It is important to understand what effects alcohol has on the body when examining DWI cases. The intricacies of alcohol effects, such as how the alcohol is absorbed and processed in the body are significant because the case hinges on what the suspect's blood alcohol content was at the time of being pulled over. If the driver had just consumed alcohol before driving, the BAC may have been lower while driving, than what it was 20 minutes later at the time of taking a breath test. A New Jersey DUI lawyer understands the scientific properties of alcohol and how certain amounts taken in certain time periods may affect the body.
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. The central nervous system is most severely affected by alcohol. The degree to which the central nervous system function is impaired is usually proportional to the concentration of alcohol in the blood.
When you have a drink, the alcohol passes from the stomach into the small intestine, where it is quickly absorbed into the blood and makes its way throughout all the veins in your body. If you consume alcohol in low concentrations, alcohol reduces inhibitions and judgment. As blood alcohol concentration increases, an individual's response to stimuli decreases quickly, speech becomes slurred and incoherent, and he or she becomes unbalanced and has difficulty walking. With very high concentrations – higher than 0.35 milligrams/100 milliliters of blood (equivalent to 0.35 grams/210 liters of breath ) – a person may become comatose and even die.
Alcohol is absorbed from all parts of the digestive system mainly by simple diffusion into the blood. It is the small intestine that remains the most efficient region of the gastrointestinal tract for alcohol absorption because of its expansive surface area. When someone is fasting, it is generally agreed that 20% to 25% of the alcohol consumed is absorbed from the stomach, and 75% to 80% is absorbed from the small intestine. Peak blood alcohol concentrations are achieved in fasting persons within 0.5 to 2 hours, while non-fasting persons reach peak alcohol concentrations within 1 to as much as 6 hours.
Alcohol is drawn to water in the body and so it can be found in tissues and fluids that contain water. As it is absorbed alcohol is quickly transported throughout the body in the blood. Once absorption of alcohol is complete equilibrium occurs so that blood at all points in the system contains about the same concentration of alcohol.
The liver is the organ responsible for the elimination, through metabolism, of 95% of ingested alcohol from the body. The other 5% of alcohol is eliminated through bodily functions. The body uses many different metabolic pathways in its oxidation of alcohol to acetaldehyde to acetic acid to carbon dioxide and water.
Healthy people, free of medical conditions, metabolize alcohol at a fairly constant rate. On average, an individual will metabolize one average drink or 0.5 oz (15 ml) of alcohol per hour. Various factors influence this rate. The rate of elimination is usually higher when the blood alcohol concentration in the body is extremely high or extremely low. Also people who consume large amounts of alcohol consistently over a large period of time may metabolize alcohol at a significantly higher rate than average, depending on their liver health. Finally, a person's ability to metabolize alcohol rapidly tends to diminish with age.


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Home / Commentary / COVID considerations for future construction contracts – Part 2
By: Bridgetower Media Newswires	July 24, 2020 1:36 pm
Eric Meier is a Milwaukee-based partner at Husch Blackwell and is leader of the firm's Construction Academy team. He represents construction and business clients from contracting through litigation and every point in between.
While many manufacturers pivoted from making cars to PPE, the construction industry had to stay focused on keeping projects moving while ensuring safety from the new risks presented by the pandemic. In executing on the new normal, owners, general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers have turned to Federal guidelines, state directives and the language of parties' contracts.
What many parties have learned is that the standard contracts they have used, or at least been familiar with over the years, do not have language that is specifically tailored to the current circumstances.
This article is the second in a series (the first is HERE) and focuses on additional considerations parties should have in future contracts in light of the challenges and changes COVID-19 has presented.
Samantha Schacht is an attorney in Husch Blackwell's Milwaukee office.
Construction contracts generally contain a broad obligation on the contractor to keep the project site safe (See Section 10.2.1 of the AIA A201-2017 as an example). However, these standard safety clauses are mostly geared toward protecting against personal injury and property damage and, as a result, should be modified to address preventing a COVID-19 outbreak. Ample guidance on suggested preventative measures exists at both the State and Federal level and should be incorporated into parties' contracts.
Also consider adding a mandatory reporting requirement (to the owner and the prime contractor for subcontracts) if a worker tests positive for COVID-19 and a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all such workers. Further additions to your health and safety clause will likely be needed if the project involves work at or adjacent to an active facility, such as a retirement community, restaurant or hospital.
Finally, be mindful of State and Local specific restrictions so you know to fist bump as opposed to shake hands in Alabama, or that no common water coolers can be on-site in Dallas County, Texas.
Changes in law
Both ConsensusDocs 200-2019 (Section 3.21.1) and AIA A201-2017 (Section 3.6) have "change in the law" language in their standard form agreements. The ConsensusDocs clause has a broad focus for changes in law after the date of the agreement that allow for equitable adjustments to contract price and time.
The AIA clause limits the Contractor's right to a change order as a result of a change in the law to changes after "bids are received or negotiations concluded …" which impact taxes only.
Parties may be well served to set up their own change in law clause which addresses matters such as: (a) the date upon which changes will be measured; (b) a clear definition of "change of law"; (c) the materiality threshold for cost impact of changes in the law; (d) risk allocation of the change in law between the owner and contractor; and (e) mitigation obligations.
Given the absence of uniform legal standards for dealing with COVID-19 across the United States, it is prudent for owners and contractors to not only understand what legal requirements are in place at the project location at the time of the agreement, but to also set up a workable process to deal with future changes as well.
Evidence of owner's financial arrangements
The ability of owners to continue funding projects is a critical question and contractors need an answer that is timely and reliable.
Depending on the contract, contractors may be able to ask about the owner's financial standing, and have recourse to stop work. The AIA A201-2017 affords a broad request for financial information before works starts, while requests during the project are tied to different triggers, such as a failure of an owner to make a payment, a reasonable concern about an owner's ability to pay and a change in work that materially impacts the contract price.
ConsensusDocs 200-2019 and DBIA 535-2010 likewise have clauses allowing contractors to ask owners for evidence of project financing/adequate funds to continue. Both documents further allow for contractors to stop work if they do not receive adequate assurance of the owner's financial wherewithal to continue with the project. The ability to pause work while financial concerns are dealt with could prove critical going forward.
Contractors should ensure that every agreement they enter into should have reasonable language allowing them to timely follow up on financial concerns and, if possible, language allowing the contractor to stop work if not provided sufficient evidence of an owner's ability to pay not just for work performed to date, but also going forward. Without this type of language, contractors may be forced to rely upon other legal concepts like anticipatory breach to stop work on a project where payments have remained current, but where the contractor has strong reason to believe that the owner's funding has or will be curtailed in short order.
Many owners (and contractors) have been in the unenviable position of deciding whether to terminate or cancel projects as a result of COVID-19. The AIA A201-2017 and ConsensusDocs both allow for owners to suspend performance at any time, for any duration and for any reason.
If the owner suspends the project, the contractor is entitled to a contract adjustment for time and price. The main differences in the contracts are tied to when the contractor can terminate if the project is suspended — for AIA, the contractor can terminate if repeated suspensions of the work by the owner constitute in the aggregate more than 100 percent of the total number of days scheduled for completion, or 120 or more days in any 365-day period, whichever is less.
Contractors under ConsensusDocs can terminate more quickly (after 30 days of stopped work) and for reasons beyond the owner's suspension (including a court or other governmental order, or governmental act which renders materials unavailable through no fault of the contractor).
Parties should evaluate whether the termination/suspension clauses in their agreements fit what they want in terms of grounds and timing. They may also want to confirm with their project lenders and/or investors who may have opinions on a clause that until recently was likely relative far off their radar.
Unfortunately, it does not appear that there will be a quick resolution to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather, the entire United States will need to adjust to different ways of doing business.
Construction has and will continue as an essential business, not just for projects already underway, but for new projects as well. When reviewing new contracts, parties should closely scrutinize whether the standard language clearly addresses COVID-19 considerations in a fair and balanced manner.
While Henry Ford famously said that if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got, do not assume that the new COVID-19 climate will deliver the same results with the same contracts.
Contracts Eric Meier Husch Blackwell Samantha Schacht 1:36 pm Fri, July 24, 2020 Wisconsin Law Journal - WI Legal News & Resources
Bridgetower Media Newswires
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Q: php datetime object 1960 year limitation I am trying to use php datetime object for handling dates.
Here is my code:
$date = new DateTime('01 Dec, 1969');
echo $date->format('Y-m-d');

The above code returns 2010-12-01
But If I change year from 1969 to 1945 or anything less than 1960 then the code returns incorrect year. For example:
This code:
$date = new DateTime('01 Dec, 1950');
echo $date->format('Y-m-d');

returns
    2010-12-01

A: This is likely a bug. Consider filing it to the bugtracker.
When you change the input format to
$date = new DateTime('Dec 1st, 1950');
echo $date->format('Y-m-d');

PHP will correctly make this into
1950-12-01

See http://codepad.org/trFfB6Q1

As of PHP5.3, you can also use DateTime::createFromFormat to create a date. This would work with your original DateTime string then:
$date = DateTime::createFromFormat('d M, Y', '01 Dec, 1950');
echo $date->format('Y-m-d');

See http://codepad.viper-7.com/08kK5M

A: Given that this problem does not occur on my system (PHP5.3 on a windows machine)
I suggest you update to php 5.3.
There are no drawbacks and this is probably not the only bug you will run into.
I have tested different date formats('1969/12/1','01 Dec, 1969',..) and had no problems at all.
if the problem persist feel free to slap me ;)

