text:
Paul d'Orléans: Instafamous, Instabroke
Moto-journalist Paul d'Orléans writes for the magazine Classic Bike Guide, and stirred up the hornets' nest with this recent column. It's a perceptive and thought-provoking commentary on today's custom motorcycle scene.
I've been mucking around with old motorcycles since the 1980s, and like many, financed my bike habit via the sport of Arbitrage. That is, turning a profit on a bike after giving it some love.
It wasn't an income; the only people living off the motorcycle game were (impoverished) moto-journalists and employees of legitimate dealerships. I knew lots of fellows, and a few ladies, who spent all their time repairing and modifying bikes, and none aspired to be anything but a garagiste. At the time, Von Dutch lived in a trailer, Ed Roth had long-ago lost his Revell contract, and only bands sold t-shirts.
It never occurred to us that someday we'd be aglow with some sort of notoriety. But 'some sort' is now within the purview of every human on the planet, via the joys of InstaFame.
A downloadable phone trick has the power to make us globally recognizable in weeks. Via the savvy curation of images, we trigger a mutual oxytocin drip in our fans and ourselves, liking and being liked, tapping away like starving lab monkeys, who've chosen the button for 'attention' over the one for 'food'.
It's fame, man, to the hungry end, and maybe even bigger when you're dead; is that the ghost of TuPac or Indian Larry I hear laughing over posthumous sales? Don't think I'm judging; I owe the mysterious gods of the Internet a debt of gratitude for my own lifestyle; let's just hope I don't owe them my soul.
The shimmering dust of glamour has always coated parts of the motorcycle scene, and right now it's falling on handsome, bearded guys wearing heritage work clothing and riding '69-clone choppers or knobby-tyred customs, or girls doing seat-top acrobatics aboard same.
The original meaning of 'glamour' was the art of enchantment, a spell-caster's ability to create an illusion around a person, place, or thing. And while the packs of self-paparazzing blogo-grammers crowding custom bike events are indeed beautiful and achingly cool, I fear our glamour is a spell cast in the mirror.
A mix of hopes and pleasures motivate today's custom motorcycle builders; the joy of creativity mingled with glow of Web attention, and now there's an established recipe for making a 'cool' bike, tested via the comments section on a hundred moto-blogs.
It's easy to mistake the whoosh of online chatter for a wind to fill your sails, and a virtual wind is exactly that, while selling garage-altered metal to strangers has always been difficult. Savvy shops sell logo'd up clothing and calendars and keyfobs, scattering brand stickers in an Autumn of moto-foliage… but even such sales will only pay the bills, not the salary of a desperately-needed employee – or your own.
There are two ways to profit in business; large sales volumes with small profit margins, or high-end retail, and the successful moto-businesses sell the tanks and levers and rearsets the Wannabes need for an InstaFamous custom.
At the rich end of the spectrum, the market for hundred grand choppers evaporated in 2008, and I know exactly one builder who's sold an art-gallery motorcycle for big bucks. Every other shop, then, is in competition for a limited audience, even if it seems at times that 'everyone' thinks we're cool and 'everyone' wants your bikes…but is that the magic mirror?
The first signs of iCustom casualties have recently appeared even in the luminous portal of Bike EXIF; shops going belly up, euphemistically 'starting other projects', i.e., jobs which pay. It hasn't exactly been a Gold Rush (that's happening in the App-creation world itself), and I know young bike builders don't expect to get rich.
Still, it seems the business of pushing aesthetic boundaries with a motorcycle is best trod with a trust fund springing your step, or proceeding with deep humility and little expectation of worldly increase; the hackneyed rule for artists.
I've spoken with genius motorcycle builders whose controversial but gloriously innovative customs have netted them almost zero sales. A 'like' isn't a dollar. But then again, as they slowly go broke or accustomed to reduced circumstances, the refrain is 'there's nothing I'd rather be doing'.
The coolest bike boom since the 1970s has kids buzzing like bees at Wheels & Waves, DirtQuake, and Born Free, and featured in popular books like the 'The Ride', to which I contributed. Riding bikes while young, beautiful and creative is a heady cocktail, as is the glamour of InstaFame.
But let's not confuse the rain of electrons, following our every move, for a rain of cash. Because in the end, bikes are just motorcycles, but business is business.
Reprinted with kind permission of Classic Bike Guide. Radical Ducati image by del Perro. Paul d'Orléans runs The Vintagent website.
Filed Under Special Features TAGGED Motorcycle restoration |
By Paul d'Orléans
Jun 30, 2014 Paul d'Orléans
Yamaha Virago XV750 by Greg Hageman
Classified Triumph 675 'Doomsdaytona'


text:
LWVCC Positions
LWVCC Action and Testimony
LWVCC Activities
LWVCC Interest Groups >
Budget & Structure
Cook County Board Observer Reports
MWRD Board Observer Reports
CCH Board Observer Reports
Forest Preserve Board Reports
Cook County Board
Cook County Elected Officials
MWRD Board
Cook County Board Raises Age to Purchase Tobacco Products to 21, but only Applies in Unincorporated Areas
Cook County Board Meeting and Board Committee Meetings
January 23 and 24, 2019
Meeting Length: Board Meeting lasted 2 hours on Jan. 24. Committee meetings lasted approx. 3 hours on Jan. 23, and started 3 hours late because of length of Consent Agenda meeting.
What did the Board decide?
Approved raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21. Comm. Degnen voted no and Comm. Arroyo voted present because they believe 18 is considered to be an "adult" for other purposes and adults should have the freedom to choose. During the Committee hearing, much to the surprise of the sponsors, a County attorney stated that the ordinance would only apply to unincorporated areas. The ordinance does not apply to "possession" of tobacco products because no one wants someone under 21 to get a "record" for possession. Comm. Sean Morrison said that it was good that when this same ordinance was introduced at the last meeting of the prior Board, it was decided not to rush but to instead reintroduce it with the new Board. He said he took the time to reach out to businesses in his district and found that there would be little impact because only about 4% of the tobacco purchases were from those under 21. With the extra time, he became a "yes" vote. (Agenda Item 19-0605).
Approved amendments to Inspector General ordinance that add penalties for disclosing information from Confidential Summary Reports that are sent only to President's Office and the applicable elected official or department head. Penalties are up to 6 months imprisonment and up to $5,000 fine. Inspector General explained that these Confidential Reports differ from the summary public reports that are posted on his web site and which have far fewer details. (Agenda Item 19-0602)
Approved creation of a Complete Count Census Commission to be headed by Comms. Moore and Deer. Purpose is to create plan for reach-out to ensure everyone is counted because many federal and state funds are based on the census count. (Agenda Item 19-0733)
Approved a new contract for a "communication platform" for the Jail and Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. This covers phone calls (reduced from 12.5 cents a minute to 6 cents locally, 8 cents long distance within North America, and 13 cents for international calls), email exchanges (from and to detainee for total of 10 cents), and texts ($10 for up to 250 texts, or $20 for up to 600 texts). Also includes education component that provides tablets and classes for free to detainees. And this platform will eliminate a lot of paper that flows within the jail. Costs the County nothing and it receives no revenues. There was apparently some controversy over the awarding of the contract to Adobo in that the current provider of telephone service objected, but the head of Procurement explained the award was justified taking into account all the services to be provided at the specified fees. (Agenda Item 19-0005)
Approved a resolution requiring the development of a county-wide CPR and AED training awareness campaign and expansion of training access. The Cook County Health Department supported, and there were a number of speakers in favor. A date will be set for the Commissioners to be trained. (Agenda Item 19-0645)
Approved a resolution for the County to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030. (Agenda Item 19-1080)
Approved waiving fee for rabies vaccination for veterans and residents with disabilities. (Agenda Item 19-1234)
What to watch for:
Sent to Legislation & Govt. Affairs Committee: Hearing on impact of U.S. government shutdown on County. (Agenda Item 19-1368)
Sent to Economic Development Committee: Amendment to Ordinance that established a Commission on Social Innovation for Job Creation, Workforce Development, Entrepreneurship, Community Revitalization, and Individual Development. Comm. Suffredin expressed concern over the ordinance and fact that Chair and, under amendment, Vice-Chair has sole authority to appoint members. Comm. Gainer explained the only change to ordinance was to allow Vice Chair (Comm. Anaya) to appoint and run Commission's activities, in addition to Chair, who had been Comm. Garcia and who is now Comm. Gainer. Will be interesting to see if any further changes are made to this ordinance in Committee. (Agenda Item 19-1382)
Comm. Moore will have hearings of Criminal Justice and Asset Management Committees which he chairs to discuss status of various programs of Sheriff and of Asset Management Dept., respectively. (Agenda Items 19-1338 and 19-1358)
Observer - Priscilla Mims,
Individual authors are credited at the end of each post.
CCHHS
Cook County Budget
Cook County Health (CCH)
Cook County Sheriff
Departmental Budget Hearings
Election Administration
Ethics Ordinance
Independent Inspector General
Performance Based Management
Police Matters
Shakman
Soda Tax
Transportation Plan
LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF COOK COUNTY
332 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 634
312/939-5935 x 4
info@lwvcookcounty.org
© Copyright League of Women Voters of Cook County, Illinois. All rights reserved.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Tag Archive | "IRS impersonation scams"
As tax season begins, the Montcalm County Sheriff's Office is receiving numerous reports of telephone calls from thieves who pretend to be from the IRS. Although these scams take many different forms, the most common scams are phone calls and emails from thieves who use the IRS name, logo or a fake website to try to steal your money. They may try to steal your identity too.
Be wary if you get an out-of-the-blue phone call or automated message from someone who claims to be from the IRS. Sometimes they say you owe money and must pay right away. Other times they say you are owed a refund and ask for your bank account information over the phone. Don't fall for it. Here are several tips that will help you avoid becoming a scam victim.
Demand tax payment and not allow you to question or appeal the amount you owe.
Require that you pay your taxes a certain way. For example, demand that you pay with a prepaid debit card.
Threaten to bring in local police or other agencies to arrest you without paying.
In most cases, an IRS phishing scam is an unsolicited, bogus email that claims to come from the IRS. These scams often use fake refunds, phony tax bills, or threats of an audit. Many scammers even use what appears to be an official IRS logo at the top of their email. Some emails link to sham websites that look real. Don't be fooled! The scammer's goal is to lure victims to give up their personal and financial information. If they get what they're after, they use it to steal a victim's money and their identity.


