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Development and Humanitarian Aid Markets
Overview of International Financial Institutions
Caribbean Development Bank
Other IFIs & Institutions
* The following content has been prepared by the Office of Liaison with the World Bank, located at our Embassy of Canada to the United States of America.
With 189 member countries, the World Bank Group (WB) is the largest multilateral development bank (MDB) and the only MDB that is not bound to a specific region. Its mission is to help people help themselves and their environment by providing resources, sharing knowledge, building capacity and forging partnerships in the public and private sectors. Please visit our World Bank Fact Sheet.
The World Bank Group is currently involved in more than 1,800 projects in virtually every sector and developing country. In FY2016, the WB provided US$64.2 billion in loans, grants, equity investments, and guarantees to its members and to private businesses, for projects in developing countries worldwide. Its investments generated around 40,000 contracts, ranging in size from a few thousand dollars, to multimillion dollar expenditures for the delivery of a vast range of goods and services. The WB provides an extensive array of services and advice and facilitates private sector finance and investment in developing countries. The World Bank Group is made up of five institutions:
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
International Finance Corporation (IFC) (Please visit our IFC Fact Sheet)
Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
IBRD and IDA are the World Bank Group's instruments for public lending. Together they are referred to as the World Bank (WB). IBRD provides low-interest loans to middle income and creditworthy poor countries. IDA is the world's largest source of interest-free loans and grants to the poorest countries, many of which are in Africa. IDA's funds are replenished every three years by donor countries.
Through IBRD and IDA the World Bank offers two basic types of loans and credits: development policy operations, which provide financing to support a country's policy and institutional reforms and investment operations, which countries can invest in development projects in a broad range of economic and social sectors. Investment projects generate procurement of goods, works and services and therefore, business opportunities. The procurement process for both institutions is the same.
The WB's most important development themes include: Financial and Private Sector Development; Public Sector Governance; Rural Development; and Social Protection and Risk Management. Please visit our World Bank Fact Sheet for details on procurement within these themes.
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Country Strategies
Project Cycle
Procurement Process
Private Sector Lending
Business Approach
The purpose of the WB Country Partnership Framework (CPF) - also called in some cases Country Assistance Strategy or Joint Assistance Strategy - is to describe the strategic priorities and composition of its support to a country over the next 4 to 5 years. The CPF begins with the country's vision for its own long-term development and, is further developed by the Bank in close collaboration with other stakeholders. The CPF provides companies with the earliest indication of possible World Bank-financed business opportunities in a developing country.
The World Bank project cycle consists of 7 stages: Identification, Preparation, Appraisal and Negotiation, Approval, Implementation, Completion and Evaluation. A complete cycle can take from 1 to 10 years.
The World Bank works with a borrowing country's government and other stakeholders, to determine how financial and other assistance can be designed to have the largest impact. The World Bank and the government agree on an initial project concept and its beneficiaries, then the Bank's project team outlines the basic elements.
Documents available during this stage include:
Country Partnership Framework (CPF).
Monthly Operational Summery (MOS): monthly summaries on the status of projects in the pipeline, from the point they are identified up to the signing of the loan. The MOS is a useful tool to monitor the progress of a project through the project cycle.
Project Information Document (PID): typically 8-10 pages, they describe the main objectives, components, financing, and risks, of a project.
Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet: identifies key issues related to the Bank's safeguard policies for environmental and social issues.
Project Preparation
During this phase the World Bank takes an advisory role. The government is responsible for project preparation, which includes conducting feasibility studies and preparing engineering and technical designs, environmental assessment reports and social impact studies. The Bank does provide a Project Preparation Fund, which enables the borrower to contract external consultants for this work, if necessary.
Environmental Assessment Report (EAR): analyzes the planned project's likely environmental impact and describes steps to mitigate possible harm.
Monthly Operational Summery (MOS)
Project Appraisal and Negotiation
The government and the World Bank review the work done during the identification and preparation phases and confirm the expected project outcomes, intended beneficiaries and evaluation tools for monitoring progress. They reach an agreement on the viability of all aspects of the project and on a project timetable.
The project team prepares the project appraisal, along with other financial and legal documents. The proposed loan and project require approval by the Bank's Board of Executive Directors.
Project Appraisal Document (PAD): provides the most comprehensive description of a project, including a detailed description of the objectives, risks, financing, conditions, implementation arrangements and procurement schedule.
General Procurement Notice (GPN): provides a broad overview of the types of equipment, goods and services that will be procured under the project.
The Implementing Agency in the borrowing country is responsible for the implementation of the project. With technical assistance from the Bank, it prepares the specifications for the project and carries out all procurement of goods, works and services needed, as well as any environmental and social impact assessments.
Specific Procurement Notice (SPN): invitations to bid for goods, equipment and civil works contracts.
Request for Expressions of Interest (REI): invitations to consultants to submit their interest in a project.
The World Bank and the borrower document results achieved, any problems encountered and lessons learned.
The Bank's Independent Evaluation Group will assess the performance of approximately one out of every four projects, measuring outcomes against the original objectives, sustainability of results and institutional development impact.
As of July 1, 2016, the procurement process of World Bank has been updated to a new, modern and business-friendly Procurement Framework. This modernized approach means greater focus on value for money, more ways for bidders to differntiate bids, and more opportunities for dialogue and discussion. The borrower continues to be responsible for carrying out procurement activities in accordance with these procurement regulations and, the Bank's role continues to include implementation support, monitoring and procurement oversight, under a risk-based approach.
Under the new procurement framework, there are four key innovations to help businesses and country clients:
Needs and risks of a project are analyzed through a Project Procurement Strategy for Development (PPSD). This analysis enables the borrower to have a strategy on how best to engage with bidder. The analysis will ensure that procurement processes are fit for purpose, allow choice, and are appropriate to the size, value, and risk of the project.
Value for Money has been introduced as a core procurement principle in all procurements financed by the World Bank. This means a shift in focus from the lowest evaluated compliant bid to bids that provide the best overall value for money, taking into account quality, cost, and other factors as needed.
The approach to resolving procurement-related complaints has been significantly improved with capacity to promptly respond to any concerns during the procurement process. A standstill period has been introduced - a pause between identifying who should win the contract and actually awarding them the contract so that other bidders can voice any concerns before a contract is actually legally formed and awarded.
The World Bank will be more involved in contract management of procurements with high value and high risk to ensure the best possible outcomes and that problems are resolved quickly.
Projects that were approved prior to July 1, 2016, continue to fall under the procurement procedures defined by these two documents:
The Guidelines for Procurement Under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits
The Guidelines for Selection and Employment of Consultants by World Bank Borrowers
Project and Procurement Information
During the early phases of project development, governments in borrowing countries and WB staff in field offices and at headquarters, are good sources of information. Another source is the WB website where most of the information that a firm needs to pursue WB-funded business opportunities, can be found. However, the WB website contains so much data that it is often difficult for firms to find the information they need. The following references will guide you to the more important sections of the website:
General business information:
The new Procurement Regulations for Procurement in Investment Project Financing: Goods, Works, Non-Consulting and Consulting Services, governs all new WB-financed procurement.
The WB requires its borrowers to use Standard Procurement Documents for procurement.
The Country Partnership Framework (CPF) provides the earliest indication of possible business opportunities.
The Contract Awards database is an interesting section for firms that want to check out potential competition or, search for a suitable partner.
The Monthly Operational Summary describes the status of project in the pipeline and is a useful tool to monitor the progress of a project through the project cycle.
The Projects Database contains all the pipeline and active projects. Each project page offers a brief outline and links to all the publicly available documents, including the PID and the PAD.
For a guide on "How to Conduct a Basic WB Project Information Search", contact OLIFI Washington for a copy.
Procurement information:
Project-related procurement notices are slowly becoming accessible on the WB website and, continue to be regularly posted on the subscription service UN Development Business Online.
Suppliers of Goods, Works and Non-Consulting Services