A: PHP's Datetime is based on a unix timestamp which started counting from 1st of january 1970.
You cannot use DateTime to acces a date before that.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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mental health awareness at work
Raising mental health awareness
Take a look around your workplace. How does everyone seem today? The chances are your colleagues appear settled and focused – and most of them are. But with 1 person in 4 experiencing some form of mental health issue in any given year, it's an inescapable truth that some are also struggling. This is where mental health awareness and workplace wellbeing come into play.
According to this 2016 report by Great Place to Work, the average UK organisation has wellbeing scores of 53%, compared to 84% at best-in-class organisations with more positive, supportive and inclusive cultures. And the UK Government's Thriving at Work report (commissioned by PM Theresa May) in October 2017 highlighted how the number of people who are forced to stop work as a result of mental health problems was 50% higher than for those with physical health conditions.
Mental illness is the largest single source of burden of disease in the UK. The total cost of mental ill health in England for 2009/10 was £105 billion. Mental health issues are responsible for 91 million working days lost in the UK.
We offer two training courses to support mental health and wellbeing in your workplace: our one-day Workplace Wellbeing course for managers, and our two-day Mental Health First Aid training programme.
Why is mental health awareness at work so important?
According to the mental health charity Mind, at any one time, at least one in six workers are experiencing common mental health problems, including anxiety and depression. Poor mental health is costing UK employers between £33 billion and £42 billion a year. If you are a private sector employer, the cost to you is an average of more than £1,100 per employee each year.
Good mental health enables us to thrive. As individuals we understand this and now business leaders, too, are increasingly acknowledging the importance of wellbeing in the workplace.
Research studies provide strong evidence that companies with high levels of mental health are more successful. Addressing wellbeing at work increases productivity by up to 12%. And, as reported in the government's Stevenson-Farmer Review of Mental Health and Employers in 2017, businesses that invest in mental health interventions report an average £4.20 return for each pound spent.
Mental health awareness for managers – 5 signs to watch out for
91 million working days a year are lost to mental health issues – that's an estimated cost of £35 billion to UK employers – but 67% of workers report feeling too scared or embarrassed to admit taking time out for mental health reasons.
If you're a manager at work, here are some common signs that can surface in colleagues who are struggling with their mental health:
They may be making more mistakes than normal, or having trouble with decision-making and concentration.
They may become more irritable and sensitive to criticism.
They may become increasingly absent or alternatively start working excessively, staying late and bypassing lunch-breaks.
They may exhibit physical symptoms, such being constantly tired or suffering from a cold that won't go away.
They may take less care with their appearance, or show signs of drinking alcohol to help them switch off in the evenings.
What is workplace wellbeing?
Mental health is something we all possess. When it is good, we have a sense of purpose and direction and feel that we can cope with whatever life (and work) throws at us. But just as our physical health fluctuates, so too our mental health goes through ups and downs. An inclusive workplace is one where people feel able to bring their whole selves to work, and mental health has a critical part to play.
We all have tough times when we feel low, stressed or frightened. Usually, those feelings pass, but sometimes they develop into anxiety or depression. And some people have more complex, long-term mental health conditions, such as an eating disorder, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. All of these can affect our ability to engage and perform at work at a consistently high level.
Diagnosis is not always a predictor of an individual's experience, either, so as managers and colleagues it is important never to jump to conclusions. For example, some schizophrenics lead fully-functioning lives, while others living with anxiety are severely impacted by their condition.
Workplace wellbeing, then, refers to the business goal of being watchful of, and then improving on, the collective mental health of your workplace, so that everyone feels supported and included, particularly in the more difficult times.
Raising mental health awareness at work – the business benefits
Internationally, the impact of mental health awareness-raising initiatives in the workplace is already proving overwhelmingly positive. A 2017 Deloitte study evidenced approaches across Germany, Canada, Australia, France, Belgium and Sweden which are empowering employers to implement interventions.
"As always, prevention is better than cure," says Ruth Cooper-Dickson. "We know that the average seven-day absence from work costs £8,000 and that 300,000 people leave their jobs every year due to serious mental health problems. Alongside the human toll is a cost to employers – the recruitment of a new team member costs an average £30,000 – so it is not so much whether your business can afford a mental health strategy, but more that it cannot afford not to have one."
The World Health Organisation predicts that depression will be the world's most common illness by 2030, and a greater burden than illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The rewards for taking action on mental health awareness now speak for themselves: happier, healthier workforces make for stronger, more successful businesses.
find out more about our diversity training services


More information on this venue, including events, can now be found at www.onfife.com.
Cupar Library is situated in the Crossgate, in the heart of the town. It is a very distinctive building, which was built over 200 years ago and can be recognised from a distance by its spire..
The library has two floors which are open to the public. The ground floor has a broad range of lending books and DVDs suitable for all ages. This floor also houses a self service terminal to allow items to be borrowed and returned without the need to go to the main desk.
The first floor houses reference books and is the main Family History and Local History Collection for libraries in North East Fife. Census Records, Old Parish Records and old Newspapers can be consulted by members of the public. Most of these are in Microfilm format.
There are 17 computers with free access to Microsoft Office packages and the Internet, allowing you to update your CV, e-mail family abroad, book a holiday, trace your family tree to name but a few possibilities! If you need help getting started, staff are always happy to help. Taster sessions can be arranged- please ask staff for details.
Children are very welcome and they have their own separate section of the library where events are often held.
A library reading group for adults meets monthly to enjoy a shared love of reading over a glass of wine.
Access from main door (power asisted) to parts of the ground floor including the staff desk. There is an external ramp to the first floor. There is a disabled toilet on the First Floor.


Pepperl+Fuchs' FieldConnex infrastructure offers fully tested and proven in use FOUNDATION fieldbus solutions for the Honeywell Series C Fieldbus Interface Modules (FIM) 4-Link FIM and 8-Link FIM.
Pepperl+Fuchs offers fully assembled and redundant Fieldbus Power Hub solutions for the 4-Link FIM. The solution includes the power hub, power supply for the redundant segments, Diagnostic Module (Basic or Advanced) and the choice of different system cable lengths from 0.5 to 4 m.
Pepperl+Fuchs offers individual components for the redundant Fieldbus Power Hub solution for the 4-Link and 8-Link FIM. The solution allows the individual selection of the power hub, power supply modules, Diagnostic Module and the system cable length from 0.5 to 4 m.
Pepperl+Fuchs' PS3500 N+1 High Integrity Power Supply is the right enhancement for Honeywell. Designed for maximum efficiency and reliability in mission critical and continuous process applications, N+1 redundancy ensures system integrity and performance.


29 Acre mini farm in Western School district, mix of cleared row crop (easily converted to pasture) and wooded land with 2.5 acre stocked pond. 3 bedroom permit permit, ideal for your dream home in the country and have horses, cattle, hobby farm. HUNTING SEASON- MUST HAVE APPOINTMENT, HUNTING ACTIVITY ON THIS TRACT AND ADJOINING PROPERTIES.


text:
Megève ist eine französische Gemeinde mit  Einwohnern (Stand ) im Département Haute-Savoie in der Region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

Megève ist ein Wintersportort in den Savoyer Alpen.

Wintertourismus
Der Wintertourismus nahm 1913 seinen Anfang. Der Aufschwung begann im Jahr 1921, als Baron Maurice de Rothschild das erste Hotel der Luxusklasse eröffnete, nachdem ihm St. Moritz als Wintersportort nicht mehr zusagte. In den 1950er-Jahren war Megève eines der beliebtesten Skigebiete Europas und zog zahlreiche Prominente an.

Neben Megève selbst umfasst das Skigebiet die Orte Combloux und Côte 2000. Es reicht bis auf eine Höhe von . Megève unterhält eine Städtepartnerschaft mit Oberstdorf im Allgäu.

Die eigentliche Handlung des Films Charade beginnt in Megève. Baron Rothschild wird in diesem kurz erwähnt.

Verkehr
In Megève gibt es einen Gebirgsflughafen, den Altiport de Megève.