Vietnamese e-commerce platforms Tiki, Thegioididong and Sendo were named among ten most visited sites in Southeast Asia by price comparison website iPrice Group.
Tiki, Thegioididong and Sendo ranked sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, by average monthly web traffic.
The two others in the top ten which were also conducting business in Vietnam were Lazada (first) and Shopee (second).
According to the report, Lazada and Shopee were international corporations with operation in multiple markets which made their positions in the list less of a surprise; the three Vietnamese e-commerce companies' inclusion was concrete evidence of the size and potential of e-commerce in Vietnam.
"Even though Sendo, Tiki and Thegioididong are only available for consumers within Vietnam, their traffic numbers are still impressive enough to put them within the regional top 10, even above JD Group of China, which is now operating in both Thailand and Indonesia," said the report.
The most remarkable entry was Thegioididong. The company was the only merchant in the top ten to focus on only one product category - electronic devices. Even with such a narrow business scope, Thegioididong still managed to gain an average of 29 million visits per month, according to the report.
Other names in the top ten included Tokopedia, Bukalapak, Blibli, JD and Qoo10.
In 2018, Vietnamese e-commerce companies were able to acquire a significant amount of foreign funding.
At the beginning of 2018, Tiki received investment form JD.com in a round of series C funding which made JD become one of the largest shareholders in Tiki.
In the first six months of 2018, Shopee Vietnam received VND1.2 trillion in the form of authorised capital from SEA, their Singaporean parent company.
To counter Shopee's expansion in Southeast Asia, in March, Alibaba decided to invest another US$2 billion in Lazada to improve the company's competitiveness.
In 2018, Sendo.vn, the ecommerce subsidiary of FPT Corporation, also received $51 million from the Japanese SBI Holdings and other investors.
This constant stream of capital had created interesting developments in the market, iPrice said.
Shopee Vietnam witnessed the most formidable improvement, iPrice said, adding that the company began the year in third place in terms of web traffic, but in seven months rose to the top position in Vietnam.
In Vietnam, Shopee was followed by Thegioididong, Lazada, Tiki, Sendo, FPTshop and Dienmayxanh.


Artisan Finished Shutters Create Display Wall at Hilton Garden Inn: Hospitality Design at its' Best!
Group One Partners, Inc. of Boston called on Arteriors to create an artisan weathered paint finish on a wall of shutters. The accent wall is part of the urban chic hospitality design at the newly renovated Hilton Garden Inn, Providence, RI.
The grouping is a fun focal point in a room that is saturated with natural light. One part rustic grittiness with a couple parts Mondrian grid, the shutters are actually made of new wood and have several layers of carefully mixed glazes to replicate a well-seasoned, exterior surface. This design cocktail is refreshing and adds integrity to a well-orchestrated interior.
Original art work keeps it real in a world of mass-manufactured building materials. Good design will create spaces that include pockets of hand-made artwork. The Hilton Garden Inn lounge is visually a few degrees warmer with a display wall featuring an Arteriors hand-rendered paint finish.
Anywhere you go in Providence is never far from water, and the Hilton Garden Inn on India Street is no different. Many of the materials used in the interior echoes the Atlantic coast living experience. Like the hulls of boats, the shutters appear to be salt sprayed and the colors are faded. When paired with the slick surfaces of stainless steel and stark white walls the contrast to the storm-beaten paint finish is beautiful.
Painting Kitchen Cabinets – What sheen should I pick?
Are Painted Kitchen Cabinets Durable?
How to create a visual feast with artisanal wall finishes!


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Uncover the ultimate high end resort with An Lam Ninh Vehicle Bay villas.
Posted on October 23, 2018 Author Admin	Comments Off on Uncover the ultimate high end resort with An Lam Ninh Vehicle Bay villas.
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Air filtration components are the most important part of a commercial air filtration system. Components such as electronic precipitation cells, industrial carbon air filters, and baffles need to be cleaned periodically-most of the time on a quarterly basis-in order to make sure that your commercial air filtration system runs smoothly.
Commercial air filtration systems are complex setups that have problems from time-to-time. This requires that experienced air filtration system service technicians are available who know what the common problems are with these systems, and what needs to be done to get them working again. These service technicians understand these systems and know the trouble "hot-spots" so that they can efficiently assess and identify the problem quickly in order to provide you with the best solution to get you up and running again quickly.
Once the problem has been identified, it needs to be resolved, and having a commercial air filtration system repair service that can fix the identified problems, whether they are the result of defective parts requiring replacement, or other cleaning and maintenance services, is essential for anyone using an air filtration system. These repairs need to be completed quickly so that the company minimizes downtime.
Environmental laws change as well as the needs of the business as it grows-maybe a restaurant needs a better commercial cooking exhaust filtration system to comply with the environmental regulations in the neighborhood, or the company has introduced a new process to manufacture products requiring a stronger industrial air filtration solution. A good commercial air filtration system rebuild service knows how to use the existing system's infrastructure to upgrade it to meet a client's specific needs. Whether this means adding odor filtration capability using industrial carbon air filters, or adding an electrostatic precipitator to the existing system, a solid air filtration system rebuild service is essential.
Detergent is an important component of any automatic wash system, and Matrix Systems is the exclusive, factory authorized provider of the Matrix SP7 Smog Hog detergent. This detergent can be shipped via UPS or other common carrier shipping company anywhere in the country, and is non-toxic and aluminum safe. SP7 detergent concentrate is shipped in 5-gallon pails to be mixed with water in a 55-gallon Smog Hog detergent tank.
Matrix Systems provides industrial and commercial air filtration system solutions and commercial cooking exhaust systems for Northern California and Northern Nevada from our sales offices in San Leandro, Calif. and Grass Valley, CA and our service facility in San Leandro, Calif. We are the exclusive representative for United Air Specialists, Inc., SMOG HOG mist filtration, DUST HOG dust filtration and PSG commercial kitchen exhaust filtration products.
Matrix Systems also provides a variety of other mist media filtration products and dust media filtration products. We provide dust collector replacement parts, SMOG HOG parts, and filters. In addition, we are a complete SMOG HOG service provider including equipment and airflow testing, component cleaning and exchange, as well provide our proprietary SMOG HOG SP7 detergent for automatic wash systems.
For more information about Matrix Systems, call either (510) 822-5167 in the Bay Area or (530) 273-5474 in the Sacramento Valley and Northern Nevada area for more information.


text:
#region Copyright
//
// DotNetNuke® - https://www.dnnsoftware.com
// Copyright (c) 2002-2018
// by DotNetNuke Corporation
//
// Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated
// documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
// the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and
// to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
//
// The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions
// of the Software.
//
// THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED
// TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
// THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF
// CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER
// DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
#endregion

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using Dnn.PersonaBar.Library;
using Dnn.PersonaBar.Recyclebin.Components.Dto;
using DotNetNuke.Collections;
using DotNetNuke.Common.Utilities;
using DotNetNuke.Entities.Modules;
using DotNetNuke.Entities.Portals;
using DotNetNuke.Entities.Tabs;
using DotNetNuke.Entities.Tabs.TabVersions;
using DotNetNuke.Entities.Users;
using DotNetNuke.Framework;
using DotNetNuke.Instrumentation;
using DotNetNuke.Security.Permissions;
using DotNetNuke.Services.Localization;
using System.Net;
using Dnn.PersonaBar.Library.Controllers;

namespace Dnn.PersonaBar.Recyclebin.Components
{
    public class RecyclebinController : ServiceLocator<IRecyclebinController, RecyclebinController>,
        IRecyclebinController
    {
        public static string PageDateTimeFormat = "yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm tt";
        private static readonly ILog Logger = LoggerSource.Instance.GetLogger(typeof(RecyclebinController));

        #region Fields

        private readonly ITabController _tabController;
        private readonly ITabVersionSettings _tabVersionSettings;
        private readonly ITabChangeSettings _tabChangeSettings;
        private readonly ITabWorkflowSettings _tabWorkflowSettings;
        private readonly IModuleController _moduleController;

        #endregion

        public RecyclebinController()
        {
            _tabController = TabController.Instance;
            _tabVersionSettings = TabVersionSettings.Instance;
            _tabWorkflowSettings = TabWorkflowSettings.Instance;
            _moduleController = ModuleController.Instance;
            _tabChangeSettings = TabChangeSettings.Instance;
        }

