they should have the visual experience that sets their mood for your business. Intelligent, uniform, and eye-catching designs in your space add to your visual identity, and one your clients will remember. Atlas Sign Works' portfolio includes almost every aspect signage that you might need, whether you are a property manager with a number of tenants, a small business owner in a retail setting, a municipality updating city-wide signage, or a commercial builder. We offer streamlined production management services from artistic conception, through fabrication, to implementation in an effort to make your signage experience a smooth one.


text:
Within Our Gates
Schoolgirl life and love during the war
Marching in Dunedin
The fleet's afloat
The Wizard of the Wire sells peace bonds
First English hospital for wounded Kiwis
Royal Decorations
Australia will be there
Thousands of Melburnians turn out in the pouring rain in 1925, to honour the fallen of the First World War.
Location:Melbourne, Victoria
The Blue Boys
With the Aid of the Red Cross
"What about a drop of water, Digger?"
Credits: Master Pictures; Australasian Films
Catalogue Reference: NFSA title: 1194
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Tags: Shrine of Remembrance, parade, memorials
Subject: Shrine of Remembrance, parade, memorials
Despite the pouring rain, 12,000 war veterans turned out for this 1925 parade, which included the laying of wreaths at a replica of the London Cenotaph outside Melbourne's Parliament House. This memorial was temporary, but prompted a public discussion about a more permanent memorial. As a result, the Shrine of Remembrance, in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road, Melbourne, was unveiled on 11 November 1934.
The phrase 'Lest We Forget' is commonly used in English-speaking countries for war remembrance services, in particular Anzac Day. It is familiar to most Australians and New Zealanders as it appears on numerous cenotaphs and memorials – sometimes as the only text - and concludes many remembrance services, often seeming to substitute for the Christian affirmation, 'amen'.
It has its roots in a Bible verse (Deuteronomy 4:7-9) and first appeared in a poem by Rudyard Kipling called 'Recessional', repeated at the end of each stanza of the poem.
The tumult and the shouting dies;
The Captains and the Kings depart:
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!
- 'Recessional'(second stanza)
Kipling composed 'Recessional' for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Its use in Remembrance Day observations is a plea for the living not to forget the sacrifices of the fallen.
'Recessional' by Rudyard Kipling
Shrine of Remembrance
Intertitle: Lest We Forget. Melbourne's Tribute to the Fallen
Street parade in the pouring rain
Intertitle: Despite pouring rain, over 12,000 veterans took part in the Ceremony
Intertitle: The March past Parliament House, where a replica of the London Cenotaph was erected for the occasion
Crowds on the steps of Parliament House
The replica London Cenotaph
Laying of wreaths

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This is such a treat for the whole family and dogs are welcome.
What makes the Market @ Vergenoegd unique is our close proximity to the N2 and being the 1st (or last) stop on the Stellenbosch Wine Route, making us a very favourable venue due to ease of access. Our open stretch of land allows for ample parking and the market site ideal for the whole family to relax and enjoy a whole day with us.


Headache is a topic covered in the Harrison's Manual of Medicine.
Among the most common reasons that pts seek medical attention; can be either primary or secondary (Table 49-1). First step—distinguish serious from benign etiologies. Symptoms that raise suspicion for a serious cause are listed in Table 49-2. Intensity of head pain rarely has diagnostic value; most pts who present with worst headache of their lives have migraine. Headache location can suggest involvement of local structures (temporal pain in giant cell arteritis, facial pain in sinusitis). Ruptured aneurysm (instant onset), cluster headache (peak over 3–5 min), and migraine (pain increases over minutes to hours) differ in time to peak intensity. Provocation by environmental factors suggests a benign cause.
Complete neurologic examination is important in evaluation of headache. If examination is abnormal or if serious underlying cause is suspected, an imaging study (CT or MRI) is indicated as a first step. Lumbar puncture (LP) is required when meningitis (stiff neck, fever) or subarachnoid hemorrhage (following negative imaging) is a possibility. The psychological state of the pt should also be evaluated because a relationship exists between pain and depression.
Source: After J Olesen et al: The Headaches. Philadelphia, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005.
Loscalzo, Joseph, et al., editors. "Headache." Harrison's Manual of Medicine, 19th ed., McGraw Hill Inc., 2017. harrisons.unboundmedicine.com/harrisons/view/Harrisons-Manual-of-Medicine/623187/all/Headache.
Headache. In: Loscalzo J, Jameson JL, Longo DL, et al, eds. Harrison's Manual of Medicine. 19th ed. McGraw Hill Inc.; 2017. https://harrisons.unboundmedicine.com/harrisons/view/Harrisons-Manual-of-Medicine/623187/all/Headache. Accessed April 23, 2019.
Headache [Internet]. In: Loscalzo J, Jameson JL, Longo DL, Hauser SL, Fauci AS, Kasper DL, editors. Harrison's Manual of Medicine. McGraw Hill Inc.; 2017. [cited 2019 April 23]. Available from: https://harrisons.unboundmedicine.com/harrisons/view/Harrisons-Manual-of-Medicine/623187/all/Headache.


APRS Caching is aiming at giving the well known Geocaching concept an amateur radio touch. The idea behind APRS Caching is to connect the fascination of Geocaching with amateur radio.
Together - not against each other! / Miteinander - nicht gegeneinander!
When Analog Devices released their SDR transciever AD9361 in 2013 - it was a revolution in digital radio.
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IU1CZH edited his profile info.
YT1DMO edited his profile info.
F5PXF added 4 new QSOs.
F5PXF added 3 new QSOs.
E74KM added 2 new QSOs.
SV1ONU is now friends with OE8APR.
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text:
Jonas Brothers "Remember This Tour 2021" With special guest: Kelsea Ballerini
« The Killers
Global superstar trio Jonas Brothers are back on the road after the smash success of their "Happiness Begins" tour in 2019 sold over 1.2 million tickets and grossed over $120 million dollars. This time the brothers are guaranteeing happiness is BACK and that fans are going to remember this with their 2021 'Remember This' tour. Multi-platinum country music superstar Kelsea Ballerini will be joining the Brothers out on the road this summer.
"We couldn't be more excited to officially announce we are going on tour THIS summer and bringing our friend Kelsea Ballerini! If this past year has taught us anything it's that we need to remember the important moments in our lives. We hope these shows will be special moments for our fans, our friends and our families and we can't wait to see all their faces soon!!" – Jonas Brothers
The tour will stop at major cities across the country including Cincinnati, OH on Tuesday, September 21 at Riverbend Music Center.
Leading up to the tour, the Jonas Brothers will kick off a partnership with NBCUniversal which is inspired by the themes and anticipation of the Tokyo Olympics featuring a unique activation surrounding the band's upcoming single "Remember This." The Jonas Brothers will debut the new song on the first night of the U.S. Track & Field Trials on Friday, June 18, between 10-11 p.m. ET on NBC, roughly one month before the Tokyo Olympics begin on July 23. "Remember This" will tell an Olympic-inspired story with athlete imagery and will feature a special message from the Jonas Brothers.
In addition to the debut of the song, the Jonas Brothers will make their first-ever performance of "Remember This" within NBCUniversal's coverage of the Games this summer. The in-Games version of the single will include new lyrics inspired by the Tokyo Olympics and Team USA.
The partnership surrounding "Remember This" complements the premier of Olympic Dreams featuring the Jonas Brothers, which was announced earlier this week and will air two days before the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics on July 21 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
Concerts, Station Events
https://www.riverbend.org/event/jonas-brothers/
6295 Kellogg Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45230 United States + Google Map
https://www.riverbend.org/
Dancing With The Stars: Live! We Came To Dance 2022 Tour
Freddy Mac and Nat Host The Greater Cincinnati Polar Plunge
Freddy Mac ant Nat at the American Heart Association Heart Mini


