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AsureQuality's China Marketing Insight Series #6
10th August 2022 in Brands & Marketing
Author: Kellee Henton
Welcome to AsureQuality's China Marketing Insight Series
This is the sixth in our series of insights and learnings around the China marketing calendar.(external link)
In this edition, we cover:
Winning at livestreaming
Despite recent changes, livestreaming remains strong
The quietest 618 shopping festival ever
New quarantine policies for travellers
Chinese NoLo market
Oriental Select, New Oriental Education's livestream Channel, has attracted over five million followers on Douyin with their unique offering of free English teaching sessions while livestreaming.(external link) According to data from live-streaming tracking platform Huitun,(external link) Oriental Select's daily sales topped USD $6.7 million on 14 June 2022, up from the daily sales which had been stuck at USD $149,000 for the six months since launching in December 2021.
The company was one of China's largest private education companies,(external link) but as a result of the 'double reduction' policy announced in August 2021,(external link) the private education sector in China suffered and New Oriental had to lay off 60,000 employees. In one video that went viral on Chinese social media, a New Oriental host (and former teacher) promoted a deal for steaks as he wrote "steak" and "seasoning" in English on a white board, demonstrating how to use these English words in context before encouraging viewers to place orders.
This new livestream format with a combination of education + e-commerce + promotion(external link) is appreciated by many netizens(external link) who enjoy the entertainment and the learnings gained from this new winning format. Dong Yuhui's(external link) bilingual livestreams are popular with over 900 million viewers being attracted by his enthusiasm, fluency in English, witty jokes, personal stories and talent for singing.
In the past five years, livestreaming e-commerce in China has developed into one of the top retail industries(external link) and is worth over US $180 billion.(external link) Successful livestreamers have previously been endorsed by the China government and become famous for their charisma, skill at product selection and special offers for consumers. Recently though, there has been a major upheaval and shift in power since some of China's top livestreamers have come under scrutiny by government censors and are no longer active.
The 'Lipstick King',(external link) Austin Li, with over 64 million flowers on Taobao, has not streamed or posted on social media since 3 June 2022, when his livestream session was suddenly cut off. And in 2021, Taobao's popular livestreamers, Viya and Cherie(external link) were fined USD $210.2 million and USD $10.2 million respectively in 2021 for tax evasion and have not streamed since.
Despite the disappearance of some big livestreamers, the livestreaming industry continues as strong as ever,(external link) given another charge by the recent lockdowns. At the same time, there's been a power reshuffle within the industry,(external link) as smaller players gain more attention. Many brands are also now committed to building their own livestreaming channels.
While these may be good changes for sellers to lessen their dependence the top Livestreamers, it's not considered a good thing for consumers as they can't access the same discounts they previously could.
The 618 Shopping Festival is the second-largest e-commerce shopping festival in China, second only to Single's Day and possibly the second-largest shopping festival in the world. However, this year's 618(external link) was reportedly restrained. Three months of COVID lockdowns in Shanghai and Beijing(external link) have led to economic uncertainty with nearly 80% of China's logistics firms have reported falling profits in the first five months of 2022.
While companies were expecting to make up for sales lost during the lockdown periods, the market reaction was cool. Ecommerce platforms tried to boost sales by offering good discounts and simplifying rules, but consumers remained cautious. JD.com, the second largest ecommerce platform in China, said their 618 sales were only 10.3% higher than last year, PNG (50 KB) marking the slowest growth of the past five years.(external link) Alibaba Group and Pinduoduo did not release their 618 sales data but according to consultancy firm Syntun's sales across major e-commerce platforms, including Alibaba's Tmall marketplace, JD.com and Pinduodu were estimated at USD $86.75 billion(external link) compared to last year's sales of USD $86.14 billion. With significant sales growth in previous years, this year's growth fell flat.
"For both platforms and companies, the time for pursuing high growth is gone,(external link) especially amid weak consumer demand", an e-commerce platform professional said. "It may be more realistic and more important for companies to offer better services and maintain the loyalty of their existing consumers."
Relaxation of quarantine policies for travellers
On 28 June 2022, China slashed its quarantine policy by half for international travellers. Since beginning of this pandemic, China has some of the world's strictest entry requirements, mandating most inbound travellers to spend at least 14 days at a government quarantine facility, followed by seven days of isolation at home. According to National Health Commission's announcement, incoming visitors will now only spend seven days at a quarantine facility and three days at home.(external link)
This has not been considered a sign of dropping the "zero-Covid" policy",(external link) but as being more scientific and targeted(external link) and is still a relief for international businesses who eager to visit partners and review market status.
Chinese NoLo market estimated to boom to USD $11.1 billion in 2025
The NoLo market (No and Low alcoholic beverages) is showing big potential(external link) in the China market especially among Chinese young consumers. Data from TMIC (Tmall Innovation Center) shows that NoLo products generated sales of USD $3.88 billion in 2021, being 42% higher than the year before. This market is estimated to grow to USD $11.1 billion(external link) in the year of 2025.
Although the NoLo market in China is smaller than some parts of the world, it is growing rapidly due to increasing popularity among the Post-00 Generation, female drinkers, and High-income and High-Knowledge consumer groups.
Meet our marketing expert Mia Yang!
With an international business management education background, Mia has worked as a marketing specialist for Kiwi brands for over four years. She is dedicated to helping Aotearoa's producers share their products with the world. Mia is passionate about supporting AQ Assured customers and loves coming up with innovative ideas to help their brands stand out in the domestic and international marketplace.
Free consultation with personalised solutions
We support brands with claim substantiation, verification, and co-marketing activities demonstrating trusted assurance, and building consumer confidence and engagement.
You can book a free 15-minute consultation(external link) to discuss how to leverage AsureQuality's NZ Government-owned independent food assurance expertise within your China marketing mix.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch with our team of experts.
If you've missed previous issues of our China Marketing Insight Series, you can find them here.(external link)
Follow our official WeChat account where you can explore more case studies, technical information, and market insights in Chinese. Just simply search our WeChat ID: AsureQuality_NZ
We look forward to sharing more with you soon!


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The Tri-Variant Framework™ is what I use to teach authors how to get their best information OUT of their heads, and into a useable format that will work hard for them to:
Validate and Profile their wisdom, expertise, and experiences as a book, and across other platforms too.
Create a reader friendly structure that ensures easy and enjoyable experiences for their readers/audiences to dive into.
Extrapolate out that content easily to use as articles, posts, blogs, and presentations.
Make it easy to test the content and prepare it for editing and production, ahead of publishing as a book.
I've been working on this, refining it and teaching it since around 2006, but more recently since 2018, it's become the cornerstone of many of the books I have helped authors with, including many award winners, finalists, and best sellers.
What exactly is the Tri-Variant™ Framework?
In simple terms, this is about a 3 part book, each with three chapters, which in turn each has 3 sections.
The book ends up being a 25-35,000 word book, or around 140-180 pages, and has extra value pieces inside it that I call 'breadcrumbing' to ensure that the reader takes action, and the author gets to help with that process, so that the book is not just read and then nothing further happens. And, it also helps to ensure the book is read fully, not stumbled through and discarded at the 3rd or 4th chapter.
It's three parts and it's a solid framework. That means it underpins the framing of the content so that it's robust and workable. Plus there's a lot of variation in the process, because every book is unique, but in a way that still maintains the structural integrity of the content plan.
If you'd like to better understand this process, and you're thinking about writing a book, that you can also use to extend into articles, blogs, social media posts, and even your presentations, then my latest book, Start With the Draft explains it very well.
This will be available on 30th December, and you can preview or pre-order it here.
Tools for Turning your Book Plan into a Content Plan
Join the Authority Island Writers' Retreat in February
Start With the Draft
How to easily plan and write a non-fiction book using
the Tri-Variant Framework for Content Curation
My latest book is now part one of a series for authors wanting to know exactly how to plan, write, then produce and publish a non-fiction book that works harder as a marketing tool. Start With the Draft is packed with the easy planning process for content curation, using the Tri-Variant Framework system. Pre-order until January 10th for the extra special 'Less than the price of a Latte' rate.
Pre-Order on Amazon Here

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Are you making money with Pinterest? If you said yes good for you but it is very likely that you are not using Pinterest. It's okay because many people are missing out on this untapped possibility. There are some very good reasons why you should be using Pinterest. Understanding why you need to use Pinterest and how to use it can help with your conversions.
1/3 rd of women that are online use Pinterest.
About 8% of men that are online use Pinterest.
When customers are converted from Pinterest they spend more money than any other social media conversion.
Pinterest works without you. 70% of brand generation comes from Pinterest users not from the brand itself.
80% of pins are actually repins which is evidence that going viral on Pinterest is organic.
There are 4 mindsets when it comes to Pinterest.
Unlike other venues Pinterest works solely on emotion. There is not a lot of thinking that goes into repining, basically if someone likes what they see they re-pin it. Simple.
You can take advantage of what Pinterest has to offer by using one of the following.
1. Using bright interesting colors. Studies have shown that pins that have multiple vibrant colors are pinned 3x's more than pins with single vibrant colors.
2. Don't use human faces. Pins that do not have human faces are repined up to 23% more than pins that have human faces.
3. Use a background that is spare. Backgrounds that are spare are repined 40% more.
4. Use brown, orange and red. Orange, red and brown in the pins get more attention than any other color combination.
5. Taller images get pinned more often.
6. Follow other people, add pins consistently, have multiple boards. These aforementioned are the three most important factors to getting re-pinned more often.
7. Pin food, Pin drinks. Drinks and food are the pins that are appealing to both men and women.
8. DIY crafts, how to's and home décor are close to the top of the best categories to pin. Avoid tattoos, history and technology because they are the lowest categories that are viewed and pinned.
9. Best times to pin are from 2pm to 4pm and 8pm to 1am.
10. Maintain moderate color and lighting which are the best ways to attract people to your pins.


