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What will make you successful? What will make you rich? Preposterous as it sounds, there is a magic formula.
THE STAR PRINCIPLE – SIMPLIFIED
Given the popularity of my last two posts – the 80/20 of 80/20, and SIMPLIFY SIMPLIFIED – I'm having another go, this time with The Star Principle.
What will make you successful? What will make you rich? Preposterous as it sounds, there is a magic formula. There is a way to get several times more money and fun out of a business.
By finding a star venture.
What is a star venture? It has two qualities. One, it operates in a high-growth market. Two, it is leader in that market.
When I wrote The Star Principle I thought it was tempting fate to say my net worth was north of one hundred million British pounds (about $130 million). The Sunday Times (of London) Rich List 2018 says I am joint number 312 in their list with a net worth of 410 million pounds ($533 million). I have got there almost entirely by investing in star businesses – with the slight qualification that recently I have invested mainly in star businesses with strong network effects.
What determines your success? Is it your ability? No, it is not.
Is it how hard you work? No. Millions of people work very hard and never get rich.
It's not a lot of other things that people assert are essential to make serious money.
The really potent, consistently successful answer is 'positioning, positioning, positioning'.
Provided the positioning truly is exceptional. Provided the venture is a star business.
Why is a star business so attractive?
It is the combined effect of niche leadership and high niche growth that makes a star venture so wonderful. Leadership means that the company and its products are preferred by the niche's customers. Like Apple, therefore, the company's products may command a price premium. But even if they don't, the high volume should mean that a market leader has lower costs than its rivals. A leading firm should have higher prices, and/or lower costs, and therefore higher profits and cash flow, than a similar business which is a follower.
Market growth compounds those profits and cash over time. As Albert Einstein said, the strongest force in the universe is compound interest, a concept so simple that very few people really understand it (I said that last bit, not dear Albert).
If you grasp these two ideas, you have a huge insight into the future. That's why Apple, Amazon, and all the most valuable firms in the world, are so incredibly valuable and have increased their value at rates that seem incredible.
Are there pitfalls for a star venture?
Only one, but it's huge. The trap is that a star stops being a star by losing leadership in its niche. If that happens, a venture worth a fortune can suddenly become almost worthless.
The danger is acute, so you had better monitor your rivals and if one if catching up, move heaven and earth to draw well ahead again.
How rare are stars?
There can only be one market leader, but there can be many followers in a market niche. For new ventures, perhaps one in four is a genuine niche leader.
Few niches grow at least 10 percent a year – the cutoff point generally defining a star business. (In fact, you want growth to be much higher. Most of my star companies are growing by at least 30 percent, and some by more than 100 percent.)
Typically, only 5 percent of large companies' products' markets grow even at 10 percent a year. For new ventures, I estimate it's only about 20 percent.
Multiply these two probabilities together. Of the 20 percent that are growing fast enough, roughly a quarter – 5 percent of the total – are likely to be stars. About 1 in 20 start-ups is a star.
So stars are rare. But they are not so rare that, with a bit of patience and careful thought, you can't discover one – or create one yourself. If you look intelligently for a star, you will find it.
What's the power of the star idea?
I'm not the only entrepreneur or investor who's made a fortune out of star businesses. Virtually every share in the public markets that has made people rich – excepting only special situations such as mining that are not truly competitive markets – has been a star business, that is, a niche leader in a high-growth niche.
Amazon was and is a star business.
eBay was and is a star business.
Microsoft was and is a star business.
Dyson was and is a star business.
Apple operates almost exclusively in niches where it is the market leader and obtains a significant price premium, as well as having the advantage of higher volumes and lower costs in those niches. Apple is a star business.
Uber is a star business, albeit one in danger of losing its niche dominance. Many people think Uber is overvalued but my guess is that investors will do just fine.
Betfair's betting exchange business was a star business for more than a decade, and helped to make me rich (many thanks!). The market growth appears to have slowed, so it is probably now just a cash cow – not bad, but not as great as being a star.
Facebook is a star business.
Google's search business is a star. That single business out of many, many businesses owned by Google (now called Alphabet) makes nearly all the profit and cash.
Waze, YouTube, and WhatsApp are also star businesses. Sadly you can't buy shares in them anymore, as the first two were bought by Google, and WhatsApp by Facebook – all for tons and tons of money, which, of course, Google and Facebook have so much of that they don't know what to do with it all.