Open competition is the basis for efficient public procurement. World Bank guidelines demand borrowers to select the most appropriate procurement method and can depend on a number of factors including the type and value of the good or service and, the interest of foreign bidders. The preferred method for larger contracts is International Competitive Bidding (ICB), with or without the allowance for domestic preference. Under ICB the borrower awards the contract to the bidder whose bid is substantially responsive and who offers the lowest evaluated cost.
Prequalification is usual for large or complex works, or if the high cost of preparing a bid would discourage competition. It is based entirely upon the capability and resources of prospective bidders. Other methods for procuring goods and civil works include National Competitive Bidding, and International Shopping.
Consultants and Consulting Services
Five principles guide WB policy on the selection of consultants: high-quality services; economy and efficiency; equal opportunity; transparency and the encouragement of the use of national consultants. In most cases the preferred selection method is Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS); a competition among qualified short-listed firms in which the selection is based on the quality of the proposal and to a lesser extent, on the cost of the services to be provided. Other methods for selecting consultants include Quality-Based Selection (QBS) and Least-Cost Selection (LCS).
Opportunities for consultants exist in almost every stage of the project cycle. It is very common for the WB task team, as well as the borrower to hire external expertise during the development phases of the project. The borrower too may need external consultants for preparation activities including feasibility studies, project design, environment assessment and social impact studies.
During the project implementation and completion phases, consultants may be hired for project and procurement management, supervision, various types of studies, technical advisory services, training, capacity building and institutional strengthening.
Besides IBRD and IDA the private sector arm of the WBG generates opportunities for consultants. IFC provides technical assistance in business, finance, environmental and social sustainability and infrastructure.
In addition to the operational procurement conducted by borrowers or executing agencies, the WB also spends approximately US$1 billion per year for its own internal requirements for its headquarters in Washington, D.C. and, its field offices worldwide. This form of procurement consists of administrative procurements and, operations consulting. Together, they are commonly refered to as corporate procurement.
For administrative procurements, the WB procures a wide variety of goods and services, including: information technology, communications equipment and services, office equipment and supplies, graphic design and print services, training and consulting. Conducted by the Bank's Corporate Procurement Unit, Requests for Proposals (RFP) and Invitations for Bids (IFB) are issued for contracts above US$250,000. For very small contracts, it will purchase without formal competition. The World Bank maintains an approved vendor database. Vendors do not have to be registered to participate in a bidding process however; their registration must be approved before they are awarded a contract. On the other hand, completion of the registration form does not automatically lead to inclusion in the vendor master file: the Bank only processes applications from vendors who are about to sign a contract.
World Bank corporate procurement also generates many opportunities for consultants, specifically in operations consulting, which can include project identification, preparation, appraisal, supervision, evaluation, analytical and technical advisory activities, policy and program work, research, training, and activities associated with various partnership programs. Requests for Expressions of Interest for consultants hired directly by the World Bank for assignments over US$50,000 are published on UN Development Business as well as on the World Bank's new eConsultant2 website.
eConsultant2 is a free and secure, web-based tool that supports consulting firms doing business with the WB. eConsultant2 allows firms to view opportunities, express interest, obtain documents, send proposals, and communicate with the Bank in a secure, online environment. While the 'opportunities' section of the eConsultant2 is open to all consultants, the 'electronic selection' application is currently designed to support consulting firms only. In the future, the system may be modified to support individual consultants.
The WB's Supplier Diversity Program intends to increase business participation of Minority, Women and Disabled Owned Business Enterprises (MWDBE) by direct contracting, and by subcontracting through the Bank's prime contractors.
The World Bank has long recognized that private sector development was an important theme worthy of sovereign loans and grant contributions aimed at strengthening environments and systems to facilitate private sector development within borrowing member countries. Part of the larger World Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is the lending arm entirely focused on supporting the private sector. Established in 1956, the IFC provides various forms of direct investments as well as, advisory services to build private sector capacity in developing countries and, asset management services. Each year, the IFC commits billions of its own funds towards private sector investments in developing countries. Each dollar of IFC capital leads to about $20 of total project financing, including co-financing from other investors.
While there is no standard application for financing, there are general criteria that must be met to qualify for IFC financing, and companies are invited to contact the IFC directly with inquiries. Contact details for field office staff as well as sector-specific investment specialists, can generally be found on the IFC's website.
The IFC's corporate procurement is managed by the World Bank's Corporate Procurement eConsultant2 system, so Canadian firms and consultants are encouraged to familiarize themselves with this platform.
World Bank administered trust funds are another source of consulting opportunities. Trust funds are financing arrangements set up with contributions from donor governments, foundations and private institutions, that are held and disbursed by the Bank who acts as a trustee. The Bank offers 3 types of trust funds to support its poverty reduction programs: by funding key due diligence activities for development operations, promoting innovative approaches, and expanding development collaboration.
IBRD/IDA trust funds are used to finance activities that the IBRD/IDA implements and supervises. Disbursements are made either through bank-executed trust funds (BETFs) or, recipient-executed trust funds (RETFs):
In bank-executed trust funds (BETFs), the World Bank controls disbursements and uses them to support its work program, including its internal work program. BETFs support economic and sector work, technical assistance, capacity building and the supervision of RETFs;
In recipient-executed trust funds (RETFs), the World Bank passes funds on to a third party while retaining an operational role, such as appraisal and supervision of the activities financed by these funds.
Financial intermediary funds (FIFs), are multilateral financial mechanisms that support global development initiatives for which the Bank acts as a trustee and provides intermediary services such as receiving, holding and transferring funds to recipients or other agencies for implementation. In its trustee role, the Bank is not responsible for or accountable to, donors and FIF governing bodies for the use of funds after transfer. In some cases, the Bank serves as an implementing agency along with other agencies.
IFC trust funds are managed by the IFC and typically support advisory services (where IFC provides advice, problem solving, and training to companies, industries and governments) and, investment services (enabling companies to manage risk and boraden their access to foreign and domestic capital markets by promoting sustainable enterprises, encouraging entrepreneurship, and mobilizing resources).
For years, Canada contributed to the "tied" Consultant Trust Funds (CTF) program however in 2004, the WB discontinued trust funds that imposed nationality restrictions on procurement, in favour of "untied" multi-donor funds. Canada continues to be a donor to many funds that strongly align with the thematic and geographic priorities of the Canadian government.
Firms are advised to focus on countries, sectors and projects where they have expertise, experience and local partnerships.
The pipelines stages of the project provide many opportunities for consultants, but keep in mind that the World Bank's 'Conflict of Interest' clause prevents a consultant and its affiliates form providing services during the project implementation that are related to an assignment during the project preparation.
A good time to meet with staff is often right after you have visited the country in which the project is located. Be sure to have read all the relevant project documentation. Names of Task Team Leaders are given at the end of Project Information Documents. December and August can be difficult months to arrange meetings.
When visiting a country, make time to learn about future opportunities that may arise in Bank-financed projects. Contact the Bank's country office and seek information on projects in specific sectors of interest, particularly projects in implementation.
Experience indicates that companies are more likely to win a contract if they have had regular contact with the implementing agency prior to a SPN or RFP being issued. Details of the agency are given in the MOS, PID and PAD.
Trust funds can only be accessed by Bank staff, not by consultants. However, they are not always aware of the existence or possibilities of (smaller) trust funds. Firms that have identified a need that could be solved by use of a specific trust fund could indicate this to the appropriate Bank staff.
In addition to all World Bank financed opportunities subject to ICB, UN Development Business posts procurement information and notices by other development banks, national governments and United Nations agencies. Basic subscription for both this service is about US$550 annually.
Firms are not obliged to work with a local partner, but it often provides many advantages, including language proficiency; knowledge of business culture and customs; access to local networks and insight in the project. The World Bank also maintains a system of domestic preferences, which can be as high as 15 percent of the price for goods and services and 20 percent of the points in selection of consultants.


