text:
Bank of Scotland Capital Funding L.P.
Bank of Scotland plc
Bank of Scotland plc, Australia Branch
BOS International (Australia) Ltd.
Halifax Ltd
HBOS Capital Funding No. 1 LP
HBOS Group Euro Finance (Jersey)
HBOS plc
HBOS Sterling Finance (Jersey) LP
HBOS Treasury Services Ltd
HBOS Treasury Services plc, Sydney Branch
LBG Capital No 1 plc
Lloyds Bank International Limited
Lloyds Bank plc
Lloyds Bank plc (Australia)
Lloyds Banking Group plc
Scotland International Finance No. 2 B.V.
Credit Opinion: Lloyds Bank plc: Update following outlook change to negative from stable
Credit Opinion: Lloyds Banking Group plc: Update following outlook change to negative from stable
Credit Opinion: Lloyds Bank plc: Update to credit analysis
Credit Opinion: Lloyds Banking Group plc: Update to credit analysis
Credit Opinion: Lloyds Bank International Limited: Update to credit analysis
Moody's reviews Lloyds TSB's A1/ C- ratings for possible downgrade
P-1 short term rating affirmed
London, 09 November 2011 -- Moody's Investors Service has today placed on review for possible downgrade the C- bank financial strength rating (BFSR) and A1 senior unsecured debt and deposit rating of Lloyds TSB Bank plc, the A2 senior debt rating of Lloyds Banking Group, certain junior securities and related group entities. For a full list of affected ratings see below.
The review has been prompted by the significant upheaval within Lloyds' senior management , following the announcement that the current CEO, António Horta-Osório, has had to take a temporary leave of absence. Moody's is concerned that the group may face a major challenge in ensuring continuity of leadership, given that (i) the CEO has only been in place since March 2011; and (ii) there have been several high-level management changes since his arrival, including the announcement that the current CFO will leave in February 2012. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that it comes at a time of turbulent conditions in the financial markets and the necessity for Lloyds to execute important tasks, including the EU-mandated sale of branches and the ongoing wind-down of non-core assets.
The review will focus on Lloyds' board's ability to quickly regain stability within the senior management team and the efficacy of any new senior leadership arrangements.
WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATING UP/ DOWN
There is currently no upward rating pressure, as reflected in the review for downgrade.
In addition to the factors described above, the standalone BFSR could come under downward rating pressure if the group faces sharply higher impairments/ and or credit losses leading to a requirement for additional capital support. The debt ratings could be downgraded as a result of any future further reduction in systemic support assumptions for large, complex UK banks.
AFFECTED RATINGS
The following ratings have been placed under review for possible downgrade:
Lloyds TSB Bank:
A1 senior debt and deposit rating
C- Bank Financial Strength Rating (mapping to Baa1 on the long-term scale)
Baa2 senior subordinated debt
Lloyds Banking Group: A2 senior debt rating
Bank of Scotland:
Baa2 senior subordinated rating
HBOS:
A2 senior debt rating
Lloyds TSB Offshore: A2 deposit rating
The Must-Pay hybrid instruments within Lloyds Banking Group (including the Enhanced Capital Notes) have also been placed under review for possible downgrade, as these instruments are notched down from the BFSR (for more information on the hybrid securities and their ISINs, please refer to Moody's press release of 23rd November 2009 "Moody's concludes rating action on Lloyds hybrid and junior subordinated debt").
The following ratings have been affirmed:
Lloyds TSB Bank: P-1
May-Pay hybrid instruments within Lloyds Banking Group, as these instruments are rated on an Expected Loss basis
The methodologies used in this rating were Bank Financial Strength Ratings: Global Methodology published in February 2007, and Incorporation of Joint-Default Analysis into Moody's Bank Ratings: A Refined Methodology published in March 2007. Please see the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com for a copy of these methodologies.
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt, this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider, this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation to the rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement provides relevant regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further information please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
The rating has been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated agent(s) and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.
Information sources used to prepare the rating are the following : parties involved in the ratings, public information, and confidential and proprietary Moody's Investors Service information.
Moody's considers the quality of information available on the rated entity, obligation or credit satisfactory for the purposes of issuing this review.
Moody's adopts all necessary measures so that the information it uses in assigning a rating is of sufficient quality and from sources Moody's considers to be reliable including, when appropriate, independent third-party sources. However, Moody's is not an auditor and cannot in every instance independently verify or validate information received in the rating process.
Please see the ratings disclosure page on www.moodys.com for general disclosure on potential conflicts of interests.
Please see the ratings disclosure page on www.moodys.com for information on (A) MCO's major shareholders (above 5%) and for (B) further information regarding certain affiliations that may exist between directors of MCO and rated entities as well as (C) the names of entities that hold ratings from MIS that have also publicly reported to the SEC an ownership interest in MCO of more than 5%. A member of the board of directors of this rated entity may also be a member of the board of directors of a shareholder of Moody's Corporation; however, Moody's has not independently verified this matter.
Please see Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions on the Rating Process page on www.moodys.com for further information on the meaning of each rating category and the definition of default and recovery.
Please see ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for the last rating action and the rating history. The date on which some ratings were first released goes back to a time before Moody's ratings were fully digitized and accurate data may not be available. Consequently, Moody's provides a date that it believes is the most reliable and accurate based on the information that is available to it. Please see the ratings disclosure page on our website www.moodys.com for further information.
Elisabeth Rudman
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Investors Service Ltd.
London E14 5FA
JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456
SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454
Johannes Wassenberg
MD - Banking


4J Studios is a game development studio established in 2005, based in Scotland, with offices in East Linton and Dundee.
4J develop games and applications for all popular console game systems including Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation3, and PSP; as well as Nintendo's Wii and DS systems, and Apple's iPad and iPhone.
Minecraft, the best-selling creation game on Xbox 360, is now available on Xbox One and is bigger than ever. Build with your imagination! Create and explore your very own world where the only limit is what you can imagine – just be sure to build a ..


Content: An introduction to the Syllabus, practical expectations and standards.
Cost: £12.50 – payable at registration – see details below.
Agenda: Below is the Programme - It is the concluding afternoon of the Intensive Study Programme for SCQF 6 – please join us at 13:00.
13:00 Join with the SCQF 6 Intensive Study Programme participants for Lunch.
13:30 An Introduction to Certificate of Pipe Band Musicianship 1.


text:
Q: Can games purchased from a North American account be played on a Europe account? I am from Europe and I bought something from Origin. What I've seen is that in the USA store the games are the same prices, but in dollars (which makes them cheaper, due o the exchange rate). If I make my purchase from the USA store (giving my account and credit card info to someone in the US) at a better price, can I download and play the game from my computer in Europe?

A: I think I can help you, I'm european too and I recently look through that

*

*First you should know that american price are most of time shown
"before taxes" so by the time you checkout the price may have
changed.

*Origin web store always redirect you to your own country store, but I
guess you already figured that out + for international payement Origin will probably require strong payement verification method.

*There are a lot of better place to acquire cheap priced origin key. You should check www.allkeyshop.com

*Finally through allKeyShop I recently was able to buy Dead Space 3 Ltd. Edition for 28€ and it worked on my EU origin account. Note that incompatibility concerning region lock usually comes with Russian and Asian key. (except for MMO and Battle.net)

After all that I do think that origin american keys would work if accessed through Origin client with european IP adress.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Each JA Joomla Template has its own matching 404 page. Below is the screenshot of 404 page style.
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Happy New Year to all friends and relatives out there.
We're taking a break between Christmases, as we will be getting two bites of the cherry this year. We had Christmas last week at St Nicholas Church in Brixton, and next Sunday we'll be having it over again at St Thomas's Church, Sunninghill Park, which is on the Old Calendar.
I haven't had much new family history information for quite a while, partly because it's the summer holidays and all the archives are closed or closing for Christmas, and partly because I've been busy with other things, which those interested can read about on my other blogs.
But on the Bristol and Somerset mailing list someone called Liz posted something about the HEALLS family of Bristol, and this family included the Emily HEALLS who married James Andrew Allen HAYES.
No startling new discoveries, but we were able to compare notes and get some of the details of the children more accurate. James Andrew Allen HAYES was the brother of my great-grandfather William Allen HAYES, and like him was a builder and carpenter in Bristol. I hope to make contact with his living descendants, if there are any.


