Laff-N-Grin provides inflatable slides to Caldwell residents guaranteed to make any party or event fun!
Caldwell is a borough of Essex County, New Jersey. Established in 1892, Caldwell is home to the birthplace of US President Grover Cleveland and was ranked 3rd in New Jersey Monthly's list of the "Best Places to Live" in New Jersey.


text:
She supported her sister -- and saved her own life
By: Gordon Sinclair Jr.
Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Saturday, Mar. 20, 2010
It's not by chance that there's a wellness expo in town this weekend, not when you hear the life story of the woman behind it.
Particularly the chapter about Ida Albo's surprise breast cancer diagnosis 31/2 years ago.
WAYNE.GLOWACKI@FREEPRESS.MB.CA
Sisters Ida Albo (left) and Belinda Albo.
How it happened.
And more specifically, how she probably saved her own life because of the kind of person she is.
It's Friday morning and Ida's younger sister, Belinda Albo, and I are chatting over coffee in the Fort Garry Hotel's breakfast room.
I'm finishing research on the link between Ida's breast cancer story and the latest passion-driven project for the hotel that she and husband, Ric Bel, manage.
Do you remember how your sister told you she had breast cancer?
"I was with her," Belinda says.
But Belinda lives in Toronto.
Actually, Toronto is where the story starts a few years ago with Belinda being diagnosed with an illness and being told there was a six-month wait to see a specialist.
Which is where her big sister in Winnipeg comes in. Ida insisted Belinda go straight to the internationally renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
When Belinda hesitated, Ida told her she couldn't put a price on her health.
And then Ida called the Mayo.
Belinda wasn't surprised.
"She's someone who's always taken care of everybody," Belinda says. "She's taken care of my brother, my dad. She's supportive of the community. The kids... That's just who she is."
Ida has another trait that she shares with her cerebral husband.
"They're problem-solvers," Belinda says.
The problem this time? The Mayo Clinic wouldn't let Ida book an appointment for Belinda. Privacy considerations, you understand. How was she going to solve this one? Easy. She had already decided to accompany her sister to Rochester because Belinda didn't want to go alone, so Ida booked herself a while-you-wait, state-of-the-art physical. Plus, an appointment with a specialist.
Then she gave her little sister the specialist appointment.
There was a bigger one to come.
Ida was only at the Mayo because her sister needed her, so when a doctor began detailing what's commonly called the executive checkup, Ida balked.
"I remember saying 'I don't need this and I don't need that' because I do get regular checkups."
But the doctor convinced her.
She was waiting at the clinic for her same-day results when they told her to report to breast imaging.
"They just were concerned with some calcification."
Ida was caught off guard. She'd had a mammogram a year earlier in Winnipeg. There was something else.
They wanted to do a biopsy. Ida asked, 'when?' They said 'now.'
She was back in Winnipeg the same night. That was Friday.
Monday at noon, the phone rang.
It was the Mayo Clinic with her results. She had breast cancer and it was invasive. Days later, she and Ric were in Rochester.
"When I met with the surgeon she said, 'Well, you know Ida, we don't know what we're going to find.'
"And I said. 'Take it out. Remove one breast, remove two, I don't care. Just get rid of it.' "
It turned out the surgery at the Mayo was confined to a lumpectomy and Ida would do her radiation here.
Did catching the cancer that early save her life, given that she turns 50 next week and wasn't scheduled for another mammogram until this year?
Ida answers this way: "I probably would be being diagnosed with cancer now. And it would be at a different stage. There's a certain karma in things, and it was kind of the right time."
Her sister is more definite.
"Her coming with me to be my support saved her life."
For sure, it changed Ida's life.
"It just makes you stop and think how much time do you have left? Whether it's three years, or five years, or 10 years, or 30 years. That's it. And so you start thinking: I'm really going to start enjoying myself and being myself. I'm going to start having fun."
Fun, as it turns out, is doing what she's always done, except faster. Building the business, looking after her own health and encouraging others to look after their own.
Now you know where the Live This Life Expo came from.
Happy 50th birthday, big sister.
gordon.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Acanthomyrmex padanensis is a species of ant of the genus Acanthomyrmex. Terayam, Ito & Gobin described the species in 1998, and it is native to Indonesia.

References

padanensis
Insects described in 1998
Insects of Indonesia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


With Halloween right around the corner, here are the top 5 Halloween Pet Safety Tips for pet owners to keep your pets safe on this spooky night.
Be cautious with Pet Costumes .
Not all pets love wearing costumes, even though we all secretly wish they did, and that's the first of our Halloween pet safety tips. According to the ASPCA, do not put your pet in a costume unless you know they love it. Costumes may cause your pet to stress out. If you are dressing up your pet, make sure the costume doesn't limit movement, sight, breathing and their ability to bark or meow. Check your costume for choking hazards. If your pet is showing signs of stress or abnormal behavior with their costume, maybe skip the costume altogether and have them wear a skeleton bandana instead.
Outfit your pet with a collar with ID tag and microchip.
With your door opening and closing so many times for your Halloween visitors, it's important to make sure your pet has a collar with an ID Tag or even better, make sure they have a microchip. This way if they slip out the door, they will be easily identifiable.
Keep your pet in a safe space.
Strangers in costumes can be overwhelming and stressful for your pets. One of our best Halloween pet safety tips is to keep your pet occupied and in a separate room away from your front door during those peak times of trick-or-treating.
Watch your pets around decorations & wires.
Carving pumpkins is a must but with the candle inside, pets can easily knock them over and start a fire. Kittens and puppies are curious creatures and you don't want them getting singed by any flames. Also, remember to blow out all candles when you're done with festivities, which is one of our Halloween pet safety tips that applies to humans too.
Chocolate (in any form) is toxic to pets so make sure to put your candy bowl out of reach from your pets. Sugar free candies also pose a risk since they contain the artificial sweetener xylitol which can cause serious health problems for your pet. If you think your pet has ingested anything toxic, call your vet immediately or the ASPCA has a Poison Control Center number as well.


