Friday 5th April and Team Ards Camera Club travelled to Bangor to support its members who had entries in the 2019 NIPA Novice Competition. The Competition was hosted by Bangor & North Down Camera Club and was well attended in appreciation of the quality images on display from the Novices. Recent years have produced much success for the fledgling photographers from ACC and this year was no exception.
In the Colour Print Section, Claire Russell achieved 2nd Place with 'Yellow Petal Points' and Highly Commended was achieved by Sarah Shaw with 'Armoured Lady' and Edward Graden with 'Spring Tide Ballintoy', in the Mono Print Section, Sean Evans achieved Commended for 'Caroline by Night' and in the PDI Section, Claire Russell was again successful by achieving 3rd Place with 'Playing with Fire'. Congratulations to Claire, Sarah, Sean and Edward who all have worked very hard to reach the standard to compete at the top of competition with the best of the Novices from other clubs and very well done to the other entrants who as the Judges pointed out, had images that were very close to the top ten in each section.
Also, thanks and well done to the Judges, Anita Kirkpatrick, Chelle McGaughey and Darren Brown who provided a good balance of critique and advice for improvement on the images referred to during the evening. As for the travelling members of ACC, they were as 'quiet and understated' as usual, but as always, gave great support and encouragement to their club Novices.
Friday 29th March and Ards Camera Club's Programme of guest presenters concluded with a visit from Ossie Bruce.
Ossie is a much-travelled member of CPA Camera Club and aptly named his presentation 'Home and Away, Out and About'. First on display was a variety of images to introduce his journey into photography and this was followed with others showing aspects of experimentation as Ossie honed his skills. An interesting aspect was the detail of the settings used to achieve the required outcome of the work on display.
Next was a comprehensive selection of images taken to document journeys to the Rockies in Canada, a Club trip to Iceland and a semi working holiday to India. A superb display was presented of the natural beauty of Canada and Iceland together with many images of the social deprivation and work to assist children in India.
Like many photographers, Ossie is a regular visitor to the Annual Photography Show in Birmingham and to give members a flavour of the event he gave a 'photographic' account of aspects of this year's show.
To finish, Ossie returned to Iceland and showed a film recorded on the 'dash cam' of his car as he drove through the snow and ice during his tour of the landscapes that so captivate the many visitors to this beautiful country.
Many thanks to Ossie for such an engaging and comprehensive presentation of his photography that was very much appreciated by everyone.
Friday 22nd February 2019 and Ards Camera Club's Programme continued with the NIPA Round 5 Competition in the theme of Photojournalism. The guest judge was Matthew Canning from BPIC who had the unenviable task of taking on a themed round for his first visit to the Club. A contentious topic given that many suggested that the photographs needed an 'Editorial type Title' to identify the content as being journalistically newsworthy.
Many topics were on display including sport, personalities, music, road traffic accidents, protests, air land and sea rescues, documentary, environmental, street disorder, firework displays and of course the Bank Buildings going up in flames. Quite a task for Matthew to pass comment on those he deemed not applicable and pass judgment on those he deemed to have fulfilled the requirements of Photojournalism.
Those members who had images placed were Richard Cowan, Marlene Hazelhurst, Linda Hutchinson, Patricia Mackey, Keith Malcolm, Robert McKeown, Adam Middleton, Neal Ritchie, Claire Russell, Sarah Shaw, Liz Tullett and David Williamson. Adjudication of Round 5 will take place at CPA Camera Club on Saturday 27th March 2019.
Many thanks to Matthew who gave a comprehensive critique on each image that was both encouraging and advisory to the authors. Thanks also to Competition Secretary David Williamson for all his hard work and well done to everyone who entered the Competition and especially well done to those members who were successful in having their images placed.
Friday 15th February and due to a rearrangement of the scheduled event in our programme, Robert Sergant of CPA kindly offered his services to provide a presentation of Light Painting.
An overview of the basics that included an explanation of the methodology, information on the mainly 'homemade' equipment and various images of the intended outcome was followed with a practical session when various aspects were attempted, notwithstanding the limitations of the low ceiling height of the premises. With the assembled partaking members lined up, tripods and cameras at the ready, the fun commenced with the attempted photography of many creations involving light wands, a cycle wheel adorned with LED lights, spinning globes, illuminated plexiglass paddles, electroluminescent wire and of course the various volunteered models. Many great images were produced and a lot of fun was had by this very entertaining genre of photography.
Very many thanks to Robert who put a lot of thought and physical effort into providing the Club with such an enjoyable and entertaining evening and 'enlightening' everyone on the endless possibilities to pursue in this aspect of photography.
Friday 8th February was a very special night in the Club's Programme. The date coincided with the annual presentation (or lecture as he would prefer to call it) and the 95th Birthday of our acclaimed member Sinclair Adair. A night to celebrate his Birthday and be entertained with his inimitable Audio-Visual delights.
David S Adair (Sinclair) ARPS, AFIAP, AIPF, APAGB, PSA to give him his full title was born this day in 1924. His interest in photography commenced circa 1950 when he started helping part time in the photographic section of a chemist/photographic shop on the Shankill Road, Belfast. The work 'developed' until he was running the photography side of the shop and his ultimate buy-out led to him opening his own business circa 1965, aptly named the 'Foto Studio'. Meanwhile, Sinclair was avidly pursuing his photography and in 1963 achieved AFIAP and in 1965 ARPS. In subsequent years he also achieved AIPF, APAGB and PSA. Sinclair liked to compete and during the 1960s and 70s achieved much success and acclaim in International Salons. At club level his services were much in demand as a judge and lecturer and he was frequently consulted and subcontracted by some of the leading professional photographers of the day for his renowned dark room skills.
In the mid 1970s, the 'troubles' forced the closure of his studio and Sinclair relocated to live in Bangor where he continued his photography and fast developing interest in Audio Visuals (AVs), first at Bangor Camera Club and subsequently at Ards Camera Club. During his first ten years at Ards Camera Club he ran a beginner's class and tutored many who are still members and are now passing on their knowledge and experience to others. The arrival of the digital age opened a new chapter in Sinclair's photography as he applied the new technology to his creative imagination and dark room wizardry to produce AVs which gave him competitive success and provided much laughter, entertainment and inspiration to all who watched them. Now at the age of 95 Sinclair is still an active club member and supporter of NIPA events.
Always one of the highlights of our year is the presentation of Sinclair's AVs and this was no exception, with many yet unseen masterpieces on display with a few slightly adjusted repeats included for good measure. As usual, there was a mix of topics covered including the usual idiosyncratic look at Royalty, Religion, Country and Western, USA, Character Doubles, Fruit and Veg Portraiture, Trains Across London and Journeys Through the Cosmos.
There was a break during the presentation to let the membership catch its breath and celebrate with the obligatory Birthday Cake that such an occasion demands. The Chair outlined Sinclair's career, mostly as previously noted, and expressed the Club's Best Wishes as he celebrated his Birthday.
A big thank you to Sinclair, his unique style provided a night of much mirth, the usual humorous exchanges with the audience and above all, entertainment and inspiration that was appreciated by everyone.
Wednesday 23rd January 2019 and Ards Camera Club's Programme continued with the NIPA Round 4 Open Category Competition. The guest judge was Darren Brown from Bangor and North Down Camera Club, accompanied by his curly haired minders.
As usual with an open round of competition there was a great diversity of topics including Landscape, Sport, Portraiture, Drone, Nature and a new topic for the club with the inclusion of some Infrared. The standard as expected was very high, especially from the General Section where some members are now producing excellent work that is frequently being successful in competition. Those members who had images placed were Richard Cowan, Robert Graham, Marlene Hazelhurst, Sian Kerr, Keith Malcolm, Ted McKee, Ryan Patterson, Brian Powell, Claire Russell, Sarah Shaw and David Williamson. Images from the members whose names are highlighted will go forward to The NIPA Round 4 Adjudication at Enniskillen Camera Club on Saturday 2nd March 2019.
Many thanks to Darren who gave a comprehensive critique on each image, including many encouraging and constructive words of advice. The usual exchanges with the membership who always express much wit and wisdom on such occasions was well controlled by Darren who was also appreciative of the abundance of dog minding attention given to his entourage. Thanks also to Competition Secretary David Williamson who collects in and organises all the entries for display. Well done to everyone who entered the competition and especially well done to those members who had images placed.
Friday 25th January 2019 and Ards Camera Club facilitated NIPA for the Round 3 Adjudication on the theme of Book and Song Titles. There was a large attendance at the Londonderry Pavilion with all seats taken and many standing, to see the varied and very creative entries for this round of competition. A very interesting theme and a challenge for the judges to consider the technical quality of the images in conjunction with the assigned titles. Well done to all the successful authors from the many participating clubs.
At the conclusion of this NIPA Round 3 Competition, Ards Camera Club is still in overall Third Place, just half a point behind Christian Brothers Camera Club in Second Place.
Many thanks to the Ards Club members who helped to transport and erect the display stands and for the help to provide refreshments during the interval.
Friday 18th January 2019 and Ards Camera Club's Programme continued with a visit from Hibernia Landscapes by Stephen Wallace. Hibernia is the 'old' name for the Island of Ireland and although most of the images on display were landscapes from our very picturesque Island, there were also images from a recent visit to the Faroe Islands. In a move from the traditional landscape orientation, most of the images on view were in portrait orientation which made for a very interesting perspective on the land, sea and sky that surrounds us.
Images from the North Antrim coast, the Wild Atlantic Way, Rathlin Island, and the Faroe Islands provided the source for most of the coastal seascapes, while Donegal, Lough Neagh, the six Ulster Counties and especially the Mourne Mountains provided the source for the inland landscapes. Stephen provided an explanation of the 'where, when and how' for the creation of each image together with details on how he plans for each photographic trip. There were references to maps and various phone apps to ensure that the light generated by sunrise or sunset was directed where required to achieve the intended illumination of the composition. Such was the quality of the landscapes captured in the Mourne Mountains that it was no surprise when Stephen displayed an image that had won the public vote for UK Mountain Photograph of the Year 2017.
Many thanks to Stephen Wallace for a most entertaining and informative presentation of seascapes and landscapes that are so prevalent and readily available to be photographed, right on our doorstep.
Friday 4th January 2019 and Ards Camera Club returned to action after the undoubted excesses and hopefully joys of the Festive Season with the NIPA Round 3 Competition in the Theme of Book and Song Titles.
Guest Judge for the event was Brian Maguire from BPIC who had the unenviable task of judging images from a technical photographic viewpoint together with the application of an associated title which may or may not have been immediately obvious. As the evening progressed, it became apparent that there was a very diverse range of litary and music tastes within the membership of the Club. Also, there was some very creative thinking in applying titles to images or images to titles; cryptic, strange, humorous, obvious, devious, amazing, unbelievable, imaginative are some adjectives that spring to mind.
However, following all the oh's, ah's, laughs and much head scratching (and that was only the Judge) decisions were reached and results declared. The following had placings in the various categories on display - Claire Russell, Jacqui Agnew, Keith Malcolm, Linda Hutchinson, Liz Tullett, Marlene Hazelhurst, Martin Conroy, Patricia Mackey, Rusty Adair, Sean Evans, Sian Kerr and Ted McKee. Well done to those successful members, especially Marlene Hazelhurst who had five images placed.
Many thanks are accorded to Brian who both expertly judged the images and kept control of the usual 'occasionally vocal but always very appreciative' audience. Also, many thanks to Competition Secretary David Williamson who had the task of collating all the entries with the added complication of checking the applied titles.
Adjudication of this NIPA Round 3 Competition will take place on Friday 25th January at the Londonderry Pavilion, Portaferry Road, Newtownards with viewing from 7.00pm and commencing at 7.30pm.
Friday 14th December was Christmas Dinner Night for Ards Camera Club at the Chef & Manager Restaurant N'Ards with nothing to report, except that there was great food, 'some' drink, lots of craic as always and a good time was had by all. So, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all who follow the photographic fun at Ards Camera Club.
Friday 7th December and Ards Camera Club hosted the Roy Finlay Memorial Natural History Competition at the Londonderry Pavilion, Newtownards.
Apologies for the late report, but for various reasons, the scribe was unavailable as are still any copies of images to post of the placed entries. However, as always, the quality of the entries was of an excellent standard and there were 84 prints and 145 PDIs on display for this NIPA Competition run by Ards Camera Club. The judge this year was Nigel Snell from Bangor & North Down Camera Club, a previous winner and regular competitor, so well qualified to peruse the entries and select the top images. Also present was Neil Finlay, who on behalf of the family is providing continued support for this Competition in memory of his late Father.
In the Prints Section, Hugh Wilkinson of Catchlight Camera Club had double success with 1st Place for 'Redpolls Squabble' and 2nd Place for 'Robin with Catch'. In 3rd Place was Brendan Hinds of Christian Brothers Camera Club with 'Yellow Spotted Side Necked Turtle'. Highly Commended Certificates were awarded to Ross McKelvey and Brendan Hinds and Commended Certificates to Lionel Mitchell, Vittorio Silvestri and Hugh Wilkinson.
In the PDI Section, 1st Place went to Chris Miller of Merville N'Abbey Photographic Club with 'Cape Fox Cub', 2nd Place to Hugh Wilkinson with 'Redpoll and Coaltit' and 3rd Place to Terry Hanna of Ballynahinch Camera Club with 'Back in a bit'. Highly Commended Certificates were awarded to Vivienne Beck, Brendan Hinds, Brian Larkin, Valerie McKee, Ross McKelvey and Hugh Wilkinson. Commended Certificates were awarded to Aine Carberry, Jonathan Clark, Rosaline Hughes, Brian Larkin, Robert Sergeant and Pamela Wilson.
The accolade of Overall Winner went to Hugh Wilkinson for his print 'Redpolls Squabble' and the trophy of a sculpted glass Goldfinch was presented to him by Neil Finlay.
Irvine Ferguson, Chair of Ards Camera Club, congratulated Hugh Wilkinson and Chris Millar for their 1st Placings, together with the other successful entrants. Also, a vote of thanks was expressed to everyone who had helped in any way in the running of the Roy Finlay Memorial Natural History Competition 2018.