MARLTON, N.J. and PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., November 10, 2011 – Music business association NARM and leading market research company The NPD Group today released findings of a joint study that examined the ways consumers discover new music. The report indicates that while music discovery is still vital to the industry, it applies differently to various consumer groups, and it has changed significantly since the organizations last studied the topic in 2007, as television and social media and other digital services have emerged as major influencers.
According to the study's findings, more than 80 percent of all respondents were interested in learning about new music from artists they were already fans of, and 60 percent were interested in learning about unfamiliar artists in genres that they usually buy. AM/FM radio and family/friends/coworkers are the most common avenues for discovery, and discovery via online radio and Web videos were also important for the most active music fans. Taken in aggregate, television (which includes competitions, awards programs, online video outlets, and scripted series) is also extremely influential. Since 2007 retail stores have declined in importance as a place to discover new music; however, people that shop for music at retail stores are more likely to buy the music they discover there than from other sources.
"As technology and music distribution has evolved, it's fascinating how diverse the music fan base has adapted since the last time we conducted this study," said Russ Crupnick, senior vice president of The NPD Group. "On one hand you have fans who can't find enough ways to learn about new music, whether it's at retail, through apps and social networks, or on radio and TV. On the other hand there is still a large core group who learns by listening to AM/FM radio and on family shopping trips. Regardless of the type of music fan, there are actions the industry can take to improve the discovery process, and help drive revenue."
According to the report, music consumers can be broken into five segments: "Committed," "Convert," "Comfortable," "Casual," and "Content." "Committed" consumers are the youngest group, with a mean age of 32 (20 percent are age 13 to 17; 42 percent are 18 to 35). They represent 10 percent of all consumers who listened to or purchased music within the prior three months. "Committed" consumers also account for 46 percent of per-capita spending on music, and they are the most engaged consumers in the report. While they use a variety of discovery sources – including radio, video, streaming, and movies – they also value ownership, and they are the most open to discovering new artists. They find their current means to discover new music is good, but still wonder if they are missing something.
"Converts," who make up 30 percent of musically active consumers and account for 34 percent of per-capita spending, are the second youngest group, with a mean age of 34 (13 percent teens; 23 percent are 18 to 25 years old). They also listen to music in a variety of ways and are more likely than the average consumer to purchase CDs or digital downloads. They are generally satisfied with their means of music discovery, but they would still consider other options.
Those in the "Comfortable" group make up 30 percent of musically active consumers and account for 15 percent of per-capita spending on music. With a mean age of 50, they are considered the mainstream segment. These individuals mostly listen to music on CD or on AM/FM radio, and they prefer to discover new music from familiar artists. They also rely primarily on television and radio to find new music, and they feel those methods are adequate for their needs; they are not interested in new ways to discover music.
"Casual" listeners, who make up 14 percent of musically active listeners and account for 3 percent of per-capita music spending, have a mean age of 43. They are also lighter listeners than average, they rarely buy music, and they have low interest in digital sources and discovery.
The "Content" group, which make up 11 percent of musically active consumers and account for 2 percent of per-capita music spending, have a mean age of 55. They are the lightest buyers and listeners, and while they periodically buy CDs, they do not find current music engaging.
The study found that television has emerged as the second-most influential tool for music discovery, with 49 percent of musically active consumers citing it as a top influence. Television is particularly effective for targeting the mainstream "Comfortable" group, as well as women and brick-and-mortar store shoppers. Awards shows, music videos, competition shows, daytime TV, and serial shows are the programs most likely to be effective for music discovery.
Television was trumped only by AM/FM radio, the most important tool for music discovery, with 60 percent of musically active consumers citing it as a top influence; however, most of those who cited radio also reported they would wait to hear a new song again, rather than purchase the track. This finding suggests a need for more back announcing, since three out of four of those who said they would wait also said they would shop more if there were more announcements revealing artist names and track titles.
While radio and TV were the clear-cut top traditional choices for music discovery, Internet music-discovery options are much more fragmented. Shazam and other song-ID apps, as well as other mobile/tablet apps, are most likely to lead to high-value actions, like paying for a CD or digital download. Free online radio, video sites like YouTube and Vevo, and other emerging forms of influence are more likely to cause listeners to continue to stream songs, rather than buy them.
NPD conducted this study in August of this year, and the results are based on 3,771 completed online surveys. The full report is available to NARM members.
Established in 1958, NARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers) is the trade association for the business of music, providing the central platform for the discussion of industry‐wide concerns, spearheading the implementation of initiatives to promote music commerce, and advocating for common interests. Members include companies and individuals from all aspects of music distribution, including physical, digital, and mobile outlets as well as gaming, applications, merchandise, video and more. NARM members have access to a variety of conferences, virtual seminars, networking opportunities, information and education resources. NARM is a nonprofit organization based in Marlton, New Jersey. Visit us at www.narm.com.
The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,800 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, entertainment, fashion, food, home and office, sports, technology, toys, video games, and wireless. For more information, contact us, visit http://www.npd.com/, or follow us Twitter at https://twitter.com/npdgroup.


The mold injection manufacturers are facing to various problems and tasks.
It is necessary to make operation instructions which takes the number of molds, the number of facilities and injection pressure into account.
It is also needed to assign proper operators with the setup of components and molds in mind.
They also must to purchase the required material while considering scrap and yield.
We will describe how to solve these problems with scheduler.
By registering processes and production capacities in this way, realizable plans can be scheduled quickly.
When injecting resin from the injection molding machine into the mold, we must take into account the injection molding pressure.
There is a permissible range of pressure that the mold can resist, and exceeding this range will cause mold failure.
It is possible to prevent plans or instructions at the planning stage, which would result in the upper injection pressure limit being exceeded.
Schedules can be created by taking into account the number of molds and the number of cavities, maintenance, mold failures, and so on.
In case that the molds cannot be used for a certain period due to maintenance, it is possible to prohibit the usage or reduce the number of cavities in a given period.
By reflecting the results, progress, including plan delays, can be taken into account.
Let's schedule it with daily progress and order condition into account.
In the Injection-molded process, operators switch the components and molds.
Moreover, let's minimize the setup time to improve the operator efficiency.
According to the bulk production, we can reduce the setup time and improve the production efficiency.
Even in times of increasing demand, we can generate schedules that secure safety stocks so as not to incur shortages.
Let's generate schedules that reduce product shortages while improving production efficiency.
Generate the purchase plans based on the required amount calculation for the row material.
The scrap quantity and yield rate are factored in the calculation of the required amounts.
In addition, we can also create purchase schedules for raw materials that take into account required amounts, inventories, and stock on order.
Hear if you would like to see in Youtube.
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Description: Publication structure is the main part of Publication. Represents Publications tree, where you can manage the content of the Publication. This use case describes how to create a new publication structure.
Description: Publication structure is the main part of Publication. Represents Publications tree, where you can manage the content of the Publication. You can insert Chapter, Product group, Item group and Items as a new peer or the new child. This use case describes how to insert new peer into publication structure.
Description: Drag and drop serve to the easy editing of the Publication Structure. If you want to move the line of structure on to the new place you can drag and drop it. This use case describes how to move the lines of the Publication Structure.
Description: If you need to update the publication, you can click on Update or Reorganize publication. Update publication is used to update the information in the publication (structure). Reorganize Publication is used to update changes in the Publication (structure). This use case describes how to update the publication.
Note: If you want to update or reorganize only one Publication line in Publication Structure, you can click on this line and in ribbon tab ACTIONS click on Update or Reorganize Publication Line.
Description: If you do not want to interfere with the preparation of Publication of your colleagues, you can click on Lock. As a superior, you have the right to unlock any Publication (Force unlock). This use case describes how to lock and unlock the Publication.
Lock - Locks editing the publication for other users.
Description: Release is process where the status of created version is set to Certified. Change Log is a change management tool. All changes are saved to the log after release the Publication. You can browse this list and take a look at changes which was made in Publication. This use case describes how to release the Publication and view Publication Line Change Log.
Description: If you want to make some changes in certified publication, you have to reopen it first. After you have made all changes you can click on Release to create a new version of the publication. If the Release process has been the successful status of the created version is set to Certified. This use case describes how to reopen and then release the publication.
System Status of the selected publication has been changed from "Certified" to "Under Development" and you are able to make changes in the publication.
Description: This use case describes how to view Publication versions.


