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North macedonia Apartments
Ohrid Apartments
Apartments in Ohrid
: of 2 Apartments available
2 Apartments in Ohrid, North Macedonia
When do you want to stay in Ohrid?
Villa Velestovo
Welcome to Villa Velestovo on Ohrid!... More...
Luccia Apartments
No rating 87
WELCOME INTO THE HEART OF OHRID !
Luccia Apartments - Ohrid City Centre is located in Ohrid, in the very centre of Ohrid, just steps away from the Old Town, the main pedestrian and trading street, an... More...
We have 2 apartments in Ohrid with an average rating of 9.5 based on 2,174 reviews 2 of 2 properties available in Ohrid
About Ohrid
Ohrid is Macedonia's Ottoman gem on the shore of the deep and ancient Lake Ohrid. A terracotta old town dotted with dozens of churches sits below wooded hills, while pebbled beaches provide plenty of opportunities to swim in the cool water. Spend afternoons sampling the best of Balkan cuisine or browsing for the famous Ohrid pearls, made by coating an emulsion with secret ingredients onto small pieces of mother-of-pearl. There's lots of hiking too, whether you venture into the nearby national parks or simply wander the lakeside paths.
You can choose from a rustic Ohrid hostel in the hills, a modern building with crisp white interiors and balconies or a villa with a terrace and gardens overlooking the town. Several Ohrid hostels arrange activities like boat trips, while others offer free breakfast. Most have dorms for solo travellers and some also have apartments you could book as a group if you're travelling with friends.
The old town of Ohrid tumbles down the hillside in a series of cobbled lanes lined with Ottoman homes, many now converted into shops and restaurants. Most streets lead to the waterfront, where you can stroll along the boardwalk that runs the length of the bay. For bars and low-key nightlife, head to Kosta Abras, just off the waterfront. North of the promenade is the fishing village of Kaneo and its famous viewpoint. To eat like the locals, make the 30-minute drive to the hillside village of Vevčani for speciality cheese and nettle pies.
The panoramic views over the lake from Sveti Jovan Church in Kaneo are a travellers' favourite. Just uphill, you'll find the medieval ruins of Samuel's Fortress and the amphitheatre that hosts concerts every summer. Continue on from Kaneo to check out the reconstructed prehistoric settlement at the Bay of Bones Museum; you could even go diving to see the underwater remains of the original settlement. For hiking, travel 30 minutes to the forests of Galičica National Park, where you can climb Magaro Peak.
To reach Ohrid, you can fly to the city's St Paul the Apostle Airport. You could also travel by bus from Macedonia's capital, Skopje (3.5 hours), from Belgrade in Serbia (9 hours) or Tirana in Albania (4 hours). There's no public transport from the airport and the bus station is outside the town centre, so you'll need to take a taxi from either. Local minibuses go to the sights around the lake, although schedules can be sporadic so arrange your return in advance.


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Video via TNGHT
'Hip-Hop Evolution': How Three Canadians Made the Emmy-Winning, Definitive Docuseries on Rap
Stretch and Bobbito on Their Debut Album 'No Requests' and the Current State of Hip-Hop
TNGHT Announces Return EP, 'II,' With New Single "Dollaz"
Bykhal
resident old | @khal
Seven years after the release of their ahead-of-its-time self-titled EP, Lunice and Hudson Mohawke returned as TNGHT with an impressive new single, "Serpent," last month. Today, the duo announced that their second EP, II, will be released via Warp and LuckyMe on Nov. 12.
Keen listeners heard new material via their recently-released Essential Mix, and should be hype for this seven-track project, which not only includes "Serpent," but also the newly-released single "Dollaz," which you can check out up above. About the record, Lunice says that "while it doesn't sound the same as the first record—the energy is. This could only come from us." That's clear in both tunes, which sound distinctly TNGHT-y, but definitely not stuck in the sound of the past.
Check out the full tracklist for II below.
1. "Serpent"
2. "Dollaz"
3. "First Body"
4. "Club Finger"
5. "What It Is"
6. "I'm In a Hole"
7. "Gimme Summn"
NewsVideosHudson MohawkeLuniceTNGHTLuckyMeWarp