Rightmove has published a new report that suggests the number of tenants paying for rental accommodation who feel "trapped" because they are unable to afford to buy a property has reached the highest level for nearly three years when Rightmove began its quarterly rental market report.
This is despite new government initiatives designed to make it easier for first-time buyers to purchase their first property, such as the NewBuy and Help to Buy schemes and the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS).
Rightmove asked over 3,200 people and found that 60 per cent of respondents say they can't afford to buy a property, up from 58 per cent three months ago.
The data points to evidence that recent improvements in the economy and the government schemes have helped to push up house prices taking property ownership out of the reach of more people in rental accommodation.
Last week, Nationwide reported in its July house price index that house prices were up by the highest annual rate in three years, up by 3.9 per cent to an average of £170,825.
Rightmove said that the number of people in rented accommodation had increased as former homeowners were forced out of their property for various reasons.
Despite the difficult experiences that many former homeowners have had, 96 per cent of current renters still hope to own their own home at some point in the future.
However, raising the necessary deposit is proving to be a major stumbling block for many aspiring homeowners. Rightmove reports that with inflation close to three per cent, wage increases low and savings rates falling dramatically, just 15 per cent of would-be homeowners are on course to save up the required deposit.
Rental costs have been increasing because of the lack of supply of affordable housing and the fact that so many people cannot afford to buy a home.
Official figures from the Office for National Statistics shows that between 2001 and 2011, home ownership fell from 68 per cent of households to 64 per cent and the number of households renting from a private landlord went up to 3.6 million households, 15 per cent, from nine per cent in 2001.


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If you're small business why not give your customers the option of a Saturday delivery? If they are out all day Monday - Friday it could be just the ticket to make sure they place an order with you rather than anybody else.
Your parcel collection time can be as early as 8am and as late as 8pm so make sure you're available throughout this time. A missed collection could mean a Saturday delivery simply isn't possible and we certainly wouldn't want that!
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With a wealth of knowledge and experience accumulated over decades, Tangibl delivers effective solutions to technical and commercial problems in the power and utilities sector.
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Accrington Stanley are managed by John Coleman who returned to the club in September 2014, following the surprise departure of James Beattie. Coleman, who previously spent 12-and-a-half-years in the Reds dugout between 1999 and 2012, went on to lead the club up into League One.
Synonymous with the lower echelons of English football, Stanley have gradually worked their way up from the non league arena and have now become a firm fixture in the professional scene and are looking to gain promotion to the third-tier.
At the heart of their meteoric rise up the leagues was John Coleman, who took over the team in 1999, when they were plying their trade in the Northern Premier League Division One. Coleman managed to gain promotion early on in his tenure and in the 2002-2003 season got them promoted to the Conference.
It took three years, but Coleman managed to get them promoted again as champions from the Conference and the 2006-2007 season saw them play their first season in league football.
Coleman continued to shine at the Lancashire club and he just failed to gain another promotion in the 2010-2011 season, as they made the play-offs after finishing a creditable fifth, but came unstuck against Stevenage Borough in the semi-finals, losing 3-0 on aggregate.
It was an end of an era in 2012 as Coleman decided to vacate his post as Stanley manager and head for pastures new, by becoming the boss of Rochdale, but returned to the club two years later.
A mixed set of recent results has seen Accrington Stanley collect wins versus Burton Albion, Blackpool, Portsmouth & Bolton Wanderers while suffering adverse results at Southend United, Ipswich Town & Rochdale. Draws against Fleetwood Town, Doncaster Rovers & Tranmere Rovers has seen them show mid-table form at best.
25 Jan Burton Albion 16:00 Accrington Stanley
28 Jan Accrington Stanley 20:45 Peterborough United
01 Feb Accrington Stanley 16:00 AFC Wimbledon
11 Feb Shrewsbury Town 20:45 Accrington Stanley
15 Feb Accrington Stanley 16:00 Lincoln City
22 Feb Accrington Stanley 16:00 Rotherham United
18 Jan Accrington Stanley 1 - 2 Southend United
11 Jan Ipswich Town 4 - 1 Accrington Stanley
07 Jan Fleetwood Town 0 - 0 Accrington Stanley
01 Jan Accrington Stanley 1 - 2 Rochdale
29 Dec Accrington Stanley 2 - 0 Burton Albion
26 Dec Blackpool 0 - 1 Accrington Stanley
Manager History
John Coleman 18 Sep 2014 - Present Won: 126, Drawn: 73, Lost: 98
Paul Stephenson 12 Sep 2014 - 18 Sep 2014 Won: 1, Drawn: 0, Lost: 1
James Beattie 13 May 2013 - 12 Sep 2014 Won: 16, Drawn: 16, Lost: 26
Leam Richardson 25 Oct 2012 - 30 Apr 2013 Won: 10, Drawn: 11, Lost: 15
Paul Cook 13 Feb 2012 - 25 Oct 2012 Won: 8, Drawn: 7, Lost: 18
Leam Richardson 23 Jan 2012 - 13 Feb 2012 Won: 1, Drawn: 0, Lost: 0
John Coleman 01 May 1999 - 23 Jan 2012 Won: 236, Drawn: 148, Lost: 203
1 Trophies Won
15. Lincoln City 26 10 4 12 2 34
16. Shrewsbury Town 24 8 9 7 -4 33
17. Accrington Stanley 25 7 8 10 -2 29
18. Rochdale 25 8 4 13 -12 28
19. Milton Keynes Dons 26 7 4 15 -11 25


