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Rubí es un municipio español de la provincia de Barcelona, situado en la comarca del Vallés Occidental, en Cataluña, España. Se encuentra situado en el valle de la riera de Rubí, y limita al norte con Tarrasa, al este con San Quirico de Tarrasa al oeste con Castellbisbal y Ullastrell, y al sur con San Cugat del Vallés. Con más de 78 000 habitantes, Rubí es la cuarta ciudad del Vallés Occidental en población, después de las dos cocapitales (Sabadell y Tarrasa) y San Cugat; la undécima de la provincia de Barcelona, la decimoquinta de Cataluña y la nonagésimo tercera de España.

El nombre actual según los historiadores proviene del nombre Rivo Rubeo, que se ha encontrado en algunos restos romanos. Este nombre en latín sería traducible por riera roja en referencia a la arcilla que la riera de Rubí arrastraba por su cauce.

Historia

Primeros pobladores
Los primeros asentamientos donde se tiene constancia actividad no fue actividad humana, sino de homo neanderthalensis.
El asentamiento más antiguo data de hace 300 000 años en la denominada barriada de El Pinar, a las afueras de la ciudad.
En el Paleolítico y Neolítico encontramos actividad en Can Fatjo y a las afueras de la ciudad un sepulcro datado de 3200 años.

Asentamientos ibéricos
Los asentamientos ibéricos datan de finales del  La población de la época era de orígenes layetanos y se encuentra en las ruinas del Poblado íbero de Can Fatjó. Según las últimas corrientes arqueológicas esta podría ser Rubricata (griego Ῥουβρίκατα), una ciudad layetana en el margen del río Rubricatus que fue situada por Claudio Ptolomeo en la Tarraconensis ya en el .

La ciudad como tal es de origen romano, tal y como lo atestiguan las muchas ánforas encontradas en su territorio. La creencia sobre el origen del nombre procede de su riera, antiguo río Rubeo para los romanos. La documentación escrita más antigua que cita a Rubí es del año 986.

Edad Media
A partir de la muerte de Guifré el Pilós, la frontera entre los cristianos y los musulmanes en esta zona, quedaba delimitada por el río Llobregat: al norte se ubicaban los cristianos y al sur se situaban los musulmanes. Era la consolidación de una primera línea de conquistas en donde había una amplia zona fronteriza que era muy imprecisa y donde parecía que no vivía nadie. La primera referencia escrita que se habla de Rivo Rubeo, la actual Rubí, data del año 986, y la sitúa alrededor de la iglesia de Sant Pere y estaba protegido por el castillo de Sant Genís.

La iglesia de Sant Pere(patrón de la ciudad) fue construida hacia el , al igual que el castillo (de origen árabe). Al abrigo de ambos se construyeron masías en las que se cultivó la tierra y posteriormente un núcleo urbano estable alrededor de la iglesia de Sant Pere.

En 1233 Berenguer de Rubí, obtiene una autorización por parte del rey Jaime I para construir un nuevo castillo; el castillo de Rubí, quedando abandonado el castillo del "Turó de Sant Genís" definitivamente. Durante el , la familia Torrelles, controla el término sujeto a los malos usos señoriales hasta que en 1383, Ramón de Torrelles, vendió tres de los malos usos, la remensa, la exorquia y la cugucia, a cambio de que sus campesinos le guardaran fidelidad y le homenajearan a él mismo y sus sucesores. Finalmente, en 1394, "Joan el Caçador" vendió la jurisdicción del castillo a Joan de Togores y dono a los habitantes el privilegio de escoger representante, conocido como "batlle", a cambio de pagar un impuesto colectivo, siendo el primer representante Pere de Xercavins.

Edad Moderna
En el periodo de entreguerras, hace falta destacar la guerra de sucesión española donde el Decreto de nueva planta aumenta de forma abusiva la presión fiscal sobre Cataluña y provocaba un gran malestar entre los amos de las masías y las clases más populares porque no podían satisfacer la presión fiscal.

Edad Contemporánea
En 1824, aparece la primera fábrica en la ciudad, y durante todo el , las fábricas de tejidos continuaban instalandose al borde de la riera de Rubí. Entre finales del  y principios del , la ciudad experimenta la primera gran expansión en plena revolución industrial, pasando de una economía basada en la agricultura, a un modelo mixto con la construcción de industrias de tejidos al borde de la riera, de las que se conservan cuatro chimeneas y los edificios del Vapor Nuevo y el conjunto del Escardívol. Esta obra, como otros edificios de la ciudad, son obra del arquitecto Lluís Muncunill y Antonio Gaudí. A finales de 1874, durante la tercera guerra carlista, la villa fue asaltada por la partida de Muixí, que se llevaba el alcalde y cuatro propietarios de "gira" por la comarca. En 1897 la energía eléctrica llegó a Rubí, y con ella, electrifico su industria. A finales del s. XIX, la reina María Cristina otorga el título honorífico de la Villa a la localidad.

La llegada de los FGC en 1919, con la línea que conecta Barcelona con Tarrasa, permite la creación de una estación en Rubí. Gracias a la riqueza de los burgueses u "el retorno de los indios", se construyen importantes edificaciones, entre las cuales, destacaban el conjunto modernista situado a la Plana de Can Betran y las escuelas Ribes. Durante la Mancomunidad de Cataluña, en la que se impulsa el cooperativismo, se construye el Celler cooperativo, obra del arquitecto Cèsar Martinell.

La industria, se desarrollaba con rapidez y hoy es habitual ver en el término municipal empresas de construcción, de tejidos, metal y electrónica, que se agrupan en diversos polígonos industriales, como La Llana, Can Jardí, etc. Esta industrialización, estaba acompañada con un crecimiento demográfico a partir de los años 60, con una inmigración masiva del resto de España, la mayoría provenientes de Andalucía. En menos de 50 años, Rubí pasa de ser una villa de 6000 habitantes a una ciudad de más de 50 000 habitantes.

El 25 de septiembre de 1962, la ciudad de Rubí se vio envuelta en lo que se recuerda como la mayor catástrofe hidrológica de España. La riera de Rubí se desbordó provocando un desastre que provocó 815 muertes (incluyendo desaparecidos) de un total de 2648 en toda Cataluña. El suceso se produjo en menos de dos horas a causa de una venida súbita de los ríos Llobregat y Besós y sus afluentes en su curso bajo. Se registraron 212 mm de precipitaciones en menos de tres horas con una intensidad máxima de 6 mm/min.

Se contabilizaron un total de 441 muertos, 374 desaparecidos y 213 heridos, la mayor parte vecinos de Tarrasa (Les Fonts) y Rubí.

Por ciudades el 90 % del total de pérdidas se distribuyó entre Sabadell 40 %, Tarrasa 30 % y Rubí 20 % aproximadamente, el 10 % restante se repartió por la cuenca del Besós y otros lugares puntuales como El Prat de Llobregat.

Estas lluvias provocaron que las diferentes rieras que provienen de Sant Llorenç del Munt y otras, y se unen en Matadepera y Tarrasa causarán el posterior desbordamiento de la riera en la ciudad de Rubí provocando así el mayor número de víctimas y desaparecidos. La causa de la tragedia fue la urbanización de los cauces de avenida de rieras y torrentes. En Rubí la riera recuperó su antiguo cauce desviado en 1850 para salvaguardar la parte baja de la población. Este cambio del cauce de la riera con el paso de los años cayó en el olvido de los habitantes y gobernantes de Rubí en parte debido a que se hizo con movimientos de tierras y sin construcciones de obra civil. El cauce antiguo de la riera había ido siendo ocupado por viviendas, especialmente desde 1930. Unas 105 viviendas situadas en esta zona llamada "el Escardívol" desaparecieron en pocos minutos la noche del 25 de septiembre de 1962.

Para realojar a los afectados por la inundación el 28 de junio de 1964, coincidiendo con la fiesta mayor de Rubí, el gobernador civil inauguró el Grupo de viviendas "25 de Setembre"; cuatro torres de 13 pisos y 43 bloques de 4 pisos, que en total sumaban 540 viviendas.

Desde 1980 se han construido de nuevo viviendas unifamiliares y en los primeros años del  bloques de pisos, en zonas muy afectadas en 1962.

Siglo XIX

Así se describe a Rubí en la página 583 del tomo XIII del Diccionario geográfico-estadístico-histórico de España y sus posesiones de Ultramar, obra impulsada por Pascual Madoz a mediados del :

Símbolos
El escudo de Rubí se define por el siguiente blasón:

Escudo embaldosado cortado: primero de gules, 2 llaves pasadas en sotuer con los dientes arriba y mirando hacia fuera, la de oro en banda por encima de la de argén en barra; segundo de oro, 4 palos de gules. Por timbre una corona mural de ciudad.
Fue aprobado el 2 de abril de 1990 y publicado en el DOGC el 11 del mismo mes.

Las llaves de Sant Pere (San Pedro) son el atributo del patrón de la ciudad y los cuatro palos recuerdan que el municipio estuvo bajo la jurisdicción real.

 La bandera de Rubí tiene la siguiente descripción:
Bandera apaisada de proporciones dos de alto por tres de largo, roja, con una banda amarilla fijada desde el ángulo superior del asta hasta el interior del vuelo encima de una barra blanca situada desde el ángulo superior del vuelo hasta el inferior del asta. El ancho de la banda y de la barra, de 1/8 del alto de la del paño.

El color rojo se utiliza en representación del esmalte del camper del escudo, y los colores amarillos y blanco, en representación de las llaves de San Pedro, que figuran en el escudo.

Fue publicada en el DOGC el 14 de mayo de 1990.

Demografía

En un estudio realizado el 30 de septiembre de 2008, Rubí tenía un total de 74 468 habitantes, de los cuales 37 016 son hombres y 37 452 mujeres, según datos del padrón municipal de Rubí. En el año anterior, tenía 70 494 habitantes.