text:
HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPublic Schedule...Public Schedule – June 25, 2021
Public Schedule – June 25, 2021
Office of the Spokesperson
***THE DAILY PUBLIC SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE***
SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN
Secretary Blinken is on travel to Germany, France, Italy, and the Vatican, from June 22-29, 2021. Please click here for more information.
9:15 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Blinken meets with OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann, in Paris, France.
(POOLED CAMERA SPRAY AT TOP)
10:30 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Blinken meets with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, in Paris, France.
12:00 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Blinken holds a joint press availability with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, in Paris, France.
(POOLED PRESS COVERAGE)
2:30 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Blinken participates in a youth moderated discussion on democracy and human rights, in Paris, France.
3:30 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Blinken holds a Meet and Greet with U.S. Mission France, in Paris, France.
(POOLED PRESS COVERAGE OF OPENING REMARKS)
5:00 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Blinken meets with French President Emmanuel Macron, in Paris, France.
DEPUTY SECRETARY WENDY R. SHERMAN
9:30 a.m. Deputy Secretary Sherman meets virtually with Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, from the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)
3:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Sherman participates in the ceremony to raise the Progress Flag at the State Department in recognition of Pride Month, at the Department of State. Please click here for more information.
(OPEN PRESS COVERAGE)
This event will be live streamed on www.state.gov.
DEPUTY SECRETARY FOR MANAGEMENT AND RESOURCES BRIAN P. MCKEON
3:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary McKeon attends President Biden's meeting with President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY THE WHITE HOUSE)
UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS VICTORIA J. NULAND
10:15 a.m. Under Secretary Nuland delivers virtual remarks to the American Council on Germany, from the Department of State.(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)
ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS PHILIP T. REEKER
Acting Assistant Secretary Reeker accompanies Secretary Blinken on travel to Germany, France, Italy, and the Vatican, from June 22-29, 2021. Please click here for more information.
BRIEFING SCHEDULE
No Department Press Briefing
Office of the Spokesperson The Secretary of State
Secretary Blinken's Travel to Qatar
Latvia National Day
Secretary Blinken's Meeting with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Micro Houses
Tiny House Newsletter
Small House Newsletter
For Sale Newsletter
Tiny Cottages
Housetrucks
Van Dwelling
Micro Loft Tiny Apartments in Vancouver Rent for $850 a Month, Under 300 Square Feet
The thirty tiny apartments at 18 West Hastings Street are ideally located for young professionals who otherwise couldn't afford to live downtown in notoriously expensive Vancouver, Canada. On the flipside, this new residential complex is located in a downtown neighborhood known for low incomes and high crime rates.
The Burns Block building that now offers micro lofts measuring less than 300 square feet used to provide cheap housing as a single room occupancy hotel. The new complex offers compact, high-end apartments for the up and coming but is it at the expense of the down and out?
When the building opened on December 19, the designers revealed the transformation from sketchy hotel to high-end housing complex. Politicians and supporters of the project cite it as part of Vancouver's affordable housing strategy and claim creating mixed income neighborhoods is the best way to improve the area.
Photos Courtesy of Bruce Carscadden Architect
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Disclaimer, Usage Policy, Privacy Policy & DMCA Policy.
The content and information here is for entertainment and should not be taken as professional advice. While we strive to provide accurate and helpful information, we are not professionals. The owner of this website disclaims all warranties expressed or implied regarding the accuracy, timeliness, and completeness of the information provided.
Tiny House Talk is the ultimate resource for tiny house enthusiasts. With an extensive library of articles, videos, and interviews featuring expert advice, stories from people who have made the switch to a smaller home, and more – it's the perfect place to learn everything you need to know about going small! Get all your questions answered and start your tiny house journey today.
Tiny House Talk lets you list tiny homes for sale or rent as a free service but Tiny House Media, LLC, TinyHouseTalk.com, and its contributors do not validate/verify the information we receive for these listings so it is your responsibility to verify the information we provide for you. Please do your due diligence and deal with people in person. Thank you.


Rewards credit cards are best-known for the ongoing points, miles or cash back they earn for their cardholders, but some credit cards take the extra step and offer more immediate rewards in the form of introductory or signup bonuses. Intro bonuses give you a big chunk of rewards, usually after you meet certain conditions, such as charging a certain amount of money to the card within a certain period of time. A nice credit card intro bonus can give you a jump start on your rewards, quickly adding value to a new card and letting you enjoy its perks mere months after you start using it. If you're looking for a new card that will let you start earning rewards with a bang, below are some of the best cash back and travel intro bonuses we've found.
The great things about cash back intro bonuses is that you can use them to cover any cost. Even if you only use your credit cards to shop for groceries and pay the bills, you'll want to consider these cards for their amazing bonuses.
The Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa Card has the highest intro bonus you'll find on a cash back card with no annual fee (at least of the cards we review), and the cash back rewards themselves are pretty good, too. It earns an intro bonus of $200 in cash back after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months, and has an unlimited 1.5% cash back rate for all purchases. This card also has a couple of ongoing offers for the first 12 months of card ownership, including a 12-month 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers (with an intro balance transfer fee of 3% for first 12 months, then it raises to 5%), and 1.8% cash back when you pay using the Apple Pay and Android Pay mobile wallets, giving tech-savvy customers a chance to earn more rewards. Additionally, it has one especially unique perk that offers up to $600 of damage and theft coverage for your mobile phone, with a $25 deductible and two claims every 12 months, if you use this card to pay your phone bill. The Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa Card requires good to excellent credit (usually considered a credit score of 700 or higher) to qualify.
The Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express (a NextAdvisor advertiser) has the same generous intro bonus as the Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa Card, earning a $200 intro bonus after you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months. However, this card comes with a $95 annual fee, largely due to its exceptionally high ongoing cash back rates. It earns 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (with an annual limit of $6,000 on purchases, then it earns 1%), 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations as well as select U.S. department stores and 1% cash back on everything else. It also has 12 months of 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers (with a balance transfer fee of 3% or $5, whichever is greater), and a host of consumer-friendly perks, such as return protection, purchase protection and extended warranties, making this card a great shopping companion. If you like this card's features but don't want to pay an annual fee, you may want to consider the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express, which offers a healthy intro bonus of $150 after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Both Blue Cash cards require good to excellent credit (usually considered a credit score of 700 or higher) to qualify.
Even though you'll have to fulfill two requirements instead of just one to claim the Chase Freedom Unlimited's maximum intro bonus, they're quite easy to complete. If you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months of card ownership, you'll earn a $150 intro bonus. Apart from that, the Chase Freedom Unlimited offers a simple 1.5% cash back on all purchases with no limits, and if you have other Chase cards, you can combine rewards points using the Chase Ultimate Rewards program. There's also a fairly lengthy 15-month 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers (with a balance transfer fee of 5% or $5, whichever is greater), and no annual fee to worry about. Chase Freedom Unlimited requires good to excellent credit (usually considered a credit score of 700 or higher) to qualify.
While travel intro bonuses can usually only be spent on one thing — namely, travel — they can be much higher than cash back intro bonuses. Whether you're a frequent traveler or you just want to subsidize your next vacation, here are the travel cards you should know about.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is an amazing card for frequent travelers looking to get the highest intro bonus possible. Its base intro bonus is already huge, sporting a 60,000-point intro bonus if you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of card ownership. That equals a very nice $600 bonus if you redeem the points for cash, but if you redeem the points for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, those points gain 25% more value, becoming worth $750. What's even crazier is that the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card lets you do free 1:1 transfers of your points to other participating travel rewards programs, where they could be worth even more. Past the massive intro bonuses, this card earns 2 points on travel and dining all around the world, as well as 1 point per $1 spend on everything else, and comes with travel perks, such as travel accident insurance, reimbursement for lost luggage and zero foreign transaction fees. It does have a $95 annual fee, though the ongoing rewards and perks may make it worthwhile. The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card requires excellent credit (usually considered a credit score of 750 or higher) to qualify.
It may not have the bonus point bonanza that the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card has, but the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card still offers a big intro bonus of 50,000 miles (equal to $500 in travel), and you only need to spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months to achieve it. For ongoing rewards, this card is of tremendous value for people who frequently use popular hotel booking website Hotels.com, as it earns a whopping 10 miles per $1 spent at Hotels.com/venture until January 31, 2020, and a respectable 2 miles per $1 spent on anything else. Since you can redeem your miles for statement credit, you can use them to travel however you like, with no redemption limits like upgrade restrictions or blackout dates. You'll also get various perks, like no foreign transaction fees, Visa Signature cardholder benefits, such as roadside assistance and extended warranty protection, and a complimentary TransUnion credit score each month with your statement. This card is free for the first year, but after that, it has a $95 annual fee. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card requires good to excellent credit (usually considered a credit score of 700 or higher) to qualify.
While the Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card has a smaller intro bonus than the other two travel cards in this category, its bonus is much easier to earn, it has no annual fee and its ongoing rewards are especially great for Bank of America customers. After spending $1,000 on purchases within the first 90 days, new cardholders will earn 25,000 intro bonus points (equal to $250 in travel) which can be redeemed with few restrictions as statement credit for travel expenses. Additionally, all purchases earn an unlimited 1.5 points per $1 spent, with Bank of America checking or savings customers receiving bonuses, depending on their Preferred Rewards status. Standard banking customers will earn 10% more points, Gold customers 25% more points, Platinum customers 50% more points and Platinum Honors customers 75% more points. This card also has 0% APR on purchases for the first 12 months of card ownership, and no foreign transaction fees. The Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card requires good to excellent credit (usually considered a score of 700 or higher) to qualify.
While most intro bonuses give you a set reward once you fulfill the prerequisites, match intro bonuses scale with your cash back or travel rewards. You'll have to wait longer to receive your bonus — typically over a year — and you won't know exactly how much your bonus will be worth, but you won't have to meet any spending requirements, and there's usually no limit to how high your bonus can grow. These are our picks for the best match intro bonus credit cards.
With the Discover it Cash Back card, you'll receive an intro bonus equal to the total cash back you earn during your first year as a cardholder. That means, if you earn $300 of cash back in your first year, Discover will match that with another $300 for a total of $600. It's not difficult to rack up high levels of cash back with this card, as it features a substantial 5% cash back rate on rotating quarterly categories (up to the quarterly max, which is currently $1500; then 1% cash back), and 1% cash back for all other purchases. Categories include grocery stores, restaurants, wholesale clubs and more, and all you have to do to earn is activate your cash back every quarter — Discover will remind you when it's time to do so. To help you maximize your cash back, this card also has 14 months of 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers (with a balance transfer fee of 3%) and no annual fee. You'll also get an assortment of benefits, such as a free TransUnion FICO score every month, no foreign transaction fees, no penalty APR for late payments and free identity theft protection alerts. Discover it Cash Back requires average to excellent credit (usually considered a score of 670 or higher) to qualify.
Similar to Discover it Cash Back, the Discover it Miles card has an intro bonus equal to the total miles you earn during your first year as a cardholder. However, its ongoing rewards are a bit simpler, earning an unlimited 1.5 miles for every $1 spent, which you can redeem as statement credit or a direct deposit at a rate of $1 per 100 miles. In addition to the intro bonus, it shares a lot of features with the Discover it Cash Back card, including its 14 months of 0% APR for purchases (note that it doesn't apply to balance transfers), a free FICO score every month, no foreign transaction fees and free identity theft monitoring. Overall, that translates to a very solid travel card with no annual fee, especially for security-conscious customers. The Discover it Miles card requires average to excellent credit (usually considered a score of 670 or higher) to qualify.
Earning credit card rewards over time is great, but a big intro bonus can make you feel like you've just won a jackpot. To learn more about great card offers you won't want to miss, follow our credit cards blog.