Friday 30th November and Ards Camera Club's Programme of events continued with a further invasion from Bangor. Darren Brown was the guest presenter and as usual, was accompanied by his minders 'the Curly Girls'. Visits to Scotland, along with details on preparing for any trip was on the agenda.
Darren had prepared a programme that covered his many trips to the west side of Scotland and in particular Glencoe and Skye. The vagaries of the Scottish weather provided an interesting perspective, as images of the same or similar places were displayed throughout the various years of Darren's visits.
No sterner critic of his work than Darren himself, as he showed images that he considered not up to his current standards, although many of the club members would have been proud to have produced work of a similar quality. A few of the members have both family and holiday connections with Scotland which created an air of geographical exchange as locations and place names were discussed. There was a varied show of mainly landscapes on display, some instantly recognisable, but many off the beaten track. Also, the more recent visits had a great variety of long exposures, along with some very striking infrared images. Oh, and naturally there were also a few dog poses.
Many thanks to Darren for a very entertaining and engaging evening, with a suburb display of Scottish landscapes and many tips on the where, when and how to plan for such trips.
Friday 23rd November and the guest presenter at Ards Camera Club was Judith Kimber who showed the members everything there was to know about the Audio Visual (AV) medium of photography with its associated addition of music and commentary. Being a music teacher by profession, it was reasonable to expect a creative input for music, however Judith also writes the story and adds her own commentary as necessary for each production.
Four productions were displayed with something for all interests, including romance, motoring and a day by the seaside. There was a love story set in an imaginary town in Ireland, a real love story set between Ireland and America, an outing to Brighton and a tour of an American car graveyard. The photography in both monochrome and colour was styled to suit the individual AVs, the music was mostly composed and played by Judith and the stories and commentaries were also written by Judith. As for the credits, the photography was shot on location in USA, Brighton UK, Folk & Transport Museum and Ulster American Folk Park in N. Ireland, Music, Script, Production and Direction all by Judith Kimber.
Many thanks to Judith for providing an insight into producing AVs, all delivered in a most humorous and very entertaining manner.
Friday 2nd November and Ards Camera Club Programme of Events continued with the first of its members' nights. Club member Ryan Patterson, the proprietor of Earth & Sky Media, gave a presentation of his 'drone photography'.
Already one of the club's prominent photographers on 'terra firma' with many competition successes, Ryan demonstrated his aerial photography and videography skills with a complete 'overview' of his drone activities. All of the technicalities and regulations involved in running this type of operation were explained, together with details on controlling the drone as the images and videos were captured. Images were displayed showing compositions taken from directly above, to those taken at various angles, 360degree composites and videos from various locations home and away. There was also a flying simulator available for demonstration purposes, but only Keith Malcolm was brave enough to try (could be good for getting closer to the Milky Way!).
Altogether a superb presentation of a totally different aspect of photography. Many thanks to Ryan for this detailed look at the world from so many angles, most of which were from a great height above ground level.
Onwards and upwards (in competition rather than drone terms) as Competition Secretary David Williamson revealed that Ards Camera Club were placed First in the Annual Quadrangle PDI Competition between ourselves, Corby CC from England, Wrexham CC from Wales and Hamilton CC from Scotland. Congratulations and especially well done to those members whose images were chosen to represent the Club in this competition and many thanks to David for coordinating the event.
Wednesday 24th October and instead of the usual practical night, Ards Camera Club selected its images for the NIPA Round 2 Open Competition. Guest judge for the evening was Vittorio Silvestri who stepped in at the last minute for the unwell Darren Brown to whom we send best wishes for a speedy recovery.
As usual, there was a substantial entry list for all categories and being open, a vast array of subject matter to be judged. With great strength across the club, the following fourteen members had images placed in the top four over all categories:- Marlene Hazelhurst, Sarah Shaw, Jacqueline Agnew, Bobby Graham, Ryan Patterson, Irvine Ferguson, Sian Kerr, Claire Russell, Linda Hutchinson, Eddie Graden, Richard Cowan, Keith Malcolm, Patricia Mackey and Ted McKee. To emphasise the spread of quality on show, ten of the above placed members had images selected to go through to the NIPA Adjudication. Well done to everyone who entered and especially well done to those who had images placed.
Vittorio as usual gave a master class in judging, with a balanced critique that included praise, encouragement and tips for improvement where necessary, as well as controlling the occasionally vociferous but always appreciative audience. Many thanks to Vittorio who completed the mammoth task of judging such a large number of entries almost within the scheduled time.
A random selection of some of the entered images is on our Facebook page.
Friday 26th October and Team ACC travelled to Banbridge for the NIPA Round 1 Open Competition Adjudication. The club got off to a great start in this first round of NIPA competitions with a solid score of 104 points that gave a placing of third overall. Congratulations and well done to Ted McKee whose image of 'Kingfisher in the Drizzle' achieved star rating with a score of 14 points. Thanks to all who travelled in support of their club and well done to the entrants who all scored highly to produce such a good opening result. Also, thanks to David our Competition Secretary for all his hard work over both rounds of NIPA competition.
Friday 19th October and Ards Camera Club continued its programme of events with a visit from Simon Mills who presented a selection of his assignments as project photographer on overseas consular trips to enhance the craft work and marketing skills of the locals in rural areas.
On show, was video and still photography of both his contracted and personal work in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, Vietnam, Myanmar, Mali and 'Ballymena'. The projects included photographs of local habitat and people as they were introduced to methods of enhancing and organising existing design fabrication and involvement in cooperatives for Fairtrade arrangements. The overseas photography included many aspects of carpet weaving, fabric dying and ceramics.
Closer to home, as noted above, Simon showed a video of the complete process of the traditional craft of spade making, turf digging with said spade, converting the turf to charcoal and art work using the charcoal.
Many thanks to Simon for a very entertaining and educating evening of travel and documentary video and travel photography to some very unexpected destinations.
On a different subject, I was in Belfast today for the first time since the sad fiery demise of the Bank Buildings and it occurred to me that I had a photograph of the building taken on Culture Night a few years ago. Copy below, not exactly competition standard, but a reminder of the building in its former grandeur.
Friday 12th October and Ards Camera Club hosted its leg of judging for the Annual Quadrangle Competition.
For those new to this event, the Quadrangle is a Projected Digital Image competition between Ards CC, Corby CC from England, Wrexham CC from Wales and Hamilton CC from Scotland. Each club provides the other three with a set of 15 PDIs and the collective 60 images are scored by a guest judge at each club and the aggregate scores for each set of 15 decides the winner. Ards are the current champions and as usual entered a strong set of images in an effort to retain its title.
Guest judge was Paul Hanley who had the unenviable task of scrutinising 60 images and then providing a critique of each in support of his given score. As this is an open competition, there were various categories on display such as, portraiture, landscape, nature, street, architecture and travel. Paul provided clear, concise and balanced critiques, with many tips on simple improvements that could have enhanced the scores of some entries. A great learning exercise for both novice and advanced club members.
Obviously, the overall result will not be known until all the clubs have carried out their judging exercise. So, watch this space and the placings will be announced as soon as available. Meanwhile, to illustrate the high standard of the entries, some images selected from each club are on our Facebook page.
Many thanks to Paul for doing such a sterling job in judging the competition and imparting his expertise by way of praise, encouragement and tips for improvement.
Also, congratulations and well done to NIPA for being the overall winner of the Celtic Challenge Competition held today in the Strangford Arms Hotel.
Friday 5th October and Ross McKelvey of Catchlight CC was guest presenter at ACC (abbreviations from now on to avoid RSI) to enlighten us with a talk entitled 'Images and Insights into Competitions'.
With some initial technical difficulties sorted, Ross commenced his presentation with an overview of the requirements of the main bodies who provide for and oversee competitions and accreditations at home and abroad.
Requirements for the RPS, PAGB and IPF, to name the most recognisable bodies for local photographers, together with various other salons and overseas bodies were detailed. Ross noted that LRPS was his first accreditation and showed the actual panel that he had successfully presented for consideration.
On the question of choice of mount colour, Ross gave a visual demonstration of how the eye can be deceived when the same colours, set adjacent to each other, can look different due to the effect on them of other surrounding colours! A demonstration of constructing a composite image on Photoshop followed, with all the best shortcuts applied to make the process look easy. Not so easy to most in the audience without a lot of practise and reference to further instruction! The evening concluded with an overview of a selection of Ross's images both old and some so new that they have yet to be displayed at their intended competitions.
Many thanks to Ross for a very informative and entertaining evening as he gave an insight into his undoubted talent and success in the world of competitive photography.
Also, great to see Sinclair Adair back at the Club following his absence due to a fall. We wish him well as he continues to fully recover.
Apologies to all you regular readers for no weekend report, but the scribe had neither time or access to a key board until tonight. Friday 28th September and a full house at Ards Camera Club were treated to an evening of Astro Photography with a bit of Landscape for good measure, all provided by Tyler Collins.
The evening got off to a loud cheer when it was revealed that club member Keith Malcolm was Tyler's primary school teacher in a slightly earlier era. So, with pupil turned teacher, Tyler proceeded to educate everyone about the art of photographing the stars and the Arora with lots of images taken home and away. Most were amazed that with the right conditions, the Arora is very visible from the North West coast of Ireland and Tyler illustrated this with many photographs taken from the Antrim coast right through to Malin Head in Donegal.
However, most would agree that the best and most detailed images were taken in Iceland where Tyler spend some time as an Arora guide and now regularly runs workshops there. Apart from his Astro work for which he is best known, Tyler is also very keen on Landscape Photography and the evening concluded with a display of images taken mostly in Ireland and Scotland. Many thanks to Tyler for this presentation of superb images, each provided with a detailed explanation of location, camera settings and all the other necessary requirements to achieve the finished product.
Friday 21st September concluded a very busy week of competition for Ards Camera Club. Wednesday 19th and the Club selected the fifteen images for the Annual Quadrangle PDI Competition with Corby Camera Club in England, Wrexham Camera Club in Wales and Hamilton Camera Club in Scotland and on Friday 21st the images were selected for the First Round NIPA Open Competition.
However, going back a week to Friday 14th and the Club welcomed Hugh Russell from Christian Brothers Camera Club to give a presentation on Photojournalism. Although this subject is the final themed round of NIPA Competition in February 2019 it was deemed prudent to examine the topic at the earliest opportunity. Hugh has a wealth of experience working as a photojournalist and provided a very informative and entertaining evening showing examples of his profession together with the stories of how and why the images were taken. Many thanks to Hugh for his presentation which hopefully has imparted to members what is required from them between now and the competition.
Wednesday 19th and the mammoth task of reducing 93 images down to the required 15 for the Quadrangle Competition produced a very intense night of observation, voting and collating of scores. Fortunately, Competition Coordinator David Williamson is a wizz with spreadsheets and just like election night on TV, the scores were added live on the big screen for all to watch in anticipation of the 15 being decided. Many thanks to David for organising everything and to Sian Kerr who helped input the scores. As this competition has yet to take place, names and titles of images will be noted at a later date.
Friday 21st and it was the occasion of NIPA Round 1 Open Competition with Guest Judge Terry McCreesh from Catchlight Camera Club in attendance. Catchlight are the current World Club Champions, so with such a pedigree, the bar was set high for the expected judgement of the images on show. Terry provided a very constructive and informative critique of every image which gave both encouragement and useful direction for the entrants in both Advance and General categories. A big thank you to Terry for undertaking such a demanding task and well done to everyone who entered images in the competition, especially those listed below who were placed.
A selection of the images entered in both the Quadrangle and NIPA Competition are displayed on our Facebook page.
Also, a wish for a speedy recovery to our venerable member Sinclair Adair who unfortunately suffered a fall recently and is currently confined to barracks. Graham Mackey provided a wonderful card for Sinclair at Friday's Meeting and this will be delivered at the earliest opportunity.
Friday 7th September and the first night of Ards Camera Club's guest presentations of the 2018-19 Season. A full attendance got great value with two guests rather than the usual one. Louise Borbely and Robert Sargeant jointly gave a very detailed account of their journeys to achieving PAGB (Photographic Alliance of Great Britain) accreditation. Robert explained about the necessary PAGB requirements and how he methodically selected, consulted, prepared and prepared again his images over a period of almost a year.
Louise took a somewhat different route by making her own personal selection and only completing her preparation at the last moment. However, both approaches proved successful and the evening concluded with a presentation of both their sets of quality images. Well done to both Louise and Robert for their PAGB achievements and many thanks for sharing their successful journey with the Club.
Also, a big thank you to Ards Shopping Centre for continuing to facilitate two panels of photographs for the Club and for their endorsement of the refreshed images that were put in place last week.
There will be an overview of the main programme as well as information on our more informal, practical based Wednesday evening programme and information on how to enter the club and NIPA competitions.
The Club, with its own clubhouse and facilities, welcomes photographers of all levels to join its thriving membership. Renowned for providing a supportive environment, full of laughs, whilst also securing a number of top results in competition, the club is a wonderful place to develop your skills.