La población de la ciudad fue creciendo desde los 3000 habitantes que contaba en 1860 hasta los 6000 con que se estabilizó desde los años 30 hasta los años 60, excepto la disminución producida por la guerra civil española y el posterior exilio. El crecimiento de población en esta época se basa en la inmigración procedente de Cataluña. Si a comienzos de los sesenta Rubí superaba por poco los 9000 habitantes, en esa misma década triplicó su población, y a finales del  ya sobrepasaba los 50 000. La llegada de población de otras ciudades catalanas y las oleadas migratorias provenientes del norte de África y el sur y centro de América han hecho de Rubí una ciudad de más de 70 000 habitantes (73 691 en 2006 y 73 836 en 45), compuestos en un 50,5% de población masculina y un 49,4% de población femenina.

Los ciudadanos españoles nacidos fuera de Cataluña (2001) representan aún el 32,61% de la población, y los ciudadanos no españoles de Rubí (2006), que representan el 16,3% de la población son fundamentalmente marroquíes (28,7%), Ecuatorianos (28,7%) y colombianos (6,5%). El resto de procedencias son residuales.

Más del 90 % de la población extranjera se concentra en los distritos III y IV.

Evolución
El municipio, que tiene una superficie de 32,20 km², cuenta según el padrón municipal para  del INE con  habitantes y una densidad de  hab./km².

Administración y política

En el Ayuntamiento de Rubí es mayoritario el PSC, teniendo como alcaldesa a la Ilustr. Sra. Ana María Martínez. En las elecciones municipales de 2019, las siguientes listas obtuvieron concejales (25 concejales) siendo la participación del 57,70 %.

Lista de alcaldes de Rubí:

Elecciones al Parlamento de Cataluña 2015

Evolución de la deuda viva
El concepto de deuda viva contempla solo las deudas con cajas y bancos relativas a créditos financieros, valores de renta fija y préstamos o créditos transferidos a terceros, excluyéndose, por tanto, la deuda comercial.

Geografía

Comunicaciones
El municipio de Rubí está situado en uno de los principales nudos de comunicaciones de Cataluña. Diversas vías lo cruzan en diferentes direcciones. Las redes de transporte público están incluidas en el sistema tarifario integrado de transporte de la región metropolitana de Barcelona.

 Ferrocarriles

Las dos compañías de ferrocarriles que operan en Cataluña tienen líneas en Rubí.

FGC (Ferrocarriles de la Generalidad de Cataluña):

El llamado Metro del Vallés, en el que transcurre por el sur de Rubí. La estación se ubica en la Plaza Pearson, en el extremo sur centro urbano de Rubí, al lado del barrio de Les Torres. Las líneas que circulan son:

Cerca de la estación tienen parada todas las líneas de autobuses urbanos que conectan con los diferentes barrios rubinenses. En la salida Av. Barcelona están las líneas L1 y L4 en la Plaça Pearson, y las L3, L5 y L6 en la Rambleta de Joan Miró. La parada de la L2 se encuentra saliendo por la salida C. Can Cabanyes.

El futuro de la línea del Vallés:

Actualmente se está estudiando (2010) la construcción de una segunda estación del Metro del Vallés (FGC) en Rubí, que se ubicará en el polígono industrial de La Llana, muy cerca de la zona norte de Rubí y de las urbanizaciones de Sant Muç. El emplazamiento de esta nueva estación de ferrocarriles es idóneo para la ciudad, ya que la estación del centro recibe diariamente un porcentaje de pasajeros muy elevado (unos 8000 viajeros diarios (2017), y la nueva daría acceso directo a Barcelona y Tarrasa a los barrios cercanos que suman unos 45 000 habitantes, que no tendrían que desplazarse hasta el centro para salir de la ciudad en tren.

Pero, por el momento, el señor Pere Torres, director de ATM, tener una nueva estación a Rubí no es una construcción prioritaria, a pesar de las peticiones de la alcaldesa de Rubí, Ana María Martínez Martínez. Informa que en el plan actual de construcción de entre 2011 hasta 2020, no se reconoce el hecho de hacer una nueva estación a Rubí, pero abre la posibilidad a partir de 2020. Reconoce que es la única ciudad que tiene solo una estación, cuya la población cuenta de la cantidad de más de 70 000 personas, con la indignación de que Sant Cugat, cuyo habitantes tiene menos de 100 000 habitantes, y cuenta de 8 estaciones.

Página web FGC: http://www.fgc.net/

Cercanías

Con estación en la avenida Electricitat, entre los barrios de Ca n'Alzamora y Can Vallhonrat.

Página web Renfe (BCN): Pinchar aquí

 Autobús
Rubí tiene a disposición de sus ciudadanos una red de siete líneas de autobuses públicos para la ciudad, gestionada, desde 2007 por la empresa Corporación Española de Transporte, S.A (CTSA), perteneciente al Grupo Avanza.

Más información en la página web de Rubíbus:
http://rubibus.com/

Siete líneas de autobuses interurbanos conectan la ciudad con otras de los alrededores:

 Autos Castellbisbal. SA: Rubí - El Papiol - Molins de Rey (3 autobuses, solo días laborables)
 Autos Castellbisbal. SA: Rubí - Castellbisbal (5 autobuses, solo días laborables)
 Autos Castellbisbal. SA: Sabadell - San Quirico de Tarrasa - Rubí - Hospital General (2 autobuses en cada sentido, solo sábados)
 Sarbus nocturno (N61): Barcelona - Rubí - Les Fonts (4 autobuses, cada noche)
 Sarbus B7: Rubí - San Cugat del Vallés - Sardañola del Vallés
 Sarbus B8: San Quirico de Tarrasa - Tarrasa- Rubí - San Cugat del Vallés
 Transports Generals d'Olesa, S.A.: Ullastrell - Rubí - Tarrasa (6 autobuses en cada sentido, Laborables y sábados)

 Autopistas
La autopista AP-7 cruza la ciudad en dirección este-oeste. Hacia el oeste conecta con la comarca de Tarragona, Valencia y el sur de la península ibérica, así como con la autopista A-2 y la AP-2 (Sur de Barcelona, Lérida, Zaragoza) Por el este comunica con Gerona y Francia.

La autopista C-16 o de los Túneles de Vallvidrera, conecta en el norte con Manresa, Tarrasa y al sur con San Cugat del Vallés y Barcelona. Tiene como accesos la entrada número 11 (San Cugat-Rubí Sur BP-1503) y la salida número 17 (BP-1503 Rubí Norte-Les Fonts)

 Carreteras
La B-30, calzada lateral de AP-7, es una de las principales vías de acceso a la ciudad, con varias entradas.
La C-1413 parte de Molins de Rey, conecta con la A-2, la B-24 y la autopista AP-2 (B-32) y pasa también por Rubí, Sabadell para conectar finalmente con la C-17 en Centellas.

La BP-1503 conecta Rubí, donde dentro de la ciudad se transforma en la Avinguda de l'Estatut con los principales municipios de San Cugat del Vallés, San Quirico de Tarrasa y Tarrasa.

Cultura

Fiesta Mayor de San Pedro (fiesta grande)
La fiesta mayor de Rubí se celebra el fin de semana más cercano al 29 de junio, día de San Pedro patrón de la ciudad. Los actos más tradicionales en la fiesta son; el pregón, la misa, el pasacalle o rúa, los bailes en carpas, bailes del "esbart dansaire de Rubí" como el Ball de gitanes popularmente conocido y un referente de las Gitanes Catalanas. En la fiesta mayor miles de personas salen a la calle para bailarla juntos. También encontramos la actuación castellera, correfoc, piromusical, actividades infantiles, actuaciones de agrupaciones folclóricas, la feria de atracciones, el mercado artesanal, las orquestas, la noche golfa...

 -Les Gitanes De Rubí-

El baile de Gitanes se trata de una danza de Carnaval tradicionalmente con mayor presencia en las comarcas Catalanas del Vallés Oriental y Occidental. En Rubí el baile se ha trasladado a la Fiesta Mayor.

El Ball de Gitanes era una auténtica fiesta que desde su origen entre los gitanos que celebraban sus bodas hasta su incorporación al patrimonio de la localidad vivió multitud de vicisitudes. Incorporó músicas y personajes, sirvió para organizar concursos y aún hoy es el documento de danza más festivo de la tradición Catalana.

En Rubí se bailaban Gitanes desde antes de la fundación del Esbart, en 1923, y constan en programa desde la Fiesta Mayor de 1927; pero es a partir de la versión coreográfica creada por Albert Sans, en 1970, cuando el Ball de Gitanes de Rubí adquiere una nueva personalidad artística y una mayor difusión, junto con un gran arraigo popular en la ciudad, que se identifica con esta danza hasta hacerla representativa.

En el 2007 Rubí celebró los 80 años de interpretación de esta danza, 37 de su recreación escénica y 25 desde que los ciudadanos de Rubí quisieron devolverla a la calle cada año, durante la Fiesta Mayor.

 Vídeo completo de la puesta en escena del Baile:
 1.ª Parte: Pincha aquí
 2.ª Parte: Pincha aquí
 Documental Gitanes de Rubí y Esbart Dansaire: -Pincha aquí y -Pincha aquí

Fiesta Mayor de San Roque
Los rubinenses, que habían hecho un voto de pueblo, celebraban una misa en honor a la festividad de San Roque el último domingo de agosto, ya desde mediados del . A mediados del  la Hermandad de San Roque de Socors Mutus añadió una procesión y se celebraban bailes. Actualmente la fiesta la organizan entidades que forman la Mesa de Cultura Popular de Rubí y el ayuntamiento y se ha trasladado al segundo fin de semana de septiembre. Los actos más tradicionales de la fiesta son: encuentro de "puntaires", encuentro de gigantes, els Versots, la Tronada (Correfoc matinal con Tabalers a diferentes recorridos cada uno), audición de sardanas, la Xerricada (concurso que consiste en beber en porrón), castellers, conciertos y actividades infantiles.

Fiestas de la calle Sant Jaume
Se celebran durante 4 o 5 días alrededor del 25 de julio. Consisten en la celebración organizada por el grupo de vecinos de la Calle Sant Jaume que se decora cada año con ornamentos elaborados por sus propios vecinos y que se exponen con diferentes actividades en la misma calle durante dichos días.