text:
Bruce Willis' 10 Most Terrifying Characters
Mack Rawden
Published: Dec. 30. 2012 2:03 PM
Bruce Willis is a badass. That's not even a hypothesis at this point. It's a fact damn near universally accepted by everyone that's not a character he's about to beat the shit out of and turn into a true and bloody believer. Even at fifty-seven-year-old, he mows down men with the type of reckless aggression typically reserved for hungry cage fighters and high end military recruits. I'm not sure that he actually likes the sight of blood, but he sure as hell isn't deterred by it. Over the course of his twenty-five-plus year career, Willis has painted hundreds of rooms red with the fluids of his foes, and something tells me twenty-five years from now, he'll be sitting on a stoop with a shotgun, picking off bad guys and pleasing audiences in yet another terrifying turn on screen.
Earlier this year, Willis struck scary, vicious gold once again with Looper. This week, that awesomeness will receive its very own Blu-ray and DVD releases; so, to celebrate, Cinema Blend decided to put together a list of the bald-headed badass' 10 most terrifying roles. Believe it or not, compiling the list wasn't exactly easy. Some people are of the option that Willis was at his best during his younger, more energetic days, while others are convinced his crotchety old sociopath routine is the best he's given us. I'm of the option that the motherfucker probably came out of the birth canal with a knife in his hand, making threats toward the doctor and has been terrifying ever single day since. Consequently, what you're about to read will represent a pretty long timeline.
Without further ado, here are Willis' ten most terrifying roles…
Old Joe Simmons in Looper
Old Joe Simmons is terrifying because he's both physically intimidating and batshit crazy. His basic plan is to murder three defenseless children, and after he picks the first one off, he doesn't even look back. He clearly doesn't think it's his finest moment, but he's still willing to do anything in order to accomplish his goal and save his wife. That obsession with success no matter what gets in the way is pretty scary, and thanks to his shootout with Abe and his men, we know Old Joe is capable of fighting those who can defend themselves, as well.
I have no idea how many people he kills after he's hauled in, but to be conservative about it, I'll say dozens. He uses their dead bodies as protection, keeps pushing forward and slays every last person stupid enough to cross his path, leaving a trail of dead in his wake so long investigators might wonder whether an army had been there. Nope. Just Bruce Willis.
Butch Coolidge in Pulp Fiction
Aging boxer Butch Coolidge definitely isn't the character people most fondly remember in Pulp Fiction, but he's actually a really scary bastard. Not only does he take money from gangster Marsellus Wallace to throw a fight he has no plans on throwing, he bets on himself with the proceeds and beats the hell out of his opponent so aggressively that he kills the poor guy. Then, he returns to pick up his watch with the full realization that he might well die in the process. Every single element of that plot arc takes some serious balls, and under Willis' watchful command, we buy every single bit of it.
There's also the whole matter of him knocking out the Gimp and killing Maynard with the Katana. Honestly, that's just bonus, however. Even if that last element didn't happen, he would have found his way onto this list for the numerous reasons mentioned above.
John McClane in Die Hard
Yippee-Ki-Yay, Motherfucker. Willis' skillful, angry Irish American detective first busted onto the scene in 1988's Die Hard, and in the two plus decades since, he's been in four hit movies with a fifth slated for release in 2013. He routinely finds himself near the top of movie badasses lists, and he remains one of the more beloved action characters in cinematic history. A combination of clever, wiseass remarks and brutal efficiency, he's an extremely entertaining watch, and he'll likely always be the first character people relate Willis to.
One of the reasons why McClane works so well is because he's not really the type of guy you expect things to work out for. He's too much of a loose cannon to be a stable husband to Holly. He's got so much pride and pent-up aggression. Luckily, all of those qualities that make him a shitty family man make him a cop who shouldn't be fucked with, and really, that's all most of us care about anyway. Anybody can get married. Few people can pick off terrorists one by one and throw their leader out of a window.
Korben Dallas in The Fifth Element
Of all the cab drivers in the universe to randomly get, I'm not sure there's one on Earth as ready and able to eviscerate extraterrestrial threats as Willis' Korben Dallas. A former Major in the Special Forces, he's a bit of a nut job, but he knows his way around weapons and has all the bravery and stupidity needed to go up against a force far greater than his own. To some, the over-the-top weirdness of The Fifth Element itself obscures a bit of Willis' trademark scariness, but to me, it's just proof he can adapt his brand of terrifying to any genre.
Dallas also deserves inclusion here if for no other reason than he shoots an alien in the face in the middle of negotiations. That's not really something people do, especially when they're far and away outnumbered by the victim's sidekicks, but it certainly worked out for the best here.
The Jackal in The Jackal
The Jackal might not be the best movie Willis has ever made, but I still love the idea of casting him as a villainous killing machine who speaks multiple languages and is a master of disguise. That meticulous planning, coupled with all of the crazy, high tech weaponry he has to work with, make him a pretty formidable force and a good opponent to go up against another assassin and high end members of the FBI since him one-on-one against anyone would be unfair.
It's also hard to completely discard a film that allows Willis to blow Jack Black's arm off with a weapon his foe actually made in a Most Dangerous Game-esque scene involving a head start and a pack of cigarettes. I'd actually like to see the action star use his opponents as target practice more often. There's just something brutal and fitting about it.
Lt. Muldoon in Planet Terror
Everything about Planet Terror is deliciously over the top. From Rose McGowan's machine gun leg to Bruce Willis' mutating Lieutenant Muldoon, it always prefers excess over subtlety, and while the merits of that as a filmmaking technique can be argued, it certainly pays off here in the form of one badass, ludicrous claim by Muldoon. Apparently, he killed Osama Bin Laden. Contrary to what Zero Dark Thirty may tell you, the real story involves Muldoon and his men wandering around the Afghani border when the Lieutenant found the enemy, looked him right in the eyes and put "two in his heart and one in his computer".
Add that baller backstory to the whole crazy infected angle, and there's really no stopping Willis here. He's a highly decorated sociopath with nothing to lose and all kinds of heinous gas flowing through his veins. Even on this list of terrifying characters, he'd be among the last I'd mess with.
Detective John Hartigan in Sin City
Willis has played plenty of more imposing men on the Big Screen, but never has he played one quite as cagey and selfless as Detective Hartigan. On two separate occasions, he trades or tries to trade his life for Nancy's, and on two separate occasions, he's willing to piss off a Senator and his fellow members of the police force in order to do what's right. There are few things more terrifying than squaring off against a man who isn't concerned about death.
Unfortunately for Roark Junior, one of those more terrifying things is a man who doesn't think twice about shooting a dude in the balls to prove a point. I'm not saying Roark Junior doesn't deserve what he gets, but even an overwhelming majority of rogue cops wouldn't consider firing bullets into a man's groin.
David Dunn in Unbreakable
There's something about giving a Willis character superhuman strength that's almost unfair, but that's exactly what security guard David Dunn gets in Unbreakable. He survives car accidents, train accidents and rips doors right off their hinges like an ordinary man might pick up a small end table. Had Audrey not been so bothered by it, he could have been one of the coolest, most durable players in the history of the NFL, but as it stands, he's a pretty damn good vigilante too.
Provided he stays away from water, he's basically unstoppable, though he's beset a bit by the fact that he doesn't really enjoy conflict as much as many of the other characters on this list who love nothing more than beating men to death. Still, he's not exactly the type of person you'd like to stare down.
Lieutenant A.K. Waters in Tears Of The Sun
Forget criminals. Sometimes nothing is scarier than a man hellbent on doing what is right for motives far greater than himself. At the beginning of Tears Of The Sun, Willis' Lieutenant A.K. Waters has no problem leaving all of the refugees in Dr. Kendricks' care to fend for themselves, but after he sees the actual carnage following their mass murders, the guilt and anger start building up inside him to the point where he decides to do something about. Given he has a team of Navy Seals at his disposal, he has the power to respond pretty much however the hell he wants too.
Ordinarily, Willis is a bit of a messy gunman/ vigilante in his movies. He breaks the rules and goes about killing in unconventional ways. As a soldier here, he's far more ordered and disciplined, which is a nice change-up and in the long run, more effective anyway.
Mr. Goodkat in Lucky Number Slevin
Mr. Goodkat might technically be a hitman with a conscience, but his capacity to sympathize doesn't exactly extend very far past innocent children caught up in bad situations. Beyond Slevin, he's not exactly interested in sparing many lives, and he'll gladly put himself in harm's way to work both sides of the aisle if it means he can up the bodycount in the long run. Plus, considering he was the one who raised Slevin, his bloodlust is basically a product of his bad parenting too. He could have always worked on counseling him to get over it and move on with his life.
Plus, it takes a special brand of crazy to want to knock off Lucy Liu over some pictures. Of course she doesn't die, but the mere idea itself shows you how indifferent Goodkat is to human life. He'd kill thousands if it meant a clean getaway without strings attached.
Which terrifying Bruce Willis character is your favorite?
Lieutenant A.K. Waters
David Dunn
Detective John Hartigan
Lt. Muldoon
The Jackal
Butch Coolidge
Old Joe Simmons
WANT TO VOTE?
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Enthusiastic about Clue, case-of-the-week mysteries, the NBA and cookies at Disney World. Less enthusiastic about the pricing structure of cable, loud noises and Tuesdays.
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text:
/*
 * Please note: this implementation of openpty() is far from complete.
 * it is just enough for portable OpenSSH's needs.
 */