Many people will now be aware of Whetman equipment but may not be aware of the man behind all those quirky youtube clips and designs.
Back in the 90s a crazy mowaked paddler was often seen, all big boots, bone through his nose and a matrix style coat, making for solo laps of the Dart and further afield.
Around bars, on shuttles and gossip the stories of this crazy paddler made the rounds – how much was truth, how much myth?
Steve are you that mythical Ugg? We seem to not have paddlers as unique now – do you think its all gone sterile?
I confess I am indeed known as Ugg or in Central America as "Malaco".  Back then I did what I wanted to with no help from anyone and if no one else wanted to go then I went solo. Sure I had some gear sponsors but they approached me, I never asked anyone for sponsorship. The driver for me was personal adventure. I didn't tell anyone what I was going to do, few knew afterwards apart from the occasional fax back to home. I have few photos, no video, just stories; my incentive was to adventure and explore in wild and remote places. Today not sure about sterile, the river is a great leveller it will humble even the most experienced and brave kayaker sooner or later. Today access to so much information is so very very easy to find; detailed maps, previous trip reports, sat images, rainfall data, weather forecasts, so that practically no stone is left unturned & so there is the ability to "plan out" almost all uncertainty before you go. There is also now the comfort of knowing a call for help is in your pocket. The adventure is less risky and less likely to end up with tragic consequences. Paddlers are of course doing really wild things today, very impressive to watch as they challenge the river itself. Today there is an instant feed of multimedia platforms in your pocket. It's sad that the mystery, wonder and anticipation of waiting to hear news is lost forever. The magic moment of listening to someones tale or seeing their photos after waiting months or even years to be revealed gave such power and value to the adventure. This constant greed for instant news has destroyed some of the magic and made it sterile – possibly?
One of the stories I heard about you was you picking up a hitcher (who happened to be a skydiver) as you drove across Dartmoor, dropped him at a smaller air strip then managed to job yourself…true?
This dude wanted a lift to the airstrip to go parachuting and I said ok on the condition that I jump as well and he pointed out that I had not done any training so couldn't jump. I said no lift then. He swiftly came back to me with a fake ID and so I used it to jump. As we were descending I shouted to him "how do I land?", then I dropped onto the runway and broke an ankle.
An encounter with a bull?
I was mad about rock climbing. In Spain with my mate Chris we were doing big multipitch walls. In the village we stumbled into a bull running festival. The streets blocked off and all balconies full of crowds. Myself and Chris ran the bulls of course. Unfortunatley the bull ran to me and lifted me up into the air and I crashed to the street to be stamped on & horned by the bull. The balconies were screaming with fear. The bull was trying to kill me. I was under the bull on my back helpless. I started to thump the bull on its nose which pissed it off. More high pitched screams from the balconies. The rest of the street was empty, there was noone to help me. Chris had climbed up a drainpipe. As the bull came down with its horns to stab again I decided to grab the horns and hold on. The bull fought back rolling its powerful neck but luckily my grip was super powerful from climbing. As the bull tossed its head around the action lifted me off my back and up onto my feet. More balcony screams and shouts from behind the barriers. I kept a very very tight grip on the horns. Both the bull and I were puffing heavily as we stared at each other, now we were both stood perfectly still. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the barrier was about 20 strides away. I then released my grip and sprinted for the barrier.
What about that story of a first descent, some place in Costa Rica, or was it Ecuador, where you paddled passed a group scouting a rapid – you had soloed it for a while; then you found out they they planned it as a first descent themselves, you beat them?
In Panama myself and Paul Cripps hiked up through the rainforest on the Pacific side of the mountains over the peaks to find the source of a river which flowed to the Atlantic. We then launched into the Rio Changuinola and descended down to eventually get to the ocean. Some years later I read that some Americans claimed a first descent in a report in Rapid magazine of the same river haha!
Then on a trip your paddler partner dislocated his shoulder, you tied him to your acro and paddled out?
True. The Acobamba Abyss in Peru. I was planning to solo having just returned from a 4 day solo trip down the Paucartambo. Adam asked to come along and on day 2 deep inside the canyon he took a bad swim which dislocated his shoulder. For 1 1/2 hrs I was convinced he was dead. I eventually found him but his boat was gone. He had to lie on the back deck of my kayak (shoulder still out) as we went down the rest of the river. This went on for a couple of days and we ran out of food and water hiking through the desert with no map, looking for help. He went delirious so I left him and went to find water. We eventually found a small outpost and I packed him into a truck and said adios, then I went straight back the same day to run the rest of the river (a further 12 days haha!) with another dude. His shoulder was out for about a week.
What about the infamous picture of you running that drop on a solo mission?
Not a solo mission – as someone took a photo haha! There were three of us and it was a first descent of the waterfall and the blind chasm above it. The lead in was a 45 degree rock toboggan about 100m long which the river charged down and then disappeared into the chasm – a blind corridor of narrow high cliffs covered in jungle. It was impossible to inspect the chasm & we could hear rapids inside it. We knew the exit of the chasm was the very lip of the waterfall. The depth of the plungepool of the waterfall was also unknown. The river is located in the heart of a remote mountain area of rainforest which is prohibited to enter. We had accessed by night hiking though the forest by compass to find the river. Two of us ran the chasm & waterfall, the third portaged round and took the photo. We decided that if we encountered a blind drop in the chasm we would boof left; that way we would either both make it or both not. There was indeed a blind drop and we boofed left! The river below the waterfall is a most excellent grade 5 creek for hour after hour after hour. Respect to the most amazing Rio Patria.
Or that time you took a playboat to Norway?
A Lettmann Bullet, ran Ormot at a very high level; the locals said only a handful of paddlers have ran it at that particular level. On the crux the boat subbed out and spent along time with just 4 inches of bow vertical out of the water spinning down the eddyline, thankfully rising to the surface in time.
Then the stories of you only paddling the dart at high flows because you had a composite boat?
Wasn't that the boat you had at the Ocoee worlds back in way back when?
Many paddlers have never heard of you because you kept a low profile, and the tales grew in myth – then nothing, a gap on the Chronicles of Ugg and the slow birth of Whetman equipment. What was the catalyst to this?
The catalyst being I don't like proper jobs & hate being told what to do. On more than one occasion this has resulted in swift exit of employment hahaha! I have always had a natural ability to look at things from different perspectives, question why kit is made in such a way and make my own gadgets. To be fair I must say my wife convinced me to go for it, even though there is risk of uncertain income. The rewards so far have brought huge satisfaction and it is a great privilege to contribute something into our sport. So far its been simply great fun, of course risky and a little stressful and I get to go paddling whenever I want to.
I have more river stories but I am emotionally drained now so maybe another day will write more.
Time for a glass of rum.
hmmmm, I believe first descent of the Rio Changuinola was achieved by Scott Muller (PAN) and Troy Hedland (USA) in the 90's.Their story was written up by Eugene Buchanan in Paddler Magazine and covered extensively in local media. Indeed another group..from NOC? showed up in the early 2000's and wrote up their story in Rapid.