text:
The Future of Mercedes: The Models of Tomorrow
Mercedes-Benz is a world-renowned brand and the business is one of the biggest in the automotive industry as one of the main players in the luxury vehicle market.
Mercedes faces a stiff challenge to sell cars with a higher price point than the likes of Ford and Volkswagen, while creating vehicles that can compete with other similar models from BMW and Audi, its main competitors in the market.
However, the German brand has always been regarded as one of the most influential and innovative businesses in the automotive industry, releasing cars such as the SLR-McLaren and pushing the boundaries of engineering with their Formula 1 team as competitors in the championship.
That is the past and present but what does the future hold for Mercedes and its range of luxury cars?
The business, like many others within the industry, is banking on the development of electric vehicles complete with cutting edge technology, to ensure their future success and development in a changing world.
Governments are slowly waking up to the fact that the planet's environment is changing due to human activity and so legislation has been passed to reduce the number of diesel cars over the next ten years while combustion based engines will also be phased out in the long-term future.
As a result, the UK government has specifically incentivised drivers to go fully electric when deciding which car to purchase.
Reduced road tax for hybrid cars and free road tax for all-electric cars
Subsidised and free parking for electric cars in London
Some electric vehicles qualify for the Office of Low Emission Vehicles car grant, offering up to £3,500 off the cost of the car.
Vehicles that emit 75g/km or less of CO2 and meet Euro 5 air quality standards can avoid the London Congestion Charge.
However, that is not to say that Mercedes will be putting a stop on releasing cars with combustion engines, far from it.
There are a number of models which are scheduled to be released over the next few years which will please motorheads who love the sound and feel of a real engine.
Oh, and if these are looking a little too out of your price range, we have hundreds of affordable second hand Mercedes at Big Motoring World.
The EQ Range
The EQ range from Mercedes is its own electric and hybrid brand.
The manufacturer focuses on a number of key areas including, connectivity, energy and innovation.
The term 'connected car' is popular amongst the marketing material for all of the big manufacturers, who are aiming to create a digital experience for drivers while on the road.
It means that Mercedes wants drivers to download its bespoke EQ Ready app, and use it to find charging stations and manage their car from a smartphone.
So, what models will the technology be used in and what will be the next generation of Mercedes to hit the road?
One of the most common trends in Europe over the past few years has been the growing popularity of SUV's.
With power, space and safety, almost every single manufacturer has jumped to release their own version of a modern SUV, and Mercedes is no different, as the soon to be released EQC is a fully electric four by four with all of the frills and no emissions.
The EQC can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in just 5.1 seconds whilst offering an impressive range of over 280 miles* on a full charge.
The vehicle also comes complete with intelligent safety systems and environmental controls which warm or cool the vehicle down before you enter, meaning ice will never have to be scraped again.
Mercedes R&D boss Ola Kallenius said: "The EQ family will have several saloons in its portfolio, but the EQC was the right place to start strategically. It's right at the heart of premium SUV volume."
Mercedes-Benz CLA Coupe
The CLA Coupe is an updated version of the CLA however the design of the new car has been changed as well as key technology and engine upgrades.
Systems such as; air conditioning, music and satellite navigation, can be controlled using voice commands while a fully digital heads up display allows for dynamic information relay.
Showcased in black with orange trim on the official Mercedes website, the CLA looks gorgeous on the outside as well as the interior, which is complete with an orange trim.
Mercedes-Benz EQA
The EQA is an electric compact hatchback due for release in 2020.
The car was firstly previewed at the Franfurt 2017 Motor show as a concept and now, the real thing is only a year away from being released on the market.
The EQA looks like a spaceship with an exterior that looks like it is perfectly smooth and a seriously futuristic look.
The vehicle is being released to rival the popular BMWi3, which has been on the market for a couple of years already, at the EQA will have a similar price point.
The GLC is an existing Mercedes model, however, it has been given an upgrade by the manufacturer, who are releasing a new version of the crossover SUV.
The car is expected to be release later on in 2019 with changes including;
A new 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder petrol and Euro 6d compliant diesel engines
A 12.3 digital instrumental display
A 360-degree parking camera
Body adjustments
There are a raft of other upgrades to the engine and the technology inside the vehicle.
A happy future?
Automotive market and consumer trends are changing, which always impacts on a sector with such long-established practices.
Significant changes are inevitable as the way that people get from A-B is evolving and it is, however, challenging market conditions may actually be a good thing for consumers as the manufacturers will be forced to invest more and more money into creating vehicles which are better for the environment, safer and more reliable.


text:
Q: List(Log)Plot with "high" resolution results in various warnings, e.g. BinCounts::step Here is some very odd behavior from ListLogPlot.
So if I want to plot a function using LogPlot, I can specify the PlotRange in either {min,max} or {max,min} format.
LogPlot[x^6, {x, 0, 5}, PlotRange -> {10^-9, 10^5}]
LogPlot[x^6, {x, 0, 5}, PlotRange -> {10^5, 10^-9}]

So now I try to do the same thing with ListLogPlot I encounter an error:
list = Table[{x, x^6}, {x, 0, 5, .01}];
Grid[{{ListLogPlot[list, PlotRange -> {10^-9, 10^5}],
   ListLogPlot[list, PlotRange -> {10^5, 10^-9}]}}]

Obviously the problem can be fixed by putting the PlotRange specification in order, but it can also be fixed by changing the x-coordinate grid spacing.
list = Table[{x, x^6}, {x, 0, 5, .02}];
ListLogPlot[list, PlotRange -> {10^5, 10^-9}]

That's weird.  Weirder still - the more plots you try to show at the same time, the coarser you need to make the grid spacing to avoid the error.  For two lists, we need $\Delta x>0.03$
(list = Table[{x, x^6}, {x, 0, 5, #}];
   ListLogPlot[{list, {#1, 10 #2} & @@@ list},
    PlotRange -> {10^5, 10^-9}]) & /@ {.02, .03}

Adding a third list, it is fine with $\Delta x>0.03$, but for a fourth list, $\Delta x>0.05$ is needed.
What is behind this odd behavior in ListLogPlot?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
package com.example.kanjuice.activities;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.BroadcastReceiver;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.IntentFilter;
import android.content.SharedPreferences;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.Handler;
import android.os.Message;
import android.os.Parcelable;
import androidx.localbroadcastmanager.content.LocalBroadcastManager;
import android.text.Html;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.KeyEvent;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.inputmethod.EditorInfo;
import android.view.inputmethod.InputMethodManager;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.ImageView;
import android.widget.TextView;
import android.widget.Toast;

import com.example.kanjuice.BuildConfig;
import com.example.kanjuice.JuiceServer;
import com.example.kanjuice.KanJuiceApp;
import com.example.kanjuice.R;
import com.example.kanjuice.gcm.GCMReceiverService;
import com.example.kanjuice.models.JuiceItem;
import com.example.kanjuice.models.Order;
import com.example.kanjuice.models.User;
import com.example.kanjuice.utils.AndroidUtils;
import com.example.kanjuice.utils.TypedJsonString;

import org.acra.ACRA;

import retrofit.Callback;
import retrofit.RetrofitError;
import retrofit.client.Response;

import static android.widget.Toast.LENGTH_SHORT;
import static com.example.kanjuice.activities.RegionSelectionActivity.SELECTED_REGION;
import static java.lang.String.format;

public class UserInputActivity extends Activity {
    private static final String TAG = "UserInputActivity";
    public static final int TIME_FOR_FINISHING_ACTIVITY = 2000;
    private static final int REQUEST_CODE_ADMIN = 1001;
    private static final int REQUEST_CODE_REGISTER = 1002;
    private static final int MSG_FINISH = 101;
    private Parcelable[] juices;
    private View cardLayout;
    private View euidLayout;
    private View orLayout;
    private View orderingProgressView;
    private TextView messageView;
    private ImageView statusView;
    private View messageLayout;
    private int internalCardNumber;
    private View registerButton;
    private BroadcastReceiver receiver;
    private SharedPreferences sharedPreferences;

    public static final String NOTIFICATION_PAYLOAD = BuildConfig.APPLICATION_ID + ".EMP_ID";

    Handler handler = new Handler() {
        @Override
        public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
            switch (msg.what) {
                case MSG_FINISH:
                    UserInputActivity.this.finish();
                    break;
                default:
            }
        }
    };

    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

        setContentView(R.layout.activity_user_input);

        juices = getIntent().getParcelableArrayExtra("juices");
        sharedPreferences = getSharedPreferences("AppSharedPreferences", Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
        setupViews(juices);
    }

    @Override
    protected void onPause() {
        super.onPause();
        AndroidUtils.disableRecentAppsClick(this);
        LocalBroadcastManager.getInstance(this).unregisterReceiver(receiver);
    }

    @Override
    protected void onResume() {
        super.onResume();
        LocalBroadcastManager manager = LocalBroadcastManager.getInstance(this);

        receiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
            @Override
            public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
                String notificationPayload = intent.getStringExtra(NOTIFICATION_PAYLOAD);
                if (notificationPayload != null) {
                    String employeeId = extractEmployeeId(notificationPayload);
                    Log.d(TAG, "EmployeeId is : " + employeeId);
                    placeOrder(employeeId);
                }
            }
        };
        manager.registerReceiver(receiver, new IntentFilter(GCMReceiverService.ACTION_RECEIVE_EMP_ID));
    }

    private String extractEmployeeId(String notificationPayload) {
        if (!notificationPayload.endsWith(",")) {
            return notificationPayload.substring(notificationPayload.lastIndexOf(",") + 1, notificationPayload.length());
        }
        return null;
    }

    public void setupViews(Parcelable[] juices) {
        cardLayout = findViewById(R.id.card_swipe_layout);
        euidLayout = findViewById(R.id.euid_layout);
        orLayout = findViewById(R.id.or_layout);
        orderingProgressView = findViewById(R.id.ordering);

        messageLayout = findViewById(R.id.message_layout);
        statusView = (ImageView) findViewById(R.id.status_icon);
        messageView = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.message);