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Guillaume SIMONEAU
Publisher: MACK
In "Murder", the original black and white image of the photographer as a child, crows perched on his shoulders, is set alongside visions of violence: one crow hanging by rope, tangled and rotting, another pinned down by a large bird of prey. The mood of this contrast is never cynical: instead, it develops an ambivalent approach to nostalgia that is energetic and cathartic.
The genesis of Guillaume Simoneau's new book, Murder, is in spring 1982. At around the same time Masahisa Fukase was producing his post-war masterpiece Karasu (Ravens), Simoneau's family adopted a nest full of baby crows orphaned from a fallen tree. The photographs from this time, taken by Simoneau's mother, paint an unusual and lyrical vision of childhood. Nearly forty years later, these moments are memorialised in dialogue with Simoneau's new works, produced in the spring of 2016 and 2017 in Kanazawa, Japan. This setting, the birthplace of Karasu, punctuates the book with a further-reaching interest in tradition and timelessness that looks beyond the scope of these events to the landscape, famous thatched houses, the pine forests and coastline. The crisp, architectural qualities of the new photographs evoke a rendering of Fukase's original that is, however, distinctly of its time.
Several of these photographs directly reference Karasu, and it is this language of violence inherited from Fukase that becomes the mode with which Simoneau challenges this inheritance. Throughout the book, the symbolism of the crow is constantly at stake. In the childhood images, the crow becomes an unlikely symbol of intimacy; coupled with blurred glimpses of the bird in flight, Simoneau threatens to restore the bird to its cultural function as an omen of turbulent times.
(from the publisher's description)
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The Roswell Corner
The Roswell debate conspiracy
Mark O'Connell, who debated Don Schmitt in the "great Roswell debate" at the Milwaukee paranormal conference, is a little miffed that KGRA is not posting the debate on their web site. Mark states that he feels he won the debate clearly and the implication is that this may be why the debate is not posted.
Kevin Randle tried to get the debate going again on his radio program. This time Mark would be against Schmitt and Carey. Was Carey supposed to be there to hold Schmitt's hand or to promote his own agenda? We will never know because O'Connell decided he did not want to waste any more time on Roswell. Good for him!
Dr. Rios flails away on Facebook
Dr. Rios has been busy promoting his story about the Roswell slide showing a non-human body and not the mummified body of a two-year old boy. He has gone as far as trying to comment on one of my astrophotographs I had posted on Facebook. The exchange was as one would expect. Rios claimed I was afraid. I had to wonder who was afraid since he has still yet to put his reputation on the line by filing a paper in a scientific journal. After a brief back and forth, I decided to block him. I have no problem debating Rios but the forum he chose (my personal Facebook page) was not an appropriate one. Instead of "hitting and running", perhaps Rios should go into one of the UFO Groups (like UFO pragmatism or Relatively incredible things), where he could present his evidence to all members of the Roswell Slides Research Group (RSRG), who frequent those locations. He tried that once before but would not, or could not, answer questions about his measurement of the body. He then left the discussion. It seems that Rios is only capable of cutting pasting images of his web page on these on-line debates. One wonders why, after 18 months, he has been unable to convince those, outside of his little group, that it is not a mummy.
Crashology in retreat?
Kevin Randle's latest book on Roswell has given the impression to some that he has given up on the Roswell case. It is true that Mr. Randle appears to have acknowledged that the alien spaceship explanation is less appealing to him than before but his writings also suggest that he has not quite given up on Roswell.
More of the same
If you were expecting new revelations, there aren't any. It was mostly Kevin just rehashing the same old stories and trying to make sense of it all. I was disappointed that he spent little effort trying to reconcile the actual evidence
from 1947 with the stories told decades later. Most important are the Fort Worth photographs and the Brazel interview. Randle tends to bury these in the text with the implication there may have been a substitution for the photographs and that Brazel may have been ordered to tell his story to the press. Like much of the Roswell story, Skeptics have a different perspective regarding this evidence.
The father of Roswell?
The one chapter in Randle's book I found amusing was his section on Walter Haut. Randle implies that Haut played a major role in creating the modern Roswell myth. I stated over a decade ago that it was clear that Haut had inserted himself into the myth by vouching for individuals like Kaufmann and Dennis. Before he died, he even signed an affidavit that described events he had never mentioned in previous tellings. For some UFOologists, the details surrounding the affidavit, and the story, painted Haut in a differ- ent light than before. His reliability now was openly questioned. For once, we appear to agree on something regarding Roswell.
Randle's conclusions
After recounting most of the usual history of Roswell, Kevin Randle made some statements that indicated he no longer found Roswell to be as compelling as he did for almost three decades. In his discussion of things that can be proven, he states, "...it would appear that the recovery was of a balloon and rawin radar target."1 With this willingness to admit the photographs included the actual debris, he then backs away and states that it is only the testimony, told decades later, that gives him reason to look elsewhere.
In an apparent Mea Culpa, Randle finally conceded that the actual government documents from the time period indicate that noth- ing alien fell at Roswell. After decades of declaring a cover-up and using the "need to know" excuse, he had to admit that he was mistaken about these assertions. This resulted in another admission by Randle, "... I find myself drifting towards those who reject the extraterrestrial. At one time I was sure but that was when we had all this robust testimony, much of which is now thoroughly discredited." 2 Like his acknowledgment that he had been fooled by Frank Kaufmann and Glenn Dennis, Randle must have felt discomfort in writ- ing this. However, he has not completely written off the ET explanation.
After presenting a Sherlock Holmes quote of "when ever you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."3, Kevin Randle states that crashologists appear to have eliminated everything but aliens, which is the improbable solution. However, he laments they just don't have the proof that Aliens were involved.
It seems that Randle was hedging his bets in this book. While he is now leaning towards a non-alien explanation, he rejects the primary explanation offered by skeptics for the initial events reported by Mack Brazel. To explain why MOGUL does not work, Mr. Randle devoted an entire appendix to the subject.4
The failed MOGUL offensive
Kevin Randle's attempt to demonstrate why he believes that it was impossible for a project MOGUL balloon to be the source of the debris is really nothing new. He had promoted these arguments on his blog for the many years modifying them as he went along. In 2013, I had written an article in SUNlite 5-5 with the title of "Crashology's last stand" where I demonstrated that many of his arguments are not as solid as he proclaimed.
Having taken the effort to partially reject the ETH for Roswell, Randle then took aim at the skeptics for not accepting his"proof"that the MOGUL explanation does not work. In his mind, he had proven that the flight #4 explanation was not only improbable, it was impossible.
First of all, I need to remind everyone that skeptics support the flight #4 explanation for many reasons. In my opinion, there are several indisputable facts that give reason to find the flight #4 explanation plausible:
FACT 1 - The NYU team was operating in New Mexico in June of 1947.
FACT 2 - The NYU team had used ML-307 reflectors in some of their flights.
FACT 3 - On July 8, 1947, Mac Brazel reported finding debris on the ranch in mid-June. The types of materials described were a large quantity of rubber and tin foil pieces that appeared to be parts from at least one ML-307 reflector.
FACT 4 - Fragments of at least one ML-307 reflector and balloon material that had been out in the sun for many days/weeks are visible in the Fort Worth photographs, which supposedly show Jesse Marcel posing with some of the debris he recovered from the Foster Ranch.
FACT 5 - An unknown number of balloons, which was described by Dr. Crary as "A cluster of balloons", which had "a regular sono buoy" attached,5 was launched by the NYU team on June 4 and never recovered. Skeptics have referred to this as NYU flight #4.
All of these facts are the reason skeptics find the flight #4 explanation plausible. Randle seems to ignore these indisputable facts in favor of his own interpretation of selected entries in the NYU record. To summarize his arguments:
The cluster of balloons launched on June 4th was not Flight #4 because it was canceled earlier that day.
The cluster of balloons launched on June 4th was only a few balloons and a microphone. It had no reflectors and was just a test
flight.
They never launched balloons at night, which means that the cluster of balloons was launched after sunrise. This would shift the
winds and trajectory of the flight away from the Foster Ranch site.
They never launched balloons unless the weather was absolutely clear, which means the cluster of balloons were not launched
until the afternoon when the sky conditions at Alamogordo were clear.
These arguments have been addressed by me before in SUNlite 5-5. To summarize my rebuttals:
It never says the flight was canceled. It only indicates that clouds had prevented the flight from being launched. The very next entry mentions the cluster of balloons being launched, which could be interpreted to mean that the flight had only been de- layed by clouds. Randle's argument is based not on a indisputable fact but his interpretation of the entry in a journal.
The NYU progress report made after the June flights, described all the flights as "clusters of meteorological balloons" .6 Crary uses the description "cluster of balloons" four times in his journal.7 Twice they are used to describe full balloon flights. These are actual facts, which imply that the term could mean a complete flight of balloons. Randle's argument here is, once again, based on his interpretation of the entry and ignoring the NYU documentation.
They launched flight #8 at night and used radar to track it.8 Therefore, the claim that they never launched balloons at night is false. Again, Randle's argument is based on his interpretation of the records.
Photographs of the balloons launched for the canceled flight #9 clearly show clouds in the sky, which means they did launch balloons under conditions that were not clear.9 Examination of the records of other launches indicate that it is probable that "scattered" clouds was an acceptable sky condition for launching balloons. The 0700 observation on June 4 (the first obser- vation of the day) for Alamogordo indicates "scattered" conditions and observations by three stations within 100 miles of Al- amogordo indicated "scattered" or "clear" conditions existed at 3 and 4 AM on June 4. 10
Feeling there was no need to argue endlessly with Randle over these points on his blog, I pretty much ignored his blog entry until he started to say some things that were false and I felt a need to enter the fray. For instance, he gave us this gem regarding the term "Cluster of balloons":
The definition of cluster is in the NYU materials. I didn't invent it, just used the documentation. A cluster was used to lift microphones or preform other experiments when other conditions prevented the launch of a full array.11
As stated previously, the NYU reports are full of statements where they call full flights "clusters of balloons" but there is no statement that says that a definition of a cluster is an experimental flight or partial array. I asked Randle to cite his source but he chose not to respond. I can only assume this meant that he had no documents to support his claim and he was making this kind of statement based solely on his opinion.
Having inserted myself into the debate, I tried to present my arguments since Randle never appeared to address them. When I pointed out that his argument that they were not allowed to launch at night was refuted by flight #8's 3AM launch time, he came up with two reasons why flight #8 was an exception to that rule:
• The NYU had been authorized to relax the rules because it was a special circumstance involving recording a launch of a V-2 rocket.12
The problem with this argument is that he can not produce a single bit of documentation to support the claim they had permission.
It is speculation dressed up as facts. I then asked the question, "If they were able to obtain such permission, what prevented them from obtaining the same kind of exemption on June 4th?" Randle's response was the second reason he thought they allowed flight #8 to be launched at night but not flight #4.
• Flight #8 was smaller than flight #4, which meant it was not a hazard to air traffic.13
This argument has little basis in fact and seems to ignore the whole idea of why there was concern by the CAA for the flights in the northeast. Randle presents no documentation to support this claim and I had to wonder what specific length made a balloon clus- ter a hazard. The tone of the CAA rules for the northeastern flights indicated any flight, no matter how small or large, was a hazard.14 I could counter argue that a small balloon flight would create a greater hazard because it would be hard to see but I never got the chance because Mr. Randle shut down any more discussion about MOGUL on his blog.
As I stated in SUNlite 5-5, the more likely explanation for why they were able to launch at night was because they were probably not operating under the strict guidelines set up by the Northeast subcommittee of the CAA because the Southwest subcommittee of the CAA thought the balloons would stay in the area of White Sands. There is some circumstantial evidence to support this inter- pretation.15
With Randle's hasty retreat from discussing MOGUL, we will apparently never know his response to such arguments. I can only assume that he will post another MOGUL offensive in a few months, where skeptics will, once again, attempt to point out that his arguments are not based on facts but on his biased interpretation of the documentation.
Is it really a retreat?
Kevin Randle's hard stance on the MOGUL explanation, and its proponents, indicates he is not quite willing to admit that there is a conventional explanation for the case or side with the skeptics. It seems that, instead of retreating from his position that a crashed alien spaceship produced the Roswell event, Randle has simply readjusted his lines to concede that the alien explanation can not be proven with the available information. He still considers that the stories told by various individuals about alien space- ships and exotic materials means something. Maybe after another decade, Kevin Randle will reach another epiphany and begin to look at these stories more skeptically. It might lead him down a path where he can write another book about Roswell with a title like, "How I became a Roswell skeptic." Now that would be something worth reading.
Quelle: SUNlite 1/2017