/*
 * Copyright (c) 2004 Damien Miller <djm@mindrot.org>
 *
 * Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any
 * purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
 * copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.
 *
 * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES
 * WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
 * MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR
 * ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES
 * WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN
 * ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
 * OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
 */

/*
 * Author: Tatu Ylonen <ylo@cs.hut.fi>
 * Copyright (c) 1995 Tatu Ylonen <ylo@cs.hut.fi>, Espoo, Finland
 *                    All rights reserved
 * Allocating a pseudo-terminal, and making it the controlling tty.
 *
 * As far as I am concerned, the code I have written for this software
 * can be used freely for any purpose.  Any derived versions of this
 * software must be clearly marked as such, and if the derived work is
 * incompatible with the protocol description in the RFC file, it must be
 * called by a name other than "ssh" or "Secure Shell".
 */

#include "includes.h"
#if !defined(HAVE_OPENPTY)

#include <sys/types.h>

#include <stdlib.h>

#ifdef HAVE_SYS_STAT_H
# include <sys/stat.h>
#endif
#ifdef HAVE_SYS_IOCTL_H
# include <sys/ioctl.h>
#endif

#ifdef HAVE_FCNTL_H
# include <fcntl.h>
#endif

#ifdef HAVE_UTIL_H
# include <util.h>
#endif /* HAVE_UTIL_H */

#ifdef HAVE_PTY_H
# include <pty.h>
#endif
#if defined(HAVE_DEV_PTMX) && defined(HAVE_SYS_STROPTS_H)
# include <sys/stropts.h>
#endif

#include <signal.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <unistd.h>

#ifndef O_NOCTTY
#define O_NOCTTY 0
#endif

int
openpty(int *amaster, int *aslave, char *name, struct termios *termp,
   struct winsize *winp)
{
#if defined(HAVE__GETPTY)
	/*
	 * _getpty(3) exists in SGI Irix 4.x, 5.x & 6.x -- it generates more
	 * pty's automagically when needed
	 */
	char *slave;

	if ((slave = _getpty(amaster, O_RDWR, 0622, 0)) == NULL)
		return (-1);

	/* Open the slave side. */
	if ((*aslave = open(slave, O_RDWR | O_NOCTTY)) == -1) {
		close(*amaster);
		return (-1);
	}
	return (0);

#elif defined(HAVE_DEV_PTMX)
	/*
	 * This code is used e.g. on Solaris 2.x.  (Note that Solaris 2.3
	 * also has bsd-style ptys, but they simply do not work.)
	 */
	int ptm;
	char *pts;
	mysig_t old_signal;

	if ((ptm = open("/dev/ptmx", O_RDWR | O_NOCTTY)) == -1)
		return (-1);

	/* XXX: need to close ptm on error? */
	old_signal = signal(SIGCHLD, SIG_DFL);
	if (grantpt(ptm) < 0)
		return (-1);
	signal(SIGCHLD, old_signal);

	if (unlockpt(ptm) < 0)
		return (-1);

	if ((pts = ptsname(ptm)) == NULL)
		return (-1);
	*amaster = ptm;

	/* Open the slave side. */
	if ((*aslave = open(pts, O_RDWR | O_NOCTTY)) == -1) {
		close(*amaster);
		return (-1);
	}

	/*
	 * Try to push the appropriate streams modules, as described
	 * in Solaris pts(7).
	 */
	ioctl(*aslave, I_PUSH, "ptem");
	ioctl(*aslave, I_PUSH, "ldterm");
# ifndef __hpux
	ioctl(*aslave, I_PUSH, "ttcompat");
# endif /* __hpux */

	return (0);

#elif defined(HAVE_DEV_PTS_AND_PTC)
	/* AIX-style pty code. */
	const char *ttname;

	if ((*amaster = open("/dev/ptc", O_RDWR | O_NOCTTY)) == -1)
		return (-1);
	if ((ttname = ttyname(*amaster)) == NULL)
		return (-1);
	if ((*aslave = open(ttname, O_RDWR | O_NOCTTY)) == -1) {
		close(*amaster);
		return (-1);
	}
	return (0);

#elif defined(_UNICOS)
	char ptbuf[64], ttbuf[64];
	int i;
	int highpty;

	highpty = 128;
#ifdef _SC_CRAY_NPTY
	if ((highpty = sysconf(_SC_CRAY_NPTY)) == -1)
		highpty = 128;
#endif /* _SC_CRAY_NPTY */

	for (i = 0; i < highpty; i++) {
		snprintf(ptbuf, sizeof(ptbuf), "/dev/pty/%03d", i);
		snprintf(ttbuf, sizeof(ttbuf), "/dev/ttyp%03d", i);
		if ((*amaster = open(ptbuf, O_RDWR|O_NOCTTY)) == -1)
			continue;
		/* Open the slave side. */
		if ((*aslave = open(ttbuf, O_RDWR|O_NOCTTY)) == -1) {
			close(*amaster);
			return (-1);
		}
		return (0);
	}
	return (-1);

#else
	/* BSD-style pty code. */
	char ptbuf[64], ttbuf[64];
	int i;
	const char *ptymajors = "pqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmno"
	    "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ";
	const char *ptyminors = "0123456789abcdef";
	int num_minors = strlen(ptyminors);
	int num_ptys = strlen(ptymajors) * num_minors;
	struct termios tio;

	for (i = 0; i < num_ptys; i++) {
		snprintf(ptbuf, sizeof(ptbuf), "/dev/pty%c%c",
		    ptymajors[i / num_minors], ptyminors[i % num_minors]);
		snprintf(ttbuf, sizeof(ttbuf), "/dev/tty%c%c",
		    ptymajors[i / num_minors], ptyminors[i % num_minors]);

		if ((*amaster = open(ptbuf, O_RDWR | O_NOCTTY)) == -1) {
			/* Try SCO style naming */
			snprintf(ptbuf, sizeof(ptbuf), "/dev/ptyp%d", i);
			snprintf(ttbuf, sizeof(ttbuf), "/dev/ttyp%d", i);
			if ((*amaster = open(ptbuf, O_RDWR | O_NOCTTY)) == -1)
				continue;
		}

		/* Open the slave side. */
		if ((*aslave = open(ttbuf, O_RDWR | O_NOCTTY)) == -1) {
			close(*amaster);
			return (-1);
		}
		/* set tty modes to a sane state for broken clients */
		if (tcgetattr(*amaster, &tio) != -1) {
			tio.c_lflag |= (ECHO | ISIG | ICANON);
			tio.c_oflag |= (OPOST | ONLCR);
			tio.c_iflag |= ICRNL;
			tcsetattr(*amaster, TCSANOW, &tio);
		}

		return (0);
	}
	return (-1);
#endif
}

#endif /* !defined(HAVE_OPENPTY) */

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Apple launches $300 million green energy fund in China
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Apple Inc (AAPL.O) will launch a $300 million clean energy fund in China, the firm said in a statement on Friday, working with its suppliers to invest in renewable energy projects that could power close to 1 million homes in the country.
China's government has made cutting pollution a key priority, putting pressure on local and international firms to help reduce high levels of smog in its major cities and clean up the country's waterways and polluted soil.
The investment from the iPhone maker, which will be made along with 10 suppliers including Pegatron Corp (4938.TW) and Wistron Corp (3231.TW) over a four-year period, also comes as the United States and China lock horns over trade.
Apple's chief executive Tim Cook earlier this year called for calm heads in Washington and Beijing as the world's two largest economies have veered towards a trade war and exchanged tit-for-tat tariffs on billions of dollars of goods.
The U.S. firm makes most of its products in China, which are shipped around the world, including to the United States. China is also one of Apple's most important end markets, although it has faced a rising challenge from local smartphone rivals.
Apple has been making a broader push in renewable power. Earlier this year it said that its global facilities were now fully powered by clean energy.
Reporting by Adam Jourdan; editing by Richard Pullin
China's trade surplus with U.S. hits record as exporters rush to beat tariffs
U.S. soon to leapfrog Saudis, Russia as top oil producer
EIA Raises Both 2017, 2018 U.S. Crude Production Forecasts
Finning International reports third-quarter profit and revenue up from year ago
Keystone XL's Path Up for Grabs as Nebraska Commission Weighs In
Oil Set for Weekly Gain as Nigeria Halt Eases Oversupply Concern
Categories US News Post navigation
Apple Launches New Clean Energy Fund in China