        #region Properties

        private static PortalSettings PortalSettings => PortalSettings.Current;

        #endregion

        #region ServiceLocator

        protected override Func<IRecyclebinController> GetFactory()
        {
            return () => new RecyclebinController();
        }

        #endregion

        #region Public Methods

        public string LocalizeString(string key)
        {
            return Localization.GetString(key, Constants.LocalResourcesFile);
        }

        public void DeleteTabs(IEnumerable<PageItem> tabs, StringBuilder errors, bool deleteDescendants = false)
        {
            if (tabs != null)
            {
                foreach (var tab in tabs.OrderByDescending(t => t.Level))
                {
                    var tabInfo = _tabController.GetTab(tab.Id, PortalSettings.PortalId);
                    if (tabInfo == null)
                    {
                        errors.AppendFormat(LocalizeString("PageNotFound"), tab.Id);
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        HardDeleteTab(tabInfo, deleteDescendants, errors);
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        public void DeleteTabs(IEnumerable<TabInfo> tabs, StringBuilder errors, bool deleteDescendants = false)
        {
            if (tabs != null)
            {
                foreach (var tab in tabs.OrderByDescending(t => t.Level))
                {
                    var tabInfo = _tabController.GetTab(tab.TabID, PortalSettings.PortalId);
                    if (tabInfo == null)
                    {
                        errors.AppendFormat(LocalizeString("PageNotFound"), tab.TabID);
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        HardDeleteTab(tabInfo, deleteDescendants, errors);
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        public void DeleteModules(IEnumerable<ModuleItem> modules, StringBuilder errors)
        {
            if (modules != null)
            {
                foreach (var mod in modules)
                {
                    var moduleInfo = ModuleController.Instance.GetModule(mod.Id, mod.TabID, true);
                    if (moduleInfo == null)
                    {
                        errors.AppendFormat(LocalizeString("ModuleNotFound"), mod.Id, mod.TabID);
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        HardDeleteModule(moduleInfo, errors);
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        public void DeleteModules(IEnumerable<ModuleInfo> modules, StringBuilder errors)
        {
            modules?.ForEach(mod => HardDeleteModule(mod, errors));
        }

        private void HardDeleteTab(TabInfo tab, bool deleteDescendants, StringBuilder errors)
        {
            if (TabPermissionController.CanDeletePage(tab) && tab.IsDeleted)
            {
                if (tab.HasChildren && !deleteDescendants)
                {
                    errors.Append(string.Format(LocalizeString("Service_RemoveTabWithChildError"), tab.TabName));
                    return;
                }
                //get tab modules before deleting page
                var tabModules = _moduleController.GetTabModules(tab.TabID);

                //hard delete the tab
                _tabController.DeleteTab(tab.TabID, tab.PortalID, deleteDescendants);

                //delete modules that do not have other instances
                foreach (var kvp in tabModules)
                {
                    //check if all modules instances have been deleted
                    var delModule = _moduleController.GetModule(kvp.Value.ModuleID, Null.NullInteger, false);
                    if (delModule == null || delModule.TabID == Null.NullInteger)
                    {
                        try
                        {
                            _moduleController.DeleteModule(kvp.Value.ModuleID);
                        }
                        catch (Exception exc)
                        {
                            Logger.Error(exc);
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
            else
            {
                errors.AppendFormat(!tab.IsDeleted ? LocalizeString("TabNotSoftDeleted") : LocalizeString("CanNotDeleteTab"), tab.TabID);
            }
        }

        private void HardDeleteModule(ModuleInfo module, StringBuilder errors)
        {
            try
            {
                if (ModulePermissionController.CanDeleteModule(module) && module.IsDeleted)
                {
                    _moduleController.DeleteTabModule(module.TabID, module.ModuleID, false);
                }
                else
                {
                    errors.AppendFormat(!module.IsDeleted ? LocalizeString("ModuleNotSoftDeleted") : LocalizeString("CanNotDeleteModule"), module.ModuleID);
                }
            }
            catch (Exception exc)
            {
                Logger.Error(exc);
            }
            //hard-delete Tab Module Instance
        }

        public bool RestoreTab(TabInfo tab, out string resultmessage)
        {
            var changeControlStateForTab = _tabChangeSettings.GetChangeControlState(tab.PortalID, tab.TabID);
            if (changeControlStateForTab.IsChangeControlEnabledForTab)
            {
                _tabVersionSettings.SetEnabledVersioningForTab(tab.TabID, false);
                _tabWorkflowSettings.SetWorkflowEnabled(tab.PortalID, tab.TabID, false);
            }

            var success = true;
            resultmessage = null;

            //if parent of the page is deleted, then can't restore - parent should be restored first
            var totalRecords = 0;
            var deletedTabs = GetDeletedTabs(out totalRecords);
            if (!Null.IsNull(tab.ParentId) && deletedTabs.Any(t => t.TabID == tab.ParentId))
            {
                resultmessage = string.Format(LocalizeString("Service_RestoreTabError"), tab.TabName);
                success = false;
            }
            else
            {
                _tabController.RestoreTab(tab, PortalSettings);

                //restore modules in this tab
                var tabdeletedModules = GetDeletedModules(out totalRecords).Where(m => m.TabID == tab.TabID);

                foreach (var m in tabdeletedModules)
                {
                    success = RestoreModule(m.ModuleID, m.TabID, out resultmessage);
                }

                if (changeControlStateForTab.IsChangeControlEnabledForTab)
                {
                    _tabVersionSettings.SetEnabledVersioningForTab(tab.TabID,
                        changeControlStateForTab.IsVersioningEnabledForTab);
                    _tabWorkflowSettings.SetWorkflowEnabled(tab.PortalID, tab.TabID,
                        changeControlStateForTab.IsWorkflowEnabledForTab);
                }
            }
            return success;
        }

        public bool RestoreModule(int moduleId, int tabId, out string errorMessage)
        {
            errorMessage = null;
            // restore module

            KeyValuePair<HttpStatusCode, string> message;
            var module = ModulesController.Instance.GetModule(PortalSettings, moduleId, tabId, out message);

            if (module != null)
            {
                var totalRecords = 0;
                var deletedTabs = GetDeletedTabs(out totalRecords).Where(t => t.TabID == module.TabID);
                if (deletedTabs.Any())
                {
                    var title = !string.IsNullOrEmpty(module.ModuleTitle)
                        ? module.ModuleTitle
                        : module.DesktopModule.FriendlyName;
                    errorMessage = string.Format(LocalizeString("Service_RestoreModuleError"), title,
                        deletedTabs.SingleOrDefault().TabName);
                    return false;
                }
                if (module.IsDeleted)
                    _moduleController.RestoreModule(module);
                else
                {
                    errorMessage = string.Format(LocalizeString("ModuleNotSoftDeleted"), moduleId);
                    return false;
                }
            }
            else
            {
                errorMessage = string.Format(LocalizeString("ModuleNotFound"), moduleId, tabId);
                return false;
            }
            return true;
        }

        public List<TabInfo> GetDeletedTabs(out int totalRecords, int pageIndex = -1, int pageSize = -1)
        {
            var adminTabId = PortalSettings.AdminTabId;
            var tabs = TabController.GetPortalTabs(PortalSettings.PortalId, adminTabId, true, true, true, true);
            var deletedtabs =
                tabs.Where(t => t.ParentId != adminTabId && t.IsDeleted && TabPermissionController.CanDeletePage(t));
            totalRecords = deletedtabs.Count();
            return pageIndex == -1 || pageSize == -1 ? deletedtabs.ToList() : deletedtabs.Skip(pageIndex * pageSize).Take(pageSize).ToList();
        }

        public List<ModuleInfo> GetDeletedModules(out int totalRecords, int pageIndex = -1, int pageSize = -1)
        {
            var deletedModules = _moduleController.GetModules(PortalSettings.PortalId)
                .Cast<ModuleInfo>()
                .Where(module => module.IsDeleted && (
                    TabPermissionController.CanAddContentToPage(TabController.Instance.GetTab(module.TabID, module.PortalID)) ||
                    ModulePermissionController.CanDeleteModule(module))
                );
            totalRecords = deletedModules.Count();
            return pageIndex == -1 || pageSize == -1 ? deletedModules.ToList() : deletedModules.Skip(pageIndex * pageSize).Take(pageSize).ToList();
        }

        public string GetTabStatus(TabInfo tab)
        {
            if (tab.DisableLink)
            {
                return "Disabled";
            }

            return tab.IsVisible ? "Visible" : "Hidden";
        }

        public List<UserInfo> GetDeletedUsers(out int totalRecords, int pageIndex = -1, int pageSize = -1)
        {
            var deletedusers = UserController.GetDeletedUsers(PortalSettings.PortalId).Cast<UserInfo>().Where(CanManageUser);
            totalRecords = deletedusers.Count();
            return pageIndex == -1 || pageSize == -1 ? deletedusers.ToList() : deletedusers.Skip(pageIndex * pageSize).Take(pageSize).ToList();
        }

        public void DeleteUsers(IEnumerable<UserInfo> users)
        {
            var userInfos = users as IList<UserInfo> ?? users.ToList();
            if (users == null || !userInfos.Any()) return;
            foreach (
                var user in
                    userInfos.Select(u => UserController.GetUserById(u.PortalID, u.UserID))
                        .Where(user => user != null)
                        .Where(user => user.IsDeleted))
            {
                if (CanManageUser(user))
                    UserController.RemoveUser(user);
            }
        }