InnovaTek teams with SAFCell on $3.7 million REBELS Project | InnovaTek, Inc.
Richland, WA – InnovaTek is a member of a team led by SAFCell, Inc., of Pasadena, CA selected to receive a $3.7 million award from the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) to develop an intermediate temperature fuel cell for low-cost distributed power generation. It was one of 13 projects funded under ARPA-E's $33 million Reliable Electricity Based on Electrochemical Systems (REBELS) program, which is focused on improving grid stability, balancing intermittent renewable technologies, and reducing CO2 emissions using electrochemical distributed power generation systems.
SAFCell and its team will dramatically lower system costs by reducing precious metals, such as platinum, from the electrodes and develop new catalysts based on carbon nanotubes and metal organic frameworks. The proposed solid acid fuel cell stack design will lead to the creation of fuel cells that can withstand common fuel impurities, making them ideal for distributed generation applications.
InnovaTek's role in the project is to conduct system and cost analyses for a fuel flexible solid acid fuel cell based on InnovaTek's proprietary fuel processing technology. A detailed financial model will be developed and applied to generate installed system cost estimates. A successful project would demonstrate the commercial viability of the technology through performance and economic analyses for distributed power markets.
SAFCell, Inc. (www.safcell-inc.com) develops solid acid fuel cell stacks that are scalable from tens to thousands of watts, and can tolerate commercially available fuels such as propane, natural gas, or diesel. Operating at mid-range temperatures around 250°C, SAFCell's stacks are rugged and fuel flexible, which reduces system complexity and cost, making possible a range of commercial applications. SAFCell was recently awarded a $1 million Army grant to develop man-portable power systems and received the Los Angeles Business Journal's 2013 Patrick Soon-Shiong Innovation Award.


text:
Steven George MacLean (* 23. August 1982 in Edinburgh) ist ein schottischer Fußballspieler, der zuletzt bei Heart of Midlothian unter Vertrag stand.

Karriere

Verein
Steven MacLean stand ab dem 1. August 2002 im Profikader der Glasgow Rangers. In der Saison 2002/03 absolvierte er für die Rangers unter Alex McLeish drei Ligaspiele. Sein Debüt als Profi gab er am 22. Dezember 2002 gegen Partick Thistle als er für Stephen Hughes eingewechselt wurde. Für die folgende Saison 2003/04 wurde MacLean an den englischen Viertligisten Scunthorpe United verliehen. Mit 23 erzielten Treffern wurde er Torschützenkönig. Nach seiner Rückkehr zu den Rangers, wurde der 21-Jährige auf die Transferliste gesetzt. Kurz darauf wurde er für eine Ablösesumme von £125.000 an den englischen Drittligisten Sheffield Wednesday verkauft. In seiner ersten Saison gelangen ihm 18 Ligatore, Wednesday stieg nach den Play-offs in die 2. Liga auf. Im August 2005 brach er sich das Bein und kam in der Zweitligasaison 2005/06 nur sechsmal zum Einsatz. Im letzten Vertragsjahr in Sheffield gelangen ihm nochmals 12 Tore. Danach stand er beim Ligarivalen Cardiff City unter Vertrag. Im Januar 2008 wechselte er für £500.000 zu Plymouth Argyle. Dort blieb er in den folgenden drei Jahren nicht mehr so Treffsicher. Von Februar bis Juni 2010 wurde er an den FC Aberdeen verliehen, danach von November 2010 bis Mai 2011 an Oxford United. Ab Juli 2011 spielte MacLean bei Yeovil Town sowie leihweise bei Cheltenham Town. Im Juli 2012 wechselte er zum FC St. Johnstone. Sein Debüt gab der ehemalige Rangers-Spieler gegen Celtic am 15. September 2012 das die Saints gewannen. Mit dem Verein gewann er 2014 den schottischen Pokal im Finale gegen Dundee United. MacLean traf dabei zum 2:0-Endstand. In seinem 203. und letzten Pflichtspiel für den Verein am 5. Mai 2018 erzielte er gegen den FC Motherwell einen Hattrick. Danach wechselte der mittlerweile 35-Jährige in seine Geburtsstadt Edinburgh zu Heart of Midlothian.

Nationalmannschaft
Steven MacLean absolvierte im Jahr 2002 unter Rainer Bonhof vier Spiele in der Schottischen U-21-Nationalmannschaft.