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Relating to gaming laptops, there are a ton of choices to select from. There are manufacturers, together with Razer, MSI, Asus, Acer, and extra. Then there's the sheer number of laptops that rely themselves as gaming laptops; laptops with an MX150 generally rely themselves as gaming laptops in a price range. The pricing is an enormous are itself, and whereas plenty of firms provide gaming laptops within the price range to mid-range costs, the alternatives turn into lesser and lesser as you strategy the higher-end of the spectrum.
The Acer Predator Trition 700 is in that higher-end of the spectrum. At Rs. 2,99,999, this laptop computer is in no way a mid-ranger. It's clearly, unarguably, within the premium section of gaming laptops, and when you're questioning the way it performs, effectively that is our evaluate of the Acer Predator Triton 700.
When it comes to design, the Acer Predator Triton 700 is one classy-looking laptop computer — one thing I can't say about plenty of gaming laptops as a result of they're often constructed to look menacing and beastly. The Triton 700 takes a distinct tack on this regard, with it's glossy, stealthy black physique with none accents. The laptop computer provides off a really minimal vibe, apart from the apparent "Predator" emblem on the lid with a blue outer-glow (which I'm not a fan of), and as skinny as that is, it might be a laptop computer for normal use as effectively, nevertheless it's not (extra on that later).
As soon as I opened the lid, nonetheless, Acer makes it fairly clear that this here's a gaming laptop computer and it's outer seems are only for that… "seems." From the within, the Triton 700 seems, for the dearth of a greater phrase, horny. There's nonetheless that matte-black end all around the chassis, and there's a glass pane above the keyboard that provides a sneak peak into one of many Triton 700's two cooling followers (which has RGB lighting, by the best way), some heatpipes and a bit little bit of the bodily board beneath. The glass itself has a black tint to it making the underlying circuitry look that a lot cooler. Nonetheless, the glass pane isn't there only for the seems, it serves a objective. A bizarre, 'this-is-simply-difficult-to-use' objective, however a objective nonetheless — it homes the trackpad. Yeah, the Triton 700 incorporates a trackpad that's positioned above the keyboard.
For all it's glossy seems, the Triton is a really effectively constructed laptop computer, and one which doesn't really feel prefer it'll break when you slam the lid shut (consider me, there are laptops that really feel flimsy as all hell), however that's one thing you'd count on from a laptop computer that's priced as a lot because the Triton 700. The laptop computer options its energy button on the best facet, which is definitely fairly intuitive if you concentrate on it, however a lifetime of utilizing laptops with power-buttons someplace in (or round) the keyboard meant that I needed to get used to this specific placement.
One factor I personally appreciated was that I might open the lid with a single hand, as an alternative of getting to carry the bottom of the laptop computer with one hand and opening it with one other. That is one thing I've gotten used to over my years of utilizing a Mac, and one thing that almost all Home windows laptops, for some unusual purpose, can't be counted on for. I've solely ever seen the Dell 7000-series gaming laptop computer that my colleague Pranob makes use of as his day by day, and this Triton 700 do this.
For some purpose, Acer determined in opposition to implementing Home windows Hey within the laptop computer, which implies you may't log in along with your fingerprint or facial recognition. That will not be an enormous deal to lots of people, however once more, for Rs. 2,99,999, you type of count on the perfect of every little thing.
Total, the design and construct high quality of the Triton 700 is great throughout, and offers off a really stealthy, but beastly really feel to the laptop computer. I adore it.
So far as I/O and connectivity goes, the Predator Triton 700 has an abundance of ports for no matter you might must do. The laptop computer contains three full measurement USB Three.zero ports, one USB 2.zero port, a thunderbolt Three/USB Three.1 Sort-C port, an HDMI out, and a DisplayPort as effectively. Coming from a 2017 MacBook Professional, these many ports have been one thing of a shocker to me, however they're not too many, to be utterly goal about it.
For web connectivity, the Triton 700 options an ordinary RJ-45 port that helps Gigabit networking due to the Killer Wi-fi AC 1535 network-card, together with help for Wi-Fi ac commonplace and Bluetooth four.2. Additionally, since this can be a gaming laptop computer, it not solely incorporates a headphone jack, but additionally a devoted microphone-in port.
The Acer Predator Triton 700 comes with a 15.6-inch FullHD IPS LCD show with a 120Hz refresh fee. Clearly, at this worth one may count on both the next high quality show, or a refresh fee of 144Hz perhaps. Whereas I can't converse to Acer's choice to go along with a 120Hz panel, the 1080p show is apparent as a result of larger refresh charges aren't potential with one thing like a 4K show, in order that's out of the query. A whole lot of gaming laptops today are opting to go along with larger refresh charges as an alternative of upper resolutions, together with the MSI GE73 Raider that we not too long ago reviewed.
High quality-wise, the show on this Triton 700 laptop computer is beautiful. It may possibly get fairly shiny, it's positively sharp, and colours on the show look actually good. Plus, the viewing angles on this show are fairly good too. Oh, and the show has help for Nvidia G-Sync, which implies much less tearing, lowered enter lag and show stutter.
The audio system on the Triton 700 are superb. The laptop computer has speaker grilles on each side of the keyboard which quantities to a arrange that may get fairly loud when you want it to be. The grilles are coated with material, which is ok, besides in a rustic like India, you'll not have the ability to clear the filth that accumulates contained in the grille for concern of tearing out the fabric. Anyway, I didn't discover any points with the sound even on max quantity, and the outputs are nice throughout. The bass is nice, and throughout ranges that the audio system produce are fairly nice.
That stated, you'll not have the ability to use the audio system whereas gaming for certain. The followers on the Triton 700 can get actually actually loud. So loud, in truth, that sounds from video games like CS: GO, and PUBG are all however inaudible over the din of the followers. For all different functions of media consumption, together with watching films and YouTube movies, the Triton 700's audio system are loud sufficient after which some.
The Predator Triton 700 comes with a full-sized RGB mechanical keyboard — one thing that was anticipated contemplating the value of the laptop computer. The keyboard comes with a ton of lighting results that may be custom-made utilizing the bundled Predator Sense software program, and you may even change the backlight colour for every particular person key in order for you. There are some presets together with highlighted WASD keys that will probably be common amongst players, and you'll clearly create your personal.
One factor that I might've appreciated to see is the power to regulate the keyboard back-light brightness, however sadly, the Triton 700 doesn't allow you to do this. You'll be able to solely flip the back-lighting on/off.
The keyboard itself, although, is fairly rattling good. I imply, it's a mechanical keyboard, so it's tactile and has a good journey which makes it nice for lengthy periods of utilizing the laptop computer.Plus it has full-sized arrow keys which is certainly a plus.
Typing with this keyboard is enjoyable, nevertheless it did take me a while to get used to the journey since I'm accustomed to the butterfly switches on the MacBook Professional. I might've cherished the keyboard much more if there was a palm-rest on the laptop computer, however the design of the keyboard, and the position of the trackpad makes it unattainable to incorporate a palm relaxation with out making the laptop computer impossibly enormous. That stated, the laptop computer is kind of glossy, and after some time I discovered that I used to be used to typing on it with no palm relaxation as effectively, so it's principally a matter of time.
In my utilization of the laptop computer as my day by day driver for over per week now, I seen one minor annoyance with the keyboard. If the laptop computer lid is stored closed for a very long time, the keyboard backlight generally fails to return again on as soon as the laptop computer is unlocked and getting used. It takes an extra minute or so to allow the backlight on the keyboard. This solely occurs not often, and it might simply be a problem with the unit we acquired. It's not an enormous deal, however for a laptop computer of this worth and caliber, I count on every little thing to be excellent.
The trackpad on the Acer Predator Triton 700 might be the one factor in the complete laptop computer that I'm not a fan of. I imply, certain, it seems uber-awesome in the best way it's a see by way of pane of glass and reveals off the cooling fan beneath it together with some warmth pipes. It's virtually an extremely effectively designed trackpad, besides when you think about usability.
It's virtually an extremely effectively designed trackpad, besides when you think about usability.
From the attitude of truly utilizing the trackpad, the one on the Triton is totally unusable. I imply, simply think about utilizing a trackpad that's above your keyboard. Not simply that, the warmth pipes passing beneath the trackpad make it extremely sizzling to the touch when doing something apart from informal looking or word-processing.
Nonetheless, I do get why Acer determined that it wouldn't be an enormous deal. The corporate used the trackpad to spotlight the internals of the laptop computer, and showcase the cooling fan with RGB lighting, all as a result of they know players received't be utilizing the trackpad anyway. Most critical players (and that's who this laptop computer is geared toward) will at all times use a devoted gaming mouse as an alternative of counting on the trackpad.
Additionally, the complete glass pane on the highest isn't a trackpad. There's a good sized chunk of the pane that's the trackpad, and it's demarcated in very barely seen angular traces on the corners.
Apart from the truth that it's utterly unusable, the trackpad on the Triton 700 is fairly good.
Speaking concerning the efficiency of the Triton 700, let me put it this fashion — the laptop computer incorporates a Seventh-gen Core i7 clocked at 2.8GHz, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, a 1 TB SSD, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 with the Max-Q design all stuffed in that chassis. Clearly, the efficiency on this factor is thoughts blowing.
I examined out the efficiency with a number of video games that I personally prefer to play, and the Triton 700 dealt with them like a boss (I imply, duh).
I began out with a recreation that's decidedly a cake-walk for this laptop computer — CS:GO. I do know that is effectively under what you'd play on a laptop computer like this, however I simply examined out each recreation I play. With CS: GO, the Triton 700 obtained a mean frame-rate of 169 FPS reaching as excessive as 209 FPS with all of the settings turned to max. That was very a lot anticipated.
I loaded up Rocket League subsequent, and the laptop computer dealt with it like a champ too. With all settings turned as much as max, and determination set to Full HD, Rocket League ran at a mean of 228 FPS, going as much as 250 FPS (at which level I assume it obtained restricted because of the in-game FPS restrict).
I additionally tried out PUBG on the Triton 700, and that infamously unoptimized recreation, on max settings churned out a mean of round 60 FPS, going as excessive as 120 FPS. I'm gonna name that an superior efficiency, particularly contemplating that this laptop computer has a GTX 1080 constructed on the Max-Q design.
Lastly, I performed Far Cry 5 on the laptop computer (and virtually obtained carried away with it, by the best way) and on Extremely settings with Full HD decision, the sport obtained a mean body fee of 55 FPs and a max body fee of 59 FPS. Nonetheless, when examined with the in-game benchmarking instrument, it confirmed up a mean body fee of round 60 FPS, and a max fee of 80+ FPS.
In artificial benchmarks as effectively, the Triton 700 is like sizzling knife by way of butter. The laptop computer scores a whopping 14061 in Hearth Strike on 3DMark, 3891 in PCMark 10, and will get upwards of 94 FPS on Cinebench OpenGL take a look at. For a laptop computer this glossy, with a Max-Q design, these numbers are actually nice, and the laptop computer doesn't depart quite a bit to be desired when it comes to uncooked energy.
The Predator Triton 700 incorporates a twin fan system and makes use of two Aeroblade 3D followers designed particularly to maximise air move inside the skinny chassis of the laptop computer. One among these two followers is seen by way of the glass trackpad space above the keyboard, and options RGB lighting as effectively.
The laptop computer comes with 5 warmth pipes to make sure a cool operating efficiency and for the reason that warmth pipes fall instantly beneath the trackpad, it turns into fairly sizzling. I checked the temperatures with an IR thermometer, and the trackpad will get over 50 levels Celsius inside 30 minutes of taking part in a recreation like PUBG. Nonetheless, this can be a tradeoff that enables for the keyboard to stay extraordinarily cool throughout gaming, and because you'll be utilizing a mouse anyway, that is truly a tradeoff value making.
Apart from that, I didn't discover any thermal throttling on the laptop computer even with intensive gaming periods. Whereas the CPU temperatures, in keeping with the Predator Sense software program, went as excessive as 89 levels, and the GPU temperatures went as much as 83 levels, the laptop computer stored performing completely effectively.
I used to be additionally actually impressed by the cooling. Inside a couple of minutes of shutting down a recreation, the laptop computer drops again to regular temperature. I need to say, the Aeroblade 3D followers that Acer has used within the Triton 700 are positively superb.
The one one place the place I felt the Triton 700 let me down is the battery life. Since this can be a glossy laptop computer, particularly by gaming laptop computer requirements, I anticipated a smaller-than-usual battery on this. Nonetheless, the Three-cell four,670 mAh battery that powers the Triton 700 is exceedingly tiny for the quantity of energy this laptop computer wants.
In its default settings, with 'finest battery life' chosen within the battery settings, the Triton 700 barely lasted round 1.5 hours doing nothing however looking on Firefox with round 5-6 tabs open on common. Not one of the tabs have been even taking part in audio or video, they have been principally textual content/picture content material. That shocked me as a result of 1.5 hours of battery life on web-browsing with 'finest battery life' chosen is a horrible efficiency.
I additionally gathered up plenty of braveness and examined out the laptop computer's battery efficiency in 'finest efficiency' mode and it lasted round an hour with the identical workload of looking on Firefox with 5-6 tabs open on common.
The battery life shouldn't be an issue for players, as a result of they'll most likely hold the laptop computer related to an outlet whereas gaming for higher efficiency. Nonetheless, the glossy form-factor of the Triton 700 made me assume that perhaps this might be a day by day driver for me. For sure, the battery life makes it very clear that this laptop computer (no matter its kind issue) shouldn't be meant for day-after-day use, and is particularly geared toward players.
All issues thought-about, the Acer Predator Triton 700 is an absolute beast on the subject of gaming efficiency, speaker high quality, design, and construct. The laptop computer screams 'gaming' from the within, and but from the surface, it's a really discreet, minimal, and stealthy wanting factor that most individuals received't, at first sight, acknowledge as a gaming machine.
With the Seventh-gen Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and the Nvidia GTX 1080 GPU (Max-Q design), the Predator Triton 700 affords top-tier efficiency inside a glossy design. For my part, I'm glad Acer went with the GTX 1080 based mostly on the Max-Q design because it trades off little or no when it comes to efficiency for an enormous acquire when it comes to design and over-all portability.
So sure, when you're on the lookout for a top-tier gaming laptop computer, the Predator Triton 700 is one thing you must positively try. It doesn't carry the flashy lights far and wide look that almost all gaming laptops do, nevertheless it brings quite a bit to the desk when it comes to efficiency.


Typical. Just typical. Just as my mission to persuade anyone who'll listen that The Neat, the greatest band of our generation was beginning to find success, the fuckers had to go and end it all. With only three singles by means of evidence, it seems all future attempts will fall on death ears, as a group who should have changed the face of planet Earth fade from virtual unknowns to, well, complete unknowns.
But wait! All is not lost! Remember, Easter falls early this year, and perhaps as a reflection Hull's finest have essentially undergone their own resurrection, relaunching themselves with a fresh slate, a fresh sound and a fresh name. Now operating as LIFE, they have already unleashed the brand spanking new tune "In Citrus," and although quite a departure it's anything but a drop off in terms of sheer aural holyfuckingshittery. With Frankie & The Heartstrings' Mick Ross once more handling production duties, the track is a polished ditty which - aside from Mez Green's vocal quirks - leaves behind every trace of the scattershot post-punk madness of their previous guise, instead favouring glorious, instantly gratifying power pop hooks. It may only be an opening salvo, but if this is anything to go by, these boys could yet become the all-conquering cultural phenomenon the world is waiting for.
Listen to "In Citrus" here.


