A financial tender transfer system allows a transferor to transfer credit or make payment to a transferee by debiting the credit card of the transferor and crediting the credit card of the transferee. The financial tender transfer system gives the transferee immediate access to the transferred money and ensures the transferor's credit card is valid. Neither party needs to give their credit card number to the other, so security is preserved. Any amount of value up to the full credit line of the transferor can be transferred to the transferee.
[0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of funds and/or credit line transfers and, more particularly, to funds and/or credit line transfers between credit card accounts.
[0004] People exchange money using a variety of methods. For example, in lieu of paying cash for goods and services, people often choose to pay for such purchases using credit cards or checks. In a typical credit card transaction, a merchant calculates the amount of a purchase and asks the buyer for payment. The buyer then presents the merchant with a credit card. The merchant runs the credit card through a point of sale unit with the amount of the sale either entered either manually or automatically by a cash register. Once entered, the merchant's acquiring bank, or credit card processor, receives the credit card data and sales amount with a request for authorization of the sale. The credit card data includes the credit card number, which identifies the type of card, the issuing bank, and the cardholder's account.
[0005] After processing the transaction, the acquiring bank routes an authorization request to the buyer's credit card issuing bank. If the cardholder has enough credit to cover the sale, the issuing bank authorizes the transaction and generates an authorization code. The issuing bank sends this code to the acquiring bank and puts a hold on the cardholder's account for the amount of the sale. Based on the code received from the issuing bank, the acquiring bank sends an approval or denial code to the merchant's point of sale unit, which has a separate terminal identification number to enable credit card processors to route data back to the particular unit. The point of sale unit or cash register then prints out a sales draft or slip to be signed by the buyer, which obligates the buyer to reimburse the card-issuing bank for the amount of the sale.
[0006] At a later time, generally the end of the day, the merchant reviews all authorizations stored in the point of sale unit against the signed sales drafts. When all the credit card authorizations have been verified to match all the actual sales drafts, the merchant captures, or transmits, the data on each authorized credit card transaction to the acquiring bank for deposit. This action is in lieu of depositing the actual signed paper drafts with the bank.
[0007] The acquiring bank performs an interchange for each sales draft with the appropriate card-issuing bank. The card-issuing bank transfers the amount of the sales draft to the acquiring bank, minus an interchange fee, which is typically between 2-4% of the transaction value. The acquiring bank then deposits the amount of all the sales drafts submitted by the merchant, less a discount fee, into the merchant's bank account.
[0008] To confirm validity of a credit card, the issuing bank reviews the credit card account number using a checksum algorithm that prevents others from creating valid account numbers. For example, a standard Visa or MasterCard account number is 16 digits and the algorithm reduces the probability of someone fraudulently creating a valid number to approximately 1 in 500,000.
[0009] Due to the perceived risk of fraud and the potential for monetary loss, most consumers prefer not to provide credit card account numbers to another person, particularly when the consumer has no way of knowing the identity or trustworthiness of the recipient of this information. Many consumers thus hesitate to use a credit card for telephone orders, such as catalog orders, for fear that some catalog company operators may misuse their card number.
[0010] Credit card institutions also offer so-called "convenience checks." Convenience checks can be used to purchase goods and services in the same manner as a conventional check, except that the convenience check clears against the cardholder's available credit line. The convenience check amount is generally recorded as a cash advance on the cardholder's monthly billing statement.
[0011] Credit cards today have become a pervasive method of payment for goods and services. They not only offer convenience, security, and flexibility in the commercial transaction process, but also provide some limited flexibility in the assignment of debt obligation. For example, it is well known in the art that credit card holders are free to transfer debt between accounts, thereby taking advantage of different account features, such as lower interest rates. Such transfers are typically done by paying off the old account with a convenience check or electronic funds transfer, which draws the old account balance onto the new credit card account.
[0012] Credit card companies also offer limited-use credit cards that permit employees to charge debt against a company account. For example, when relocating employees, some companies pay relocation expenses by issuing a credit card on the company's account with a predetermined credit limit for the card. The employee may use the card for purchases and cash advances up to the limit. The corporation maintains liability for the account debt, thus essentially taking the responsibility of paying the relocation expenses.
[0013] Credit card companies also offer co-signed accounts and accounts with multiple, or supplemental, cards. With co-signed accounts, a co-signer assumes direct liability for any credit card debt reneged on by the principal cardholder. Supplemental card systems permit a principal account owner to provide cards issued on the same account to other family members. The principal account owner maintains liability for all debt accrued by the other users. Similar to supplemental cards, corporate cards provide employees with access to a corporate credit line and the corporation maintains liability for all debt accrued by the employees.
[0014] For the limited-use, co-signed, supplemental, and corporate credit card accounts, unused available credit line represents a level of risk exposure by the party liable for the debt. For example, available credit could be misused by the employee or by a thief if the card is lost or stolen. In fact, many corporate cards have higher risk exposure than consumer cards, in part because many state and federal laws limiting liability apply to consumer-issued cards, but not to corporate-issued cards.
[0015] Besides credit cards, another widely-used payment method involves the use of personal checks. Consumers use personal checks to settle debts, pay bills, or make a variety of purchases. In general, banks issue personal checks to consumers following the establishment of an account with the bank. The bank, however, typically requires that consumers have sufficient funds in their accounts to cover all payments made using personal checks.
[0016] Banks also provide consumers with the option of using "certified checks" or "bank checks" as a payment method. With a certified check, a bank prints special indicia on a personal check that verifies that the bank has segregated sufficient funds in the consumer's account to cover the value of the check. The bank will not release those funds to anyone other than the check's presenter except under narrow and defined circumstances, e.g., proof the check was destroyed or lost. Certified checks provide the transferee with a high degree of confidence that the check can be cashed for the value stated on its face.
[0017] Bank checks are drawn on the bank's own account instead of a consumer's account. It is made out to a transferee specified by the party who paid the bank in advance for the value of the check. Unlike certified checks that are returned to the transferor after being cashed, bank checks are returned to the bank because they are drawn on the bank's own account. Bank checks can be used, for example, when the issuing party does not want to reveal his identity, or when the receiving party wants to minimize the chance of revocability.
[0018] Another method of transferring money involves the use of money orders. A money order is very similar to a bank check except that it is issued by a non-bank party such as a post office. Alternatively, people transfer funds by "wiring" money. To wire money, a consumer pays a fee and prepays a third-party to instruct a distant party to disburse an amount of money (usually cash) to a specified person. Electronic funds transfer (EFT) offers yet another method for parties to transfer money. EFT involves securely moving money from one account directly to another electronically.
[0019] These methods for exchanging or transferring money suffer from a number of shortcomings. For instance, not one of these conventional methods permits a direct exchange of credit where the credit card of the transferor is debited while the credit card of the transferee is credited in settlement of the transferor's debt to the transferee.
[0020] Even if the transferor uses a convenience check in settlement of the debt, the non-merchant transferee has no way to know whether the transferor has sufficient credit available to cover the value of the check. Also, even if the transferee could know that sufficient credit was available at the time the check was presented, the available credit could be fully or partially used by the transferor before the check is processed.
[0021] Another shortcoming of conventional payment schemes is that, except for cash, there is no way for one person to pay another person so that the transferee is able to use the value transferred without first processing the transfer instrument by, for example, depositing the instrument with a bank or converting it into cash. In other words, the recipient of a check must convert the check into cash or deposit the check in a bank account before withdrawing cash or writing checks against the transferred value.
[0022] There are some narrowly usable instruments such as gift certificates or casino chips which are bearer instruments of value, and thus do not require conversion prior to use. These instruments, however, are denominated in specified amounts and are not widely usable like cash or a credit card. This same limitation holds true for bank checks, certified checks and money orders. Only wiring money to another party allows the recipient to receive cash immediately, though he must first travel to a location where an agent of the wiring process is available to disburse funds.
[0023] Another shortcoming, particularly with respect to credit cards, is that a cardholder's unused credit line has no resalable value. In a strict financial sense, unused credit capacity is an economic asset (borrowing capability) that has value, particularly if the unused money is below current market rates. For example, if a consumer has a $5,000 credit line on his credit card at an introductory rate of 6%, the consumer might desire to use $1,000 of the line himself and use the other $4,000 of the line to relend to another borrower at an interest rate higher than 6%, keeping the interest rate differential as a profit. However, currently there is no way for a cardholder to use his unused credit line as a revenue generating asset because the credit line is irrevocably assigned to a given card and cannot be transferred in any way.