        TextView titleView = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.title);
        titleView.setText(Html.fromHtml(format("You have selected <b>%s</b>", getJuiceCount(juices))));

        findViewById(R.id.go_back).setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {
                UserInputActivity.this.finish();
            }
        });

        final EditText euidView = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.edit_text_euid);
        euidView.setOnEditorActionListener(new TextView.OnEditorActionListener() {
            @Override
            public boolean onEditorAction(TextView v, int actionId, KeyEvent event) {
                boolean handled = false;
                if (actionId == EditorInfo.IME_ACTION_GO) {
                    onGo(euidView);
                    handled = true;
                }
                return handled;
            }
        });

        findViewById(R.id.go).setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {

            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {
                onGo(euidView);
            }
        });

        registerButton = findViewById(R.id.register);
        registerButton.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {
                showOrdering();
                showRegisterScreen();
            }
        });
    }

    private void showRegisterScreen() {
        handler.removeMessages(MSG_FINISH);
        startActivityForResult(new Intent(this, RegisterActivity.class), REQUEST_CODE_REGISTER);
    }

    private void animateOut() {
        cardLayout.setVisibility(View.INVISIBLE);
        euidLayout.setVisibility(View.INVISIBLE);
        orLayout.setVisibility(View.INVISIBLE);
    }

    private KanJuiceApp getApp() {
        return (KanJuiceApp) getApplication();
    }

    private JuiceServer getJuiceServer() {
        return getApp().getJuiceServer();
    }

    private void onGo(EditText euidView) {
        String cardNumber = euidView.getText().toString().trim();

        placeOrder(cardNumber);
    }

    private void placeOrder(String cardNumber) {
        if (cardNumber == null || cardNumber.length() == 5) {
            showOrdering();
            placeOrderForEuid(cardNumber);
        } else if (cardNumber.length() == 3) {
            handleEasterEggs(cardNumber);
        } else {
            Toast.makeText(UserInputActivity.this, "Employee id entered is not valid", LENGTH_SHORT).show();
        }
    }

    private void handleEasterEggs(String whichEgg) {
        if (whichEgg.equals("999")) {
            showAdminPage();
        } else if (whichEgg.equals("888")) {
            showRegisterScreen();
        } else if (whichEgg.equals("777")) {
            AndroidUtils.clearKanJuiceAsDefaultApp(this);
        }
    }

    private void showAdminPage() {
        handler.removeMessages(MSG_FINISH);
        startActivityForResult(new Intent(this, AdminActivity.class), REQUEST_CODE_ADMIN);
    }

    @Override
    protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
        if (requestCode == REQUEST_CODE_ADMIN) {
            finish();
        } else if (requestCode == REQUEST_CODE_REGISTER) {
            if (resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
                registerUser(getUserFromIntent(data));
            } else {
                handler.sendEmptyMessage(MSG_FINISH);
            }
        } else {
            super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
        }
    }

    private void registerUser(final User user) {
        getJuiceServer().register(new TypedJsonString(user.toJson()), new Callback<Response>() {
            @Override
            public void success(Response response, Response response2) {
                placeUserOrder(user, false, true);
            }

            @Override
            public void failure(RetrofitError error) {
                Log.d(TAG, "Failed to register the user");
                orderFinished(false, "Failed to register. Try again!");
                setRegisterButtonVisibility(false);
            }
        });
    }

    private void placeOrderForEuid(final String euid) {
        getJuiceServer().getUserByEuid(euid, new Callback<User>() {

            @Override
            public void success(final User user, Response response) {
                placeUserOrder(user, false, false);
            }

            @Override
            public void failure(RetrofitError error) {
                ACRA.getErrorReporter()
                        .handleException(error);

                Log.d(TAG, "Failed to fetch user for given euid: " + error.getMessage());
                orderFinished(false, "Failed to fetch your info. Contact Admin Team/Siddhu");
                setRegisterButtonVisibility(false);
            }
        });
    }

    private void placeUserOrder(final User user, final boolean allowRegistration,
                                final boolean isSwipe) {
        if (user == null) {
            ACRA.getErrorReporter().handleException(new Throwable("placeUserOrder user is null"));
            orderFinished(false, "Failed to fetch your information");
            return;
        }

        getJuiceServer().placeOrder(new TypedJsonString(constructOrder(user, isSwipe).asJson()), new Callback<Response>() {
            @Override
            public void success(Response response, Response response2) {
                Log.d(TAG, "Successfully placed your order");
                setRegisterButtonVisibility(false);
                orderFinished(true, "Thank you " + user.employeeName + "! Your order is successfully placed");
            }

            @Override
            public void failure(RetrofitError error) {
                Log.d(TAG, "Failed to place your order: " + error.getMessage());
                ACRA.getErrorReporter().handleException(error);
                setRegisterButtonVisibility(false);
                orderFinished(false, "Sorry! Failed to place your order, Try again!");
            }
        });
    }

    private User getUserFromIntent(Intent data) {
        User newUser = new User();
        newUser.employeeName = data.getStringExtra("employeeName");
        newUser.empId = data.getStringExtra("empId");
        newUser.internalNumber = String.valueOf(internalCardNumber);
        return newUser;
    }

    private void showOrdering() {
        hideIme();
        handler.removeMessages(MSG_FINISH);
        animateOut();
        orderingProgressView.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
    }

    private void orderFinished(final boolean isSuccess, final String message) {
        orderFinished(isSuccess, message, TIME_FOR_FINISHING_ACTIVITY);
    }

    private void orderFinished(final boolean isSuccess, final String message, final int timeForFinish) {
        UserInputActivity.this.runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
            @Override
            public void run() {
                orderingProgressView.setVisibility(View.INVISIBLE);
                messageView.setText(message);
                statusView.setImageResource(isSuccess ? R.drawable.success : R.drawable.failure);
                messageLayout.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);

                handler.removeMessages(MSG_FINISH);
                handler.sendEmptyMessageDelayed(MSG_FINISH, timeForFinish);
            }
        });
    }

    private void hideIme() {
        View view = this.getCurrentFocus();
        if (view != null) {
            InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
            imm.hideSoftInputFromWindow(view.getWindowToken(), 0);
        }
    }

    private void setRegisterButtonVisibility(final boolean visible) {
        runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
            @Override
            public void run() {
                registerButton.setVisibility(visible ? View.VISIBLE : View.INVISIBLE);
            }
        });
    }

    private Order constructOrder(User user, Boolean isSwipe) {
        Order order = new Order();
        order.employeeId = user.empId;
        order.employeeName = user.employeeName;
        order.region = sharedPreferences.getString(SELECTED_REGION, null);
        order.isSwipe = isSwipe;
        for (Parcelable juice : juices) {
            JuiceItem item = (JuiceItem) juice;
            order.addDrink(item.juiceName, item.isSugarless, item.selectedQuantity, item.isFruit, item.type);
        }
        Log.d(TAG, "order is being placed : " + order.toString() + " for user: " + user.toString());
        return order;
    }

    private Object getJuiceCount(Parcelable[] juices) {
        int count = 0;
        if (juices == null) {
            return "";
        }

        for (Parcelable item : juices) {
            count += ((JuiceItem) item).selectedQuantity;
        }

        if (count == 1) {
            return (((JuiceItem) juices[0]).juiceName + getSuffixForOrder(juices[0]) + isSugarless(juices[0]));
        } else {
            return (count + " juices");
        }
    }

    private String getSuffixForOrder(Parcelable juice) {
        return ((JuiceItem) juice).isFruit ? " fruit " : " juice ";
    }

    private String isSugarless(Parcelable juice) {
        if (((JuiceItem) juice).isFruit) return "";
        if (((JuiceItem) juice).isSugarless) {
            return "Sugarless";
        } else {
            return "with Sugar";
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: How can I redirect mobile users to diff url, but also allow them to come back to full site this is pretty straight forward:  How do I redirect mobile users to /mobile, but still allow them to click a "Full site" button and see the full site without being redirected again back to the mobile site?
I have played with a bunch of the plugins that say they do this, but none seem to handle the second step.  They redirect to the /mobile . but if a user wants to go to the full site, it tries then redirects back to mobile.
I am running WP3.0.1

A: function mobile_redirect() {
    if (isset($_COOKIE["redirected"]) && $_COOKIE["redirected"])
        return;
    global $is_iphone;
    if( isset($is_iphone) && $is_iphone ) {
        wp_redirect( '/mobile/' );
        setcookie("redirected", true);
        exit;
    }
}
add_action('init', 'mobile_redirect');

This code redirects every mobile visitor to /mobile/ and then sets a cookie that the user is redirected. If the cookie is set, then the redirect doesn't take place. So if the user again goes to your site it won't redirect to the mobile url.
You can also set the cookie if there is a variable in the url, like /?v=desktop, then if that url is visited it sets the cookie and doesn't redirect anymore.

UPDATE
Use of builtin $is_iphone variable;
Thx to Kaiser.
Btw: strange name for a variable that's used for every mobile device. $is_mobile would be a better name.

A: Check the $is_iphone; variable. Then do your own redirects.

A: I agree with Shaun. If you design your current theme well, you can just make it so that mobile devices use a different stylesheet. So basically you'll only need one theme, just two different style variants.
Example code used for changing stylesheets based on desktop or mobile device site access:
// Function in functions.php file

function is_mobile_device(){
    $device = '';

    if( stristr($_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'],'ipad') ) {
        $device = "ipad";
    } else if( stristr($_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'],'iphone') || strstr($_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'],'iphone') ) {
        $device = "iphone";
    } else if( stristr($_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'],'blackberry') ) {
        $device = "blackberry";
    } else if( stristr($_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'],'android') ) {
        $device = "android";
    }

    if( $device ) {
        return true;
    } return false; {
        return false;
    }
}

 // Code in header.php

<?php if (is_mobile_device()) {
      echo 'MOBILE STYLESHEET'
   } else {
      echo 'DESKTOP STYLESHEET' }
?>

A: I'm using Obox Mobile on my website (http://clickwp.com) and it works really well even with W3 Total Cache. You can switch to the full site with no problem.
Although I agree that a responsive theme is probably the best way to go if you're looking for an easy solution. As you can see from my site, the sideshow gallery doesn't scale. A well-built responsive theme would take these into consideration as its not relying on a 3rd party plugin to provide the mobile functionality.
That being said, Obox Mobile is a good solution for me until I have the time and money to make my site responsive. Please use my affiliate link if you want to buy it, thanks!
http://www.obox-design.com/premium-wordpress-themes.cfm?afId=DB7FA9B3&bannerId=40