Bristol Oktoberfest is an annual relay race held at Ashton Court. It's similar to Bristol Bikefest which happens every July whereas Oktoberfest is held in, er, October. Bikefest is a 12 hour race whilst Oktoberfest is 8 hours. I've ridden at both events since 2010 in teams of 3 or 4 riders. The photographs in this post have been selected from various Oktoberfest years. Some were taken by Kevin Sheldrake.
I've taken part in a lot of relay races every year since 2011. I've ridden at Erlestoke 12 (12 hour team), Twentyfour12 (24 hour team) , Mountain Mayhem (24 hour team) and Sleepless in the Saddle (24 hour team).
Pre 2013 I'd always been part of a team of between three and five riders. I'd raced in the pairs category recently and really enjoyed pushing my pace up a bit (the Thetford enduro and Torq in your sleep). I'd talked about doing a solo for a long time but always put it off. The truth is that I'd always enjoyed the rest between laps too much as well as the social nature of the team races.
Finally the time had come to get on with doing a proper solo race. Eight hours would be fine. It wasn't twenty four, it wasn't twelve but it was double the 4 hours I'd ridden at the QECP Royal Rumble 2012.
I was confident that I could ride 60 or 70 miles off road in a day and I reasoned that 8 hours at 8mph would give me 64 miles, therefore I could easily do it. I felt inspired by seeing Jo Page cover over 100 miles solo at Torq in your sleep. Plus a seasoned racer told me that riding solo was less effort than pairs because you could warm up and just keep moving rather than keep stopping and then starting again. This made sense.
The trails in Ashton Court were redeveloped in 2011 when the mud was surfaced over plus some features were added such as berms and rock drops. See Bristol Trails Group for more information and the Ashton Court trail map via Bristol City Council website. I've spent some time receiving skills coaching from local shop Pedal Progression who are based in the Ashton Court visitor centre.
The Bikefest route essentially follows the full blue grade trail and includes the optional red loop. It is diverted onto the main field in place of a repeat climb at the bottom of the red loop. There's also an additional section where the trail descends a large track and then climbs straight back up the next track.
Some large rocks were added to the trail in 2012 to slow riders at a path crossing. For the race a wooden scaffolding bridge is built over these. It took me a few laps before I found the correct line to get enough speed to jump off this. Big grins until I landed so hard that I expected a pinch flat.
It's not a particularly tough route but I think that overall it's pretty good. It has a few sections with a steady downhill gradient plus a lot of bermed corners, some rollers and few jumps. Some riders hate it due to the amount of tight singletrack and lack of overtaking places. I think the best section is along the wall – this is slightly down for a long time. The main quarry descent is a good section too. The most hateful climb is the golf course track after the gate house. The red loop has become a bit too eroded – I avoid the rock drop now because it has wheel shaped hollows at the end of it and is a pinch flat waiting to happen.
The organisers had issues with the council over mud from vehicles in 2012 and had to move the event village away from the camp site to the track junction. For Bikefest 2013 they'd negotiated a deal to use the Cathedral school grounds which are right next to the old camp site. Oktoberfest used the school field again, this time having the start at the top of the field rather than the bottom.
I was on site from Friday afternoon to set up the MBSwindon gazebos. That's covered in the MBSwindon race report.
The race starts with a Le Mans run of about 300m to the bikes. I was casually ambling towards the start line when the horn was sounded and I was engulfed in a sea of runners. I decided that I should wait until some of the crowd had passed me before changing direction and joining in. For someone who hates running I was quite surprised by my turn of speed. I know from past experience that a lot of time can be lost in the queues that form at the start so that motivated me. Once on the bike I got caught in a queue for a short while at the end of the school field.
My fuelling strategy was to eat a Mule Bar per lap until I could no longer stand the sight of them and then to move onto anything from my stash of Carman's Muesli bars, Trek bars and bananas. I carried some water with me in the ruck sack and also some emergency Nakd and Trek bars. I had hit the wall on my last lap at Mountain Mayhem 2013 when I ended up necking a bottle of Happy Shopper lemonade that a marshal gave me. I didn't want to repeat that.
I hoped I could manage 10 mph (16 km/h) in the first few hours and gradually let that drop to 8mph (13 km/h). I set myself a pace that I knew I could hold for hours. I was pleased to see that I was easily managing 16 km/h. I called in to stop for food and Jerome, my nemesis, overtook me. He's generally a bit faster than me but I can sometimes grind him down over a long period of time. I'd got off to a better start than him and I hoped I'd reel him back in later.
In the few minutes of rest my average speed had fallen to 15.2 kmk/h. Luckily I was feeling powerful and focussed and I easily managed to pull the average back up after a lap.
I was amazed to find that I was really enjoying this solo racing. I'd often watched solo riders go past the transition area at big events and thought how depressing it must be to finish a lap knowing that you've got to go and do it all over again. And then again. And again. And then again a few more times.
I knew I had to ride for 8 hours and cover around 65 miles. That was my task. All I had to do was keep pedalling. I didn't have transitions or faffing to do. I didn't have to sit worrying about being late for my next lap. I didn't run the risk of letting anyone else down. I didn't need to think about the future or the past. I just had to concentrate on the now. That's a very yogic way of thinking.
This focus sustained me for several double laps. I did indulge in quite long rests between these – three or four minutes. I'm sure I could have cut these down considerably but I enjoyed them.
MBSwindon had almost 30 riders at the event so I got to see plenty of people that I know. It was great when I caught and overtook one of our 4 hour soloists plus a few of the slower team riders. It was encouraging that I was catching people regularly during the laps. I was also being overtaken by a fair few riders.
I'd say that the biggest complaint about the event has always been the narrow trails and overtaking issues. My gripe was with riders who expected me to just move out of the way when it suited them regardless of where I was. I've been on both sides of this and appreciate that being an obstruction is frustrating. My own experience is that most people can hear bikes behind them and will offer to move when there's a suitable place.
I was at the bottom of the red section when an approaching rider instructed to move out of the way. The trail was about to enter the field where there's a lot of room to overtook so I didn't make a particularly severe change of path. The rider barged through the available gap and discovered a big tree stump in the edge of the trail. This caught his pedal and threw him violently off line as the pedal dug in. There was a loud bang. He turned round and looked at me with an angry face. I said nothing and did a special nonchalent internal shrug.
My policy is to not engage in discussion with riders on this topic – I once had a ride along argument with someone who thought he could tell me to get out of the way. When I found a suitable spot he overtook, shouted a sarcastic "thanks" and then crashed on the next corner.
There's a story of a faster rider who was concerned about his ranking shouting "do you know where I am?" and the slower rider replying "yes. Behind me".
At a previous Bikefest I was caught in a three man squash when someone else overtook me as I was overtaking. My front wheel touched the back of the pedal of the rider in front and ripped their shoe buckle off. They were not happy. That's racing for you.
As time went on my average speed dropped slightly. It was close to 15km/h when I was overtaken by Anthony from Bristol Trails group. He said I was doing quite well – about 10th place in the old gits category. This kept my spirits up.
I'd been doing the inevitable mental arithmetic about how many laps I would do in the time available. Laps were taking below 45 minutes and I'd be starting my last lap at about 4pm so I was easily going to complete 11 laps . My average speed dropped down below 14km/h but that was fine – my original target had been 8mph / 13kmh.
I counted down my last three laps and kept myself entertained with the wooden bridge jump and the Pedal Progression ramp at the start area. I finished my 11th lap with 20 minutes to spare.
The results put me in 11th place out of 23 riders (47% of the way down). Each lap was 9.4km (5.8 miles) so I'd covered 103km (64 miles) in 7 hours and 39 minutes, giving an average of 13.5km/h (8.3mph). The average lap time was just under 42 minutes.
I never caught Jerome. He was 12th out of 37 in the male open category. I would have been 17th in that category (45% of the way down).
Garmin connect map and results: 1st lap (part a, part b) + 10 laps. I spent 35.5 minutes resting over the 11 laps. That's 3.5 minutes per lap and almost 8% of the total. My moving speed was 8% higher than 13.5 aka 14.5km/h (9mph).
My lap time performance is shown in the graph below.
A full squiggle analysis of the 8 hour event is shown below. This plots the rank (position) for each team in a category versus their average lap time. A steep graph means that a small improvement in time would make a large difference in ranking whereas a flat zone is the opposite.
The curves show that the male teams and male pairs are the most competitive categories. The male teams are the most competitive overall, from 3rd to 13th the pairs and teams are equivalent and then the pairs drop off relative to teams. Old gits teams start similarly to male pairs and then drop off from 3rd place. Solo male and mixed teams are next but rapidly fall off. Mixed pairs match old gits teams but beyond 5th place rapidly fall off. They are followed by singlespeeders, old gits, female teams, fat bikes, and solo females and female pairs, all of which fall off quite quickly.
The vertical dashed line is my average lap time. In my own category then I'd have to knock 6 minutes off my average time before I could make serious headway up the rankings. Below 35 minutes then there would a gain of 5 places per minute. It's heartening to see that I wouldn't have been last in any category.
My lap times at Bristol Bikefest 2013 were just under 32 minutes. Our team were 16th/62 which fits well with the squiggle graph below. If I could have sustained that pace for 11 laps of a solo race then I would have been on the podium!
I intend to do more 8 hour solo races in 2013 and maybe a twelve solo at Twentyfour12.