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I CAME TO AUSTRALIA BY ANTHONY BACON
This third and last chapter of Anthony Bacon's hitherto unpublished memoir, A Life with Entrances and Exits, describes his life as a boy-lover on emigrating to Australia in the early 1980s, initially to Sydney. All the photographs here were taken by him and are of boys who actually involved themselves in Greek love then, the two of hustlers of 12 and 13 being the real boys in his account.
Return to Chapter Two
Chapter Three. I Came to Australia
My extended commission in the R.A.F. came to an end in the early 80s, and through a friend who'd flown Twin Pioneers with me in Borneo, I bought a steamer ticket with my paltry service gratuity to go and live in Australia. After six weeks of chasing boys around a ship, I arrived in Sydney. The weather was wonderful and so were the boys.
Were Australian boys different from those I'd left behind in the Old Country? Not even slightly, I was relieved to discover! They were the same deeply curious, sensuous creatures, and had the same enormous capacity for love. The same wonderful sense of humour, as well. Though popular culture in both sex-repressive nations saw kids generally as silly nothings — neuters, almost — they were of course, none of those things.
Impish Grin
Said friend and I flew STOL aircraft resupplying every kind of survey and exploration camp known to humankind. Often, while he was in the bush, I was on leave in Sydney. The tower-block we lived in overlooked the North Shore and there were sun-browned boys literally everywhere. Usually barefoot, they must have had soles like shoe-leather. They also mostly ran around in raggedy Speedos all day and half the night. Boys I met on the lovely beaches and in the local public pools often knocked on my door, but only when they knew my flat-mate was in the bush! They knew me as keenly as I knew them — just as boys in Europe, the Middle and Far Easts had — and the effect of a smiling man who actually cared what they thought, who laughed a lot and was generous and gentle and patient… Dah-di-dah…
It's not rocket science. Kids are incredibly sensitive and even these tough-as-leather Aussie boy would respond to gently ruffled hair and tickled ribs? The 'rules' of play-fighting were the same and I found that many of them had already had their prongs tugged. Squirming laughter; erections and then sex as far as the boy wanted to go, would often follow. Or sometimes, with a promise of more later…
Back in the early 80s, boys in Australia were still often allowed to roam free in their own time, and you met them everywhere. On the beach and in public parks, by rivers and near boatsheds, at shopping-centres or simply riding their bikes in the street. Like their British cousins, they were largely ignored by their parents. Though well-fed and well-clothed and though sparkling with good health; they knew that they were secondary in the hermetic world of their mothers and fathers.
Hermetic? Yes, back then, kids lived in one world and their parents in another. Conversations about the really important things in life very rarely happened. Few boys asked: "Dad, why does my willy get stiff?".
Perhaps some had fathers who could simply explain the phenomenon in a sensible manner, but most did not, and here it has to be recorded that Australian adults tended to be even more uptight about sexual realities than British parents. So, for the deeply curious boy, information was thin on the ground…
Are you still watching?
So, how did they find out about sex and what went where? Older boys, mainly: "Come on, I'll show you how to do it…". Then there was the concept of attractiveness. A boy half-way good looking would know it from an early age. Loving aunts and grandmothers pinching their cheeks: "Oh, what a lovely boy!". Then, later on, men pinching their nether-cheeks…
The truth is that most adults in Australia at that time worked hard and played hard. The playing part of life included a lot of cold beer and their whole culture reflected the relative lack of importance of their children in the scheme of things. The old adage held: a good boy was neither seen nor heard?
Along comes an adult who smiles and talks gently and listens to what the boy has to say… Wow, what is this? Does this man really care what I think? He laughs at my jokes!
OK, after a while, he wants to go behind the bushes… So that's OK because the boy has been doing this with his friends for some time, and anyway the boy is deeply curious about men…
Or maybe this isn't his first time? The need for more pocket-money, or simply the thrill of doing something that would cause his sainted mother to have heart-failure is an important part of the attraction?
Some boys were serious hustlers. Others couldn't even spell the word… Two such were a pair of blond surfie-boys I met in a shopping centre as I wondered with my camera. The older was about 13, the younger 12. The 13 tried to beckon me over, but I had a feeling of danger nearby and I smilingly retired. Later, showing a contact-print of the boys to a like-minded friend, he laughed and said that he knew them both!
They apparently always acted as a pair and while the elder would suck off a fire-hose, it was paradoxically the younger boy who would 'take it up the bum' — in their own words.
More boys were hustlers in a laid-back, casual way. A boy called Byron would stretch and grin wickedly and say: "Nah, not unless you pay!" Giggling and testing me and in effect asking me: "…how much do you want it?". And then often forgetting to collect the money afterwards. The money obviously wasn't the point. The truth is that some of those boys were sexy little beasts who hadn't yet found an interest in girls!
Hustlers of 13 and 12 beckoning over a promising man ...
My own theory is that most of the boys I met had sex with friends or strangers simply for the thrill of the forbidden. And, of course, for the pursuit of that radical physical-sensation, the orgasm. The fact that very young boys — in the right circumstances — can be orgasmic was never lost on me. So, it was outright pleasure? Or, being the first boy in his class who could wet-come properly? Yet these boys entered 'the game', often before wetness was even physically possible, and that also was not lost on me.
Yes, I suppose there were raggedy kids in Sydney who lived under bridges, but I never did meet any of these. They tended to be older.
No, my greatest love was for the young and clean, twelve-to-fourteens, mainly. Slender, smooth-skinned and compact, with enormous eyes and almost always with a complexion untroubled by spots, their arms and legs were covered with a silky golden down, rather than hair…
Yes, and they laughed a lot… Nearly all of them were thrilled to be a part of what they saw as real life. Treated like equals — but with gentleness and patience — and yes, it was really good to receive money or gifts, or both. That new Swiss Army knife was bonzer…
And being introduced to new ways of 'doing it'! 'It', being sex generally. Often, a boy would happily allow himself to be sucked off, or would offer to suck off the man, but would clearly stipulate 'no bum-sex'.
Me, I was as happy as Larry just to be in their company. So, it is with delight that I can report that many boys having been skilfully sucked over-the-rainbow, would then often gracefully bend over and give me my quid pro quo…. 'Come-uppance' seems like too much of a bad pun!
The key to this, with such slender young people was of course, mental rather than physical. If the boy was happy with doing 'the big poke', then it was possible. If he wasn't inwardly happy, it simply would not be an option?
I have to say that I could swallow my disappointment in the latter case because I knew that often, a proper fuck could very well happen at a later date…
And yes, I did meet such sweet boys many times more than once. For me, it had always been the sheer outrageousness of the act of penetrating a boy's tender bottom that made the act even more exciting than any physical sensation involved. I suppose that I reverted to an element of playful boyishness in my own psyche in those incredible moments?
Another shot of the same two boy lolitas
And here it is opportune to mention that these boys were not forced into prostitution by economic necessity. For them, the extra pocket money was good to have, but overall, the main driving-force was that sex was wicked fun. You should hear prurient giggles from behind the bushes now… Oh, those far off days!
There were also the boys that I called the naturals. Boyish boys with nothing effeminate about them, they just loved having it up the bum! Finn my sweet Scotty had been one of those. He loved, he said, watching the effect he had on me as he tightened up and ground his teeth, 'blobbing' on his own belly as we rutted face-to-face.
So finally, what is it that allows some boys to allow this radical invasion of their bodies? This 'act against nature' — as so many legal people refer to it? The truth is that I simply don't know. I never experienced it myself and I never felt that I wanted to be 'done' — as we would said when I was young.
Natural sensuality and deep curiosity seem to be the prime inspirations; together with the thousands of nerve-endings at that incredibly sensitive spot, perhaps? Hearing about others doing it and wanting to know what it was like? As well as love and giving — of wanting to give another gentle, generous person pleasure?
The question was partly answered when first I saw images from the social-media site: Omegle. This was years ago and there were astonishing pictures of very young people of both sexes, using hair-brush handles, dildoes, even pop-bottles on their bottoms. Other pictures showed similar-age kids fucking. And I mean, doing it properly. Ages varied from mid-teens down to the most amazingly slender, small, prepubescent kids.
One starkly beautiful image remains etched in my memory. A blond, slender boy of about thirteen has the larger part of a very large black dildo planted deep inside himself. His huge blue eyes are wide and his four and a half inch prong is as rigid as a school coat-peg. It is curved up — as is so often the case with the very young — and his foreskin is fully back and though the quality of the image was poor, it was possible to see the fluid from his Cowper's glands gathering urgently at his pee-hole… That kid was ready to explode!
I can only expound the theory that stimulation of the prostate gland with the dildo might have had an heightening effect upon this boy's obvious excitement — but what do I know?
He, and the other girls and boys on that media site should finally put to bed the madly stupid notion that kids are ciphers: devoid of curiosity, sensuality, or even the capacity for love!
What they were doing was preparing themselves for the lists of love in later life!
Across the mighty Atlantic from where I was born, it seems that pederasty also flourished. Read Edmund White's A Boy's Own Story. The autobiographical author starts off as the older boy in a loving dyad; then ends up as the younger loved-one with grown men, later. Some of the early pages of the story stand as classic-tales in the — if I may pun madly — the passages of boy-love.
Imagine, if you will, a scene of near-desolation. Near the Great Sandy Desert, red earth is thinly covered with scrub and spindly eucalyptus trees.
A house made of corrugated-iron appears below. Nearby, there is a landing-strip for the Flying Doctor — like a great red scar that might still be sore… You land your Bell G3B1 in a clear patch, where your company has previously left a pile of 44 gallon fuel-drums and you and your mechanic climb out wearily. The mechanic gets straight to work, expertly checking the machine out because tomorrow a small fixed-wing aircraft will land and he will rush off to the next pile of fuel-drums and the next bush-pilot… Leaving Muggins to do all of his own servicing for the next few weeks. As well as fly 'survey grids' from dawn-to-dusk.
No, often we had idle days, during which the gravity or seismic engineers collated data. But going back to the arrival: the one thing you could be sure of was that at least one boy would come haring out of the bush — a mile-wide grin and eyes out like organ-stops.
The owner of above 'cattle station' probably had no idea how many head of cattle he owned, but his house had an earthen-floor!
His son, though, had a mop of blond hair and periwinkle-blue eyes and his legs were improbably long. Wearing only the briefest of shorts, he was almost tongue-tied, but he managed to ask me: "'Ow's it work?"
On one level, it's not hard to describe a Bell 47. Everything is exposed! So, you give a fairly detailed description of how the engine feeds through a reduction gear-box to the rotors, blah, blah, blah, and all the time the boy nods wisely and I do get the impression that he truly does understand.
He walked slowly around the machine after I had dried up and then he nodded sagely: "Thanks, but you don't 'alf talk funny!" and then he grinned cheekily.
This, for me, was the signal to grab him and gently tickle his ribs and that, of course, was the beginning of a sweet friendship?
This kid was hundreds of miles from the nearest school, so he would sit at a pedal-radio with headphones on for part of each day while his teacher in Darwin droned away. The constant pedalling tuned his slender legs to perfection and every other part of his body was a gorgeous golden-brown.
Inevitably, he asked: "Will you take me for a ride?"
Bingo! I thought — and grinned wolfishly: "If I do that, what will you do for me?"
Now, you might imagine that a simple farm-boy had seen bulls servicing cows, but that's about all? Well you'd be wrong. Kip blushed and dropped his enormous eyes, then turned even pinker and giggled madly: "You'll be lucky!" he said decisively [translation: "Get bloody lost!"] and he walked a little way into the bush and then wandered slowly, thoughtfully back to me:
"Alright, but I stay on top!" he said.
Where — or even how — he'd found out about, or experienced, man-boy sex I couldn't guess, but later he told me that the School of the Air kids would go to Darwin once a year for a few days. Obviously, with adult minders…
Of course, I gave him several lovely flights and logged them as 'air-tests'!
Among we bush-pilots, the brief air-tests that we carried out were currency in exchange for favours given to us by our 'favourites'. Most of my colleagues chose the prettiest girl for miles around? Obviously, I chose her younger brother! Which pissed the girls off terribly!
Imagine also, a very small coastal town on a wide, muddy river. Nothing but tin-shacks and a huge dock for loading cattle. One street and a pub.
The sweetest experience
Though the landing-strip was a good long mile from the township, a cohort of panting boys arrive while the dust from my landing is still in the air. Goggle-eyed and laughing. Christ, in that 40-degree heat, you could even smell their sweet, fresh sweat! Yum!
Again, eventually, one of those leggy beauties would be there on his own and he would pop the expected question. On one occasion, I had already got into the pants of the prettiest boy in town. The pub-owner's son had come to my room and let me up into his tight, warm paradise on the agreement that I would take him flying.
This other boy was a dream-like adjunct! Of course, I never let Boy A know that I was also fucking Boy B as well…
Thinking that Boy A was my special love was a mistake. I mean, mine alone? Early on one of my days off, I met Boy A after breakfast. Would he like to go flying? He blushed and hummed and then looked really embarrassed and apologetic. He'd promised to go on a fishing-trip with the local boatman. He who brought supplies to the township around the coast and down the river!
Fuck! Inwardly, I was furiously jealous, but I knew that he'd been 'friends' with this guy since he'd been eight… Fishing, indeed! So I took Boy B flying instead…
But wasn't even one of those Oz boys a virgin? Yes, back in Sydney a boy asked me to help him finish a model Spitfire. He was only eleven and very shy at first, but he slowly responded to gentle side-on hugs and later, gentle touches, front and back. One day, I started the zip of his shorts down and he grabbed my hand — suddenly nervous. I waited and he said:
"Only suck — OK?"
"OK!!!"
It took me months, during several time-off periods in town, to finally ease my gentle way up into his sweet little chuff. By which time he was twelve and definitely ready.
Another boy I met in Queensland was also a virgin, but from his playfully 'defensive' behaviour, it was obvious he knew what I was after and it was only a matter of time before I was sucking and fucking him — in that order.
Were there any obdurate virgins? Yes, I would say nearly a quarter of the lovely boys I knew back then simply did not respond. But they mostly got a flight anyway. At the time, I simply moved on.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Company will abide by laws and ordinances on the protection of personal information as well as other regulations.
The Company will not gather personal information without the customer's consent.In addition, personal information will be gathered within the scope necessary for making various inquiries and providing services, such as the sending of direct mail.
Personal information gathered by the Company from customers will never be provided or disclosed to a third party, except for the following instances.
The personal information of customers will be managed appropriately and strictly by the Company, and the Company will take precautions and safety measures to ensure that the personal information of customers is never accessed illegally, leaked, destroyed, modified or divulged.
The Company outsources the management of personal information to Ad Planning Limited. In doing so, the Company carries out necessary and appropriate audits to ensure that Ad Planning Limited manages personal information in a secure manner.
If a customer requests for the disclosure, revision or suspension of use of their own personal information, the Company will comply immediately within a reasonable scope.
The Company strives to continually improve its handling and protection of personal information.
Copyright © 1963-2016 Chuo Alps Kanko Co,Ltd. All Rights Reserved.