Weblinks

Einzelnachweise

Fußballspieler (Glasgow Rangers)
Fußballspieler (Scunthorpe United)
Fußballspieler (Sheffield Wednesday)
Fußballspieler (Cardiff City)
Fußballspieler (Plymouth Argyle)
Fußballspieler (FC Aberdeen)
Fußballspieler (Oxford United)
Fußballspieler (Yeovil Town)
Fußballspieler (Cheltenham Town)
Fußballspieler (FC St. Johnstone)
Fußballspieler (Heart of Midlothian)
Fußballspieler (Raith Rovers)
Schotte
Brite
Geboren 1982
Mann


text:
My Progress News
Engagements, Weddings & Anniv. | Non-profits | Obituaries | To The Editor | Weekly Columns | What's Happening | Wine-Dine-Drink
Attractions | Auctions | Weekly Auto Deals | Business Directory | Classifieds | Coupons & Weekly Specials
The Christophers - A Holly Dolly Christmas
Tony Rossi, Director of Communications
"I always try to remember what Christmas is really about, and that's the birth of Christ." So said country music legend Dolly Parton when I interviewed her recently about her new projects, including the Christmas album "A Holly Dolly Christmas" and the movie musical "Christmas on the Square." Dolly's embrace of the holiday's sacred meaning is clear in the chorus of one of the album's songs: "Circle of love, halo of light / When Jesus was born, on that Christmas night / And oh what a night! That Holy night was / When Bethlehem glowed, in the circle of love."
Dolly grew up in Tennessee's Smoky Mountains in a family of 12 children. Though her parents didn't have much money, they made up for it with an abundance of love and faith. Dolly told me, "My Grandpa – my mother's dad – pastored a church called the House of Prayer. We always had Christmas service at that little church. Christmas for us was singing all the great songs, Mama reading the story from the Bible, Grandpa talking about it. But the story of Christ went year-round in our place. We had Wednesday night prayer meetings, Sunday school, Sunday night prayer meetings. I was brought up believing that through God all things are possible and that Jesus loves me. That's embedded in me. It follows me through everything that I do. It's in my songs, my heart, my speech. I'm proud to have that in my background. It keeps me humble."
Another of Dolly's recent projects is the book "Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics," in which she revisits 175 of her most popular and lesser-known songs: from "Coat of Many Colors" and "I Will Always Love You," to "Dr. Robert F. Thomas," a tribute to the doctor who delivered her and selflessly served the poor people in her community for many years.
No matter what type of song Dolly is writing, she always finds elements of the divine in the experience. She said, "God is my co-writer and my co-pilot. Anything that I do, I always keep God first and foremost because I feel like that's where I draw my strength…[Songwriting] is my God-time. I have a little world that I work in with God and leave myself open [to Him]. Some times are better than others, but I enjoy the process because God gave me my gift. We all have our gifts. Some of us don't use them like we should. It's like that Scripture in the Bible about hiding [your light] under a bushel basket. If you don't let it shine, it'll go out. So I feel like God gave me this gift, and I want to write, create, spread joy, and spread a message. And I want to be there for other people. I know God is there for me."
Dolly lets her light shine in many ways, perhaps most impressively through the Imagination Library, which has donated more than 147 million books to children worldwide to promote literacy and self-esteem. But just like anyone else, Dolly endures times of darkness. As it says on the three Christopher Awards she's won for her TV movies, "It's better to light one candle than to curse the darkness." Dolly agrees with that sentiment. In times of darkness, concluded Dolly, "I go to that God core inside me. Even when I feel like my little pilot light might have gone out, I know it's still there. I just have to reignite it through prayer, faith, love, friends, and family."
For free copies of the Christopher News Note PEACE: THE ESSENCE OF THE CHRISTMAS MESSAGE, write: The Christophers, 5 Hanover Square, New York, NY 10004; or e-mail: mail@christophers.org
Dec. 8, 2020 Issue
The Christophers
The Christophers - Your Second Act
The Christophers - Actress Surrenders to God's Will
The Christophers - A Saint's Two Crowns
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text:
World's Fastest Drummer/Extreme Sport Drumming is a competition for determining the world's fastest drummer. A drummer's speed is calculated and recorded by a digital counting device called the Drumometer. The Drumometer, a patented electronic technology protected by U.S. Patent #6,545,207 was invented by Boo McAfee and Craig A. Kestner, aka Craig Alan, in 1999 for accurately counting drum strokes. The Drumometer is accredited by Guinness World Records as the official device used to verify the World's Fastest Drummer.

Purpose
The primary goal of most WFD competitions is to determine who can play the most single strokes in sixty seconds. According to author Josh Davis, "the Drumometer uncovered a deep well of competitiveness." After experimenting with various WFD competition formats in the Southern United States, the event achieved international prominence when respected studio and clinic drummer Johnny Rabb became the first person to break 1,000 single strokes in 60 seconds, claiming the title World's Fastest Hands and recognition from the record keepers at Guinness. McAfee and Alan then officially sanctioned their events and copyrighted the phrase World's Fastest Drummer. This was followed by ads in Drum! and Modern Drummer magazines touting Rabb's accomplishment and their Drumometer device. Subsequently, they created new classes of speed drumming: fastest feet (for two-footed bass drumming), bare hands, and tag team, among others. Drumometer orders then followed, and the race to best Rabb's feats began. Music genres - Death metal, Country, Jazz, Rock as well as Drum Corps have since battled for dominance in the various categories. In 2002, WFD world championships became a biannual affair (winter and summer), and were permanently stationed at NAMM conventions beginning in 2003.