Fiesta dels Xatos
Los orígenes de la fiesta de los Chatos remontan al , cuando la organización "Els Xatos" de Barcelona iba hacia la ermita de Sant Muç, un santo muy popular, para la festividad de la Pascua Granada. Acabó siendo una agrupación simbólica en la ermita.

El Esbart Dansaire de Rubí el año 1986 con el motivo de la celebración del milenario de la ciudad recupera la fiesta, que actualmente consiste en ir a la Plaza del Doctor Guardiet, pasando por la masía de Can Ramoneda hasta la ermita de Sant Muç donde se hace una paellada popular y durante la celebración se bailan sardanas, la danza de los Xatos y otros bailes tradicionales. También participan en el acto diversas entidades de cultura y tradición de la ciudad, tales como los Gigantes de Rubí y los Gigantes del CEIP Tersa Altet, los Castellers de Rubí, los Diablos de la riera de Rubí, Foment de la Sardana de Rubí y la Coral Unión Rubinense.

Feria de Sant Galderic
Esta fiesta organizada por la asociación con el mismo nombre fue celebrada en Rubí por primera vez en el año 1995. Fruto de una idea entre gente de arte y payeses que entonces todavía quedaban por Rubí, ciudad con un pasado principalmente agrícola, (-A Rubí noies maques i bon vi-; en castellano: -En Rubí, chicas guapas y buen vino-) la festividad combina arte y productos de la tierra. Artesanos, artistas y agricultores conforman una feria atractiva que va ganando visitantes año tras año.

Els Tres Tombs - Sant Antoni Abat
Llamada también como el "día de los burros" o "fiesta mayor de invierno" por la gran participación, se celebra por San Antonio Abad, patrón de los animales. En este municipio se celebra el último fin de semana de enero. Consiste en un pasacalle o rúa de carros, caballos y otros animales domésticos. Todos los participantes disfrutan de un desayuno popular y al acabar la rúa los animales participantes son bendecidos en la iglesia de Sant Pere de Rubí.

Otras

 Rubí cuenta también con la celebración de fiestas comunes como el Carnaval, la Cabalgata de Reyes, la Feria de Santa Lucía, San Jorge (23 de abril) y San Juan entre otras.

 Alrededor de mayo - junio comienzan las festividades de los diferentes barrios de la ciudad donde las asociaciones de vecinos de dichos barrios organizan la "fiesta mayor del barrio" incluyendo actos para el ocio como son las ferias de atracciones y diferentes actividades sociales.

Medios de comunicación
Rubí dispone de diferentes medios de comunicación de ámbito local:
 Revista se7se7: revista mensual privada al mismo tiempo que tiene una web de actualización diaria sobre las noticias de la ciudad y del Valles, https://web.archive.org/web/20120404074807/http://revistase7se7.com/index.asp en la red están desde febrero de 2012 y en formato de papel desde mediados del 2011 y han tenido muy buena aceptación entre los ciudadanos sobre todo la web.
 Rubitv.cat: la primera televisión en línea de la ciudad a través de http://www.rubitv.cat. Portal de actualidad de referencia en la ciudad con noticias en formato vídeo. Nació el 11 de septiembre de 2011, se trata de un medio de comunicación privado y ha conseguido su éxito en muy poco tiempo.
 La petjada de Rubí: blog de actualidad local que permite comentar las noticias más importantes que pasan en la ciudad. Se estrenó en 2008 y actualmente parado.
 Diari de Rubí: semanal y gratuito editado por la empresa Cosmo Aplicaciones,s.l, de información local con una tirada de 15.000 ejemplares escritos principalmente en catalán. Comenzó a editarse en diciembre de 1993. Sale cada viernes y está disponible en diferentes puntos del centro de la ciudad. Dispone de una página web con todas las notícias (http://www.diariderubi.com/) y la oficina está ubicada en C/ Maximí Fornés, 50, 1r.
 Radio Rubí: Emisora de radio municipal fundada el 20/11/1979. Se encuentra en frecuencia 99.7 FM. (http://www.radiorubi.fm)
 La Ciutat "La ciudad": Se trata de una revista local gratuita de información local repartida en los buzones familiares.
 Llocs: revista de información comercial; locales de ocio, gastronomía, cultura... Engloba las ciudades de Tarrasa, Matadepera y Rubí.

En Internet:

 Rubí en Internet: https://web.archive.org/web/20150102222058/http://www.rubidigital.cat/
 Ayuntamiento de Rubí: https://web.archive.org/web/20080526113819/http://www.ajrubi.es/ajrubi/portada/index.php

Monumentos y lugares de interés

 Castillo de Rubí (museo)
 Bodega Cooperativa de Rubí
 Iglesia de San Pedro de Rubí

 Casas modernistas de la calle Chile.
 Espacio Joven: Torre Bassas (Casa antigua reformada)
 Yacimiento Romano de Ca n'Oriol
 Museo Etnográfico Vallhonrat
 Ermita de Sant Muç
 Parque de los Pinos (Ca n'Oriol)
Más en

Economía
El sector industrial es uno de los más importantes del municipio, debido a su situación próxima a Barcelona, y al hecho de pertenecer a su cinturón industrial. En los últimos años el sector del comercio minorista se ha desarrollado notablemente, especialmente en el centro de la ciudad.
Actualmente hay 4.506 de personas en paro en la ciudad.

Vecinos ilustres
- Alejandro Flores (el chiquito)

Ciudades hermanadas

  La Calahorra, España
  Boyeros, Cuba
  Clichy, Francia
  Ocotal, Nicaragua
  Pudahuel, Chile
  Daira de Güelta, Sáhara Occidental

Referencias

Bibliografía
 Pereira Castro, Carlos: Xemeneies de Rubí (1998). ISBN 84-930697-1-X
 Tresserras i Gaju, Joan Manuel: Rubí en molts sentits (2001). ISBN 84-7782-790-7
 Freixes Trujillo, Josep Maria: La Unió Esportiva Rubí, una història (1912-2004) (2004) ISBN 84-609-2741-5
 Batalla i Galimany, Ramon: Els casinos republicans: política, cultura i esbarjo. El casino de Rubí, 1884-1939 (1999) ISBN 84-8415-123-9
 Torné i Clemente, Meritxell: L'Abans. Rubí recull gràfic 1872-1965 (2002) ISBN 84-95550-12-1
 Moreno Fornés, Meritxell; Pons Alsina, Gemma; Ruiz Villalba, Christian: "La rierada de Rubí de 1962" (2000)

Enlaces externos

 Ayuntamiento de Rubí
 Parroquia de San Pedro

 Información del Instituto de Estadística de Cataluña
 Página web de Rubí TV

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Our first day of the trip included procuring the permits and then proceeding to Thimpu, the capital city. The drive to Thimpu was slated to take about 5-6 hrs. It was therefore vital that our permits got processed in decent time so that we could commence our journey at least post lunch. To the question, "how long can it take for the permits to be processed?" we were given a similar response from everyone to whom we posed the query.
It really depends on the number of people for the given day. It could take as less as 2 hours or sometimes even the entire day, we were told. Our travel operator from Mumbai had forewarned us that we adjust our trip schedule to let this crucial step fall somewhere mid-week. The office is closed on weekends and hence Fridays and Mondays see a maximum footfall, so it's best to plan for the remaining days of the week, we were told.
So, we chose the first suitable day, Tuesday and planned our itinerary around it. The immigration office opens around nine in the morning but we were advised to queue up outside the office as early as 8 or 8:30 at the max. Now, the days begin very early in Bhutan. They are also officially half hour ahead of India time. It being summer, the dawn breaks as early as 4:30 am, while the sunrise happens around 5:45 am or so, even 6 am seems like 8 am in the morning. Breakfast at the hotels is served between 7-9 am. Yes, that early!
We had no trouble aligning our bodies to the new clock time. Also, perhaps to the clean surrounding and fresh air, throughout the trip and despite our active schedule, we were neither troubled by fatigue or lethargy nor had the urge to sleep in late. So, we were up and smiling at dawn, showered, dressed, at the breakfast counter by 7:30 and out of the hotel by 8 am.
These were duly passed on to the said agent who's supposed to fill the required forms and submit these at the office the previous evening supposedly for a faster process the next day. However, by the time we checked in on Monday evening, the office was closed, so it remained to be seen how we were to be impacted.
We were really hoping for a smooth and quick process and were a bit shocked to see a fair amount of crowd already present at 8 am. Big groups of Indian tourists travelling with package tours were milling about, their group head carrying the tour flag and the members all wearing identical caps. That was when we realized that Bhutan is no longer a rare choice. We were later informed that this year alone saw about 2 lakh Indian tourists on Bhutan soils. We could only shudder to imagine the crowd at the popular hill stations if this was the state of a supposedly low-profile country. It seems some entry tax for Indians was recently waived off and hence the huge influx. On a side note, I really don't think this is a good idea, given how pristine the country is and what a lot of tourists can do to a place like that.
All permits are processed through agents who queue up on behalf of their customers. The customers, mostly Indians like us, group themselves at various points in the backyard and front yard of the office curious about the whole process and butting in every now and then to enquire with the respective agent about the length and manner of the procedure involved. In short, the place outside this office resembled a chaotic meeting place. We killed time clicking bad pictures of each other, walking up to the agent, checking to see if the queue was really moving, stopping the kids (and failing) from being a nuisance, entertaining them in turns, going back to the agent who quipped back a bit annoyed that it might another 1-2 hours ( we were already waiting there for a good one hour).
Since our hotel (Hotel Druk) was literally a jump away from the office, the sister and I decided to cool off our heels there (and more importantly give the kids a downtime because they were really all over the place). As luck would have it, as soon as our asses touched the cool beds of the hotel room, we were summoned to come right away to the office as our turn was just a few minutes away. So much for the 1-2 hour estimate by the agent. Surely, he was taking his revenge! But, of course, the bigger picture was that the work was to get over quickly, so we rushed out like mature adults, kids in tow.
We were to get our biometrics done inside the office. It seems once your fingerprints are logged in, you can enter Bhutan anytime in future without any further official procedures. The process was over fairly quickly and smoothly. Although we were told to carry our original proofs, these were not demanded by the officers.
We were told that the permit papers will take yet another 2 hours to be processed and would be handed over to the agent/ tour driver who will in return deliver them to us at our hotel. We felt a bit out of control here as there were two people with whom we interacted, one of them waited in the queue and the other furnishing general information. And, this driver with whom we were to travel for the rest of the trip was still unknown to us at that point. It seemed too laissez-faire to just wait at the hotel not knowing who will get us the documents and whom to contact if something went wrong. We felt we were given only need-based information. A few worried calls to our operator in Mumbai later, we were reassured that one of the agents we met at the office will positively reach out to us with the necessary permits and that our tour driver would meet us later.
Bhutan, we were to later learn and experience first-hand, is a very trust-based society and citizens abide by the law and do not cheat.
It was nearly noon and by the time we finished with our lunch (Indian food and quite tasty, I must add), our permits were at the door, soon followed by our very sweet driver for the rest of our trip. The extremely beautiful sights (and a dip in temperature as we ascended higher altitudes) all along our journey up and down the hilly, winding lanes made up for the rather longish (and thankfully the only one amongst all) drive time.
Hope you're enjoying reading the travelogue as much as I'm enjoying writing it. If you want specific queries to be answered, feel free to reach out. Next on the blog is Thimpu. Stay tuned!
Yes, I am. Looking forward to read more. A couple of years ago I missed a chance to visit Bhutan so I am hoping your posts will give me details so that I can start planning.
The permits seem to a process but good to follow one and plan ahead.
That's an insightful post, Uma. Bhutan is on our wish list and your experience will certainly help when we plan our trip. Looking forward to more from Bhutan, from you!
Thank you, Shilpa. Do stay with me on this travelogue. I'm trying my best to put it out in a manner that will be useful for fellow travellers.


