefields are two of the welcome centenary reissues. So too is Mr and Mrs Holt’s Definitive Battlefield Guide to the Somme (1996). A valuable adjunct to Middlebrook is Slaughter on the Somme, Martin Mace and John Grehan’s complete collection of British and Newfoundland unit war diaries for 1 July 1916 for every battalion that actually left its trenches. Unit diaries commonly vary widely in comprehensiveness, but such was the mayhem in 1 July that many entries are mere scribbles in pencil, and entire pages can be missing. No trace, alas, of Donald Hankey’s foray into the German first line. Simon Sebag Montefiore is hardly one of Glidden’s 1 July 1916 ‘wallowers’. In his Somme: Into the Breach, Montefiore applies the Middlebrook method to the entire battle, as well as drawing upon material from Australia, Germany and New Zealand that will be new to many British readers. He is also careful to strike a balance, his commentary matching what is happening on either side, and sees the battle as a ‘partial victory’. The British and Dominion part in it might not have been as bloody as it was, Sebag-Montefiore allows, had the Fourth Army Commander, General Rawlinson, felt able to oppose Haig’s over-ambitious plans for an all-out assault. Rawlinson, however, owed Haig one for saving his skin in what otherwise could have been a career-ending scandal over the conduct of the first big British assault of the war at Neuve Chapelle in March 1915. ‘Graphic’ in another way are two volumes of the vividly-illustrated journals of Jim Maultsaid, who kept a sketch book throughout the war. Mentioned briefly in The First Day on the Somme, Maultsaid was to be severely wounded on 1 July but recovered to be commissioned and survive the war. Like Middlebrook, Ralph J.Whitehead is not an academic. He nonetheless has dine in-depth research into the German army on the Somme, and in particular he casualties and interrogation reports of Allied prisoners). Grouped under the title The Other Side of the Wire, this two-volume set is of benefit to all historians of the battle. Andrew Roberts does not make use of Whitehead for Elegy: The First Day on the Somme but he does turn to another ‘indispensable’, Jack Sheldon’s The German Army on the Somme. Sheldon is quite clear that British involvement in the Somme offensive came as a ‘serious shock’ to the German Supreme Command, whose planners had discounted such a possibility. British involvement came as hardly less of a shock to Haig, who did not want to fight on the Somme at all, or for that matter anywhere else in the summer of 1916. He had a vast volunteer army but ‘from top to bottom’ it was ‘deficient in both training and experience of battle’. Yet there was no choice; the German offensive at Verdun threatened to knock France out of the war. Alan Mallinson concedes as much in Too Important for the Generals. On the Somme, Haig and the British Army ‘learned how to fight in same way as the Duke of Wellington said he had learned in Flanders in the 1790s – observing how not to do it’. The Somme, Mallinson concludes, ‘indirectly’ ensured Germany could not win. The shock to Germany persuaded the Kaiser to permit unrestricted submarine warfare, and that was quickly followed by the declaration of war by the United States. Mallinson also identifies one other result of the Somme (although the same could be said of Passchendaele). This he sees as a British tendency during World War Two to ‘over-correction’, reluctance to stand ground or to press attacks. Major-General Mungo Melvin takes up the theme taken in a paper in The Battle of the Somme, Matthias Strohn’s collection of modern British, German and US academic opinion. Finally, covering all of this in a short space, there is the The Somme: A Visual History. Edited by Anthony Richards, IWM’s Head of Documents and Sound, this is a shrewd, compelling blend of text and relevant, appropriately-sized image, concise, well-paced, clear and balanced. 100 years on, not much sign of that. London, Little Brown, 2009, ISBN 978140801089, 721pp.: Price £25. London, Head of Zeus, 2016, ISBN 9781784080020, 289pp.: Price ? Solihull, Helion, 2013: ISBN 9781908916891, 481pp: Price £35; ISBN 9781907677120, 615pp: Price ? Oxford, Osprey, 2016, ISBN 9781472815569, 275pp.; Price £25. London, Bantam Press, 2016, ISBN 9780593058183, 375pp.; Price £25.