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Watch 'One Sunny Day' with our fast and smooth mobile player, optimized for your phone and tablet
Sorry, this content is not available in your region. Click here to learn more
Beautiful things happen in beautiful places.
Ji Ho (So Ji Sub) is sent to Jeju Island for work. He works for an events company that is organizing a festival on the scenic Jeju Island. There, he keeps running into a beautiful woman (Kim Ji Won) who also goes there for her work for a publishing company.
Intrigued by the confident and vivacious woman, Ji Ho is drawn to her and wants to spend time with her. Could it be love?
"One Sunny Day" is a 2014 Korean web drama directed by Kwon Hyuk Chan. It is the first drama produced by LINE exclusively for Thai audiences and made available to viewers on the messaging app.
Sorry, this content is not licensed for your region.
Kim Ji Won
Sunny Love
Arabic, Greek, English, Spanish, French, Indonesian, Italian, Romanian, Tagalog, Turkish, Vietnamese and 31 more languages


An extraordinarily tame magpie has taken up residence in a Nottinghamshire village and won the hearts of locals.
Bernard the magpie was hand-reared at Brinsley Rescue Centre and when he was released into the wild, he flew back.
He now sleeps at the centre, taps on the window for his breakfast in the morning and spends his days visiting neighbours in the village who chat to him, feed him and keep him company.
Bernard visits Gayle Barnes for a bath and a snack of mealworms each day, and often perches on Dan Cauldwell's work bench keeping him company while he works in his garage.
A huge search party was recently launched after one neighbour - fed up with Bernard's visits - drove him to Moorgreen and let him go.
Outraged villagers - many in tears over Bernard's disappearance - searched the area and eventually found him a week later at Beauvale Priory.
When Bernard isn't visiting the neighbours he is following rescue centre owners Jon Beresford and Beth Hewis around the sanctuary, perched on their head or shoulders, or perched on Jeff the sheep.
The magpie shares a stable with Borris the Bull and wakes up at about 6am.
"He'll land on the window and just start tapping," said Jon.
Cheeky Bernard gets up to all sorts of tricks, but residents in Brinsley have fallen head over heels in love with him, said the rescue centre manager.
"We ate outside a couple of weeks ago and he was drinking out of our glasses and pinching the croutons in our salad.
"Then he went into our bedroom and started throwing Beth's makeup out the window!," he said.
"The neighbours absolutely adore him. When he went missing people were crying over it.
"They have become fascinated by him and really attached to him. They love the way he goes from house to house banging on windows for attention. Although sometimes he just flies straight through unannounced," added Jon.
Gayle Barnes house is a favourite stop-off for Bernard and he goes there every day for his bath and mealworms.
Bernard has his own Facebook page with a 600 followers, where locals post pictures of his daily antics.
But despite being an unusually tame bird, Bernard has all the characteristics of a magpie and villagers make sure they keep their jewellery locked away.
Dan Cauldwell restores narrow boats and Bernard visits him most days to perch on his workbench.
But recently Dan was left searching for a rare piece of tubing belonging to a 1930s boat after one of Bernard's visits.
The cheeky magpie has also stolen a set of screwdriver bits out a plumber's van and a paintbrush off someone who was doing up their summerhouse.
And Bernard loves company so much that when there is an event or an open day at the rescue centre, he hangs around all day long.
Bernard was taken to Brinsley Animal Rescue Centre after falling from a nest when a tree was chopped down in nearby woods.
Jon and Beth hand reared him with minimal human contact until he could feed himself – as they do with all wild animals at the centre.
But when they let them go, Bernard obviously didn't want to leave.
"I don't know what happened with Bernard. For some reason he decided he wasn't a magpie, he was a human," said Jon.
Despite the couple's efforts to shoe him away, Bernard kept coming back. And a couple of days later Jon saw him in the village surrounded by fascinated locals.
Jon said the neighbours 'utterly adored him'.


The tulips are sprouting on Park Avenue and New Yorkers are ready to shed their winter coats. Whether you are visiting the Scully & Scully store, or our carefully curated website, Scully & Scully is the perfect place to find stunning decor, gifts and keepsakes for spring. Our jewelry selection offers the finest in a… Read More Spring Has Sprung!


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Instagram is Reportedly Building a New Messaging App Named Threads
Instagram is working on a new messaging app called Threads "meant to promote constant, intimate sharing between users and their closest friends," the Verge reported on Monday, in what seems like yet another attempt by a Facebook-owned property to edge in on Snapchat's turf.
According to the Verge, Threads is designed as a sister app for Instagram and "invites users to automatically share their location, speed, and battery life" with members of an Instagram user's "close friends" list, "along with more typical text, photo, and video messages using Instagram's creative tools." It's currently being tested internally, the Verge wrote, and appears to be another stab at introducing a separate messaging app to Instagram. The company ceased work on a prior, standalone effort called Direct in 2017.
The Verge wrote that Threads is designed to share a wide variety of information with an Instagram user's close friends list. That includes an opt-in "automatic sharing" feature that allows those on the list to get regular updates as to where that person is:
Screenshots reviewed by The Verge show an app that's designed to promote constant, automatic sharing between users and the people on their "close friends" list on Instagram. Opt in to automatic sharing, and Threads will regularly update your status, giving your friends a real-time view of information about your location, speed, and more. At the moment, Threads does not display your real-time location — instead, it might say something like a friend is "on the move," according to sources familiar with the matter.
You can also update your status manually, with statuses appearing in the main feed along with messages. It's the latest effort to automate status sharing using mobile phone sensors and one-tap status sharing.
In other words, Threads appears to be designed to allow a selected list of friends to receive regular, automatic updates on a user's "location, speed, and more." Yes, this is for regular people, and not, say, for keeping tabs on where the all the dinosaurs on Jurassic Park happen to be at any moment. Yeesh.
According to the Verge, Threads also has a section where messages from friends appear in a central feed, along with a "green dot indicating which of your friends are currently active"—something that users of Facebook's Messenger app would be familiar with. Threads also allows for users to quickly read stories posted by friends and includes its own camera function, the Verge added.
Facebook, after facing years of sustained and growing criticism of its role in everything from promoting political propaganda and hoaxes to massive data breaches and literal genocide, has signalled some major changes are in the works. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced this year that the company would be pivoting to privacy and reportedly has set in motion a project to merge the messaging backends of WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger. It's hard to dodge the impression that moving from operating primarily open platforms to closed ones where what's happening is shielded from public view could also be an attempt to mask the company's many failures.
It's not clear what role Threads may play in the future of Facebook. But beefing up Instagram's messaging features while further integrating the property into Facebook's technical backend could help Zuckerberg and crew argue that Facebook and its subsidiaries are too interconnected to break up at a time when antitrust agencies are looking into its history of corporate takeovers. According to the Verge, it is unclear when Threads may launch or whether it could get killed off before release. [The Verge]
Featured image: Jenny Kane (AP)


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layout: post
title: "Flame Blade"
date: 2015-07-14
tags: [druid, level2]
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**2nd-level evocation**

**Casting Time**: 1 bonus action

**Range**: Self

**Components**: V, S, M (leaf of sumac)

**Duration**: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

You evoke a fiery blade in your free hand. The blade is similar in size and shape to a scimitar, and it lasts for the duration. If you let go of the blade, it disappears, but you can evoke the blade again as a bonus action.

You can use your action to make a melee spell attack with the fiery blade. On a hit, the target takes 3d6 fire damage.

The flaming blade sheds bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet.

**At Higher Levels.** When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for every two slot levels above 2nd.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Entoloma blandiodorum är en svampart som beskrevs av E. Horak 2008. Entoloma blandiodorum ingår i släktet Entoloma och familjen Entolomataceae.   Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Basidiesvampar
blandiodorum

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Effective instructional practices are student-centered, keeping the student's strengths and preferences in mind, while at the same time advancing the student's engagement, knowledge and understanding of new content. Three instructional methods are highlighted here that promote student access to and success in the general curriculum.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single, one-size-fits-all solution, but flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted to meet individual needs (CAST, 2012). There are three main universal design strategies for preparing accessible instruction and learning: (1) present information and content in different ways, (2) differentiate the ways in which students can express what they know, and (3) stimulate interest and motivation for learning.
The CAST website offers additional information and examples.
The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability/ Youth offers "Using Universal Design for Learning: Successful Transition Models for Educators Working with Youth with Learning Disabilities".
Middle and high school age students are drawn to 21st century technologies more than any other age group (Rideout, et al, 2010). The Kaiser Family Foundation reported in Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8-18 year olds, a large-scale, nationally representative study, that 8-18 year olds in this country spend an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes (7:38) in a typical day using their cell phone, smart phone, or iPod and because they spend so much of their time " media multitasking" (using more than one medium at a time), they actually pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes (10:45) worth of media content into those 7½ hours. These digital natives expect more from their teachers, and learn best through trial and error, process information quickly, connect with graphics before text and relevance in their learning (Deubel, 2006; Glasser, 1998; Prensky, 2001). They have grown accustomed to high-definition graphics, multitasking, and gaming. When they want to acquire a new skill, they watch a YouTube video to learn it. Students also use Google search features to find answers to questions, and 'hang-out' with dozens of friends through Facebook, texting and online games. They also like to make their own videos for YouTube and explore music (Ito, et al, 2009). Students' spontaneous learning with technology in many ways reflects the 21st century skills of critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity (Trespalacios, Chamberlin, & Gallagher, 2011).
Downes, J. M. & Bishop, P. (2012). Educators engage digital natives and learn from their experiences with technology. Middle School Journal, 43(5), 6-15.
Backward Design is a method of designing curriculum by setting goals before choosing activities or content to teach. The idea is to teach towards those goals, which ensures that the content taught remains focused and organized, promoting students' understanding. Grant Wiggins coined the term "Backward Design" in his book Understanding by Design (1999, 1st ed.).
The model requires instructors to: (1) think what the ultimate learning outcomes are for students (What should students know, understand, and be able to to? What is worthy of understanding? What enduring understandings are desired?), (2) determine what is acceptable evidence that the student does understand, and (3) plan learning experiences and instruction that will lead to the learning outcomes.