[0025] Systems consistent with the present invention allow a transferor to transfer credit or make payment to a transferee by debiting the credit card of the transferor and crediting the credit card of the transferee. Payment of a financial tender value, such as funds and partial credit lines, in an amount of value up to the available credit line of the transferor can be transferred to the transferee. The transfer of the financial tender value permits the transferee to access the transferred money or credit line immediately after the completion of the transfer. Neither party needs to give their complete credit card number to the other, so security is preserved. Prior to a transfer of a financial tender value, the validity of the transferor's credit card and the availability of sufficient credit is confirmed. The system thus provides a great deal of convenience to parties and enables a transferor and transferee to make a transfer of financial tender in lieu of checks.
[0026] Systems consistent with the present invention benefit card issuers by facilitating increased card usage through providing further opportunities for parties to use their credit cards. In addition, credit card issuers will benefit from increased charge volume at a reduced risk, and potentially from fees for providing the transfer service as well.
[0027] The following description, as well as the practice of the invention, set forth and suggest additional advantages and purposes of this invention. The elements and combinations set forth in the claims achieve these advantages and purposes.
[0028] To obtain the advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a method for transferring credit between multiple credit card accounts comprises the steps of: identifying a transferor credit card account; identifying a transferee credit card account; identifying a financial tender value to be transferred from said transferor credit card account to said transferee credit card account; and initiating the transfer of said financial tender value from said transferor credit card account to said transferee credit card account.
[0029] Both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description provide examples and explanations only. They do not restrict the claimed invention.
[0052] FIGS. 22A, 22B, and 22C are flowcharts representing the operation of the financial tender transferring system of FIG. 21.
[0053] Reference will now be made to various embodiments according to this invention, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings and will be obvious from the description of the invention. In the drawings, the same reference numbers represent the same or similar elements in the different drawings whenever possible.
[0055] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an implementation of a financial tender transfer system 100 consistent with the present invention. This implementation is particularly useful for executing funds transfers, such as between a buyer and a seller of an item, because, as described below, it provides a simple method for making a payment. Financial tender transfer system 100 includes a transferor 110, a transferee 120, a central controller 130, and multiple credit card issuers 140. Financial tender includes funds and/or credit lines. Thus, the transfer of financial tender can refer to the transfer of funds, the transfer of credit, or both.
[0056] In a funds transfer, transferor 110 is the buying or paying party. Transferor 110 has his 10 credit card debited by a particular transfer amount to make a purchase or pay off a debt. The transfer amount appears as a conventional transaction entry, with a corresponding transaction description of the purchase. The transferor's available credit line decreases by the transfer amount. Transferor 110 is liable to pay this amount as a conventional charge. However, the original credit line on the card remains the same.
[0057] Transferee 120 is the selling party, or the party getting credit for payment of a debt of transferor 110. The transferee's credit card account is credited for the payment by transferor 110 in essentially the same manner as a credit appears when merchandise is returned. This credit can be used to offset other incurred charges on transferee's account or can be withdrawn from the account as cash at an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). The original credit line remains the same, but the available credit line increases in the same amount as the transfer amount. Credit card issuers 140 issue credit cards and thus give credit to transferor 110 and transferee 120. Although FIG. 1 shows only three credit card issuers, systems consistent with the present invention may be implemented with at least one or more credit card issuers.
[0058] Central controller 130 is a credit card financial tender transfer service to facilitate the transaction between transferor 110 and transferee 120. Central controller 130 controls the transfer of financial tender from an account corresponding to the credit card of transferor 110 to an account corresponding to the credit card of transferee 120. This function may be performed by the credit card issuing banks, a credit card processor linked to the credit card issuing banks, a trusted clearing house for credit card funds and/or credit line transfers, or any third party that can access the credit card system to debit one credit card account and credit another given account. Central controller 130 accesses credit card issuers 140 to determine the validity of the credit card accounts, confirm availability of credit, and debit and credit the respective accounts.
[0059] FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of central controller 130. Central controller 130 includes a microprocessor or central processing unit (CPU) 210 coupled to a random access memory (RAM) 215, a read only memory (ROM) 220, a clock 225, a communication port 230, and a data storage device 245. Communication port 230 couples CPU 210 to a bank system interface 235. Bank system interface 235 couples central controller 130 to credit card issuers 140 (not shown). An optional cryptographic processor 240, such as the MC68HC16 manufactured by Motorola, generates an encrypted identification (ID) number to provide for a secure transaction and applies to implementations described below. Symmetric cryptography is preferably employed. The use of cryptography provides a single use transaction ID that incorporates a date and time into the ID, that in turn guarantees a unique ID for every transaction. The system prevents multiple uses of encrypted transaction IDs by only allowing each unique ID to be used once. Data storage device 245 includes a customer database 250 and a transaction database 255.
[0060] FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of a credit card issuer controller 300 employed by one of the credit card issuers 140. Credit card issuer controller 300 includes a microprocessor or CPU 310 coupled to a RAM 315, a ROM 320, a clock 325, a communication port 330, a cryptographic processor 340, and a data storage device 345. Communication port 330 couples CPU 310 to a central controller interface 335. Central controller interface 335 couples credit card issuer controller 300 to central controller 130 (not shown). Optional cryptographic processor 340 generates the encrypted ID number to provide for the secure transaction. Symmetric cryptography is preferably employed. The use of cryptography provides a single use transaction ID that incorporates a date and time into the ID, that in turn guarantees a unique ID for every transaction. The system prevents multiple uses of encrypted transaction IDs by only allowing each unique ID to be used once. Data storage device 345 includes a financial tender transfer database 350 and customer account database 355.
[0061] FIG. 4 is a table illustrating an example of customer database 250. Customer database 250 holds data for each customer registered with central controller 130. The data for each customer includes the customer's name, ID number, credit card type, full credit card number, partial credit card number (last six digits or portion of full number), expiration data, and bank ID number.
[0062] FIG. 5 is a table illustrating an example of transaction database 255. Transaction database 255 retains information of each transaction conducted through central controller 230. In particular, the information held in transaction database 255 includes the transaction ID number, time and date of the received transaction, transaction amount, transferor and transferee customer ID numbers, transferor and transferee bank completion codes, and time and date of the completed transaction.
[0063] FIG. 6 is a table illustrating an example of customer account database 355. Customer account database 355 records customer information for each credit card holder holding a credit card from the particular credit card issuer 140. The customer information held in credit card holder database 355 includes the customer account number, the name of the customer, the customer's address and phone number, the original credit line amount, and the available credit line.
[0064] FIG. 7 is a table illustrating an example of financial tender transfer database 350. This database holds information for each transaction conducted by a particular credit card issuer 140. The information held includes the transaction ID number, the time and date of the transaction, transaction amount, transaction type, and credit card number.
[0066] FIGS. 8A and 8B are flowcharts of the steps employed by financial tender transfer system 100 in accordance with the implementation shown in FIG. 1. First, transferor 110 provides transferee 120 the last 6 digits or a specified portion of his credit card account number, his name as it appears on the card, and the expiration date (step 810). Transferee 120 contacts central controller 130 and navigates through a menu, which may be implemented using an Interactive Voice Response Unit (IVRU), to provide transaction information, including the amount to be transferred, the credit card account data from transferor 110, and credit card account information for transferee 120, including credit card account number to be used, and expiration date of the credit card of transferee 120 (step 815). Central controller 130 transmits the transaction information to credit card issuers 140 for transferor 110 and transferee 120 (step 820).
[0067] Credit card issuers 140 for transferor 110 and transferee 120, respectively, execute the transaction in the following steps. First, each looks up the complete credit card information of transferor 110 and transferee 120, respectively (step 825). The credit card issuer 140 for transferor 110 determines whether the partial credit card account number of transferor 110 obtained from central controller 130 corresponds to the information available within its customer account database 355 to correctly identify the transferor's credit card account (step 830). If the information does not match, the transaction is aborted (step 835). Credit card issuer 140 for transferor 110 then verifies the validity of the transferor credit card account (step 840) and aborts the transaction if the transferor credit card account is invalid (step 845), and also confirms that sufficient credit is available in the credit card account of transferor 110 (step 850) and aborts the transaction if transferor 110 has insufficient credit (step 855). Finally, credit card issuer 140 for transferee 120 checks the validity of the credit card of transferee 120 (step 860) and aborts the transaction if it is invalid (step 865).
[0068] If the conditions described above are met, credit card issuers 140 for transferor 110 and transferee 120 debit the transferor's credit card account and credit the transferee's credit card account, respectively. In particular, transferor's available credit line decreases by the transfer amount for which transferor 110 is liable to pay as a conventional charge. In addition, the transfer amount appears as a credit in transferee's credit account such that transferee's available credit line increases in the same amount as the transfer amount. Each credit card issuer 140 also reflects the result of the transaction in its respective financial tender transfer database 350 (step 870). Credit card issuers 140 for transferor 110 and transferee 120 then send confirmations to central controller 130 that the transaction has been executed (step 875). Central controller 130 subsequently sends a confirmation to transferee 120 that the transaction has been executed (step 880). Central controller 130 also updates transaction database 255 with the transaction information.