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a terrestrial snail, the first intermediate host of dicrocoeliumdendriticum.
However, Cionella lubrica, Zonitoides nitidus, and Deroceras reticulatum were closely associated with wet habitats lacking canopy cover and Anguispira alternata and Helicodiscus parallelus were associated with relatively drier deciduous sites and more canopy cover in both years (Fig.
Zonitoides nitidus, Deroceras laeve, Pallifera dorsalis, Anguispira alternata, Zonitoides arboreus, and Cionella lubrica.


Page 2, 15 March 1873 — Mr. Disraeli, except.when he was amusing, wasrather grandiose.
Mr. Disraeli, except.when he was amusing, wasrather grandiose.
that it was luckyhe did not venture to do anything for the White Quakers, or they would have given him an honorary degree in recognition of his services. Of Mr, Vernon Harcourt's. speech he said that it was one " which would have become an Attorney- General," though he could not accept his assurances as official,— " at least not yet." He ridiculed the idea of shutting out theo- logy, or philosophy, or modern history from a University, ask- ing how even ancient history,—say the history of Israel,—was to. be dealt with without reference to Christianity ; and he declared with respect to the Council of- the new- University that Irishmen at once eminent and moderate were not known to him ; that he knew many eminent Irishmen and some of moderate opinions, but none in whom both qualifications were united,—an equivocal compliment to Dr. Ball. He attacked Cardinal Cullen as the chief author of the fall of the temporal power of the Pope,—how, he did not explain ; was Cardinal Cullen respon- sible for the Vatican Council ?—he declared that concurrent endowment was dead; and that Mr. Gladstone had substituted for it the policy of confiscation—despoiling Churches, vexing trade, and threatening every endowment in the country—and. that the House of Commons was beginning to feel, some of the unpleasant. consequences of satiety.


Welcome to the Youth & Parent Career Centre!
Nova Scotia automotive service and repair employers invest in youth everyday. They offer company tours, job shadowing, school presentations and host co-op students. Our employers welcome the opportunity to meet youth, parents and career practitioners, to share the 45 exciting and challenging careers in the industry.
45 Automotive Careers to Choose From!
If you love tinkering, working with your hands and solving problems, the Automotive Service and Collision Repair Technician may be the career for you, and the highest in demand!
The industry offers over 45 professional career choices from automotive service/collision technician, client services to management! Click here to discover up to date facts about Nova Scotian careers.
You can also review the 45 career choices by downloading the Steer Your Way Career brochure.
What the Automotive Industry can offer you!
Good pay for work you enjoy.
The choice of working for a small business, a multinational corporation, or setting up your own business.
Ask your Career Counsellor or Coop and O2 teachers for more details!
The Nova Scotia Youth Apprenticeship program is a new education initiative designed to help youth explore real careers and relate their education to work.
Students can 'try-out' entry level jobs in the automotive service and repair industry during High School.
The Youth Apprenticeship program is a positive way for employers to meet local youth, a potential employee, and provide a real workplace education experience.
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We encourage to you meet local automotive business employers, and decide if you prefer to work in a small family business, medium size franchise or large dealership. Ask for a company tour today!
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The Nova Scotia Community College offers two pre-apprentice programs, namely Automotive Service Repair and Collision Repair and Refinishing.
NSCC students graduate with a strong foundation in automotive, communication and safety training. They are ready for employment. Upon accepting a job offer in the technical field, he/she will register as an apprentice and complete the four year Certification program.
Refer here, to the Automotive Training Pathway Chart for more details on automotive technical training and certification.
Service Canada offers an Apprentice Incentive Grant to persons who choose an apprenticable occupation. Visit the Apprentice Success Centre for more details.
Find a wealth of automotive career materials at your fingertips here!
The Department of Education offers Parents as Career Coaches, a program offered at no cost to parents and guardians of junior and senior high school students across Nova Scotia. This program equips parents to better support their children in making informed and successful education and career choices.
The Automotive industry offers a number of education scholarships for automotive students.
In this section you will find a website links to Career Awareness, Post-secondary, industry associations, labour market information and Apprenticeship.


text:
Q: What does the colon sign ":" do in a SQL query? What does : stand for in a query?
INSERT INTO MyTable (ID) VALUES (:myId)

How does it fetch the desired value?
Edit: Also what is that sign called? I wanted to search on google, but what's the name for :?

A: This is a tag for a named query parameter, and is not part of the query's actual syntax. The tag is replaced with some value specified in the code that makes the query before it is actually run.

A: What does ":" stand for in a query?
A bind variable. Bind variables allow a single SQL statement (whether a query or DML) to be re-used many times, which helps security (by disallowing SQL injection attacks) and performance (by reducing the amount of parsing required).
How does it fetch the desired value?
Before a query (or DML) is executed by Oracle, your program will create a cursor. Your program issues the SQL to be parsed for that cursor, then it must bind values for each bind variable referred to by the SQL. How this is done depends on the language.
What is that sign called?
A colon.

A: That's called a bind variable in Oracle.

what's the name for ":"?

Colon.

A: It is a named parameter.
In C#, you prefix the parameter with @ (see here).

A: Consider the following statements
select name from T_emp where id=1;
select name from T_emp where id=2;
select name from T_emp where id=3;

Each time a statement is executed, Oracle checks for previous occurrences of the same query. If it finds the same query, it makes use of the same execution plan. If not, It has to find the various execution paths, come up with the optimal execution plan and execute it.
Unlike human's it not intelligent enough to realize that only the id has changed(as per above example). Hence it go through all the struggles and executes it.
But there's a way to tell Oracle that its a similar statement and that it can use the same execution plan - BIND VARIABLE. Please find the example below:
declare
  v_id number;
  v_name varchar2(30);
  type c is ref cursor;
  c1 c;
begin
  for i in 1..100
   loop
    open c1 for 'select * from T_emp where id = :x' using i;
    fetch c1 into v_name;
    dbms_output.put_line('name is ' || v_name);
   end loop;
END;

Using Bind variables helps to improve the performance tenfold. PL/SQL does use the bind variables on its own(you need not explicitly tell it)

A: Colon : is used in HQL Hibernate Query Language to signify that there is a parameter involved.
So what that means is:
SQL SYNTAX:
SELECT * FROM EMPLOYEE WHERE EMP_ID = empID

is same as HQL SYNTAX:
SELECT * FROM EMPLOYEE WHERE EMP_ID = :empID

empID being local variable for parameters...
Hope this helps.