Persönlichkeiten
Söhne und Töchter:
 Georg Muffat (1653–1704), deutsch-französischer Komponist und Organist des Barock
 Émile Allais (1912–2012), Skirennläufer
 Paul Guichonnet (1920–2018), Historiker und Geograph
 Adrien Duvillard (1934–2017), Skirennläufer
 Henri "Dudu" Duvillard (* 1947), Skirennläufer
 Catherine Quittet (* 1964), Skirennläuferin
 Adrien Duvillard (* 1969), Skirennläufer
 Cédric Vallet (* 1971), Skilangläufer

Personen mit Beziehung zur Stadt:
 Georges Gimel (1898–1962), Maler; in Megève verstorben
 Emmanuel Renaut (* 1968), Dreisternekoch mit Restaurant in Megève

Weblinks

 Gemeinde Megève
 Megève Tourismus

Ort in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Wintersportgebiet in Frankreich

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text:
Wapahani's Curry wins mental attitude award
David Polaski
dpolaski@muncie.gannett.com
MUNCIE, Ind. — Teammates looked up to Chase Curry all season, considering she was Wapahani's only senior.
She was named the Class 2A Mental Attitude award winner following the Raiders' championship victory.
Coach Jared Richardson noted that they both came to Wapahani at the same time, so they grew together. She may not lead them in stats, but her composure and maturity are important on a young team.
"Just in life, she's a great kid," Richardson said. "Off the court she does everything you could want her to."
When Curry came to the program four years ago, she wasn't the only person in her class. But she has been the only one to stick through it all the way.
To her, being the lone senior isn't lonely, not with the support of her younger teammates.
"They're my best friends," Curry said. "It's been such an amazing ride."
At first, it wasn't assured that her senior season would end with another championship. Wapahani fell behind 1-0 and 2-1 in sets against Covenant Christian, but rallied to win in five.
Maybe those dramatic moments just make it that much more memorable.
"It's been a journey and with a five-set match, we've had to fight and come a long way," Curry said. "Winning just topped off the whole thing."
Contact prep sports reporter David Polaski at (765) 213-5848. Follow him on Twitter @DavidPolaskiTSP.


text:
Did the Paradigm Shift for You?
by Dick Selwood
At one time, every new product announcement was said to mark a paradigm shift in the industry. Thankfully, it is no longer the case that a new release of EDA software or an upgrade of a piece of silicon is treated on a par with the theories of gravity or relativity. However, there are times when paradigms do shift, and, for the semiconductor industry, this may be one of them.
Just as a quick refresher (and simplifying greatly): Thomas Kuhn, in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, put forward the word paradigm for the accepted model that scientists use to describe their activities. For example, the ruling paradigm in astronomy was that the earth was the centre of the universe and that all the other planets and the sun moved in circular orbits around the earth. As observation showed that this was too simplistic, astronomers clung to the paradigm by constructing ever more elaborate models (sometimes even physical models) of interlocking circles of different diameters to describe the orbits. Finally, it was generally accepted that the observations are more simply explained by the planets rotating around the sun in elliptical paths – the paradigm had shifted. A similar change occurred when, at the end of the nineteenth century, it was accepted that the different phenomena along the electromagnetic spectrum could be explained only by rejecting the idea that the atom was indivisible and realising that all atoms, of whatever substance, were made up from small elements called electrons, protons and neutrons. That paradigm shift lasted for only a short period before observations again undermined it and the weird world of sub-atomic particles with quarks and, possibly, the Higgs Boson, replaced it. If you want more on this topic, try the book, which is readable, and possibly avoid the many discussions on the philosophy of science sites, which are often unreadable.
Now we get to the electronics industry. The ruling paradigm until, say, the late 1980s/early 1990s, was that real semiconductor companies had wafer-fabs and that competition was red in tooth and claw, with the process by which wafers were manufactured being an essential weapon in the fight between companies.
Today that paradigm is shifting, and continuing to shift, if you listen to Malcolm Penn, CEO of analysts Future Horizons. At the International Electronics Forum in early October, Malcolm gave one of his usual iconoclastic presentations on the state of the industry.
While Future Horizons does produce market forecasts, unlike most analysts, Malcolm doesn't get involved with decimal points of growth. He says that there are four variables that need to be considered – the economy, fab capacity, unit demand, and ASPs (Average Selling Prices). These are interdependent, but there is no mathematical link between them, and the picture is further complicated by industry emotion, industry fashion, and industry sentiment. Add all this together and it becomes impossible to model the industry. However, there is a saving grace, summed up by Mark Twain, "History does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme a lot." This Malcolm interprets as looking at previous cycles and then seeing what might happen.
One major issue that he sees at the moment comes in the area of industry emotion/fashion/sentiment: there is a perception that "The glory days are over." He feels that the semiconductor company executives and trade associations are too gloomy, and that there are two problems stemming from this:
1) Wall Street and the market analysts believe the gloom and doom and this has had the result that the industry as a whole and the companies in it are undervalued.
2) Companies themselves, believing the gloom and doom, are not investing. Malcolm points out that companies who have continued to invest through the downturn are now reaping the benefits – including, for example, TSMC. (This has been true for all the industry downturns since the beginning of the industry – but companies seem to have short memories.)
If you want to hear a real rant against the short-sightedness of many companies' senior management, just set Malcolm going. But he is not just negative: for companies that have the vision and passion, this could be a golden period. There are new technology, new markets, and new ways of building products. And one thing has not changed: "Being number 1 is all that really matters."
So, what are the things that are driving the paradigm shift? The first is summed up by the 450 mm wafer and manufacturing processes below 20nm. (In case you missed Bryon Moyers's piece a few weeks ago – a 450 mm wafer has the surface area of around 21 4" wafers, and, with a much lower area-to-circumference ratio leading to less edge wastage, there will be even more yielding die.)
450mm handling equipment is going to be difficult to make and will be expensive – even by the standards of the semiconductor industry. And sub-20nm is definitely going to need EUV (Extreme Ultra-Violet light) – again technically difficult and potentially very expensive.
What is happening is that instead of each company working independently, there is massive co-operation between the manufacturing companies and the equipment companies to get the new wafers and the new processes into regular use. This means that, while the foundries will compete with offering processes to companies, for chip companies, particularly the fabless companies, process will no longer be an important differentiating factor (and this has the potential to impact pricing). Instead, the competition will be on functionality of the device. (And in getting into the market first.)
Other papers at the IEF echoed the idea that there are dramatic changes occurring. Obviously Rudi Lauwereins of IMEC, the Belgian research centre that thrives on bringing companies together to co-operate, backed this view, and so did several other speakers.
Market change and its impact on the chip industry was another big thread at IEF. Tony King-Smith of Imagination (speaking over a video link) discussed how the mobile device is a pocket supercomputer – many phones today have more processing power than the 1976 Cray1 supercomputer. But it is achieving this through a revolution in architecture with the classic CPU supported by a graphics processing unit (GPU) being replaced by a multi-core CPU, multiple GPUs, and a Radio Processing Unit (RPU.) This has been made possible by the growth of open-source application programming interfaces (APIs) such as OpenCL and the new OpenGL (another example of co-operation). Tony argues that these changes are driving a new architectural approach, with the application at its heart. The application communicates through these APIs and, for some limited purposes, through an operating system to a CPU. Software will have to be written differently, since instead of the programmer writing to fit the resources available, the first thing the application will need to do is look around and see what resources are there that it can exploit.
There is also a change in emphasis in that it is the mobile and consumer applications that are driving forward the semiconductor industry, pushing new architectures and making demands on performance.
Similarly, the enterprise market is making different demands on the semiconductor industry. "Big Data," a phrase that occurred in a number of presentations, within the enterprise and within the cloud, is being stored and processed not by "Big Iron," the traditional mainframe, but by arrays of processors and storage disks. This reflects a change in the thinking – companies working on big data are working on six-month or tighter time-scales, while the enterprise is used to a three to five year cycle. The requirements for these arrays are also interesting: one centre has calculated that just taking off a single LED from each processor can save 13kw. Facebook has been driving an open standard for servers, Open Rack, and, according to Robert Ober of LSI, the Facebook head office sees a steady stream of traditional big iron users, like banks, who are evaluating the alternatives now available.
Samsung topped and tailed IEF. The closing speaker was Yoon-Woon Lee, who, after a long and distinguished career with Samsung, is now executive advisor to the company. His was a high level view of the global trends that will be shaping the world of tomorrow, including the increasing prosperity of Asia, an aging world population, global warming, and pervasive electronics. The way the industry will cope is through more collaboration. Don't forget that Samsung is, by any measure, a giant company. In 2011 revenues, it is the 10th biggest company in the world, and the Q3 guidance, which was announced while IEF was taking place, is for profits of $7.28 billion – more than a dollar for every person on the face of the planet in just one quarter. For something that big to talk about collaboration is quite a change.
The opening speaker, Young Sohn, wasn't working for Samsung when he agreed to talk. Since then he has been recruited to serve as President & Chief Strategy Officer at Samsung. He will be based in California, where he will be setting up "skunk works" – small centres working on a range of new ideas away from the mainstream business. (He cited Sun's Java, Lockheed and the organisational structure of Apple as examples of how, even with big companies, small teams can get outstanding things done.)
Young Sohn's talk could be seen as a microcosm of the whole conference, with the theme that the disruption we are seeing can be a catalyst for innovation, and identifying the transformation as connectivity, the internet of things, and mobile computing, all relying on big data sitting on servers. With mobile computing, a new world region, i2i (Ivory Coast to Indonesia) is emerging with a strong middle class that wants smart phones. The market for cloud computing and other infrastructure will be enormous, but it will require creativity to develop the products that can serve these markets at accessible pricing.
Is paradigm shift justifiable for describing today's semiconductor industry? Well I think it is. The industry today is being driven by consumer and mobile markets, not industry and government as it was in the past. The chip manufacturing process, which has never been easy, is getting even more difficult and even more expensive. And the cut-throat competition in all areas, while it continues in the market place, is being replaced by co-operation on standards, on new processes, and on a range of other areas.
4 thoughts on "Did the Paradigm Shift for You?"
bmoyer says:
Dick Selwood seems some changes afoot in the semiconductor world. What do you think? Do you see other changes that are worthy of the phrase "paradigm shift"?
paulmcl says:
I think you meant Samsung's profits were 7 billion (not million). I sent out an email about a 22um process recently. It's easy to be wrong by a factor of 1000!
Dick Selwood says:
Thanks Paul – I did indeed mean billion. And the b and m keys are seperated by the n key – but I might have noticed nillion
The million/billion typo is now fixed. I encountered this just yesterday when musing about overage on my LTE data plan. $10 per gigabyte = $0.01 per megabyte.
Solving Design Challenges Using TI's Code Free Sensorless BLDC Motor Drivers
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and Texas Instruments
Designing systems with Brushless DC motors can present us with a variety of difficult design challenges including motor deceleration, reliable motor startup and hardware complexity. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Vishnu Balaraj from Texas Instruments and Amelia Dalton investigate two new solutions for BLDC motor design that are code free, sensorless and easy to use. They review the features of the MCF8316A and MCT8316A motor drivers and examine how each of these solutions can make your next BLDC design easier than ever before.
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It's most definitely beginning to look a LOT like Christmas at Horizons! Our young people have been very busy over the last few weeks, as you will see..
Hayley's group have been getting in the Christmas spirit and visited Housing Units to look at the Christmas displays for ideas and inspiration – they had a great time..
The group have been doing lots of Art, putting together their Winter scene and getting creative with playdough..
They've not let the cold weather stop them and have wrapped up to keep lovely and warm on their outings to Ability Wheelz..
..and had a lot of fun creating some loud music..
..and enjoyed a relaxing swim..
One of our young people arrived looking very festive with his wheelchair all decked out with lights and tinsel and EVERYONE has ended up covered in glitter during their Christmas craft activities..
They have made ginger biscuits..
..and thoroughly enjoyed getting messy with shaving foam..
..before finding a little bit of time to relax..
Shelley's group have been very busy too! They had a great visit to Heaton Park, making the most of the Winter sunshine..
They enjoyed bike riding at Ability Wheelz..
..and started their Christmas shopping..
You won't be surprised to hear that they still made time for a dance!
Everyone has been very busy making the 2nd floor at Medtia look very festive..
Jeff's group have been back to the Manchester Christmas markets for their second visit of the year..
The cold weather doesn't bother this hardy lot and they are still making trips out to the park for a walk and for a somewhat shorter bike ride, enjoying the frosty weather..
They have been out in the community, doing a little shopping with their friends before calling off for a spot of lunch..
The group paid another visit to one of their favourite spots, Hollywood Bowl in Ashton, catching the tram..
They've been out and about whatever the weather, getting suitably wet in the rain on their walk to Oldham Leisure Centre for swimming and staying nice and dry on the bus going to Chadderton..
The group enjoy winding down on Friday afternoons when they have time to relax and choose whether to enjoy a foot spa, an ICT session, painting or just catching up with their friends over a brew..
Emma's group have been getting up to all sorts, having fun in Oldham..
..and keeping busy back at the centre..
Even John has been getting in the Christmas spirit!!!
Gary's group have also thrown themselves into preparations for Christmas, not content with putting up a tree and dressing it beautifully, they created this very impressive snowman almost entirely out of plastic cups..
There has been plenty of Art work going on, not only of the usual kind..
..but also a spot of glass painting..
Adil, Whitney and Usman have also been busy volunteering at the Oldham branch of Dr Kershaw's charity shops providing much needed help to a very worthy cause..
We thought you might also like to see Gary's wonderful pictures of some recent sunrise and sunsets showing you the stunning views from the third floor here at Medtia..
Today has seen our big Horizons Christmas get together at Medtia with all our young people who are based at the Learning Centre joining their friends in the town centre for the day – we are sure there will be lots of great pictures to share with you next week!
Calendars have gone home together with a letter from John giving you all the important dates you need to know for this Christmas and the coming year – don't forget that we close for Christmas on Tuesday afternoon and come back on Wednesday 3rd January.