[0069] This implementation provides a simple method for executing the funds transfer between transferor 110 and transferee 120. In particular, only one party needs to access central controller 130. In addition, the transferee cannot repudiate the transaction because the transaction is executed when transferee 120 contacts central controller 130. For example, transferor 110 is required to provide transferee 120 with a specified portion of transferor's credit card number. Alternative implementations described below provide additional security features.
[0071] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of another implementation of financial tender transfer system 100 consistent with the invention. This implementation is preferably practiced in cases where a transferee is owed money by a transferor and provides enhanced security features by eliminating the need for either party to provide credit card information to the other party. As an alternative to writing a check to the transferee, the transferor settles his debt by receiving an identification number from the transferee and calling, for example, a toll free number to access central controller 130 to conduct the transaction described below with reference to FIGS. 10A and 10B. Similar to FIG. 1, financial tender transfer system 100 of FIG. 9 includes a transferor 110, a transferee 120, a central controller 130, and multiple credit card issuers 140.
[0072] FIGS. 10A and 10B are flowcharts of the steps employed by financial tender transfer system 100 in accordance with the implementation shown in FIG. 9. First, transferee 120 registers with central controller 130 operated by a trusted third party by providing it with relevant credit card information including the transferee's name and the transferee's credit card number and expiration date (step 1010). Central controller 130 records this information in customer database 250 and issues a Transferee Identification (ID) Number to transferee 120 (step 1015). Transferee 120 then provides this Transferee ID Number to transferor 110 (step 1020). After receiving the Transferee ID Number, transferor 110 contacts central controller 130 and navigates through a menu to provide transaction information, including the amount to be transferred, the credit card account information for transferor 110, including name, credit card number, and expiration date, and the Transferee ID Number (step 1025).
[0073] Central controller 130 looks up and matches the transferee credit card account information -with the Transferee ID Number in customer database 250 (step 1030) and aborts the transaction if the information fails to match (step 1035). Central controller 130 then transmits the identified transferee credit card information along with the above transferor credit card information and the transaction information of transferor 110 and transferee 120 to credit card issuers 140 for transferor 110 and transferee 120 (step 1040).
[0074] After receiving the information from central controller 130, credit card issuers 140 for transferor 110 and transferee 120, respectively, execute the transaction in the following steps. First, credit card issuer 140 for transferor 110 verifies the validity of the transferor's credit card account (step 1045) and aborts the transaction if it is invalid (step 1050). Credit card issuers 140 for transferor 110 also determines if transferor 110 has sufficient credit (step 1055) and aborts the transaction if transferor 110 lacks sufficient credit (step 1060). Finally, credit card issuer 140 for transferee 120 verifies the validity of the transferee's credit card account (step 1065) and aborts the transaction if it is invalid (step 1070).
[0075] Assuming the transaction is valid, credit card issuers 140 for transferor 110 and transferee 120 debit the transferor's credit card account and credit the transferee's credit card account, respectively. In particular, transferor's available credit line decreases by the transfer amount for which transferor 110 is liable to pay as a conventional charge. In addition, the transfer amount appears as a credit in transferee's credit account such that transferee's available credit line increases in the same amount as the transfer amount. Each credit card issuer 140 also updates its respective financial tender transfer database 350 to reflect the completed transaction (step 1075). Credit card issuers 140 for transferor 110 and transferee 120 then confirm the transaction with central controller 130, which in turn sends a confirmation to transferee 120 that the transaction has been executed (step 1080). Central controller 130 also records the transaction information in transaction database 255.
[0076] This implementation provides more security than the implementation described in connection with FIG. 1. For example, neither party needs to provide any portion of a credit card number to the other party. Also, since transferor 110 executes the transaction, transferee 120 will be unable to overcharge transferor 110 by transferring more than the agreed upon funds.
[0078] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of another implementation of financial tender transfer system 100. This implementation is preferably practiced in cases where transferor 110 is buying goods or services from transferee 120 and also provides enhanced security features by eliminating the need for either party to provide credit card information to the other party. As an alternative to providing a portion of credit card number to transferee 120, transferor 110 provides a Transferor ID Number to transferee 120 and transferee 120 contacts central controller 130 by, for example, calling a toll free number, to conduct the transaction described below with reference to FIGS. 12A and 12B. Like FIG. 1, financial tender transfer system 100 of FIG. 11 includes a transferor 110, a transferee, 120, a central controller 130, and a plurality of credit card issuers 140.
[0079] FIGS. 12A and 12B are flowcharts of the steps employed by financial tender transfer system 100 in accordance with the implementation shown in FIG. 11. First, transferor 110 registers with central controller 130 operated by a trusted third party by providing it with relevant credit card information, including transferor's name and transferor's credit card number and expiration date (step 1210). Central controller 130 records this information in customer database 250 and issues a Transferor Identification Number (ID Number) to transferor 110 (step 1215). Transferor 110 then provides transferee 120 with the Transferor ID Number (step 1220). Transferee 120 subsequently contacts central controller 130 and navigates through a menu to provide the transaction information, including the amount to be transferred, the Transferor ID Number, and the credit card account information for transferee 120, including name, credit card number, and expiration date (step 1225). Central controller 130 identifies and matches the transferor credit card account information with the transferor ID Number in customer database 250, and transmits the identified transferor credit card information along with the above transferee credit card information and the transaction information of transferor 110 and transferee 120 to credit card issuers 140 for transferor 110 and transferee 120 (step 1230).
[0080] After receiving the information from central controller 130, credit card issuers 140 for transferor 110 and transferee 120, respectively, execute the transaction in the following steps. First, credit card issuer 140 for transferor 110 verifies the validity of the transferor's credit card account (step 1235) and aborts the transaction if it is invalid (step 1240). Credit card issuer 140 for transferor 110 also determines if transferor 110 has sufficient credit (step 1245) and aborts the transaction if transferor 110 lacks sufficient credit (step 1250). Finally, credit card issuer 140 for transferee 120 verifies the validity of the transferee's credit card account (step 1255) and aborts the transaction if it is invalid (step 1260).
[0081] Assuming the transaction is valid, credit card issuers 140 for transferor 110 and transferee 120 debit the transferor's credit card account and credit the transferee's credit card account, respectively. In particular, transferor's available credit line decreases by the transfer amount for which transferor 110 is liable to pay as a conventional charge. In addition, the transfer amount appears as a credit in transferee's credit account such that transferee's available credit line increases in the same amount as the transfer amount. Each credit card issuer 140 also updates its respective financial tender transfer database 350 to reflect the completed transaction (step 1265). Credit card issuers 140 for transferor 110 and transferee 120 then confirm the transaction with central controller 130 (step 1270), which sends a confirmation to transferee 120 that the transaction has been executed (step 1275). Central controller 130 also updates transaction database 255 to reflect the transaction. As explained above, this implementation also provides more security than the implementation described in connection with FIG. 1 since neither party provides any portion of a credit card number to the other party.
[0083] FIG. 13 is a block diagram of another implementation of financial tender transfer system 100. -This implementation is preferably practiced for transactions between transferor 110 and transferee 120 that require a high level of security because it provides a cryptographically secure, non-reputable, authenticatable credit card funds and/or credit line transfer from transferor 110 to transferee 120 via central controller 130. Like FIG. 1, financial tender transfer system 100 of FIG. 13 includes a transferor 110, a transferee 120, a central controller 130, and a plurality of credit card issuers 140.
[0084] FIGS. 14A and 14B are flowcharts of the steps employed by financial tender transfer system 100 in accordance with the implementation shown in FIG. 13. First, transferee 120 provides transferor 110 with the last 6 digits or some specified portion of his credit card number, his name, and the name of transferee's credit card issuer (step 1410). Transferor 110 registers the credit card transaction to be effected with central controller 130 operated by a trusted third party by providing it with information including transferor information, such as transferor's name, transferor's credit card account number and expiration date, transferee information, such as transferee's name and the last 6 digits of transferee's credit card account number, and the transaction information, such as the amount to transfer. The date and time of registration are also recorded by central controller 130 (step 1415). Central controller 130 records the transferor information in customer database 250 and issues an encrypted Identification Number (ID Number), to transferor 110 (step 1420). This encrypted ID Number contains all the information provided to central controller 130 including the date and time information. The encrypted ID Number denotes the intention of transferor 110 to pay the transfer amount to transferee 120. The ID Number is encrypted by using a cryptographic key (issuer key) available to all issuers participating in the system. Any conventional cryptography protocol can be used. The practice of using cryptographic protocols to ensure the authenticity of senders as well as the integrity of messages is well known in the art and need not be described here in detail. For reference, one of ordinary skill in the art may refer to Bruce Schneier, Applied Cryptography, Protocols, Algorithms, And Source Code In C, (2d Ed, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996). Alternatively, central controller 130 may issue a non-encrypted ID Number that is preferably a pointer to all the information given to central controller 130.