Early years
Early stars of the event in addition to Rabb included a veteran jazz drummer named Art Verdi, the first person to break 1100 single strokes and while using the traditional grip. Jotan Afanador, the first person to regularly perform nearly 1200 single strokes in one minute. Tim Waterson, the first person to score over 1000 single strokes on a bass drum and first identifiable personality of the bass drum division via a series of instructional videos touting his widely emulated heel-toe technique.

Acquired in 2002 was the WFD's most recognizable competitor when Dream Theater drummer and former Berklee College of Music professor Mike Mangini joined its ranks.

With the retirements of Rabb and others from active competition, the sport continued to witness runs by New Jersey website personality and Joe Morello student "Tiger" Bill Meligari. Seth Davis, 1000+ single stroker, double stroke world record holder, and WFD host. Sam Lecompte, single paradiddle world record holder, and 2003 Summer winner Eric Okamoto.

New era
Recent champions include Matt Smith, who at 16 became the youngest WFD champion and the harbinger of a new youth movement within the sport, and two bass drum competitors Tim Yeung and Mike "Machine" Mallais. Yeung was instrumental in popularizing the sport within that genre, while Mallais beat most of the existing bass drum world records formerly held by Waterson and Mangini at the Winter 2007 world championships.

In 2006 British drummer Rees Bridges became the first European to win a world's title, sparking greater interest in a WFD UK division, managed by drummer entrepreneur Ed Freitas. Later in 2006 WFD staged a national competition in Australia with smaller events held in Hong Kong and elsewhere, while the first official WFD China Championship is scheduled for 2012. After an extended hiatus, WFD Championships returned to NAMM Conventions in July 2011 with Australian Joey Moujalli and American Kevin Bernardy taking hands and feet titles respectively.

In July 2007 in Austin, Texas, WFD hands champion Thomas Grosset (age 16) performed 1156 single strokes in 1 minute matched grip, the highest score ever recorded in the final championship round. Tom's top preliminary run of 1194 made him the new WFD 16 and under World Record Holder and third in the world rankings just behind Afanador. In 2013, Grossett set the new world record of 1,208. Shortly after losing his 16 and under record, Matt Smith set a new world hands endurance record and was followed closely by 18-year-old Daniel Rice, scoring 1108 in the preliminaries. In June 2008, Smith returned to break Mangini's traditional grip record of 1126, with a score of 1132, leaving the sport almost entirely in the hands of younger competitors. Mangini's former dominance of WFD has recently been deemphasized. He still holds the bare hand record (no sticks) of 1138 single strikes in 60 seconds.

Controversy
Since the competition's inception, drummers were divided into positive and negative camps, with this phenomenon rapidly accelerating as Mangini, Rabb, Verdi, and Afanador especially surfaced on television programs and commercials, with opposing sides simultaneously battling in internet drum forums, magazines, and YouTube comments sections. WFD detractors have contended that musical instruments should not be used as tools for sport and depreciate musicality, while defenders cite the quest for technical excellence and its innocence as a non-musical exercise. As the argument has become more complex, hundreds of WFD hopefuls issue unsubstantiated Drumometer videos purporting to be world records.

Another controversy centered around the implementation of a hand technique called "push-pull" that allowed competitors to score more than one beat with a single motion but was neither a double stroke nor buzz roll. In 2011 it was determined that push-pull qualified as a hybrid single stroke but requiring a separate category with its own records. The ruling further asserted that world rankings would remain limited to standard singles competitors.

World record holders
 Single Stroke Roll: Tom Grosset - [20.13 strokes a second] 1208 Strokes in 60 seconds - Hand Speed
 Double Stroke Roll: Seth Davis - [20 strokes a second] 1200 Strokes in 60 seconds - Hand Speed
 Single Paradiddle: Sam LeCompte - [17.2 strokes a second] 1032 Strokes in 60 seconds - Hand Speed
 Single Stroke Roll: Mike Mallais - [17.23 strokes a second] 1034 Strokes in 60 seconds - Foot Speed
 Double Stroke Roll: Tim Waterson - [23.45 strokes a second] 1407 Strokes in 60 seconds - Foot Speed
 Bare Hand Single Stroke Roll: Mike Mangini - [18.96 strokes a second] 1138 Strokes in 60 seconds - Bare Hand Speed
Certified by the World's Fastest Drummers Organization at Official Sanctioned Events