text:
Vedder secures a superyacht fit-out package worth more than AED 116 million
Jun 12 ,2019
Depa PLC ("Depa"), the leading global interior solutions group, announces a project award of EUR 28 million (more than AED 116 million). Vedder, Depa's German-based key business unit which specialises in the provision of interior solutions to the superyacht, private jet and high-net-worth residence fit-out markets, has secured the interior fit-out package for a new-build superyacht project.
Kevin Lewis, Depa's Acting Group Chief Executive Officer, commented: "The strength of Vedder's reputation has seen it fit-out close to half of the hundred largest superyachts worldwide. This important award continues to build on Vedder's record levels of backlog."
Depa is a strategic management company specialising in global interior solutions. Depa's four key business units hold leading positions in their respective markets: Design Studio, Vedder, Depa Interiors and Deco Group. Employing thousands of people worldwide, the Group's operations are centred on three regional hubs: Asia, Europe and the Middle East.


text:
KOL Marketing
Home/KOL Marketing
How Guanxi Plays an Integral Role in KOL Influence
By Jessica Rapp| 2019-06-20T17:32:26+00:00 June 20th, 2019|KOL Marketing, Marketing Strategy|
Few can do business in China without hearing about guanxi, an integral aspect of Chinese culture when it comes to forging and maintaining relationships. Marketers should certainly approach the subject with curiosity by learning and observing the ways that guanxi feeds into consumer behavior. After all, the success of KOLs
How Do Multi-Channel Networks (MCNs) Work in China?
By Jessica Rapp| 2019-04-23T18:03:38+00:00 March 29th, 2019|KOL Marketing, Marketing Strategy|
China's KOL landscape can seem like an endless vortex of options. But, to really understand the KOL world means having a handle on a growing management phenomenon that essentially makes up its core: Multi-Channel Networks (MCNs). In the U.S., the MCN is synonymous with failure. Marketers might remember that the
How Influencers Use Xiaohongshu: 3 RED KOLs Share Tips
By Jessica Rapp| 2019-02-20T15:01:58+00:00 February 16th, 2019|Influencer Marketing, KOL Marketing, Xiaohongshu|
Xiaohongshu (Little RED Book) is arguably one of the hottest platforms of 2019 and should be included in every brand's influencer marketing strategy. Not quite the cross-border e-commerce platform that many marketers predicted it would be, and not quite the review space once claimed by the likes of Dianping, Xiaohongshu
7 KOL Marketing Tactics Every Brand Needs to Know in 2019
By Jessica Rapp| 2019-01-14T14:12:54+00:00 January 11th, 2019|KOL Marketing, Marketing Strategy|
The content is great, the KOL is an effective communicator, and the brand has considered its target audience across multiple apps. But in China's current social media environment where platforms and KOL marketing rules are constantly evolving, these efforts alone, unfortunately, may not always cut it. It helps brands to
5 Chinese KOL Marketing Case Studies from 2018
By Lauren Hallanan| 2018-12-29T18:25:14+00:00 December 26th, 2018|KOL Marketing, Marketing Strategy|
It was tough deciding which Chinese KOL marketing case studies we wanted to feature from 2018. In the end, we decided to highlight five brands which stood out for a variety of reasons, whether it was their willingness to experiment with new platforms and campaign mechanisms, their increasingly sophisticated understanding
3 Key Platforms for B2B KOLs in China
By Lauren Hallanan| 2018-10-31T09:58:04+00:00 October 24th, 2018|China Social Networks, KOL Marketing|
If you're a B2B KOL, you've probably jazzed out your LinkedIn profile, built-up a sizable email list, and recorded a podcast or two. In the West, these are your screws and hammers as a B2B influencer – the essentials in your toolbox. B2B KOLs in China have their own platforms to
How & Why to Repurpose KOL Content in China
By Jessica Rapp| 2018-09-26T20:06:32+00:00 September 26th, 2018|KOL Marketing, Marketing Strategy|
KOL content collaborations can bring awareness to your brand in China, help connect with new audiences, and even bring in a few sales. Yet a common worry from marketers comes when they tally up the total costs, but this is because they often forget the value of content and how
What happened to Meipai? And what is Meitu Social Media?
By Lauren Hallanan| 2018-09-28T20:55:22+00:00 September 18th, 2018|KOL Marketing, Meipai|
Meipai, once a top short video platform in China, has all but died. But not to worry, Meitu has launched a new social platform and it already has more users than Meipai, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu combined. What happened? In the beginning Meipai is a video-sharing app created by Meitu, a technology
#1 Overlooked Tactic in KOL Management: Replying to Comments
By Jessica Rapp| 2018-08-24T16:35:17+00:00 August 23rd, 2018|KOL Marketing, Marketing Strategy|
A lot of work goes into KOL management, and because of that, brands and KOLs often experience a little boost of adrenaline when they scroll down to the end of a post and see that magic number. Whew, 10K views! The post about our newest handbag collection made thousands of
Micro KOL Marketing in China: What Brands Need to Know
By Lauren Hallanan| 2018-08-11T10:23:39+00:00 August 9th, 2018|KOL Marketing, Micro-influencers|
When the words "KOL marketing in China" are mentioned, what pops into people's minds are KOLs with millions of followers and campaigns with extremely high budgets. Yet, in reality, micro KOL marketing in China is just as popular and can be just as effective. As their name implies, micro KOLs


secret eternity of America's hatred let's begin again After tonight?
discussion on the possibilities, prostitution, and emigration.
He aims not for a completely surface scandal, but Margaret Atwood.
The span of – yes, thank you officer – airy earth. Some him.
But for the straws to sail, the Wilson Administration (humph!) abuse the impunity their bull engendereth.
the legacy rise in stereo utopian Berkeley. Yuh to a stranger through engine as a sock subterranean links.
foetid forest, the report familiar, anonymous with deadly religion.
In the air nestled between us, "Now comes the poet", he writes. unequivocally refuse the sea And whales and wolves. in the bath no shower they strip a systematic war as thoroughly as his children.
The Rock to ashes. – he said he was gonna uncover something.
fractured light to de English life!
And this seems to me an extremely important echoing.
marching band's train Across the week my historical Mr.
under cement laughing I heard the men talk to praise the first fucked up night.