[0085] Transferor 110 provides transferee 120 with the encrypted ID Number (step 1425). Transferee 120 then contacts central controller 130 and provides the encrypted ID Number and transferee's name and transferee's full credit card account number (step 1430). Central controller 130 decrypts the ID Number with the issuer key and matches the decrypted name of transferee 120 and the last 6 digits of transferee's credit card with information input by transferee 120 (step 1435). Central controller 130 then transmits the identified transferee credit card information along with the above transferor credit card information and the transaction information of transferor 110 and transferee 120 to credit card issuers 140 for transferor 110 and transferee 120 (step 1440).
[0086] After receiving the information from central controller 130, credit card issuers 140 for transferor 110 and transferee 120, respectively, execute the transaction in the following steps. First, credit card issuer 140 for transferor 110 verifies the validity of the transferor's credit card account (step 1445) and aborts the transaction if it is invalid (step 1450). Credit card issuer 140 for transferor 110 also determines if transferor 110 has sufficient credit (step 1455) and aborts the 20 transaction if transferor 110 lacks sufficient credit (step 1460). Finally, credit card issuer 140 for transferor 120 verifies the validity of the transferee's credit card account (step 1465) and aborts the transaction if it is invalid (step 1470).
[0087] Assuming the transaction is valid, credit card issuers 140 for transferor 110 and transferee 120 debit the transferor's credit card account and credit the transferee's credit card account, 25 respectively (step 1475). In particular, transferor's available credit line decreases by the transfer amount for which transferor 110 is liable to pay as a conventional charge. In addition, the transfer amount appears as a credit in transferee's credit account such that transferee's available credit line increases in the same amount as the transfer amount. Each credit card issuer 140 also updates its respective financial tender transfer database 350 to reflect the completed transaction. Credit card issuers 140 for transferor 110 and transferee 120 then confirm the transaction with central controller (step 1480), which sends a confirmation to transferee 120 that the transaction has been executed (step 1485). Central controller 130 also updates transaction database 255 to reflect the completed transaction.
[0088] In this implementation, transferee 120 cannot misuse the transferor's ID Number by repeating the transaction multiple times because the Transferor ID Number is a single use, transaction specific ID Number which incorporates the date, the time, and the amount of the transaction. At the same time, transferor 110 cannot repudiate intent to pay once transferor 110 gives the ID Number to transferee 120. Hence, the transaction is limited to a one-time use because the ID Number is a proxy for an authorization to transferee 120 to effect a deposit of the transaction amount into the designated transferee credit card account. The ID Number is useful only to transferee 120 because of the matching performed by central controller 140. Hence, this is a secure transaction.
[0089] In any of the above implementations, transaction information can also be exchanged via the -Internet. When the Internet is used, transferee 120 or transferor 110 access central controller 130 through a web-site to input transaction information via a secure Internet transmission protocol to enable financial tender transactions, such as the transfer of funds and/or credit line amounts, as described above. Information transaction between central controller 130 and the issuing banks may be encrypted for security. In all cases, any issuing bank can abort a transaction because of the various verifications that are performed. The abort transaction information is transmitted to central controller 130 which then transmits this information to the transferee/transferor.
[0091] In addition to funds transfers for debiting and crediting a transferor and transferee account, respectively, systems consistent with the present invention can also execute credit line transfers. In a credit line transfer, the transfer amount appears as a conventional transaction entry in transferor's account, with a transaction description stating "credit line transfer to transferee's account." In contrast to a funds transfer, transferor's available credit line and transferor's original credit line decrease by the transfer amount. Transferor 110 may be charged a service fee, but otherwise no charge is incurred.
[0092] The transfer amount is added to the original credit line of transferee's account. Thus, the available credit line increases in the same amount as the transfer amount. If transferee 120 defaults or becomes bankrupt, transferee's credit card issuer can claim up to the credit line transfer amount from transferor's credit card issuer, who then claims the same from transferor 110. While the credit line increases, there is no dollar credit applied as with the funds transfer situation described above.
[0093] The credit line transfers will be for a certain dollar amount and a specified time. After the specified time, the credit line transferred will automatically revert to the original transferor. When the transfer is made, transferee 120 has the option to use the transferred credit line. Transferee's credit card issuer can track the usage on the original authorized credit line and the transferred credit line either jointly or separately and reflect the same on a monthly billing statement to transferee 120.
[0095] FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an implementation of a financial tender transfer system 1500 consistent with the invention. This implementation is preferably practiced for credit line transfers, as well as funds transfers, between transferor 110 and transferee 120 that require a high level of security because it provides a cryptographically secure, non-repudiatable, authenticatable credit line transfer from transferor 110 to transferee 120. Financial tender transfer system 1500 includes a transferor 1510, a transferee 1520, a transferor's credit card issuer 1530, and transferee's credit card issuer 1540. In this implementation, the functions of central controller 130 of financial tender transfer system 100 are incorporated into both transferor's credit card issuer 1530 and transferee's credit card issuer 1540. As a result, the aforementioned functions performed by central controller 130 are assumed by transferor's credit card issuer 1530 and transferee's credit card issuer 1540, either solely or in combination, depending on the steps used for conducting a transfer of financial tender.
[0096] FIG. 16 is a detailed block diagram of a credit card issuer controller 1600 employed by transferor's credit card issuer 1530 and transferee's credit card issuer 1540. Credit card issuer controller 1600 includes a microprocessor or CPU 1610 coupled to a RAM 1615, a ROM 1620, a clock 1625, a cryptographic processor 1630, and a data storage device 1635. Cryptographic processor 1630 encrypts the ID number with the issuer key for the secure transaction described above. Data storage device 1635 includes a customer account database 1640, a transaction database 1645, and a financial tender transfer database 1650.
[0097] FIG. 17 is a table illustrating an example of customer accounts database 1640. Customer account database 1640 holds data for each customer registered with credit card issuer controller 1600. The data for each customer includes the customer account number, the customer's name, address, and phone number, the original credit line, and the available credit line.
[0098] FIG. 18 is a table illustrating an example of a conventional transaction database 1645. Transaction database 1645 retains information of each transaction conducted through credit card issuer controller 1600. In particular, the information in transaction database 1645 includes the customer account number, the date and time of the transaction, the transaction amount, the merchant identification number, and the name of the merchant.
[0099] FIG. 19 is a table illustrating an example of financial tender transfer database 1650. Financial tender transfer database 1650 records all information related to a credit line transfer to or from a credit cardholder holding a credit card from the credit card issuer associated with credit card issuer controller 1600. The credit line transfer information in credit line transfer database 1650 includes the credit card number, the credit line transfer amount, the authorization code, the completion code, the corresponding account number for which the transferred credit line is credited or debited, and the transaction type. A positive dollar amount in the credit line transfer amount indicates an amount credited to the customer account number, whereas a negative dollar amount indicates an amount debited.
[0100] FIGS. 20A and 20B are flowcharts of the steps employed by financial tender transfer system 1500 in accordance with the implementation shown in FIG. 15. First, transferor 1510 initiates a credit line transfer by providing credit line transfer information to transferor's credit card issuer 1530 including the credit line amount or financial tender value to be transferred, the name of transferor 1510, the credit card account to transfer from, and the expiration date of that credit card (step 2010). Transferor's credit card issuer 1530 checks the validity of transferor's credit card against customer account database 1640 (step 2015) and aborts the transaction if it is invalid (step 2020). Transferor's credit card issuer 1530 also determines if transferor 1510 has sufficient credit available by checking against the available credit line in customer account database 1640 (step 2025). If the credit is insufficient, the transaction is aborted (step 2030).
[0101] Transferor's credit card issuer 1530 receives the credit line transfer information and generates an encrypted code which contains the credit line transfer information and issuer identification information (step 2035), and may also include transaction date and time information. This authorization code for the credit line transfer is given to transferor 1510. Transferor 1510 provides this authorization code to transferee 1520 (step 2040), who in turn contacts transferee's credit card issuer 1540 and provides the encrypted authorization code and transferee's credit card account number, name, and expiration date to execute the credit line transfer (step 2045).
[0102] After receiving the information from transferee 1520, transferee's credit card issuer 1540 decrypts the authorization code with the issuer key (step 2050). The validity of the code is determined by successful decryption. Transferee's credit card issuer 1540, in addition to confirming the code's validity, confirms the identification of transferor's issuing bank (step 2055) and aborts the transaction if the code is invalid (step 2060). If the authorization code is valid, transferee's credit card issuer 1540 completes the credit line transfer by increasing transferee's credit line by the amount specified in the decrypted code and updating transferee's records in its financial tender transfer database 1650 (step 2065). Transferee's credit card issuer 1540 then generates, stores, and transmits a credit line transfer completion code to transferor's credit card issuer 1530 (step 2070). Lastly, transferor's credit card issuer 1530 decreases transferor's credit limit and updates transferor's records in its financial tender transfer database 1650 (step 2075).