The Bullet Buckeye team from Ohio State University has set a world record average two-way speed of 307.7mph (495km/h) with its battery electric Venturi Buckeye Bullet 2.5. The lithium ion battery powered car eclipsed the previous 245mph (394km/h) world land speed record for battery electric vehicles set in 1999 by White Lightning. The new record was set by the Bullet at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah this week, is pending certification by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the worldwide motor sports governing body.
Nice....electric power is our moto-future, Andy you will love the torque.
Okay, If I have to have an electric powered bike can they at least put a sound system on it so it will sound like a real bike!
If "Loud pipes save lives" then these things will be deadly.


text:
Castercliff, Nelson, Lancashire
30th September 2010 31st August 2019 megalithix
Enclosure: OS Grid Reference – SD 8850 3840
Caster Cliff
Castercliff hillfort plan (after D.G. Coombs)
From Colne train station, cross the road and go along Bridge Street and where it meets Knotts Street follow it all the way up into the countryside and, bending to the right, uphill again until it levels out. The farmhouse a few hundred yards ahead of you (just off Southfield Lane) at the bend in the road is where you're heading. There's a track on your right, just before the farm. Go on this and look into the field immediately right. The undulations and earthworks are the remains of this old hillfort!
This old site was constructed some 850 feet above sea level, overlooking the valley of Colne immediately west and giving commanding views of the outstretched landscape towards the sacred Pendle Hill and beyond for many miles. The place was described as early as Castell Clif in 1515, and then again as Castyclyff in 1533, meaning simply the "castle on a cliff" or high verge as it is here. Yet despite its early appearances in literary studies, the first real work to explore this monument doesn't appear to have been done until one J.A. Plummer carried out work on the site between 1958-60. However, Plummer died before being able to publish his findings in full. Ascribed variously as a settlement, an enclosure, and generally in the archaeological fraternity as a hillfort, the first detailed published description of the site was done by Forde-Johnston (1965), where he told:
Forde-Johnston's early plan
"The hillfort is a very regular oval in shape and encloses an area about 350ft long and 250ft wide. The overall dimensions are 550ft by 450ft. The site has been affected by quarrying on the south and east and there are a number of gaps in the defences on the northern and western sides. The character of the remains differs in various parts of the site, but the general pattern appears to be as follows. The innermost line of defence is represented by a very slight bank or, in many places, only a very shallow scarp which can be traced round the whole circuit of the site… The second or middle bank is the most prominent or substantial of the three. It has considerable gaps in its length, but the various portions are all of much the same character — it rises between 3 and 5ft above the interior and falls about 9ft to the ditch bottom. On the south side the middle rampart takes the form of a scarp about 10ft high, immediately below the scarp of the inner rampart. The third, outermost bank is, in fact, a counterscarp bank to the second ditch. It does not exist as a continuous bank around the whole of the site, but there are sections of it on the northern and eastern sides. On the eastern and northeastern sides, from which approach was easiest, there appear to have been additional outer defences, situated about 70ft forward of the counterscarp bank. These outer defences now take the form of a scarp about 4ft high curving round the eastern and northeastern sides for about 250ft. At the southern end there is an inner scarp, forming a bank, and a little to the south, is a detached portion of bank. There are other short detached sections of bank on the northern side which are presumably to be connected with these outer defences."
When Mr Plummer did his excavation here a few years before, one section of the site was examined and, thanks to the survival of an interim report he did — described by D.G. Coombs (1971) — we know the following of what he did:
"His work was concentrated in the northwest corner of the site where he cut a trench through the defences. Outside the counterscarp bank, which was not continuous, there was a bedding trench, packed with stones and containing charcoal. The ditch, which was rock-cut and flat-bottomed, had a homogenous fill. The rampart itself showed timber supports at the front and back with traces of stone revetting at the front and some distance from the timber uprights. The rear of the rampart was marked by a line of stones. Behind this rampart the site had been extensively disturbed and here he claimed to have found traces of primitive iron-smelting furnaces constructed from stones packed and sealed with loose black earth. A single post-hole beneath the rampart was suggested to belong to an earlier phase."
Though we have to note here that Mr Plummer believed that the iron furnace remains were actually medieval in date, but that the embanked settlement itself was Iron Age and "that the collapse of the fort could be dated between 60-90 AD." When Mr Coombs and his team came back here in 1970 to re-examine the works of both Plummer and Forde-Johnston, they confirmed some of their earlier finds, but uncovered additional finds at what they called this "once great fortress."
In Robert Lord's (1976) superb imaginary piece on what he calls the Pendle Zodiac (a zodiac allegedly forged into the landscape in ancient times, in the manner of the famous and equally imaginary Glastonbury zodiac), a section of the deity Diana is made up of this prehistoric earthwork:
"The lower edge of the cap (on her head) coincides with a minor road between Colne, skirting the Iron Age Castercliffe hill-fort, above Nelson, as far as Catlow."
Coombs, D.G., Interim Report: Excavation at Castercliff, Nelson, Lancs., Unpublished Report 1971.
Ekwall, Eilert, The Place-Names of Lancashire, Manchester University Press 1922.
Forde-Johnston, The Hill-Forts of Lancashire and Cheshire, Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society 1962.
Pennick, Nigel & Lord, Robert, Terrestrial Zodiacs in Britain, Institute for Geomantic Research: Bar Hill 1986.
© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian
Castercliffe hillfort
Castercliffe hillfort 53.841588, -2.176352 Castercliffe hillfort
England (north), Lancashire, Settlement/Enclosuresantiquarian, antiquities, Archaeology, Colne, Earthworks, enclosures, England, english heritage, fortress, forts, hill forts, Hillforts, Iron Age, Lancashire, Nelson, Pendle, prehistoric sites, settlements, Trawden
Cliviger Law, Mereclough, Burnley, Lancashire
Scorton Cursus, North Yorkshire
4 thoughts on "Castercliff, Nelson, Lancashire"
lowergate says:
1st October 2010 at 9:20 pm
'this once great fortress.' – This structure(vitrified stone & timber)- earthwork given its position, location, size and construction could never be considered a 'hill fort' – though I did once hold this view myself (HISTORIC WALKS AROUND THE PENDLE WAY, 1990, AUSSTEIGER pp. 38-41). See my article on Portfield in the FORUM section. See also PENDLE – A MYTHIC LANDSCAPE, 2012 AUSSTEIGER (review copies out October 2011).
megalithix says:
2nd October 2010 at 12:40 pm
Hi John – I know what y' mean about this site. It seemed like some large settlement to me, but all the archaeo-texts define it as a 'hillfort' – from Forde-Johnston to Haselgrove's essay in the more recent Archaeology of Lancashire (1996). The language they all use to define the earthworks ('defenses', 'ramparts') deliberately guide to the reader into the notion of the site as a military or offensive structure – a notion which has been slowly losing ground for such 'hillforts' in recent years. Perhaps I should give the site an additional status as 'enclosure'? Wot d' y' reckon?
3rd October 2010 at 12:46 pm
I would recomend giving it the status of a palisaded enclosure/ a nodal point where a number of prehistoric trade routes meet.
sunbright57 says:
22nd November 2011 at 11:58 pm
I wonder if the Romans ever used Castercliffe as a military base ? THe near by town of Colne was known to the Romans as Colnia, Colna or Colinia.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