In but the latest after an insane month of news featuring the kingdom since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the AP reports Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman laid the ceremonial foundation stone for Saudi Arabia's first nuclear research reactor on Monday.
No doubt the symbolism of MbS laying the foundation stone for the kingdom's first nuclear reactor on the very day aggressive sanctions on Iran snapped back will not be lost of Tehran.
Given the timing it appears the Saudis were positively celebrating the sanctions and even provoking Iran. All of this means that the nuclear arms race between Iran and Saudi Arabia is officially on, even as much of the Middle East and the world is spotlighting the crimes of both. However, it will likely come slowly at first and under the guise of "peaceful" energy development of a "research" nature.
Meanwhile Iran has long claimed its own nuclear initiatives were purely to pursue energy needs much like the Gulf countries are seeking to diversify away from sole reliance on oil and gas. While the West has always refused to take Tehran's word for it, it will be interesting to see if there's any eventual shift in opinion concerning the Saudis' pursuit of large reactors given the current scrutiny over the kingdom's dismal human rights record in the wake of the Khashoggi affair.


text:
---
uid: SolidEdgeGeometry.Torus
summary:
remarks: Faces of a solid can be extracted using the Faces and FacesByRay properties on the Model and feature objects where each face is returned as a topological object. The geometric information is obtained from the face by using the Geometry property of the topological object.
---


The 12th High Wycombe (Union Baptist) Beaver Scouts have done a 'water walk' – each person carrying 5 litres of water for 1km – to raise money for the Tanzanian water projects. This was part of a term of activities learning about the culture, cooking, language and fashion of Tanzania. They have raised over £400.


Since swe have first time meet the nature pure essential oils, we are attracted by it 'magic'. The medical and original benefits brings by the essential oils are amazing. Essential oils can bring the different healing effects to the people which will not harm their body. The company name 'White Scent' which want to bring an meaning of most natural and pure essential oil to people. Our mission is to bring the original scent into your life and make you surrounding to become natural.
'CHAKRA' essential oils, an ancient which inheritance start 5000 years ago. Chakra is the wisdom of human and also it concludes the intelligence of the ancestor. Philosophy of Chakra was built based upon a wide variety of herbs, and the knowledge was passed on. Many of the herbs were studied and recorded. Essential oils, which are the main product used in aromatherapy, are extracted from plant materials by applying steam to force out their essences into highly concentrated liquids.


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text:
Investigators eye oil trouble in deadly B.C. crash
Firefighters attend the scene of a plane crash in Richmond, B.C. on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011. A small plane broke into pieces as it crashed on approach to Vancouver's airport. (Steve Smith / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
The landing gear sits in the foreground, bottom right, as investigators look over the wreckage of a passenger plane that crashed on a road while on approach to Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011. (Darryl Dyck / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Investigators look over the wreckage of a passenger plane that crashed on a road while on approach to Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011. (Darryl Dyck / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Fire officials are shown at the scene of a plane crash on No. 2 Road in Richmond near Vancouver International Airport on Oct. 27, 2011.
Updated: Fri Oct. 28 2011 13:21:21
CTVNews.ca Staff
Investigators have recovered the flight recorder from yesterday's fatal plane crash in Vancouver, and are optimistic that it and other data from the control tower will shed some light on the accident that left one dead and two critically injured.
The voice recorder "appears to be in good shape" and has been sent to a lab in Ottawa for further study said lead investigator Bill Yearwood, of the Transportation Safety Board, speaking to reporters Friday in Vancouver.
Investigators are taking a close look at an oil indicator that prompted the Beechcraft King Air 100 to turn around shortly after take-off, he added, and whether it is linked to the cause of the crash.
The charter flight took off with two crew and seven passengers, bound for Kelowna, B.C., at about 3:40 p.m. local time.
At about 4:12 p.m., somewhere over Maple Ridge, B.C., it turned around and headed back to the airport.
"Any caution light or indicator would trigger them to return, that's the normal procedure and the safe thing to do," said Yearwood, though the pilot and co-pilot were calm and seemed not to have thought the situation critical because they did not request emergency services. Five TSB investigators have been on the scene since late Thursday.
Yearwood said the plane was about 900 meters short of the runway when it banked sharply and clipped a light pole, crashing and burning in a nearby intersection amid afternoon rush hour traffic.
Frantic passersby rescued the passengers and crew from the plane, operated by Northern Thunderbird Air, based in Prince George, B.C. All nine were taken to hospital.
The pilot, 44-year old Luc Fortin of North Vancouver, died Thursday night of fire-related injuries, said the B.C. Coroners Service.
The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority said two passengers are in intensive care and four people are in serious but stable condition. Two others were released from hospital overnight
The crash also injured a pedestrian who was struck by a flying object. One car was also struck in the crash and its occupants were taken to hospital. Their condition is not known though Yearwood noted that the car was not badly damaged.
Malcolm Brodie, the mayor of Richmond, B.C., where the crash occurred, said he's sad to hear someone has died in the incident.
"That is tragic and obviously our hearts go out to that person and their family and loved ones and also the other victims of this crash. It's just a horrific event."
Brodie said he's asked the federal government several times to consider moving smaller planes to other regional airports.
"It just seems to me that if you have these huge airliners that are using YVR, once you get to a certain point you should start channelling the other planes to other locales," he said.
Thursday's crash was the third such incident involving a small plane in recent years.
In October 2007, the pilot of a Piper Seneca twin-engine plane died after his aircraft plowed into a highrise apartment building in Richmond.
With files from Canadian Press
California Aviation Alliance: Airport News List E-mail
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Manage your CAA subscriptions with the user friendly Mail List Administration database. You'll find it at: http://californiaaviation.org/cal/index.cfm
Contact stepheni@cwnet.com with problems with your subscription.


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Join the Baptist Care Team as they bring together industry experts and individuals living with or caring for someone with dementia for this unique professional development experience.
Don't miss this inspiring day as they explore how technology and creative ageing programs are being embraced to support residents and clients living beyond a diagnosis of dementia.
The forum begins at 8.30am with refreshments, and is bursting with storytellers who will take us on a journey of personal insights and innovative research.
The one day forum will conclude with optional networking drinks and canapés, so you can relax in the casual atmosphere of Café at Waterview with colleagues and friends.
Registrations close Wednesday 7 September.
COST: $165 including: Attendance; morning tea, buffet lunch and afternoon tea; complimentary onsite parking; forum bag and materials. Additional $20 Networking Drinks & Canapés (4.30pm – 5.30pm) Enjoy a selection of delicious canapés and drinks.
ENQUIRIES: For more information, contact Melanie Hendra on melanie@melaniehendraevents.com or phone 0407 674 445.


Those that have been using a Nexus phone for some time are used to seeing new updates appear quickly and this sort of thing being reported in Android news but, the Nexus 7 was the first tablet to come under the Nexus umbrella and it's times like these that it really shows. We've been hearing rumors of Android 4.2.2 coming for a while now and last night was the first time that we heard something concrete. Users on Reddit found the update rolling out to some Nexus 7s and Nexus 10s.
Now, just like we did earlier with the Galaxy Nexus - of the "takju" variety - we've got download links and instructions on how to install them to your Nexus 7 or Nexus 10. The download links are below and instructions for the more faint of heart will be further below.
In order to install the update, you'll have to be already running the JOP40D build of Jelly Bean, it's wise to not try it if you're running something earlier than that. There are, of course, a couple of ways in which you can apply the update to your device. If you're bone-stock without a custom recovery installed then you'll have to go through the sideload route, which means you'll have to have adb installed. First of all you'll need to boot your Nexus 7 or Nexus 10 into recovery. Which is down by holding power and volume down on the Nexus 7, and for the Nexus 10 it's the same. When you're in the stock recovery, plug your Nexus tablet into your PC and select "apply update from adb" and use the command "adb sideload <update zip full name.zip>"
If you're running a custom recovery then you should just be able to download the .zip and flash it as you would anything else. If you don't know what you're doing, then just wait patiently for Google to roll it out to everyone. There's no changelog for these updates just yet but, there should be one soon. For all intents and purposes, this looks like a big-fix release for Android 4.2, so let us know if you've got it installed and tell us what feels different to you, if anything.