The future of journalism. Is it all bad?
The advent of the internet threw the business model of newspapers into complete crisis. That we know. And ever since, doomsayers have heralded the end of professional journalism while media organisations have scrambled to survive.
But what if we are not witnessing the end of high quality news journalism? What if we are seeing the beginnings of a new golden era for journalism?


text:
Valid from .2020
The owner and administrator of the store is the company:
KGK TRADE spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością sp.k.
address: Ujastek 5b, 31-752 Cracow, Poland
Address for correspondence, addressing and receiving consignments:
Osiedle Centrum A 2 31-923 Cracow, Poland
e-mail: info@kgktrade.pl
Registry data:
KGK Trade spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością spółka komandytowa, located in Cracow,
KRS: 0000563276, NIP (Tax ID): 6783155146, REGON: 361816905, BDO: 000011479.
All services provided by the SERVICE PROVIDER are provided in accordance with the conditions set out in the following Terms and Conditions. Each CUSTOMER should read and accept the content of these terms and conditions before using the service, placing an order and consequently before concluding the contract of sale.
DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED IN THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS
SELLER AND SERVICE PROVIDER – the company:
ddress: Ujastek 5b, 31-752 Cracow, Poland
KRS: 0000563276, NIP (Tax ID): 6783155146, REGON: 361816905, BDO:000011479,
with which the contract of sale is concluded through the ONLINE STORE, and which provides services through the ONLINE STORE.
CONSUMER – a natural person that engages with the SELLER in a legal act not directly related to their business or professional activity.
CUSTOMER– CONSUMER or entrepreneur, as well as a legal person and an organizational unit which is not a legal person whose special provisions confer legal capacity, which concludes or intends to conclude a contract of sale or uses other services offered through the ONLINE STORE.
ONLINE STORE– an online service belonging to the SELLER, operating on the website "http://xblitz.pl" through which it is possible to use online services as well as to conclude sales contracts (make a purchase of GOODS).
GOODS – a thing or service available through the ONLINE STORE.
SALES CONTRACT– a contract for the sale of goods concluded indirectly through the ONLINE STORE.
ORDER – a statement made online about the desire to conclude a contract – an invitation to conclude a contract (the order may apply to GOODS or services).
NEWSLETTER – a service provided online by the SELLER, based on sending commercial and advertising information to the e-mail address provided by the interested party.
The services provided by the SELLER through the ONLINE STORE are mainly the sale of a wide range of consumer electronics in the form of new GOODS. All prices displayed in the ONLINE STORE are prices in Euro currency and are gross prices (including VAT).
The prices of the goods do not include the shipping costs and other additional services provided at the customer's request. The shipping costs are borne by the CUSTOMER and are charged separately at the time of placing the order.
All GOODS available in the SELLER's offer to CUSTOMERS using the ONLINE STORE are presented in the form of a photo and an accompanying description. All content, information or descriptions of goods on the STORE's website do not constitute an offer within the meaning of the civil law, but is an invitation to conclude a contract.
In order to allow the conclusion of the contract, the SELLER provides the following services free of charge through the website of the ONLINE STORE:
– registration, creation and administration of the CUSTOMER's account in the ONLINE STORE;
– processing of the FORM OF ORDER OF GOODS in the ONLINE STORE;
In addition, the SELLER provides an optional "NEWSLETTER" service for the purpose of providing commercial information, news notices and special offers.
The CUSTOMER, when registering an account, concludes an electronic service contract with the SELLER, accesses services in the form of a wider functionality of the ONLINE STORE (depending on the available options e.g. direct access to the history of orders, adding different delivery addresses, collecting loyalty points, etc.). Within the limits of the created account, customer data and information related to its online store activity is collected. The contract for the provision of a supplying and maintaining the online account belonging to the CUSTOMER is concluded for an indefinite period, with the right to terminate it at any time by:
– filling in the termination statement in accordance with the model form "Closing the Customer's account" (Annex 1), included with these terms and conditions;
– sending the declaration electronically to the SELLER's e-mail address: info@kgktrade.pl;
– Posting a statement on the SELLER's website about the automatic closure of the account at the time of execution of the last order.
An exception is made in a situation where the SELLER is already in the process of fulfilling the order previously submitted by the CUSTOMER. In this case, the termination of the contract and the closure of the CUSTOMER's account will take place as soon as the order in question is executed.
The contract for the provision of an online service consisting in enabling the customer to place a single ORDER in the ONLINE STORE (without the need to register and create a CUSTOMER account) is concluded for a limited period – necessary for the completion and processing of the order form. This agreement is terminated upon submission and confirmation of the ORDER by the CUSTOMER.
In the case of a service contract that is concluded for an indefinite period, the SELLER may terminate it:
– if the CUSTOMER violates any point of these terms and conditions, with a notice period of 30 days from the date of termination or without notice by agreement of the parties.
– in the event that the CUSTOMER of the store is an entrepreneur, the contract may be terminated with immediate effect.
Termination of the contract may be done online by sending it to the CUSTOMER's e-mail address, as specified during registration or by traditional post, to the address indicated by the CUSTOMER.
Computer equipment in the form of any device that allows a stable connection to the Internet, displays content and enables the use of online store websites without any difficulties is required to use the SELLER's ONLINE STORE. For the proper use of all functions of the ONLINE STORE, it is necessary to turn on Javascript and cookies.
CUSTOMER is always obliged to provide real information, in particular contact details and correct delivery address ,when placing an ORDER and an up-to-date e-mail address in order to ensure communication and enable the SELLER to fulfill ORDERS and provide services.
Before the CUSTOMER uses any services provided by the SERVICE PROVIDER, including the conclusion of the sales agreement, the CUSTOMER is obliged to read the content of these terms and conditions and accept them.
Optionally, the CUSTOMER may also consent to receive information from the SELLER to the given e-mail address in the form of: goods added to the offer, promotions, novelties and discount codes as part of the NEWSLETTER service. The CUSTOMER can disable this service at any moment using their account.
SUBMISSION AND EXECUTION OF ORDERS
The SELLER sells retail and allows orders to be placed 7 days a week, 24 hours a day – only online via the ONLINE STORE form.
Before placing each ORDER, the CUSTOMER must read the content of these terms and conditions. Confirmation that the provisions of the terms and conditions are accepted hast to be made during registration and creation of the CUSTOMER account and each time before the final confirmation of the order placed. Acceptance of the regulations is voluntary, however, the use of online services including the possibility of placing an ORDER is not possible without accepting the provisions of these terms and conditions.
Orders may be made by CUSTOMERS who have full legal capacity.
The Customer sends the ORDER through the ONLINE STORE, makes an offer to buy the goods of his choice, accepting their description, condition, quantity and declared quality. The conclusion of the SALES CONTRACT between the CUSTOMER and the SELLER concerning the purchase of the selected GOODS in the ONLINE STORE occurs after:
the CUSTOMER places the order and fulfilled the terms of the contract, providing complete, up-to-date and true contact details, acceptance of these terms and conditions and final confirmation of the ORDER on the website of the ONLINE STORE triggering the process of sending the ORDER to the SELLER,
the SELLER sends back a confirmation of the ORDER to the CUSTOMER's e-mail address.
The SALES CONTRACT between CUSTOMER and SELLER that concerns the purchase of chosen GOODS in the ONLINE STORE is a temporary contract and lasts for as long as it takes to fulfill the ORDER. The place where the service of providing GOODS from the ONLINE STORY is provided is the delivery address provided by the CUSTOMER.
The binding price for the CUSTOMER is the current price listed at the time of placing and confirming the ORDER.
Each order accepted for execution is confirmed once by the SELLER in the form of feedback sent to the CUSTOMER's e-mail address. In case the CUSTOMER has not received such confirmation – he should immediately contact the online store service via the contact form or by phone.
The status of an online order placed may be observed by CUSTOMERS with a registered account in the ONLINE STORE. CUSTOMERS without a registered account will be notified of changes in the order's execution status by e-mail, sending messages to the e-mail address provided.
The fulfillment of the ORDER (collection and shipment of GOODS) by the SELLER occurs when all the following conditions are met:
a) the submission and confirmation of the ORDER by the CUSTOMER on the website of the ONLINE STORE
b) confirmation of acceptance of the ORDER by the SELLER
c) confirmation tha the payment for the ordered GOODS has been sent to the SELLER's bank account, specified in the content of the confirmation, with the exception of cases where the CUSTOMER has chosen "On delivery" payment method.
GOODS that are already in the shopping cart are also available to the other CUSTOMERS until the order is confirmed and may be purchased by them. The priority principle in placing and confirming the ORDER applies here.
Example: If 2 CUSTOMERS have added the same ITEM to their shopping cart, their booking and sales are due to the CUSTOMER who first placed and confirmed the ORDER. The "I confirm order with payment obligation" button sends the ORDER to the SELLER's office and automatically reserves the ordered goods for the first CUSTOMER. This example does not apply to a situation where the CUSTOMER has chosen to pay with a debit card or credit card. GOODS that were paid with a credit card or a debit card are booked for the CUSTOMER when a positive result of the transaction is confirmed.
ORDERS will be processed according to the order of submission in a period of time ranging from 24 hours to 7 working days, counting from the date of conclusion of the SALES CONTRACT and the date of confirmation of payment for the CUSTOMER's ORDER, except in the event of the CUSTOMER choosing the option to pay "on delivery". The amount of time mentioned covers both the completion of the order is completed and the delivery time.
In special situations, the SELLER reserves the right to send the ordered GOODS later – after prior agreement with the CUSTOMER.
ORDERS sent by CUSTOMERS are always verified by the SELLER in terms of the correctness of the given data in the ORDER form. THE SELLER reserves the right to phone the CUSTOMER to verify the ORDER.
The fulfillment of an ORDER with incorrect or incomplete data will be suspended for the duration of their completion or explanation, but for no longer than 7 working days. In this case, if contact with the CUSTOMER is not possible within 7 days from the date of placing the ORDER, it will be automatically cancelled and the ordered goods added to the STORE's assortment without additional agreement from the CUSTOMER. In this case, if the CUSTOMER has already made any payment for the ORDER, the payment will be returned to the bank account indicated by the CUSTOMER, and in the absence of contact with the CUSTOMER, to the bank account from which the payment was transferred to the seller's bank account.
Orders unconfirmed, or which have been interrupted in the process of online payment (not completed), are treated by the SELLER as uncompletedand not resulting in the conclusion of the contract of sale.
Any changes to payment methods, order fulfillment rules, regulations, prices or configurations of goods do not apply to CUSTOMERS whose orders have already been accepted (before the changes were made) and will be implemented in accordance with the rules in force at the time of placing the order.