text:
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;

namespace Entitas.CodeGenerator {
    public static class CodeGenerator {
        public const string componentSuffix = "Component";
        public const string defaultIndicesLookupTag = "ComponentIds";

        public static void Generate(Type[] types, string[] poolNames, string dir, ICodeGenerator[] codeGenerators) {
            dir = GetSafeDir(dir);
            CleanDir(dir);

            foreach (var generator in codeGenerators.OfType<IPoolCodeGenerator>()) {
                writeFiles(dir, generator.Generate(poolNames));
            }

            var components = GetComponents(types);
            foreach (var generator in codeGenerators.OfType<IComponentCodeGenerator>()) {
                writeFiles(dir, generator.Generate(components));
            }

            var systems = GetSystems(types);
            foreach (var generator in codeGenerators.OfType<ISystemCodeGenerator>()) {
                writeFiles(dir, generator.Generate(systems));
            }
        }

        public static string GetSafeDir(string dir) {
            if (!dir.EndsWith("/", StringComparison.Ordinal)) {
                dir += "/";
            }
            if (!dir.EndsWith("Generated/", StringComparison.Ordinal)) {
                dir += "Generated/";
            }
            return dir;
        }

        public static void CleanDir(string dir) {
            dir = GetSafeDir(dir);
            if (Directory.Exists(dir)) {
                FileInfo[] files = new DirectoryInfo(dir).GetFiles("*.cs", SearchOption.AllDirectories);
                foreach (var file in files) {
                    try {
                        File.Delete(file.FullName);
                    } catch {
                        Console.WriteLine("Could not delete file " + file);
                    }
                }
            } else {
                Directory.CreateDirectory(dir);
            }
        }

        public static Type[] GetComponents(Type[] types) {
            return types
                .Where(type => type.GetInterfaces().Contains(typeof(IComponent)))
                .ToArray();
        }

        public static Type[] GetSystems(Type[] types) {
            return types
                .Where(type => !type.IsInterface
                    && type != typeof(ReactiveSystem)
                    && type != typeof(Systems)
                    && type.GetInterfaces().Contains(typeof(ISystem)))
                .ToArray();
        }

        static void writeFiles(string dir, CodeGenFile[] files) {
            if (!Directory.Exists(dir)) {
                Directory.CreateDirectory(dir);
            }
            foreach (var file in files) {
                File.WriteAllText(dir + file.fileName + ".cs", file.fileContent.Replace("\n", Environment.NewLine));
            }
        }
    }

    public static class EntitasCodeGeneratorExtensions {
        public static string RemoveComponentSuffix(this Type type) {
            const string componentSuffix = CodeGenerator.componentSuffix;
            if (type.Name.EndsWith(componentSuffix)) {
                return type.Name.Substring(0, type.Name.Length - componentSuffix.Length);
            }

            return type.Name;
        }

        public static string PoolName(this Type type) {
            Attribute[] attrs = Attribute.GetCustomAttributes(type);
            foreach (Attribute attr in attrs) {
                var customPool = attr as PoolAttribute;
                if (customPool != null) {
                    return customPool.tag;
                }
            }

            return string.Empty;
        }

        public static string IndicesLookupTag(this Type type) {
            return type.PoolName() + CodeGenerator.defaultIndicesLookupTag;
        }

        public static string UppercaseFirst(this string str) {
            return char.ToUpper(str[0]) + str.Substring(1);
        }

        public static string LowercaseFirst(this string str) {
            return char.ToLower(str[0]) + str.Substring(1);
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Realme X7 Max 5G Will Be The First MediaTek Dimensity 1200-Powered Smartphone in India
BBK Electronics brand Realme has teased its upcoming Realme X7 Max 5G ahead of its launch in India. The Realme X7 Max 5G microsite has already been made live on Realme.com, which hints that the Realme X7 Max 5G will be the first smartphone in the country that will come with the MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chipset. The launch is expected in the coming weeks as the company has officially started teasing the Realme X7 Max 5G online. The smartphone's launch was initially delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in the country. Realme X7 Max has been previously rumoured to be launched as a rebranded version of the Realme GT Neo. Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth has separately posted an image of the smartphone on his social media, which also shows a Realme GT Neo-like design.
According to the microsite launched by Realme, the Realme X7 Max 5G is confirmed to come with a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chipset and will be the first smartphone to come with the SoC in India. Realme has also posted the AnTuTu benchmark scores for the Realme X7 Max that is more than 700,600. The company has also partnered with Asphalt 9 Legends mobile racing game. Further, the Realme X7 Max 5G will feature two 5G SIM slots.
According to the image shared by Realme India CEO Sheth, the design is similar to the Realme GT Neo that was launched in China back in March this year. The image shows that the smartphone sports "Realme" and "Dare to Leap" branding on the back panel, with a blue strip running through the back panel.
If the Realme X7 Max 5G is launched as a rebranded version of the Realme GT Neo, it will feature a 6.43-inch Super AMOLED full-HD+ display along with 120Hz refresh rate. The MediaTek Dimensity 1200 SoC could be paired with up to 12GB of RAM and the smartphone could have up to 256GB of internal storage that will be further expandable via a microSD card. The Realme X7 Max 5G could come with a 4,500mAh battery with 65W fast charging support.
Apple's new privacy ad imagines Thanos-snapping your stalkers out of existence
Realme Launches Watch 2 Pro, Buds Wireless 2 and Pocket Bluetooth Speaker: Price, Specs and More
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text:
  Polymer({

    is: 'letters-only',

    behaviors: [
      Polymer.IronValidatorBehavior
    ],

    validate: function(value) {
      return !value || value.match(/^[a-zA-Z]*$/) !== null;
    }

  });


Another transaction in my portfolio last week. Gold prices have been taking a hit lately and I see a good buying opportunity, even though I am sitting at full positions in most of my gold equities. However, the valuation looked attractive enough for me to add more and possibly trade around my core position.
Last week I added to my B2Gold Corp (BTG)(BTO.TO) position. In this particular case, I decided to buy the US-listed stock — ticker: BTG; but to keep things simple, I will treat it as the BTO.TO in my portfolio page, as it is the same company. I bought 500 shares of B2Gold (BTG) @ US$2.93.
B2Gold is one of the larger junior mining companies. The Fekola project is arguably one of best gold mines going into production this year — and is slotted to produce upto 50,000 oz of gold to begin with before ramping up next year. For the most part, I think investors are under appreciating the size of this project and the potential of B2Gold. The management is fantastic and has a proven track record of building and producing gold mines in the past. This is the same team the built and sold Bema Gold (that's where the '2' in B2Gold comes from) to Kinross Gold in 2007 for $3B.
This is my 4th purchase of B2Gold shares (see purchases #1, #2, and #3). I now hold a sizeable position in B2Gold, making it one of my largest holding in the portfolio. Once the share prices recover after this slump in metal prices, I might swing trade a bit or write covered calls to take some profits. But I will not be forcing any moves just for the sake of it. For the long haul, I am happy holding the shares as we are still early in the gold bull market.
Full Disclosure: Long BTO.TO, BTG. Our full list of holdings is available here.
I think that buying Bitcoin may be an infinitely better idea than gold. Bitcoin is a limited unit of value with a rapidly expanding user base globally. Here's my logic. There are 5,820,203,717 ounces of usable gold on earth at this time and that number continues to expand every hour. So, over 5.8 BILLION ounces today. As for Bitcoin, the most that there will ever he is 21,000,000. 21 MILLION. In the last two weeks Bitcoin's price per unit ( 1 gold ounce vs 1 Bitvoin) equaled the price per ounce of gold. There are 277 times the units of gold than Bitcoin. Bitcoin price today is $1127. Multiplying the per-unit Bitcoin price ($1127 x 277) to equal gold's price per unit is $312,000. I'll be buying more Bitcoin with my next paycheck.
Bitcoin is not on my radar. Yes, it is limited in the number of coins available, on the other hand, someone can start an alternative crypto currency and bam…. more virtual money is there overnight!
This weakness is temporary, Im sure (next week's debt ceiling raise should be an interesting catalyst) — so hopefully your puts work out in your favor.
Exactly my thought process on bitcoin too — there are already alternate cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum — so, Im not sure if the raise in Bitcoin is warranted or will survive on a long term basis.
I do like gold as an increasing asset over the long run. This looks like a great stock.
I'm really salivating over precious metal stocks here… this selloff is providing an amazing opportunity for the patient investor/speculator to load up before the next leg up again.
Silver, in particular has taken a huge beating… many stocks down -30% plus in less than two weeks.
All I see are opportunities galore.
It is an opportunities galore! There are so many deals that seemed a bit expensive just a month ago. Love the volatility and the quick movements that the sector provides. Theres so many interesting companies and assets to buy — just gotta decide on which ones to pull the trigger on.
Gold prices are down? Hmm, maybe I should take this as an opportunity to buy gold bullion. I primarily have silver bullion.
Gold prices are hovering close to $1200/oz right now…pretty good valuation imo.
But really, who likes to buy low anyway?
Agreed, Jay. Miners are providing some great value play, but bullion never hurts if you dont any in your assets.
I am a big fan of precious metals and the companies that are mining them. Probably quite opposite to most people that write about personal finance.
The first time I held a one ounce gold coin I felt like it was what money ought to be.
Thats true…most people in the personal finance blogging world do not tend to share their PM equity trades, except for a couple of them I know.