        public void DeleteUsers(IEnumerable<UserItem> users)
        {
            var userInfos = users.Select(x => new UserInfo { PortalID = x.PortalId, UserID = x.Id });
            DeleteUsers(userInfos);
        }

        public bool RestoreUser(UserInfo user, out string errorMessage)
        {
            errorMessage = null;
            var deletedusers = UserController.GetDeletedUsers(user.PortalID).Cast<UserInfo>().Where(CanManageUser).ToList();
            if ((user != null) && deletedusers.Any(u => u.UserID == user.UserID))
            {
                UserController.RestoreUser(ref user);
                return true;
            }
            errorMessage = string.Format(LocalizeString("Service_RestoreUserError"));
            return false;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Checks if the current user has enough rights to manage the provided user or not
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="user"></param>
        /// <returns></returns>
        private bool CanManageUser(UserInfo user)
        {
            if (PortalSettings.UserInfo.IsSuperUser ||
                (PortalSettings.UserInfo.IsInRole(PortalSettings.AdministratorRoleName) && !user.IsSuperUser) ||
                (!PortalSettings.UserInfo.IsInRole(PortalSettings.AdministratorRoleName) && !user.IsSuperUser &&
                 !user.IsInRole(PortalSettings.AdministratorRoleName)))
            {
                return true;
            }
            return false;
        }
        #endregion
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Wake County Leverages New Licensed 4.9GHz Public Safety Band to Increase Security at Public Venues with Motorola's MOTOMESH(TM) Multi-Radio Broadband Network
Solution Delivers First of Its Kind Licensed Mesh Network for High Performance Security Video and Wireless Access RALEIGH, N.C., Dec. 5 -- Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) today announced that Wake County, NC has deployed the MOTOMESH(TM) multi-radio broadband solution to enhance public safety measures at three major venues across the county. The venues include the North Carolina State Fairgrounds,...
Motorola Biometrics Solution will Improve Protection Capabilities for Police Forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina
SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Dec. 5 -- Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) announced the installation of its Printrak Biometric Identification Solution (BIS) for the police forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with funding from the European Commission. As a result, the Motorola solution will provide citizens there with vastly improved protection and an identity solution that will enhance crime solving efforts in the...
Motorola Delivers Service to Speed Deployment of Next Generation Offerings and Adds Personalization to Seamless Mobility
Company Launches Seamless Session Services, Giving Service Providers an Easier Way to Bring Consumers Personalized Services Across Different Devices and Networks BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 15 -- 3GSM World Congress -- Making the vision of seamless mobility a reality, Motorola (NYSE:MOT) today launched Seamless Session Services -- an innovative solution that helps service providers quickly launch,...
Motorola Enhances Mobile Broadband Experience with Faster Upload Speeds
Demonstrates HSUPA speeds over 4Mbps BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 14 -- Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) is demonstrating an enhanced mobile broadband experience at 3GSM World Congress, with High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) speeds over 4Mbps. Now, users can not only download content such as music or videos in seconds via HSDPA, but can also send and share content just as quickly. Motorola's approach to...
Turn On, Tune In: Motorola Unveils Stylish New Mass Market Clam With Integrated FM Radio
Motorola Continues Drive To "Connect The Next Billion" With New Ultra-Hip Clamshell Design For The Mass Market BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 13 -- 3GSM World Congress -- Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) today unveiled Motorola W220 as its first value- priced thin clamshell handset incorporating an integrated FM radio, bringing a new level of style and functionality, not to mention cool sounds and vital...
Motorola, NICE Video Surveillance Goes Wireless
SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Dec. 19 / -- Public safety officials have the opportunity to take the next step into the wireless world with the Intelligent Video Surveillance and Control (iVSC) solution, which lets users of the wireless system developed by Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) and NICE Systems (NASDAQ:NICE) place cameras in locations without access to fiber optic or cable lines. Police and fire...
Roam Where You Want To! New Motorola Technologies Break the Barrier Between Home and Wireless Phone Services
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 3 -- Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) today broke down the barrier between traditional home and wireless phone service. The innovative new Motorola Residential Seamless Mobility Gateway (RSG) lets consumers use the same mobile device -- and the same number -- as they roam in and out of their homes(1). Creating an Innovative Home Communications Experience The Motorola RSG family of...
Motorola Technology Fuels the Digital Transition in Latin America and the Caribbean
HORSHAM, Pa., Jan. 12 / -- Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) has played an instrumental role in the transition to digital cable throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. With a variety of all-digital and hybrid solutions ranging from set-tops to headend technology, Motorola is providing the flexible, versatile and reliable systems that fuel the digital revolution in Latin America and the Caribbean....
Motorola PEBL Now Available at T-Mobile Retail Stores
LIBERTYVILLE, Ill., and BELLEVUE, Wash., Jan. 31/-- Delivering sophisticated technology and rock solid design, Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) and T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announce the nationwide availability of the design-savvy Motorola PEBL at T-Mobile retail stores and select authorized dealers, in addition to its online availability at http://www.t-mobile.com/ . Shaped by nature and inspired by the...
Iconic Design Inspires Creation of Four New Motorola RAZR Handsets
Bold Colors and Advanced Technology Expand the Line-Up of the World's Coolest Clamshell Mobile LIBERTYVILLE, Ill., Nov. 8 /-- Leveraging the world-wide success of the groundbreaking Motorola RAZR, Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) today revealed two new colors and two new versions of the popular handset. The new handsets provide consumers with four new ways to enjoy the Motorola RAZR experience through...


text:
Thomas Sharkey joins the PRL
Release Date: Jul 3, 2017
Tags: Sharkey lab, future scientists
Categories: Future Scientists
Thomas D. Sharkey, Michigan State University Distinguished Professor and former chair of the MSU Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) in the College of Natural Science, has become a faculty member of the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory (PRL).
"It is an honor to join the PRL," said Sharkey, who will hold a joint appointment in BMB. "The opportunities to pursue my individual research projects and to participate in multi-investigator projects makes the PRL an ideal environment for my work."
The Sharkey lab studies the biochemistry and biophysics that determine the exchange of gases between the biosphere and the atmosphere. Current research concentrates on three projects: carbon metabolism of photosynthesis – from carbon dioxide uptake to carbon export from the Calvin-Benson Cycle; isoprene emission from plants; and abiotic stress tolerance.
An MSU alumnus, Sharkey was recruited back to MSU as BMB chair, a position he held from 2008 through April 2017.
"Tom returned to the PRL 30 years after he studied gas exchange in plants under the guidance of Klaus Raschke," said Christoph Benning, PRL director. "For some time, Tom has been a key PRL external contributor to the Department of Energy–Basic Energy Sciences grant that supports work on photosynthesis conducted at the PRL. Inviting him to join the PRL faculty after stepping down as the BMB chair felt like a natural step. We welcome him back and wish him many more successful years in photosynthesis research."
Sharkey received his B.S. from Lyman Briggs College and his Ph.D. in botany and plant pathology via the PRL from Michigan State University. He was recently named a Highly Cited Researcher by the Institute of Scientific Information and is a fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Sharkey is also a founding member of the newly established Plant Resilience Institute at MSU.


text:
EEE kills horse in Fairfield, Maine
The virus can be transmitted to horses and humans by mosquitoes.
By MATT HONGOLTZ-HETLING Morning Sentinel
FAIRFIELD — Eastern equine encephalitis, a deadly disease that can be transmitted to humans through mosquito bites, has killed a horse in Fairfield.
The presence of the disease was confirmed Sept. 19, according to Dr. Sheila Pinette, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
A Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito is shown on a human finger in this undated handout photograph from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Eastern equine encephalitis, a deadly disease that can be transmitted to humans through mosquito bites, has killed a horse in Fairfield. (REUTERS/James Gathany/Center For Disease Control/Handout)
Pinette would say only that the horse died in Somerset County, but Fairfield town officials confirmed the horse died there.
Last year, no animal deaths from the disease were documented in Maine, but this year three horses and an emu have died, Pinette said, mostly in the southern part of the state.
There are horse vaccines against the disease but no human ones, Pinette said. She warned people not to try to vaccinate themselves with horse medication, which she said causes other health problems.
The disease is transmitted only from the bite of an infected mosquito, not from horses to people.
Pinette said 25 groups of mosquito populations have tested positive for the disease this year in Maine.
She said people should be aware of mosquitoes, particularly at dawn and dusk, when they are most active, but shouldn't be ruled by fear.
"Continue to live your life, but just use caution and be prepared," Pinette said.
The threat in the Northeast is reduced when cold weather comes, killing the mosquitoes, Pinette said.
No frosts are predicted for the area in the National Weather Service's seven-day forecast.
In severe cases of infection, people experience swelling of the brain, which can lead to disorientation, seizures, comas and death. About a third of those who are infected die, while others suffer brain damage.
Not everyone who is infected shows symptoms, Pinette said, but some experience persistent flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, nausea, muscle aches and bone aches.
"If that persists for more than one to two weeks, you need to enter into a discussion with your doctor," Pinette said.
Matt Hongoltz-Hetling can be contacted at 861-9287 or at:


text:
Drummer Richard Coughlan Dies
By WENN in Music / Festivals on 13 December 2013
Caravan drummer Richard Coughlan has died, aged 66.
The British musician, who spent more than 40 years playing for the prog-rock band, passed away on 1 December (13) after a long battle with ill health.
Coughlan had been sidelined from the group for several years due to health issues which left him unable to play drums, but he performed again at a reunion gig in London in 2010.
A statement from his bandmates reads, "His unique style of playing and wonderful character will be sorely missed. We pass our sincere sympathies to Richard's wife Sue, his daughter Beth, and all his family."
Coughlan began his career in music in the 1960s, playing with a group called The Wilde Flowers, and later went on to form Caravan with several of his bandmates.
His death comes just weeks after the group returned to the recording studio to work on new material.
Twitter reacts to unforgivable headlines surrounding the death of convicted murderer Phil Spector
Here's what the public had to say about the death of Phil Spector.
Lana Del Rey - Chemtrails Over The Country Club Video
Lana Del Rey takes her 60s vintage aesthetic to the extreme with the video for new single 'Chemtrails Over The Country Club'.
Thom Yorke, Garbage and more react to disastrous visa negotiations
As negotiations continue, it's clear that the UK government doesn't have everyone's best interests at heart.
Racism or white fragility? We need to talk about Lana Del Rey
The singer awkwardly responded to potential backlash regarding her new album cover.
Album of the Week: The 5th anniversary of David Bowie's Blackstar
Five years ago, on the day of his 69th birthday and two days before his death, David Bowie released his 25th, and final studio album, 'Blackstar'.
The internet savagely reacts to Demi Lovato's new music announcement in the wake of Capitol seige
Nobody is impressed by Demi "coming to the rescue".
Are you an elitist? 10 annoying reasons you might be guilty of musical snobbery
Let's leave gatekeeping in 2020.
Upcoming Releases: The January albums ringing in 2021
These are the albums we're looking forward to most this month.


Cleveland, Ohio's official motto is "Progress and Prosperity." That motto seems especially appropriate since the iconic, luxury hotel Ritz Carlton has recently become a pioneer by offering a package specifically designed to welcome LGBT guests.
Ksiezyk named the new package – The Out In Cleveland Package. "As the top luxury hotel, it is great that we can offer a specific LGBT package. People are very excited about it at our parent company Marriott. I feel like a pioneer," she said.
Ksiezyk' first step to market the new package was to have rubber ducks made! Yes, you read that correctly! "First, we had the ducks made," Ksiezyk said. "I asked people to take one with them and take pictures wherever they are from or where they are traveling. Our Ritzy Rainbow Duck has its own Facebook page. People are starting to say I want one of those ducks! We want people to see the ducks and think 'Ritz Carlton is LGBT friendly'."
Would the Out In Cleveland Package work in northeast Ohio? Ksiezyk had no doubt. "Ritz Carlton Cleveland is very LGBT friendly. Cleveland is much more LGBT friendly than anyone realizes. I cannot tell you how much support we received from our local government. It is just unbelievable."
In spite of past challenges due to major changes in the American manufacturing database, Cleveland has rebounded and become a major tourism destination.
Cuyahoga County's tourism industry generates $865 million and 13 million visitors each year according to their convention and visitor's bureau.
"Cleveland has so much to offer culturally and historically. I am proud to be a Clevelander and proud to be with Ritz Carlton. We don't have a lot of food chains downtown. We have independent restaurants with awesome chefs. They are all within walking distance from Ritz Carlton." Ksiezyk said.
Kelsey Williams, Ritz Carlton Cleveland's Public Relations Coordinator, agrees, "We have a lot of foodies coming to Cleveland - more and more every year. I love living here. We have so much going on. We are so accessible. We have museums, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, sporting events and an unbelievable park system. Not many cities have three professional sports teams. We also have the largest theater district outside of New York City. Not many people realize that."
Ksiezyk is just as enthusiastic about her participation in organizing the 2014 Gay Games as she is about the Ritz Carlton's progressive thinking. "The Gay Games will be a huge boost to the local economy. In Germany, they had 12,000 athletes. In Chicago, they had 16,000 athletes. We predict 20,000 athletes, 50,000 visitors and an economic impact of thirty to forty million dollars in just 10 days."
The Out In Cleveland Package starts at $269 per night and includes Overnight Deluxe Accommodations, a $40 Food & Beverage Credit (Exclusive of Alcohol), Complimentary Internet Access, the LGBT Positively Cleveland Visitor's Guide, The Ritz-Carlton, the Cleveland Exclusive Pride Amenity, Complimentary Overnight Valet Parking, and last but not least – your own Ritz Carlton LGBT rubber ducky!
To book your Out In Cleveland Package, use Code ZJ1 and phone 216-634-1515 or book online at www.ritzcarlton.com/cleveland.


text:
Lowcountry man files lawsuit against SCDOT
by: Melissa Hewitt
Charleston, SC (WCBD) – One Lowcountry man says he was blocked from the state department of transportation's Facebook page after he posted comments disagreeing with the agency. Now he has filed a lawsuit.
Tom Fernandez says he was frustrated about growth issues and the state of roads in Berkeley County. So he creates videos on Facebook criticizing the number of potholes and crumbling roads as well as the lack of action to fix them. "Talking about the current state of Berkeley County, how fast it's growing, the mismanagement of its maintenance and how the infrastructure isn't catching up with the growth."
He uses humor to make his point. He posted video patching a pot hole with pepperoni pizzas. "And two weeks later, the SCDOT seemed to follow up with how the SCDOT patches potholes. But I left a comment disagreeing with their conduct. Disagreed on how they actually patch potholes. They deleted my comment and banned me from their Facebook page."
So Fernandez, who is an attorney, filed a lawsuit Thursday in federal court downtown, claiming his freedom of speech was violated.
"When a government agency sets up a Facebook page, its a digital space. It's considered much like a city park. And so when they blocked me, it is the equivalent of them discriminating against my viewpoint, violating my first amendment protections."
The DOT spokesman would not comment, saying they never comment on pending litigation.
Fernandez says he only wants two things, "biggest thing I'm asking for is for the court to say the SCDOT did violate the first amendment… and I'm only asking for my filing fee of $400. That's it."
Fernandez filed the lawsuit on Thursday and the state DOT has 30 days to respond.
by Rebecca Collett / Jul 18, 2019
Georgetown, SC - SC Works Georgetown will be hosting a hiring event for Interfor at 1105 Church Street on July 23, 2019 from 9:00- 11:00 am.
Interfor is currently seeking members of the Sawmill Production Team as well as Millwrights.
by Laura Smith / Jul 18, 2019
Mt. Pleasant, SC (WCBD) - JetBlue has announced some flight changes coming later in 2019.
Beginning October 27, 2019, Jetblue will no longer offer the twice daily direct flight from Charleston International Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
SCDNR: Get the rakes out, expect pine needles to fall early
Some longleaf pine trees are shedding their needles early across the Sandhills and Coastal Plain this year, according to Johnny Stowe with SCDNR.
"This is an annual, natural occurrence that usually takes place in the fall, but sudden, extreme drought in certain areas combined with high temperatures are causing this to take place early," Stowe explained.
Stowe is a Certified Wildlife Biologist, a Registered Forester and manages Heritage Preserves in the Pee Dee for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
Although longleaf pines do retain some needles year-round, in years with normal rainfall individual bundles of needles generally remain on the tree for two growing seasons and are shed in the fall.
"In several years with low rainfall over the last decade many longleaf pines dropped their needles in late July. But I have never seen healthy longleaf pines drop needles before the summer solstice. This year I noticed needles on scattered trees in the Sandhills browning up the last week in May," Stowe explained.
Severe stress like this may cause some trees to die if other stress factors are in place or come along before the trees can recover from this episodic drought stress.The two-year-old needles on longleaf pines are closer to the base of the branches than the younger needles, and so one easy way to tell if browning needles are a cause for concern or not is to note where they are found on the branch. If needles are browning at the base of branches but the needles toward the end of the branches are green, then the "brown-up" is either a result of annual fall shedding, or if it happens before fall, it is likely a natural response to drought. If the needles are browning at the extreme ends of numerous branches, especially if they are toward the top of the tree, then the problem might be something other than drought stress.By dropping needles early, the tree reduces its need for water. Wilting of leaves in many other plants is a similar response to drought but differs in that the wilted leaves usually remain on the plant.
By wilting, leaves expose less surface to the sun and wind and so the plant requires less water. If the stress is not too severe or of not too long a duration, wilted leaves can recover when the plant receives additional water. Corn, which is a member of the grass family, curls its blades (leaves) to reduce water loss. This is often called "twisting," and is easy to see. The blades of native warm season bunchgrasses, including Eastern gammagrass, also twist to reduce water loss, but they are much more resilient to drought stress because they have extensive root systems. If rainfall comes in time, grass blades will unfurl, otherwise they will die.But browned needles are dead and do not reverse to green. The browned needles will adhere to the branches at first but eventually fall from the tree, usually dropping during high winds.Trees are efficient at taking up, conserving and recycling nutrients. Before pine needles are shed in the fall, a high percentage of the nitrogen and phosphorus in the needles moves back into the tree before the needles turn brown and fall off. Nutrients such as calcium and magnesium do not translocate when needles shed. So these nutrients may be lost from the site in substantial quantities when straw is raked on a regular basis. In those situations, it may be beneficial to fertilize occasionally to offset the loss of nutrients, especially on poor land where longleaf pine often grows. Soil tests or foliar analysis can reveal any nutrient loss.Trees responding to unseasonal drought stress may not have time to extract nutrients before the needles brown up.Individual trees may drop needles a few weeks apart. Trees on dry sites tend to drop needles earlier than trees on wetter sites. Sometimes, trees growing on the same site next to each other drop needles at different times.Other species of Southern pines, such as loblolly pine, tend to react similarly to drought, although longleaf tolerates dry weather best of all. Besides being more drought-resistant as compared to other Southern pines, longleaf is also less susceptible to damage from wind, fire, insects and diseases.For more information on longleaf pine, visit the Longleaf Alliance's website.
Charleston County News / 9 mins ago