A: that's also the parameter syntax for a Delphi query

A: Found the first couple minutes of this video to be very useful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6VfcRALxW4
To extract: it's called a bind variable, this is a placeholder for the user input it's waiting to receive

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
From Populism to Occupy
Observers of the political landscape are often puzzled by the disappearance of the Occupy Movement from public view. Another mystery however is also its emergence in the first place. What was it that motivated people to camp out in the cold in cities across the world?
If there is a unifying theme across the Occupy Movement then it is probably discontent. But discontent with what? The original thrust was directed against Wall Street, or what Occupy participants dubbed 'greed' amongst bankers. Many have commented that this was more an observation of human frailty than a clear cut analysis of what ailed the economy. So, perhaps the reason why the Occupy Movement fizzled out was that it lacked a coherent understanding of what it wanted to change.
Recently, I have been reading Richard Hofstadter's seminal study on Populism in America, 'The Age of Reform'. When I say Populism I don't refer to populism as an opportunistic appeal to popular support. Rather, Populism between 1890 and 1930 was a significant third party movement in the United States with socialist and agrarian undertones. It led to some electoral surprises in some states but ultimately, its main contender William Jennings Bryan was defeated in the presidential elections of 1896.
What does this have to do with the Occupy Movement? Hofstadter's account is fascinating because it charts the diverse origins of the Populist movement and its highly incoherent ideology. It was a manifestation of protest against the status quo, but never achieved any ideological coherence or consistent electoral strategy. In effect, its diversity of themes was probably one reason for its temporary local success, bringing together discontented farmers as well as more dubious figures of public life with anti-semitic tendencies. Yet, what united them all was a yearning for a glorious past and the railing against an 'out of control' finance system that punished ordinary folk by keeping inflation low (the discussion was mainly around the Gold Standard and so-called Bi-metalism).
There is no doubt that there was serious hardship in the United States at the turn of the century. The longing for a harmonious past however where the finance sector is doing the bidding of the economy and greed as a human trait is morally castigated charts a significant parallel between the Populist doctrine and the Occupy Movement.
The most interesting parallel however is the inconsequentialism of either in the long term. The main reason seems to lie in the fact that neither movement managed to undertake a serious analysis of the capitalist system. The Populist pamphlets of the early 1900s read just like some declarations of the Occupy Movement: like a rag bag of moral invectives and disenchantment. The moral tone of both movements is strikingly different to the hard headed Marxist analysis of the capitalist system. Marx's capitalist contributes to the rise of the working class by ruthless exploitation, hence his actions are justified through fulfilling his destiny in the unfolding history of class war.
For the Occupy Movement, just like for the Populist Movement at the end of the 19th century, what was the core of evil was usury or greed, themes that were often laced with anti-semitic rhetoric. As a movement, Populism and Occupy may never have had great chances of success although it certainly galvanised many people who sympathised with its (fuzzy) aims. As an analysis of the weaknesses of capitalism however, both miserably failed and it's this weakness that contributed to the lack of significant reforms of the financial system. It seems we are all the poorer for it.
Labels: Occupy London, Occupy Movement, Populism, USA, William Jennings Bryan


text:
La La Land review: Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone star in this giddy, joyous tale of young love in the big city
By: Melissa York
The unanimous backslap that greeted La La Land at the Golden Globes last week has only reinforced the idea that Hollywood is head-over-heels, all-weekend-in-bed, marriage-and-babies in love with itself.
And why not when it can churn out hits like this. La La Land is entirely deserving of its praise, and so much more than a love letter to Los Angeles. There are no long shots of Venice beach, not one frame featuring the Hollywood sign, and the cast spend more time in traffic than they do gazing at the skyline.
It's really the story of a big city – any big city – and the dreamers who flock to them in search of fame and fortune. It's a universal dance most of us undertake when we're young and full of possibility, caught between fantasy and reality, what our lives could be versus what they actually are.
Our spirit guides are Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling as Mia, a barista/actress, and Sebastian, a jobbing musician who dreams of owning a jazz bar. Neither is a natural singer or dancer, but they're also good enough that it's never a distraction.
What they lack in musicality they make up for in chemistry, first seen fizzing away in Crazy Stupid Love, bubbling over in Gangster Squad and positively effervescing in La La Land. They meet in a traffic jam in a cheese fest of an opening scene that sees drivers dancing on top of their cars on the freeway, which is best taken in knowing jest.
Whiplash director Damien Chazelle (who also wrote La La Land's excellent script) does well to ground the rest of the film in Mia and Seb's relationship, although he isn't immune to a spot of whimsy; one scene has the pair dancing among the stars – as in the super-heavy balls of space-gas – in the night sky.
But these moments are tempered with just enough self-awareness to make them bearable to even the most hardened cynic. Its constant homages to classic cinema – singing through film sets, dance numbers in swimming pools – are sure to charm the popcorn off any cinephile.
"Here's to the ones who dream", sings Stone. And here's to La La Land, a modern classic in the making.
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The best shows to see at Vault Festival, London's answer to the Edinburgh Fringe
LONDON FESTIVAL
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Sound Of The Underground review: Travis Alabanza's Royal Court drag play is a meta triumph
NEW THEATRE
Minecraft makeover: This is what Sadiq Khan looks like with a perfectly square head
Sam Mendes' Empire of Light lacks a compelling story
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pan sexual
Till film review: America's shameful history retold elegantly from perspective of Black victims


He achieved a lot, but he could have achieved much more.
On the 1st of March, 1995 a brilliant TV journalist and anchorman Vladislav Listyev was murdered on the staircase of his house. The contractors and the killers have not been found, however his death is directly connected with TV commercials policy. Vladislav Listyev became famous as an anchorman of TV shows Russian audience have never seen before. Everybody trusted him, everybody loved him, it could not be the other way. "Vlad had the personality of a future man", says Leonid Yarmolnik.
The story of television in the 80s and 90s, Vladislav's role in creation of new television, dramatic twists in his life are told by his colleagues and friends: Konstantin Ernst, Vladimir Pozner, Anatoly Lysenko, Dmitriy Zakharov, Alexander Politkovskiy, Leonid Parfenov, Eduard Salagaev, Yuriy Nikilaev, Leonid Yermolnik, Igor Ugolnikov, Leonid Yakubovich, Vladislav Pelsh, Igor Kirilov, Albina Nazimova the widow;featuring the former president of USSR Mikhail Gorbachev.