2019-04-19T15:30:29Z

https://reviews.history.ac.uk/review/2021

Does Allaah come down to the first heaven on the night of the fifteenth of Sha’baan? Why did we not mention the fact that Shaykh al-Albaani classed the hadeeth about the virtue of an-nusf min Sha‘baan (the middle of Sha‘baan) as saheeh? 1. Is it Sunnah to fast the entire month of Sha’baan? Abu Dawood (3237), al-Tirmidhi (738) and Ibn Naajah (1651) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When Sha’baan is half over, do not fast.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Tirmidhi, 590. 3. I heard that it is not permissible for us to fast before Ramadaan. Is that true? 1 – Those who have a habitual pattern of fasting, such as a man who usually fasts on Mondays and Thursdays – he may continue to do so even in the second half of Sha’baan. 2 – If he joins fasts in the second half of Ramadaan to the first half, i.e., if he started to fast in the first half and continues to fast until Ramadaan begins, this is permissible. See question no. 13726. Abu Dawood (3237), al-Tirmidhi (738) and Ibn Maajah (1651) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When Sha’baan is half over, do not fast.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Tirmidhi, 590. The words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), “Do not anticipate Ramadaan by fasting one or two days before it begins, but if a man habitually fasts, then let him fast,” clearly indicate that it is not allowed to anticipate Ramadaan by fasting one or two days before it begins, for those who do not have a habitual pattern of fasting or who are not continuing to fast after starting to fast before (in the first half of Sha’baan). If one is not continuing to fast or does not have a regular pattern of fasting, then it is haraam. Al-Tirmidhi (686) and al-Nasaa’i (2188) narrated that ‘Ammaar ibn Yaasir (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Whoever fasts on the day concerning which there is doubt has disobeyed Abu’l-Qaasim (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).” See Question no. 13711. It was understood from this that it is haraam to fast the day of doubt, because the Sahaabah would not say such a thing based on personal opinion. The day of doubt is the thirtieth of Sha’baan if the new moon cannot be seen because of clouds etc. It is called the day of doubt because it could be the thirtieth of Sha’baan, or it could be the first day of Ramadaan. It is haraam to fast on this day, unless it coincides with a day on which a person habitually fasts. If a person observes a voluntary fast on this day, and he has a reason for doing so, such as having the habit of fasting every day, or of fasting alternate days, or fasting on particular days such as Mondays, and it happens to coincide with that day, then it is permissible for him to fast on this day; there is no difference of opinion among our companions regarding that. The evidence for that is the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah: “Do not anticipate Ramadaan by fasting one or two days before it begins, but if a man habitually fasts, then let him fast.” If he does not have a reason, then it is haraam for him to fast on this day. The scholars (may Allaah have mercy on them) differed concerning this prohibition and whether it meant that this is haraam or makrooh. The correct view is that it means it is haraam, especially on the day of doubt. 1- Fasting from the sixteenth until the twenty-eighth. This is makrooh, except for those who have a habitual pattern of fasting. 2- Fasting on the day of doubt, or one or two days before Ramadaan begins. This is haraam, except for one who has a habitual pattern of fasting. 4. I have developed the habit of fasting al-ayyaam al-beed each month, praise be to Allaah, but this month I did not fast. When I wanted to fast I was told that it is not permissible and is bid’ah. I fasted on Monday the 1st of the month, then I fasted on Wednesday the 19th of Sha’baan, and if Allaah wills I will fast tomorrow, Thursday, then I will have fasted three days. What is the ruling? And what is the ruling on fasting a great deal during the month of Sha’baan? An example of speaking about Allaah with no knowledge is what is mentioned in the question, that some people say it is a bid’ah (an innovation) to fast three days in Sha’baan in the manner described in the question. Secondly: it is mustahabb to fast three days each month, and it is best to fast the ayaam al-beed, which are the 13th, 14th and 15th of the month. It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: My close friend [the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] advised me to do three things which I will not give up until I die: fasting three days of each month, praying Duha and going to sleep after Witr. Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1124); Muslim (721). Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (761); al-Nasaa’i (2424). This hadeeth was classed as hasan by al-Tirmidhi, and al-Albaani agreed with him in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel, 947. It is permissible to fast these days one after the other or separately, and they may be at the beginning of the month, or in the middle, or at the end. The matter is braod in scope, praise be to Allaah, because the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not state any specific days. ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) was asked: Did the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) fast three days of each month? She said: Yes. It was asked: In which part of the month did he fast? She said: He would not bother in which part of the month he would fast. Narrated by Muslim, (1160). But the 13th, 14th and 15th are better, because these are al-ayyaam al-beed. Thirdly: Perhaps the one who told you not to fast on those days in this month (Sha’baan) said that because he knew that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade fasting in the latter part of Sha’baan. In the answer to question no. 49884 we have explained that this prohibition applies to one who is starting to fast in the latter part of Sha’baan and does not have a prior habit of fasting. But if a person starts to fast in the first half of Sha’baan and continues to fast in the latter half, or he has a prior habit of fasting, then there is nothing wrong with him fasting in the latter half of Sha’baan, such as one who has the habit of fasting three days each month, or fasting on Mondays and Thursdays. Based on this, there is nothing wrong with you fasting three days in Sha’baan, even if some of those happen to be in the latter half of the month. Fourthly: There is nothing wrong with fasting a great deal in Sha’baan, indeed that is Sunnah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to fast a great deal during this month. It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to fast until we thought he would not break his fast, and he used not to fast until we thought he would not fast. I never saw the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) fast a complete month except Ramadaan and I never saw him fast more than in Sha’baan. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1868; Muslim, 1165. It was narrated from Abu Salamah that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not fast in any month more than Sha’baan, and he used to fast all of Sha’baan and he used to say: “Do as much of good deeds as you can, for Allaah does not get tired (of giving reward) until you get tired.” And the most beloved of prayers to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was that in which one persists even if it is little. When he offered a prayer he would persist in doing so. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1869; Muslim, 782. See also question 49884, as referred to above. 5. I read in a book that fasting on the middle of Sha’baan is a kind of bid’ah, but in another book I read that one of the days on which it is mustahabb to fast is the middle of Sha’baan… what is the definitive ruling on this? There is no saheeh marfoo’ report that speaks of the virtue of the middle of Sha’baan that may be followed, not even in the chapters on al-Fadaa’il (chapters on virtues in books of hadeeth etc.). Some maqtoo’reports (reports whose isnaads do not go back further than the Taabi’een) have been narrated from some of the Taabi’een, and there are some ahaadeeth, the best of which are mawdoo’ (fabricated) orda’eef jiddan (very weak). These reports became very well known in some countries which were overwhelmed by ignorance; these reports suggest that people’s lifespans are written on that day or that it is decided on that day who is to die in the coming year. On this basis, it is not prescribed to spend this night in prayer or to fast on this day, or to single it out for certain acts of worship. One should not be deceived by the large numbers of ignorant people who do these things. And Allaah knows best. If a person wants to pray qiyaam on this night as he does on other nights – without doing anything extra or singling this night out for anything – then that is OK. The same applies if he fasts the day of the fifteenth of Sha’baan because it happens to be one of the ayyaam al-beed, along with the fourteenth and thirteenth of the month, or because it happens to be a Monday or Thursday. If the fifteenth (of Sha’baan) coincides with a Monday or Thursday, there is nothing wrong with that (fasting on that day), so long as he is not seeking extra reward that has not been proven (in the saheeh texts). And Allaah knows best. 6. What is the importance of 15 shaban,is it the night in which the fate of every one is decided for the next year? the especial night mentioned in surah Dakan means which night.is it the shaban or Qadar? Laylat al-Nusf min Sha’baan (the 15th of Sha’baan) is like any other night, and there is no sound report from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to indicate that on this night the fate or destiny of people is decided. With regard to the phrase, “Therein (that night) is decreed every matter of ordainments”: Ibn Hajar said in his commentary on Saheeh al-Bukhaari: “What this means is that the decrees for the year are decided on that night, because Allaah says: ‘Therein (that night) is decreed every matter of ordainments’. And al-Nawawi said: the scholars said that it is called Laylat al-Qadr because on this night the angels write down the decrees (aqdaar), because Allaah says, ‘Therein (that night) is decreed every matter of ordainments’. This was also narrated by ‘Abd al-Razzaaq and other mufassireen with saheeh isnaads from Mujaahid, ‘Ikrimah, Qutaadah and others. Al-Toorbashti said that the word used in the Qur’aan is qadr, whereas people think it is qadar (decree); the word qadr refers to the detailed manifestation of the decree. Laylat al-Qadr brings great reward for the one who does good deeds and strives in worship on that night. There are many ahaadeeth which speak of the virtue of that night, such as the hadeeth narrated by al-Bukhaari from Abu Hurayrah, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever spends Laylat al-Qadr in prayer out of faith and hoping for reward, all his previous sins will be forgiven, and whoever fasts Ramadaan out of faith and hoping for reward, all his previous sins will be forgiven.