All brides face the same tension, when it comes to their wedding day.. "is the gown perfect?" While traditional and modern wedding gowns are always a fun topic to haggle over, what's a vampire bride to do? Whether you are scouting for Halloween ideas or deciding to get married with an undead twist, below are some gowns to do any vampiress proud.
Amongst all the creatures of the undead world, the zombies, the werewolves etc. one of the most powerful beings and easily the most stylish are the vampires. Vampires are the elite, the immortal and the smart ones with a carefully constructed aristocratic society and set of rules to be governed by. And their style factor is unchallenged, with vampire costumes and dress styles for women and men, ranking amongst the classiest and most beautiful items to wear. In this article, learn about the design and accessories that makeup vampire wedding dresses, to understand what quintessential bridal wear of the vampire bride is made of.
Long flowing A-line skirt with asymmetrical laced hemline, poured over a body of satin, colored in a contrasting shade is one pattern type. Sleeves can be ruched with a babydoll bodice. This pattern makes for an incredibly beautiful and delicate gown, using lace which is synonymous with femininity. The contrasting shade of satin serves to highlight the intricate detailing of the lace.
For a bold eye-catching look, pair black spider lace over rose-red satin. This adds a very Latin or flamenco touch to the gown. Amongst the various blacks and whites, this gown and coloring are sure to stand out.
Another pattern type is using a corset for a bodice, worn over a tight mermaid skirt. The corset's shoe laced front accentuates a narrow waistline and would provide a voluptuous appearance on the whole. Keep in mind, that the corset wedding gown is a very vintage or 18th century look and as such, cannot be carried off by everybody. It must be fastened very tightly and properly or it will ruin the shape of the gown. Corset styled gowns are also very uncomfortable, there is barely any room in the dress for one to breathe. So, this is one of those "no pain no gain" vampire wedding gowns.
A robe styled gown with a high point collar, usually a signature style with vampire gents, fastened by a single gold gilded rope. This is a very regal pattern and only the right fabric like velvet and an expensive braid, can bring this pattern to life. This pattern does not have the "oomph" factor, but those looking for a mature and classy vampire gown, suited for the "queen bee" amongst the vampire clan, should opt for this dress pattern.
A modern vampire wedding gown would be a peasant style blouse, gathered at the waist, flowing into a short thigh length skirt, with a shredded hemline. This gown must be worn over black fishnet stockings and red ballet shoes. For those who follow the mantra of "if you got it, you got to flaunt it", this is THE gown.
First and most important part of any bridal trousseau is the veil. While normal veil colors are white or off-white, for a vampire wedding, veil colors are predominantly dark and gothic, giving an element of mystery to the face it covers. Be innovative, put a dark twist on traditional veil ides. For example, a tiara of thorns instead of the traditional diamond tiara, or how about a coiled serpent with a jewel held in its fangs as a tiara? You could also use a wreath of black roses, plain thorns or poison ivy from which a sheath of black lace or dark organza covers the bride's face.
It is customary at a wedding to have lots of flowers and to celebrate a wedding between two members of the undead, what can be more fitting than dead flowers? A wreath of wilted red roses or the hybrid black variety is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Or how about a bouquet of mixed dead or dried flowers or just stems, empty stems with thorns and no blooms? Bouquet ideas for such an occasion are more varied than one would think. The key is to keep things in perspective, i.e. dead objects should be used. A very different but very gross idea is to have a bouquet of rotting objects, with fresh, squirming maggots in them.
The happiest day in a woman's life, whether she's the undead or alive, is her wedding day. On choosing the right one amongst various vampire wedding dresses, the undead bride is all set for the perfect wedding. So, keep the gown simple Goth or modern and daring but don't forget to keep it classy!


Keeping your Bayonne, New Jersey floors clean is tough work! A Friendly Carpet Cleaning & Restoration LLC can remove your floor cleaning headaches (and backaches!) We have been providing professional Bayonne floor cleaning services since 1995. Say good-bye to tedious mopping and scrubbing and reclaim some "me time"! Let A Friendly Carpet Cleaning & Restoration LLC do the tough work for you. Our Bayonne floor cleaning experts will make sure to clean every inch of your floor, leaving nothing but shine. Don't wait, call (973) 264-9133 and find out why A Friendly Carpet Cleaning & Restoration LLC offers the most meticulous floor cleaning Bayonne has seen!
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UCLA Extension is one of the nation's oldest, largest, and most comprehensive continuing higher education providers. Since 1990, UCLA Extension has been inviting designers to create covers for their printed catalog — which is sent to hundreds of thousands of people in the Los Angeles area and around the world. The covers, known as the Master Graphic Designer Series, showcase a remarkable range of creative talent.
And so it was an honor to be invited to design the cover of their Fall 2014 catalog.
After some early discussions with UCLA Extension, we decided it would be interesting to create a catalog cover that explored the topical themes of interactivity and "big data." The resulting design is based on a data set that (anonymously) describes every student that enrolled at UCLA Extension over the past year and each of the courses they took.
Because Extension's covers are intended to be creative expressions, I didn't do an analytical visualization of the data. Instead I used the data to control how the design was generated. For example, the design starts by representing each student with by a dot and a line. The horizontal position of each dot is then determined by the student's distance from UCLA. The number of circles and squares that make up each dot is determined by the departments of the courses, the semester they were taken, and if they were in-person or distance learning. And so on… Essentially every aspect of the design is controlled by some aspect of the data.
At the top of the design there is an abstract 'key' to the data — showing the range of distances students traveled, and the number of students enrolled each semester in each department.
I wanted to create a cover that expressed the diversity and energy of the students enrolled in UCLA Extension classes. Almost an explosion of optimism — because I think that anyone who enrolls in continuing education is doing an incredibly exciting thing.
The process of developing the final design was an exploratory one. Of understanding the shape of the data, developing tools to make meaning of it, and exploring visual representations. And to help illustrate that process, I'm including a handful of those sketches below.
An early test of "exploding" from the base text.
Each anchor point on the white line's path represented a different attribute of the student.
Testing the legibility if all the text were represented by dots and lines.
Screenshot of the interactive version of the cover.