Swingletree Stables is set in the historic village of Wingfield, on the Norfolk/Suffolk boarders, and is a British Driving Society ( BDS) approved harness horse driving training centre. Swingletree was established over 40 years ago by John Parker and his partner Susan Townsend. John Parker is a British Driving Society Light Harness Horse Instructor ( LHHI) and BDS All-Tests Assessor, and is one of the world's leading experts in harness horse driving, traditional horse drawn vehicles and harness and in the history of horse drawn vehicles. Susan Townsend is also an expert Driver in her own right, an LHHI and BDS All-Tests Assessor and also a very experienced harness maker.
John and Susan own over 30 horses and ponies, ranging from young horses preparing to be trained to work in harness to mature working horses, and ' old age pensioners' enjoying their happy and well-deserved retirement in Swingletree's lush paddocks.
The horse, in all its forms, was fundamental to the culture of the countryside until relatively recently. It is only just over 100 years ago that motorised vehicles became a familiar sight on country lanes, and many older people will remember their milk, bread, meat, vegetables and even coal being delivered by horse drawn vehicle.
Swingletree boasts a unique collection of historic horse drawn vehicles. These include the famous Norwich/London Royal Mail Coach, which is one of the last working Royal Mail Coaches in existence today. The Norwich Mail Coach was once the fastest method of passenger land transport , until the advent of the railways in the 1820's, and was in fact the last ever Royal Mail Coach to regularly carry passengers and mail between Norwich and London, finally ceasing its last official journey in 1846.
Other vehicles include: a Demi-Mail Phaeton dating from around 1840; a country-style horse drawn hearse c. 1900; a Private Drag; a Sociable c. 1860; a horse drawn sleigh; French Town Coach c.1880; and one of the last surviving horse drawn Post Office Vans, which carried mail all through the Blitz.
John Parker is Chairman of the British Driving Society (BDS), which is the national not-for-profit organisation responsible for all harness horse driving activities in the UK. The BDS is dedicated to promoting all forms of harness horse driving and harness horse welfare.
John is one of the world's leading experts on harness horse driving and Coaching. He holds two world records ( Guinness Book of Records) for long distance harness horse driving - having driven the Norwich/London Royal Mail Coach from Bristol to London to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first ever Royal Mail Coach journey in 1784, plus the 150th anniversary of the last Mail Coach journey from London to Norwich in 1840. He also holds the world record for the Quick Team Change, which stood at 64 seconds from 1888, and which was broken by John in an incredible 21.6 seconds - televised by BBC Record Breakers Programme.
Swingletree offers Introduction to Driving Days and individual lessons, as well as short courses and full training programmes leading to nationally-recognised Vocational Qualifications. No previous experience with horses or driving is necessary for beginners. John Parker also offers group guided tours of the Coach and carriage collection, and talks on the history of horse drawn transport.
Visit the website at www.swingletree.co.uk for further information, or telephone 01 379 384 496.


Today's card has a fun layout that can be done in different ways. I chose the subtle route, by taking one piece of paper and cutting it into five strips. The original card below takes five different strips of paper with the same pattern. What do you like best?
This card features the Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper which is only available as a sale-a-bration reward (with a $50 order) until March 31st or while supplies last. The strips of paper on both cards and the butterfly on the right hand card is cut from this paper.
If you would like to see how I made this card, check out my video below.
My card was CASE'd from page 34 of the 2019 Occasions Catalog. Each week we makeover a card from the current Stampin' Up catalog and then share it on our Facebook Group. You can join our CASE-ing Tuesday Facebook Group to see more samples and/or share your own card with us. It's a great way to improve your stamping and challenge yourself to try new styles. I hope you will join us.
2018-2020 In Color DSP Layer: Blueberry Bushel 4″ x 5″, cut into 1″ strips.


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CineVue
For the latest reviews of arthouse, documentary and indie film in cinemas and on the festival circuit.
Film Review: 'Parental Guidance'
Andy Fickman is one of those filmmakers who seems to have built a career for himself churning out mediocre movies every year or so, and this time around his latest gaffe comes in the form of Parental Guidance (2012), a film about two grandparents (played by Billy Crystal and Bette Midler) whose old school parenting methods are put to the test when looking after their grandchildren for a few days. Even the reassuring presence of Crystal – with his trademark sharp wit and amiable charm – can't save this one, though he is the difference between this being a terrible film, and one that's perversely watchable.
Artie Decker (Crystal) is enjoying life working his dream job as a baseball announcer, until he is sacked for being too old, and any self-consciousness felt in such an area is enhanced when he jets off with his wife Diane (Midler) to look after their three grandchildren while their parents Phil (Tom Everett Scott) and Alice (Marisa Tomei) are away on a work vacation. The kids give Artie and Diane quite a torrid time, yet the pair will do whatever they can to form a bond with the children and prove their worth as grandparents, particularly for Artie, who's determined to impress his own daughter Alice.
In theory, this picture should appeal to both parents and children alike, as the themes presented are from both ends of the spectrum. You have the perspective of the kids not understanding their grandparents, and then the grandparents not quite understanding the kids, with a steady blend of toilet humour implemented to appeal to the masses. There are also some genuinely poignant themes explored, and Fickman just about manages to avoid unpalatable mawkishness, though some scenes do need to be watched through the crevice in between your fingers. However, although Fickman manages to make this aspect of the film work, it's the comedic angle where this picture suffers.
Parental Guidance is simply not very funny, which given its attempt to incorporate constant humour, poses quite the problem. There are only so many times jokes about old people not understanding social networking can be funny, if at all. In many ways it feels like a film that has been lifted right out of the mid 1990s and lodged unwittingly into contemporary surroundings. Which ironically is reflective of the film's main theme. Though, to leap to Artie and Diane's defence, the technology the kids use in this film would go over the majority of peoples' heads.
It is very easy to turn your nose up at a film like Parental Guidance, but you have to put yourself in the shoes of the target audience and question whether you'd enjoy this as an eight year old, and the answer is most probably yes. It's harmless and undemanding and just about manages to keep your attention throughout. However, we're not eight years old, and this does struggle to appeal to an older audience. It's everything you've seen before, and never want to see again.
Stefan Pape
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Home › Insight › Review of the week: An exceptional year
Review of the week: An exceptional year
One for the ages, 2022 was a whirlwind year that shook up economies and markets. What's in store for 2023?
At least once in every generation there is a year so surprising that it humbles any human confidence in predicting the future. Twenty Twenty-Two was ours.
Russia invaded Ukraine. The UK had a revolving door of prime ministers. Energy and food prices soared. Sino-American relations became frostier than ever. Iranians rose up against their theocracy. Inflation roared higher with interest rates climbing in pursuit. Climate-fuelled floods, severe weather and wildfires proliferated. The former Japanese Prime Minister was assassinated with a hand-made gun. Elon Musk bought Twitter. Monkeypox.
The last similarly crazy year to toll through time was probably 1986. It also featured dramatic developments in Ukraine: the meltdown of the Chernobyl reactor at Pripyat. There was also the Challenger space shuttle tragedy. Hampton Court burned. The London financial industry was deregulated in the 'Big Bang'. America admitted it had been selling weapons to Iran. South Africa was made a pariah because of Apartheid. And the inner circle of hell, the M25, was finished.
Nineteen Eighty-Six was much easier on investors, however. American and UK stock markets both gained about 20%. Last year, US stocks slumped 20% while British stocks just broke even.
While the external forces working on markets were remarkable, the market's reaction to them was not. For example, 'cyclical' companies underperformed 'defensive' ones as leading indicators of the global economy headed south – just as they almost always do. As interest rates and bond yields rose sharply, companies that historically do relatively better in such a scenario, such as banks, did well. Companies with long-term payoffs – what we call 'growth' companies – did much worse than so-called 'value' companies, whose cash flows tend to come rather sooner and are therefore less sensitive to changes in interest rates. As we start 2023, it's important to remember this lesson from 2022: the consequences of the unpredictable can be quite predictable, so a focus on fundamental analysis can still go a long way.
Back in the mid-1980s, interest rates were falling gradually; last year, rates were sprinting higher. Interest rates rose much, much more than anyone was expecting at the start of 2022. A year ago, it was the prevailing belief that the global economy couldn't cope with rates above 2% or so. The US rate should be 5% by early next month and yet the wheels haven't fallen off the real economy.
This is one of the most important questions for how markets will fare in 2023: will the world's major economies fall into recession?
The UK is likely already in the midst of a downturn, along with the Eurozone, because they are at the epicentre of the energy crisis caused by the Ukraine war. While the European recession shouldn't be very deep, it is expected to be prolonged – especially in the UK, where it may even last all year. The US is still holding up, but it seems destined to slow over the coming 18 months as the economic handbrake that is all those rate increases starts to be felt. It takes anywhere between one and two years for a rate movement to be felt by households and businesses. That means only the first 25-basis-point increase of March 2022 has so far been meaningfully felt. There's a whole lot more to come.
We think the US will slip into recession, albeit a reasonably shallow one, but exactly when is too impossible to say. There's a whole lot of economic data flashing warning signs of recession, and the US Federal Reserve's hike fest was the sharpest one-year increase in the benchmark US interest rate since the early 1980s. Suffice to say, we are keeping a close watch on economic developments across the Atlantic.
Another crucial question for 2023: how long will central banks continue to tighten their monetary policies?
The huge and aggressive jump in borrowing costs upended market dynamics that reigned for more than a decade: ultra-low interest rates pumped up the value of stocks and bonds to the point where they became highly correlated. Because of this, they both slumped in unison when rates rose, delivering the worst year for the traditional 60% stocks/40% bonds diversified portfolio since the 1930s. This was incredibly painful for many investors, yet it does now mean that markets are much closer to a more normal situation where the returns from bonds and stocks are less alike.
That said, if rates continue to rise rapidly, bond prices will fall further, stocks will sag and investors will endure another turbulent year. We think there are more hikes to come, but we could be approaching the point where central bankers feel confident enough to pause and gauge their effect. For this to happen though, they must believe that they truly have inflation licked.
There's strong evidence that soaring goods prices, especially food and energy, are now rapidly decelerating. That's good news. But investors are, understandably, very eager to see the back of sky-high inflation. Perhaps too eager – many expect inflation to fall within reach of central banks' 2% targets by the first half of this year. An awful lot has to go right for that to come to pass. In the US, inflation is still above 7%; in the UK, it's almost 11%; in Europe, it's more than 9%. Meanwhile, salary expectations have lifted considerably, which could put a floor under inflation at a higher level than many hope. Added to that, China has dumped its COVID-zero policy and reopened swiftly, which will increase global demand significantly. A similar increase in the production of Chinese goods is unlikely, however, because exports continued despite the nation's strict lockdowns. This rise in demand could also spur inflation.
On the other hand, post-COVID bounces focus on the consumer demand for services rather than goods, so haircuts, cinema tickets and such, rather than new TVs. Services are much less import-intensive and may not add to global inflation pressures that much. China's economy is also likely to be weighed down to some extent by a protracted collapse in construction and a huge overhang of unsold homes. Put simply, China adds to the uncertainty and therefore the risk of more bumps along the way for the global cost of living.
As 2023 dawns, most people expect another extremely tough year. While falling, inflation is still very high, squeezing everyone's living standards. The war between Russia and Ukraine grinds on, complicating the supply of everything from oil and gas to food and metals. While the outlook is grim, we should remember the lesson of 2022 and 1986: no one knows what tomorrow will bring. And when everyone is expecting the worst, there's a greater chance that things won't be as bad as they feared.
Playing the percentages
The first half of this year is likely to be erratic for markets. It's possible that stock markets could reach new lows. However, if more clarity forms around the paths of inflation and monetary policy, the stage could be set for a resurgence in equities.
On balance, we believe it's more probable that stocks have a shaky start to 2023 than an ebullient beginning. Because of this, we remain invested in equities and risk assets, but with a bias to assets whose profits are less susceptible to the wider economy. These companies are the ones that don't make lots more money when the economy is booming, but they tend to keep making steady sales even when businesses and households are hurting. They sell the products and services that people can't do without.
If we think markets are set for a poor six months, why don't we sell everything and buy them up in a few months' time? Because as we noted before, the future is not ours to know. Timing when to be entirely in or entirely out of markets is a fool's game, in our opinion. Instead, we try to minimise your downside while retaining long-term exposure to the market. Otherwise you risk missing out on gains, and sometimes end up never reinvesting as the market runs away from you. Investing is a long-term game. Volatility is scary, yet holding through it and reinvesting steadily regardless of it are what deliver long-term investors the returns that get them to their savings goals.
Of course, there's a risk that markets could rally before the point our fundamental analysis suggests they will. This is another reason why we discourage timing wholesale entry into and exit from markets. Yet historically, it's been better to stay defensively positioned for too long than to take too much risk too early. A simple example of this can be seen in the returns from US equities around market troughs since the 1950s: the median return over two years from investing six months before a market trough has been 13%; the median return over one year from investing six months after the trough has been 20%.
If you have any questions or comments, or if there's anything you would like to see covered here, please get in touch by emailing review@rathbones.com. We'd love to hear from you.