WFD champions
Champions and competitors are documented online.
 Nov.   2021 "Fastest Hands" Logan Newhouse (904) "Fastest Feet" Stephen Dorbist (809)
 Spring 2019 "Fastest Hands" Marc Wilkens (953)  "Fastest Feet" Dane Slinger (796)
 Summer 2016 "Fastest Hands" Lizhou Wang  (1057) "Fastest Feet" Felix Garza III (847)
 Summer 2015 "Fastest Hands" Braxton Burke (953) "Fastest Feet" Josh Robinson (899)
 Spring 2015 "Fastest Hands" Charles Goodwin (926) "Fastest Feet" Josh Robinson (825)
 Summer 2014 "Fastest Hands" Wang Peng   (1049) "Fastest Feet" Perry Dattilo  (840)
 Summer 2013 "Fastest Hands" Dave Stroup (989) "Fastest Feet" Serena Dalton (846)
 Summer 2012 "Fastest Hands" Daniel Rice (1005)  "Fastest Feet" Flo Mounier (890)
 Summer 2011 "Fastest Hands" Joey Moujalli (995)  "Fastest Feet" Kevin Bernardy (860)
 Winter 2007 "Fastest Hands" Jeff Guthery (1054)     "Fastest Feet" Mike Mallais (978)
 Summer 2006 "Fastest Hands" Matt Smith (1030)       "Fastest Feet" Hensley Souryavong (774)
 Winter 2006 "Fastest Hands" Rees Bridges (1007)     "Fastest Feet" Tim Yeung (872)
 Summer 2005 "Fastest Hands" Randy Briggs (1021)     "Fastest Feet" Dan Prestup (858)
 Autumn 2005 "Fastest Hands" Arne Widderich (924)     "Fastest Feet" Matt Garrett (888)
 Summer 2004 "Fastest Hands" Sam LeCompte (1061)     "Fastest Feet" Adam Fachler (844)
 Winter 2004 "Fastest Hands" Bill Meligari (1019)    "Fastest Feet" Mike Duncan (782)
 Summer 2003 "Fastest Hands" Eric Okamoto (1018)     "Fastest Feet" Kermit Tarver (768)
 Winter 2003 "Fastest Hands" Kai Katchadourian (909) "Fastest Feet" Reno Kiilerich (878)

2015 Legal Filings-Defending the Drumometer Patent US #6,545,207
McAfee has filed patent infringement lawsuits in Chicago against Guitar Center, Ahead Products, Cherub Technology, which sells a similar drum stroke counting device; and Yamaha Corporation of America, which has incorporated a drum stroke counting feature in its popular line of DTX electronic drum kits.

In response to an ongoing controversy in the music world over who was, in fact, the world's fastest drummer, Boo McAfee teamed up with electrical engineer and drummer, Craig Alan Kestner, and developed the Drumometer™ to accurately count drum strokes on a drum pad. McAfee and Kestner were awarded U.S. Patent No. 6,545,207 on their invention and began promoting "World's Fastest Drummer®" ("WFD") competitions with the Drumometer™. Craig left Drumometer in 2007 to continue a career in engineering but still owns the first Drumometer prototype affectionately known as Frankenstein.

"Extreme Sport Drumming" competitions are now regularly held worldwide and have been featured on CNN, MTV, VH1, PBS, FOX, and ESPN.  Boo McAfee and Extreme Sport Drumming were recently the subjects of the film Fast Company, which opened to rave reviews at the Milwaukee Film Festival on September 27, 2015.

The popularity of Extreme Sport Drumming, however, has led to many imitators of McAfee's patented Drumometer™.  After trying for years to license, or stop, the sales of copycat drum stroke counting devices, McAfee has now begun filing patent infringement lawsuits with the help of patent attorney Anthony Dowell of Chicago.

"I contacted all of the companies selling imitation drum stroke counting pads," McAfee said.  "Unfortunately, none of them would respect my patent rights and pay a reasonable license fee.  Guitar Center told me they wouldn't even talk to me unless I filed 'formal proceedings.'  So that's what we did."

"Boo's experience is common these days," patent attorney Anthony Dowell explained.  "In today's patent climate, companies have no respect for inventors or patent rights.  Most will ignore an inventor until a patent infringement lawsuit is filed. That usually gets their attention."

Dowell has filed three patent infringement lawsuits for McAfee in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the first against Guitar Center and Yamaha on October 27, 2015 (15-cv-9555) and two more against Ahead Products, Inc. (15-cv-10395) and Cherub Technology Inc. (15-cv-10403) on November 18, 2015.

References

External links
 Official World's Fastest Drummer website
 Official Drumometer Website
 Church's Marches to a Different Drumstick
 WFD Church's Winners PR
 WFD Rules

Drumming
Music competitions


text:
Mass Marketing Climbs The Wall for Victory Lap
By Daniel Henninger
The idea that something called "mass culture" would reduce the life of the mind to homogenized glop dates all the way back to at least the late 18th century, when Germany's J.W. Goethe worried that the newest high-tech tool of his day, newspapers, would emulsify the world into group-think: "We have newspapers for all hours of the day. . . . This is communicated from house to house, from town to town, from empire to empire, and at last from continent to continent."
The threat didn't reach America in a way anyone would notice until sociologists in the 1950s started writing about masscult, conformism and men in gray flannel suits; within 24 hours of the announcement a guy in Greenwich Village burned his suit, stopped shaving and called himself a "beatnik." It's been a long and honorable battle, this determined resistance by individualists to American marketing's compulsion to massify everything it touches. But I knew the 50 Years War was really, finally over on reading that this past weekend from sundown Friday to sunup Monday, Americans of every age, creed and color came together, not to worship but to watch "Spider-Man," a movie, which took in $114 million, the most moolah ever for an opening. That take came on the wings of a marketing campaign that cost $50 million. This, it may be said, is big.
Wonder Land
"Wonder Land" tries to make sense of the world's wonder, which in the newspaper business arrives every day of the week. It's published weekly on Wednesday evenings.