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text:
<?php

namespace DSchoenbauer\Orm\Events\Logger;

use Exception;
use PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase;
use Zend\EventManager\EventInterface;

/**
 * Description of ThrowExceptionEventTest
 *
 * @author David Schoenbauer
 */
class ThrowExceptionEventTest extends TestCase
{
    private $object;

    protected function setUp()
    {
        $this->object = new ThrowExceptionEvent();
    }

    function testOnExecuteGoodParameter(){
        $event = $this->getMockBuilder(EventInterface::class)->getMock();
        $exception = new Exception('Test');
        $event->expects($this->any())->method('getParam')->willReturn($exception);
        $this->expectException(Exception::class);
        $this->expectExceptionMessage('Test');
        $this->object->onExecute($event);
    }

    function testOnExecuteBadParameter(){
        $event = $this->getMockBuilder(EventInterface::class)->getMock();
        $exception = new Exception('Test');
        $this->expectException(Exception::class);
        $event->expects($this->any())->method('getParam')->willReturn(new \stdClass());
        $this->expectExceptionMessage(ThrowExceptionEvent::NO_EXCEPTION_MESSAGE);
        $this->object->onExecute($event);
    }

    function testOnExecuteNoParameter(){
        $event = $this->getMockBuilder(EventInterface::class)->getMock();
        $exception = new Exception('Test');
        $this->expectException(Exception::class);
        $this->expectExceptionMessage(ThrowExceptionEvent::NO_EXCEPTION_MESSAGE);
        $this->object->onExecute($event);
    }

    function testAlwaysThrowException(){
        $this->assertFalse($this->object->getAlwaysThrowException());
        $this->assertTrue($this->object->setAlwaysThrowException()->getAlwaysThrowException());
        $this->assertFalse($this->object->setAlwaysThrowException(false)->getAlwaysThrowException());
    }

    function testAlwaysThrowExceptionContructor(){
        $this->object = new ThrowExceptionEvent([], true);
        $this->assertTrue($this->object->getAlwaysThrowException());
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Obituary of Eddie Clontz, From 'The Economist'
Eddie Clontz
Eddie Clontz, master of tabloid journalism, died on January 26th 2004, aged 56
The relationship between truth and reporting has ever been a tricky one. No scene remains undistorted as it passes the eye of the beholder, and none reaches the page exactly as it was. But while living with this discrepancy, many journalists struggle with a much baser temptation. What they really want to put into their copy is that extraordinary "fact", that jaw-dropping story retailed by a single source down a crackling telephone line, which would earn them a banner headline if they could only stand it up.
Eddie Clontz felt this more than most, and he never resisted the temptation. As the deviser and, for 20 years, the editor-in-chief of Weekly World News, his delight was to run the wildest stories he could find. He described himself not as an editor but as a circus-master, drawing readers into his tent with an endless parade of fantasies and freaks.
The News had, and has, an unassuming look, a black-and-white tabloid with blurry graphics that sits at supermarket checkouts across America, among the chewing gum. But its headlines, in inch-high sans serif, are another matter. "ARCHEOLOGISTS FIND MIDDLE EARTH IN NEW JERSEY SWAMP!" "SEVEN CON GRESSMEN ARE ZOMBIES !" "TINY TERORISTS DISGUISED AS GARDEN GNOMES !" ("These guys are typical al-Qaeda operatives,' says a top CIA source, 'with beards down to their belt buckles'.") Such stories, all from one recent issue, would have made Mr Clontz proud.
The News for which he was hired, in 1981, was a sorry affair, a dumping ground for stories that failed to make the National Enquirer. It had been started mostly to make use of the Enquirer's old black-and-white presses after the sister-tabloid had gone to colour. Mr Clontz soon shook it up. Out went the tired celebrity gossip; in came space aliens, dinosaurs, giant vegetables, and a "Psychic" column in which his brother Derek would find readers' car keys. Circulation soared. In a good week, it can reach well over a million.
Two stories in particular got Mr Clontz noticed. In 1988, his organ revealed that "ELVIS IS ALIVE! (King of Rock 'n' Roll Faked his Death and is Living in Kalamazoo, Mich!)". A few years later, the News reported that a bat boy, with huge ears and amber eyes and "eating his own weight in insects each single day", had been found by scientists in a cave in West Virginia.
Both items were followed up for years. Elvis went on appearing; Bat Boy escaped, was recaptured by the FBI, fell in love and endorsed Al Gore for president. Readers wrote in with their own sightings, bolstering whatever truth the nation believed was there. In 1993, Mr Clontz dared to kill the resurrected Elvis ("ELVIS DEAD AT 58!") – only to reveal some time later that this death, too, had been a hoax.
Scallops to scoops
Sheer chance seemed to bring Mr Clontz to this strange outpost of journalism. After dropping out of school at 16 and trying his luck as a scallop fisherman, he became a copy boy on his local paper in North Carolina. He moved next to a Florida paper, and from there to the disreputable corner office in the Enquirer building, in a run-down resort near Palm Beach, from which he was to entertain and terrify America.
His own politics were mysterious. Under the pseudonym "Ed Anger", he wrote a News column so vitriolically right wing that it possibly came from the left. Anger hated foreigners, yoga, whales, speed limits and pineapple on pizza; he liked flogging, electrocutions and beer. No, Mr Clontz would say, he had no idea who Anger really was. But he was "about as close to him as any human being."
Mr Clontz also always denied that his staff made the stories up. It was subtler than that. Many tips came from "freelance correspondents" who called in; their stories were "checked", but never past the point where they might disintegrate. ("We don't know whether stories are true," said Mr Clontz, "and we really don't care.") The staff also read dozens of respectable newspapers and magazines, antennae alert for the daft and the bizarre. When a nugget was found, Mr Clontz would order them to run away with it, urging them to greater imaginative heights by squirting them with a giant water-pistol.
Yet he also showed care for authenticity. If a story resisted tracking down, he would give it the dateline "Bolivia". If it relied on "scientific research", he would make sure the scientists were Bulgarian. Writers who made up the names of Georgia natives terrorised by giant chickens would be asked to check in the telephone book to make sure they did not exist. Loving editorial attention was given to the face of Satan when he appeared in a cloud formation over New York.
The result of this was that many readers appeared to believe Mr Clontz's stories. Letters poured in, especially from the conservative and rural parts of the country where Ed Anger's columns struck a chord. If a sensible man like Anger kept company with aliens and 20-pound cucumbers, perhaps those stories too were true. When the News reported the discovery of a hive of baby ghosts, more than a thousand readers wrote in to adopt one. But the saddest tale was of the soldier who wrote, in all seriousness, offering marriage to the two-headed woman.
Excerpted from 'The Economist' Book of Obituaries edited by Kieth Colqhoun and Ann Wroe. Copyright © 2008 by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. Excerpted by permission of Bloomberg Press. All rights reserved.


Four on a fourteen-foot bike around the Channel Islands.
Earlier this year (Easter school holidays) I loaded half a ton of kit plus my merry mob of 3 children (Molly 10, Daisy 6 and Jack 3 ) onto my Circe Helios triplet electric assist contraption which, with the Burley trailer attached, is 14-feet long – about as long as a Range Rover, and off to the Channel Islands we sallied by sail (ferry). We cycled 277 miles in 11 days.
Day 1. Early one morning (6a.m.) at the beginning of April Gary gave us a lift to Portsmouth in the camper van. Gary couldn't come on our overseas jaunt as he had to work next door to the ferry port at the naval base where, as a carpenter, he was helping to conserve the Victory.
I hadn't tested to see whether I could fit all the hefty clobber for 4 people on a bike before I left but amazingly? it did!
All aboard! We tethered the mount to the car deck where the ferry handlers were very surprised: they were expecting a bike not a behemoth.
7 hours later, and after seeing bits of France float past (Normandy) we arrived in Guernsey's St Peter Port.
There were palm trees a-plenty – so much so that we could even attach a cluster of them to the bike.
The wagon in action. This photo was taken by a woman from Leeds who was standing on a hill overlooking this road when she spotted us and was so amazed at the size of the bike that she took a picture. A week later we happened to meet her on the other side of the island and she said, 'I took a picture of you last week because I couldn't believe my eyes what was coming down the road! In all my days I've never seen anyone ride anything so long!' And then she sent me the picture.
These are the sort of road signs I like!
I found some roadside litter (an L plate) so put it to good use.
have a luxurious Easter Day lunch lounging on the ground in the car park of a local Co-op.
Just add Daisy, Jack & Gary.
Your tour looks amazing. Sorry about the hospital session though. Yes, we cycled around Jersey as well as Guernsey. Not Sark and Herm though as the bike was too long for the little passenger ferry. But I did cycle around them 17 years ago.
Keep up the good work. You are amazing.
Great to read your new adventures with a family. Hopefully you can turn these into some more great books. ?
Thank you Al. I'm trying and in the middle of writing one now.