[0103] In this implementation, like the implementation described in connection with FIG. 13, transferee 1520 cannot misuse the transferor's ID Number by repeating the transaction multiple times because the Transferor ID Number, in this case, is a single use, transaction specific encrypted code which incorporates transaction specific information, such as the date and the time, and possibly other information including, for example, the amount of the transaction. The encrypted transaction ID that incorporates a date and time guarantees a unique ID for every transaction. The system prevents multiple uses of encrypted transaction IDs by only allowing each unique ID to be used once. At the same time, transferor 1510 cannot repudiate intent to transfer a credit line amount once transferor 1510 gives the encrypted code to transferee 1520. The encrypted code is a proxy for an authorization to transferee 1520 to effect a credit line transfer into the designated transferee credit card account.
[0105] FIG. 21 is a block diagram of another implementation of financial tender transfer system 1500 consistent with the invention. This implementation is preferably practiced in cases where a transferor is selling his unused credit line because the transferor is the party through which the transaction is executed. In other words, a transferor transfers an unused credit line amount to a transferee for a certain amount of consideration, but the transferor retains responsibility for payment of any debt on the unused credit line amount transferred. Similar to FIG. 15, financial tender transfer system 1500 of FIG. 21 includes a transferor 1510, a transferee, 1520, a transferor's credit card issuer 1530, and transferee's credit card issuer 1540.
[0106] FIGS. 22A, 22B, and 22C are flowcharts of the steps employed by financial tender transfer system 1500 in accordance with the implementation shown in FIG. 21. First, transferee 1520 provides transferor 1510 with the last 6 digits or some specified portion of his credit card number, his issuing bank identification, and his name (step 2210). Transferor 1510 then initiates the credit line transfer by providing credit line transfer information to transferor's credit card issuer 1530 including the financial tender value to be transferred, the name of transferor 1510, the credit card account to transfer from, the expiration date of that credit card, the name of transferee 1520, the last 6 digits of the transferee's credit card account, and the name of transferee's credit card issuer 1540 (step 2215).
[0107] After receiving the credit line transfer information, transferor's credit card issuer 1530 verifies the validity of the transferor's credit card and availability of credit line against customer account database 1640 (step 2220). First, transferor's credit card issuer 1530 determines if transferor's credit card is valid (step 2225) and aborts the transaction if it is not (step 2230). If valid, transferor's credit card issuer 1530 also determines if transferor's credit card has sufficient credit available (step 2235) and aborts the transaction if it is insufficient (step 2240). If transferor's credit card is both valid and has sufficient credit available, transferor's credit card issuer 1530 generates a credit line transfer authorization code (step 2245). Transferor's credit card issuer 1530 then transmits the credit line transfer information to transferee's credit card issuer 1540 along with the authorization code (step 2250).
[0108] Transferee's credit card issuer 1540 matches the received last 6 digits or portion of the transferee's account number with the actual account number in its customer account database 1640 (step 2255). Transferee's credit card issuer 1540 determines whether to proceed with the transaction by matching the last 6 digits to the actual account number (step 2260). The transaction is aborted if they do not match (step 2265). Otherwise, transferee's credit card issuer 1540 completes the credit line transfer by increasing the transferee's credit line by the amount specified and by updating the transferee's records in its credit line transfer database 1640 (step 2270). The transferee's credit card issuer 1540 also generates, stores, and transmits a credit line transfer completion code to the transferor's credit card issuer 1530 (step 2275), who in turn decreases transferor's credit line and updates its credit line transfer database 1650 (step 2280).
[0110] The financial tender transfer system according to this invention allows a transferor to transfer credit or make payment to a transferee by debiting the credit card of the transferor and crediting the credit or debit card of the transferee. The financial tender transfer system gives the transferee immediate access to the transferred funds and/or credit line, ensures the transferor's credit card is valid, and preserves security.
[0111] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to disclosed embodiments of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the embodiments of the invention disclosed herein. The specification and examples should be considered exemplary, with the true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims and their full range of equivalents.
wherein said transferor credit card account and said transferee credit card account are separately assigned.
means for crediting said transferee credit card account.
said means for identifying a transferor and a transferee credit card account and said means for identifying said financial tender value together include at least one input device connected to said computer controller.
claim 3 and further including means connected to said computer controller for communicating with issuing banks of said transferor and transferee credit card accounts.
means for receiving said transferor name and said portion of said identifier.
means for receiving said financial tender value from said transferor.
means for receiving said financial tender value from said transferee.
means for transmitting said transferor identification number to said transferor.
claim 3 wherein said means for obtaining a transferor and a transferee credit card account includes a single encrypted code containing at least a portion of a transferor credit card account number and at least a portion of a transferee credit card account number.
claim 9 wherein said single encrypted code further includes said financial tender value to be transferred from said transferor credit card account to said transferee credit card account.
claim 10, wherein said computer controller includes means for generating said single encrypted code.
wherein said transferor account and said transferee account are not commonly assigned.
using a computer controller to initiate the transfer.
communicating said transferor and transferee accounts from the computer controller to issuing banks of said transferor and transferee accounts.
receiving said transferor name and said identifier.
receiving said financial tender value from said transferor.
receiving said financial tender value from said transferee.
transmitting said transferor identification number to said transferor from said computer controller.
coding at least a portion of a transferor account number and at least a portion of a transferee account number as an encrypted code.
including said financial tender value to be transferred from said transferor account to said transferee account in said encrypted code.
generating said encrypted code with said computer controller.
a processor configured to initiate the transfer of said financial tender value from said transferor account to said transferee account.
means for initiating the crediting of said transferee account for said financial tender value.
said input means includes at least one input device connected to said computer controller.
claim 25, further including means connected to said computer controller for communicating with issuing banks of said transferor and transferee accounts.
means for receiving a transferor name and an identifier representing at least a portion of a unique account number for said transferor account from said transferee.
claim 25 wherein said input means includes means for receiving a single encrypted code containing at least a portion of said transferor account number and at least a portion of said transferee account number.
claim 31 wherein said single encrypted code further includes said financial tender value to be transferred from said transferor account to said transferee account.
claim 31 wherein said computer controller includes means for generating said single encrypted code.
a control module for initiating the transfer of said financial tender value from said transferor account to said transferee account.
a credit module for initiating the crediting of said transferee account for said financial tender value.
claim 34, wherein said computer usable medium further comprises a communication module for communicating with issuing banks of said transferor and transferee accounts.
a receiver module for receiving a transferor name and an identifier representing at least a portion of a unique account number for said transferor account from said transferee.
a receiver module for receiving said financial tender value from said transferor.
a receiver module for receiving said financial tender value from said transferee.
transferring said financial tender value from said transferor account to said transferee account using said transferee identification number and said transferor account.
receiving said transferee identification number, said transferor account, and said financial tender value from an owner of said transferor account.
verifying said transferee identification number against said transferee account.
transferring said financial tender value from said transferor account to said transferee account using said transferor identification number and said transferee account.
receiving said transferor identification number, said transferee account, and said financial tender value from an owner of said transferee account.
matching the transferor identification number with said transferor account.
transferring said financial tender value from said transferor account to said transferee account using said encrypted identification number and said transferee account.
receiving said encrypted identification number and said transferee account from an owner of said transferee account.
verifying decrypted information of said encrypted identification number based on a comparison of said portion of a transferee account number against a complete transferee account number corresponding to said transferee account.
increasing said second credit account by said financial tender value.
receiving an authorization code identifying said financial tender value.
providing said authorization code to said first owner.
decreasing said first credit limit by said financial tender value transferred to said second credit account.
maintaining an electronic record indicating that the debt obligation for financial tender value transferred to said second credit card account is maintained by said first owner.
claim 49, wherein said first credit account and said second credit account each comprise a respective credit card account.
claim 54, wherein said first credit account and said second credit card account each comprise a respective revolving credit card account.
maintaining the debt obligation with said first owner for said first portion of said first credit limit transferred to said second credit account.
providing an authorization code to an issuer of said first credit account.
receiving from said first credit account a financial tender value, consisting of a portion of said first credit limit, added to said second credit limit, the debt obligation for said financial tender value remaining with said first owner.
using said financial tender value in a transaction.
increasing said second credit account by said financial tender value using the encrypted code.
increasing said second credit account by said financial tender value using said first credit account and said portion of a second credit account number of said second credit account.