Is leading by example your thing? Then learn to be an innovative and strategic business leader who combines the latest theoretical knowledge and practical experience with social wellbeing in order to succeed.
Antioch University Midwest's philosophy is that a strong sense of social responsibility and mastery of business and leadership will help you stand out among competitors. Sharpen your abilities to create inventive solutions to complex problems that organizations face today through a systems thinking approach.
The US healthcare system is in a period of unprecedented growth and change, and requires qualified executives trained to meet these challenges head-on. When you enroll in the Antioch University Midwest MBA program, you will investigate the ethical application of the varied critical business principles needed to build social enterprises, empower diverse cultures, and develop innovative management strategies. This concentration in Healthcare Leadership will view these fast changing issues through lenses of multicultural competencies, health insurance and reimbursement, and complex systems thinking.
Organizations experience constant change and require leaders to be trained to successfully meet these challenges. Enrolling in the Antioch University Midwest MBA program will provide you with a cohort from diverse professions and backgrounds. As a group, you will consider the ethics and values of organizations, the application of leadership principles, and the many tools used to build social enterprises, empower diverse cultures, and develop strategic management plans. The concentration in Change Leadership will take an in-depth investigation into the issues of team development, conflict management, and leadership identity.
The MBA Program is designed to accomplish the following learning outcomes so students graduate with demonstrable mastery in this field.
Foster multicultural competency and lead ethical decision making processes that includes multiple perspectives.
Continuously improve knowledge, awareness and skills through critical reflective practices that strengthen personal and professional development.
Think critically to integrate theory and practice tailored to address the healthcare needs of diverse communities.
Analyze complex organizational and community healthcare issues and conduct assessments of their systemic contexts and opportunities.
Antioch University focuses on knowledge and learning rather than letter grades. Students receive a written evaluation of their work, called a narrative learning assessment, at the end of each class from their instructor.
Narrative learning assessments present an in-depth description of your unique learning process. Through them, you can identify your strengths and recognize opportunities for growth. You will gain a better understanding of what you have learned and what you need to learn next, and receive practical advice to meet your goals.
AUM's MBA program offers students a schedule for completing your MBA while managing multiple life priorities. Our hybrid-delivery program is structured to balance rigorous study with busy professional and personal schedules. On-site classes are scheduled one weekend per semester, with online assignments and group projects between meetings on our beautiful Yellow Springs campus.
A 6 credit hour Capstone (thesis or practicum) is designed to address an area of research of specific interest for each student. Each student with the assistance of their advisor selects a focus for their capstone and over the span of the four residencies, develops solutions to issues faced by organizations, non-profits, and communities by applying learned strategic leadership and management principles.
View a sample course schedule for a student starting in a Fall semester.
Social Responsibility: Proficiency in synthesizing and applying foundational theory and practices in order to create a socially responsible company or non-profit organization.
Financial Strategies: The skills to implement integrated strategies that will strengthen the financial sustainability of companies or non-profit organizations.
Human Resource Development: Development of an organizational culture and the implementation of practices that support human well-being and the successful performance of the individual, team, unit, and organization.
Systems Thinking: Use of analytic, strategic, and collaborative decision making and innovative problem-solving in order to manage complex and changing organizational systems.
Leading Change and Self-Development: Application of theories of change and leadership in order to guide businesses and organizations towards a socially responsible, successful, and sustainable bottom line. As a self-aware manager, he or she reflects upon areas for improvement and continues to evolve and develop the necessary interpersonal and intrapersonal skills to be an effective leader.
Integrated Application: Synthesizing and applying knowledge, metrics, and skills to promote organizational success through the development of a comprehensive strategy and implementation plan.
Global and Cultural Diversity: Awareness and appreciation of global and cultural diversity as part of an interconnected world and can apply an understanding of the social, political, economic, and cultural context in order to lead an inclusive and equitable global company or non-profit organization.
This intensive 24-month MBA degree program features a concentration in healthcare and leadership. AUM's goal is to educate a generation of leaders with a strong sense of social awareness and values, who embrace the need to give back to their communities. Our students learn to be strategic, values-based leaders who make a significant contribution to their companies, organizations, and communities by applying the latest management tools, models, and theory. As a graduate of our program, you'll be prepared to navigate the dynamics of team, organization, community, and global levels.
AUM's MBA program offers students a schedule for completing your MBA while managing multiple life priorities. Our hybrid-delivery program is structured to balance rigorous study with busy professional and personal schedules. On site classes are scheduled one weekend per semester, with online assignments and group projects between meetings on our beautiful Yellow Springs campus.
A 6 credit hour Capstone (thesis or practicum) is designed to address an area of research of specific interest for each student. Each student with the assistance of their advisor selects a focus for their capstone and over the span of the four residencies, develops solutions to critical healthcare issues faced by organizations, non-profits, and communities by applying learned strategic leadership and management principles.
View a sample course schedule for a student starting in a Spring semester.
Systems Thinking: Use of analytic, strategic, and collaborative decision making and innovative problem solving in order to manage complex and changing organizational systems.
Managing, analyzing, and implementing organizational change can be a challenging endeavor in rapidly changing business and not-for-profit environments. Nurturing happy employees, managing conflict, and making the best decisions with the available information are not easily learned skills. By learning to analyze social situations, identify areas of constructive change, and communicate effectively you'll be capable of clearing any hurdle that might present itself in a supervisory role. With this degree you'll be able to demonstrate to hiring professionals your expert training to lead, engage and foster organizational comradery.
Our Master of Arts degree in Management and Change Leadership is an innovative, student-centered, professional education for adults. You will learn and practice how to analyze and manage organizational and other social situations, identify areas for constructive change, and lead efforts to move beyond obstacles to necessary change.
You will discover approaches to skillful communication that prevent unnecessary conflict and behavioral problems, to create healthy organizational cultures that support success. You will learn much more about "how things work" in our complicated world, and use these insights in every professional and personal setting. With mastery in this knowledge and these skills, you will help individuals achieve organizational goals and adapt to change, while you manage and lead the way to healthier and stronger performances.
In the Antioch tradition, the graduate degree in Management and Change Leadership has transformative impacts on our adult students in their professional and personal lives and performance. Students increase their capacity to understand and acquire skills to deal with complex situations in ways sorely needed by most organizations and communities. And since change is a constant challenge in organizations, communities, and societies, those who gain mastery through this professional degree have a wide range of career opportunities.
Brief on-campus residencies: 2-day residency before each semester (3 days for new students). Residencies are generally on weekends.
Residencies are an important component of the coursework. The residencies contribute to the development of a learning community, which helps to sustain the student during the at-home portion of the academic program.
Residencies are hosted on AUM's campus in Yellow Springs, Ohio.