text:
The Big Issue: Beer Quality
September 4, 2019, by Philip Goslin
From popping bottles and exploding cans to beers turning dark through oxidation or arriving at venues uncarbonated, there have been plenty of examples of beers leaving local breweries not quite right in the past year or so.
Sure, when there are thousands of new, often experimental beers being released each year and millions more litres being produced by the country's smaller brewers than at any stage in the past, there's more opportunity for something to go awry. But, with more craft beer consumers and greater coverage of the scene than ever before, it's arguably never been more important to ensure such things don't happen.
From a brewery business perspective, at a time when competition has never been fiercer, who wants to be known as the brewer of dodgy beer, whether it's occasional, one-off or otherwise? And, when the country's independent brewers are preparing to ramp up their efforts to persuade drinkers to #askforindiebeer, such an ask only gets tougher if indie beer isn't also good beer; you can be sure the former independents that are now part of global operations – Mountain Goat, 4 Pines, Pirate Life, Feral and Green Beacon – will be putting out consistent, quality beer.
It's why you'll hear the message around quality hammered home repeatedly at events like BrewCon, why there's a growing body of resources at hand for brewers wanting to learn more, and why you'll find more brewery owners investing in quality management programs, whether in terms of technology, knowledge or both.
"Quality is important if you want people to drink your beer again," says Dan McCulloch (pictured below).
As technical manager for Lallemand Brewing, he spends his time travelling throughout Asia Pacific helping breweries establish quality management programs and addressing problems they might be encountering in production.
"For a brewery producing core range beers, quality is critical because people want that beer to be the same every time – it's about consistency," he says.
"But even if a brewery's focus is small batches of different beers every time, quality is still important – otherwise people won't come back to try the next weird and wacky thing they are doing."
What Is Quality Management?
Former Young Henrys brewery and quality guy, now Lallemand's technical sales manager, Dan McCulloch.
Essentially, quality management can be broken down into two areas: quality assurance is planning and putting in place the processes along every step of production to ensure the consumer receives a quality product within the brewery's specifications for that beer; quality control is about monitoring and checking to ensure all of a brewery's operations and activities fulfil the quality requirements that have been put in place.
Achieving consistency to a high level involves many factors too, from raw materials and stringent production processes through to good sanitisation.
"Quality is a whole team mindset," Dan says. "It is about managing the entire process and this has to come from the top first.
"Breweries need to have standard operating procedures and ensure that everyone involved in the production process does things the same way — from brewing through to packaging. If one person does something a little differently that batch could be different to the previous one … or ruined completely."
He says the industry has come a long way from the days in which off flavours such as diacetyl and acetaldehyde were common, but in their place are new frequently found faults.
"What I am noticing are what we call house flavours, or 'house geschmack'," he says. "Breweries that taste their own beers daily is great, and [is something that] should be done during their daily gravity checks, but they can become desensitised over time to things such as chlorophenol, which is antiseptic or band-aid like.
"It's a taint from chlorine in water I'm tasting in many beers and can be for two reasons: the carbon filter to remove the precursor chlorine hasn't been changed and is no longer working, or the brewery is brewing more – which is great – but the contact time with the carbon is not enough due to the amount of water now going through it and the housing needs to be upgraded. So, as the brewery gets bigger, the flavour creeps up, and they don't notice until someone else comes in and tastes their beers.
"The other flavour is residual caustic and this usually knocks off the hop aroma and adds a soapy residue to the beer – and this is of a great concern."
A basic lab setup and simple training can help overcome such a situation and assisting breweries with the creation of labs is one area of focus for Dan.
"A lot of people are scared by the thought of establishing a lab because it sounds like you need to be a chemist or a microbiologist … you don't," he says.
What's more, brewers can set up a basic lab on a very small budget then build complexity as the brewery grows. In doing so, they have a better chance of picking up on many of the common faults still plaguing the industry: oxidation, flavour taints, bacterial infections. They can occur all too easily, so having the capacity to recognise them and determine what went wrong is key to a brewery's quality control.
As one of Australia's largest independent brewers, Gage Roads have a quality team larger than most. Clare Clouting leads a three-person team at the West Australian brewery: her role is quality assurance manager; alongside her are a quality coordinator and a quality officer.
"Some of the practices will be very similar, no matter the size of the brewery," Clare says, explaining that, ultimately, "my job is to make sure the consumer is happy."
For a brewery like Gage Roads that's focused first and foremost on a core range, she says the number one priority is to make sure their beer always tastes exactly how it should: the brewery's top-seller, Single Fin, always has to taste like Single Fin.
"A lot of what we're doing is cost avoidance, protecting your reputation and protecting the consumer," Clare says.
Unlike many smaller brewers, Gage Roads pasteurise their beers; it's a word that can send shivers down the spine of some craft beer brewers and drinkers who view the process as one that negatively affects the taste of a beer. But, in Gage Roads' case, as a brewery that sends beer across the country and is stocked in major retailers, the aim is to apply a limited amount of pasteurisation for beer stability.
"People need to know if they're going to drop $60 on a carton then it's not going to have undergone a secondary ferment or be sour," Clare says.
"Single Fin is a really good example, because for us that's become a beer people buy as their regular weekly carton. So, we've got all these consumers who really know what Single Fin tastes like and the moment it tastes slightly different they're emailing me very quickly."
While she admits smaller breweries who can sell their beer quickly and close to their brewery might not need to worry about pasteurisation, those sending their beer across the country should consider it. That said, there is plenty of work that can be done earlier in the process too.
"We don't apply a whole lot of pasteurisation because what we try to do is work on all the stuff at the front end," Clare says. "Clean ferments and brewing under the best possible circumstances, so we can give it the minimum pasteurization we can get away with."
BIRA QUALITY
Clare (pictured above) is also a founding member of the Brewing Interlaboratory Reference Analytes, or BIRA for short. The not-for-profit group was formed off the back of the brewers' conference in 2017, when some quality-focused minds, including Dan, came together and decided to help breweries ensure their quality testing practices were up to scratch.
"We wanted it to be affordable for really small breweries because we feel that if we can help everyone raise the level of their quality testing then we can help everybody," Clare says. "Craft beer is all in it together and it's all of our reputations as a whole."
By sending sample beers to breweries to be tested, BIRA are able to provide feedback on how accurate a brewery's testing processes are. Then, if and when quality assurance practices go awry, they're on hand to help find a solution.
"If they do something wrong, then it might be an operator not following the procedure or equipment might not be right and then we will help them troubleshoot what the problem is," Clare says.
"If you're going to spend a lot of money or time on testing then you want it to be accurate. So, we're helping people drive the improvement in their quality testing."
Dan says it's important for brewers to remember quality control doesn't end with production and packaging – it extends to distribution and sales.
"Sales representatives should be tasting the beer in venue to make sure there are no issues – such as dirty lines affecting a beer," he says.
"It's about breweries educating the publican to dispense the beer clean as well. The consumer is getting smarter and, as we get more craft breweries, quality is fundamental because quality beer is what is going to last.
"That's where a quality management program comes in – breweries should have a quality program from day one."
So, what steps can brewery owners take to give themselves the best chance of nailing quality and consistency within their budgets? What should they consider when working out what's most important for a brewery of their size?
Below we look at examples of large, medium and small breweries with reputations for making consistently high quality beers to see how they operate. Before we get to that point, however, Dan suggests a range of simple quality checks that every brewery should be undertaking:
Monitoring and tracking fermentation curves and forced fermentations.
Having a "release sheet" for each beer before it is packaged that includes specifications (gravity, ABV and pH levels), detailed tasting notes, and an overall score. This information needs to be logged into a database for future reference so that trends can be monitored.
Testing yeast health.
Testing water quality.
Keeping samples of every beer batch and tasting them at regular intervals – for example, every three months – so the brewery can see how their beer is ageing in a typical consumer environment (in other words, not in a cool room). Again, this information needs to be entered into a database.
Undertaking simple microbiological tests for bacterial infections and/or sending samples to an external lab for testing.
And, he adds: "Never be afraid to dump a batch of beer if you think quality isn't there. In the long run, it's the best solution to re-brew.
"In the stress of the moment, it might not seem like it, but if you're not 100 percent happy, would your customer be?"
Large: Gage Roads
At Gage Roads, the brewery's size, distribution network and the fact they contract brew are all factors that mean their food safety requirements are far reaching.
"It's pretty comprehensive," Clare says. "We do make Woolworths products and products for other people … so we have to be accredited to the Woolworths standard, which is pretty robust, and we also have HACCP accreditation."
Clare says much of the brewery's quality assurance takes place well before brew day starts, with the right ingredients, packaging and systems all affecting quality, particularly given the size of the brewhouse.
"Once we commit to doing a pilot brew, it's quite a lot of money for us if it doesn't work out," she says.
Along with the three-person quality team, Gage have invested heavily in their laboratory equipment. But Clare says that while their alkaliser, which measures the alcohol level in beer, or their CBox, which measures Co2 and O2, might have been significant costs, they are built to last.
"If you were to set up a lab to the scale we're running, if you were to do it right from scratch, it would be about $150,000 to $200,000. But we did build ours over time," she says.
"If you make good investments and look after your products and treat them well and keep them clean, then they will look after you in the long term. Most of our pieces of equipment predate my joining Gage [the alkaliser is nearly a decade old], we will have had them five to ten years and they're still going strong."
What's more, the cost of letting bad beer get into drinker's hands can be far greater than the cost of a crucial piece of equipment.
"You do your risk assessment and, if the cost of all the beer in one tank is going to be $30,000, then you might dump that and that would have paid for your oxygen analyser."
Testing underway at Gage Roads.
But, no matter how good your equipment and extensive your setup, there's always a human element to ensuring beer quality.
"We taste along most steps; we taste at the end of ferment and the bright beer stage – sometimes in between depending on what's going on," she says. "We taste the finished products and we do shelf-life tasting."
Clare also runs a lot of blind tastings, which includes picking up Gage Roads' own beer from bottleshops to test against similar beers in the same style.
"It's good for us to understand how our consumer is drinking our beer; a lot of the time we're drinking fresh beer and it spoils us a bit," she says. "I think it's important for brewers to understand what the consumer is getting and how it appears to them – particularly if it's sat in someone's bottleshop in the middle of summer for two months."
For sensory training they involve staff from across the brewing and packaging teams and, while they frequently train staff to detect faults, detecting specific faults isn't essential.
"We stick to what's true to type, so even if a person can't exactly say what they think the problem is, we still take down all sorts of notes."
And, while Gage Roads might have a bigger quality team and more gear than many of their peers, there's also more risk: more beer being sent to more places and more staff means more room for human error; and the bigger breweries get, the more there is to keep clean, bringing sodium hydroxide – or caustic – into play.
"It's a risk for every single brewery but the bigger and more complicated the brewery is, the bigger the risks become," Clare says.
"We have lots of checks in place. We always check the pH and alcohol of the first product that comes off the line and that tells us what's in that first bottle is what it's meant to be; it's not being watered down or somehow got caustic in it."
Medium: Hawkers
The morning ritual in the laboratory at Hawkers is a sensory analysis session with four or five staff from all areas of the brewery's operations – not just those directly involved in brewing.
"We get everyone participating in the sensory analysis because it's about educating everyone in the brewery," says senior technical brewer Alex Lovelock.
The sensory session involves looking at the appearance, aroma and taste of a selection of up to ten beers that have just been packaged as well as older retention product to see how it is holding up over time periods of up to 12 months. The panel has no idea of the age of each beer and scores are entered into a comprehensive database.
"We are all quite familiar with what the beers are and how they should look, smell and taste and this is where having four or five people doing the sensory analysis becomes important," he says.
After four years Hawkers has brewed more than 950 batches of beer – both their own and for others – and information on every batch is captured in the company's database – what Alex calls "the heart of our quality control program".
Analysis of packaged beer is only one part of the sensory process, with the brewing team conducting sensory analysis at the end of fermentation (both before and after dry-hopping) and from the bright beer tank. The most important test during production is for diacetyl – a by-product of yeast fermentation (often described as buttery or butterscotch like) that is produced naturally by fermenting yeast and then reabsorbed at the end of fermentation.
"The sensory data gets transferred to our fermentation sheets and the final analysis goes into our database for each individual beer that we make," Alex says. "We are looking for any faults in the beer and from the results we can address any production issues we may have and make improvements to our processes."
There's a host of other tests conducted prior to and during production, such as those for equipment hygiene, wort stability, water quality, gravity, alcohol volume and bitterness.
Quality control also extends to packaging (where the biggest threat is oxygen pick-up), storage and distribution. Hawkers hold samples of each batch for a year; all packaged beers are date stamped and a sample is taken from the packaging line every hour so, if there is an issue, it can be isolated.
Quality management has developed as the business has expanded from four staff to 50, from what Alex describes as "very basic minimal analysis" in the early days to a full quality management program. Today, there is a dedicated laboratory on site in the Melbourne suburb of Reservoir, with three cellar/laboratory staff working specifically on quality control – although Alex, like Dan, is quick to point out that quality is a whole team approach.
"The more you are brewing the bigger the consequences if things fail," he says. "So it's all about continuous improvement."
The company continues to invest in more advanced laboratory equipment – such as $40,000 on an updated dissolved oxygen and CO2 meter – and in late 2018 employed pharmacist Melinda Foulkes to enhance the technical skills in the lab.
"It was a big step up to get a brewing chemist on board," Alex says. "But, as you are producing more and more volume, you need specialists in different areas."
Hawkers also use external suppliers, sending samples to Symbio Laboratories twice a week for microbiological testing.
"The craft beer market has matured in the last three or four years – people are more educated and a lot more choosy because there is variety," Alex says. "If you start putting out product that is not meeting expectations or is inconsistent then you will lose customers."
Small: Whitelakes Brewing
The brewery team at Whitelakes, located in Balvidis south of Perth, numbers just two so you won't find the same level of equipment or resources as at Gage Roads or Hawkers. At this stage, however, they don't package and, as a result, head brewer Sean Symons says their QA program can be streamlined.
"We keep things very simple," he says. "We do very basic micro, we do quality and taste analysis, and a measurement of alcohol. We don't get much more complicated than that because we just need to guarantee the product is going to last 12 weeks – which isn't a great hurdle in draught beer – and we're comfortable that we can deliver on that promise.
"When you start putting it into package, and you're looking at much longer shelf life, then that becomes a little trickier."
While they invested in a dissolved oxygen and CO2 meter – and Sean's brewery design features a few non-standard bells and whistles – the rest of their lab is made up of a good microscope and a gravity meter to check their ABV.
"We're nuts and bolts brewers, so with a microscope and a little bit of nous you can do not quantitative analysis, but qualitative stuff," Sean says.
"We employ a microscope to do basic cell counts and yeasts counts to make sure our yeast pitching and management is as good as it can be. We do a lot of lagers and they're delicate little beasts, so yeast management is a key part of making sure you can deliver on a craft lager from batch to batch."
Sean says breweries that send their beers out into the world in cans and bottles, however, should be aware of the need for a substantial increase in lab and quality equipment. Before launching Whitelakes, Sean spent more than two decades working for breweries big and small, including a period at Swan Brewery prior to its closure by Lion in 2012.
"At Swan we had blokes with 40 years' experience doing the same job day, in day out, with all the procedures, all the written manuals and all of the accreditations under the sun," he says. "Every year we'd still budget for something to go wrong. Even with all that stuff in place, we still had something up our sleeves because we knew there would be something we wouldn't foresee happening.
"For a smaller packing line where people aren't doing the job every day or it's mobile, where someone else is operating it, well, it's fraught with danger. So, everything you can do to mitigate that risk is really important."
When it comes to allocating your limited resources, he believes breweries should focus on what's most essential.
"It's often a really tricky calculation, because the equipment is expensive," he says. "Then how far do you go to give your brewery the protection it needs and the quality the product deserves out in the marketplace?
"If you've got an expensive bit of machinery and are only using it once a week then it's not really making your money work for you.
"The primary objective is to keep the product as the brewer intended; it's about how much money do you throw at that to maintain a shelf life that the consumer is going to understand and be happy to pay for?"
Will Ziebell also contributed to this article.
You can find other entries in our long-running Big Issues series, ranging from sexism in the beer industry to labeling and from IP to managing consumption, here.
And, if you're reading this in time and heading to BrewCon 2019 in Melbourne, you'll find Dan presenting in the Bintani Room at 11.30am on September 5 and Clare in the IBA Trade Hub at 1.15pm on September 4 and on a panel discussing Managing Quality Of Product Outside Of The Brewhouse in the Cryer Malt Room at 11am on September 5. Full program here.
Philip Goslin is a Melbourne-based writer who likes watching Australian Rules football, playing and listening to acoustic guitar and fly-fishing in small mountain streams for trout — the common thread in these passions is always craft beer. He has a real thirst for funky farmhouse style ales but is just as happy with a sour, a hoppy IPA or a big imperial stout.
Articles by Philip
big issue quality faults training
The Big Issue: Exploitation
The official line is that craft beer is a resoundingly good thing. And that working in the industry means you're the luckiest person alive. Yet what happens when someone's goodwill or eagerness to be part of it is exploited beyond all reasonable limits? read on
The Big Issue: Ownership
Takeovers and buy-ins, supermarket craft and vague labelling. Both here and internationally, the issue of ownership and its impact on the beer world is constantly in the news. Over two days, we look at what it means for craft beer and those who drink it in Australia. read on
The Big Issue: Withdrawing The Line
There's been a clutch of product withdrawals in the local craft beer and cider industry in recent months. Here, we ask why, look at what steps brewery owners are taking and why knowing how to handle a quality issue is key. read on
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Some parts of the Himalayas are dangerous these. Maoists and government police and troops have been battling in Nepal the past few years. No tourists or trekkers have been injured in this bloody conflict, yet. And the Maoists have said they want trekkers to come to Nepal. But in this type of bloodshed, danger is there. Recent reports indicate captured police have been stripped and shot. Some have been beheaded. As the violence in this part of the Himalayas escalates it makes it more dangerous for everyone who is there.
As a visitor to the Himalayas you'll want to check the situation carefully. Not only might Nepal turn dangerous, but so can areas of Pakistan where Americans and other Westerners might not be welcome. In part of the India Himalayas, fighting has been going on for years, and there have been Westerners killed there.
For the most part, the best and most interesting parts of the Himalayas are the more remote areas - the places where Himalayan culture is still intact. Hunt for that. The violence and internal strife are actually not the norm here. Most is peaceful. And the people of the Himalayas are some of the most compassionate anywhere.
It's here that you will find the best trekking and the best cultural experiences. And it's here you will find the best experiences in the Himalayas.
A few people use Everest as an ego trip. But for most people in the Himalayas, Everest is a sacred place. It's where one acquires an outlook on life that inspires growth and knowledge.
And in fact, much of the Himalayas are like that. The mountains are so big as to make humans insignificant. And that's the idea behind going there, for many. As the snow capped peak rise far away, one get a sense of just what a special place the Himalayas are. Home of Yeti, the abominable snowman, an amazing Himalayan culture, and legend.