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, al-Sawm, 1768). 7. Does Allaah come down to the first heaven on the night of the fifteenth of Sha’baan and forgive all the people except two types, namely kaafirs and those engaged in disputes? This is mentioned in some ahaadeeth, but there is some scholarly difference of opinion as to the soundness of those ahaadeeth. There is no saheeh hadeeth concerning the virtue of the night of the fifteenth of Sha’baan. It was narrated from Abu Moosa al-Ash’ari that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah looks down on the night of the fifteenth of Sha’baan and forgives all his creation except a mushrik or one who harbours hatred against the Muslims.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 1390. The “one who harbours hatred against the Muslims” means one who has enmity towards a Muslim brother. In al-Zawaa’id it says: Its isnaad is da’eef, because ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Lahee’ah is da’eef (weak) and al-Waleed ibn Muslim is mudallis. There is also some idtiraab (weakness) in the hadeeth, as stated by al-Daaraqutni in al-‘Ilal, 6/50, 51. He said: This hadeeth is not proven. It was narrated from Mu’aadh ibn Jabal, ‘Aa’ishah, Abu Hurayrah, Abu Tha’labah al-Khushani and others, but the isnaads are not free of some weakness, and some of them are very weak. Concerning the virtue of the night of the fifteenth of Sha’baan there are numerous ahaadeeth, concerning which the scholars differed, but most of them classed them as da’eef, and Ibn Hibbaan classed some of them as saheeh. Allaah’s descending to the first heaven does not only happen on the night of the fifteenth of Sha’baan, rather it is proven in al-Saheehaynand elsewhere that Allaah descends to the first heaven every night, in the last third of the night. The night of the fifteenth of Sha’baan is included in this general meaning. Narrated by Abu ‘Uthmaan al-Saabooni in I’tiqaad Ahl al-Sunnah, no. 92. With regard to Allaah’s descending on the night of the fifteenth of Sha’baan there are ahaadeeth which are weak, but the reports that He descends every night are proven and saheeh, so the night of the fifteenth of Sha’baan is included in that, in sha Allaah. See also the answer to question no. 8907. On this site you can also find an article by Shaykh Ibn Baz (may Allaah have mercy on him) concerning the ruling on celebrating the night of the fifteenth of Sha’baan. You can find it under the heading, Periodic Topics(under “Useful Material” on the Islam Q&A Library page). 8. What is Shab e Baraat that is celebrated by many South Asian Muslims? Some Muslims celebrate the middle of Sha‘baan, fasting on that day and spending that night in prayer (qiyaam). There is a hadeeth concerning that which is not saheeh, hence the scholars regarded celebrating this day as an innovation (bid ‘ah). Muhammad ‘Abd al-Salaam al-Shuqayri said: Imam al-Fatni said inTadhkirat al-Mawdoo‘aat: Among the innovations that have been introduced on “Laylat an-Nusf” (mid-Sha‘baan) is al-Salaat al-Alfiyyah, which is one hundred rak‘ahs in which Soorat al-Ikhlaas is recited ten times in each rak‘ah, offered in congregation; they pay more attention to this than to Jumu‘ah and Eid prayers, although there is no report concerning it, except da‘eef (weak) and mawdoo‘ (fabricated) reports, and we should not be deceived by the fact that these reports were quoted by the authors of al-Qoot and al-Ihya’ and others, nor should we be deceived by what was mentioned in Tafseer al-Tha‘labi, that it is Laylat al-Qadr. End quote. The hadeeth, “When the night of ‘nisf Sha‘baan’ (mid-Sha‘baan) comes, spend the night in prayer and fast on that day” was narrated by Ibn Maajah from ‘Ali. Muhashiyyah said: (It was also narrated) in al-Zawaa’id. Its isnaad is da‘eef (weak) because of the weakness of Ibn Abi Basrah, of whom Ahmad and Ibn Ma‘een said: He fabricates hadeeth. End quote. Al-Fatni (may Allah have mercy on him) said, after the comments quoted above: The common folk are so infatuated with this prayer that they stored up a lot of fuel for it and many evils resulted from it, and many transgressions are committed which we do no need to describe. (It is so bad that) the close friends of Allah feared His punishment and fled into the wilderness. The first time this prayer occurred was in Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) in 448 AH. Zayd ibn Aslam said: We never saw any of our shaykhs or fuqaha’ saying that Laylat al-Baraa’ah (15 Sha‘baan) had any superiority over other nights. Ibn Dihyah said: The hadeeths about the prayer on Laylat al-Baraa’ah are fabricated and one has an interruption in the isnaad. Anyone who acts upon a report which is known to be false is a servant of the Shaytaan. Some people use the word al-Sha‘baaniyyah to refer to the last days of Sha‘baan, and say, “These are the days of bidding farewell to food,” and they take advantage of these days to eat a lot before Ramadan begins. Some scholars say that this idea was originally taken from the Christians, who used to do that as their fasting period (Lent) approached. To sum up, there is no celebration in Sha‘baan and there is no special act of worship to be performed in the middle of it or during the last days of the month. Doing that is an innovation that has been introduced into the religion. 9. I would like to know whether it is Sunnah to say a particular du‘aa’ on the first night of the month of Rajab? A. Praise be to Allah. 