text:
Q: Azure Devops - Can not retrieve artifact I am publishing a artifact in a job (which completes successfully). In a separate job, I am trying to retrieve the artifact. However, nothings shows in the ls $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory). Why is this?
      - task: PublishPipelineArtifact@1
        displayName: 'Publish Artifact'
        inputs:
          targetpath: 'anatomy/dist'
          artifact: 'anatomy-artifact'
          publishLocation: 'pipeline'

  - job: deployBucket
    displayName: 'Deploy Bucket'
    dependsOn: buildAnatomy
    condition: eq(dependencies.buildAnatomy.result,'Succeeded')
    pool:
      vmImage: "ubuntu-20.04"

    steps:

      - task: Bash@3
        displayName: "Upload contents to bucket"
        inputs:
          targetType: "inline"
          script: |
            ls -al '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'

A: Each job runs in its own space and the agent cleans up after itself by default. If you want the contents of the artifact to be available in the 2nd job, you need to fetch it again.
Use the DownloadPipelineArtifact@1 task at the start of your 2nd job.
Or move the deploy command into the same job.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Medical and sea rescue NGOs operating in the Mediterranean on Sunday requested that the European Union find a safe port for a vessel carrying 141 people that had been saved from the water.
The Aquarius, a rescue vessel jointly operated by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and SOS Méditeranée, had on Friday found 141 people adrift on two wooden boats, including at least 67 unaccompanied minors and a pregnant woman.
"Both organizations are now calling upon European governments to assign the closest place of safety without delay in accordance with International Maritime Law so that people rescued at sea can be disembarked and Aquarius can continue providing urgently needed humanitarian assistance," read a joint statement.
The NGOs assured that they had spoken with the relevant authorities in Tunisia, Malta, Libya and Italy but were unable to receive permission to dock anywhere.
The MSF doctor on board the Aquarius, David Berversluis, said he had detected several cases of malnutrition and dehydration that required continued medical treatment.
Italy's far-right interior minister, Matteo Salvini, has warned that the Aquarius will not be allowed to stop at any of his country's ports as part of his strategy to stop NGO rescue vessels from docking.
According to the International Organization for Migration, at least 3,116 people disappeared in the Mediterranean while trying to cross to Europe on board precarious vessels.


New York Style Pecan Cheesecake. For all you nut lovers out there.
Gotta say, the NY Pecan Cheesecake and the NY Double Chocolate Cheesecakes are my all-time faves from MLV! That said, I always let the cheesecakes steep for at least two weeks.
At first I wasn't so sure about this one, but after a week it grew on me so much that it's turned into my ADV for the last few weeks or so. So much so that I've finished off the 30mL bottle, and I'm back on this site to order some more (and dropping this review). 5 stars all the way. Smells good, tastes great, not too sweet. Going to try a couple other "Cheesecakes" while I'm at it, but this is by far my favorite vape of all time so far (5 months of vaping).
Only critisisms would be very minor. Throat hit is a bit light (but I like my vapes that way), and it's a fairly thick juice, doesn't like to be in a carto tank too much. I prefer vaping it in clearos even though my favorite set-up is a tanked carto. Very minor, still worth 5 stars.
I LOVE this flavour, it's my all day vape.
Rich taste of a true caramelized pecan cheesecake. Not overly sweet nor sour. If you love cheesescake and pecans this is the one you want.
I will however Not recommend to order double shot of flavouring. I tried regular and double shot of flavouring and there was no difference.


Oregano isn't just a spice to add flavour: it's also a food preservative (since it can kill bacteria) and has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. It's also receiving increasing currency in modern medicine as a strong source of antioxidants which can help support the immune system. This formulation is from a highly potent form, standardized to 55% Carvacrol, and is enteric coated, both to help ensure the active ingredients pass through the stomach intact and to reduce the likelihood of it 'repeating.' And if it does repeat, Ginger and Fennel have been added to make any aftertaste less unpleasant, plus Fennel can also help digestion by breaking down fats and Ginger can reduce stomach upset.
181 mg Oregano Essential Oil (Origanum vulgare) (Leaf) (Standardized to contain 55% Carvacrol).
Other Ingredients: Olive Oil, Softgel (gelatin, glycerin, water, carob extract), Fennel Oil, Ginger Oil and Enteric Coating (methacrylic acid and ethyl acrylate copolymer, water, magnesium silicate, polyethylene glycol).
Adults: Take 1 softgel daily with meals. If taking supplements containing iron, zinc, calcium or copper, take this a few hours before or after them.
Keep out of reach of children. Do not exceed recommended dosage. Do not use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have hypersensitivity or an allergy to herbs in the Lamiaceae family of plants such as basil, hyssop, lavender, marjoram, mint, and sage. Consult a health care practitioner if symptoms persist or worsen. If you experience gastrointestinal upset, discontinue use.
Health Canada Natural Product Number: 80041227.


text:
The Malabar swamp eel (Rakthamichthys indicus) (not to be confused with Ophichthys fossorius, also known as the Malabar swampeel) is a species of troglobitic swamp eel endemic to subterranean springs in Kottayam in the Indian state of Kerala.

Taxonomy
It was originally described as Monopterus indicus by K. C. Eapen in 1963, but another fish with the same scientific name, the Bombay swamp eel (formerly also Monopterus indicus, now Ophichthys indicus) had already been described 2 years prior. Due to this causing a homonym the species had to be renamed but due to the lack of specimens, it was tentatively referred to as Monopterus "indicus". It was later redescribed as Monopterus eapeni in 1991. A 2020 study found M. eapeni to form a clade with two other troglobitic species from the Western Ghats and one fossorial species from Northeast India, leading it to be reclassified in the new genus Rakthamichthys, lifting the homonym problem and allowing the original specific epithet of indicus to be revived.

Status
Due to the subterranean nature of this species, very little information is known about it, and it had not been collected from the type locality since 1979 till 2021 March when it was found while cleaning a well at Panthalam, Kerala. Due to this, it is classified as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List.