Complete calendar for download (7 MB).
The math calendar 2013 shows visualizations of complex functions using so-called phase portraits. Moreover, there are explanations of all images for non-experts on the back sides. Enjoy the beauty of mathematical representations!
The math calendar 2013 was developed by Prof. Elias Wegert and Dr. Gunter Semmler from the Institute of Applied Analysis. Pamela Gorkin and Ulrich Daepp (Bucknell university) translated the calendar into English.
You can print this calendar yourself but we do not sell printed copies of the English version. However, the German calendar can be purchased from the German version of this site.


text:
import { customElement } from 'lit/decorators.js';

import { appDatePickerInputName } from './constants.js';
import { DatePickerInput } from './date-picker-input.js';

@customElement(appDatePickerInputName)
export class AppDatePickerInput extends DatePickerInput {}

declare global {
  interface HTMLElementTagNameMap {
    [appDatePickerInputName]: AppDatePickerInput;
  }
}


Protecting the planet and operating ethically is really important to Vinyl Revolution. As a young company with a limited start-up budget it would be very easy to buy cheap products from companies that damage the planet and exploit their workers but we have chosen not to.
Although we can never claim that vinyl records are green products we do our best to ensure that they are treasured, re-used and even (when damaged) saved from landfill. Our ground floor is entirely dedicated to the sale of pre-loved, second-hand or vintage records that we find new homes for. When records are damaged we give them a new lease of life as recycled coasters, wine racks and bowls.
We keep our use of plastic to an absolute minimum and WE DO NOT HAVE ANY PLASTIC BAGS . We provide recyclable paper bags free of charge and sell Vinyl Revolution organic sustainably and ethically produced Tote Bags from Earth Positive. EVERYONE WHO RETURNS TO THE SHOP WITH A VINYL REVOLUTION TOTE BAG GETS A 5% DISCOUNT OFF NEW PURCHASES.
EVERYONE WHO RETURNS TO OUR SHOP WITH OUR TOTE BAG RECEIVES A 5% DISCOUNT. We remove PVC record display sleeves from our records at point of sale and re-use them.
* A few of our products (our Curvy Ladies t-shirts and our ringer t-shirt) aren't available from Earth Positive and we haven't managed to source decent alternatives in organic cotton. Despite not being organic these products are sourced from companies complying with strict ethical and environmental standards at their factories.
When we took over the lease for our shop in Duke Street we invested over £30k in fitting-out the shop. We installed new basement insulation and low energy lighting throughout the shop to reduce our energy use. All lighting is turned off when the shop is closed.
Although we drive a large car or van to transport stock to/from the shop and pop-up locations all staff commute to work daily using public transport or walking.
We try to operate ethically when is comes to looking after our staff too. All of our staff are paid above minimum wage and we are setting up an employee profit-share scheme as soon as we hit break-even. Staff breaks are well in excess of statutory too. We believe that if our staff our happy then so are our customers!
We're not perfect (and are always looking for ways to further improve) but we are doing our best to protect the environment and operate ethically and always choose to work with other companies who do the same.


text:
One of these Detroiters is Charles Pugh. The other is 'sick of saying I am not' him.
September 03, 2022, 6:34 PM by Alan Stamm
Some lookalikes are flattered at being mistaken for a prominent person. A few play along and pretend the resemblance is real. Others tire of interruptions by strangers.
Duante Beddingfield, right, isn't related to the ex-con at left.
At this weekend's Detroit Jazz Festival, music journalist Duante Beddingfield is "so sick of saying I am not Charles Pugh," he tweets Saturday afternoon from the downtown event.
The annoying questions are understandable, though Pugh -- a notorious former city council president and registered sex offender -- is 13 years older. Both men are bald, bespectacled, Black and have a loose resemblance.
But for a 38-year-old Free Press arts and culture reporter, it's hardly a compliment to be asked if he's the guy who spent five years in prison after pleading guilty to misconduct with a 14-year-old boy in 2016. Pugh, now 51, was released last December.
"Already lost count of how many times this weekend I've been mistaken for Charles Pugh," the journalist tweets with three red-faced emojis that are frowning and cursing.
"This whole thing is gonna kick into overdrive when I take the stage to introduce bands tonight and tomorrow and interview a headliner at the #detroitjazzfest anchor desk," Beddingfield adds in a follow-up.
He joined the Freep in fall 2020 and also hosts a three-hour weekly jazz program on a NPR affiliate in the Dayton, Ohio, area.
The other guy was on Detroit's council from 2009, when he became the city's first openly LGBT elected official, until he quit abruptly in September 2013 and moved to New York City. In addition to the Wayne County crime that put him behind bars, federal jurors in a civil case ordered Pugh to pay $250,000 for sexually harassing a teen in 2015.


text:
Greek American tourists test Covid-19 positive on Rhodes
Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
A 78-year-old expatriate from the USA, who was diagnosed after a molecular test, positive for coronavirus, has been hospitalized in the Special Infections Unit of the General Hospital of Rhodes since yesterday.
The 78-year-old who lived in Gennadi arrived on the island last weekend, through a third country, underwent a test on the same day, the results of which had not been properly announced until yesterday. She felt unwell, was taken to Rhodes General Hospital and was diagnosed positive.
It is recalled that last Friday a 60-year-old expatriate from America was diagnosed positive. She is a middle-aged woman who lived with a 78-year-old friend in a hotel in the city of Rhodes. The 78-year-old friend of the latter has nothing to do with the one who was diagnosed positive yesterday.
It is noted that 11 samples were taken from a private clinic from the environment and from people with whom the 60-year-old had come in contact and all were negative. Her 78-year-old friend, with whom she lived together for two days, will be examined again.
The 60-year-old went on a trip with her friend outside the city of Rhodes, they ate at a restaurant and felt unwell. He was taken to a private clinic and there he first underwent a rapid test which came out negative and then a molecular test which was positive. He was transferred, according to the protocol, with an ambulance to the General Hospital of Rhodes, where he is being treated. Yesterday morning and around 10.00 the molecular test was repeated in the hospital, as it is provided in case of admission of patients from another health unit. And this test came out positive
greek americans
covid19 positive
Severe weather front hits Greece
Archbishop Ieronymos on the Church's role in the Revolution
Anger over the savage beating of the metro stationmaster by the mask deniers (video)
Historian Beaton tells us that Greek independence was given and not won with blood!
Latest from E.Tsiliopoulos


text:
Research for the AASHTO Standing Committee on Planning. Task 51. Information Design for Effective Decision Making and Communication
Information design has been defined as the practice of systematically presenting data -- and sometimes visually displaying quantitative data -- to maximize its value and accessibility to the reader. Examples include displaying complex road-condition information in a visually intuitive format like a color-coded map; breaking highway maintenance expenditures down into a per-car basis, as Washington State does; and using design techniques to ensure that a chart's content -- rather than its design -- is highlighted. Such practices are valuable in effectively communicating with top decision makers and with the public, and for making performance measures and other data speak to top managers and front-line workers. Managers at many transportation agencies are looking to bring new chief executive officers (CEOs) up-to-speed as rapidly as possible, explain the value of their organization's efforts and the wisdom of their choices to their legislatures, and ensure that they're using the data they have to maximize the public's substantive investment in transportation assets. Information design is a powerful tool for accomplishing these objectives. Transportation agencies have no shortage of data. They collect information on highway conditions, operations, and construction and maintenance activities. They have information on soil conditions, wetlands, drainage, flood planes, land use, neighboring communities and applicable regulations, and area weather patterns. Sometimes they layer pieces of these data in GIS; sometimes they slice and combine them in decision-support systems; both of these help transform data into information. But how effective are the products created by these efforts? Certainly, they are far more effective than they were a generation ago. But are they demonstrating this information in ways that are most likely to make the important information jump out, without distortion, and that are helpful and intuitive to technical experts, decision makers, and the general public? Are we getting the most out of our investments in GIS and decision-support systems and the vast efforts that go into populating their databases? The field of information design, pioneered by Yale Statistics and Graphic Design Professor Emeritus Edward Tufte, offers transportation agencies a powerful and practical set of ideas for ensuring that information is presented in a clear and effective format. But there is widespread concern that transportation agencies' use of this field is inconsistent and that available resources are difficult to locate. This is especially true where these agencies are attempting to initiate performance reporting to support management, policy decisions, and public understanding and support for transportation needs and priorities. The objective of this study is to provide guidance to transportation agencies on employing effective information design.
http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=1265
Funding: $75000.00
Project 08-36, Task
Federal Highway Administration
American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
444 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 225
National Cooperative Highway Research Program
500 Fifth Street, NW
McCready, Ronald
rmccready@nas.edu
ICF Consulting, Incorporated
101 Lucas Valley Road
San Rafael, CA United States 94903-1791
Expected Completion Date: 0
Source Data: RiP Project 11664
TRT Terms: Communication systems; Data collection; Decision making; Design; Information systems; Information technology; Research projects; State departments of transportation; Transportation planning
Identifier Terms: National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Data and Information Technology; Design; Highways; Planning and Forecasting;
Source Agency: National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Contract Numbers: Project 08-36, Task
Files: RIP
Created Date: Mar 19 2015 1:01AM