10. When you answered the question about the soundness of the hadeeth of Abu Moosa – “Allah, may He be exalted, looks down on the night of the fifteenth of Sha‘baan and forgives all His creation except a mushrik or one who harbours hatred against the Muslims” – you gave an answer, may Allah reward you, but you did not mention the fact that this hadeeth was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani, as I have read on some other websites. I trust you much more than I trust other websites, because of your methodology and your academic precision and honesty. But my question is: did Shaykh al-Albaani really class this hadeeth as saheeh? Because you mentioned the opinion of Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) in your fatwa, so why did you not mention it here? Is it the case that he did not say this at all, and that what is mentioned in those other websites is not correct, or what? Please note that the verdict of it being saheeh, as I have read, is to be found in Saheeh al-Jaami‘, hadeeth no. 1819. We thank you for your trust in our website, and we pray to Allah that we will live up to your expectations. We also ask Him, may He be exalted, to benefit people by means of this website and to reward with good all those who take care of it. It is clear to everyone that we usually rely on the verdict of Shaykh al-Albaani with regard to whether a hadeeth is saheeh (sound) or da‘eef (weak). But sometimes we research a hadeeth and find a verdict by a scholar other than Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him), and perhaps we may think that the vedict of the other scholars concerning a specific hadeeth to be more likely to be correct, or sometimes based on our methodology of research we that it is more appropriate not to follow the shaykh’s verdict (may Allah have mercy on him) in the case of a particular hadeeth. We may see that the view of Shaykh al-Albaani concerning a hadeeth is well known and that there are few who disagree with him, so we mention his verdict and comment on it; but sometimes we see that there are many who disagree with the verdict of Shaykh al-‘Albaani, so we decide not to mention his verdict and comment on it, and are content with what we have mentioned of the view of other scholars. This latter scenario is what happened when we did not mention the verdict of Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) with regard to this hadeeth, and we quoted the words of Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (may Allah have mercy on him), who said that most of the scholars classed as da‘eef the hadeeths that speak of the virtues of the middle of Sha‘baan. However, we should point out an important matter here, which is that Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) thought that the isnaad of the hadeeth of Abu Moosa al-Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him) was da‘eef! This is in harmony with what we have mentioned above about its isnaad being da‘eef, but we did not quote it from him because he – may Allah have mercy on him – thought that the hadeeth could be classed as saheeh when all its isnaads were taken into consideration. With regard to the hadeeth of Abu Moosa, it was also narrated by Ibn Luhay‘ah from az-Zubayr ibn Sulaym from ad-Dahhaak ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan from his father who said: I heard Abu Moosa (narrate) something similar from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). It was narrated by Ibn Maajah (1390) and Ibn Abi ‘Aasim al-Laalkaa’i. I say: This is a da‘eef isnaad, because of Ibn Luhay‘ah and ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan, who is Ibn ‘Arzab and the father of ad-Dahhaak, is unknown. Ibn Maajah regarded him as weak when he narrated from Ibn Luhay‘ah. The Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned the isnaads of the hadeeth and its corroborating evidence in his book as-Silsilah as-Saheehah (1144), and he concluded that the text of the hadeeth of Abu Moosa (may Allah be pleased with him) is saheeh. What the majority of scholars are agreed upon is that celebrating it is an innovation, and that the hadeeths that speak of its virtues are all da‘eef, and some of them are fabricated. Among those who pointed this out is al-Haafiz Ibn Rajab in his book Lataa’if al-Ma‘aarif. This is what is more likely to be correct in our view. The issue of whether a hadeeth is to be classed as saheeh or da‘eef is one of the areas of ijtihaad, in which the scholar acts upon that which is more likely to be correct in his view, and in which the seeker of knowledge follows that scholarly view which is more likely to be correct in his opinion. This is not a matter in which one may denounce someone who holds a different view. Please see also the answer to question no. 113687 for some important information about Shaykh al-Albaani. Question: We see some people specifying the 15th of Sha'baan with particular supplications and reciting the Qur.aan and performing naafilah prayers. So what is the correct position concerning this, and may Allaah reward you with good? Response: That which is correct is that fasting the 15th of Sha'baan or specifying it with reciting (the Qur.aan) or making (particular) supplications has no basis. So the day of the 15th of Sha'baan is like any other 15th day of other months. So from that which is known is that it has been legislated for a person to fast the 13th, 14th and 15th of every month, however, Sha'baan is characterised unlike the other months in that (except for Ramadhaan) the Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) used to fast more in Sha'baan than any other month . So he used to either fast all of Sha'baan or just a little. Therefore, as