text:
Category: Puerto Rico
America's rain forest
Filed under: Caribbean, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, U.S. — 1 Comment
Road ascending into clouds
Seen from the sea, El Yunque Mountain peaks at a modest 3,500 feet, but its slopes are still an imposing knot on the horizon. It's the focal point of El Yunque National Forest, the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. National Forest system. The park is less than 40 miles from the past day's visit to downtown San Juan, and the drive takes just over an hour.
The name of this place has changed so many times that you're to be forgiven if you've not heard of it before. King Alfonso XII made it a Spanish forest preserve in 1876, and it became America's Luquillo National Forest in 1906. It was renamed Caribbean National Forest in 1935 and the El Yunque National Forest in 2007.
View from observation tower
Here Atlantic trade winds smack into the mountains to produce almost 250 inches of annual rainfall and a constant shroud of clouds.
Without a distinct wet or dry season and with constant temperature and daylight, the growing season is year-round and the bio-diversity is incredible.
Waterfalls abound
On this day a misty fog hangs heavily enough in the air to dampen clothing, and the 70-degree temperature feels much chillier in the stiff mountain breeze.
Yokahu Tower lookout
Visitors can survey four different vegetation zones within the park from 6 different trail segments. There's also a walkway 60 feet above the ground at the El Portal Rain Forest Center – located about 4 kilometers inside the forest – that allows for a treetop view.
Rain forest canopy
There are also two lookout towers – El Yokahu at around Kilometer 9 and El Britton at around Kilometer 15 – that afford great views.
Rainfall returns to the sea
Anyone who's come face to face with a bear will be relieved to know that no large wildlife inhabits the park, but small game is abundant, including species unique to this spot like the Puerto Rican Amazon parrot (Amazona vittata). Its wild population had shrunk to only 30 birds until it was introduced into other local forests in 2006.
The Jurassic forest
Among the forest's four vegetation zones, the bosque enano… the dwarf forest… is unique to Puerto Rico, and sits at around 3,000 feet. Their growth stunted by shade of the rainforest canopy and incessant winds, tree trunks are widened and branches have fewer leaves.
Twenty-three species of the forest's trees occur nowhere else on the planet.
Mountains in the mist
Most species of coqui, small frogs native to the island which have endeared themselves to Puerto Ricans, are found here in abundance. These tree-dwellers have no webbed feet and hatch their young out of water not as tadpoles, but as fully-formed frogs!
El Yunque's 3,500 foot elevation may seem modest, but the ascent to the peak from just above the Yohaku Tower rises 1,500 feet over just under three kilometers. Bring a poncho!
See related posts on my trips to:
Mt. Rainier National Park
Channel Islands National Park
Tags: Amazona Vvttata, bosque enano, Caribbean National Forest, coqui, dwarf forest, el yunque national forest, Luquillo forest, puerto rico rain forest, puerto rico tourism
San Juan P.R., USA
Filed under: Caribbean, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, U.S. — 3 Comments
North coast, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Travel to San Juan by sea at least once because no other view can compare.
Here in the same time zone as Nova Scotia and Bermuda the sun rises early and as dawn breaks the island's highest peaks rise out of a lush emerald carpet and thrust through the layer of clouds.
Castillo del Morro, San Juan, Puerto Rico
The whole thing seems to float on the ocean like a mirage, slowly filling the horizon as it draws nearer.
Harbor, San Juan, Puerto Rico
The ship almost completely circles the city before docking in the harbor on the inside of the peninsula.
The course delivers a 360 degree view of the city's signature trio of castles – Castillo San d Cristóbal, Castillo San Felipe del Morro, and Fortín San Juan de la Cruz ("El Cañuelo") – which anchor the city's shoreline.
The Spaniards began building the castles in 1539, less than 50 years after Columbus claimed the island for them on his second voyage.
They left only after the Spanish-American war evicted them from the hemisphere over 400 years later.
San Juan was so heavily fortified for good reason. Its great harbor sat astride the entrance to the Caribbean and it was the last stop made by the Spanish King's treasure ships before the Atlantic crossing. It was justifiably known as the "Gibraltar of the Caribbean".
There's more castle to see here for any but the most ardent military buff.
Castillo del Morro won out as my one-castle only pick and I wasn't disappointed.
There's a 20th century scale to this serpentine conglomeration of gun emplacement and turret and overlooks.
Think "Maginot Line." The walls look thick enough to resist an atomic blast.
Hotel El Convento, San Juan, Puerto Rico
When not bunking on a cruise ship I stay at the Hotel El Convento. It's centrally located in Old San Juan, most of which is within walking distance and some of which goes up and down the hill on which the city sits.
El Convento occupies a building inaugurated as a Carmelite convent in 1651 and sits directly across from the Western Hemisphere's oldest cathedral. Coffee in its cloistered courtyard is a great way to start every day.
Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
The architecture of the shops and homes of Old San Juan are very reminiscent of Spanish New Orleans.
It has a different feeling here, with landscape views of sea and coast and fresh ocean breezes only blocks away from just about any spot .
Side streets narrow until there's no way to travel them except on foot.
Plenty of street scene photos await here.
There's no lack of good restaurants in the old city, but my favorite for authentic Puerto Rican food is a short cab ride to the Condado district.
The dining room of Restaurante Ajili-Mojili feels like the verandah of a tropical plantation house.
Nothing on the menu has ever disappointed, but I enjoy and heartily recommend the asopaos – a bisque with rice and chicken, shrimp, seafood, or lobster – almost as much as the mofongos. A Puerto Rican original, the mofongo is fried dough made of mashed green plantains, garlic and pork rinds and stuffed with shrimp, seafood, lobster, veal, chicken or beef.
Condada, San Juan, Puerto Rico
You'll need to walk this meal off, and there's no better place thanthe Condado neighborhood, which affords an opportunity to see some great deco architecture in a tropical setting that evokes Miami Beach, but is a lot more intimate.
Condado, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is home to the distillers of more than a dozen national brands of rum among which the most well-known is Bacardi. I've seen enough rum distilleries elsewhere to pass on a tour here, but if you haven't yet had the pleasure this is a good place to seek one out.
From San Juan the plan is to make a day trip to the El Yunque National Forest, which bills itself as "the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. National Forest system". Watch for it in my next Americana post!
Tags: Castillo San Felipe del Morro San Juan Puerto Rico, Hotel El Convento Old San Juan Puerto Rico, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, Restaurante Ajili-Mojili San Juan Puerto Rico, Tour San Juan


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Multitasking is a fad that the corporate world wants to see in their employees. But research has proven that multitasking is only a myth that people cannot accomplish effectively. As Productivity Ninjas know, the human brain is simply not made for multitasking and can process only one task at a time. So, what are the ways in which you can avoid multitasking and follow a structured approach to managing your work?
Based on the way you manage your time, you can either be a delayer, a perfectionist or an unfocused type of person. If you are a delayer, you are one of those who love to delay important tasks due to a variety of reasons – basically a procrastinator. As a perfectionist, you are obsessed with being perfect in everything you do, and you never finish a task until you believe it is just right. Finally, as an unfocused character, you are easily distracted by numerous tasks that give you immediate gratification. If you feel that you are one of these personality types, then you need to recognize the signs and learn how to change your behavior and beat bad habits.
There are numerous productivity tools available to assist you in applying a structured technique to your working habits. Evernote is an app that you can download onto an iOS, Android or Windows platform. It can help you create tasks and set reminders which can be ticked off once you have completed the task. Similarly, OneNote is another productivity tool that helps you manage your tasks effectively. For example, if you have attended a meeting, you can write the minutes of the meeting and use OneNote to mark out tasks and deadlines for a particular project. OneNote has an interface with Microsoft Outlook which makes it easier to tick off the tasks that you have completed.
Our Productivity Ninjas have tested various other Productivity Apps which might help you keep your focus on one thing only. You can view those reviews, here.
Keeping track of the time you spend on your tasks helps you to identify the tasks on which you dedicate more or less time to. If you combine this with the Eisenhower Matrix, you have a powerful tool to help you avoid multitasking and allows you to focus on one task at a time. Review how much time you spend on what and get a clearer picture of where you need to improve and where you're potentially wasting time. We can also help you identify this and find solutions in one of our Time Management Workshops.
Recommended by entrepreneur Steve Olenski, this rule states that if you have a small window of opportunity of two minutes or less to complete a very simple task, then you should do it immediately. Rather than having it earmarked for a later date, doing it immediately will take much less time and you can become more productive.
We often talk about this in our Email Training, to avoid your inbox from overfilling, but this obviously also applies to other aspects of your work.
The ability to say no is crucial, especially if you must attend meetings. Whilst some can be important, others are only a waste of time and represent the most unproductive part of your work schedule. When you are tempted to accept a meeting, pause and consider if it is worth dedicating time to. If you can accomplish the same objective via email or chat, then you will become more productive.
A good indication of a useless meeting is if you find yourself sat in a meeting checking your emails or doing something completely different – therefore spending more time multitasking than actually listening and contributing to the meetings. So, next time just politely decline the invitation and concentrate on another task instead. If your team seems to have lots of useless meetings and you're really struggling to make your meetings more productive, you should have a look at our Facilitation Training.
Jenny is one of Think Productive's great Freelance Writers.


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Filter by: All All genres ActionAdventureCrimeMysteryThriller movies where Robert Downey Jr starred in:
The Avengers (2012)
Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi,
Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson,
Restoration (1995)
In a world of seduction and power, temptation has its price.
Biography, Drama, History, Romance,
Robert Downey Jr., Sam Neill, David Thewlis, Polly Walker, Meg Ryan,
Prepare for a heavy metal!
Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall,
The Judge (2014)
Robert Downey Jr., Vera Farmiga, Leighton Meester, Vincent D'Onofrio, Melissa Leo,
The Outsider (2005)
If you haven't been inside... you've only seen half the picture.
Documentary,
Woody Allen, Robert Downey Jr., Neve Campbell, James Toback, Harvey Keitel,
A new age begins
Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller,
Linda Cardellini, Hayley Atwell, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth,


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Revisiting the 2009 Class Needs: Offense
By: Chris Horne | July 17, 2008
The Virginia Tech staff wasn't expected to emphasize the offensive side of the ball as heavily as the defensive side in recruiting this 2009 class, and that opinion hasn't changed as we head into preseason practice. Still, there are some areas that can be addressed and some interesting situations to monitor from here on out.
Of Tech's seven commitments, two – Bassett offensive lineman Andrew Miller and Pulaski County athlete Nubian Peak – project to play offense. Quarterback remains the biggest position of need in my view, but there is a chance the staff doesn't sign any signal callers in this class if they miss out on Kevin Newsome.
Here is the latest breakdown of offensive needs, by position…
2009 Projected Roster
Juniors (1): Tyrod Taylor
Sophomores/Red-shirt Freshmen (2): Joseph "Ju-Ju" Clayton, Marcus Davis (?)
Since our first piece, there has been some shuffling in terms of the 2009 projected roster. Clayton will enroll next month, which should be a positive in terms of getting him to learn the system and being more prepared to be a back-up to Taylor in 2009. It looks like Davis likely will play the 2008 season at wide receiver, though I have to think he will move back to quarterback for 2009 considering the lack of depth…unless of course Tech is able to land a Kevin Newsome in this class.
Originally, it looked like Virginia Tech could take as many as three potential quarterbacks in this class with Quintin Hunter, Kevin Newsome and Bryn Renner being very real possibilities earlier this spring. Hunter, who was being recruited more as an athlete than a quarterback, committed to Virginia. Newsome committed to Michigan and Renner, in what was a bit of a surprise, chose UNC. A fourth top target, Phoebus' Tajh Boyd, committed early on to West Virginia.
At this time, there looks like a real possibility that the staff may not sign any quarterbacks in this class. Both senior camps have come and gone without even a new grey-shirt offer being extended to a quarterback. Whether