You can save your current Application, 3D Viewer, and 2D Viewer settings to shared configuration files (XML). Another user can then load this XML file to use the same Application, 2D, and 3D Viewer settings in his/her SpinFire Ultimate environment. This can be useful if a particular CAD file requires specific settings in order to be viewed properly or if an organization needs to ensure that all users are using the same settings.
Often, in multi-user environments, it is the SpinFire Ultimate system administrator who determines whether or not to use the Shared Configuration File.
From the menu bar, select Tools > Export Settings... to open the Export Settings dialog box.
Choose a place to save your file and assign it a name.
Before beginning the process to save the viewer settings to a file, make sure that the Windows User Account Control shared settings are enabled.
Navigate to the file, select, then click the Open button (or simply double-click to open). The file extension is .config.
Right-click the SpinFire Ultimate shortcut icon on the Windows desktop.
With SpinFire Ultimate, you can view nearly all the most popular 3D CAD files. To see a list of SpinFire Ultimate supported file formats, click the Options tab and select Importers.


text:
Firework explosion kills one during New Year celebrations in Thailand
Newsflare 1 January 2020
This is the moment a firework exploded in a Brit's face killing him during the New Year celebrations in Pattaya, Thailand.
Gary McLaren, 50, lit the huge rocket in front of the Miami A Gogo bar while revellers were celebrating the New Year.
But after trying unsuccessfully to ignite the device, Gary tried a second time and finally lit the fuse.
But with smoke pouring from the device, he then made the fatal mistake of returning to lit firework because he was not sure it was working.
Seconds later as Gary stood over the 50cm long tube it exploded into his face and killed him.
A bar worker said she recorded Gary walking out of the bar to launch the fireworks.
She then shouted at him in dialect ''no, no, no, no, you can't do that'' before walking out to him.
But Gary stayed next to the pyrotechnic device, which then exploded.
Nopparat Munprom, 31, said: ''I stood outside the bar to watch the man releasing the fireworks.
''I saw that the firework was lit but the man did not move. He stayed looking at it.
''I said in Thai 'the firework is working already, you have to move' then I shouted 'no, no, no, no, you can't do that' and started to walk out.
''Then the firework exploded in his face because he did not move and the colourful sparks came out in the street.
''Everybody ran over to check on the man and he had blood on his face.
''Last year people were doing this with small fireworks but this year they were much bigger and stronger.''
Laurence Fox row rages on as he mocks Question Time guest with 'stunning and brave' hashtag
Prince Harry's former protection officer recounts story that is very telling
Police Investigating 'At Highest Level' As Reports Of Two Incidents Near Harry Dunn RAF Base Emerge
Storm batters train line on Scotland's west coast


text:
#region Disclaimer/Info

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// Subtext WebLog
//
// Subtext is an open source weblog system that is a fork of the .TEXT
// weblog system.
//
// For updated news and information please visit http://subtextproject.com/
// Subtext is hosted at Google Code at http://code.google.com/p/subtext/
// The development mailing list is at subtext@googlegroups.com
//
// This project is licensed under the BSD license.  See the License.txt file for more information.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

#endregion

using System.Web.Mvc;
using Subtext.Framework;
using Subtext.Framework.Routing;
using Subtext.Framework.Text;
using UrlHelper = Subtext.Framework.Routing.BlogUrlHelper;

namespace Subtext.Web.Controllers
{
    public class ManifestController : Controller
    {
        const string ManifestXml = @"<?xml version=""1.0"" encoding=""UTF-8""?>
<manifest xmlns=""http://schemas.microsoft.com/wlw/manifest/weblog"">
  <options>
    <supportsEmbeds>Yes</supportsEmbeds>
    <supportsEmptyTitles>No</supportsEmptyTitles>
    <supportsSlug>Yes</supportsSlug>
    <supportsExcerpt>Yes</supportsExcerpt>
    <supportsCategories>Yes</supportsCategories>
    <supportsNewCategories>Yes</supportsNewCategories>
    <futurePublishDateWarning>No</futurePublishDateWarning>
    <supportsScripts>No</supportsScripts>
    <supportsPages>Yes</supportsPages>
    <supportsExtendedEntries>Yes</supportsExtendedEntries>
    <supportsTrackbacks>{0}</supportsTrackbacks>
  </options>
  <weblog>
    <homepageLinkText>View your blog</homepageLinkText>
    <adminLinkText>Administer your blog</adminLinkText>
    <adminUrl>
      <![CDATA[
        {1}
    ]]>
    </adminUrl>
    <postEditingUrl>
      <![CDATA[
        {2}
    ]]>
    </postEditingUrl>
  </weblog>
</manifest>";

        public ManifestController(ISubtextContext context)
        {
            SubtextContext = context;
        }

        public ISubtextContext SubtextContext { get; private set; }
        public UrlHelper UrlHelper
        {
            get
            {
                return SubtextContext.UrlHelper;
            }
        }

        public Blog Blog
        {
            get
            {
                return SubtextContext.Blog;
            }
        }

        public ActionResult Index()
        {
            var adminUrlHelper = new AdminUrlHelper(UrlHelper);
            var adminUrl = adminUrlHelper.Home().ToFullyQualifiedUrl(Blog);
            var postEditingUrl = adminUrlHelper.PostsEdit().ToFullyQualifiedUrl(Blog);

            string manifestXml = string.Format(ManifestXml, Blog.TrackbacksEnabled.ToYesNo(), adminUrl, postEditingUrl);

            return Content(manifestXml, "text/xml");
        }
    }
}


• Authoritative information on the clinical findings and the most recent treatment available for a wide spectrum of childhood ocular diseases, ideal for practicing ophthalmologists, pediatric ophthalmologists, fellows, and residents.
• New chapters on pediatric uveitis and pediatric optic nerve abnormalities.
• More than 170 new and updated high-quality photographs of specific disease entities and ocular disorders.


This event took place on 30th September 2018, so you won't be able to enquire. They may run the event again in the future. Contact the member by visiting their profile using the 'Member Profile' link above.
This is an advanced; highly interactive workshop in which delegates work in small teams to explore and analyse wide-ranging financial scenarios based on the realistic; computer-based simulation of various international exploration and production activities.


Birmingham's first summer camp aimed at inspiring the next generation of digital coders by focusing on science and technology is being held in August.
Budding inventors can create their own robot and hone their programming skills at the summer camp, hosted by Birmingham Open Media (BOM), based on Dudley Street in the city centre.
Led by an expert team of creative technologists, artists and science educators, the summer camp is Birmingham's first to focus on the key STEAM subjects (science, technology, engineering, arts and maths).
Seven to 11-year-olds will learn how to solder, build and program objects that respond to commands, take part in a cretinous creature jamboree and race in a robot rally. The young inventors will take home their creations at the end of the week.
BOM is a creative collaborative workspace for art, technology and science, and director Karen Newman believes the summer camp is helping to tackle a digital skills gap in schools.
"The new national curriculum for computing, which came into force last year for primary years and up, has highlighted a real issue with a digital skills gap in many schools," she said. "Teachers often aren't equipped with the knowledge of how to code and how to teach this in a fun and creative way.
"One of our ambitions for the summer camp is to work actively with teachers to up-skill in coding and other creative tech, such as Raspberry Pis, so they can get involved with the summer camp and then take these skills back into the classroom.
The camp takes place between August 24-28. Places cost £100 per child and a limited number of bursary places will be available to families with low income.
"We're especially keen to reach children with little digital engagement and are offering the five bursary places to families with low income," added Ms Newman.
"We're also running two days of free drop-in workshops the week before summer camp, working with the Open Community Lab to re-mix traditional children's games using digital tech.
Workshop facilitators are expert creative technologists who are fully DBS checked and teach within schools across the city.


text:
About Picture as Portal
Picture as Portal, LLC is a venture between 2 professional medical illustrators, Betsy Palay and Tami Tolpa. Our mission is to empower anyone—through a simple course of training—to create clear, compelling pictures that communicate about science, technology, and other subjects, no matter how complex.
Betsy Palay
Betsy has over 30 years of experience creating visual communications for science researchers, educators, major biotech companies, and entrepreneurs. She is the founder and former president of a design firm that specialized in investor communications, assisting clients to raise over half a billion dollars in Initial Public Offerings (IPO's). Betsy has an MS in medical and biological illustration from the University of Michigan, is a Board-Certified Medical Illustrator, and is a Fellow and a past president of the Association of Medical Illustrators.
Tami Tolpa
Tami has over 20 years of experience in scientific illustration and animation for clients including: Scientific American Magazine, The Scientist Magazine, Science News, MIT's Technology Review, Harvard University, and the University of Washington, as well as numerous physicians and biotechnology companies. Tami has an MFA in medical illustration from the Rochester Institute of Technology. She's a past board member and current Fellow of the Association of Medical Illustrators. Tami has spoken about science communication using visuals on twitter, at the University of Washington, at Science Talk '18, at ComSciCon-PNW, and as part of the Biotweeps BTCon'18 twitter conference, and on the Mostly Science livecast following the conference. You can read a Q&A with Tami on the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology careers blog. Her professional website is www.tolpa.com, @tolpastudios.
SPARK is the culmination of many years of collaboration between Betsy and Tami. It evolved from similar lectures, workshops, and courses taught in-person through Stanford Continuing Studies; the University of California, San Francisco; the Stanford SIMILE program; the Stanford Hume Center for Writing and Speaking; and the Anatomy Division and Lane Medical Library at the Stanford School of Medicine.
The enthusiasm of our students in these earlier efforts was the inspiration to create this online version of SPARK. And their input has been invaluable in refining it. Here are some of their comments:
"Amazing course. I've never seen anything quite like this and was thrilled to get such great instruction on a challenging and rarely taught topic."
"The course far exceeded my expectations because it taught me a new way to see."
"… the best thing I learned was how powerful it is to communicate concepts by visuals."
"This was an extremely practical, hands on class. The techniques I learned will definitely help me on the job."
"AWESOME CLASS!"
100% of respondents answered "yes" when asked in an anonymous survey, "Do you think you will be able to use what you learned in this course?"
© Copyright Picture as Portal 2020