We found the lowest weekend prices on flights in early April.
Book round-trip flights to New York with prices from $149 at Airfarewatchdog. We found low rates from Dallas, starting in early April. You can compare flight prices at Airfarewatchdog, then book directly with your airline. Taxes, fees, and exclusions may apply.


text:
Government must use the power of public procurement to tackle slavery
News | 18 June 2018
In 2017, the UK government handed out contracts and frameworks to private companies worth £220 billion in lifetime value. That's around 10% of GDP. In 2016, local government alone spent almost £60 billion on goods and services. Huge sums of money are paid from the state each year to buy the goods and services we need. Public procurement is, therefore, a powerful tool for shifting company behaviour. The requirements government can make of companies which wish to bid for, or which win, contracts, can shape and improve business practices to reduce risks of modern slavery. It is for this reason that I believe public procurement has a crucial role to play in the fight against modern day slavery and human trafficking.
Public procurement has not been used enough to tackle slavery
To date, however, this potential role has not been used to the extent it should. A considerable amount of research has been published in the past few months which demonstrates this. In March 2018, Sancroft and Tussell published their report, Eliminating Modern Slavery in Public Procurement, which analysed the extent to which the government's top 100 contractors (by lifetime contract value) had complied with the Modern Slavery Act. They found that over 40% had failed to meet the basic legal requirements of Section 54 and, furthermore, that there was a lack of understanding about modern slavery and how it might affect businesses. This is simply unacceptable: the government should not be awarding contracts to companies which fail to comply with UK law. Baseline legal compliance with Section 54 is not hard to achieve; it requires the company in question to publish an annual statement, linked to from its homepage, signed by a director and approved by the board. For businesses to fail on these simple requirements and the government itself to turn a blind eye is deeply concerning.
Some positive examples of action do exist
Some positive action is being taken to begin addressing this situation. The government has recently been piloting a risk assessment tool with suppliers of some departments and is currently revising this tool. I hope that it will be rolled out across all government departments in due course. The Welsh government has produced a code of practice, Ethical Employment in Supply Chains, which encourages public buying authorities to ensure that employment practices are considered as part of the procurement process. It suggests asking questions in tenders, such as how bidders can explain the impact that low costs might have on workers when an abnormally low quote is received. This is important: materials, travel and other non-labour costs tend to be more fixed, so labour cost is usually the first area which is squeezed in the name of competition, particularly in sectors where workers are not unionised. Low costs may also signify a lack of due diligence processes on how labour is sourced.
Government must take action to strengthen section 54
Whilst I welcome the Welsh Code and support these initial explorations by central government, we need much more comprehensive action. Firstly, we need the government to ensure that any business which falls within the scope of Section 54 but which has failed to comply with its requirements is excluded from winning any public contracts. This should be the baseline of government action to ensure British procurement is on the right side of the battle against slavery.
Secondly, Section 54 should be extended to include public procurement. Baroness Young of Hornsey has been promoting this idea with her Private Members' Bill which I support. This extension of the remit of Section 54 would only mean that public bodies must do what the government already requires of businesses. This has challenges attached - namely training and resources to enable public procurement professionals to understand this work - but it should also be viewed as an opportunity: British public procurement can become a leading example in the world, helping to ensure workers are protected on our shores and throughout the global supply chains on which we rely.
Last year, the Joint Committee on Human Rights recommended that the government incorporate human rights into its procurement, stating that "if the Government expects businesses to take human rights issues in their supply chains seriously, it must demonstrate at least the same level of commitment in its own procurement supply chains." Some public authorities have moved ahead of government and begun producing Section 54 statements despite it not being required by law. In their report, UK Modern Slavery Act: Transparency in Supply Chains: Reporting by Local Authorities, academics at the University of Greenwich found that 33 councils had produced such statements in 2016-17. Whilst the quality of them differed, it is a signal of the will and appetite of local authorities to work on this issue. A new report by Unison, Ethical Procurement in UK Local Authorities, examines the ethical procurement policies of 190 local authorities and finds some interesting examples of councils trying to do more, including several which explicitly reference International Labour Organisation standards in their procurement policies and two which reference the Ethical Trading Initiative's respected Base Code. These examples show how leadership by public authorities can begin to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of this serious crime and of the potential positive impacts of extending the remit of Section 54.
Government could go further with new policy ideas
Exclusion on the grounds of section 54 non-compliance and extending its remit to include public bodies are clear and necessary moves forward, but the government could go even further in supporting the fight against slavery. For example, the UK could follow the USA's example and prohibit public contractors from engaging in practices that relate to human trafficking, including confiscation of identification documents and charging of recruitment fees. Subcontracting can create the conditions for forced labour and trafficking by making due diligence of the workforce much more complex. In response, the Norwegian government has introduced regulations which limit the number of layers in supply chains for its cleaning and construction contracts. This kind of imaginative policy-making solves two issues at once: it lessens the burden on government by making the supply chain easier to manage and also removes an enabling factor of forced labour.
It is clear that public procurement could be a powerful tool in the fight against modern slavery. Used well, it can help to shape a private sector which protects the interests of all workers and ensures the goods and services we use as a nation are not facilitating slavery or human trafficking. There are clear steps which need to be taken to ensure this happens: I hope that in the coming months we will see more movement on this issue and, in time, have anti-slavery measures firmly embedded across all public buying.
Resources on public procurement and slavery
Information from the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply can be found here
E-learning and other information from the London Universities Purchasing Consortium can be found here
Local Government Association aide memoire to support those drafting first statements can be found here
The report, Modern Slavery: a Council Guide, by the Local Government Association with the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner discusses procurement on pages 39-43 and can be found here
Information about ethical employment in supply chains from the Welsh government can be found here
Information on the Ethical Trading Initiative, its base code and public procurement can be found here
OSCE Model Guidelines on Government Measures to Prevent Trafficking for Labour Exploitation in Supply Chains are here
OSCE Compendium of Resources on preventing trafficking in supply chains are here