text:
Colorado State Football
Colorado State names Faton Bauta starting quarterback
Head coach Mike Bobo is naming the Georgia transfer the starter for Colorado State.
By Jeremy Mauss@JeremyMauss Sep 5, 2016, 12:00pm PDT
Share All sharing options for: Colorado State names Faton Bauta starting quarterback
Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images
The Colorado State quarterback situation has been in flux since spring football with a battle between graduate transfer Faton Bauta from Georgia, 2015 starter Nick Stevens and freshman Collin Hill.
Stevens earned the start against rival Colorado but played poorly by completing just 6 of 20 passes for 31 yards and a pair of interceptions.
Head coach Mike Bobo said over the weekend that there would be a another look at the quarterback situation:
"We've got to reassess the quarterback situation," "… We've got to be able to throw the ball more than we did tonight at a higher percentage. We've got to be able to stress the defense, and we weren't able to do that. We'll reassess it, and we'll figure out who gives us the best chance to win next week."
The decision has come quick as coach Bobo announced on Monday that Bauta will get the start next week.
The offense did look better with Bauta in the game against the Buffaloes by being much more efficient by completing 6 of 9 yards for 32 yards and led Colorado State to their one and only touchdown against Colorado.
"I did not think we gave Nick (Stevens) a lot of help, offensively, but at the end of the day, we still turned the ball over and failed to make some routine plays," Bobo said via the Colordoan. "(Bauta) gave us a little more energy. The game was out of hand (when Bauta came in), but the ability to make some plays with his legs — until we get on the same page, offensively, I think will help us.
"We have to run an offense that's run with a quarterback who is going to generate first downs. First downs usually result in points or field position, which can help your defense," Bobo said. "We have to move the ball and get first downs and put us in position to win the football game."
Offensive coordinator Will Friend felt Bauta agreed with his head coach saying that Bauta gave them the lift late in the game against Colorado.
"He came in and gave us a little boost," Friend said after Monday's practice. "Guys respect his toughness. He also is a little bit of a threat on his legs."
Colorado State has their season opener this Saturday against UTSA at 2 p.m. MT.


Authorities said the trooper killed the suspect, 24-year-old Ty'rell Pounds. It is unclear who shot the woman, 20-year-old Skylar Williams of Mansfield.
Williams was a student at Ohio State's Mansfield campus. She and Pounds were both from Mansfield.
The university's Department of Public Safety said in a news release that Williams was in a parking lot at the school shortly before noon Monday when she was approached by a male suspect known to her. The release said the man displayed a handgun, forced Williams into his vehicle and fled with her.


Probably one of the more challenging craft projects I've undertaken with the kids, to fabricate a child's full Clone Trooper costume (including helmet) from rigid boxboard sheets. Below is the end result and a bit about how it was done.
Note: Boxboard is a solid grey multi-ply board made entirely from 100% post-consumer recycled waste.
To all died-in-the-wool Star Wars enthusiasts, arriving here thinking to find an authentic how-to-build Clone Trooper armour guide with accompanying proportions perfect templates, my apologies. This was built to fit a ten year old, so unless you're vertically challenged, I wouldn't recommend duplicating it.
It's also far from proportions perfect; I was working from photos. Therefore, what you see here is a fair-to-middly replication of a very short Clone Troopers set of armour... made of cardboard... and a few other bits and pieces that I could find in the garage.
That said, it ain't half bad (even if I do say so myself), and I hope you'll appreciate the effort, and at the very least give the 'Awesome' button on the bottom of the page a big thump; or a favorable comment if you can't find the awesome button.
Before reading on, let's listen as the troops play the opening of the imperial march; hum along with me: dum, dum, dum, dum-dum dum, dum-dum. Dum dum dum, dum, dum da-da... etc.
Why would you want to undertake this project?
The stuff you buy online is, well, rubbish; at least, the stuff I can afford is.
Love my son. He loves Star Wars... and boy is he excited (ergo, me too).
Given a pile of cardboard. What else does one do except build cool stuff.
Between jobs. It's amazing what one can get done when not earning any money.
This is the goal, except for the helmet, which was to be a Phase 1 type.
Entire suit will be made primarily from pasted box-board card cut to fit.
To get the contours without kinking, wet cardboard using spray bottle until it gives just enough to roll to desired shape.
Shoulder pads. These will be thickened up using paper mache.
First test fitting. Still a long way to go.
This sort of project takes planning. I started by viewing a lot of Clone Trooper outfits online, downloading detailed images for reference and working out measurements.
These measurements I then scaled down to my sons size.
Using those measurements, I fabricated basic frameworks around which to build the armour. Some pieces didn't require this, however, pieces that encircled a part of the body were best assembled around a frame; this helps maintain symmetry. All framework was fabricated from the same cardboard as the costume.
The Helmet easily takes the longest to fabricate; especially when it's a first attempt.
As a prototype, this finished helmet consists of approximately eighty individual parts; many of them could be consolidated together.
Again, the first step is to transpose the wearers measurement into a framework upon which to attach the basic shell of the helmet. Getting the helmet dimensions is a challenge. I started by taking key measurements of my sons head: circumference from above the eyebrows, distance from eye to bottom of chin, distance from eye to top of head etc. I used number 2 wire to capture his head shape. From these I created a frame upon which to temporarily position the key parts and create the dome.
TIP - Once you have the circumference, cut the wire to that length, then bend the wire around head to capture basic shape, lay the wire flat on cardboard and mark around shape adding a further 5-10 mm all around so helmet doesn't end up too tight.
Many of the parts were created by simply snipping away at a piece of cardboard until I'd found the right size and shape.
For the dome I used a combination of Honus's method and papermache; using a blender to pulp the papermache to a very smooth consistency. The dome consists of a base layer of cardboard, upon which paper mache was used to get a more accurate shape and a thin layer of Super Filler to smooth off.
A blue LED light was installed at the end; this shone from the back of the 'Mohawk'.
My son was given the job of fabricating the belt assembly. He was nervous to start with but did a fine job of it.
Blaster rifle - made from a broken telescope, battery drill and, you guessed it, cardboard.
As this project proceeded, my work area expanded; until what started at the kitchen table required reorganising the garage; half of which became a Clone Trooper manufacturing facility.
There are over twenty individual pieces, and at times I was working on half a dozen simultaneously. While the glue dried on one, I cut, folded, rolled, assembled, sanded, painted the others. It's a project that just got busier.
That said, it was also a great time spent with the kids. Both of my youngest children (8 and 10) moved their craft tables into the garage, and we spent many hours together; even moving in one of the lounge sofas so we could hangout in comfort. By the end, the rest of the house became neglected, my wife taking up residence on the sofa, and even meals eaten there... it was great!
So which has been your favourite Star Wars Episode so far?
The finished outfit took a pile of pasted boxboard (chipboard, cardboard) that reached my waist. I think that's over 200 sheets; each sheet 200x280mm. The boxboard came in two grades, 1800 and 1400 gsm.
Misc: rivets, clear plastic for helmet, LED lights for helmet, various plastics bits, vinyl.
Lots of white spray paint!
Any job is made easier when using the right tools, and I would go as far as to say that with projects such as this, they are a necessity.
Razor knife (absolutely essential), with lots of spare blades; you'll need them.
Note: A rotary tool is a handheld power tool with a rotary tip that accepts a variety of attachments for different tasks.
So, although it took a lot of planning, patience and time, the upshot was quality/quantity time spent with the kids (and wife), a great gift for my son, and a sense of something worthwhile accomplished.
Which of these Star Wars Characters is your favourite?
It is very interesting article to read.
@Anna Haven ~ thanks. Yes, we were happy with the results. My sons since outgrown the suit, but we are now working on a knights outfit so he can enter the Abbey Tournament; a yearly medieval festival they have here. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
That is some project. You explained it really clearly and the photographs provided an easy step by step guide. The end result really did look good.
That is quite a feat. How about a working HUD display for the helmet? And when's mine going to be finished?
@C1W ~ A Dalek, now there's an idea. Thx for commenting.
@Grace~ Aww, shucks, thx Grace. Of all the roles I fill, being a dad is the most fun.
@stessily ~ Thank you for the praise. The artwork you spied is the work of my second daughter (Tamzie); probably the most artistic in the family. She calls them Inky's, and for a while they were her gift of choice to family and friends. She hasn't produced any more for a while, but I passed on your comments.
parrster: I wish that "awesome" hadn't been so over-used in my lifetime so that the power of that word sometimes seems to have been relegated to the trite category! So, I am awestruck by the dedication, creativity, and love that went into this project! And I love the Clone Trooper Orchestra video! My artistic eyes espied a series of drawings in the background in the photo of "first testing fitting: still a long way to go." May I ask who is the artist? They look interesting and well composed. Thank you for sharing this tribute to love in your family. All the votes, parrster!
You absolutely amaze me...good job and what a dad!