If the CUSTOMER is a CONSUMER, the SELLER is obliged to deliver the goods without delay to the CUSTOMER, no later than thirty days from the date of conclusion of the contract, unless the contract states otherwise. In the event of a delay on the SELLER's side, the CONSUMER may set an additional time limit for the issue of the items and, if the SELLER cannot make the delivery in that time, may withdraw from the contract.
If the SELLER informs the CUSTOMER that they will not comply with the above provision, the CUSTOMER may withdraw from the contract without setting an additional time period.
PAYMENTS FOR GOODS
The following payment methods are available:
a) Transfer – The CUSTOMER, after submitting and confirming the ORDER, will receive a return message to their given e-mail address with the bank account number to which the payment must be transferred for the ORDER. ORDERS paid by bank transfer will be processed after the payment from the CUSTOMER has been credited to the SELLER's bank account. Payments made by CUSTOMERS should include at least the ORDER number in the title of the transfer, allowing for quick and efficient execution of the ORDER.
b) Online payments – orders are booked and executed once the CUSTOMER sends the payment and the entities handling the transaction confirms said payment. Settlement of transactions by debit card, credit card or e-transfer are carried out via Przelewy24.pl.
c) Cash on delivery payment – in this case, the CUSTOMER is obliged to pay for the ORDER when receiving the GOODS from the courier at the place indicated as the delivery address.
Orders in which the CUSTOMER has chosen to pay by card have the status of "due", which means that the CUSTOMER, when making payment for the ordered goods, is obliged to carry out the payment transactions until the end according to operator's instructions – no matter whether it gets a positive or negative payment result. If a payment by card is refused, the SELLER will ask the CUSTOMER to choose a different method of payment – however, the payment should be made not later than within 7 working days from the date of placing the order.
If, during the execution of card payment or electronic payment, the CUSTOMER closes the window of the web browser through which they were making a payment, or cancels the method of payment, the order will also be automatically cancelled by the SELLER without maintaining the booking period for the goods.
The CUSTOMER is obliged to pay the price for the GOODS under the SALES CONTRACT within 7 days from the date of its conclusion. ORDERS that will not be paid by the CUSTOMER on time will be automatically cancelled and the contract of sale will be considered voided. This does not apply to the choice of "on delivery" payment. The goods included in the order not paid on time will be added to the offer of the ONLINE STORE without further agreement with the CUSTOMER.
DELIVERY OF THE ORDER
The delivery costs of the ORDER shall be borne in full by the CUSTOMER, unless otherwise stated in the description of the offer or the specifications of the ORDER.
THE CUSTOMER at the time of filling out the part of the ORDER form for delivery – will be informed about the total costs of delivery of the ORDER to the indicated address in Europe. By choosing the most suitable option, THE CUSTOMER makes a choice and accepts the cost of delivery.
Delivery costs are specified in "Delivery" tab on the website of ONLINE STORE.
The delivery of the ORDER shall be carried out by:
– GLS Courier
COMPLAINTS AND WARRANTIES
The SELLER is obliged to deliver the GOODS, which are the subject of the SALES CONTRACT, as described and without any defects.
The SELLER shall be liable to the CONSUMER for defective GOODS in accordance with the applicable law.
When a SALES CONTRACT is not concluded with the CONSUMER, the provisions on the warranty contained in the Civil Code shall be excluded.
THE CONSUMER has the right to file a complaint if the GOODS purchased contain defects or if they do not conform with the contract concluded.
In the case of the sale of GOODS containing a physical or legal defect – the CONSUMER can request services from the SELLER based on the product warranty, for a period of 2 years from the date of sale of the GOODS. A physical defect is considered to be the non-conformity of the GOODS sold with the contract. The SELLER is exempted by warranty if the CONSUMER has been informed of the defect at the time of conclusion of the contract online (e.g. a description or photo of the GOODS specifying its defect) or verbally (e.g. telephone consultation).
We encourage you to submit an application for your complaint to the email address:support@kgktrade.pl.
Each complaint will be promptly processed by the seller no later than 14 work days after it is sent.
GOODS that have been repaired or exchanged in connection with the complaint – will be delivered to the CUSTOMER at the SELLER'S expense.
The CONSUMER has the right to reduce the price of defective GOODS which are the subject of the contract of sale or withdraw from this contract, unless the SELLER has taken immediate action and efficiently replaced the defective goods with defects-free replacement or takes service measures to remedy the defect. This restriction does not apply if the GOODS have already been replaced or repaired by the SELLER, or the SELLER has not exchanged the GOODS for a defects-free replacement, nor has he removed the defect.
Instead of the SELLER's proposed defect removal, the CONSUMER may demand that the goods be replaced for a model free of defects or, instead of a replacement, demand the removal of the defect, unless it is impossible to bring the GOODS into conformity with the contract in the manner chosen by the CONSUMER or if it would require excessive costs compared to the way proposed by the SELLER. In assessing excessive costs, the SELLER takes into account: the value of the defect-free item, the nature and significance of the defect found and the disadvantages to which the CONSUMER would have to undergo compared to other methods of satisfying their demands.
In the event that the complaint relates to damage to the GOODS during delivery, the CUSTOMER may draw up a written report of the destruction of the GOODS upon receiving the shipment from the Courier. The destruction protocol shall include:
a) Date of preparation of the protocol,
b) Date of delivery of the shipment,
c) Courier's name and official data (Employee Number ID, courier's company name, contact telephone number),
d) A detailed description of the damage or damage to the packaging and the condition of the GOODS.
The protocol shall contain a consistent statement by the Courier and the Recipient of the actual state of damage and the contents of the shipment.
Sending the protocol to the address of the repair service (KGK TRADE sp. z o.o. sp.k., Osiedle Centrum A 2, 31-923 Kraków) within 3 working days from the date of delivery of the damaged shipment, including damaged content, will allow for smooth and fast examination of the complaint. in which The shipment should be sent after generating a corresponding RMA by sending an email to:support@kgktrade.pl
The CONSUMER may not withdraw from the contract if the resulting defect is negligible, subject to the provisions mentioned under point G below.
Regardless of the CONSUMER's rights to warranty on defective products, all goods in the ONLINE STORE offer are covered by the manufacturer's warranty, detailed information is available at https://xblitz.pl/en/warranty.
The warranty for the GOODS sold does not exclude, limit or suspend the CONSUMER's rights to warranty for defects in the product.
RIGHT TO WITHDRAW FROM THE CONTRACT AND RETURN THE GOODS PURCHASED REMOTELY
In accordance with Article 27 of the Polish Consumer Rights Act (OZ 2019 item 134 with amends) THE CONSUMER entering into a "distance contract"has the right to withdraw from the contract, without giving a reason, within 14 calendar days from the date of receiving the ordered GOODS, provided that the products and services returned are not ones that cannot be withdrawn from, as detailed by Article 8 mentioned below.
In the event of withdrawing from the purchase of GOODS, the CONSUMER shall inform the SELLER thereof by filling out the form "Withdrawal from the sales contract" (Annex 2) and sending it by post to the seller's mailing address that is listed heading of the Terms and Conditions.
In the event of withdrawal from the SALES CONTRACT, the CONSUMER shall be entitled to reimbursement of the costs incurred. If, at the time of conclusion of the SALES CONTRACT, the CONSUMER has chosen a method of delivery of goods other than the cheapest delivery option offered by the SELLER – the SELLER is not obliged to reimburse the additional costs incurred by the CONSUMER in excess of the cheapest option in the ONLINE STORE.
In order to receive the refund, the CONSUMER has to send the declaration of withdrawal from the SALES CONTRACT to the SELLER within 14 days of receipt of the ordered GOODS. The date of sending the form has to be within 14 days of the date of delivery of the GOODS.
The CONSUMER is obliged to return the GOODS at their own expense, within 14 calendar days, counting from the date of sending the declaration of withdrawal from the SALES CONTRACT, to the address of the SELLER given in the heading of the Terms and Conditions. The date of dispatch has to be within 14 days of the date of sending the form of withdrawal from the SALES CONTRACT.
The amount constituting the payment for the purchased GOODS plus the shipping costs will be refunded by the SELLER to the CUSTOMER no later than 14 days after receiving the CONSUMER's declaration of withdrawal to the bank account number indicated in the declaration, provided that the selected payment channel does not incur additional costs for the SELLER. The SELLER may refrain from making a refund to the CUSTOMER until the return of the GOODS has been received or proof of return has been provided by the CONSUMER, whichever occurs earlier.
The amount constituting the refund of the GOODS purchased may be reduced as a result of the CONSUMER's use of the GOODS in a manner other than necessary to establish the functionality or characteristics of the GOODS.
The CONSUMER's right to withdraw from a distance contract is not applicable in the following cases:
a) when services have been provided or which have been performed with the expressed consent of the CONSUMER;
b) when the price of the GOODS depends on fluctuations in the financial market over which the SELLER does not exercise control and which may occur before the expiration of the withdrawal period;
c) when the subject of the service is not prefabricated, made in a personalized manner to individual needs, or by the specification given by the CONSUMER;
d) when the subject matter of the service is supplied in a sealed package which, after opening the packaging, cannot be returned for health reasons or for hygienic reasons, when the packaging has been opened after delivery,
e) where the subject matter are GOODS which, after delivery, by their nature, are inseparable from other things;
f) when the CONSUMER has expressly requested to make the trader come to them for urgent repair or maintenance. If the trader provides additional services other than those which the consumer has requested or supplies GOODS other than the spare parts necessary for repair or maintenance, the CONSUMER has the right to withdraw from the additional services or things;
g) when the subject of the service is sound or visual recordings or computer software supplied in sealed packaging, if the packaging has been opened after delivery;
h) when the GOODS are digital content that is not recorded on a tangible medium, if creation of said content began with your express consent, before the expiry of the withdrawal period and after the trader has informed the consumer about the loss of the right to withdraw.
The right of withdrawal also applies mutatis mutandis to the agreement relating to the conduct of the CUSTOMER Account.
If the SELLER receives a return of the GOODS as a result of the customer's failure to receive them, they reserve the right to re-supply it only after receiving a prepayment to the SELLER's account. Upon receipt of the returned GOODS, the SELLER will inform the CUSTOMER by email or phone. Failure to reply within 3 working days will be treated as giving up the ordered goods.
FINAL FINDINGS
The SELLER reserves the right to change the provisions of these Terms and Conditions and to change, update or remove the services currently provided.
Any changes to the provisions of the Terms and Conditions and the scope of the services provided shall enter into force within 14 days from the date of publication of the amendments made or a new version of the Terms and Conditions. Any orders and services that have started before the changes are made will continue in accordance with the terms that were in force when the order was placed and confirmed.
The CUSTOMER will be informed electronically of any change in the terms and conditions and the scope of the services provided by the SELLER. The CUSTOMER has the right to accept or reject the changes. Rejection of changes by the CUSTOMER is tantamount to termination of the contract for the provision of services with the SELLER, subject to the provisions of Article 2 above.