A frit is a ceramic composition that has been fused in a special fusing oven. They are helpful in lowering the firing temperature of a glaze.
A number of frits are available including Frit 3134 (4108). A frit from the USA, medium soft borax frit. Melts at around 620 degrees. Being low in alumina means you can add more clay in the glaze recipe helping with the suspension of the glaze.
For the full list of Frits available have a look at the pricelist.


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Tag: Gayleen Rabakukk
Author Interviews: Kate Hannigan & Janet Fox on Facts in Historical Fiction
My current work in progress is a middle grade historical fantasy set in 1903.
Delving into the past has made me think about how history is presented in novels and the balance between real and imaginary.
For more insight on that topic, I turned to the authors of two of my favorite recently published books, focusing on process.
Kate Hannigan's The Detective's Assistant (Little, Brown, 2015) is based on the extraordinary true story of Kate Warne, America's first female detective. It won the SCBWI Golden Kite Award in 2016.
Was there a particular item, fact or event that sparked the idea for The Detective's Assistant?
KH: I was researching a story about camels in the American West in the 1850s when I came across a single nugget about Kate Warne. I read how she walked into Allan Pinkerton's National Detective Agency in downtown Chicago, and he had assumed she was there for a secretary position. But she talked her way into a detective's job, convincing Pinkerton she could "worm out" secrets from the wives and girlfriends of the city's crooks and criminals.
Stumbling on this little gem, I was hooked! I dropped that camel story and ran with Kate Warne!
At what point did you start researching that? Did you start drafting a story first, or did you do research up front?
Kate's model for her main character
KH: I'm kind of a nutter about gathering facts. My background is newspaper journalism, so maybe that's to blame. But I wanted to know all I could about Kate Warne, Allan Pinkerton, and Abraham Lincoln during this part of American history.
The biggest research was around understanding the Baltimore Plot, which is the pivotal part of the story — the plot to assassinate Lincoln before he could be sworn in for his first term.
So the whole process was immersive. I dove in deep before writing a single word. Once I felt like I had the facts, then I began my story.
Did you continue doing research as you were writing?
KH: I'm still doing research! And the book published over a year ago! But I love this story so much, I can't not learn more about it. I do school visits all the time, and I talk to students about it. So it's very much in the front of my mind.
As I was writing, I would come across a question — my characters are walking down the street in 1860 Chicago, so what were they walking on? How comfortable would a train ride be in 1860? Would we ride on upholstered seats or hard wood? — and drop down another rabbit hole.
Research is never ending with historical writing!
Were you surprised by what you learned doing research? Did any unexpected finds end up becoming significant parts of the story?
KH: If you're writing historical fiction, you're probably a pretty huge history nerd. So digging up a juicy nugget can be a thrill! And I dug up so many!
I enjoyed researching and writing this story to a ridiculous degree!
My characters live in a boardinghouse, so getting that setting right was foremost in my mind. I read Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852) and Sister Carrie by Theodore Drieser (1900) (which was set a bit later but still illuminating nonetheless), just to get a sense of language of the times.
But I also plunged into nonfiction about the era, and I found a particular book about boardinghouses that was helpful. It described how incredibly cheap the managers — usually women — had to be to keep these places afloat. They were notorious for serving terrible food, which I thought could be played for a lot of humor in my book.
And this is what led to the chapter about Nell and the other residents eating a questionable meat for dinner, and Mrs. Wigginbottom getting shifty when there is talk about the orange tabby cat going missing.
Your book mixes well-known historical figures (Abraham Lincoln) with lesser-known, yet real individuals (Kate Warne) as well as completely fictional characters.
Tell us more about balancing the fact and the fiction – did you lean heavily on things the historical figures actually said? Were there some details you changed for the sake of the story? Were there some fixed points you felt couldn't be altered?
KH: Fact and fiction! This balance kept me up at night! I agonized over being true to the players and what was on record as having happened. I visited Kate Warne's grave site here in Chicago more than a few times, and I deeply desired to do right by this woman.
But I also worried about the reader, and I wanted to make sure that the story I was telling would hold the interest of a 21st-century American kid. So it was agony!
Pinkerton had written about the cases that involved Kate Warne, so of course I wanted to nod to those. But I took artistic license and shuffled their order, so that the culminating case is the saving of Lincoln's life. I needed to put them in a different order to serve my story, and I had to come to terms with that decision. It took me a bit though.
Do you feel authors writing for middle grade readers have a greater obligation to present an accurate picture of a historical time period, than those writing YA or adult fiction?
KH: I very much believe authors for young readers have a greater responsibility to get historical fiction right. Because history is all new to this audience — this might be their first introduction to the Civil War, to Abraham Lincoln, to the Underground Railroad.
And if we make history engaging for them, we're opening the doors to more exploration of our past, to creating more history lovers.
It's a responsibility I take pretty seriously. Which is why I tend to research my books to death!
Have you gotten any feedback from history or social studies teachers? Or any school visits or other presentations aimed specifically at the history aspect?
KH: Yes! And it's been so great! I've gotten tremendous feedback from teachers and librarians.
The Civil War hits with fifth-grade curriculum in many schools, so The Detective's Assistant has been on reading lists around the country. I've done Skype visits as well as in-person school visits, and the response from young readers has been mind-blowing!
The New York Historical Society included it in their family book club, the Global Reading Challenge in Chicago listed it among their 2016 books, an entire fifth-grade in Dallas read the book as part of their Civil War history unit. It's been wonderful to share the story with so many kids!
Was there anything you found while doing research for The Detective's Assistant that will find it's way into your next book?
KH: Answer: I've been bitten by the research bug, and specifically, research into amazing women and people of color forgotten by history. So my next book is focused on World War II women beyond Rosie the Riveter. I can't say there's any overlap with the Civil War era, but the passion I feel for dusting off these remarkable players from the past and sharing them with a whole new audience, that definitely has carried over. It's kind of become my mission!
The Detective's Assistant is realistic historical fiction, do things change when the story includes more fantasy elements? For that aspect, I asked Janet Fox, author of The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle similar questions.
Was there a particular item, fact or event that sparked the idea for The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle? (what was it?)
JF: Yes! I was mucking around on the internet when a friend posted a picture of an object the like of which I'd never noticed before. It was an 18th century German chatelaine. I thought it was peculiar, and I had to find out more about it, so I googled and discovered that this chatelaine was an offshoot of the more practical set of keys – to the chateau – worn at the waist.
I learned that chatelaines had evolved from keys to practical items, like scissors and coin purses, to charms. This chatelaine was all charms, and they were so odd that a story began forming in my mind almost right away.
At what point did you start researching that? (i.e. – did you start drafting a story first, or did you do research up front?)
JF: Once I'd learned what a chatelaine was I began writing almost at once. Within a week of seeing the image, which is the same as the image that's in the novel, I'd completed the first 40 pages of what would become the novel. That's generally the way I work. I have to discover who my main character is and what her problem is before I can begin to flesh out the story, and research is part of that fleshing out.
JF: Yes – once I have a handle on my protagonist and what the story is generally about I tend to blend research with writing. For example, as soon as I decided to set the novel in Scotland, I took a pause and did a bunch of research on Scotland. That's almost always how I work – I write first to discover what I need to know more about. But it all starts with the character and her problem.
JF: Not really – at least, not in this story. But read on – there's a relevant answer to this in your last question.
Your book mixes actual events and places completely fictional – and fantastical – events and characters. Tell us more about balancing the fact and the fiction? Were there any fixed points you felt couldn't be altered? (why?)
JF: I felt it was very important to be true to any factual details. For example, I had to learn what I could about enigma machines, about the inner workings of clocks, about movements and activities in the North Sea during that part of World War II, and so on.
That's where I really pay attention to accuracy – when I'm weaving facts into fantasy I want those facts to be right. In that way the reader more readily suspends disbelief for the fantasy elements.
Do the fantastical elements have a historical influence?
JF: In a way. My grandparents were Irish and English, and I heard many stories growing up about the fantastical beliefs they carried with them from home, things like the stories my grandfather told me about "the little people." And Celtic and pagan practices have a basis in history and yet are mystical or fantastic in nature. To me, there's always a kernel of truth in a fairy tale.
JF: I think any writer writing for any audience has an obligation to be accurate when it comes to historical detail. But I do think that the vulnerability of the younger reader requires a special adherence to accuracy. These are readers who will feel cheated if I give them information they later find to be false. They are also readers more likely to believe whatever you tell them, and I would hate to plant falsehoods in their minds.
Have you gotten any feedback from history or social studies teachers? (or any school visits or other presentations aimed specifically at the history aspect?)
Dunrobin Castle, Janet's inspiration, located in Scotland
JF: Not yet, although I would love to present something about the specific history aspects of the story.
I'm fascinated by World War II (and as we can see by the large number of middle grade novels out the past couple of years set during the war, so are others.)
The Blitz alone was a big deal, and I've given talks at bookstores at which adults have come forward after to tell me that they or their aunt or their father was sent out of London – and that's why they're in America today.
Was there anything you found while doing research for The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle that will find it's way into your next book?
JF: Since Kat is clever with clocks, I did a bit of clock research and uncovered a rare old timepiece called a "Death's Head" watch. After further research I discovered that one of owners of one of the most bizarre of these was the doomed Mary, Queen of Scots. Well, that didn't feel accidental. As you can imagine, that watch is the centerpiece of my sequel.
chatelaine
Janet Fox on Blending History with Fantasy from Cynsations. Peek: "Whether writing historical fiction or fantasy, the objective of suspension of disbelief can only be accomplished if the world-building is sound. In historical fiction, that means lots of research to get interesting tidbits right. In fantasy, it means crafting an environment in which those interesting tidbits feel right."
Gayleen Rabakukk holds a master of fine arts in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She co-moderates the middle grade book club for Austin SCBWI and loves making discoveries – both on and off the page.
Always eager to track down a story, she has worked as a newspaper
reporter, editor and freelance writer. Gayleen is married and has two
caring and outspoken daughters. Their Austin, Texas home is filled with
books and rescue dogs. You can find her online at or on Twitter @gayleenrabakukk
Congratulations to Gayleen on recently signing with Andrea Cascardi at Transatlantic Agency!
Cynsations Intern: Gayleen Rabakukk on Unique & Creative State Book Awards Programs
KS William Allen White Award winner Chris Grabenstein with 6-8 graders
In updating the Awards for Children's and YA Literature By State for Cynthia Leitich Smith's author website, I discovered several programs and librarians taking unique or creative approaches to build interest in the books.
Here's a closer look at a few of those programs:
Emporia State University hosts a Read-In and Sleepover for students to meet the winners of the William Allen White Award (named in honor of the Kansas newspaper editor whose autobiography won the Pulitzer Prize in 1947.)
About 80 students meet the winning authors, play board games and go swimming in the campus pool. Sleeping bags are spread out on the floor of the rec center where there's a lights-out-at-10-p.m. policy, but with so many avid readers in attendance, there's sure to be lots of flashlights under the covers.
On Saturday morning, about 500 students attend the Celebration that includes art activities provided by the Emporia Arts Council, skits from ESU theater students, and a school spirit competition. A ceremonial presentation of the William Allen White Book Award by student representatives follows.
KS William Allen White Award winner Sharon Creech with 3-5 graders
State budget cuts in recent years have made it impossible for some schools to attend the ceremony. Kappa Delta Pi (ESU's student honor society) is putting together a travel grant program to make it possible for more schools to attend.
Georgia Children's Book Awards hosts a two-day conference aimed at showing teachers and librarians ways the books can be used in the curriculum, along with presentations by authors and illustrators. For those who can't make the conference, an outline of curriculum ideas.
The conference also includes the final round of the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl. In 1986, library media specialist Helen Ruffin developed a competitive game format to question students about content of the nominees. She envisioned teams of students from different schools competing to test their knowledge. The competition grew and renamed in her honor following her retirement.
In 2004, a committee composed of Georgia Association of Educators and Georgia Library Media Association members set out to take the program statewide. Today, more than 600 schools across the state compete in regional, then division competitions before the finals are held at the conference.
Competition is also a reading incentive in Hawaii's Children's Choice Book Award, the Nene (in honor of Hawaii's state bird.) Students compete in Kahoot! games or Nene Jeopardy. (Kahoot is a free game-based learning platform for creating a collection of questions on a specific topic. Learn more about it here.)
Pearl Harbor Elementary Librarian Denise Sumida started using "Jeopardy" games with her library classes in 2005 to build excitement about the nominees. She is also a Nene committee member.
She said, "Starting in 2008, I began video conferences with other schools as a way to promote the books, connect with other libraries/students, and to advocate for the Nene Award program."
Games played in October, November and December are based on the winning book, while January, February and March games focus on the nominees.
Nene Awards, honoring students for Kahoots, digital & poster contests
Video conferencing allows schools to compete against one another without leaving the classroom, easing scheduling issues and eliminating travel costs.
"In general, students love to see themselves on camera and Google Hangouts allows us to view the broadcasts on YouTube," Sumida added. "The Nene nominees are usually really popular at my school and the extra incentive of participating in a video conference encourages the students to read from the list."