long as it does not cause difficulty for a person, it is befitting to increase in fasting during Sha'baan in adherence to the example of the Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam). Question: Is standing the night of the 15th of Sha'baan in prayer and fasting during it's day legislated? Response: Nothing firm and reliable has been established on the authority of the Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) that he stood in prayer in the night and fasted during the day of the 15th of Sha'baan. So the night of the 15th of Sha'baan is like any other night, and if someone is a regular worshipper during other nights, then he may stand the night in prayer on this night without assuming anything special (because of it being the night of the 15th of Sha'baan). This is because specifying a time for any act of worship requires a authentic proof, so if there is no authentic proof then the act is regarded as an innovation and all innovations are misguidance. Likewsie, regarding specifically fasting during the 15th day of Sha'baan, then no (authentic) proof has been established on the authority of the Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) to indicate the legislation of fasting on that particular day. As for that which is mentioned from the ahaadeeth regarding this subject, then all of it is weak as the people of knowledge have indicated. However, whoever has the habit of fasting the 13th, 14th and 15th (of every month), then he can continue and fast during Sha'baan as he fasts during the other months, without assuming anything special about the 15th of Sha'baan. Also, the Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) used to increase in fasting during this month (Sha'baan), however, he did not particularise the 15th day, rather proceeded as per norm. Question: When my father was alive, he entrusted me to give sadaqah (charity) according to my means on the 15th of Sha'baan every year, and likewise I have been doing this ever since. However, some people have admonished me for doing so saying it is not permissible. So is giving sadaqah on the night of the 15th of Sha'baan permissible according to the willment of my father or not? Kindly advise us and may Allaah reward you with good. Response: To specify the giving of sadaqah on the night of the 15th of Sha'baan every year is an innovation, and despite your father having entrusted you with that, it is not permissible. It is befitting you give this sadaqah without specifying the night of the 15th of Sha'baan, rather do so every year and in whichever month, but without particularising any one month (on a consistent basis). However, it is permissible to do so in the month of Ramadhaan (for the evidence which indicates so). What is the opinion of Hadith scholars on the following Athar (narration from the Companions): “Rajab is the Month of Allah, Sha‘ban is my month and Ramadan is the month of my Ummah (nation based on one creed)”? And is this a Hadith Sahih (authentic Hadith): “O Allah! To You do I complain of my weakness, my helplessness, and disregard of people towards me...”? 1Q: What is the opinion of Hadith scholars on the following Athar (narration from the Companions): “Rajab is the Month of Allah, Sha‘ban is my month and Ramadan is the month of my Ummah (nation based on one creed)”? And is this a Hadith Sahih (authentic Hadith): “O Allah! To You do I complain of my weakness, my helplessness, and disregard of people towards me...”? A: Firstly: The narration, “Rajab is the Month of Allah, Sha‘ban is my month and Ramadan is the month of my nation” is a Hadith Mawdu‘ (fabricated Hadith). The Sanad (chain of narrators) includes Abu Bakr ibn Al-Hasan Al-Naqqash who is accused of fabrication, and Al-Kisa’y who is unknown and his name was mentioned in "Al-La'ali' fy Al-Mawdu`at" book about fabricated Hadiths. Secondly: The Hadith: O Allah! To You do I complain of my weakness, and my helplessness, and disregard of people towards me. O Most Merciful of the merciful! You are the Lord of the oppressed, and You are my Lord. To whom do You entrust me? Is it to a stranger, who would frown on me? Or is it to an enemy, to whom You have given mastery over me? If You are not angry with me, then I do not care. But Your Protection is the more all-embracing for me. I seek refuge in the Light of Your Face, whereby all darkness has shone, and whereby the affairs of worldly life and the Hereafter have been set right, lest You should send down upon me Your Anger, or Your Wrath should befall me. Yours Alone is the right to blame until You are Content, and there is neither power nor might except with You. This Hadith is Da‘if (weak; a Hadith that fails to reach the status of Hasan) due to a weakness in the Sanad. 2Q: I am a twenty-seven-year-old Saudi man. I went to prison and I began to worship Allah. I observe Sawm (fasting) on Monday and Thursday of every week, on three days of every month, the whole month of Rajab; nine days of Dhul-Hijjah; the ninth, tenth and eleventh of Muharram (i.e. the day of ‘Ashura’, a day before and a day after); six days of Shawwal, and the middle of Sha‘ban. It is claimed that Sawm should be observed in Ramadan only, and the rest is a Bid‘ah (innovation in religion), and there is no Sahih (authentic) Hadith that proves them. But I found a Sahih Hadith which states this in the book entitled "Tanbih Al-Ghafilin" by Shaykh Abu Al-Layth Al-Samarqandy. Please advise whether Sawm on these days is really a Bid‘ah, given that my colleagues in prison say so. A: Sawm on Mondays and Thursdays, three days of every month (13th, 14th, and 15th of every Hijri month), the ninth of Dhul-Hijjah, the tenth of Muharram, in addition to a day before or after it, and six days of Shawwal, every year, all this is Sunnah (supererogatory acts of worship following the example of the Prophet), established by authority of Sahih (authentic) Hadiths. This also applies to fasting the first half of Sha‘ban. It is also an act of Sunnah to observe Sawm the whole of this month, or most of it. As for dedicating the middle of Sha‘ban for Sawm, it is Makruh (reprehensible) and groundless. May Allah grant you more success. As for singling out the month of Rajab for Sawm, it is also Makruh. However, if a person observes Sawm on some of its days and breaks the Sawm on other days, there is nothing wrong with this. May Allah double your reward and accept your Tawbah (repentance). 