text:
Building Energy Codes
Building Energy Codes Program
DOE » EERE » BTO »BECP »
Resource Center » ACE Learning Series
Compliance Toolkit Versions
View the eLearning module
The compliance toolkit describes the steps that should be taken by the build community to make sure that their buildings meet the requirements of the energy codes in effect where the buildings are being built and that the building designs are well documented so that the enforcement community can quickly and easily determine if the building meets the requirement of the energy code.
This toolkit describes the steps that should be taken by the build community to make sure that their buildings meet the requirements of the energy codes in effect where the buildings are being built and that the building designs are well documented so that the enforcement community can quickly and easily determine if the building meets the requirement of the energy code.
Current national model energy codes and standards are limited to the design and construction of buildings. The operation and maintenance of the building—however important that might be to the overall energy usage of the building—is not considered in current national model energy codes and standards.
Current model energy codes cover design, construction, and testing up to and including commissioning for some buildings. These model energy codes and standards also include options for whole-building performance approaches.
Future model energy codes and standards may involve actual building energy usage and will therefore likely require consideration of commissioning for all buildings, operation and maintenance, and occupant behavior.
This toolkit is focused on the codes and standards called out in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). For the residential build community, ARRA requires states to meet or exceed the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) or achieve equivalent or greater energy savings to qualify to receive federal funding. For the commercial build community, states must meet or exceed ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007 (ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007) or achieve equivalent or greater energy savings to qualify to receive federal funding. The 2009 IECC contains two options for commercial buildings: (1) ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007 by reference, or (2) a set of requirements directly in the IECC. The commercial requirements in ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007 and the 2009 IECC are similar but not identical; this toolkit will discuss some of those differences.
Both ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007 and the 2009 IECC have been superseded by newer versions that require higher levels of energy efficiency. ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2010 was published in August 2010, and the 2012 IECC was published in May 2011. This toolkit also addresses compliance issues that may arise in ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2010 and the 2012 IECC.
Organization of the Compliance Toolkit
This toolkit is organized around ten important steps for achieving compliance. These steps are:
Know which energy code is applicable to a particular project
Choose a compliance path within the applicable energy code
Know the requirements of the applicable energy code
Design a building to meet the requirements of the applicable energy code
Document the design of the building in plans and specifications
Construct the building to meet plans and specifications
Document the "as-built" building in plans and specifications
Ensure the building operates as intended by the build community
Provide energy code compliance documentation to the code official and building owners
Get assistance on energy code and compliance questions.
Each step in this toolkit provides a general description, discussion of the issues faced by the build community, and a listing of resources for the build community.
ACE Learning Series
ACE Overview
Toolkit Definitions
Adoption Toolkit
Step 1. Know which energy code is applicable to a particular project
Step 2. Choose a compliance path within the applicable energy code
Step 3. Know the requirements of the applicable energy code
Step 4. Design a building to meet the requirements of the applicable energy code
Step 5. Document the design of the building in plans and specifications
Step 6. Construct the Building to Meet Plans and Specifications
Step 7. Document the "As-Built" Building in Plans and Specifications
Step 8. Ensure the Building Operates as Intended
Step 9. Provide Energy Code Compliance Documentation to the Code Official
Step 10. Get Assistance on Energy Code and Compliance Questions
Enforcement Toolkit
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Last Updated: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - 11:46am


The groups for the UEFA Champions League path of the UEFA Youth League have been set by the draw for the senior competition: the other 32 teams in the domestic champions path go into Tuesday's knockout draw.
The 32 clubs entering via the UEFA Champions League will compete in groups with the same make-up and fixture list as the senior competition.
• The eight group winners will progress straight to the round of 16.
• The eight runners-up will go into the play-offs.
The 32 teams will compete in two knockout rounds of home-and-away ties. There will be no seeding.
• The eight teams remaining after the second round will go into the play-offs.
The knockout phase, starting with the round of 16, will consist of single-leg ties.
• The semi-finals and the final will be played on 20 and 23 April respectively at the Colovray stadium opposite UEFA's Swiss headquarters in Nyon.
More information can be seen in the competition's official regulations.


text:
Ка́ртка вогню́ (моторизованого відділення, взводу, танка, роти, батальйону) — бойовий графічний документ, що розробляється відповідним командиром (штабом батальйону).

Розробка картки вогню

Картка вогню розробляється на білому цупкому папері чи кальці (сколці з топографічної картки) визначеного формату (А4, А5, для батальйону А3)

Основою картки вогню є схема місцевості, складена окомірним зніманням способом кругового візування. При цьому тактичні об'єкти наносять одночасно з топографічними.

Умовні знаки і підписи виконуються в порядку і за правилами, визначеними в Бойовому статуті щодо відпрацювання бойових документів.

Картка вогню обов'язково повинна містити
 Прив'язку до місцевості (за трьома орієнтирами); положення цих орієнтирів на місцевості, роздільні лінії між своїми підрозділами і сусідами Стрілку Північ-Південь, що відповідає сторонам горизонта на місцевості
 Дані про противника. Якщо є дані розвідки — дані про положення основних вогневих засобів противника (танків, БМП, БТР, ПТКРС, гранатометів, кулеметів, мінометів). Якщо таких даних немає, показується тільки загальний рубіж: Противник
 Позиції підлеглих військ: командних опорних пунктів, пунктів управління, траншей і ходів сполучення, вогневих позицій (основних і запасних) для танків, БМП, БТР, ПТКРС, гранатометів, кулеметів, мінометів, відділень, взводів
 Траншеї підрозділів, вогневі точки, окопи, бліндажі, ходи сполучення зображаються тієї форми, як вони обладнані на місцевості
 Сектори вогню для перерахованих сил; основні і запасні

Тактичну обстановку командири підрозділів наносять тактичними умовними знаками кольоровими олівцями, а якщо одним (чорним) кольором — умовні знаки противника наносяться двома лініями. Положення, завдання і дії підрозділу, його вогневі засоби, бойову та іншу техніку наносять на схеми за їх дійсним положенням на місцевості, орієнтуючи в напрямку дії підрозділу або ведення вогню.

Якщо для позначення певного об'єкта на місцевості, підрозділу, зброї є відповідний знак у Бойовому статуті, на картці вогню забороняється вживати рандомні умовні знаки (малювати хатки, танчики, красиві деревця, колодязі з журавлем чи гайочки). Підйом топографічних чи тактичних знаків, підписи, — все робиться у суворій відповідності вимогам Бойового статуту. Якщо знака не існує в Бойовому статуті, він виноситься із поясненням в специфікацію.

Див. також
 Бойове завдання
 Бойове забезпечення військ
 Бойовий статут
 Топографічна карта

Примітки

Посилання
 www.ukrmilitary.com/p/military-library.html  — Військова бібліотека. Бойові статути, настанови, посібники. Бойовий статут Сухопутних військ ЗС України. Частина ІІ (батальйон, рота) Додатки № 1-25 Бойовий статут Сухопутних військ ЗС України. Частина ІІІ (взвод, відділення, екіпаж танка) Додатки № 1-31 Командування Сухопутних військ ЗСУ, 2010
 mybiblioteka.su/9-86522.html  — Бойові документи. Порядок розробки і ведення. Реферат
 helpiks.org/5-110408.html  — Рекомендації щодо оформлення текстових бойових документів
 Боевой устав сухопутных войск, часть 3  — бойовий статут ЗС РФ
 Боевой устав пехоты Красной Армии Часть 2 (батальон, полк) [1942]
 z1.at.ua/index/skhema_nakaz_bojovomu_postu_vz/0-56  — Схема-наказ бойовому посту ВЗ
 dilo.kiev.ua/study_forms-upravlinsyki-documenti-maket-rozmichennya-rekvizitiv-v-nakazah-iz-zag-pit.html  — Макет-схема розміщення реквізитів та складових частин наказу із загальних питань
 bookwu.net/book_di-zvodu-v-boyu_994/36_bojovij-nakaz-komandira-vzvodu-upravlinnya — Дії зводу в бою. Бойовий наказ командира взводу управління в обороні (варіант)
 mybiblioteka.su/8-105725.html  — Склеювання карти. Згортання. Підйом карти.
 mybiblioteka.su/tom2/5-76878.html  — Картка вогню механізованого відділення

Джерела
 Бойовий статут Сухопутних військ Збройних Сил України, частина — ІІІ (взвод, відділення, екіпаж танка), К. 2010 р., стор. 50, 56, додатки — 4, 5, 7, 8, 12.
 Підручник «Тактика» (взвод, відділення, танк), частина — І, М., Воениздат, 1989 р., 48 — 49, схема — 7. 3.
 Посібник І. Д. Помбрик «Карта офіцера», М. Воениздат 1985 р., стор 5 — 39, 42 — 52.

Військова документація
Військова термінологія

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Many people know that Hungarian is not related to any Indo-European language. Hungarian is a Uralic language, but there are several theories of its origin. Linguistic connections between Hungarian and other Uralic languages were discovered in the 1670s, and the family itself (then called Finno-Ugric) was established in 1717.
Finno-Ugric rather than Turkic language continued to be more popular. Some experts say that our language is originated from the Turkic and Mongolian languages, so we can't exactly determine its origin.
Hungary has about 13-15 million native speakers, but the population of Hungary is only 10 million. How can it be? - It's because a lot of Hungarians live in the surrounding countries such as Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria, but the biggest Hungarian communities can be found in Romania. Besides Europe the amount of Hungarian people is supposed to be about 2 million. They live mostly in the USA.
The old Hungarian language is hard to understand, even for us living in Hungary today. Our language has changed a lot during the centuries. Fortunately there are very few written records from the tenth and eleventh century. Our first coherent text was written in the 12th century.
One of the best-known text is the foundation letter of the Abbey of Tihany. The globe groups were here together in October 2013. The sentences in this famous document are quite different from the present language, but we can understand most of it.
We have a special alphabetic writing system, the Runic script, which was used in the Middle Ages. We don't use it anymore, but it is possible to learn it if you want. The Hungarian Runes are derived from the Old Turkic script.
This table shows the Runic letters and their meaning in Hungarian letters. If you write a word, you should do it backwards.
Our alphabet contains 44 letters. Originally it consisted of 40 letters, but it was spread with other 4 letters which are used in foreign words and names.
On the presentation is possible to see some phrases and the numbers in our languages and it has been translated to Icelandic. We can compare how "similar" they are.