She's seen an increase in reading participation since introducing the video conferencing with other schools. Last year, they began using Kahoot to focus on individual student knowledge of the Nene winner and the top three scorers were recognized at the Nene Ceremony.
Sumida advises other librarians thinking about introducing games to start small. She said:
"I did video conferences with other Nene Committee librarians' schools first. Only two schools connecting at a time.
"If time permits, test out 'Jeopardy'/Kahoot questions on your students to make sure they are clear and developmentally appropriate.
"Test video conference connections ahead of time. This seems simple, but if the video conference time is 30 minutes and it takes 15 minutes to connect, that's only 15 minutes of playing time. With updates to computers, software, and cameras, it's best to test it out without the students there waiting and getting frustrated."
In addition to the games, the Nene award also features an art contests for an animated film or a comic strip related to the winning book.
Rolla, Kansas students celebrating the White Awards at Emporia State University
What does your school or library do to get students excited about the book awards in your state?
We'd love to hear about it in the comments below.
Always eager to track down a story, she has worked as a newspaper reporter, editor and freelance writer. Gayleen is married and has two caring and outspoken daughters. Their Austin, Texas home is filled with books and rescue dogs. You can find her online at or on Twitter @gayleenrabakukk
Posted on September 8, 2016 October 18, 2018
Cynsations Intern: Gayleen Rabakukk on Writing Communities
I'm honored to announce that Gayleen Rabakukk has been chosen as the summer-fall 2016 Cynsations intern. Thanks to all who applied!
Here's more from Gayleen:
"You mean you both just sit there and write? On different things? And don't talk?"
"Yes," I tell my non-writing friends.
I realize how odd that may sound. There was a time when I would have thought it was strange, too. For many years, I'd done all my writing alone. I'd published lots of newspaper and magazine articles, exploring topics ranging from exotic pets to forensic science.
Eventually, I felt the pull to make something that would last longer than the weeks a magazine article is around, so I tried my hand at adult mysteries, (one of my favorite genres) and eventually young adult novels.
Looking for help with the transition from journalist to novelist, I became active with the Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc. (OWFI), volunteering at their annual conference and serving on the board as a grant writer. After a few rejections, I decided instead of guessing what "narrative voice" and "connecting with the character" meant, I would go back to school and really learn how to write for children and young adults.
I applied to Vermont College of Fine Arts, doubting that this Oklahoma journalist would be accepted.
When I got a call from Sharon Darrow one afternoon welcoming me to the program, I couldn't believe it!
My initial residency was filled with firsts: first time in New England, first time my nostrils froze, and the first time I really had deep, serious conversations about writing.
Rita & Gayleen
I ended up in a small workshop led by Tim Wynne-Jones where I learned about objective correlatives and adding layers of meaning to your writing. I learned so much I thought my head would explode.
That feeling continued, to varying degrees, throughout my four semesters. The more I learned, the more I realized I didn't know.
Each semester I had a new advisor. Jane Kurtz, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Rita Williams-Garcia and Franny Billingsley taught me how to write, how to read, and how to apply what I learned to my own work.
I squeezed writing and reading children's literature into every spare moment I could find: audio books during my daily commute, writing on lunch breaks and in the evenings, reading on the treadmill. Fortunately, my youngest learned how to cook, otherwise my family might have starved while I was a grad student.
After graduation, I tried to stay on track, but the writing demands of my day job had increased and I didn't have as much time for children's books. The Supreme Court of Oklahoma wanted me to write a book about the art collection at the Oklahoma Judicial Center. It would definitely be published, and in a format that would be around for a long time. This was what I had set out to do so many years ago: create work that would last longer than a magazine article.
Almost immediately after that project ended, another one came along: the Oklahoma County Medical Society was looking for a writer to document their history. Once again, it was a book that would definitely be published, with guaranteed monetary compensation.
It wasn't children's literature, but it would prove that I could generate steady income as a writer (at least during that year-long project.)
I learned so much writing those books: from research techniques to the dynamics of working with a collaborator, yet something was missing. I wanted to recapture that sense of camaraderie I'd felt in Vermont.
Most of my writing efforts up to that time had been solitary. Sure, I had writer friends and occasionally exchanged manuscripts with several of them.
I paid my membership fees to OWFI and SCBWI, but I had never really embraced the idea of being part of the "writing community."
After all, I told myself, writing is a solitary pursuit – I'm the one putting words on the page, no one can really help me with that. Vermont was a magical Brigadoon: like-minded writers all gathered on a hilltop for a fortnight. That sort of thing just didn't happen in the real world.
Meredith & Gayleen
Then a geographical shift led me to a paradigm shift. Last July, my family and I moved to Austin, Texas and I quit my day job. This put me in close proximity to Meredith Davis, a fellow VCFA classmate and other alums. The first time she suggested we get together to write, I was a little skeptical, but I gave it a shot. I said "yes" and apparently, that's all it took for me to realize the benefits of writing in a community.
Now these group writing times take precedent on my weekly calendar. Sometimes it's just Meredith and me meeting at a coffee shop, other times it's an organized potluck retreat with half a dozen writers.
At the end of the day, it's still just me putting those words on the page, but I'm learning that spending time with other children's writers provides a creative energy that recharges my batteries and keeps me coming back to the page, day after day – long after I've left the coffee shop.
It's enormously increased my productivity: in the last year, I've worked through two complete revisions of a middle grade steampunk manuscript, drafted a new middle grade mystery, started a new historical manuscript and finished a nonfiction picture book.
In an effort to draw others into this awesome community, I recently began co-moderating the middle grade book club for our SCBWI chapter. Our goal is "reading for writing," so we analyze and discuss character motivations, plot and point of view in depth. It all takes place on Facebook, which means I get to work it into my schedule wherever it fits, instead of trying to make it to a meeting at a certain time.
There are several book club members I've never met in person, but we're connected through our book discussions, and I continue to grow in both my knowledge and passion for children's literature.
Some days I'm still trying to figure out how to connect with readers, but I've learned a lot about the importance of connecting with a community. Writing discussions aren't just reserved for snowy hilltops, they can happen in coffee shops, libraries and even on Facebook.
You just have to say "yes."
Guest Interview: Author Eric Pinder on Writing Picture Books & How to Share With a Bear
Eric Pinder is the author of four picture books and four adult nonfiction books. His most recent release is How to Share With a Bear, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2015). From the promotional copy:
The perfect thing to do on a chilly day is to make a cave. But comfy caves never stay empty for long….
What can you do when a bear takes over your cave? Try to distract him with a trail of blueberries? Some honey? A nice, long back scratch?
How to Share With a Bear is a story about how although it's not always easy, sharing with a sibling can be the most fun!
Congratulations on How to Share With a Bear! Tell me about the inspiration for this story.
Being a kid should automatically count as credit toward getting a degree in architecture, because we've all made blanket forts and blanket caves as kids. What's more fun? I think every uncle, aunt, parent, and babysitter has had to master the architecture of a blanket cave at some point, too. Often it's a collaborative effort, in the same way that reading a picture book is a shared experience.
For How to Share with a Bear, I had the blanket cave setting in mind from the start. The word "cave" got me thinking about real caves, and what you might find in one. That led naturally to a bear.
How or when did you make that leap in your imagination from bears being scary creatures that could eat you to being a cuddly companion?
William Faulkner's "The Bear" was an early influence, even before I started writing for children. And no one gets through high school without seeing Shakespeare's bear chase characters right off the stage. So we have this perception of bears as big and scary, but in childhood we're also familiar with Fozzy Bear, Yogi Bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, and our own teddy bears.
Hear the word "bear" and you don't know at first which you're going to get: the terrifying grizzly or the funny, cuddly kind of bear. The very word "bear" creates uncertainty, all on its own.
Uncertainty creates tension and suspense. And suspense makes readers keep turning the pages. We have these two dueling, conflicting perceptions of bears lodged in our minds from an early age, and I think the subtle tension that evokes is what makes bears so great for storytelling.
Cat in the Clouds, If All the Animals Came Inside, Share with a Bear… I'm sensing a theme with animals and nature.
One of my earliest favorite memories is camping with my dad in Baxter State Park on a rainy afternoon when suddenly a moose stuck its head right into our leanto to say hi. I didn't have that day in mind when writing If All the Animals Came Inside, but now that I think about it, that memory must have been an influence all along.
I know you spend a lot of time outdoors and have even written some books for grownups on that subject. Can you tell me what prompted you to write for children and what has been the biggest challenge in crafting stories for young readers?
One day a strange thing happened: Everyone in my circle of friends started having kids. Their houses were suddenly full of books by Seuss and Boynton and Silverstein. I've always liked poetry, and writing picture books is similar; they're both read aloud—performed—so the sound and rhythm of each word and syllable matters. It's almost like writing a song. Reading those old favorite books on friends' shelves and hearing them performed out loud reminded me of how much fun they are. I had to start writing some of my own.
Writing for any age group is challenging. The biggest challenge with picture books is appealing to two different audiences at the same time: the grownup reading the book, and the child listening to them read. Re-watching Sesame Street recently made me appreciate how well they often write on two levels like that. One Sesame Street skit features a bear who is a writer. The bear's name is Flo. It took me a second to connect the dots: Flo Bear, i.e. Gustave Flaubert, author of Madame Bovary. Clever joke! That second level of understanding flew completely over my head when I saw skits like that as a toddler, but it didn't confuse or distract me, either. Watching it as a grownup, it made me chuckle.
What's your process like? Do your stories simmer in your head for a long time before you sit down at the computer?
I leave a plate of cookies next to my laptop overnight and hope that elves will write the story for me. Then I get up the next morning, eat one of the stale cookies, mutter about elves, and start typing away on my own. To force myself to make time to write, I'll put background music on the CD player and make a rule: no checking email or playing Scrabble or anything else but writing until the music stops. Usually the first half-hour is agonizing, but then I'll get momentum.
Sometimes a single sentence or an opening scene will simmers for months before the rest of the story appears. At other times, like a gift from the Muses, a whole first draft will appear on the page in one sudden creative burst. But that's rare. I should probably bake more cookies for the Muses.
You also teach creative writing at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. Does that also feed your creativity?
The best way to describe teaching is "exhausting but rewarding." Lesson prep and commenting on student stories is time-consuming, but it's worth it. Sometimes a student's story or poem will be so good that it makes me grin the whole time I'm reading it. Just being part of a community where everyone loves books, talks about books, and asks smart questions about books on a weekly basis sparks creativity.
Of course, there are times when I wish I'd assigned less homework. (Right now, my students are probably saying, "Yeah, us too.") It takes energy and time to critically read and edit dozens of pages of stories by others between classes, and that does leave less time and energy for your own creative work. It makes sticking to a regular writing schedule, even if it's only an hour a day, extra important.
For most teachers the summer—blissful, leisurely summer—is the most productive season for our own writing. But the books we read and the classroom conversations we have during the rest of the year definitely fuel new writing projects.
I frequently see Facebook posts of you selling books at Farmers Markets. Tell me more about this unique venue choice.
A middle-schooler at an author event said, "Hey, my mom runs the farmers' market. You should sell your books there."
That's not a venue that would ever have occurred to me, but, being a starving writer in need of money, I filed the idea away and gave it a try.
The first day I sold $200 worth of books. People like getting signed copies. Even on rainy days when I sell nothing, it's still fun to meet and talk to people. You can tell who the teachers and school librarians are.
The best part is seeing kids who really love books. A beginning reader at one market slowly read If All the Animals Came Inside aloud to his grandma, pausing every now and then to say, "Did you write this page and this page?" and "What the heck's a yak!?" It was like listening to a funny DVD commentary for my own book. Halfway through, he told me, "You're actually doing a really good job writing this. So far." Kids are the bluntest and best of literary critics.
At some markets I'm the only writer there, sandwiched between vegetable stands, maple syrup, and corn on the cob. Other towns combine farmers' markets with craft fairs, so there are painters, wood-carvers, and photographers there, too.
One tip for doing book-signings at venues like this is that it helps to have at least three or four different books on your table. People like to see a selection and be able to browse. I've seen authors with only a single title at their table, and they've struggled. The more covers you have on display, the more eye-catching your table will be.
What's coming up next?
Another picture book with Stephanie Graegin, How to Build a Snow Bear, is coming in 2016, and The Perfect Pillow, illustrated by Chris Sheban, in 2017. The latter has animals but surprisingly no bears, which may be a first for me.
I also just finished a big revision of a creative nonfiction manuscript about adventures in teaching. That one does have bears, and wolves, and even a camel. So I guess I'm not done writing about animals just yet.
I read about the bats being cut from How to Share With a Bear – any plans for bat inclusion in future books? Or do you have something against bats?
I love bats! They eat mosquitoes and have sonar as a superpower. Sometimes a scene, like the one with the bats, is good on its own, but the story as a whole is stronger without it.
I save deleted scenes and pruned sentences in a folder called "Scraps." Sometimes they'll get used or adapted later in a different story.
Both Eric and Gayleen are alums of the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults program and graduated in the Winter 2011 class known as the Bat Poets.