3Q : There are days on which we voluntarily observe Sawm (Fasting) in Rajab. Should these days be in the beginning, middle, or end of the month? which are the 13th, 14th, and 15th of every Hijri (lunar) month; Sawm in the Sacred Months; and Sawn every Monday and Thursday. The same applies to the month of Rajab. If you are keen on choosing some days to fast, you can fast on the White Days, or on Mondays and Thursdays. Otherwise, the matter is open for choice to fast at any other time. As for dedicating certain days in Rajab to Sawm, we do not know of any basis for it in Shari‘ah (Islamic law). 4Q: Since my young age, I am accustomed to slaughter a sacrifice, or to put it more accurately, to give its meat away as Sadaqah (voluntary charity) in the month of Sha‘ban, on any of its nights? Is there anything wrong in doing so? Please enlighten me, may Allah enlighten you! A: Sadaqah, especially Sadaqah Jariyah (ongoing charity), is among the greatest acts of obedience that draw us closer to Allah, but on condition that giving Sadaqah is done according to the teachings of Shari‘ah (Islamic law). It should be given away from lawfully-gained money and paid into the permissible channels, such as the poor and the needy, or for building a Masjid (mosque) and the like. Associating the giving of Sadaqah with a particular time unspecified by the Shari‘ah based on a belief of its necessity is impermissible. Consequently, if this Sadaqah is paid during Sha‘ban due to a belief in the sacredness of the month or any of its days, it will not be considered among the lawful acts of drawing closer to Allah. 5Q : Some scholars say that many Hadiths were narrated about the merit of spending the night of mid-Sha‘ban in Salah (Prayer) and its day in Sawm (Fasting). Are these Hadiths Sahih (authentic) or not? If there are Sahih Hadiths, please explain them to us in detail. If not, please advise, may Allah reward you! 'Is there anyone who seeks forgiveness that I may forgive them? Is there anyone who asks for sustenance that I may provide for them? Is there any afflicted person that I may relieve them?' and so on and on, until the break of dawn. Ibn Hibban ranked some Hadiths narrated in regard to the merit of spending the night of mid-Sha‘ban in Salah as Sahih, including the one reported in his Sahih, from `Aishah who said: I missed the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) during one night, so I went out to search for him, and I found him in Al-Baqi‘. He (peace be upon him) said (to her), ‘Did you fear being wronged by Allah and His Messenger?’ She said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! I thought that you had gone to one of your wives.’ He (peace be upon him) said, ‘Verily, Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted) descends on the night of mid-Sha‘ban to the nearest heaven, and He forgives a number of people which exceeds the number of the sheep owned by Kalb (a tribe known for their sheep).’ Al-Bukhariand others ranked this Hadith as Da‘if (weak); most scholars say that the Hadiths narrated about the merit of the night of the middle of Sha‘ban and Sawm on its day are Da‘if. Ibn Hibban is known among the scholars of Hadith for not being strict in ranking Hadiths as Sahih. Overall, according to the expert scholars who verify Hadith, there is no Hadith ranked as Sahih among those narrated about the merits of spending the night of the middle of Sha‘ban in Salah and the day in Sawm. Thus, they negated the merits of spending the night in Salah and the day in Sawm, and considered this a Bid‘ah (innovation in religion). But a group of worshippers glorified this night, relying on the Da‘if Hadiths narrated about it, and people followed them as they thought highly of them. Some of them, out of excessive glorification paid to the night of mid-Sha‘ban, even reached to the extent of saying that it is the blessed night on which the Qur’an was sent down, and every matter of ordainment is decreed. They considered it the Tafsir (explanation/exegesis of the meanings) of Allah’s Statement: We sent it (this Qur’ân) down on a blessed night [(i.e. night of Al-Qadr, Sûrah No. 97) in the month of Ramadân - the 9th month of the Islâmic calendar]. Verily, We are ever warning [mankind that Our Torment will reach those who disbelieve in Our Oneness of Lordship and in Our Oneness of worship]. Therein (that night) is decreed every matter of ordainments. This is blatant error, and a distortion of the meaning of the Qur’an. What is meant by the blessed night in the Ayah is Laylat-ul-Qadr (the Night of Decree), as Allah states: Verily, We have sent it (this Qur’ân) down in the night of Al-Qadr (Decree). which is in Ramadan, based on the Hadiths reported in this regard, and because Allah says: The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’ân, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). 