My initial thought that Despite Yourself was going to be the pinnacle of season one were blown out of the water with The Wolf Inside.
Burnham is fully undercover as her Mirror self although she is beginning to lose herself within the facade. While this isn't a wholly evil universe she is struggling to come to terms with the casual racism, slavery and the brutality that the Terran Empire has brought to the galaxy.
Tyler is proving to be her only support since Lorca (whom we see very little of and may be compromised) is still locked away in the Agoniser booth. The challenge Burnham faces is to pass the heavily encrypted data files on the USS Defiant and its passage to the Mirror Universe back to the Discovery and has that weight added to with the Empire demanding the destruction of a suspected rebel outpost.
Burnham sees an opportunity to reach out to the rebels and save them in return for an understanding of how the alliance of Klingons, Andorians, Tellerites and Vulcans was formed. When Burnham and Tyler do get down to the surface and avoid being blown apart by the rebel forces, they discover that the fabled "FireWolf" is in fact Voq, the Klingon we saw back in the first trio of stories as the Torchbearer and heir-apparent to T'Kuv'ma.
Also there, suitably goatee-adorned is one Sarek of Vulcan aka The Prophet. He confirms via mind-meld that Burnham is telling the truth about her origins however Voq's words manage to activate whatever has been laying dormant within Tyler. Of course the reimagined Andorians and Tellarites are as big a draw for fans in these scenes as that legendary Mirror Universe beard and I think that the makeup artists of 2017 have done a stunning job in adding their own twist to these classic Star Trek aliens. Heck, the Tellarites get better every time they're resurrected.
Yes, it's finally out that Tyler is Voq (picture to the right via Entertainment Weekly). The Starfleet version goes hell for leather at his rebel-leading Mirror self but the real issue chimes in when we get back to the ISS Shenzhou because the facade of Tyler slips and the Klingon comes to the surface, attempting to kill Burnham and only being stopped by slave Saru.
The fight is great as are the more graphic flashbacks to Voq's transformation into the traumatised Starfleet security chief but after all the ramblings of the internet it does feel that Discovery's worst kept secret is a bit of a let down because, well, we all worked it out back in episode four.
The Mirror Universe isn't quite that straight mirror that The Original Series made it out to be because here we see the strain of maintaining that false front, to act like the "savages" we might believe them to be. Burnham is placed in a horrible situation and looks certain to circumvent genocide however the arrival of the Emperor puts paid to that. The roles of her and Lorca are totally flipped within this Mirror Universe arc with the captain and prisoner in opposite places. Sonequa Martin-Green is the driving force behind this episode, commanding a dark starship, facing the news that her lover is not what he seems and, erm, that final one which really screws with her world.
With Burnham's life being pulled down around her, the tour de force of the episode comes from Shazad Latif as Ash Tyler. My god this guy is pushed to the limit playing a range of both Tyler and Voq's aspects as well as, effectively, playing both the sides of the character on screen in the same episode. The sequence in which he finally trips into Voq is truly chilling as his Klingon beliefs and motivations come to the fore. Breathtaking.
The Mirror Universe given the life it is here is being given the chance to breathe more than ever and for us as the viewer to explore more than ever before. The inclusion of the nameless Saru here and the systems of contempt in operation drive home the darkness but at its core, is The Wolf Inside really about seeing past the layers to what's really at the heart of us all?
In a literal sense the title is shouting out the plot twist around Tyler/Voq (Wolf inside...get it? Voq's the WOLF inside...yeah...you see where I'm going...) but it also betrays what might be lying deep within Burnham too. Her action to sentence Tyler to death may have an alternate reason to it however there's not even a flicker of regret when he gets spaced. It's a far cry from her voiced concerns during the diary entry at the start of the show (and part of the longest pre-titles sequence ever?). Plus there's the fact she omits to tell Saru on the Discovery about his Mirror self while he in turn decides not to reveal that Culber is dead allowing that to be left to the vengeful Tyler/Voq. Cleverly it seems that the main characters are taking much darker turns in personality since crossing over and the reorientation back to normal life on the de-Empire'd Discovery could be a treat to behold.
While all this is going on aboard the Shenzhou, Saru is left in command of the eponymous starship and allows Tilly to attempt to save Paul Stamets. The lieutenant is at the cliff-edge after discovering that Culber has been murdered (Tyler admits this to Burnham before trying to kill her) but Tilly believes that she has the solution to bring him back. Her answer, probably one of the most technobabble filled explanations of the whole series, at first looks set to get her on the command track but ends up killing Stamets. Never fear because he's soon back to life however he's out on the mycellial network and encountering his alternative self. More on that I suspect, next week.
It is a much smaller part of the episode but the final scene of Saru and Tyler plus the speech which he gives the troubled officer/Klingon is one of the best of the series to date and reminds us just what Starfleet is about even though the ship is stranded in a morally-corrupt universe. If there was doubt about how the writers' room sees Star Trek this was the 30 seconds that proved they know precisely what they are on about.
On another note it's important that we see Saru in this command role given just how much indecision and troubles his last attempt at command was when Lorca was captured by L'Rell. He has come on a great deal although there are still a few seconds of wavering judgement in there around whether or not to provide medical aid to Stamets or allow Tilly to get her way however it's a far cry from where he was.
From the pacing and the feel of the episode I suspect we might be in the middle of a min-arc that will come to an end next week ahead of the final three episodes that will, I would think, close off the Klingon War and the Voq storyline. While The Wolf Inside is a great indulgence episode that gives a lot of nods to fans, there are some inherent issues with it which come from the two plot twist revelations however amazing they are on screen. They are, sadly, predictable because of the wonders of the internet in regards to Tyler/Voq and because, well, it just had to be that character as the Emperor didn't it? I mean, there was such a big thing made about That Person being included in the cast! As stated already though, the decision not to drag these "revelations" out any longer is a wise move and viewers will appreciate it.
How do you rate The Wolf Inside? Predictable or gloriously indulgent Star Trek?


text:
Линтон Хоуп () — британский яхтсмен, двукратный чемпион летних Олимпийских игр 1900.

На Играх Хоуп на яхте Scotia соревновался в классе яхт водоизмещением 0,5-1 т и в свободном классе. Обе эти гонки его команда выиграла, и Хоуп стал двукратным чемпионом Игр.

Примечания

Яхтсмены Великобритании
Чемпионы летних Олимпийских игр 1900 года
Яхтсмены на летних Олимпийских играх 1900 года
Олимпийские чемпионы по парусному спорту
Олимпийские чемпионы от Великобритании