text:
Open-World Season for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
E3 2016 and Nintendo's major gambit, the new The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild appears to be paying off. Set to be released in 2017 simultaneously on the Wii U and Nintendo's next console still-in-codename-phase the NX, Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma indicated The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would be the "same experience" on both consoles. He didn't elaborate any further on whether the NX version could see exclusive elements or features.
What Nintendo has been conveying since 2014, was that this next big Zelda game would challenge what had become stables, and arguably stale conventions, in the game series.
Amongst this has been moving to a more open-world and nonlinear style of RPG for Breath of the Wild, as opposed to the far more on-rails (and often repetitive) Skyward Sword.
Aonuma has said that in this new Zelda game, "the world is the main character".
Certainly many gamers may recall past Zelda games, where moving around the world was a worthwhile experience in and of itself. Such as in Ocarina of Time, riding Epona around the fields, headed towards the visible horizon. Jumping fences meditatively as day shifted into night, and feeling the clip-clop of her hooves within the rumble of the controller.
How Breath of the Wild fairs in the storytelling department because of this new "the world is the main character" exploration approach will be something to watch for.
In many of the open-world RPGs, the main story may be more of an ancillary plot device and the main quest can quite frankly be disappointing at times, serving more as an excuse to go off and explore the game world instead.
Whereas the Zelda series, whilst undoubtedly featuring action and adventuring along with puzzle solving in the dungeons, has long been narrative-driven. With the player guiding Link through the familiar iterations of the story involving Princess Zelda, Ganon, and the Triforce.
For the Zelda game series canon purists, know that the female lead character in the game suspected by some fans is simply not the case. There is no playable "female Link". Familiarity of the overarching story and balance of the Triforce remain with Link as the playable hero of the game.
The Zelda demo playable at E3, displaying The Great Plateau, reportedly only showed a mere one percent of overall game world. With Breath of the Wild said to be about 12 times the size Twilight Princess in terms of game world area.
Time once again passes in the game-world, where an hour of Hyrule-time equates to one minute of Earth-time.
Beyond this, the shake-up begins.
Players can now press a button causing Link to jump, as opposed to the scripted animations of the past. Link can also climb as well.
There's no more slashing grass to collect hearts. In what may or more not be a nod to other RPG series, Link will now need to collect food and other ingredients to replenish his health via cooking and eating food, and mixing potions. If Link goes the full gourmet though, stick Balbus' Fork in him because he's probably done.
Along with no more hearts from cutting down the grass, the same is said to be true of gathering rupees. The gemstone currency is still in the game according to Aonuma, but will function somewhat differently this time. It'll be interesting to learn how much the new rupee dynamic may solve the value of the currency issue, where the player has all this money in a Zelda game and nothing worthwhile to spend it on. While the different sized wallets in some of the past Zelda games did help somewhat to give a bit of meaning to the value of money, as the games progressed, money too quickly became worthless (even if rupees were still slavishly collected), particularly where the grass could readily be cut to harvest rupees and other equipment items.
Presumably the lack of items just awaiting to be cut from the grass in Breath of the Wild, will also extend to that other past Zelda convention of smashing pots to get things like rupees and bombs and arrows. This may not be a bad thing.
Weapons, shields and equipment, can now be acquired from enemy camps and via disarming enemies directly. The Z-targeting system also makes its return. Items such as weapons are now also subject to degradation through use, in ways beyond things like setting fire to deku sticks and the fake Biggoron's Sword.
Clothing with reportedly also play a key role in the game; and the trailer footage shows Link wearing a suit of armour.
"If you're going to a cold area and you drink the right type of elixir, you can go there half-naked and you'll be fine," said Aonuma.
Whether that should be taken in part as a gameplay reference towards Ocarina of Time-styled red and blue tunics or similar, is one of the many details about Breath of the Wild yet to be revealed. That also includes the status of Link's trusty and traditional green tunic. It is known that the effects of desert heat and stealth will be factors affected by Link's clothing.
Another addition will be content based upon amiibo integration. Four amiibos so far are believed to be compatible with the game. Including Wolf Link, which makes Wolf Link appear in the game to attack enemies and help find items for the player.
As previews go, with only one percent of the game world playable, the surface of this new open-world Hyrule is likely far from even getting scratched.
Feature Image Credit: Nintendo
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I harbored certain notions about how having kids would change my life. These notions mostly centered around how much my free time would be affected and how little time I'd have to myself. Well, it's Saturday morning, and I've awoken feeling well rested (for me, that means I got about 8 hours of sleep, though not all in one stretch--but then, that was hard to accomplish even when I was child-free). All the guys in my house (kitties included) are sound asleep, and it's very quiet. I've checked my email and read the latest headlines and blog posts (sounds like Mary had a great day in SF yesterday...hey Mary, call me next time you're doing all that fun stuff with your kids. I'm home all day and I appreciate stuff like family lounges too now!). I could take a long shower or watch some trash TV or maybe even beat the rush at Tartine, a local bakery that's excellent but a complete waste of time if you get there after 9:30 or so because of the massive and poorly managed line. I could even write that blog post deconstructing the problems with Tartine's service that lead to its massive line, if I cared to (which I don't at this particular moment--perhaps because now that I have kids I have more important things to overanalyze ;). But anyway, I just wanted to note for the record that, while having a child has certainly reduced the amount of time I have to myself, it hasn't totally eliminated it. I never would have imagined my mom self having another morning so similar to the one where I wrote that old post about being child-free, but here I am, writing on my blog, about to head into the kitchen to make myself a decaf chai soy latte, which I will sip while I generally enjoy the silence. I consider this particular myth busted! Makes me wonder what other motherhood myths are out there waiting to be debunked.
Wow! That is amazing. He's hardly a month old and this little guy is letting you get up before he does! Hallelujah! Happy mothering. It's true, you do get the occasional free morning and it means so much more now. Life is good.
Am I not a mommyblogger?


Carol Ozemhoya | OW Contributor | 11/1/2018, 3:28 p.m.
A Black doctor has claimed crew on a Delta Air Lines flight doubted her credentials as she attended to a fellow passenger who was ill. Fatima Cody Stanford, a doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, said she was on a flight from Indianapolis to Boston when a woman sitting next to her began hyperventilating, reports the Independent. Dr. Stanford told CNN that she was helping the passenger when a flight attendant intervened and asked if she was a physician, to which she replied she was. A second attendant then allegedly asked to see her medical license, which she provided. Shortly afterwards, both airline workers returned and asked if the license she gave them belonged to her. "I am very disappointed that your policies on #Diversity have not lead to any change. As a #Blackwoman #doctor who showed my #medical license to help a passenger on DL5935 your #flightattendant still did not believe I was a #Physician," Dr. Stanford wrote on Twitter. "My experience last night when a fellow passenger needed help," she added, "shows that being a [doctor] does not shield from racism." Delta later responded on Twitter, writing: "I am so sorry for your frustration Dr. Stanford. Please know that Delta does not condone discrimination for any reason and we take your comments very seriously. We are looking into [this] further and will be reaching out to you directly." Dr. Stanford said an official from the airline called her to say the company was investigating the incident. A spokesman for Delta claimed flight attendants "initially misread the credentials offered by the doctor and went to reconfirm her specific medical discipline." He added: "We are following up with the crew to ensure proper policy is followed. Dr. Stanford's care for the passenger remained uninterrupted throughout the duration of the medical issue." Dr. Stanford's experience comes two years after a 2016 incident in which a Black doctor, Tamika Cross, was barred from helping a man who fell ill on a Delta flight. When Dr. Cross tried to come to his aid, a flight attendant dismissed her. "We are looking for actual physicians or nurses," the flight attendant said, according to Dr. Cross. The story, shared via Facebook, triggered thousands of comments, and an outpouring of stories from minorities and women who had faced skepticism from people who did not think they looked like doctors. Her experience helped trigger changes in the airline's policies, including the requirement that medical professionals show their credentials before helping passengers.