text:
Q: MALFORMED_REQUEST trying to communicate with paypal I'm having trouble just sending my first API call to PayPal.
I'm hoping its just simple syntax that I got wrong.
The error I'm getting:
"name":"MALFORMED_REQUEST","message":"Incoming JSON request does not map to API request

$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, "https://api.sandbox.paypal.com/v1/oauth2/token");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HEADER, false);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, false);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_USERPWD, $clientId.":".$secret);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, "grant_type=client_credentials");

$result = curl_exec($ch);

if(empty($result))die("Error: No response.");
else
{
    $json = json_decode($result);

    $sAccessToken = $json->access_token;
    $sTokenType = $json->token_type;
    $sAppID = $json->app_id;
    print_r($json);
}
curl_close($ch);

$ch2 = curl_init();

//curl -v https://api.sandbox.paypal.com/v1/payments/payment
curl_setopt($ch2, CURLOPT_URL, "https://api.sandbox.paypal.com/v1/payments/payment");

//-H "Content-Type:application/json" \
//-H "Authorization: Bearer <Access-Token>" \
curl_setopt($ch2, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, array(
    "Content-Type:application/json",
    "Authorization: Bearer ".$sAccessToken,
));

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    'payment_method'        => 'credit_card',
    'funding_instruments'   => array(
                    'credit_card'       => array(

                            'number'            => "4417119669820331",
                            "type"              => "visa",
                            "expire_month"      => "11",
                            "expire_year"       => "2018",
                            "cvv2"              => "874",
                            "first_name"        => "Betsy",
                            "last_name"         => "Buyer",
                            "billing_address"   => array(
                                    "line1"             => "111 First Street",
                                    "city"              => "Saratoga",
                                    "state"             => "CA",
                                    "postal_code"       => "95070",
                                    "country_code"      => "US"
                            ),
                    ),
            ),
);

$params = array(
    'intent'    => 'sale',
    'payer'     => $payer,
    'transactions'  => array(array(
                "amount"         =>"7.47",
                "currency"      =>"USD",
                "details"       => array(
                                    "subtotal"=>"7.41",
                                    "tax"=>"0.03",
                                    "shipping"=>"0.03"
                ),
                "description" => "This is the payment transaction description."
    )
));

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$response2 = curl_exec( $ch2 );
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print_r($response2." / ");
print_r($errrors2);
curl_close($ch2);


text:
Election Publicity Hound Ethics Quiz: Whose "October Surprise" Was Dirtier?
October 25, 2012 October 25, 2012 / Jack Marshall
That's Gloria on the left, Donald on the right.
What could be more challenging than trying to choose between Gloria Allred and Donald Trump in the field of inappropriate and shameless headline grabbing?
Both Trump and Allred this week decided to distract voters from the solemn and difficult job of deciding which Presidential candidate's misrepresentations to forgive by trumpeting an upcoming "October Surprise" that would propel their respective champions to victory. In addition, both are shameless using the election to get their names in the papers for pure personal publicity purposes, to attack Obama or Romney using innuendo, and to attempt to skew a close election by using old matters far past their pull date. The tactic worked for both publicity hounds, because an October surprise in 2000, held for months and leaked by a Gore operative, probably cost George W. Bush the popular vote: his covered up DWI arrest of more than a decade earlier.
Your test: whose attempted late hit was more unethical? We will stipulate that both are revolting. The candidates:
In this corner, wearing gold sequined trunks, is The Donald. Monday, he promised an earth-shattering announcement Wednesday, telling the goofs on "Fox and Friends" that he had "something very, very big concerning the President of the United States." Wednesday came, and all Trump could muster was a pathetic challenge, delivered in a video. In it, Trump said, "Now, I have a deal for the President. … If Barack Obama opens up and gives his college records and applications, and if he gives his passport applications and records, I will give to a charity of his choice — inner city children in Chicago, American Cancer Society, AIDS research, anything he wants, a check, immediately, for $5 million."
In the other corner, wearing her trademark red, is feminist provocateur Gloria Allred. She stuck her nose into a political race once before, when she dredged up a former illegal immigrant who worked for California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman as a domestic worker for many years. Since Whitman had pledged to be tough on employers who hired illegals, Allred's plan was to show that Whitman knew about the maid's status, though it was unclear whether Whitman or just her husband were involved in the details of her hiring. The maid had lied, and presented false documents, and legal experts fenced over whether the Whitmans had a duty to investigate further, or whether to do so would have been discriminatory. This is Allred's MO, however: certainty isn't necessary. Just raise doubts. And make sure they spell your name right in the papers. This week, Allred revealed another woman scorned: Margaret Sullivan, who has been fuming for years over the injustice of the divorce decree that ended her marriage to Staples founder Tom Stemberg. She's furious at Romney too, because he testified at the trial when he was Chairman of Bain Capital. The proceedings were sealed, and participants were ordered not to discuss the particulars of the case. Allred's plan: work with the Boston Globe to get the gag rule lifted and the transcript released. After all, opening sealed divorce proceedings worked for Obama before, when the testimony in the nasty divorce of his favored U.S. Senate opponent, Jack Ryan, was revealed, showing him to be both into wife-swapping and an idiot, since the wife he wanted to swap was Jeri Ryan, known to Star Trek fans as the heart-stopping "7 of 9." Gloria's efforts suggested to voters that there was something dastardly about Mitt's testimony, and, of course, it proves again that he hates women, since he testified against one. You know how those rich guys are.
Your Ethics Alarms Quiz: Whose October Surprise is worse?
My answer? Let's see:
Both plans fizzled. The court released the transcript but refused to lift that gag order. The transcript contains nothing that any sane voter would care anything about, nor does it reflect badly on Romney.
Both were misrepresented by their advocates, Trump and Allred, as significant and game-changing when they were not.
Both wasted time and space.
Both were simply efforts to impugn a candidate by suggestion, with nothing substantive to justify it.
Both were designed to appeal to the worst biases of the crazy bases of the two parties. Trump was appealing to conservatives who think Obama was an academic fraud who isn't a natural born citizen. Allred wanted to bolster the absurd "war on women" smear.
Nevertheless, Trump wins. He's even more shameless than Allred. His promise on Fox was a lie: he had nothing. His offer was just another birther accusation. It was despicable for Trump to raise these conspiracy theories attacking President Obama's credentials and legitimacy in the first place, and doubly obnoxious to raise them now. The theory that makes Trump's foolishness seem least offensive is the one that posits that he was just trying to diminish Gloria's grab for the spotlight. I wouldn't put it past him, but foiling Allred doesn't justify impugning the President…again.
They are both awful.
Trump is worse.
Character, Gender and Sex, Government & Politics, Law & Law Enforcement
"birthers", "October suprise", 2012 Presidential election, Donald Trump, fairness, Gloria Allred, honesty, innuendo, Margaret Sullivan, publicity, war on women
← Cognitive Dissonance, Corruption, and Patrick Moran
Forget Balancing: Lance Armstrong Is a Villain →
14 thoughts on "Election Publicity Hound Ethics Quiz: Whose "October Surprise" Was Dirtier?"
49erDweet
Agree both are shameless. Allred, however, is supposed to represent a profession that touts it's accountability. Trump doesn't AFAIK. Wouldn't that tip the scale?
Steven Mark Pilling
That's along the lines of my thinking, 49er. The Donald makes waves because he enjoys being flamboyant and, I guess, because he thinks it's expected of him. He hardly needs to profit from it! Allred, on the other hand, is not only a licensed "officer of the court", she's also a self-promoting panderer who seeks to profit from her clents and antics… while further denigrating a profession that's already close to an ethical rock bottom as it is. I can live with Trump. Gloria ought to be dropped on Gilligan's Island along with her previous clients!
Allred takes some offensive clients, but if the spurned wife in this case seeks a vendetta against Mitt Romney because he testified against her interests in a divorce, that's a legal, if unethical objective, and she has a right to seek to have the gag order lifted and the seal broken. There is nothing unethical about representing her–she has a right to have a competent lawyer. Representing her is no different from representing any person with an agenda. The fact that Allred may share the agenda for other reasons doesn't make the mere representation unethical as a matter of legal ethics. Taking on awful clients is what lawyers do, including good lawyers. Allred intentionally attracts such people for her own purposes, and that's one of the things that makes her loathsome.
Arthur in Maine
Much as I wish there was something to alien abduction stories and this pair would be the next to go, I vote for Allred. Trump has plenty of dough, and he does this schtick for purposes of ego and self-amusement, however perverse said self-amusement might be.
Allred does it to drive business.
BTW, my gut tells me The Hairpiece – er, I mean The Donald – thought he had something much bigger than this and found out shortly before his "announcement" that his supposed dirt had more holes in it than Blackburn, Lancashire. His "big announcement" was a nothingburger. He may be a nutball conspiracy theorist, but he usually picks the right wave to surf.
I'd say Trump's takes the cake. Allred's although shameless and unethical never woul carry weight. Because no one cares.
Trump's action? The moral equivalent of a hostage taker.
Although not withholding money already destined for a charity as would match the hostage takers methods, simply by saying he could but won't is the same thing. It certainly is an odd kind of blackmail.
Additionally, whether or not the $5 mil is readily available to toss at a charity, Trump says its available. Ok, jerk, then give the money to the charity, if it is so much of a chump change you can dangle it around politically.
I concur with your analysis, Michael.
texagg04
Other than my post to the Walking Dead Reverse Abortion post, is this my earliest comment on Ethics Alarms?
Mrs. Miller
It was also Gloria Allred who "represented" Ginger White, the alleged mistress of Herman Caine, Republican presidential hopeful. Again, very convenient timing and nothing really substantial came out of it. Caine did withdraw from the race, however, citing the strain on his family.
Yes, that was vintage Gloria.
Let's not forget Gloria's little caper in California a few years back. She seems to be specializing in creating embarrassing scenarios- often manufactured- for Republican candidates at a time when it's virtually impossible for them to answer fully to the media barrage that follows. I guess that "lawyer to the stars" bit just wasn't enough for her, anymore.
In light of how weak Trump's effort was, I wonder if it was partially intended to suck some of the air out of Gloria's announcement.
I've heard this hypothesis. Or, it could be that Trump's bombshell was the Obama's never-completed divorce papers, which the Romney campaign correctly spurned. But based on past conduct, I'm comfortable concluding that, once again, Trump was just being who he is—a self-centered, irresponsible, shameless jerk.
Aaron Paschall
I think I'd have to vote Allred. Trump's never pretended he wasn't a birther, and although the ballyhoo makes it very distasteful, he's not bringing up a new point – Obama's transcripts are sealed. Whether that's IMPORTANT to some people or not is a matter of personal opinion – and it's obvious that it's important to very few people.
Allred, on the other hand, is (once again) representing a scorned woman with an unsubstantiated tale from yesteryear – and the fact that there was nothing there tells me she was bluffing. I don't think she wanted anything released, she wanted a sealed mysterious cloud of doom to hang over his head. It worked with Cain, why not try it again?
Eeyoure
Dirtier: Allred's. Clearly the amoral scheming of an assassin in her.
Meaner/closer to illegal: Trump's. Extortion by tycoons is still extortion.