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Continuous Improvement, Leadership
July 15, 2019 pdonehue	Leave a comment
Trust: a soft concept that's hard to beat…
Based on a recent interview with Aron Ain, author of WorkInspired, How to Build an Organization Where Everyone Loves to Work, and CEO of Kronos, a leading global provider of workforce management cloud solutions, our previous two posts have demonstrated that creating a high-trust culture is worth the investment — just as Covey predicted in The Speed of Trust.
Kronos' success nicely exemplifies what a culture of trust can yield. But building this culture isn't easy.
"We've worked incredibly hard to instill trust throughout the organization, one manager at a time, starting with me," Ain said. "First, we give employees atypical degrees of latitude and freedom. Until proven otherwise, we assume their competence, judgement, and good intentions."
Kronos also deploys tools that support the creation of a high-trust organization, such as Predictive Index, to help people get to know one another, and a performance feedback and rating system that gives substantial weight to an employees' effectiveness at building trust. They also establish HR policies that demonstrate trust as an organizational philosophy, such as work-at-home options, and unlimited time off.
In addition, the management at Kronos works very hard on three specific management behaviors that support effective deployment of trust:
Communication is key, as trusting your people to just do what they think is best for the organization doesn't work out nearly as well if internal communication is weak. In fact, communication is so important that Ain devotes the second chapter of his book to overcommunication.
"Don't just communicate," he says, "overcommunicate. You really can't do it enough!" He goes on to note that inquiry and listening are just as important forms of communication as updating and explaining.
The courage to lead is a high-profile concept at Kronos. Patrick Lencioni in The Five Disfunctions of a Team identifies the lack of trust among a management team as the root cause of most poor performance. At Kronos, the concept of courage has an even higher profile, as managers are required to lead with genuine courage. They have developed a Courage to Lead program, which has three major sections: Be Bold & Humble — Challenge & Support — Disrupt & Connect. And the first principle under Be Bold & Humble is: 'Trust others, both within and outside your functional area.'
Studying results is the third component of the Kronos formula for building a culture of trust. Trust doesn't mean assuming everything will all work out as planned. Far from it! In fact, Kronos' approach aligns nicely with Deming's Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle: they plan carefully, try out an innovation or improvement, then study the results, and act on what they learn.
"We measure everything," Ain says. This is their commitment to "exposing reality" — seeing how the plans and decisions are actually working without succumbing to wishful thinking.
how to build a culture of engagementhow to build a culture of trustleadershipmanagementtrust
Agility, Continuous Improvement, Culture, Leadership, Trust
July 8, 2019 pdonehue
The Soft Concept That's Hard to Beat!
Our previous post identified the role that trust plays in an organization's success, and referenced it as "the soft concept producing results that are hard to beat."
While trust may seem too soft a concept to produce a competitive edge, the facts indicate otherwise.
In fact, a high level of trust is essential to creating an agile, highly competitive organization and here are four reasons why.
1.) No Trust — No Speed
In a world where new challenges arise very quickly, it is the failure to act, failure to improve, and failure to innovate that poses the biggest risk to a company — not the risk of making a mistake. However, to an individual in a low-trust environment, by far the biggest risk is making a mistake. For these individuals, trying something new is much riskier than doing what's been always been done. Innovation or even simple improvement is not going to happen. The whole organization slows down.
Covey, in The Speed of Trust, puts it this way: "When trust is low … it places a hidden 'tax' on every communication, every interaction, every strategy, every decision." People don't fully hear what their leaders are saying, because they factor in guesses about the leader's intentions. They wonder how transparent their leader is being. Employees don't buy-in to decisions that they don't trust.
Aron Ain, author of WorkInspired, How to Build an Organization Where Everyone Loves to Work, and CEO of Kronos (a leading global provider of workforce management cloud solutions), points out that lack of trust places "a huge overhead burden on a relationship." He insists that when you
employ someone, you should go ahead and trust them! Will you get burned on occasion when trusting people?
"Absolutely!" Ain says, "But almost always my trust in team members has proven well-founded. And the benefits are numerous."
By building a culture where employees know they are trusted and where they trust their managers and teammates, Kronos has created an organization where it is safe for people to be creative and to aim for the best possible outcomes, continuously getting better and better.
2.) No Trust — No "Exposing Reality"
Exposing reality means trying very hard to look at things the way they really are, rather than the way we wish they were. As Ain points out, "the faster you see things as they really are, the faster you can get to work on improving them."
But in a low-trust environment, people are especially motivated to gloss over uncomfortable truths and to declare victory and move on rather than checking to see if they did or didn't get the results they expected. Trust enables us to admit what we don't know, recognize and recover quickly from mistakes, and to put uncomfortable information, questions, and contrary opinions out in the open, where the team can work through them with honesty and passion to arrive together at the best strategies and decisions.
3.) No Trust — Poor Results
In a low-trust environment, employees hold back information or ideas that seem risky to share, so leaders make decisions based on incomplete information and without knowing all the potential consequences. And when employees believe their managers are making decisions without all the relevant input and information, they often question or even slow-walk the decisions.
Covey cites polls showing that only 45% of employees have trust and confidence in senior management. Lencioni, in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, places lack of trust at the foundation of his pyramid of dysfunctions culminating in poor results. Without trust among a team, people keep their cards close to their chests. They are afraid to admit the limits of what they know, afraid to admit any vulnerabilities. Because they don't trust one another, they fear conflict and withhold uncomfortable information and dissenting views. Without complete information, these teams make poor decisions, and the decisions they do make are poorly executed because they do not arrive at a shared commitment to the decision unless they have aired and resolved dissenting views. Thus, a lack of trust leads to both flawed strategies and poor execution.
4,) Trust Inspires and Engages
Covey observes that "trust is one of the most powerful forms of motivation and inspiration. People want to be trusted. They respond to trust. They thrive on trust."
This is exactly what Ain sees happening at Kronos. "Because we place so much faith in employees," he explains in WorkInspired, "they return the favor, placing a remarkable degree of trust in us. Their trust in turn leads to far better performance — more innovation, quicker recovery from mistakes, more energy and enthusiasm at work."
The next step, of course, is identifying the best way to build a "culture of trust," which will be the subject of our next post.
engagementhow to build a culture of continuous improvementhow to build a culture of engagementhow to engage employeestrust
Culture, Leadership, Trust
You might call it a "secret weapon" but, to be honest, it is the exact opposite. Because unlike a weapon, it is constructive rather than destructive; the only harm it could do a competitor is to leave them behind.
And it is anything but secret!
Trust — the soft concept producing hard to beat results
In his recent book, WorkInspired, How to Build an Organization Where Everyone Loves to Work, Aron Ain openly shares the pivotal role it has played in Kronos's amazing growth story.
This "secret weapon" is trust — the soft concept producing results that are hard to beat.
The role that trust plays in an organization's success has been written about before by keen observers of human and organizational dynamics.
Patrick Lencioni in The Five Disfunctions of a Team identifies the lack of trust among a management team as the root cause of most poor performance.
Stephen M. R. Covey in The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything passionately echoes this view, citing research indicating high-trust organizations out-perform their low-trust competitors by 300%, because a lack of trust increases costs while simultaneously reducing an organization's speed and agility.
What's different about Ain, CEO of Kronos, a leading global provider of workforce management cloud solutions, is that he can tell us how trust is working in action today and about the tools and methods in place to support the practice and enhance the effectiveness of trust.
At Kronos, everyone is expected to give trust both within and outside their functional areas and to practice behaviors that earn the trust of their employees, teammates, and managers. According to Ain, the culture of trust contributes to much more than high engagement and retention, as important as those are, but to amazing business results.
And the results Kronos has achieved are great! Revenue has tripled; Kronos has surpassed 35,000 customers worldwide, innovations are rolling out faster than ever, and employee engagement scores are through the roof. Kronos once again occupies the #1 spot in the Boston Globe's Top Places to Work list in Massachusetts. It received an award from Fortune Magazine for Best Workplace for Millennials – 2018. It is on both Glassdoor's and Fortune Magazine's lists of top 100 places to work and has received numerous other awards for workplace engagement.
Based on a recent newsletter by our associate Sheila Julien, our next post will share four specific reasons why "trust" works and why it is essential to creating an agile, highly competitive organization.
continuous improvementengagementhow to build a culture of continuous improvementhow to build a culture of engagementleadershiptrust
How to Achieve Breakthrough Gains
Chartering and deploying effective project teams is one of the most important achievements for any organization.
Consider that high performing teams, by their nature, work on the right things — those that matter most to the organization. In addition, high performing teams are much more likely to bring about breakthrough gains – gains that go beyond those typically achieved by individuals — and for good reasons:
It is nearly impossible for a single person to possess the same amount of knowledge and experience that a high performing team possesses
The exchange of ideas leads to new thinking and innovation
The involvement of multiple people in decision-making strengthens commitment levels
A team environment provides mutual support and a sense of belonging
Some of the skills and behaviors that can help an organization develop high-performing teams include:
Strong, committed leadership
Alignment around a common purpose
Diligent task and project management
Effective communication and meeting management
Clear and measurable performance targets
The right process to achieve results
People are held mutually accountable for activity and results
CI teamshigh-performing teamshow to develop a high performing teamteambuilding
Change, Continuous Improvement
change is good, but never "easy!"
The point has been made, in prior posts, that "change" is not always perceived as being good, and instead tends to promote fear, uncertainty, doubt; and even resentment!
Consider that, in organizations of all types people tend to look with skepticism at new policies and procedures, and look with deep concern at new compensation plans or updated benefits programs. Similarly, in their daily quest for new customers, sales people constantly struggle to overcome buyers' comfort with the status-quo; and people at all levels regularly cringe at the suggestion that there might be a different or better way to do their jobs!
Yet without change comes stagnation… and potentially worse things too. Current-day examples include Polaroid in instant photography, Blockbuster in video, Xerox in copiers, or the Yellow Pages! Each of these household name enterprises experienced significant declines, or worse, as competitors introduced new and better alternatives.
The cassette tape replaced the eight-track, but was then outdone by the compact disc, which was undercut by MP3 players… and the list can go on.
A Selling Mission…
If we're to learn from these examples, then we must accept the fact that change — either in the form of innovation, continuous improvement or both — is a critical component of growth and ongoing success. Without innovation and change we run the risk of losing our competitive position or potential obsolescence.
"Whatever made you successful in the past won't in the future," said the late Hewlett Packard CEO Lew Platt.
But if people tend to resist change as previously noted, how might managers or business owners best go about getting the team to accept it — to buy in? How can we help people more readily embrace improvement programs, try new protocols, accept new pricing models or generally believe in the up-side of change?
Simply stated, we must sell it.
Just like the sales and marketing experts who create the "new and improved" ad copy, slogans and selling presentations, we must sell the concept of change to our staff members before trying to present or roll-out new policies, procedures, campaigns, programs or plans.
And just like any sales mission, this will require forethought and planning.
We might start by identifying how the team will benefit from a proposed change. What's in it for them? What are the consequences of not changing? What will it cost? What opportunities might we lose?
What's the competition doing?