When I go shopping I like to make sure I get the best price. With this shopping philosophy, it takes a couple of hours before I'm ready to head out to the stores. I write down a list of stores that I might be planning on visiting on this particular shopping trip. Yes, I make a list of stores that I might be going to! Why, because there's nothing worse than walking into an unplanned store buying things and then realizing that you could have used a coupon to save! As soon as my list is complete, I turn on my computer and visit each of their websites. Once on their websites, I search for coupons. When I find coupons, I print them. Not only do I print one copy, but I often will print doubles (in case I'm going with someone else, I like to make sure they save on their purchases too). You can ask my sister Emily about this, I've printed lots of coupons for her. The entire process is long but in the long run it's worth it. Saving money is a great thing!
That was my saving method until I discovered that you can use a mobile phone to save money on purchases! Do you realize how much time, ink and trees printouts I have saved now that I know this?! Now when I want to go shopping, I just need to bring along my new shopping buddy aka a mobile phone, like the AWESOME Samsung Galaxy S5, and I'm ready to go!
There are a lot of stores that offer discounts and coupons directly on their website. Certain stores only offer coupons and discounts by email. I visited all my favorites and have signed up to receive emails when they are offering discounts. You just have to show the cashier the email you received with the coupon/discount. What's really neat is that stores like Michaels scan the coupon bare-code directly from your mobile device!
Another great way that you can save money shopping thanks to your phone, is by visiting competitors websites to compare pricing. There are stores that offer price matching or they'll beat competitors prices. However, I usually will just see who has the best price and go directly to that store.
Most stores also have online flyers, which is a great way to see what is currently on special! This is absolutely fabulous when grocery shopping! I love planning my meals around what is on special at the groceries.
What I also love to do before purchasing an item, is to check out reviews online. Why purchase an item that 90% of the people say it breaks after a couple of uses. Or perhaps they'll suggest a better model which may even be cheaper than what you are looking at.
Do you use coupons when you go shopping? Do you print them out or do you use your cell phone?
What are you favorite stores that offer great discounts?
I love to use coupons, I especially use them at the grocery store. I have them somewhat organized (paper format) in a tiny little mini file folder. Like you, if I am going to multiple stores, I make a list of each store and under that, the items I want to purchase. I even go so far as to put an asterisk beside items that i have a coupon for.
I LOVE the idea of using the phone though. Not only is it greener, it is faster than rifling through my coupons.
I never thought of using a cell phone to get coupons, this way you don't forget them at home, like I do lol! I will definitely check this out on my phone. Thanks for sharing.


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Leister Technologies LLC, Hosts Annual DVS Training and Certification Classes
News: 06/17/2019
Leister Technologies, LLC set to host annual DVS (German Welding Society) Training and Certification Classes in Itasca, Ill.
CHICAGO —June 17, 2019— Leister Technologies LLC, subsidiary of Leister Technologies AG, the worldwide leader in hot gas plastic fabrication tools and equipment, will be hosting their annual DVS training and certification classes in Itasca, Ill., Oct. 14-18 and 21-25.
The manager of Plastics Engineering at the Aachen University Chamber of Craft and Trades in Aachen, Germany, will be conducting the training. Aachen University, founded in 1870, is one of the premier technical/scientific and research institutions in Europe.
The classroom and hands-on training will include structure and physics of thermoplastics, hot gas speed welding and extrusion welding processes, parameters, techniques, best practices and more. Classroom schedule is as follows: Monday 10:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M., Tuesday through Thursday 8:30 A.M. - 4:30 P.M. and Friday 8:30 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. For DVS Certifications, attendees will undergo additional requirements; destructive testing of specimens shipped to Aachen University.
To sign up for classroom training and/or certification classes, fill out, sign and submit this form as soon as possible. Seating is limited and will be reserved on a "first come, first served" basis.
Leister Technologies AG (www.leister.com) has been the worldwide leader in plastic welding and hot-air equipment for more than 70 years. The Swiss manufacturer's plastic-welding products are used in roof sealing systems, floor coverings, plastic sheeting, earthworks, hydraulic and tunnel engineering, process equipment manufacturing and for vehicle repair; its process heat products are used for activating, heating, curing, melting, shrinking, welding, sterilizing, drying and warming.
Leister's global headquarters is in Kaegiswil, Switzerland with sales and service centers in more than 90 countries. With a commitment to quality, the company is ISO 9001 certified, and develops and produces all its products and accessories (more than 10,000 items) on its own state-of-the-art manufacturing premises.
Leister Technologies LLC
Headquartered near Chicago, Leister Technologies LLC is a subsidiary of Leister Technologies AG. It supports the sales and service of Leister's full line of industrial process heating, plastic welding, laser technologies and Axetris microsystem products through its wide network of distribution partners across North America.
Dave Rothbard
david.rothbard@leister.com