References

Rakthamichthys
Cave fish
Freshwater fish of India
Taxa named by K.C. Eapen
Fish described in 1963
Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats
Fauna of Kerala

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
The Smart #3 (stylised as "smart #3") is a battery electric compact crossover SUV developed and produced by Smart Automobile, a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz Group and Geely Holding. It is the second vehicle produced by the joint venture. The model is based on the Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) electric vehicle platform developed by Geely.

Overview
In November 2022, the design was leaked as China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology requires manufacturers to provide photos and data of the vehicles before selling them domestically.

References

3
Production electric cars
Upcoming car models
Crossover sport utility vehicles
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles


I found myself in a familiar place today. Not that it meant it was a good place, simply that I have been there before and recognised it. In truth, if I had a choice I probably would decide not to visit it, yet each time I do I learn something I didn't know or had forgotten. So, in essence they are times to remember important things, and often things I haven't wanted to learn.
The difficulty is that life is not one-dimensional. It has as many layers as an onion and people are exactly the same. I must be a tightly wound onion since I seem to be forever peeling away layers!
One doctor tells me I'm making progress, I feel like something a cat vomited under a bush and that is supposed to be good news. (Thank you Lyme disease). I can cut down on the "vomitous" drugs for a while and that's good, yet it has also brought a gargantuan upsurge of inflammation and arthritic pain which is not so good. I know the mantra, two steps forward and one step back, and always a little more progress is made until you reach your end goal.
My end goal – wellness! Perfect health and well-being, positive physical energy, (and spiritual energy) and a return to normal activities. Simply being able to walk in the country or on the beach for more than five minutes before I have to stop will feel like I'm a captive bird which has been freed. I long to do 'normal' things like window shopping, going for a drive in the country without being ill for two days. Without needing a carer to watch over me. That sounds ungrateful, yet it isn't, it is simply a desire to be free to do those things alone – if I wished to.
Some of my most intense and beautiful memories are of lying amongst the bluebells in my favourite meadow, my border collie by my side, watching the fluffy clouds creating pictures for me to make stories around. The gentle breeze would stir the leaves casting a mosaic of shadows around us, the squirrels would be chattering away and the birds warbling overhead making a musical backdrop. Occasionally a pair of rabbits would pop out and, being quiet, would go about their business unaffected by our presence. It was a heavenly interlude and I could feel the beat of Mother earth, my Angels and Guides around me and I was part of our great Universe. It was, and still is peace on earth.
I have different memories now. The shared joy and love of watching the glorious moonrise. Seeing the orchids and hippeastrums beginning to bud in my garden. Watching the Rosellas mating and building their nest in our nesting box. The storm clouds boiling up only to drift away and the birds drinking nectar from the flowers. New flowers I'm learning about.
I mustn't forget all the new friends I've found here, through my blog. Generous people who have accepted my first steps at writing and poetry, my amateur photography and the kindness and encouragement by their visits. Its makes the difficult days easier to bear because I have something to look forward to.
Not to forget the many things I learn…that spirituality is within and it is in evidence when I look out. When the words of someone far away can touch me deeply, can bring light to a dark place and give me answers to long-held puzzles. Then there are the special people who have brought something more, with their stories, sharing their experiences and those special friendships which are found in the most unexpected ways.
I have been blessed by friendship which I thought a figment of imagination, someone with whom I can discuss the many strange things which I have seen and experienced because we have a similar 'history'. A dear and special friend who has become, in a short time, a cherished friend. Wonderfully for me, a friend my husband and I can share in different ways.
I had a goal when I started writing today. I wanted to paint the picture of how, from a seemingly bleak start it was possible to find that calm centre and the clarity which can come from there. The connectedness with everything around us, which grounds us and allows us the strength to find the positive amongst the dross and succeed despite the struggle.
You see, I have difficulty finding my way at times so I'm sure I'm not alone. There are days I feel so isolated I want to curl up, pull the ground over my head and hide. People I looked to for support are so busy garnering their own they are unable to spare a small measure for anyone else, not even to share a morsel of friendship or support.
I fall down and eventually have to pick myself up. I have a heart overflowing with gratitude for the unconditional love and support my husband gives me every second of every day. I know how very fortunate I am and I thank Spirit for finally bringing us together. I pray, if that is what you pray for, that you find the same. I pray you find the support and friendship I have, and I wish you the strength to get back up and keep going when the days are miserable and hard because I know that there will be an end. I know my happy place, my dreams and plans will all come to be – soon.
I believe and it will be so, because what I think, what I believe, will be. That is how the Universe provides. It creates what we think and believe. So build your dreams and hold fast to them and surely as day follows night, they will be….. soon.
I'd like to share two of my favourite quotes which help me and perhaps may help you also.
So dream on and believe because even one dreamer, one believer can make a difference. Join me!
No two human beings will see the same thing in exactly the same way, it's what makes our experiences unique. Yet we must all try to reach each other, to feel for each other and try to understand each other. If we cannot do that, if we don't wish to try to do that, then we have failed as a soul living an earthly existence.
Compassion for the people we meet, live with, or even by acknowledging their presence in our thoughts each day is a powerful gift. Sending gratitude to them, so that they may make of their lives all they possibly can. Only then can we rise above where we are and become all we can be.
This world is a beautiful place, yet even knowing this there will be times we wander in the dark. At those times we can only pray that someone will hear the unspoken plea and hold out the hand of friendship. Such is my belief. I pray I have the strength to offer a helping hand if I find someone in need, irrespective of how might feel. This is humanity.
May Blessings be yours every day. Know that all is well.


493K Limited was established in August 2003 as an independent commercial enterprise exploiting engineering research and development work formerly undertaken at the Rotational Moulding Research Centre, Queen's University in Belfast, United Kingdom. Since 2003, 493K has been providing solutions for Process Control throughout the rotational moulding industry.
K-KONTROL now comes with now comes with heavy plate design to protect against mis-use and rough handling.
Mould temperature alarm system for operators. See and Hear.
Four alarm relays for basic machine control based on temperature data from K-PAQ, K-KONTROL & K-ROCK.
Audible & visual interface for operators.
Can alarm when to drop the 2nd shot & when to remove arm from oven.
Can alarm when to apply internal air pressurisation & when to remove arm from cooler.
Use with or without PC.
Digital display shows the temperature inside the mould in real time.
Portable process control when and where you need it arming you with accurate temperature and pressure measurement data.
Provide diagnostic checks on troublesome mouldings.
Coolant packs prevent overheating of electronics in high oven temperatures.
Temperature Process Control for Rock 'n Roll. Upgrade your machine, the intelligent way.


uline.com was registered 2 decades 3 years ago. It has a alexa rank of #4,711 in the world. It is a domain having .com extension. This site has a Google PageRank of 5/10. It is estimated worth of $ 1,874,880.00 and have a daily income of around $ 1,736.00. As no active threats were reported recently, uline.com is SAFE to browse.