text:
"OPERATION HANG UP" TO STOP DISTRACTED DRIVING
By dskriloff on April 10, 2014 Comments
State police and local law enforcement to conduct statewide cell phone and texting while driving crackdown April 10 – 15
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo this week announced that State Police and local law enforcement are stepping up patrols and checkpoints throughout the state from April 10 – 15 as part of "Operation Hang Up," which encourages drivers to focus on the road instead of using mobile devices. This effort combines periods of intense enforcement of anti-texting and hand held cell phone laws coupled with advertising and media outreach to let people know about the enforcement and convince them to obey the law.
"The message is clear: distracted driving is deadly and it will simply not be tolerated on New York roads," Governor Cuomo said. "With stricter laws and crack downs like this one we are working to make New York a safer state for all our drivers. Vigilance is particularly important as young motorists develop habits that will stay with them throughout their lifetime. I urge all New Yorkers to hang up, keep their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel so that no one has to unnecessarily suffer the pain of losing a loved one at the hands of a text."
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2012, 3,328 people across the country were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver and an estimated 421,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver. Additionally, 10% percent of fatal crashes were reported as distraction-affected crashes.
Current laws include strict penalties for distracted drivers:
· For a first offense, the minimum fine is $50 and maximum fine increases to $150.
· For a second offense committed within 18 months, the minimum fine is $50 and the maximum fine increases to $200.
· For a third or subsequent offense committed within 18 months, the minimum fine is $50 and the maximum fine increases to $400.
Beginning on November 1, 2014 new laws take effect for young drivers:
· Young and new drivers convicted of texting-while-driving will have their license suspended for 120 days on the first offense.
· For second offense, young and new drivers will have their license suspended for one full year.
Governor Cuomo also directed the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to implement tougher penalties for distracted driving for all drivers. DMV has increased the number of points earned against an individual's driving record upon conviction for texting-while-driving and cell-phone related infractions from three points to five points.
During the last "Operation Hang Up" campaign from November 27 to December 1, 2013, State Police issued more than 875 tickets. More than 625 tickets were issued for talking on a cell phone without a hands free device while driving and more than 250 of the tickets were for texting or using an electronic device while driving.
"OPERATION HANG UP" TO STOP DISTRACTED DRIVING added by dskriloff on April 10, 2014


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Name of leader Wirat Angkhathawon, also known as Chen Yuan – other names include Comrade Than, Jang Yuan, and Tho Phianwitthaya.[1]
Organization The Communist Party of Thailand (CPT)
Conflict country Thailand
Year of birth 1921[2]
Place of birth Bangkok, Siam (Thailand)
Year of death 1997[3]
Yes, he died in 1997 of natural causes.
In 1961, Angkhathawon was elected to the five-member secretariat of the CPT, which is the highest position that he ever assumed within the party. He was 40 years old when he assumed his highest position.[5]
He was elected to serve in his position.
Yes, he was elected first in 1952 to serve as a Politburo member and in 1961 to serve in the five-member secretariat of the CPT. Despite being an influential leader in the party, he never assumed the post of Secretary General of the CPT, which is the highest position in the party.[6]
"He first studied at the Marxist-Leninist Instiute in Beijing and returned to Thailand in 1957-8 and regularly went to China for Communist Party meetings." It is unclear if he finished his studied there.
Yes, he met his wife, Somphon, in south Thailand.[8]
His religious identification is unknown.
No, he was born to a Chinese-Teochew family.[9] It is likely that he was not belong to an elite or political family.
Yes, in 1940 he started his communist activities and was sent to Southern Thailand. Eventually, in 1943 he joined the Communist Party.[10]
There is a report that in 1983, he was sent to China to treat some sort of physical illness.[11] No further details on the illness available. "In late 1982 Wirat suffered a stroke. After hospitalization, he returned to China in 1983 for treatment before his death on June 16, 1997.[12]
He worked in the match factory in 1940 after school and joining the communists.[13] He served as a member of the CPT since 1943.[14]
No, there is no evidence of experience in a nonstate military.
No, there is no evidence of combat experience.
No, there is no evidence he held a government position.
Yes, it is possible that he lived in self-imposed exile in China after he was sent to China in 1983 to treat his illness and never returned to Thailand.[15]
Yes, "he first studied at the Marxist-Leninist Instiute in Beijing and returned to Thailand in 1957-8 and regularly went to China for Communist Party meetings."[16]
Yes, there is a report that since 1965, he visited the training base in Laos frequently, possibly to receive military training.[17]
Yes, in the 1950s, he frequently visited China, possibly to maintain network of communications between the Communist Party of China and the CPT.[18]
Whether there was an assassination attempt is unknown.
"In late 1982 Wirat suffered a stroke. After hospitalization, he returned to China in 1983 for treatment before his death on June 16, 1997.[19]
Chinese (Teochew dialect) was his primary language because of his heritage and Thai. He spoke Thai with a Chinese accent.[21]
[1] "Two Generations of Activists: Wirat Angkhathawon and Seksan Prasertkul," LINKS International Journal of Socialist Renewal, http://links.org.au/node/1247 - original article appears as "Wirat Angkhathawon (1921-1997)," The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest. Immanuel Ness (ed.). Blackwell Publishing, 2009, Blackwell Reference alone. A corrected version also appeared at http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article14956.
[2] Chee-Beng Tan, Routledge Handbook of the Chinese Diaspora (New York: Routledge, 2013), 338.
[10] Chee-Beng Tan, Routledge Handbook of the Chinese Diaspora (New York: Routledge, 2013), 338.
[12] "Two Generations of Activists: Wirat Angkhathawon and Seksan Prasertkul," LINKS International Journal of Socialist Renewal, http://links.org.au/node/1247 - original article appears as "Wirat Angkhathawon (1921-1997)," The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest. Immanuel Ness (ed.). Blackwell Publishing, 2009, Blackwell Reference alone. A corrected version also appeared at http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article14956.


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Building Certification Under the Blowtorch
The New South Wales Government is finally biting the bullet on rewriting the Building Professionals Act, the law governing the way buildings in the state are certified and deemed to be fire safe.
The decision follows the fatal 2012 Bankstown fire in an apartment block which had a litany of certification problems and a subsequent government review of the building certification process.
A young woman who was forced to leap from a window on the burning fifth storey of the Euro Terrace apartments died, with another young woman badly injured. When the NSW Deputy Coroner investigated the circumstances of the death he found significant failings in the current regulation of fire protection equipment and systems.
The building was 10 centimetres short of the 25-metre height where sprinklers become mandatory in units. The Deputy Coroner said sprinklers in the unit would have given the two women time to be rescued.
The inquest heard evidence that fire safety problems with the building had been identified in 2010 but nothing substantial had been done to improve it by the time of the fire.
The government then commissioned the review by former Treasury Secretary Michael Lambert who found practices for ensuring apartment fire safety were "totally ineffectual" and had led to the approval of unsafe buildings.
The government is finally acting on his report from last October, which was highly critical of the way in which commercial and apartment buildings in NSW are certified and deemed to be fire safe.
One of the changes recommended is more frequent audits and checks against building owners choosing and paying for their own certifiers.
This is long overdue. These arrangements create a conflict of interest. Allowing owners to choose and remunerate their certifier has the potential for abuse. Certifiers may choose to look the other way when the building owned by a developer who is paying them regularly has a fault which needs rectification.
There is also the issue of the skills of the certifiers. There is an absence of required qualifications and accreditation of people carrying out critical life-saving fire protection work which must be addressed. There needs to be regulation surrounding the accreditation of people working in the fire protection industry.
The owners of apartment buildings must be aware they have a role to play in keeping their building fire safe. They must be educated around the need to maintain and comply with fire standards.
This means ensuring their buildings have effective fire maintenance schemes with detection systems and other fire safety installations, such as extinguishers, hoses, exit lights and fire doors well maintained and up-to-date. Access to fire escapes must be clear at all times, with appropriate evacuation signage directing residents to exits.
Managing agents are accountable for the buildings they oversee, ensuring that fire safety standards are upheld and the fire risk assessment needs to be periodically reviewed.
Each year a qualified person such as a fire engineer or building surveyor must inspect the fire safety measures and provide a Fire Safety Installation Certificate to the owners. The annual Fire Safety Statement must be provided to the council and the NSW Fire Brigades, and must be prominently displayed in the strata building.
There are a number of older buildings which may not currently be subject to these requirements. However, many of these buildings will be subject to a development consent, construction certificate or fire safety order at a future date which may incorporate these requirements. It is up to owners and managing agents to ascertain what is required. For older buildings that have not had a Fire Safety Schedule, a fire safety consultant can be engaged to conduct an audit on the building, to report on what is there and to suggest upgraded fire safety measures.
There is now greater emphasis on the records and evidence required by building owners to demonstrate regulatory compliance.
The New South Wales government says it will pursue more than 70 suggested changes. We look forward to their implementation.
PSM Official
Perpetual Strata Management
@PSM
Tweets about @perpetualstrata


The new Prada Novo Hiking Boot is almost like doing a vivid high tech outdoor expedition. There is always some sentimental value in braving the great outdoors. But, the actual wilderness is losing out to the experience of "glamping".
In an industry of consumers that values more and more each day, premium experiences are a booming business. This multi-colour piece is largely unassuming. In fact, for the most, there is nothing that immediately grabs attention.
It seems very much like a nondescript boot, which isn't completely uncharacteristic Prada. Tradition does exist, but ultimately it is also there to be overridden.
As such, you might start to see fewer Timberland or CAT boots. Instead, you will likely start to see more high-end choices, as this Prada Novo Hiking Boot Stomps in Multicolor.
The fashion house is often and closely related to the creation of new trends. One fine example, when it comes to footwear, could be the bulky and exaggerated midsoles.
Some may argue that such a statement is overrated, however, we really believe that makes perfect sense. Just go and flashback a few years and check out all the incredible movements and trends that Prada has set.
After all, the high fashion label is not just all about futuristic designs and footwear. The brand produces men's and women's leather goods and travel accessories.
They are also into clothing and eyewear, fragrance business as well as the mobile phone sector. As expected, each and every single item combines cutting-edge finesse with style. Just like this brand new footwear piece, in some way or another.
What is also in their purview is an emphasis on premium builds. For this piece, we see an upper constructed mainly of calf leather and textile. That combo receives a color blocking look while it sits on a standard rubber outsole.
Fair warning, this boot is just about as bulky as it looks. As such, you will want to order a slightly smaller size than you're used to.
Check out this high-fashion piece right now over at Voo Store. Prada also has some solid futuristic sneakers options such as the brand new Prada Cloudbust.