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#161 Mike Morris and Rick Kupchella
Rick elaborates on why news sucks so much.
Morris was a four-year starter at Northeast Missouri State, and entered the National Football League as an undrafted free agent. He played brief stints for the Arizona Cardinals, the Kansas City Chiefs, the New England Patriots, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Cleveland Browns before settling in as the long snapper for the Vikings, where he played consistently throughout the 1990s. During the 1998 playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons for the Minnesota Vikings, he was blamed by Dennis Green for the snap being too high leading to Gary Anderson's only missed field goal of the year. Following the end of his career, Morris took over the morning drive time slot on sports radio station KFAN after the failure of Dan Cole's show necessitated a replacement. Morris broadcasted using the moniker 'The Superstar' and his show was known as The Power Trip Morning Show. Morris was also the co-host of Vikings Fanline with Cory "Sludge" Cove.
For 30 years Rick Kupchella has worked as an investigative reporter, news anchor, public speaker and author. Now he has partnered with digital developers, broadcast producers and major U.S. corporations to reach even wider audiences, with even greater impact. In the past two years, Rick's partnerships have created and distributed a TV documentary, daily broadcast and digital news programming, several books, digital gaming, and even the launch of the Congressional Caucus on Workplace Wellness.
http://media.blubrry.com/tombarnardpodcast/p/episodes.tombarnardpodcast.com/vod/tombarnard.tombarnardpodcas/Tom_Barnard_Podcast_161_Mike_Morris_and_Rick_Kupchella.mp3


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Home » Shop » All Books » The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Publisher: Red Fox
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Joan Aiken
UK & Ireland £8.99 *save £2.00
Wicked wolves threaten Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia when Bonnie's parents depart Willoughby Chase for a sea voyage and leave them in the care of the cruel governess Miss Slighcarp.
The servants are dismissed, the furniture is sold, and Bonnie and Sylvia are sent to a prison-like orphan school. With the help of Simon the gooseboy and his flock, they escape. But how will they ever get Willoughby Chase free from the clutches of the evil Miss Slighcarp?
Reviewed by A. F. Harrold in Slightly Foxed Issue 64.
Joan's Books
A. F. HARROLD
Joan Aiken was the daughter of the American poet laureate Conrad Aiken and the Canadian writer Jessie MacDonald, and two of her siblings also wrote books, so writing clearly ran in the family. From her pen came a raft of books, including a handful of Jane Austen sequels, period romances, supernatural short stories and most things in between. What I want to write about here though is her sequence of eleven novels for children that began with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase in 1962 – page-turning adventure stories, set in a mostly historical past, with a sprinkling of the paranormal and a bucketful of brilliant characters . . .
Extract from Slightly Foxed Issue 64, Winter 2019
Aiken, Joan
Harrold, A. F.
A. F. Harrold on the children's books of Joan Aiken
Joan Aiken was the daughter of the American poet laureate Conrad Aiken and the Canadian writer Jessie MacDonald, and two of her siblings also wrote books, so writing clearly ran in the family. From...


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Wikithulhu
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1912 1922 1923 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 from:c.a.smith from:g.sterling from:h.p.lovecraft from:r.e.howard h.p.lovecraft to:a.w.derleth to:c.a.smith to:e.toldridge to:f.b.long to:g.sterling to:h.p.lovecraft to:j.f.morton to:r.kleiner to:t.c.smith
FROM Clark Ashton Smith
TO George Sterling
Praise for Sterling's Sails and Mirage naming "The Queen Forgets," "Saul," "The Secret Garden, "Hesperian," "The Rune," "Atthan Dances," "The Princess on the Headland," "To A Girl Dancing," "Lost Colours," "The Wine of Illusion," "Vox Humana, "On the Sea's Voice," "The Morning Star," "The Evening Star," "Mammon" ("The Common Cult"), "His Own COuntry," "The Passing of Bierce," and "Poe's Gravestone"; Smith has heard nothing back yet from Houghton Mifflin on his book, and Smith's fears that there is no hope but to publish it himself (with reference to John Keats, Upton Sinclair's Brass Check, and the effect on Smith's latest affair); Smith enclosing an article from a local paper on literature, which mentions Smith and Ambrose Bierce, western novelist Jackson Gregory, and successful popular novelist Harold Bell Wright; promising to send some poems and drawings. Enclosed: "Placer COunty Scribes and Artists Shine Brightly Among the Stars of California's Firmament," Journal-Republican 15 December 1921.
Selected Letters of Clark Ashton Smith (abridged)
Shadow of the Unattained (unabridged)
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Letters of Clark Ashton Smith and George Sterling
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Selected Letters of Clark Ashton Smith
Shadow of the Unattained
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