In the event that the Terms and Conditions contain provisions contrary to the provisions in force in the European Union, these provisions take precedence over the wording of these Terms and Conditions.
These Terms and Conditions are by no means intended to limit or eliminate the rights of the CONSUMER within the meaning of the Act of 23 April 1964 of Polish Civil Code (OJ 2019, item 1145 as amended). At any time, the changes to the law and the occurrence of non-compliance with their current wording shall take precedence. In the remaining provisions, the regulations remain in force.
The CUSTOMER is obliged to protect and keep secret the parameters of access to their account such as LOGIN and PASSWORD, and to use them in a secure environment that makes it impossible to be taken over or copied by third parties. The CUSTOMER should log out every time the order is complete and make sure that the history of the pages viewed and the temporary files of the web browser have been permanently deleted by them.
All names of GOODS offered for sale in the ONLINE STORE are used for the purpose of identifying them and may be protected and reserved under the provisions of the Polish Act on Industrial Property Rights (Journal of Laws of 2017 item 776 as amended).
Any dispute arising from the services provided by the SELLER within the online store will be settled by the ordinary courts. The customer who is a consumer has the opportunity to use the out-of-court method of dealing with complaints and redress before the Permanent Arbitration Consumer Court at the Regional Inspector of Trade Inspection in Cracow. Information on how to access the aised procedures and dispute settlement procedures can be found at the following address: www.uokik.gov.pl, in the tab "Settlement of consumer disputes".
In matters not governed by these Regulations, the relevant provisions of Polish law shall apply.
PROCESSING AND PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA
We inform you that, in the course of its business, the SELLER processes personal data provided by CUSTOMERS within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and the repeal of Directive 95/46/W, solely for the purposes of the performance of a sales contract or service to CUSTOMERS, in accordance with the Privacy Policy listed on the ONLINE STORE website.
The Administrator of Personal Data isKGK Trade spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością spółka komandytowa, with its registered office in Kraków, address: ul. Osiedle Urocze 12, 31-953 Kraków, KRS 0000563276 , NIP (Tax ID): 6783155146, REGON: 361816905, BDO 000011479.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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The Appointed Rounds
"Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."
Written by Paul Lunde
Illustrated by Brian Smith
Those words, carved on the lintels of post offices across America, once capsuled a spirit that was the foundation of today's sophisticated network of global communications—a spirit that sent Western Union boys pedalling into the rain with telegrams, urged pioneering pilots to fly the early airmail letters through wintry skies to Chicago and spurred the Pony Express across the untamed plains with mail for Sacramento.
But those inspiring words are much older than airmail pilots, Western Union boys or Pony Express riders. They were written by Herodotus, the father of history, in 430 B.C., and described the communications network of Xerxes, ruler of Persia in the fifth century, B.C. It was a remarkably efficient network, but even then was a relatively late development in the history of communications.
The need for an efficient postal system goes back to the ancient need of a ruler for swift and accurate information, a need clearly described by Nizam al-Mulk, a prime minister under Seljuk Turkish sultans in the ninth century:
It is the king's duty to enquire into the conditions of his peasantry and army, both far and near, and to know more or less how things are. If he does not do this he is at fault and people will charge him with negligence, laziness and tyranny, saying, "Either the king knows about the oppression and extortion going on in the country, or he does not know. If he knows and does nothing to prevent it and remedy it, that is because he is an oppressor like the rest and acquiesces in their oppression; and if he does not know then he is negligent and ignorant." Neither of these imputations is desirable. Inevitably therefore he must have postmasters . . .
Long before al-Mulk set that down for the instruction of Seljuk princes, rulers in other empires had already come to similar conclusions and acted on them.
As early as 2000 B.C. the Egyptians had developed a primitive postal system, by about 1000 B.C. ancient China had worked out a system not unlike the one developed by America's Pony Express, and by the time of Islam other peoples—Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Sasanians—had refined and polished elements of the earlier systems into relatively sophisticated operations.
As the new Islamic state expanded, its leaders were quick to adapt and elaborate on what had been learned before. Indeed, the Arabic word for "post" (barid) is derived from the same Sasanian chancery term that gave the Greeks beredos and the Romans their veredus, meaning "post-horse." Both are derived from a Persian word meaning "crop-tailed mule," the mount the Sasanians used to carry the mail.
In the Islamic state, as Nizam al-Mulk's description suggests, the postal service was an information agency as well as a means of communication with the provinces. By the ninth century, as a result, the Diwan al-Barid—the Ministry of Posts and Communications—was probably the most important arm of government. Its postal inspectors, stationed along major roads, not only saw that the mail got through, but gathered information for the central government and sent periodic reports to it. Those reports ranged from the state of the roads to the condition of crops and included notes on political problems, social unrest and even the efficiency of the regional governor.
The barid was organized in exactly the same way as the Pony Express in the American West—except that it used camels and mules instead of horses. Every four to six miles throughout the empire was a post house with quarters for the couriers and stables for the camels and mules. At each post house the couriers would switch mounts and at stated intervals the riders themselves would be changed to avoid exhaustion. Even the back-up organization was similar: the central government had to keep the roads open at all times, provision the post houses and pay the wages of thousands of postal inspectors.
There were limitations: only government communications could be sent along its network. Ordinary citizens either sent messages by caravan or, in urgent cases, hired special couriers. Yet the system proved to be remarkably efficient. A letter took four days to reach Damascus from Cairo—just about what it takes today—and Cairo could communicate with Spain in a week. The system also survived longer.
Whereas the Pony Express collapsed after 16 months, the barid flourished for centuries and spread to India where Muslim rulers maintained its efficiency—as traveler Ibn Battuta indicated after a trip to Sind in 1333. From the frontier of Sind to Delhi in India, he wrote, is a 50-day march, "but when the intelligence officers write to the Sultan . . . the letter reaches him in five days by the postal service."
India also added an innovation. In addition to mounted couriers, they introduced foot couriers. These runners were often faster than the mounted postmen and always, as Ibn Battuta describes them, more colorful:
Every third of a mile there . . . are three pavilions. In these sit men girded up ready to move off, each of whom has a rod a yard and a half long with brass bells at the top. When a courier leaves . . . he takes the letter in the fingers of one hand and the rod with bells in the other, and runs with all his might. The men in the pavilions, on hearing the sound of the bells, prepare to meet him and when he reaches them one of them takes the letter in his hand and passes on, running with all his might and shaking his rod until he reaches the next station, and so the letter is passed on until it reaches its destination.
By such swift—and musical—couriers, Ibn Battuta goes on, the sultans not only accumulated intelligence and news, but also obtained fruits from far-away Khurasan, drinking water from the Ganges and, during the sweltering Indian summer, snow from the Himalayas to cool their beverages.
If efficient, however, the Islamic postal service was also vulnerable. Like their counterparts today, invaders knew that a government deprived of trustworthy information was powerless to act. By blocking roads and ambushing couriers they could disrupt communications and insure victory.
In some parts of the empire this strategy succeeded. But in others Islamic rulers came up with ingenious alternatives. One was an early warning system set up by the Mamluk sultans of Egypt when Hulagu Khan led his Mongol hordes across Persia in the middle of the 13th century. Fearful that the Mongols would cross the Euphrates and sweep across Iraq and Syria to Egypt., Mamluk engineers erected a chain of watchtowers along the postal routes between Iraq and Egypt. On top of each tower the prepared beacon fires—green wood for smoke signals in daylight, dry wood for bright fires at night—and assigned a corps of watchmen to 24-hour duty.
The system had faults and it could transmit just one basic message: the enemy has attacked. But it was astonishingly fast. News of a Mongol invasion could reach Cairo in eight hours—about the time it now takes to receive a telegram there from the same distance. More to the point, it worked. When the Mongols finally did sweep into Iraq the watchmen on the Euphrates lit their fires, the watchmen at the next tower lit theirs and, tower by tower, the alert flashed to the Mamluks. By the time the Mongols cut their way through Iraq, Syria and Palestine the Mamluks had had ample time to mobilize and were able to inflict a crushing defeat upon them—the first ever suffered by the Mongols in open combat.
During the Crusades, when even special couriers were intercepted or blocked, Mamluk leaders turned to courier pigeons.
They set up relays of dovecotes from Egypt to Iraq that could get a message from Cairo to Baghdad in two days. The pigeons were so efficient that the Crusaders themselves adopted the idea. One Crusader prince used them to announce his capture of Beirut and others carried pigeons back to England and Europe where, in 1850, Baron von Reuter used them to carry bulletins from Germany to Belgium and help found Reuters News Agency.
Under the Mamluks, only the Sultan himself could open a letter delivered by pigeon. All the pigeons bore the Sultan's mark, either on their beaks or on their feet, and the letters they carried were immediately brought to the Sultan even if he were asleep. At one point they became so numerous that they were divided into companies, each with its commandant, and lodged in special dovecotes near the Citadel. In the year 1300 the Mamluk postal service employed 1,900 pigeons whose careful training led a German soldier of fortune named Johan Schiltberger to compose a lengthy description:
It is also to be noted, that the [Mamluk Sultan] also sends letters by pigeons, because he has many enemies, and is afraid that they might stop his messengers. They are sent mostly from Archey to Tamasgen, between which places is a great desert. It is also to be noted, how the pigeons are sent to any city to which the Sultan wishes to have them sent. Two pigeons must be put together, and sugar must be put into their food, and they are not allowed to fly; and when they know each other well, the hen-pigeon is taken to the king, and he keeps it, and marks the cock-pigeon that it may be known from which city it is; it is then put into a separate place that is prepared, and the hen-pigeon is no longer allowed inside. They no longer give him so much to eat, and no more sugar as he used to have; this is done that he may wish to return as soon as possible to the place where he was before, and where he was trained. When they wish to despatch him, the letter is tied under a wing and he flies straight for the house where he was trained. There he is caught and the letter taken from him, and they send it to whomsoever it belongs.
Like the runners in India, and their heirs with Parcel Post, the carrier pigeons were not used exclusively for military communications. There is a story, for example, that one day a Fatimid caliph in Cairo expressed a desire for the sweet plums of Baalbek in today's Lebanon. His vizier immediately dispatched a pigeon to Baalbek ordering plums by return post. The ingenious postmaster at Baalbek at once complied, and before the day was out a flock of pigeons delivered a bowl of plums to the caliph. Each pigeon had carried a single plum tied to its leg.
Paul Lunde, who studied Arabic and Persian at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, now lives and writes in Saudi Arabia.
This article appeared on pages 12-15 of the July/August 1976 print edition of Saudi Aramco World.
See Also: HISTORY, MIDDLE EAST—HISTORY