Macédoine is a chopped salad of various ingredients. The name refers to the diverse mix of people in Alexander the Great's Macedonia and the term can be used on any medley of disparate items. Here SWMBO offers a macédoine of the last couple of weeks in Macedonia.
Usually referred to as the Motley Mosque in English, it is one of the most beautiful mosques in the Balkans and unusual in its intricately painted exterior. Built in 1459, the two women who paid to have the mosque erected are interred in the building. The grounds are exquisite. This mosque is located in the Albanian town of Tetovo. An Albanian town in Macedonia? What gives? Stay tuned for a future blog post on what "Albanian" actually means.
This teeny, tiny treasure is found in the old town of Ohrid. The entrance is free and the whole visit takes about 10 minutes, making it the perfect museum for the modern attention span! You can purchase beautiful prints made onsite. We, of course, wanted to buy the print that was made right in front of us but the paper maker was reluctant to sell it because it was smudged. We convinced him that we would be happier with the wabi sabi version (the Japanese idea of wabi sabi being beauty in imperfection). Well worth 150 dinars ($3.75).
The paper is made using a technique invented in China in the 2nd century BC and the workshop claims to be one of only seven in the world still using this technique. Not sure what that means. They mix hard wood shavings, cotton and water and let the sludge sit for 23 to 31 days. Then sometimes flowers and seeds are added for decoration and it is pressed into paper.
The prints are made individually by hand on a 150 year old copy of the Gutenberg press. The copper plates are carved by local artists and last for at least 2000 copies.
Ohrid in the summertime, is host to one festival after another. Now, it's the Old Timer Festival (vintage cars). Piano Summer Ohrid runs from August 17-27. When we drove the three hours from Skopje to Ohrid yesterday, we were always in the midst of a group of pristine show cars. Old porsches, skodas and fords. Now we know why!
We rode on the highway with these two!
SWMBO, Venice and Lastborn on their own type of old timer!
Heraclea is located just outside the southern city of Bitola. It is an interesting, partially unearthed archaeological site. We all enjoyed it despite the heat. The city was founded by Philip of Macedonia in the 4th century BC and remained important under Roman rule and in Early Christian times. The site contains some spectacular early Christian mosaics. While the entrance fee is minimal, the fee to take pictures is about 3 times as much as an entrance ticket. Ergo, the photos below are from the web.
The Bay of Bones Museum is an underwater archaeology museum on the shores of Lake Ohrid. Around 3000 years ago, a community lived in a stilt village built out on the lake. Extensive underwater archaeology has been undertaken here and in 2008, the village was recreated to show what they believe it would have been like. There is also a small museum building and a dive centre where you can take a scuba lesson, then head out to view some archaeological remains still underwater.
We spent a pleasant half hour sitting in the shade by the water's edge watching a handful of people getting a scuba lesson. We were impressed with the dive teachers and the more we sat, the more awesome it looked. Result? Fahbio, Onlyboy and Paris are going back tomorrow to give it a go.