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News & AnalysisASAP
Missouri Supreme Court Upholds St. Louis Minimum Wage Ordinance
By Harry W. Wellford, Jr. on
In a surprise development, on February 28, 2017, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld a minimum wage hike by the City of St. Louis. Cooperative Home Care, Inc., et al. v. City of St. Louis, Missouri. On August 28, 2015, St. Louis enacted a local ordinance providing for a four-tiered increase in the minimum wage for employees working within the boundaries of St. Louis. Under the ordinance, the hourly minimum wage rate was to increase to $8.25 on October 15, 2015; to $9 on January 1, 2016; to $10 on January 1, 2017; and to $11 on January 1, 2018.
Shortly after the city passed the ordinance, however, a lower court invalidated it, finding it was impermissible for the citywide local minimum wage to require a higher minimum wage than the state requires by statute. The Missouri Supreme Court reversed, noting the state statute's purpose, protecting employees, "is served by setting a floor for minimum wages; nothing in the law suggests the state also wanted to protect employers by setting a maximum minimum wage."
Uncertainties Remain
While a $10 minimum wage now applies in the City of St. Louis, the effective date when the city will start enforcing the change is unclear. St. Louis Mayor Slay issued a press release indicating: "[i]t is fair to give businesses a reasonable grace period to adjust to the new minimum wage rate. We will spend the coming week talking to local business leaders to prepare to implement the increase."
The ordinance applies to employees who work 20 hours or more in a "brick and mortar" facility within the borders of St. Louis. Thorny questions, however, exist concerning employees who are primarily based outside the city, but come into St. Louis to provide services or sell goods. For example, are food truck employees covered by the ordinance and, if so, for what portion of their work day?
The St. Louis ordinance contains limited exclusions for small businesses (less than $500,000 in annual revenue) and certain other specified entities. Not-for-profits are generally covered, but sheltered workshops are excluded.
Businesses need to be aware that the ordinance contains enforcement "teeth," including monetary fines, potential jail time, and possible business license revocation for repeat violators.
Complicating matters further for employers in Missouri is a pending Kansas City ballot initiative that would put raising the minimum wage up to voters at the next election. The impact of the Missouri Supreme Court's opinion in Cooperative Home Care, Inc. on the Kansas City ballot initiative is uncertain.
Now it is time for impacted employers to comply with an ordinance that is riddled with ambiguity. As the effective date for enforcement of the ordinance is being sorted out, affected businesses should immediately:
Brace for payment of $10 per hour, which will increase to $11 in 2018;
Comply with the ordinance's "Notice" requirements, which must be sent with the employee's first paycheck calculated at the new rate;
Comply with posting and distributing Poster Notices, as required by the ordinance.
We will continue to monitor this issue and report on any major developments.
Information contained in this publication is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or opinion, nor is it a substitute for the professional judgment of an attorney.
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Harry W. Wellford Jr.
hwellford@littler.com
Related News & Analysis
WPI Wage Watch: Minimum Wage & Overtime Updates (February Edition)