text:
Q: How to `yarn run start` providing custom modules location Here is my problem, I  constructed a dockerfile launching yarn install from a folder where a package.json and yarn.lock are present (they have been taken from the project I have to setup yarn dependencies for, this project is inside a deconnected server).
Then, I run bash into container image and uploaded the created folder node_modules, and put it into the deconnected server, where project is present, at root folder project.
But then, when I launched yarn start from root folder, it says that it cannot find rescripts despite of the fact that folder @rescripts is present into node_modules.
I tried NODE_PATH=./node_modules yarn start without any success.
Thanks a lot for your help.
Regards

A: I think i get what i want with :
https://yarnpkg.com/blog/2016/11/24/offline-mirror/
I create a cache folder with all tar.gz dependencies downloaded.
But if i remove node_modules and yarn.lock, and run yarn install --offline --cache-folder npm-packages-offline-cache/, I got error saying it could not find proper dependance in cache folder. It's like it cannot recognize any tar.gz inside. Any help will be welcome.
Regars


Shakespeare, strange dude, known for his writings. Though nobody is for sure what he really was about. So many messages in the message, but what was the message? So many possible interpretations. Reason enough for Ira Kip to explore one of her favorite writers.
Co-produced by Right About Now Inc. is Ira about to link Shakespeare (The taming of the shrew!) and the LGBTQ community to the light of this century with her production of Shrew her! Ira's rendition will premier spring of 2017 at a theater near you!
To adapt a version of a play one must study it first. Ira invited me and other artist to read and discuss the play with her at the Right About Now Inc. headquarters. On September 21st we kicked off an inspiring, challenging old English (!) reading session series before the play will be written into existence. 2017 will be awesome!
Press here to play video!


Here is link to where some guy posted on how you can add extra icons...it went all good.
But after I click on which Icon I want, it doesnt show up in the thread list.
Expert2990, I am going to agree to SirDarknight on this. There is a massive difference between slightly tweaking the UI and completely developing part of it. But anyhow, if I find a solution I will come calling.


Verified January 2013 by Michel Assor, MD, University of Marseille.
The purpose of this pilot study is to investigate the efficacy and safety of autologous transplantation, under arthroscopy, of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal stem cells, using, with a cell separator, a fresh non-culture expanded Autologous Bone Marrow derived Mesenchymal Stem, mixed and activated with proteins scaffold in patient with Knee cartilage defects and osteoarthritis. Based on extensive preclinical investigations, the technology of using freshly isolated bone marrow mononuclear cells mixed with proteins seems safe and most effective for a one-step correction of cartilage defect and restoration of the osteochondral complex, because the same mixture can generate cartilage in the vasculature-free knee joint, and bone in the environment of bone defects.
Before the implantation of the mesenchymal stem cells, a knee arthroscopy procedure is made for the debridement of the meniscal and cartilage lesions, with microperforation and abrasion, preparation of the osteochondral defect to receive the transplantation, patellar lateral release if necessary.
Then, the investigators use a fresh non-culture expanded autologous bone marrow derived mesenchymal mononuclear stem cells, stimulated with a protein matrix and mixed in a collagen hydroxyapatite scaffold. This cellular paste is transplanted in the prepared defect, under arthroscopy, with injection of platelet rich plasma.
Official Title: Pilot Study of A One-Step Procedure for the Use of Autologous Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Stimulated by Proteins Scaffold to Heal Under Arthroscopy Full-Thickness Defects Articular Cartilage and Osteoarthrosis of the Knee.
with cartilage on the tibial surface no more than grade 3-4, of size < 3-4 cm2, with 3/4 of meniscus present.
A defect that is 1 - 4 cm2 or more, up to 6 cm2, located on the femoral condyle and /or less of 4 cm2 for tibial plate, and IKS score <75.
Existing infection in or around the joint & lesions of infectious or oncologic etiology.
Patients with autoimmune disorders & systemic inflammatory disease.
Preoperative poor neurological or vascular status of the affected limb.
Specific contraindications include the use of tobacco and medications that may impair cell proliferation, such as NSAIDs and immunosuppressive drugs. Patients must be nicotine-free (stop smoking) prior to the procedure, as studies have shown that the oxidative effect of smoking impairs cell function and subsequent healing.


text:
@smalloffice.info
INTRO / LA
launching soon.
20 – 23 Jun, 2019
Row DTLA
777 S Alameda
Building 2, Suite 132
Free & Open to the Public
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM Daily
Celebrating its fifth anniversary, Small Office is pleased to present INTRO / LA 2019. Presented as part of the ever-expanding Los Angeles Design Festival, the showcase marks its 3rd year in the former LA Terminal Market, now revitalized as Row DTLA. Presenting a cross-section of young and established brands, INTRO / LA hosts 19 participants showing new and existing design works.
Sponsored by the LA Design Festival and Row DTLA
About INTRO
Initiated in 2013, the INTRO series invites a select group of designers and brands to present their work in a non-traditional format that prizes intimacy over scale. Eschewing the conventions of the trade show, INTRO is arranged as a holistic design-space, integrating a diverse series of installations into a cohesive interior. The exhibition provides a platform for designers to engage with peers and public alike, resulting in a sampling of forms and production processes and acting as a vernacular gauge of the industry itself.
S @smalloffice.info
E info@smalloffice.info
Small Office is a Los Angeles and New York based design resource and consultancy representing contemporary design.
In addition to working with architects, interior designers and the commercial trade, Small Office also curates exhibitions and produces custom design projects, including INTRO/NY and INTRO/LA.
Full website launching June 2018.
Exhibitions & Curation
Interior Consulting
Twentytwentyone
The INTRO concept was launched by Small Office in 2013 as an intimate platform to present a selective cross section of design. The show aims to provide an alternative experience to the standard design trade show environment, by integrating a series of art and design installations into one cohesive exhibit.
598 West Avenue 28


Welcome to ParsTV, home of the online streaming service in conjunction with Dunfermline Athletic Football Club. This website is aimed, mainly, at Pars Fans - although fans of other sides are welcome too - providing Live Video and Audio Commentary Streams of DAFC matches.
As of July 2017, we have updated our Video Player from Flash to HTML5. It is hoped this will give our customers a more responsive and adaptive stream, to suit their specific requirements.
Highlights and interviews from recent matches.