Constantine (Dino) - entrepreneur, public speaker, author - founder of StudySmart & International Curriculum Development Expert consultant for PwC. He is a world-class inspirational professional who has delivered over 15,000 hours of professional qualifications and corporate training in the past 20 years in over 40 countries globally. Dino has developed the curriculum, methodology and mapping procedure for PwC's Mini MBA programme being offered globally by PwC Academies. ACCA has named him in 2017 as a 'tutor guru' to help in rolling out its Strategic Business Leader (SBL) exam and has licensed his innovative interactive flowchart as a resource for candidates.


As we continue to progress through our negotiations, we are pleased to announce that the Federal Mediator has scheduled us for two additional negotiating sessions. Our next meeting at the table with Allegiant Management will be on March 14th-16th in the Kansas City area. We have an additional session scheduled for April 11th-13th. We are looking forward to receiving a response from Management regarding the comprehensive proposal we presented at our last meeting.
We have been apprised of the recent written and verbal communications from Allegiant Management regarding the number of changes in our new proposal, in addition to the cost increases to the company they are claiming. As stated in our opening statement prior to the resumption of negotiations, our comprehensive proposal was based on industry and company standards, and we developed this proposal based on our workgroups' responses to our comprehensive Negotiations Survey. While there were many changes, most were based on current industry practices, and the cost of the proposal is well within Flight Attendant costs in our industry and the cost structure of Allegiant.
As Allegiant has demonstrated in the past, Management will try to deal directly with our Members. Please be assured that your elected Negotiating Team is working on your behalf. While we may eventually need our Members to take part in coordinated activities to send strategic messages to Management, we will do our best to negotiate at the table. Don't be surprised if Management tries to influence you to accept less than you deserve, and remember one simple phrase: "My Team Speaks for Me!" This will give us the unity and strength to be successful. Thank you for your support and for standing behind your TEAM!


text:
Helgicirrha malayensis is een hydroïdpoliep uit de familie Eirenidae. De poliep komt uit het geslacht Helgicirrha. Helgicirrha malayensis werd in 1928 voor het eerst wetenschappelijk beschreven door Stiasny.

Eirenidae


text:
Dr Bernardo Kastrup on Myth, Allegory & Symbol
Saturday 23rd October 2021
3:00pm – 4:30pm (UK Time) via Zoom
An interview and discussion with Dr Bernardo Kastrup at the Centre for Myth, Cosmology and the Sacred
We are delighted to welcome the scientist and philosopher Dr Bernardo Kastrup to discuss the power of mythic and symbolic understanding for our age. We will talk with Bernardo about his book 'More than Allegory' and the relationship of intellect, emotion and belief in religious and mythic narratives and their importance today, followed by a discussion and Q&A with participants. As Jeffrey Kripal has pointed out in his Introduction, this book is essentially "an exploration of how cosmic consciousness projects itself into narrative forms, into story, or what we have come to call 'myth', and then wakes up out of that same story or myth to know itself not as other but as Self." So how do we achieve this reflexive awareness? Join us as we talk about new myths for modern times, the meaning of literal and symbolic truth, and the role of belief in our materialist society.
For those who cannot attend live, there will be a recording available after the session has taken place. Simply book a ticket via the button below, and the recording link will be sent with the joining instructions.
BOOKING: Please note we are now using WorldPay for most of our transactions. Please be reassured that if you have a WorldPay receipt, we have received your payment. Therefore, your WorldPay receipt is confirmation of your registration. We will send you the Zoom link 24 hours prior to the start of the event. Please check your spam folder. Any queries, please contact us: info@mythcosmologysacred.com
Dr Bernardo Kastrup
is the executive director of Essentia Foundation, https://www.essentiafoundation.org/. His work has been leading the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism, the notion that reality is essentially mental. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another Ph.D. in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence). As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the 'Casimir Effect' of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). Formulated in detail in many academic papers and books, his ideas have been featured on 'Scientific American,' the 'Institute of Art and Ideas,' the 'Blog of the American Philosophical Association' and 'Big Think,' among others. For Bernardo, metaphysical Idealism is a philosophy which not only makes sense of the world but also provides a practical orientation for conscious living. He is the author of many books: Meaning in Absurdity, Dreamed up Reality, Rationalist Spirituality, Brief Peeks Beyond, Materialism is Baloney, More than Allegory, The Idea of the World, and more recently, Decoding Schopenhauer's Metaphysics, Decoding Jung's Metaphysics, and Science Ideated. Idealism argues the case for a universal mind, or 'mind at large' which is the primary ground and origin of all matter, and in this Bernardo follows in the footsteps of the Platonic and Hermetic philosophies, critiquing the contemporary dominance of a materialist worldview with great clarity, vitality and rational argument. For more information, freely downloadable papers, videos, etc., visit his website at www.bernardokastrup.com.


50% of WorldMatch stake has been acquired by Octavian Gaming Solutions. The Verona-headquartered company made the announcement this week that they acquired half of the companies stake for an undisclosed amount. With Octavian's experience, the new company structure will capitalize with gaming content production across Italy, England and Russia.


text:
namespace eightPuzzle {

template <class T>
class Queue
{
private:
    class QueueElement {
      private:
        T *value_;
        QueueElement *next_;

      public:
        inline QueueElement(T *value, QueueElement *next)
        {
            value_ = value;
            next_ = next;
        }

        inline T * value() const { return value_; }
        inline void set_value(T * value) { value_ = value; }

        inline QueueElement * next() const { return next_; }
        inline void set_next(QueueElement * next) { next_ = next; }
    };

    QueueElement *first_;
    QueueElement *last_;
    int size_;

public:
    inline Queue()
    {
        first_ = nullptr;
        last_ = nullptr;
        size_ = 0;
    }

    inline bool IsEmpty() const
    {
        return size_ == 0;
    }

    inline int size() const
    {
        return size_;
    }

    inline void QueueItem(T * item)
    {
        QueueElement *new_element = new QueueElement(item, nullptr);

        if (IsEmpty()) {
            first_ = new_element;
        }
        else {
            last_->set_next(new_element);
        }

        last_ = new_element;

        size_++;
    }

    inline T * DequeueItem()
    {
        T * value = nullptr;

        if (size() > 0) {
            QueueElement * first = first_;
            value = first->value();

            if (first == last_) {
                first_ = nullptr;
                last_ = nullptr;
            }
            else {
                first_ = first->next();
            }

            delete first;
            size_--;
        }

        return value;
    }
};

}
#endif // QUEUE_H