When composing ritual it is helpful to keep in mind what properties the day you choose will add to your rite. Each day, like everything, contains both light and shadow attributes. Below you will find a basic list of attributes for each day of the week.
Monday: (Moon - White, Silver, Grey, Pearl) Psychic pursuits, psychology, dreams, astral travel, imagination, women's mysteries, reincarnation, short trips, women, children, domestic concepts, the public, emotions, fluids, magic, spirituality, nursing, water, antiques, trip planning, household activities, initiation, astrology, new age pursuits, archetypes, totems, shapeshifting, religious experience.


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Tribute to King Bhumibol of Thailand
We pay deep tribute to one of the most beloved modern-day monarchs.
Nalanda Buddhist Society Malaysia offers our deepest condolence to the royal family and people of Thailand over the demise of His Majesty Rama IX, the beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
His Majesty celebrated the 70th anniversary of his ascendance to the throne on 9 June 2016, making him one of the longest reigning monarchs in the world. In his seven decades of consistent leadership, he had guided Thailand back from numerous crises, and steered the nation on course to progress and modernity.
King Bhumibol had been a constant source of inspiration to his people. His unwavering stand on morality and benevolent governance united the nation. His passing will no doubt leave an enormous vacuum in the hearts of Thai people and society.
There is an air of profound sadness and gloom all over Thailand at this moment. But it is good to recollect the teachings of the Buddha – that beings whether great or mediocre live and die all the same; no one is exempted from death.
Let us give thanks to a great Buddhist monarch who was a beacon of integrity and a torch-bearer for the world. Perform wholesome deeds and dedicate merits to the late King Bhumibol. He is free from bodily suffering now. May he attain ultimate Peace.
A MEMORIAL TRIBUTE & SERVICE for the late King Bhumibol will be held at Nalanda Centre this Sunday 16 October, from 9am to 10am. We invite everyone to join this special service to pay tribute to one of the most beloved modern-day monarchs. Kindly dress in white for the service as a mark of respect. All are welcome.
Watch this video tribute to the late king by NalandaTV :
Watch video here .
6th Anniversary of MH17 tragedy
Passing of Sayadaw Nyanapurnik
The Covid-19 surge is not over


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The Huawei Honor 7 is a smartphone made by Huawei under their Honor sub-brand. It is a successor to the Huawei Honor 6, the flagship device under Honor brand for 2014. The models vary for different markets with a gold coloured, dual-sim variant with 64 GB storage capacity being exclusive to China. International model comes with 16 GB storage option and the Indian version hosts only single-sim capabilities.

Overview
The Honor 7 features a full-metal body, 5.2 inch touchscreen, a 20 MP rear camera (Sony  IMX230) and an 8 MP front camera. It is available three colors- gold, grey and silver; gold was originally exclusive to Chinese market. The gold version features a dual-sim capability, NFC and 64 GB of internal storage. The international version was available in grey and silver only, with 16 GB internal storage capacity. It also features a dual-sim functionality, but, like the gold version, only one SIM can be used if used in conjunction with a micro-SD to expand the storage capability. This version also lacks the NFC feature and the Indian version is the single-sim variant of the international version. The phone comes with a fingerprint sensor claimed to be intelligent and highly responsive. Another notable feature of the phone is the 'Smart' button, an additional hardware button that can be assigned to specific tasks making the device easier to use.

Software
The Honor 7 ships with Android Lollipop with Huawei's Emotion UI (EMUI) 3.0. The camera interface has a few new features including the 'Good Food' mode that adds detail and crisps the images of food items. Many convenient tweaks have been made for single-handed use. The fingerprint reader is claimed to unlock the phone in 0.5 seconds and also includes additional software features that enable easier use of the device.

Release
The phone was announced in China in July 2015. It was introduced in the United Kingdom in August 2015 and was announced in India in October 2015. Huawei partnerered with Flipkart for the release of the device and it was announced as a 'Flipkart Exclusive' product.

Versions
Huawei has unveiled a new edition of its acclaimed handset Honor 7. The new version has been named Honor 7 Enhanced and it comes with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The difference with regard to the previous edition is not only the updated operating system but also the introduction of the 32 GB internal storage. The Honor 7 had 16 and 64 GB options and an Android 5.0 Lollipop as OS. The other specifications have still been kept the same.

References

Huawei Honor
Android (operating system) devices
Mobile phones introduced in 2015
Discontinued smartphones
Mobile phones with infrared transmitter


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This is a good summary – hard work packing so much information into one place.
My back ground is in occupational health and so I am pretty familiar with toxicology. We use long term time weighted averages ie (concentrations x duration)/duration of total exposure (usually over an 8 hour day, 40 hour work week in OHS) and compare these with occupational exposure standards. Some consideration must also be made of peak exposures (big dose over short period of time), additive, synergistic effects etc and there are ways of doing this. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists TLV booklet goes into this in detail (and we have our own equivalent Australian system).
Of course, mostly in occupational health we are dealing with inhalation (and sometimes dermal contact) rather than ingestion as the route of exposure\absorption.
I have long noted your suggestion that people utilise the paleo diet 85pc of time (noting that susceptible people or people trying to heal some condition might have to stick to 100 pc and take a very conservative approach to food selection using mimicry of the ancestral diet). So, each time as I read your books over the years and behavioural adherence is mentioned as it is in the article I am iinterested in any further information about the rationale for the 85 pc rule you are able to share.