November 8, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Target Date Analytics (TDA) has launched a new Web site that benchmarks target date lifecycle funds.
Free MPT measures of target-date mutual fund performance, namely alpha, beta, and R-squared relative to the appropriate TDA pure index.
More information is at www.tdbench.com .
TDA is an effort by Craig L. Israelsen, Ph.D., an Associate Professor in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University; Joseph C. Nagengast, president of Turnstone Advisory Group LLC; and Ronald J. Surz president of PPCA, Inc. and principal of RCG LLP. Nagengast co-authored PLANSPONSOR's Popping the Hood II, a comprehensive analysis of target-date funds, available at http://www.plansponsorresearch.com/targetdate/ .


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Homepage › Blogs › Rampage Movie Review (Minor Spoilers)
Rampage Movie Review (Minor Spoilers)
Rampage was actually an alright movie. For it to be based off a video game from the 90's I believe, it was a pretty decent movie. The Rock was the main star and his acting has really gotten better over the years. He was great for that movie and I'm glad he was the star. The movie had a very powerful message behind it regarding how precious life is for both humans and non humans, forgiveness, and helping people who are mean, annoying and seemingly don't deserve to be helped or saved. The Rock saved the "bad guy" soon after he was introduced and the bad guy became very useful to the story later on. The movie also had a message about having a change of heart and how not giving up on those you love can help them from destroying themselves. and lastly, there is always more to people beneath the surface of who they appear to be in front of your face, you just have to give them a chance. If you don't care about the hidden messages, you'll still like it cause the acting wasn't too bad, I loved the characters but I really hate how a lot of them actually died off in the movie. The action was great and of course the movie did not discriminate between gender roles. The Rocks's sidekick girl was very useful and one of the female Antagonists was very convincing of her role. The females were great in this movie, Ralph was a beast of course! Liz was a monster and of course, George was a savage! They had little to work with but the producers managed to pull off a decent movie based off the video game. I give it a 3 out of 5!
May 24th, 2018 at 08:40am


text:
Alienoid (2022)
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Gurus in the late Goryeo dynasty try to obtain a fabled, holy sword, and humans in 2022 hunt down an alien prisoner that is locked in a human's body. The two parties cross paths when a time-traveling portal opens up.
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Cold Pursuit (2019)
The quiet family life of Nels Coxman, a snowplow driver, is upended after his son's murder. Nels begins a vengeful hunt for Viking, the drug lord he holds responsible for…
Country: UK, Norway, China, Canada, USA, France
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: United Kingdom, China, United States
The Takedown (2022)
Ousmane Diakité and François Monge are two cops with very different styles, backgrounds and careers. The unlikely pair are reunited once again for a new investigation that takes them across…
Black Water: Abyss (2020)
An adventure-loving couple convince their friends to explore a remote, uncharted cave system in the forests of Northern Australia. With a tropical storm approaching, they abseil into the mouth of…
Genre: Action, Drama, Horror
Red Shoes And The Seven Dwarfs (2019)
Princes who have been turned into Dwarfs seek the red shoes of a lady in order to break the spell, although it will not be easy.
Genre: Action, Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Romance
Groot's Pursuit (2022)
Groot investigates a spooky noise that's been haunting the Quadrant, which leads to an intense dance off.
Genre: Action, Animation, Short
Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
Kubo mesmerizes the people in his village with his magical gift for spinning wild tales with origami. When he accidentally summons an evil spirit seeking vengeance, Kubo is forced to…
Genre: Action, Adventure, Animation, Family, Fantasy
Pursuit (2022)
Detective Breslin crosses paths with Calloway, a ruthless hacker desperate to find his wife, who has been kidnapped by a drug cartel. When Calloway escapes police custody, Breslin joins forces…
Gasoline Alley (2022)
A man implicated in the triple homicide of three Hollywood starlets begins his own investigation. Needing assistance, he enlists the two detectives on his tail in order to expose a…
Shanghai Fortress (2019)
Set in the future, the city of Shanghai battle to defend itself against an ongoing attack by an alien force that has attacked and laid siege to numerous cities around…
Brothers by Blood (2021)
Peter and Michael, raised on the streets of Philadelphia, are the children of Irish mob members, forever linked by the crimes of their fathers. 30 years later, Michael now runs…
Country: France, Belgium, Netherlands, USA
Xtreme (2021)
Two years after the murder of his son and father, a retired hitman sets in motion a carefully crafted revenge plan against the killer: his own brother.
Trailer: Alienoid (2022)


Mimir is the brainchild of Prahasith Veluvolu, who developed it while a student at Purdue University. The Mimir platform has begun to revolutionize computer science classrooms by providing a cloud based tool that simplifies the experience for both teachers and students. Gutwein Law met Prahasith when he was well on his way to being named the winner of the inaugural Boiler Competition hosted by Purdue's student-run coworking space, The Anvil.
Mimir has worked with Gutwein Law to organize as a limited liability company, providing flexibility and liability protection as the company exploded onto the educational technology scene.


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Spalding University Case Study - Cloud
IT transformation required outside assistance
Spalding University's small, six-acre city campus has great student appeal, but its small campus limits its ability to grow geographically. Online instruction offers an avenue for expansion and access to a wider population of students, as well as increased learning flexibility. The sophistication of a university's campus technology increasingly influences a student's choice of schools. It is also essential to administration, on- and off-campus communication and student life, and has to work 24/7 reliably and securely.
Dealing with 80-year old buildings and an inadequate IT infrastructure to support its opportunities for expansion, the university's small IT team looked outside for assistance. To support the university's evolving mission and expanding programs, the team knew that reducing routine IT operational demands and costs was an essential first step.
Flexential provides unwavering support
In 2006, the university's IT director Ezra Krumhansl and Flexential began discussing an IT outsourcing plan.
The university contracted with Flexential for colocation services at one of its Louisville data centers, entrusting Flexential to take care of backup power, monitoring, disaster recovery and security.
As time passed, the university's expanded and diversified curriculum, as well as the increased expectations for more online services, required more support. Flexential was there with tailored solutions to meet Spalding University's changing needs.
Flexential essentially functions as an extension of the Spalding University IT team and an active participant in back-and-forth collaboration on IT strategy, including the university's move to cloud computing and storage in 2012. "With what we were spending on hardware and software, VMware® licensing and maintenance contracts, moving to the cloud became more realistic and cost- effective. It actually has saved us money," said Krumhansl.
Today, Flexential cloud services power student registration and billing, the university's accounting and enterprise software, file servers, the SharePoint- powered portal, domain name servers, the active university directory and more. Flexential also provides a managed firewall service, which includes intrusion detection, access control and filtering.
Outsourcing IT services reduces costs and increases confidence
Outsourcing many of its IT services to Flexential has enabled Spalding University to keep costs down, especially for staff expansion. At the same time, its students reap the benefits of Flexential managed solutions, even if they don't realize it.
"In the eight years I have been at Spalding University, we have not increased our in-house staff despite the growth of our student body from 1,700 students to over 2,500 at present," Krumhansl said. "This has meant more computers, more users, more servers and more data storage without an increase to in-house support. Flexential has been by our side to help us scale our IT environment to accommodate the increased activity."
The university's IT team feels comfortable calling Flexential experts to make requests, seek advice or just bounce ideas off of them. Flexential understands Spalding University's business and offers advice as well as a rapid response to calls for assistance. In addition, Spalding University's in-house IT team frequently takes advantage of Flexential webinars and lunch-n-learns to stay current on the latest technology trends and techniques.
"We all sleep much better at night and during weekends knowing that Flexential has our back," said Krumhansl. He recalls Hurricane Ike in 2006 and the ice storms five months later that took down other colleges in the area. The lights stayed on, and the network stayed up at Spalding University, thanks to Flexential's reliable back-up systems.
"If we ever had to bring this back in-house — the systems, the backup, security, infrastructure and staff — it would easily be a seven-figure proposition," Krumhansl said. "Fortunately, we have it covered with Flexential."