The next step is to determine how to properly position a proposed change. Since we know there is a tendency toward defensiveness, it's important to make people understand that they are not the problem. In other words, a change in policy or approach need not mean that the team has been doing things the wrong way. Rather, it means the world is changing and we must change too, lest we fall behind.
Finally, once the presentation is made and the new whatever is launched, there must be follow-up reinforcement and assessment. Has everything worked as we'd hoped? Should we modify the new plan? Are there unforeseen consequences? While we don't want to send a message indicating we're not resolved to the new program or approach, it is also a good idea to let everyone know we're fair and open-minded — that at the end of the day we're all on the same side.
Change may be unsettling, but without it our futures are at risk; and there are clearly ways to minimize the negative effects. It will require effort, planning and, like any selling mission, persistence, as behaviors and attitudes are not easily influenced.
Margaret Thatcher may have summed it up best when saying, "You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it!"
changecontinuous improvementcontinuous process improvementhow to gain buy-in for changeinnovationleading changemanaging change
Change, Conventional Wisdom, Decision Making
Confirmation Bias Part 2: Examples & Avoidance
Our previous post explained the concept of "confirmation bias," which is the tendency to pursue and embrace information that matches our existing beliefs.
Here are some general examples of how confirmation bias can creep into our day-to-day thinking, and three proven ways to avoid the pitfall:
Decision-Driven Data
As previously noted, the inclination to look for supportive data can easily lead us to serious mistakes. Social scientists report that analyses of investments we favor inexorably take on a rosier look than investments we are doubtful about.
Many small choices go into collecting and crunching data and analyzing opportunity and risk and presenting results. Absent a conscientious effort to avoid confirmation bias, small choices — all valid on their own — tend
to be made to support our initial opinion. We think we are making data-driven decisions, but we are really collecting decision-driven data.
For example, author Daniel Kahneman once described a study of high-performing schools to determine if size played a role in quality of educational outcomes. The data indicated that the top quartile in educational performance contained a disproportionate number of small schools, supporting the hypothesis that small schools provided better quality education. This led to some expensive policy decisions that produced no educational benefit. It turned out that small schools are disproportionately represented in the worst performing quartile as well, due to the statistical tendency of larger populations to "regress to the mean" or basically become more "average" and thus to be under-represented in the top and bottom quartile.
Confirmation bias also plays an important role in the inordinate impact of first impressions. A first impression provides a very tiny and possibly serendipitous sample of a candidate's qualities and qualifications. Yet,
people who believe this is a very intelligent candidate before the interview tend to notice more signs of high intelligence.
Here are three things we can do to protect our decision-making process from conformation bias and potential distortion:
Recognize the bias and remind yourself to look for it in your decisions and analyses. Remind yourself that the authors of everything you read (including this article) are making a point that is supported by the data they present, but is not necessarily by data they do not present — and in fact may not even have seen if they did not look hard enough for contrary data. Remind yourself that the talented and well-meaning people providing you with analysis and recommendations are also subject to confirmation bias. Ask for contrary data.
Ask "what else could it be?" Think creatively about alternative explanations and alternative solutions. Explore the whole feasible set, if possible.
Encourage the expression of contrary views and ideas. "If you value the differences in people, the differences will produce value." Aggressively seek out and try to understand contrarian views. For many people, the first impulse is to refute contrarian views and argue our own. But the best decisions are likely to be made by those who "seek first to understand rather than be understood."
confirmation biasdecision-makinghow to avoid confirmation biashow to make better decisions
Continuous Improvement, Conventional Wisdom, Decision Making
Confirmation Bias – Has it Happened to You?
June 3, 2019 pdonehue
CONFIRMATION BIAS AT WORK
It has happened to most of us. Has it happened to you?
That is, has there been a time when data supported a decision you knew to be the right one, but for some reason or reasons you did not get the outcome you expected?
Perhaps you find an exciting investment opportunity like the winners you have spotted before, but it yields mediocre or poor results. Or despite your experience and successful track record when judging candidates, a person you just "knew" would be a good fit turns out to be a bad hire.
With experience can come wisdom… but also confirmation bias.
Confirmation bias is the tendency to pursue and embrace information that matches our existing beliefs. We tend to seek out and enjoy people who write or say exactly what we think. We gravitate toward these sources not for information but for confirmation.
Researcher and writer Thomas Gilovich posits the "most likely reason for the excessive influence of confirmatory information is that it is easier to deal with cognitively." It's easier to think what we think!
Yet confirmation bias in business can be especially hazardous and costly to highly-experienced and successful individuals. These minds are adept at spotting patterns, learning from experience, scanning the horizon and connecting the dots. If that describes your talents, take a look at this classic puzzle nicely presented by the "The Upshot."
If you attempted the puzzle, how did you do?
For those who opted out, in this puzzle participants are given a numerical pattern and are asked to determine the underlying rule. The pattern is quite simple, and participants can test their theories as often as they like before specifying the rule. Yet 77% of participants fail to identify the rule because as soon as they find a pattern that supports their theory they conclude it is the correct rule.
In other words, 77% of participants succumb to confirmation bias.
This is a common occurrence in business. When trying to solve problems or make decisions we overwhelmingly look for patterns that support our theories rather than looking for data that would clue us in that we have missed the mark. And with each piece of data that does not refute our theory, we become more confident in our belief.
This exercise shows how people tend to work at proving their theories right, instead of robustly testing the theories to prove them wrong. Once we have seen enough supporting evidence to confirm we are right, it is far more natural for us to fully embrace our premise or idea.
For instance, maybe we are tasked with determining why a certain work process is not being done well. Is the work done less well by inexperienced employees, or when the machine is overdue for maintenance, or when the materials have a certain characteristic?
We could test all three of these ideas with data. But our natural confirmation bias makes us far more likely to look for evidence that the idea we favor is correct than to look for ways it may be mistaken. So, we start testing the idea we think is most likely and as soon as we find enough evidence to support it, we risk diving into the solution and excluding the other possibilities; and we could very well be headed down a path of action that is sub-optimum for our organization.
In our next post we'll take a closer look at examples of confirmation bias in the workplace and steps that can be taken to avoid it.
confirmation biascontinuous process improvementdecision-makingdecision-making pitfallsroot cause of quaity improvement
Conventional Wisdom & Utilization
May 27, 2019 pdonehue
As you are most likely aware, "utilization" is a measure of the actual number of units produced divided by the number possible when machines and people work at full capacity.
Conventional wisdom says that the best way to maximize profits is to encourage every department within an organization to achieve 100% utilization. Like so much of conventional wisdom, this has a ring of truth to it; and it has the added beauty of simplicity. We can evaluate and reward each department independently of one another, and if everyone is given incentives to get as close as possible to 100% utilization, then the company will surely be maximally profitable.
But this premise will fail us in the real world… a world riddled with variation.
For example, let's say a company has three operations:
• Glass Blowing
• Filament Insertion
• Cap & Wrap
Utilization of the 3 departments is 50% in Glass Blowing, 100% in Filament Insertion, and 80% in Cap & Wrap. So where do you focus your improvement efforts? The natural conclusion is that you would focus on increasing utilization in Glass Blowing: either by increasing production (which would simply increase the inventory of bulbs waiting for insertion) or by decreasing capacity.
But if you look at the throughput of the process as a whole, you see that Filament Insertion is the bottleneck. At 100% utilization, they are unable to produce enough to keep the next operation, Cap & Wrap, fully utilized. Furthermore, Glass Blowing, despite the lousy utilization numbers, is already piling up inventories of bulbs waiting for filaments. The utilization numbers suggest that Filament Insertion is the last area needing improvement, but to improve the process flow, it must be the first area to improve.
If the world were perfectly predictable, we could reduce the capacity in Glass Blowing and Cap & Wrap to exactly match Filament Insertion to achieve 100% utilization. But if we did so in 'Murphy's world,' any variation in glass blowing production — such as machine downtime, absenteeism, yield deterioration, material availability or quality issues — will not only impact Glass Blowing utilization numbers, but the bottleneck — Filament Insertion —will also be idle! Production opportunity lost at the bottleneck is lost forever. Instead of trying to optimize individual operations, identify the bottleneck and make sure there is enough capacity in the feeder operations to ensure that any disruptions do not impact the utilization of the bottleneck capacity. Instead of aiming to maximize utilization at each operation, as conventional wisdom would have us do, we must find and eliminate waste at the 'bottleneck' or 'rate-limiting' step in order to increase profitability.
continuous improvementcontinuous process improvementconventional wisdomthe perils of conventional wisdom
Is Bigger Better?
Conventional wisdom holds that bigger is better, and there are numerous factors that support this perspective. Consider that when you're an organization or a business and you're doing better, then you're going to get bigger — so, therefore, bigger is better!
And certainly issues such as bulk buying discounts or other economies of scale favor size.
But, the tumultuous forces of an uncertain world might just favor agility. Consider that while a cost/benefit analysis will typically reveal that unit cost is much lower for a single large-capacity piece of equipment than for several smaller machines, rarely does that analysis incorporate the impact of uncertainty and variation on total cost; and, in reality, variation in either market demand or supply (such as machine downtime), or the relative inflexibility of a single large capacity machine can drive inefficiencies that greatly offset the lower unit cost that was calculated when a purchasing decision was made.
For example, a commercial bakery could purchase one large capacity mixer that could produce 100,000 loaves for far less cost per loaf than two smaller mixers. The large mixer produces large batch sizes; that's how it gets its great efficiencies. But if the market is looking for variety, none of which is ordered in bulk, the large mixer results in the worst of both worlds: you either produce large batch sizes and have a lot of scrap if the demand does not materialize in time, or you waste the purchased capacity by preparing batch sizes more closely tied to current demand for the product variety. Either way, you can never really produce enough variety for the market, because the equipment produces only one variety at a time.
Capacity to produce must be as flexible as the market is variable and dynamic. Often this runs directly counter to economies of scale. Optimizing the machine-cost-per-unit can sub-optimize the profitability of the process as a whole.
So, ultimately, to effectively answer the "is bigger better" question, we must go well beyond conventional wisdom or what we assume to be true, and instead consider a wider range of variables. Possibly this well-known quote, sometimes attributed to Mark Twain but also to Josh Billings, sums-it-up best: "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."
economies of scalesis bigger betterthe perils of conventional wisdom
Communication, Continuous Improvement
Does Your Organization Have a Strategic Internal Communication Plan?
Missing Link in Communication?
In a previous post we identified five ways to enhance the success of Continuous Improvement (CI) within an organization, with "communication" being one of the keys.
Consider that, even if a team applies the CI methodology to great success but no one hears about it, the goal of making CI a cultural way of doing business will not catch on.
However, facilitating consistent and open internal communication is one of the many things in life that might be simple, but not necessarily easy.
For example, Bruce Bolger, Co-Founder of the International Center for Enterprise Engagement, shared an interesting observation recently when he said, "Most organizations put far more effort into communicating with customers than with employees."
We've found Mr. Bolger's comments to be accurate. In many cases, customer communication is the higher priority, thus making it easy to put internal communications on the back burner. In other instances, the "silo" approach to operations tends to result in haphazard internal communication.
To gain the best results from its CI as well as its Engagement effort, an organization must connect these initiatives, along with internal communications, to a strategic and systematic approach.
challenges to continuous improvementcommunicationcommunication and continuous improvementhow to promote a culture of continuous improvementinternal communication