One of the new architectural features of Princess Cruises' new Royal Princess is a "Sea Walk" promenade on the ship's top deck. The glass-enclosed walkway will give passengers dramatic sea views extending out 28 feet past the side of the ship. The drama doesn't end there, because the dramatic views will be both out to the horizon and down through the glass floor to the sea 128 feet below.
Royal Princess is under construction at Fincantieri's Monfalcone (Italy) yard, and these photos taken on Tuesday will give you a first look at the Sea Walk.
In the photo above. shot from Deck 17, you can see inside what will be the glass-enclosed Sea Walk on Deck 16. The openings where the glass panels will go in the floor are covered with metal plates.
This view, still shot from Deck 17, looking forward, will give you a better perspective of the views that will be available from the Sea Walk.
Seen from below, you get a perspective of how high the Sea Walk is - and how much work there is to complete on the ship before it enters service in June.
A living wall was installed aboard Crystal Symphony. The freestanding wall is kind of like a vertical garden with the plants anchored in two to four inches of soil on the wall. In this case, the plants were arranged to form a map of the world.
Photos courtesy of Crystal Cruises.


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Web3 101: Part I- The Centralized Web
Jul 21, 2021·Last updated on Aug 06, 2021
It may come as a surprise, but the web is not quite a free and open place. What was envisioned as a democratic platform quickly became a centralized system controlled by a handful of entities.
If you've landed on this article, you've probably heard that Web3 is offering a solution.
As excited as we are to build Web3, and as excited as you may be to learn about it, it is crucial for us to understand the foundation on which we are standing. Cracks have been forming in the floor of today's web, and Web3 is looking to fix them before the entire house falls. To truly understand how these issues began, though, we have to go back to the earliest days of the web.
But first, let's lay some common ground for what Web3 is so we know where we're headed.
Web3 is a movement to reclaim the internet.
From ad-based revenue to data collection, many of the systems used by today's web are simply broken. Our current web is centralized - largely owned and controlled by a small group of entities who are no longer building with the user's best interest in mind. We hand over our data and identities in exchange for services and convenience.
Web3 is working to return ownership of the web and its contents back to us - the users. Rooted in peer-to-peer networks and powered by blockchain technology, this new web is decentralized and open to everyone. Giving up personal data is no longer needed to secure trust, and our identities are once again our own.
As we will see, this was the vision for the web from day one. But over the years this vision has been swept aside and forgotten. Well, not entirely forgotten.
Today, a community of highly intelligent developers, privacy-focused cypherpunks, and ever-important meme artists are bringing these ideals back to the forefront. Web3's development is in full swing and shows no signs of slowing down. There will be plenty of uphill battles along the way, but the industry is definitely carving out a path for itself.
With all of that in mind, let's see how the web got its start, and where it lost its way.
The Internet's Origin Story
Our story begins in the 1960s when DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, began their work on a project known as ARPANET.
ARPANET, or the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network, initially set out to create a way for separate computer systems to communicate. At the time, computers were huge, slow, and unable to interact with each other. But even in these early days, a man named J.C.R. Licklider saw the potential in connecting computers.
Licklider, who led ARPANET's computer research program in 1962, envisioned an "Intergalactic Network" where anyone could access information and programs from anywhere in the world. The ARPANET team took this vision and ran with it.
By 1969, ARPANET consisted of four computers, called nodes, all at American universities - UCLA, UCSB, Stanford, and the University of Utah. The first ever node-to-node connection was made when the UCLA team successfully sent a message to their partners at Stanford. Only part of the message was actually delivered, "LO" instead of the full "LOGIN" that they had attempted to send, but this was strong proof that a computer-to-computer network could work. Just two years later, ARPANET consisted of 19 nodes, with more popping up every month.
A Decentralized Beginning
Instead of the system we have today, with most websites and information stored on centralized servers, this first iteration of the internet was created as a decentralized, peer-to-peer network. There was no central figure through which messages and information were passed, leaving it up to the network itself to handle.
This was largely a response to the threat of nuclear attacks. Because this was all being created during the Cold War, the US Department of Defense needed to ensure the network could remain intact if one or more of the nodes went offline. A decentralized communication network was the safest solution, as there was no single point of failure.
However, this system had its drawbacks. In order to communicate, each node had to know the exact address of the node they were trying to connect with. While this meant that no middlemen were needed, it unfortunately meant that everyone had to keep an address book of every other node on the network. These addresses also had to be updated every time a new node came online. This wasn't that big of a deal in the early days, but as more and more nodes joined the network, it quickly got out of hand.
Let the Centralization Begin
This brings us to what could be seen as the first step towards centralization. In 1973, ARPANET chose Stanford to keep track of all the node addresses. While this took the strain off of individual node operators, it created a system that was now heavily reliant upon one centralized figure.
Meanwhile, other networks were popping up around the world, with their own methods of formatting information. This made it extremely difficult for separate networks to communicate with one another. To solve this, a standard format for sending information was established, along with a standard way of assigning addresses. These programs, which are still used today, were known as TCP (transmission control protocol) and IP (internet protocol), respectively. As networks began to adopt these standards, connecting them became much easier, eventually creating one large system.
With this breakthrough, though, came even more issues. As the internet grew, the number of addresses became too great for Stanford to handle, occasionally leading to errors which would throw off the entire network. Add in the growing usage of email, and you have a system that was scaling much too quickly for any one figure to manage.
DNS Is Born
To chop up the network, ARPANET created the DNS, or domain name system, in 1983. This system worked by assigning top level domains, such as .com and .edu, to computer addresses. The DNS then added its own computers to the network and assigned one computer to handle each specific top level domain. So, one DNS computer was in charge of storing and organizing all .com domains, another kept track of the .edu domains, and so on. This created an easier way to organize and use the internet, with intermediary DNS nodes retrieving and passing information from computer to computer.
While this managed to spread out the workload, it also intensified the centralization of the web.
Today, top level domains are owned and managed by ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. ICANN supervises the DNS and oversees the entire system of domain name registry and ownership, controlling who is and isn't allowed to sell domain names. Companies like GoDaddy and Namecheap are registrars - middlemen who have been granted the right to sell domains on behalf of ICANN.
When you buy a domain, you are simply leasing it from ICANN. You do not own it.
Who Owns the Web?
It may have started with IP addresses and domain names, but this centralized control over digital real estate has become the norm. Everything from domain names to Facebook content to YouTube videos is effectively owned by the platform - not the user.
As we will see next week in part II of our Web3 101 series, the issues caused by this are swelling. Our personal information, our assets, and our livelihood are all moving into the digital realm. If we cannot regain ownership of our digital world, how can we retain ownership of our digital identities?
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January 1 we are to see the end of long distance telephone charges within Mexico, according to IFETEL, the federal regulator of telecommunications.
Apparently not yet determined are the interconnection rates that the dominant carrier, America Movil (Telcel and Telmex) can charge their competitors.
In the past Carlos Slim's companies have thumbed their noses at federal regulators. We never saw a unified rate for the Yucatan peninsula what we saw was a peninsular plan that allowed calls within the pensinsula, but inability to call from outside the peninsula with such a plan, except with a new Telcel plan that came out, I believe in 2014. On a Telcel pre-paid plan, I believe my local and national cellphone calls are charged a flat 0.98 pesos (plus 16% IVA).
Regulators required cellphone users to register themselves, Telcel ignored that, if my memory serves me right.
Interconnection rates were supposed to have been fixed also, yet it appears that they are still up in the air. As the dominant carrier (see the El Financiero story url below), America Movil can continue to cripple competition through manipulation of interconnect rates.
Mexico's nonsensical patchwork of different prefixes depending on whether callling from and to cell phones and land lines, and local 044 or non-local 045 (land lines to cellphones) and 01 or 02 to landlines, well, all that continues.
Unification of rates makes sense, as it has for domestic cellphone charges within the USA. Voice call transmission is automated, virtually elminating operators and the old mechanical relays, etc. In that light, there is really, to my point of view, no justification for charging higher rates for distance.


During the school year, all grade levels learn a variety of acting skills and techniques. The students also receive drama lessons that are integrated with various classroom and grade level subject areas. Additionally, during drama class students are practicing collaboration and teamwork. Students learn communication skills that help them during class and outside of class.
The following is a list of some examples of integration between drama and subject areas.


Our Cocoon dress is a firm IDVC favourite. Updated for winter in a soft stretchy BonBon fabric. The dress has a beautiful volume shape that tapers to the hem and an elegant boat neckline. The sleeves are slim and long with a cuff to alter the length as desired. We really enjoy this dress and find ourselves wearing it multiple times a week.


Step Right To Right, Step Left Beside Right, Step Right To Right.
Rock Back On Left, Recover On Right.
Step Left To Left, Step Right Beside Left, Step Left To Left.
Rock Back On Right, Recover On Left.
Step Right To Right, Cross Left Behind Right.
Step Right ¼ Turn Right, Step Forward Left.
Pivot ½ Turn Right, Make ¼ Turn Right stepping Left To Left Side.
Cross Right Behind Left, Step Left ¼ Turn Left.
Step Forward On Right, Step Left Beside Right, Step Forward On Right.
Step Forward On Left, Step Right Beside Left, Step Forward On Left.
Copyright © for the presentation, Lisbeth Nilsen (lizzan@lizzan.com). Copyright © for the dance remains with the original choreographer.
This page was last updated on: 2008-07-24, 17:02.