If you are using MODO 901, you can now use PBR substances with a much easier render setup.
2. Enable diffuse, normal, metallic*, specular, roughness, ambient occlusion.
*For metallic, you can use the metallic mask as a specular amount. The white areas will denote high reflectance. Metal is (70-100%). However, the white will result in 100% specular. This setup can work for raw metals. The metal refectance color value comes from the specular map which is set to specular color.
However, you will get incorrect results if the metal map contains black (0.0) as there will not be a correct value for non-metal (4% reflective). The metallic map doesn't represent specular information. This setup only works when the metallic map is raw metal, but contains some gray values representing a dielectric layer such as thin dirt or grime. The idea is that the white areas of the metal map represents the 70-100% reflective range for raw metals and the dark gray values will decrease the reflective range to for the dielectric layer.
Do not use the metallic map. Instead, use only Specular Map set to Specular Amount. If you have a tinted color for the metal, then you can add a slight tint to the Specular Color input.
Use diffuse, normal, specular, roughness and ambient occlusion.
If the material is non metal (dielectric) , then don't enable the metallic map. Instead, use the 4% value for Specular Amount.
I have updated the official documents with this guide.
Thanks Mark : ) No problem.
You are a legend! Helped loads!
Yay! thanks for this. Got my leather and cloth working with environmental sampling. Cheers!
Great! Glad that it was helpful.
Here is examples attached to this post and I am wondering what is wrong?
I'm sorry for the confusion. If you use the metallic map, then you need to have the specular map set to specular color. The metallic map is a trick to get the specular amount in balance when there is a mix of metal and non-metal. Its definitely not the same data, but you can use the gray scale values as the higher values for metal (white in metal map) will serve as the 70-100% reflective value for raw metal. Any darker (gray) values will lower this. If you leave the specular amount at 70-100%, then any dirt or dielectric layer on mixed with metal material will get lower values i.e. the darker values in the metal map.
However, its better to just use the specular outputs and not worry about the metal.
In order to get the correct render, you need to add the specular channel and set it to specular color effect.
I will create a guide that is more clear : ) I'm sorry for this confusion. I will add the guide to the modo 901 docs for the substance plugin.
Nice explanation related to my issue! Thank you Wes!
Sorry for my dumb question, but how to connect the specular map to Metal 006 substance ?
Choose metal_006 and this just publish this substance. In modo, you can select the channels to use. I attached the sbsar file here as well.
The missing parameters were exposed on the substance. It looks like in your version, you don't have these parameters exposed. If you open the original sbs, then publish, you will see the parameters. Take a look at the sbsar attached here.
Are you using the substance I attached in my post above? You shouldn't need to do any gamma correction when using the substance plugin. The generated maps are set correctly by the substance engine. Diffuse, basecolor, specular are sRGB and all other maps are set to linear. The thumbnail in the modo Image tab my look incorrect, but that is just a display issue with modo.
I have attached my modo scene with the background env image and substance.
Here is what I am getting for the render.
Also, we have updated versions of the plugin that have been sent to the modo dev team. You can try the latest version.


Welcome to our first e-newsletter of the year.
We look forward to working with you, our partners in regional development, as we spend 2015 making the South West an even better place to live, work and invest.
You only have to look back at what we achieved in 2014 to see what can be accomplished when we team up.
It just goes to show that together, we really can make a positive difference.
The transformation that Collie has undergone as a result of the SuperTowns program isn't over yet.
The building of the Collie Early Education Centre is set to further change the face of the town.
Tenders have been called for the construction of the facility, with council set to decide on its preferred tender at its February meeting.
It is expected the project will be completed by the end of this year, and once open contribute to the town's appeal as a place for families to live.
There always seems to be something to see and do in the South West.
And we're pleased to have a hand in creating such a happening, exciting region.
Our events funding program continues to support concerts, festivals and exhibitions throughout the region.
This year, a total of 56 events will benefit from a share in $110,750 through our South West Regional Events Program, including the SunSmart Busselton Festival of Triathlon (pictured).
As part of our commitment to growing the region's economy and generating job opportunities, we aim to unearth new opportunities for the region's businesses.
At the moment, we are working to grow the South West's relationship with Vietnam.
As part of this, we recently hosted a crew which filmed footage for a Vietnamese television show.
Pictured are Vu To and Hai To from Meworld Media and Education preparing to film a segment on Bunbury street art festival Re.Discover with assistance from Mark Exeter from SWDC.
If you're a fan of country music, February is set to be one of your favourite months in the South West.
And that's because that's when this year's Boyup Brook Country Music Festival will take place.
Heralded as Western Australia's premier country music festival, the event will be held between February 11 and 15.
Headline acts include Tania Kernaghan and Troy Cassar-Daley (pictured).
Connecting businesses to opportunities is part of our business.
And we are always pleased when those opportunities result in wins for the businesses we are aiming to help. Take for example our work with Picardy Wines.
As a result of us introducing the Pemberton winery to an international buyer during a tour of the region during the 2013 Margaret River Gourmet Escape, it sent a shipment of chardonnay to China.
Though the winery has long exported around the world, the deal marks the first time its chardonnay has cracked the China market. Pictured is Bill Pannell.
We enjoy being part of a vibrant, thriving community as much as the next person - and aim to create towns and cities that people can live and work in.
So we are heartened to learn that the SuperTown of Manjimup has recently enjoyed an upturn in retail activity.
New shops have opened and investors have shown interest in starting new eateries.
And it isn't only Manjimup that's enjoying a retail resurgence, with nearby Northcliffe, Pemberton and Walpole also reporting new activity.
Pictured is Manjimup Shire president Wade DeCampo in the Manjimup CBD.
Here's a way to spark your creativity (and enjoy Margaret River at the same time).
Head along to this year's Emergence Creative Festival, which will be held in Margaret River in March.
The event will give attendees a chance to connect with fellow creative minds and hear from guest speakers working in the creative industries.
Advertising duo Jim Ingram and Ben Couzens (pictured) are among those set to get the creative juices flowing.
With our support, Aravina Estate has secured its first direct sale of wine into China.
The new export deal came about after the winery was linked to an importer visiting the region during an SWDC-facilitated tour of the South West during the 2013 Margaret River Gourmet Escape.
The tour gave participants the opportunity to experience the region, sample premium products and meet producers first-hand.
Pictured is Aravina Estate winemaker Jodie Opie.
We believe that one of the region's most important assets is its people.
It's for this reason that we get involved with programs which help to equip residents of the South West with skills that enable them to play important roles in the region.
With this in mind, we recently signed on to again support the South West Young Achievers Program.
Designed to assist people aged between 18 and 25 to reach their potential, the program will run this year from March 5 to 7.
Pictured is SWDC chief executive officer Don Punch and South West Young Achievers Program coordinator Leanne Oshea encouraging people to register.
We are pleased to report the next stage of laying the foundations for marine facilities development in Bunbury is underway.
The consultants will look at a range of possible uses for the land, which includes Casuarina Harbour and sections of the Bunbury Outer Harbour.
Here's a fishing tip for you! The jetty in the Leschenault Inlet is once again open to the public.
While it had been closed in recent times to keep people safe until repairs were carried out, the timber structure is now fit for use.
We are pleased to be able to once again make this popular community asset available to locals and visitors alike.
Pictured is SWDC chief executive officer Don Punch taking a look at the refurbishments.
Children in Bunbury had no excuse to be bored over the summer holidays. Not when there were movies to watch, pool comps to win, and candlemaking to learn.
Indeed, there was plenty for kids and teens to do in Withers over December and January as part of school holidays programs run by Bunbury PCYC and Milligan Community Learning and Resource Centre.
The programs were supported by SWDC through our Withers urban renewal project.
Pictured is Mikayla Tubb taking part in an acting and drama class led by Australian theatre and screen actress Lynette Narkle at the Bunbury PCYC.
If ports are indicators of economic activity, the South West must be thriving.
In 2013/14, a record 15.6 million tonnes of trade passed through the Bunbury port.
This was in increase from the previous record of 15.3million tones set in 2012/13.
The port's main exports continue to be alumina and woodchips, while the largest imports are caustic and mineral sands.