PASADENA, CA, Jan. 28, 2016 -- Women who are diagnosed with hypertensive disorders while pregnant are more than twice as likely to develop high blood pressure in the first year after delivery as women who did not have any pregnancy-related hypertension, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in the Journal of Hypertension.
Hypertensive disorders during pregnancy are common, affecting up to 10 percent of all pregnant women, and include gestational hypertension, preeclampsia (which is a combination of high blood pressure and proteinuria), and eclampsia, which includes seizures in women with preeclampsia.
"Research has shown that hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are associated with long-term cardiovascular disease risk, but little is known about the effect of these conditions in the early years after delivery," said the study's lead author, Mary Helen Black, PhD, MS, a researcher with Kaiser Permanente's Department of Research & Evaluation in Southern California. "Our study suggests there is a subset of women who develop hypertension in pregnancy and present with elevated blood pressure in the first year after delivery despite being otherwise healthy prior to pregnancy."
The study highlights the importance of monitoring and controlling blood pressure not only during pregnancy, but after delivery as well.
Researchers examined the electronic health records of 5,960 women who had prenatal care and delivered a baby at the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Bellflower Medical Center between 2005 and 2010. Women with pre-pregnancy high blood pressure were excluded from the analysis.
The study found that women who had a hypertensive disorder during pregnancy were 2.4 times more likely -- and women with pre-eclampsia/eclampsia 2.5 times more likely -- to develop pre-hypertension or hypertension in the year after delivery than those women who maintained a normal blood pressure during their pregnancy, after controlling for differences between the groups.
In comparison to women with normal blood pressure during pregnancy, women with pregnancy-related hypertension tended to be slightly younger and overweight or obese before pregnancy. In addition, they were more likely to have had one or more children previously and to gain excess weight and develop gestational diabetes during their pregnancy.
"Women who develop hypertension, preeclampsia, or eclampsia in pregnancy should discuss monitoring their blood pressure after delivery with their physicians," added Black. "Further research is needed to determine whether early postpartum blood pressure screening and improved follow-up and treatment of women with pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders may prevent future cardiovascular disease."
This study was supported by Kaiser Permanente Southern California Direct Community Benefit funds.
Other authors of the study include Hui Zhou; David A. Sacks, MD; Jean M. Lawrence, ScD, MPH, MSSA; Teresa N. Harrison, SM; and Kristi Reynolds, PhD, MPH, from the Department of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California in Pasadena, and Sascha Dublin, MD, PhD, from Group Health Research Institute in Seattle.
The Department of Research & Evaluation conducts high-quality, innovative research into disease etiology, prevention, treatment and care delivery. Investigators conduct epidemiology, health sciences and behavioral research as well as clinical trials. Areas of interest include diabetes and obesity, cancer, HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular disease, aging and cognition, pregnancy outcomes, women's and children's health, quality and safety, and pharmacoepidemiology. Located in Pasadena, California, the department focuses on translating research to practice quickly to benefit the health and lives of Kaiser Permanente Southern California members and the general population. Visit kp.org/research.
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 10 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/share.


The Vintage collection is made of hunter leather, this is a characterful and rough leather that gives the bag a sturdy look. The leather is firm but supple so loosens as it is used. Leather is a natural product that lives, which gives each bag its own characteristic details and a unique appearance. The BURKELY Vintage Bing A4 file cover is a spacious folder for a notebook up to A4 size and has space for onepen and three cards.


The 1998 Château Margaux is a vintage that I have not tasted for a decade. Now at 20 years old it has retained a deep garnet colour with very little ageing on the rim, in fact, one of the most youthful-looking 1998 Left Banks that I encountered. The nose is gorgeous: very well defined with black cherries, fresh fig, touches of sous-bois and leather. As I have noted before, what it does not offer is the floral element that is the signature of many other vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. It feels more mature on the palate than on the nose with secondary notes of sage, black pepper, irony notes and a touch of bell pepper. I find this just cuts away short with a little greenness in the background. It was probably a great Margaux knocked off balance by the harvest rains, but it remains a fine wine that should continue to drink well for another decade. Tasted at the château. Drink 2018-2035.
version of the 1996" he says.


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text:
Q: NA/NaN/Inf in foreign function call (arg 1) in R I'm trying to create K-mean clustering and receive the error NA/NaN/Inf in foreign function call (arg 1). This is my code
library(tidyverse)
library(readr)
library(jsonlite)
library(dplyr)
df<-fromJSON('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lequanngo/WorldHappiness/master/WorldHappiness.json')
df <- na.omit(df)
glimpse(df)
Observations: 156
Variables: 11
$ Country            <chr> "Finland", "Denmark", "Norway", "Iceland", "Netherlan…
$ Ladder             <int> 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16…
$ SD_of_ladder       <int> 4, 13, 8, 9, 1, 11, 18, 15, 23, 10, 26, 62, 14, 3, 16…
$ Positive_affect    <int> 41, 24, 16, 3, 12, 44, 34, 22, 18, 64, 47, 4, 104, 62…
$ Negative_affect    <int> 10, 26, 29, 3, 25, 21, 8, 12, 49, 24, 37, 87, 69, 19,…
$ Social_support     <int> 2, 4, 3, 1, 15, 13, 25, 5, 20, 31, 7, 42, 38, 27, 9, …
$ Freedom            <int> 5, 6, 3, 7, 19, 11, 10, 8, 9, 26, 17, 16, 93, 28, 63,…
$ Corruption         <int> 4, 3, 8, 45, 12, 7, 6, 5, 11, 19, 13, 58, 74, 9, 15, …
$ Generosity         <int> 47, 22, 11, 3, 7, 16, 17, 8, 14, 25, 6, 75, 24, 30, 4…
$ Log_of_GDP_per_cap <int> 22, 14, 7, 15, 12, 8, 13, 26, 19, 16, 18, 67, 31, 2, …
$ Healthy_life_exp   <int> 27, 23, 12, 13, 18, 4, 17, 14, 8, 15, 10, 28, 11, 16,…

set.seed(12345)
countries <- df
df_clus <- df[-1]
cluster_solution <- kmeans(df_clus, centers = 5)

Can anyone please help me with this?


"Java" is a general purpose, class-based, object oriented programming language, specifically designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible. Java is considered by many as one of the most powerful programming languages of the 20th century and widely used from desktop application to web application development. Java Web Application Development has gained immense popularity among developers as well as business community.
At "Java Web Applications" research & innovation is a way of life. We have invested heavily in time & money to keep ourselves in-line with the latest Java development tools & techniques.
Following are the Java-EE (Java Platform, Enterprise Edition) technologies that are helping us in developing Rich Internet Applications (RIA) with rapid application development capabilities.
Java Servlet (JS) : JS provides a simple, consistent mechanism for extending the functionality of a Web server and for accessing existing business systems.
JavaServer Pages: JSP technology provides a simplified, fast way to create dynamic web content.
JavaServer Pages Standard Tag Library (JSTL): JSTL has support for common, structural tasks such as iteration and conditionals, tags for manipulating XML documents, internationalization tags, and SQL tags.
Java API for XML-Based Web Services (JAX-WS): Java API for XML Web Services (JAX-WS) is integrated stack that includes JAX-WS,JAXB and SAAJ.


text:
Q: MySQL & Python: How to map the table data? I have the following database structure:
TABLE 'images' (id,name,format)
TABLE 'objects'(id,title)
TABLE 'images_objects'(id,image_id,object_id)

Where image_id and object_id are the foreign keys to images_objects table respectively. So I filled the first two tables, now I want to populate the third table with id pairs. Which SQL QUERY should I construct?

A: Try a catersian product of the two tables and populate the mapping table.
Eg:
   insert
     into images_objects
          (image_id
          ,object_id
          )
   select i.id as image_id
          ,o.id as object_id
     from images i
     join objects o
       on 1=1


In this edition of the Smart Hustle Recap, we want to talk about an amazing upcoming event for small business owners – the Smart Hustle Conference, which will be held on October 20th in New York City! The official announcement came out recently, so we're covering the event in our Recap, along with other articles in the categories of marketing, technology, and lifestyle.
Ramon Ray recently announced the 11th Annual Smart Hustle Small Business Conference, a day-long event specifically for small business owners and entrepreneurs. On October 20, 2016, over 400 will gather to learn from some of the smartest small business minds of our time, including Peter Shankman, Joe Connolly, Gene Marks and more. The Smart Hustle Conference will feature lessons, seminars, and an exhibit of the latest small business products and services. Early bird pricing is available until August 20, so click to learn more about the event and buy your ticket.
We often cover marketing from a general perspective, but if you're a B2B business, you'll want to check out this article that is just for you. Mobile marketing is hot right now, but it's only effective if you do it correctly. The article covers the seven top mobile marketing mistakes that B2B businesses make – and how you can avoid them.
Let's be honest – there are way too many digital tools available for the average small business owner to sort through. However, choosing the right digital tools is important to the success of your business. This article is meant to help by offering a three-step system for evaluating, choosing, and implementing digital tools (such as CRM social media managers, project management systems, etc.). If you want to cut right to the chase, Ramon also offers up his five favorite digital tools for communication and connection.
Starting a business is a decision that will impact the whole family, and we've all heard stories of families who have been torn apart, unable to withstand those hard start-up years. To ensure your family makes it through the hard times, there are several conversations you must have upfront. This article covers the three most important discussions to have before you dive into entrepreneurship.
At Smart Hustle, we like to cover a range of topics including marketing, technology, lifestyle, sales, operations, finance and more. If you like staying up-to-date on these topics, then I know you will also love what we have planned for the Smart Hustle Conference! Get more information by clicking that link above, and for other information and inspiration, check out SmartHustle.com.