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Antistatic, conductive, or static dissipative?
August 1st, 2014 / By: IFAI / Markets
Knowing the type of static control
required of a textile is essential.
Imagine this scenario, as described by Bud Weisbart, vice president of A & R Tarpaulins, the parent company of AR Tech, Fontana, Calif. Mechanics are assembling an aircraft. Large fabric tubes transfer fresh, cool air inside where they're working. If the fabric tubes are not antistatic, the workers' tools, and friction of any kind, could create static electricity, which could cause them to get "zapped." The workers would not likely be in any danger, but they could drop a tool, or some other object that would need to be retrieved, or it could jeopardize the integrity of the aircraft. Additionally, there are epoxies and other flammable materials inside the aircraft. A small spark could, conceivably, cause a fire. In other words, static dissipative textiles serve an important function in this—and many other—industrial environments.
Know your static dissipation levels
When Chad Twombly, business manager at Herculite Products Inc., York, Pa., gets a call from a customer who needs an antistatic material, his first question is, "What level of static dissipation do you need?" Often, there's silence on the other end of the line. "Too many people don't understand what they need," says Twombly. "The majority of the people don't understand the difference between surface electrical charges and electrical current. What we're trying to address with our products is surface electricity," he says.
What they need is an ohms test to find out. "Ohms testing is really important," he says. "It gives them a quantifiable way to pick the right solution. That will help them to determine what level of protection they need. Somebody knows, and they need to go back to that person and find out."
For instance, a very conductive fabric is required if microchips are involved. If the microchips are components in explosives, such as a weapons system, there is no room for error. A much lower level of dissipation is needed in basic health care situations, for example, to control static electricity in fabrics, which can occur when a patient is transferred to a gurney.
Both of these market areas—health care and industries that use microchip technologies—continue to be strong. There are other industrial settings where static dissipative textiles are essential. Lots of products loaded into containers can generate static electricity. "Any place where there is surface or static electricity, they need to be cautious," he says. Recently, Twombly was asked to provide an antistatic fabric for a client that was transferring resin into railcars. The customer was trying to dissipate the static electricity that was gathering from the movement of the resin through the chute; the collection of static energy was causing the resin to "stick" to the chute.
Electricity 101
If your level of expertise in the area of electricity and static electric charge doesn't extend further than high school physics, basic information that Twombly outlined in his blog post is a good starting point. To understand the difference between antistatic, dissipative and conductive as it relates to electricity and fabrics, it is helpful to first understand the difference between the terms "insulation" and "conductive" as it relates to electricity.
Conductors are materials that permit the flow of electric charges in one or more directions. Metals are particularly conductive, which is why they're used to move electricity in the form of electric wiring, for example.
Electric insulators prevent or reduce the passage of heat, electricity or sound—just the opposite of electric conductors. In these materials, internal electric charges do not flow freely, and so they limit the flow of electricity. The PVC and paper used to wrap electrical wire are examples. The insulators on an extension cord obviously prevent the charge from passing through them so you don't get shocked.
As a rule, PVC makes a good insulator, but there are things that can be done to make PVC engineered textiles more conductive. The level of manipulation to the material to change its conductive properties will put it into one of three classifications: antistatic, static dissipative or conductive.
Here's how the MIL-HDBK-773A DOD [U.S. Military] Handbook classifies these three: Â
Antistatic refers to the property of a material that inhibits triboelectic (static electricity) charge generation effects.Â
Static Dissipative materials rapidly dissipate electrostatic charges over their surface or volume, having a resistivity range between conductive and insulative.
Conductive materials are either surface or volume conductive and may be either metal or impregnated with metal, carbon particles or other conductive ingredients, or may have a surface that has been treated with such materials through a process of lacquering, plating, metallizing or printing.
To determine if materials meet one of these three classifications, testing is done for surface resistivity that is measured in ohms/square.Â
When designing a product solution it is important to understand the demands of the specific application. When dealing with the engineers or designers, it is recommended that you ask for the ohms level required to make sure the materials chosen are the right ones.
Laundering and money
Doug Hager is sales vice president, Strauss Knitting, St. Croix Falls, Wis., whose products are used primarily for garments and garment trim, such as cuffs. Hager stresses two key considerations when choosing the best fabric for an antistatic application: how it will be laundered and how much conductive material is needed.
If it's a garment that needs to be sterilized, it must withstand autoclave cleaning, which is at more than 212 F and under pressure. Polyester can be used for antistatic fabrics that must withstand sterilization.
Stauss' X-static, a polyester or nylon that has a silver coating, is an extremely conductive material and offers antimicrobial protection. Its conductivity will withstand many washings, but it won't hold up to autoclave laundering because silver is volatile and can flake off. With silver at $182 a pound as this article was written, the client would want to be sure about how the garment would be laundered.
With carbon-based fibers, such as the company's Resistat and Beltran brands, the entire fiber is conductive and not a coating, so it's much more durable—and considerably less expensive. With these materials, the conductive portion is the core, so it takes a higher voltage to instigate the dissipative action, Hager says.
Hager also stresses the importance of determining exactly how much conductive material is needed. "It's so expensive that you don't want to use more than is necessary," he says. But having enough is equally critical. "Our biggest market for ESD (electrostatic discharge) textiles is for cleanrooms—most often in electronic assembly, where even a small 'shock' could ruin an expensive microchip," he says.
Textiles are engineered with a range of properties, depending on the performance capability that's required. Textiles that contain metallic materials can block electronic information, such as radar, and are termed electromagnetic interference barriers. That's an application fairly easy to imagine, at least on a more superficial level.
But some potential projects may be a little harder to see. Weisbart says the first job his company had in the early 1980s was for a laminator flow table for a company that made eye glasses. "Particles were getting into the glass, which is soft at that point, and ruining it, so we made a flow table and enclosure out of an antistatic fabric," he says.
"We do a lot of blankets for satellites when they launch," Weisbart says. The blankets have carbon in them imbedded into Teflon®, and are multi-purpose. Besides their antistatic properties, they mitigate the effects of vibration, and their stainless steel filters prevent particles from coming through the blanket into the payload area.
Truck curtains may also require an antistatic material, depending on the load the truck is hauling. Weisbart said they provided a custom curtain to protect solid rocket fuel during an over-the-road transfer. That project required keeping the load from heating up in the sun, as well.
"That's conceptually where we need to grow as an industry," Weisbart says, "to understand the extent to which fabrics can be applied … to be able to address whatever problem there is to solve."
Chad Twombly, business manager at Herculite Products Inc., wrote a blog on this topic recently, and I followed up with a phone conversation. I also asked Doug Hager, sales vice president, Strauss Knitting, St. Croix Falls, Wis., and Bud Weisbart, AR Tech, Fontana, Calif., to share some of their expertise. The result provides some clarity and useful information, particularly for end product manufacturers who may not be
accustomed to working with static dissipative products.
~ Janet Preus, senior editor
Shade around the world: custom canopy projects
Big Span Structures completes parking garage façade with eye-catching details
Commercial viability boosts the visibility of wearable technology.
Palm Beach Mask to donate 100,000 disposable facemasks
Textiles and 3D technology


A new study, recently released from DoSomething Strategic (formerly known as TMI Strategy), titled "Dollars and Change: Young People Tap Brands as Agents of Social Change," is presented as nearly as possible "Verbatim" while summarizing the report, revealed that more than 76% of Gen Z has purchased, or is open to purchasing, a brand or product to support the issues that brand stands for.
The study found that more than 67% have stoppedpurchasing, or would consider doing so, if the company stood for something or behaved in a way that didn't align with their values. The study reports that Gen Z, defined in the survey as those 13-25 years old, are often misunderstood when it comes to their political descriptors. While the stereotypes of this generation make them out to be staunch liberals, actually 50% label themselves as moderates and the plurality, nearly half, identify as either independent or unaffiliated.
53% of survey respondents have purchased a brand/product because they wanted to show support for the issues they stood up for. Another 40% haven't done this yet, but would consider doing it in the future.
40% have stopped purchasing or boycotted a brand or company because they stood for something or behaved in a way that didn't align with their values. Another 49% haven't done this yet, but would consider doing it in the future.
One quarter of respondents say they always/often buy a product or service "based solely because they believe that brand's values and you want to support them" and 67% said they do this at least some of the time. People of color act even more frequently, with African-Americans buying this way 33% and 76% of the time, respectively.
In addition, 29% actively seek out brands based on values versus stumble upon them, with African-Americans actively seeking out these brands 33% of the time.
The study also examined the importance of brands more deeply engaging young consumers today by making them partners in progress. 49% of survey respondents said it was important for a company or brand to have social change initiatives that consumers can be a part of.
The "Dollars and Change: Young People Tap Brands as Agents of Social Change" study was conducted online by a nationally representative sample of 2,461 young people ages 13 to 25 during March 2018.
The full report findings can be accessed at DoSomethingStrategic.org.