From Barack Obama wearing the same suits in order to reduce decision fatigue to Jeff Bezos ensuring eight hours sleep each night, being strategic about your wellbeing and productivity is a must for leaders and entrepreneurs. Read on as we uncover the habits of Harley Therapy founder and psychotherapist Dr Sheri Jacobson.
After I hit 40, I realised I needed to look after my internal organs. So I started the gym - strength conditioning for my bones and cardio for my heart. The link between mental health and exercise is well documented. Not everyone should wait until they are 40 however!
I was inspired to start rollerblading after my young daughter and I noticed a rollerblading group in Hyde Park. We now skate with them every Sunday and it ticks so many wellbeing boxes for me. As well as being a great workout, I love the social connection and time in nature. We know from 2016 report 'A review of nature-based interventions for mental health care' commissioned by Natural England that taking part in nature-based activities helps in the reduction of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms.
Weekly psychotherapy is the pinnacle of my wellbeing routine. Having someone who is present, impartial and knowledgeable about me helps me to be productive and resilient. In the same way I visit a personal trainer for my physical health, for me visiting a trained therapist is vital to my mental health and achieving my goals in work and life.
I grew up in a health-conscious family and I eat a plant based diet. I avoid refined foods and the so called 'three white devils' - sugar, milk and flour.
I try to be mindful in everything I do. That means I am as present in a business meeting as I am reading before bed. Mindfulness is a great way to gain presence.
I live a strategic life, keeping domestic decisions to a minimum through simplifying choices around things like food and clothing. I'm also an advocate of remote working, leveraging tools including Zoom and Slack to keep in touch with my team. We have a team Zoom conference at 10am each day which is a great way to check in with everyone and disseminate and receive information.


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$60K worth of meth found hidden inside child booster seats
By Daniel Miller
Updated 11:39AM
Border Patrol found $60,000 worth of methamphetamine stashed inside child booster seats. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
MURRIETA, California - A startling discovery was made by Border Patrol agents when they found $60,000 worth of methamphetamine stashed inside child booster seats.
Border agents stopped a vehicle with two adults and their children inside near the Newton Azrak Border Patrol Station checkpoint in Murrieta, California on June 15. A K9 officer sniffed out the meth in the children's three booster seats, according to a release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Several meth packages were found in the booster seats, and authorities said the driver of the vehicle was in possession of over 26 pounds of meth with a value of $60,000.
RELATED: Border Patrol seizes $18M of meth in single bust on Mexican truck driver entering Texas
"Our agents continue to work around the clock to protect our communities," said Aaron M. Heitke, Chief Patrol Agent at the San Diego Sector. "Drug smugglers will use any means necessary to get their poison onto our streets. Nothing is sacred to them, not even family."
The driver, identified as a U.S. citizen, was arrested by agents and the mother and children were released.
Last month, border patrol agents seized $18 million worth of methamphetamine being smuggled into Laredo, Texas, from Mexico in a semi-trailer truck.
FOX 6 Milwaukee contributed to this story. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.


text:
package jp.opap.material.facade

import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream
import javax.imageio.ImageIO

import jp.opap.material.model.ComponentEntry.FileEntry
import jp.opap.material.model.Thumbnail
import org.apache.http.client.fluent.Request
import org.apache.http.entity.ContentType
import org.apache.http.entity.mime.MultipartEntityBuilder

trait MediaConverter {
  def shouldDispatch(file: FileEntry): Boolean
  def convert(original: FileEntry, data: Array[Byte]): (Thumbnail, Array[Byte])
}

object MediaConverter {
  class ImageConverter(val resize: IResize) extends MediaConverter {
    override def shouldDispatch(file: FileEntry): Boolean = {
      List(".ai", ".jpg", ".jpeg", ".pdf", ".png", ".psd")
        .exists(extension => file.name.toLowerCase.endsWith(extension))
    }

    override def convert(original: FileEntry, data: Array[Byte]):  (Thumbnail, Array[Byte]) = {
      val converted = resize.resize(original, data, 290, 290)
      val bi = ImageIO.read(new ByteArrayInputStream(converted))
      (Thumbnail(original.blobId, bi.getWidth, bi.getHeight), converted)
    }
  }

  trait IResize {
    def resize(original: FileEntry, data: Array[Byte], width: Int, height: Int): Array[Byte]
  }

  class RestResize(val host: String) extends IResize {
    def ping(): String = {
      Request.Get(host + "/ping")
        .connectTimeout(1000)
        .execute()
        .returnContent()
        .asString()
    }

    override def resize(original: FileEntry, data: Array[Byte], width: Int, height: Int): Array[Byte] = {
      val entity = MultipartEntityBuilder.create()
        .addTextBody("width", width.toString, ContentType.TEXT_PLAIN)
        .addTextBody("height", height.toString, ContentType.TEXT_PLAIN)
        .addBinaryBody("data", data, ContentType.MULTIPART_FORM_DATA, original.name)
        .build()
      Request.Post(host + "/resize")
        .body(entity)
        .execute()
        .returnContent()
        .asBytes()
    }
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Home Business News Economy and Trade
US takes steps to clear Myanmar company blacklist
Macroeconomics and Risk
by Arno Maierbrugger - Aug 15, 2014
The US has been telling Myanmar companies it once designated as cronies of Myanmar's former military junta that now may be the time to get off the trade blacklist. The effort highlights just how much of Myanmar's economy remains under sanctions and the challenge for companies seeking to wade into the new terrain.
State Department officials met with blacklisted businessmen in Yangon at the end of June to encourage them to apply to have their names cleared, if they were prepared to show their commitment to Myanmar's democratic transition, officials said. To be granted the delisting, companies would need to demonstrate that they are taking steps to sever their ties to Myanmar's military and prove they are not committing human rights abuses.
"We wanted to make it clear, if they are prepared to take these steps, there is a path forward," a State Department official said.
The effort is part of a broader outreach to the business community in Myanmar that will include a visit next month by the State Department's assistant secretary of economic and business affairs Charles H. Rivkin to meet US companies in Yangon.
The outreach highlights the challenge for companies seeking fresh opportunities that opened in Myanmar after the US began lifting a near total ban on new business in the country in 2012. Companies such as Coca-Cola Co.and Western Union have already made investments in the country.
But despite the sanctions easing, many of the potential partners in the country remain on the US blacklist, known as Specially Designated Nationals (SDN), making any deals a huge compliance challenge. There are currently around 120 Myanmar companies and individuals on the blacklist, according to US Treasury records. The US Treasury Department blacklists Myanmar companies because of alleged ties to the generals who ruled the country until 2011, when a civilian government was established.
But decades of military rule mean much of the economy is still controlled by companies with deep military ties, experts say.
"Most of the big economic players in the country are still designated," said Erich Ferrari, an attorney who specialises in sanctions.
That issue was demonstrated in a separate US visit to Myanmar by Secretary of State John Kerry last week, when his delegation stayed in a hotel owned by a businessman on the blacklist, the Wall Street Journal reported. The State Department's stay was organised by Myanmar's foreign government, and a hotel stay doesn't violate US sanctions. But the situation illustrated the challenge of doing business in a country still under sanction.
"Japanese and Chinese companies have been emboldened to go in and make deals," Ferrari said. "But US companies worry that any deal is going to touch on an SDN."
Myanmar companies that do apply for delisting from the US Department of Treasury will likely have to wait for years, said Ferrari, who represents firms seeking to get off the blacklist.
And for companies probing business deals in Myanmar, it's unclear whether the current easing of sanctions will last. The US is already coming under criticism from human rights groups and some lawmakers who allege that Myanmar's military continues to commit atrocities, and is blocking opposition leader of Aung San Suu Kyi from running for presidency.
"The SDN list is being used as an undeserved carrot for [Myanmar's military] and its cronies on the SDN list," said Simon Billenness, interim executive director of "US Campaign for Burma".
The US has been telling Myanmar companies it once designated as cronies of Myanmar's former military junta that now may be the time to get off the trade blacklist. The effort highlights just how much of Myanmar's economy remains under sanctions and the challenge for companies seeking to wade into the new terrain. State Department officials met with blacklisted businessmen in Yangon at the end of June to encourage them to apply to have their names cleared, if they were prepared to show their commitment to Myanmar's democratic transition, officials said. To be granted the delisting, companies would need to...
blacklisted businessmen
Diplomatic Relations
US Treasury Department
Malaysia grows 6.4% in second quarter, tops forecasts
Toyota sees Philippine car market expanding to 300,000 units by 2015
Indonesia declares "North Natuna Sea" - China: "Totally meaningless"