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Prime Minister Netanyahu, call the nation of Israel to prayer & fasting during this Gaza war. (video & transcript of Fox News interview)
July 20, 2014 By joelcrosenberg in Epicenter
(Washington, D.C.) — It is time for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call his nation to a special time of prayer, fasting and reading the Bible.
This is what all the wise kings of Israel and Judah did in ancient times when facing war and serious threats, and it is time to do so again.
This was the message I shared on the Fox News Channel today as I was interviewed by anchor Shannon Bream.
You can watch the interview by clicking here (it begins 1:50 minutes into the clip). You can also read a transcript of the interview below.
First, here are just two Bible passages that describe great and wise kings of Israel and Judah calling the people to turn to the God of Israel in prayer during times of war and conflict:
* King Solomon called the nation of Israel together to pray for God's help and mercy in time of war — "Now Solomon had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court; and he stood on it, knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. He said, 'O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no god like You in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing lovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart; who has kept with Your servant David, my father, that which You have promised him; indeed You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day….When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way You shall send them, and they pray to You toward this city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name, then hear from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause." (see 2 Chronicles chapter 6)
* King Jehoshaphat called the nation of Judah together to pray for God's help and mercy in time of war — "Now it came about after this that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat. Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, 'A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, out of Aram and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).' Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord. Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court, and he said, 'O Lord, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You. Did You not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary there for Your name, saying, "Should evil come upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for Your name is in this house) and cry to You in our distress, and You will hear and deliver us." Now behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (they turned aside from them and did not destroy them), see how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance. O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.' All Judah was standing before the Lord, with their infants, their wives and their children." (see 2 Chronicles 20)
EXCERPTS FROM INTERVIEW ON FOX NEWS CHANNEL:
FOX NEWS ANCHOR SHANNON BREAM: Joining us now, New York Times best-selling author Joel Rosenberg. He's written numerous fiction and non-fiction books, including Israel At War. Among many other things, Joel, you also run a charity in Israel. You served as a consultant to the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. So you have a unique perspective into what's going on there, and I know that you've been very focused on the impact on both sides of this incursion, and how people are being affected there in the area.
ROSENBERG: Absolutely. I did have the privilege of working for Prime Minister Netanyahu back in 2000 — don't work for him now, therefore, of course, don't speak for him now in any way. But, yes, I don't envy the job he has ahead of him right now. As an evangelical Christian, my heart is going out grieving both for the Palestinians who have been lost, and the Israelis. But there is no question that the Israelis are fighting — not the Palestinians — they are fighting Hamas, they are fighting Islamic Jihad. The terrorists have fired more than 1,700 rockets at Israeli civilians. Israel accepted a cease fire from Egypt. Hamas would not. So I think the moral justification is on the Israeli side.
BREAM: Secretary Kerry is heading to that region, he says, within days, trying to work on a cease fire, and a longer term peace deal. Is that possible, in your estimation, knowing all sides here. Is there a temporary lull? Is there any hope for longer term peace?
ROSENBERG: Well, I was in Israel in November 2012, working with The Joshua Fund, providing food and medical supplies and all to Israelis and Palestinians during the last conflict. Israel massed forces on the border with Gaza and then didn't go in because Hamas stood down. This is obviously not the situation this time. One thing I would encourage the Prime Minister of Israel to do is actually call the nation to prayer & fasting. He is taking all the other right moves — mobilizing forces, calling the nation to patience, grieving with the families that have lost. But like King Solomon, like King Jehoshaphat, Josiah, and Nehemiah, it's time to call the nation to prayer and fasting so that Israel can win this war against terror, and have peace and calm in the region, at least for a season. And I think all of the great kings and leaders of Israel have done it. It would be time for the Prime Minister to do it, as well.
BREAM: How do you respond to those who say it is religion that has caused these problems, the fact that these two sides will never, potentially, resolve, because there are such deep divisions along religious lines?
ROSENBERG: Well, I think that Radical Islam has certainly caused this. Again, separate this from the Palestinian people at large — who may not love Israel, who may wish they could have all of the territory — but it's Hamas and the terrorist leaders of Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades that are firing rockets and missiles. It's really the Palestinian leadership — in terms of the terrorist leadership — that is crushing the hopes and dreams and fortunes of the people in Gaza. Look, they live on the Mediterranean coast. They have natural gas. They were given their freedom from Israel in 2005. There's no reason not to be able to build a functioning, calm, prosperous society. But you can't have terrorists leading you. And I think it's going to take the Israelis turning to the Lord and asking for peace, as well as the military force.
BREAM: And we know it's always important to make that distinction between the Palestinian people and Hamas. We thank you for your insights today. I know you're traveling to the area, so we'll pray safety for you.
ROSENBERG: Thank you. I appreciate it.
In early August, I'll be speaking on the latest developments in Israel & Mideast at events in Denver, Colorado & Ames, Iowa in August. Please click here to learn more and/or to register to attend.
Learn more about The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.com). This is an organization my wife and I founded in 2006 to educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her Arab neighbors in the name of Jesus, including caring for the poor and needy with food and other humanitarian relief. Read our 2013 Donor Report. Please pray for our team, especially as they care for people in the rocket zone. And please prayerfully consider making a generous, tax deductible, secure, on-line contribution.
Order The Auschwitz Escape today — it's available now in hardcover, e-book and audio formats. You can get it online, or in your favorite bookstore.
Follow on Twitter — @joelcrosenberg
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« GAZA WAR UPDATE, Day #13: Netanyahu addresses nation. Hamas defies humanitarin truce it asked for. Growing signals of a much longer, more intense IDF operation in Gaza.
GAZA WAR UPDATE, Day #17: Is ceasefire at hand, or close? Rocket fire dropping, but terrorist tunnels remain serious threat. Here's the latest…. »


Click here to list 2019 Webex newest coupon codes, hot deals and promo codes offer on the site.
WebEx includes a portfolio of solutions that accommodates key use cases, together with a rich set of enterprise communications and conferencing service integrations. Mature global infrastructure has contributed to driving high-volume usage of the WebEx platform among organizations with varying technology adoption profiles - from conservative to mainstream to aggressive.


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Alicia González 4th at long-awaited Movistar Team debut
Women's TeamSetmana Valenciana
Setmana Valenciana (st. 1)
Blues perform strong in Valencia opener, with four of its riders -Alicia, Mavi García (14th), Lorena Llamas and Eider Merino- inside the 20-rider group after Barx climb.
The beginning of a great story and already a top result and performance in their first. The Movistar Team did a great job at the start of the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana -118km on stage one, from Rótova to Gandía-, with strong overall level, some attacks and even a brilliant 4th place, against some of the world's best, by Alicia González.
The 22-year-old from Asturias was already part of a top-level pursuit group, alongside Mavi García -who had tried a brief attack into the descent of the Alto de Barxeta (Cat-3)-, of a duo made by Ashleigh Moolman (CBT) and Kasia Niewiadoma (CSR), which had gained half a minute's advantage at the top of the Alto de Barx (Cat-2). Later on, the chase started with collaboration from Lorena Llamas and Eider Merino, who worked hard to bring the leaders back and boosted Alicia's chances in dio alas a las opciones al sprint de Alicia.
At the sprint, only winner Hannah Barnes (CSR), Moolman and third-placed Marta Bastianelli (ALE) bested González, who took the first ever top-ten finish for a Movistar Team which starts their UCI Women's adventure on a high note. More emotions are expected on Friday's stage two from Castellón to Villarreal (115km), the route including the race's hardest climb, the Desierto de las Palmas (Cat-1), albeit 40km away from the finish.


Bacon is made differently in every country with various spices and amount of fat content.
America has been bacon-crazy for quite some time now. We've got not just bacon itself in countless forms, but a host of wild bacon-based concoctions: bacon chocolate; bacon, egg, and French toast martinis; sweet potato pie with candied bacon; bacon-jalapeño stuffed mushrooms; bacon cotton candy; and even bacon caramel apple pie. It's not a new craze, but it is still a growing one.
For the 13 Ways People Eat Bacon Around the World Gallery, click here.
The word bacon has its origins in Old High German — it referred to the "back" of the pig, where some bacon meat comes from, especially in certain countries outside the United States (we like ours from the fattier belly of the animal).
Domesticated pigs were introduced to the Americas by Christopher Columbus (he brought eight with him on his first big trip), and then again by Hernando de Soto — who brought mainland America's first 13 pigs to Tampa Bay, Florida — but bacon really hit it big in 1924 when Oscar Mayer introduced pre-packaged portions of pre-sliced bacon to consumers. Since then, it's been America's favorite breakfast food.
But bacon and similar meats are a big deal all over the world. In Germany, bacon (or speck) is sold in chunks and browned in a pan. The meat is first cured with salt, then cold-smoked with beechwood before being air-dried. The Germans choose beech to create a specific flavor — you won't find maple- or hickory-smoked bacon here. Koreans flame-grill their pork belly, or samgyeopsal-gui, much like barbecue. Since it is not cured or smoked, the natural flavor of the meat is revealed after cooking.
Want to get your pork belly fix while traveling? Here's are 13 ways people eat bacon around the world.
Fabiana Santana and Bianca Bahamondes contributed to this roundup.