This Christmas Eve as you lay the children down to sleep and lock the doors, you will have the chance once again to notice that feeling of holiday vulnerability creeping on up. You may feel it especially when you hang the stockings with care or leave out a plate of cookies for Santa. Something feels hollow. It's a subtle, diffuse sense that we usually dismiss as misplaced nostalgia or a bit of underdone potato or undigested beef. A vague foreboding on the periphery of awareness. A nagging intuition that something important has not been acknowledged.
Many of us, perhaps even most of us, simply ignore the feeling and go to bed (perhaps to be plagued by unpleasant dreams of unformed menace). But if we take the opposite approach, if instead of forgetting this annual sense of emptiness and dread we focus on it, follow its thread, and let it take us where it wants to lead, what we will discover is nothing less than an ancient tale about the horror of the holidays: the real nightmare before Christmas.
Although there are many roots buried beneath the Santa Claus complex, American Christmas traditions come mostly through the Pennsylvania Dutch, those German-American settlers who arrived in large numbers in the Eastern woodlands during the 18th and 19th centuries. The name "Santa Claus" appears to be a corruption of the Dutch settlers' "Sinter Klaus," or St. Nicholas.  But in the German Alpine traditions, jolly old St. Nick does not ride alone. His wingman is the Krampus, a beastly "anti-Santa" that has been present throughout the last three hundred years of Christmas tradition in Europe.
According High German lore, the Krampus accompanies St. Nikolaus on the journey to everyone's home; in fact, the two of them often carpool in the same magical sled, and they arrive with complementary missions. St. Nick doles out presents to the good kids, but the Krampus shows up to beat, torture, and abduct the baddies in a burlap bag that he carries slung over his back.
What I find particularly interesting is that although there are always a few seasonal reminders of the Krampus tradition in America, for the most part the dark side of Santa's judgment has failed to penetrate the American psyche. The long history of the Krampus in European Christmas lore was curiously scrubbed out from our cultural repertoire when St. Nick came overseas to the New World. But despite this psychic-cultural omission, over the years there have been a few American journalists and publications that have called out the significance of horror in our Yuletide traditions. NPR carried a story in December 2012 on the rise of Krampus celebrations in America.  The New York Times did something similar over a decade ago, at the turn of the millennium. Time magazine did it 50 years ago. And in each case, both the information and the tone of its presentation has remained practically identical: In some backwards places in Europe, these journalistic organs tell us, Christmas is scary. Isn't that weird?
For those to whom such knowledge isn't new, what can seem weird is this American insistence on the weirdness of associating Christmas with horror. The association, after all, is ancient. To single it out as strange is the height of naiveté.
Then again, sensing the strangeness of Yuletide fears, and seeing the Krampus legend through new, unjaded eyes, might lead to some valuable reflections and insights. After all, why is Christmas secretly so scary? And who are we really inviting down the chimney anyway?
The origins of Christmas horror extend far back into European history. It's pretty commonly known these days that Yuletide was originally a time of year celebrated by the indigenous Germanic peoples of Europe until it and they were Christianized in the Middle Ages. The Yule festival was a celebration of the dark days, when the nights are long and the days short and cold. Animals were sacrificed, blood was boiled in kettles, and everyone got drunk and celebrated their "fertility" while plenty of that year's harvest was still left to go around.
The celebration of Christ's birth on December 25 likewise has a pagan origin. It is a cultural graft of Brumalia, the bacchanalian midwinter's feast in ancient Rome. The solstice occurs on Dec 25th on the Julian calendar, but with today's Gregorian calendar it falls on December 21st. So here at least two cultural strands of unruly and wild behavior that have been linked with the dark days.
As for St Nicholas, the Christian saint from Greece, his gift-giving personage has been grafted onto the Yuletide celebrations that were held in honor of Odin the Wanderer, a shape-shifting, many-named god of the North who led the Great Hunt and rode a eight-legged horse. (Unrelated to Christmas, but interesting in its own right, is the fact that Tolkien is said to have based the wizard Gandalf, with his great white beard, traveling clothes, and staff, on of the wandering aspect of Odin.) Of particular relevance here is the fact that Odin rewarded children who left food for his horse by filling their stockings with gifts.  He delivered them, of course, by going down the chimney, a favorite entrance of witches and shamanic figures the world over.
But Odin isn't the only smoky spirit that entered the home in pre-Christian Europe. Another strand of the Krampus myth can be seen in Perchta, the 16th century Germanic goddess, who, like Krampus, had one good foot and one enlarged foot, often called a swan foot, indicating a penchant for animal transformation.  If no one left an offering for her on her feast day, she was known to slit people's bellies open, pull out their entrails, and stuff them with straw. She came into the home around the mid-winter solstice, and also around the twelfth night, or January 6th, and delivered gifts to hard-working children but a death warrant to slackers.  Unlike the beatific St Nicholas, Perchta didn't need a dark consort because she contained the dual nature of judgment within herself: she could show up as a lovely white-robed woman or as an old hag, depending on the moral purity of the household.
The 1800s appear to have been a high point for Krampus literature. Graphic postcards depicting the creature doing terrible things to children were popular, including, for example, images of the Krampus drowning a child in ink and then spearing him with a pitchfork.
We should note that there's an especially weird aspect to this entire tradition — I mean weird beyond the obvious high weirdness that's visible on the surface of the thing — because the invitation of the shamanic wildman/animal transformer into our homes goes against the grain of our conscious expectations and behavior, and also against many other traditions associated with Christmas. After all, so many of our Christmas traditions are actually about repelling harmful spirits. Wreaths of pine and spruce are evergreen amulets that protect doorways from bringing in disease and death, while garlands tied with red cloth have been used to ward off evil spirits for centuries. Even caroling has an ancient ritual history that began with people blessing apple orchards to keep them free of malicious spirits for the next year's harvest. These are all ancient apotropaic agents, that is, objects and rituals used in liminal spaces to combat the uncertain terrors of the night.
But we leave the chimney clear for penetration by spiritual entities. By guarding all of the other openings of the house with amulets of protection, we effectively funnel all of the energetic vulnerability of the dark night into this sooty opening. What's more, we subvert the old European use of children's shoes as witchtraps by expecting our stockings, hung by the chimney with care, to be filled with gifts. And like the woods people of Northern Europe have been doing since the time of Perchta, we leave an offering of food at the table.
This sets up some very strong cognitive dissonance and makes for a very weird night. Children pick up on it pretty easily, too: they are simultaneously fascinated by and terrified of Christmas Eve. And why not? The normal routine of sleep and waking and the emotions surrounding them is completely upended. Sleep comes late and is marked by multiple panicked awakenings at the normal sounds of the night. Was that the patter of reindeer feet? The ringing of bells? The visceral reaction of children to all of these things may be the closest we can get nowadays to what's really going on at Christmastime. Christmas Eve is the night when we let down our barriers and let a dubious creature slither down the chimney precisely when we and our children are most vulnerable, as we lie asleep in bed.
Anxiety is a prerequisite to the meeting on Christmas Eve. It's not accidental at all, and so we engineer its creation. We say, for instance, that we must wrap presents that have mysteriously been left to the last minute, just like last year. But this is not really a time-budgeting issue; we are compelled to stay up. The urge for vigil is strong despite the lack of cultural explanation for why we are on alert. Like Scrooge in Dickens's classic A Christmas Carol, we fall asleep in the overchair, in an uncomfortable pose reminiscent of soldiers on night watch.
What is the real reason for the season? It's not just to bring us closer to the divine child, still eloquently preserved in Christian culture (and also, where I live, in many automated nativity miniatures in suburban front yards), but to bring us to an encounter with the dark divine. This is what's missing in America's Christmas sensibility. This is why Christmas Eve has lost its teeth, and why Santa's list is half-baked. What's more, the dark divine is secretly sought for by our children, while we adults vicariously watch and reminiscence, passing on the seed of joy/terror.
Our confrontation with this spirit on the darkest night can just as easily lead to regret, suffering, and horror as it can to peace, love, and abundance. At its most stripped-down, long before the usual moralistic functions about good/bad little children who did/did not work hard enough come into the picture, our dramatic re-enactment of an ancient visitation rite reveals a desire for judgment that is beyond the reach of our usual authorities: a cosmic judgment, an x-ray of our inner value beyond the social.
Essentially, Tim Burton had it right in The Nightmare before Christmas. The power of the winter holiday lies in its ambivalence, wonderfully illustrated in the film as that moment (seen at the end of the trailer below) when you're not sure whether a strange nocturnal visitor is going to hand you a toy truck or a shrunken head. When we collectively scrubbed out the primal notion, memory, and experience of horror from "the reason for the season," we lost access to a portion of our own souls.
As I type these words, it's past midnight on the eve of the winter solstice. It's also the eve of the end of the Mayan long-count calendar. It's the longest night of the year, and with a pelting rain falling outside my window, it feels like the darkest night as well. Before I head to bed, just in case I've got the date wrong, I will be leaving out a plate of cookies and a glass of milk. Just to be safe. Why tempt fate?
 Brad Igou, "Pennsylania German Christmas Traditions," Amish Country News, Winter 1998. Accessed December 13, 2012.
 Wikipedia, s.v. "Krampus," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krampus, accessed December 13, 2012.
 Peter Crimmins, "Horror for the holidays: Meet the Anti-Santa," NPR, December 10, 2011. Accessed December 13, 2012.
 "Austria: Throw Out Krampus," Time, December 7, 1953.
 An interesting political footnote to this phenomenon, as well as an early mainstream American mention of the Krampus tradition, can be found in a 1934 New York Times article titled "Krampus disliked in Fascist Austria," which reported that Austrian religious leaders feared the Krampus was associated with fascism and urged a blanket boycott of the tradition by all good Christians, even as the fascist government of Austria itself tried to suppress Krampus traditions.
 Wikipedia, s.v. "Perchta," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perchta, accessed December 13, 2012.
 Jacob Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie (1835). From English released version Grimm's Teutonic Mythology (1888). Accessed December 13, 2012.


Make sure you do your research—have a heart-to-heart with your spouse, talk with friends and family—before making the important decision of living the RV life full-time.
Many people dream of retiring and travelling full-time in an RV but sometimes the reality is different from the dream. That doesn't mean the reality isn't possible because it is. It's a lifestyle choice that should be considered carefully before jumping in with both feet. Both members of the couple must agree since this can be a difficult decision if both don't have similar goals. It's best to sit down and put all your cards on the table for what your expectations are (both of you). If you aren't in complete agreement it's time to come to a compromise. If one of you isn't sure, why not do a trial run—say for a year or six months and re-evaluate at the end of that time. It's really important to remember living the full-time RV lifestyle is not a vacation—it's a way of life. Those who retire to an RV sometimes don't understand the difference until they have been on the road awhile. It's common for new retirees to rush around constantly as if they were on a two-week vacation trying to see and do everything as quickly as possible.
1. Finances - The cost of full-time RVing is dependent on the amount of travelling that's done, the price of the RV, parking fees, insurance, fuel, restaurants, groceries, medical, and personal expenses. Some say it's cheaper than living in a house but it's really up to the individual. Research where you want to go and what you want to do and by knowing your budget you should be able to come up with a plan that works for you.
2. Planning - What will you do with your house and all of your stuff? Where will you receive your mail? What type of RV do you want or need? What is your budget? How will you stay in touch with family and friends? What will you do if you have to hang up the keys? These are just a few of the questions you should ask yourself during the planning stage. The answers don't have to be cast in stone but you should have a clear idea of what you really want.
3. How much travelling do you wish to do? Not everyone who is a full-timer does a lot of travelling while others move every few days. Many find that the first year or six months they do a great deal of travelling until they realize they aren't on a holiday and can travel in leisure without hurrying. The more miles driven the more expensive the travelling can be.
4. Educating family and friends. Not everyone understands the full-time RVing lifestyle and can make you second-guess your decision. Just remember, it's your decision for your life and once they realize how happy you are and they still can be in touch regularly they will come around. Visiting family members can be easily done since you will bring your home with you and have everything you need in your RV unit. No one is inconvenienced by having to give up a bed or space and you have a place for some quiet time if you need it.
5. Challenges. One challenge to consider is adjusting to living in a small space with your spouse—that may prove interesting. Many couples find they are much closer and really enjoy getting to know each other again. Maintaining the RV may be a new task for some and learning how to tow or drive their rig is another. The need for a home base can be a challenge but it's not insurmountable and with a little ingenuity the problem can be solved.
6. Benefits. There are so many benefits to full-time RVing that it's difficult to list them all but the main two benefits I think to living in an RV is having the ability to be mobile and to simply your life as well. The potential for living cheaper, meeting new people, experiencing new things and being open to new challenges are invaluable and should be appreciated.
Living the full-time RV Lifestyle, as a retiree can be an exiting new adventure at the next phase of your life—so make it interesting and enjoyable. Happy retirement as you retire to an RV.
Budget, personal needs and types of RVs available will determine the type of unit you choose for living the RV lifestyle.
There are laws regarding the length of your stay, your driver's licence and even the length of your RV.