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Son of a Pitch these Best Friends are Really Elevating the Pickup Soccer Game!
Originality, friendship, and hustle are what make Court and Wedge the key to running an organization that unites everyone around a passion for soccer
Atlanta wasn't in our original travel plans when we hit the road for a three week OpenSports road trip/promotional tour through the US, but a spontaneous decision to take a 6 hour Greyhound ride from Charlotte to ATL ended up more than satisfying our desire to meet a cool soccer organization. We got to kick it with best friends with original personalities and global plans.
Like many sports group organizers, protective of the organization they have carefully built over the years, Court, Wedge, and Alex, founders of Sons of Pitches FC (SOPFC), Atlanta's largest intown league/pickup/tournament soccer club, were originally apprehensive when we reached out to them to tell them about OpenSports. We hoped that they would consider switching from Meetup to OpenSports to manage their huge group and daily pickup soccer games, and to our dismay, we never heard back. But after hearing about us from Tim, founder of CASA Soccer in Philadelphia, they knew we were the real deal, reached back out to us, and we've had a burgeoning relationship since.
Kickin' it in Atlanta
We finally met Court and Wedge at a tavern called Argosy on a colourful, trendy street in East Atlanta Village. Their excitement to meet was immediately apparent, and was reciprocated by us. Their laid back, social, and amicable dispositions put us at ease —after being on the road for a few weeks, we got to spend some quality time with best buddies who shared a special bond with each other, a friendship that was, as described by Wedge, "Love at first sight!"
They were curious about our trip, what our learnings were so far, and what was the most surprising thing that we saw an organizer do, to which we answered: the pickleback shots in NYC, and the Waitlist experience in Philly. After some unfiltered and genuinely authentic group chatter about morning footy, morning raves, and underage drinking experiences, Court started handing us what seemed like their entire spring collection of SOPFC T-shirts and tank tops (I haven't stopped rocking these in Toronto, guys!)!!
Their pride oozed out as their t-shirt sharing was complimented with a bit more background on the history and growth of SOPFC, which they are now both managing full-time, with the help of a new addition to their staff, Zach, and a group of dedicated league coordinators and event managers. We were all ears as they recalled one of their classic rooftop soccer tournaments which brought in players from as far as 4 hours away, and described the nuances in the psychology behind running big pickup events whereby you need to achieve "critical mass" for the event to happen. While growing their pickup events and their leagues, they have experimented with several different field set ups, and we were excited to head off to our first actual SOPFC pickup soccer match to actually experience the entire event!
Game Time: The Young, The Old, The Students, The Hollywood Actors
As day turned into night, we saw a vibrant mix of the Young, the Old, the Students and even the Hollywood actor — SOPFC Pickup is truly for everyone!!
On field, I took note of something I have never really seen: Kids playing with adults. When I asked Wedge how old one young boy was, Wedge seemed sad to learn that this kind of age integration isn't common place everywhere. To him, this integration of demographics is what makes pickup so special and fun, and was an important part of the pickup culture when he was growing up in South America.
Wedge and Court kindly offered to drive us home. Sitting between James and I in the back seat was "Quezz," a 19 year old high school student who Wedge mentored through the SOPFC mentorship program which brings soccer coaches to public high schools and also hires some of the high school students to ref the games and become pickup event managers. The "club model" that Wedge and Court mentioned they were striving toward earlier in the evening, a model whereby their organization is so much more than just soccer and more about community fusion, was becoming more clear as we saw the different pieces of SOPFC coming together that evening.
Record Breaking Leaders
As connected as Court and Wedge seemed to be to us and to OpenSports, they hadn't even created a Group or an event yet! They hadn't even updated their app for that matter! They simply liked us a lot and trusted us, which they conveyed over emails and phone calls prior to this trip, and which became very evident in person. As we said goodbye, they made very clear that they were really hoping to see us the next night at their pickup game.
Barely even able to digest how awesome of an evening we just had, James received a text from Court at 5:41am the next morning:
"I want to confirm ya'll can make it to Maynard Jackson HS for pickup tonight 8–10:30pm. I'm going to run a test using OpenSports for tonight's sessions and let people know they cam meet the founders and give feedback:)" — Court
Unbelievable! SOPFC's first game had 62 attendees!
Thanks to the loud bird songs outside of our park-side Victorian Airbnb in Atlanta, James was awoken just in time to respond saying, "That's a great idea!" They quickly made their SOPFC Group on OpenSports and asked a bunch of questions, the most shocking of which was, "How do we make the maximum number of attendees 72?" James burst out laughing. Seventy-two!? For a pickup game!?
"Lead, Follow, or Get the f**k out of the way"
— Wedge's soccer mentor
Throughout the day, James and I triumphantly observed as their attendees list filled up, eventually reaching 62 players by 8pm. The $1 promotion was such a brilliant marketing idea from SOPFC — a sure way to get players to join the game through the app. Upon arrival at the field that evening, Court presented James and I with two name tags that he handmade himself! These guys seemed to move so quickly with their decisions, and we were grateful to be caught in their never-ending stream of creativity and ideas. They are the types of leaders that we need on board and that we aspire to be like.
Rocking our handmade name tags & playing under the beautiful lights!
All 62 soccer players were anxious to get on the field after a 45 minute delay, but Wedge still took the time to corral the crowd and introduce us, thank us for coming, and announce that they would be using OpenSports instead of Meetup from now on. In a highly organized fashion, Wedge and a few co-organizers quickly set up the massive pitch, used the electronic OpenSports check-in system to distribute pinnies to paid players, and before long, there were three 8v8 games running in parallel, with 2 teams ready to rotate in.
For the second night in a row, I played pickup while James took some pictures, and chatted with the friendly and curious players on the sidelines. More conversations seamlessly flowed, as Court and Wedge shared ideas with James about everything from retrofitting parking lots with turfs, to bringing the concept of rooftop soccer to different countries, to Court's unique sleeping habits, to their solution to their pinny logistics problem: co-branded reversible pinnies. All of this spoke to their originality and willingness to do things differently.
Wedge eventually had to run off to his league game at another field, non-surprisingly, as these guys seemed to always be on the move. Regardless of their tightly packed schedules, they seemed willing to meet us for drinks later that evening, but we had an early flight to California the next morning. We all agreed we would save our Mai Tai's for our next collaborative "Global Tour" — an ongoing joke we referenced several times throughout our fun filled time in Atlanta.
Image 1: Court, James, Alicia, and Wedge. Image 2: Zach, Court, Alicia, James, Wedge
In a moment alone with Court, he endearingly described Wedge as this crazy (innovative) guy who has all of these ideas. Their dynamic, one that could have been from a "bromantic comedy", was so perfectly captured when we were leaving the field on the first night. Wedge pointed out a tiny little meadow of grass in a corner, noting that "It'll be good for tournaments," to which Court, composed but nevertheless very sarcastically replied, "That little field!?!?" while shaking his head and smiling. James and I exchanged smiles, excited to be a part of this celebration of friendship, innovative thinking, and passion about their work.
Collaboratively, there is no doubt their dreams for the future to be in new schools, new districts, new cities, and to service new sports, will come true. Sons of Pitches FC, it has been an absolute pleasure spending time together on and off the pitch. You really surprised us by creating your group while we were in Atlanta and posting a soccer game which would end up breaking the previously held record (in Toronto) for the largest pickup game through OpenSports — all in one day! We are so excited to continue to make history together! 🤗⚽ 🎊🍻
Thank you so much for reading our story:) More stories from our USA road trip are in our OpenSports blog. It's been a pleasure! Email me at alicia@opensports.net for questions and/or just to send us some ❤.
electronic waivers
RSVP for events
waitlist for events


Description: Teresa Culley is a business categorized under business consulting services, not elsewhere classified, which is part of the larger category business consulting services, not elsewhere classified. Teresa Culley is located at the address 405 Hawthorne Place in Auburn, Indiana 46706-1313. The Owner is Teresa Culley who can be contacted at (260)925-5163.
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