6Q : What is the Du‘a’ (supplication) reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said during the night of mid-Sha‘ban? Is it a Sunnah (supererogatory act of worship following the example of the Prophet) to gather in Masjids (mosques) during this night, say a certain Du‘a’ and seek to draw closer to Allah by doing good deeds? A: There is not any authentic evidence that supports making a special Du‘a’ or act of worship on the fifteenth night of Sha‘ban. Doing this is a Bid‘ah (innovation in religion), because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Every newly-introduced matter is a Bid‘ah and every Bid‘ah is a Dalalah (deviation from what is right). What is Nisfu Sha'baan, and should we fast that day? I have to question concerning the month of Rajab and Sha'ban. Some people say that the 27th Rajab and 14th of Sha'ban nights of worship. Please explain in detail. What is the significance of month of Shaban and can we fast on 15th Shaban? Is standing for night prayers legislated? Kindly give evidence with authentic Hadith. 1. What is Nisfu Sha'baan, and should we fast that day? Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. What is meant by the middle of Sha'ban is the 15th of the month of Sha'ban, the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. Fasting during this day is recommended being one of the days of the full moon (the 13th, 14th, and the 15th days of each month). Encouraging us to fast these days, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessing be upon him) said: If one among you is to fast for three days from every month, let him fast on the three days of the full moon. [Narrated by Ahmad and classified by Al-Arna'oot as acceptable] As for the narration reported by Ibn Majah , that Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) had said: When the middle of Sh'aban comes, then observe additional prayers during its night and fast during its day. It is ruled by scholars as weak. Sheikh Al-Albani classified it as fabricated. Allah knows best. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the World; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. 1) Obligatory: observing the fast during the whole month of Ramadan is an obligation for all Muslims. 2) Supererogatory: this category embraces fasts on particular occasions such as the 9th and 10th days of Muharram, the day of Arafah, fasting three days each month, fasting of Monday and Thursday each week. It is Sunnah to observing fasting on those days. As for fasting on the day of al-Israa and al-Mi'raaj, it is not proved in the Sunnah of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam). If it was recommendable, the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) would have stated so as we have seen concerning supererogatory fasting. Thus, it is not correct to observe fasting on this specific day. Then, there is difference among scholars concerning specifying the day of al-Israa. Ibn Hajar in al-Fat'h mentioned that there are more than ten opinions in this concern. This disagreement indicates that this day has no special significance for fasting nor spending its night in performing prayers. If so, the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) and his companions would not have missed it. Basing on the above-mentioned, we state that it is Bid'ah (innovation) to fast this day as an observance since there is no correct Prophetic narration in this concern. But, if fasting on this day coincides with any supererogatory fasting or one's regular fasts (Monday or day after day) then it is legal to fast this day (27th of Rajab). According to Ibn Taymiyah , some of al-Salaf (our righteous predecessors) were used to spending this night (15th of Sha'baan) in prayers and other forms of worship. But, some of al-Salaf disliked gathering people at Mosque for this night and considered that as Bid'ah. Nowadays, many Muslims perform a special prayer with special recital on this night. This form certainly is Bid'ah. Imam al-Nawawi said: 'A prayer that is known as Salat al-Raghaeb, which is of 12 Raka'hs, performed between al-Maghrib and al-Isha at the 1st Friday night of Rajab and a prayer of the 15th of Sha'baan (100 Raka'hs) are two forms of Bid'ah and are abominable actions. We should not observe them due to being mentioned in the books of al-Ihyaa and Qut al-Quloob. Then, their Hadith is false' . The Hadith that indicated to by al-Nawawi in the above paragraph is as follows: 'Whoever prays a 100 Raka'hs at the night of 15th of Sha'baan, Allah will send a hundred angels for him. Thirty ones give him glad tidings concerning Paradise; thirty others give him more confidence that he will be safe from entering the Hell; thirty keep him safe from the evils of this present life; the last ten ward the wiles of the devil off' . This Hadith is invalid, al-Nawawi said. Finally, a Muslim is required to adhere to obedience at this night (15th of Sha'baan) and all other nights, to avoid all forms of polytheism and to pardon his brothers so that he may gain the best excellence and favor. Then, he is required to avoid all forms of Bid'ah, since good lies in following the Sunnah and evil lies in innovations. 3. What is the significance of month of Shaban and can we fast on 15th Shaban? Is standing for night prayers legislated? Kindly give evidence with authentic Hadith. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the World; and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. As for fasting particularly the fifteenth of Shaban this is not proved through any sound evidence.

2019-04-25T16:50:48Z

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