Star businesses needn't be anything to do with technology. The longest-running star business is surely the Coca-Cola Company, incorporated in 1888 and a consistent star business until the 1990s. For over a century, despite two world wars, the stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuring Great Depression, Coca-Cola remained a star. The global market for cola increased on trend by more than 10 percent a year and Coke remained the dominant player in that market.
McDonald's was a star business from 1948 until the 1980s.
The list goes on. IKEA, Southwest Airlines, Auto Trader, Nike, Dell Computer, Reuters, Red Bull, Instagram, ARM, Charles Schwab, Tetra Pak, the Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, Goldman Sachs, and McKinsey – all are or were star businesses for a long time.
Finally, stars are for everyone. Marshall McLuhan said it well – "There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew."
Even if you have no money (yet), you can benefit from star businesses.
Because working in a star business is much more fun and you will earn much more money.
Before long, if not already, a star business will be coining money hand over fist. It can afford to be generous. It will reward loyalty and skill much more than an ordinary firm. It will be successful. And there is nothing in business – I know from first-hand experience replicated several times – that's so much fun as working in a burgeoning, hugely successful star business. It's easy to be a star in a star (I mean someone at the hub of the organization, not as a driver for Uber or a low-level worker for Amazon. And I also mean someone who gets in on the ground floor, before the venture gets big.). It's easy to get promoted. It's easy to get fat bonuses. And, if you get a few shares or share options early enough, you may end up with a surprisingly large nest egg. Even more important, you get a massive high from accomplishing something, for changing a market, from thrilling customers, and from being part of a winning team.
It need not stop there. Take your winning from a star business, and invest in another that's still growing very fast. You'll likely multiply your money. Before long, you'll be rich.
Above all, be part of the team that starts a star business. In the book I tell you how to get the idea for one.
The sky is full of stars. True, the distances between them are – well – astronomical. Far more of the sky is not composed of stars than is. Yet, on a clear night, away from city lights, you can always find stars.
So it is in business. Stars are rare. But you can find them.
Whether you are an employee, a wannabe venture leader, or an investor – of grand or modest means – a star will give you a new and far richer life.
Go do it!
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© 2020 Richard Koch. All rights reserved.


The Maharshi Institutions is one of the fast growing Institution in Mysore City. Established in the year 1994 with a sacred goal of imparting education from the grassroots level. The main Motto of the Institution is to cater to the needs of ordinary students coming from the lower ladder of the society by providing them all kinds of facilities and guidance to help them develop their academic excellence and come up in life in flying colors.
We welcome you to join our Institution and expect you to contribute for the Collective growth of the individual and the institution.
Mission: To provide students with a sense of history, an understanding of values and ethics, a commitment to law and morality, an appreciation of human creativity and an analytical inquiring mind.


A wedding officiant service in Pocono Summit, Pennsylvania, Alpha & Omega Ministries specializes in custom-tailored unions. Owned and operated by Christian pastor Stephen Shafer, the company is committed to joining together couples, no matter religion, gender, race or sexual preference. Authentic and unique, Alpha & Omega Ministries is the perfect choice for dream-worthy unions.
Alpha & Omega Ministries proudly offers wedding officiant services to couples located in Pocono Summit, Pennsylvania. Services are extended to interested couples in and around the Monroe County, Pennsylvania area.
I don't typically write reviews for anything, but I felt like I needed to write one for Steve. Steve officiated my wife and my wedding, and his professionalism throughout the process made our special day so much better. Before the actual wedding date, he made himself available to us 24/7 and answered any questions or concerns that we had during the weeks leading up to our wedding.
Steve is not like a lot of other pastors or reverends. His ceremony did not feel rehearsed (in a bad way...like 'acting) or fake. All of the words he spoke were from the heart, sincere and real. He was accommodating to our special requests like stopping in the middle of his speaking for a song or poem, His prices were reasonable compared to the other pastors we talked to, and I think he gives you more bang for your buck meaning you're paying less and getting more.
If you hire Steve, you're getting high quality for a low price. You're getting someone who is always available by email, text and phone and officiates how you want him to but also offers suggestions (that we did use) to make the ceremony better. His ceremony was custom tailored to our needs and his professionalism throughout the process eased our nerves in the days leading up to the wedding.
If you hire Steve, you're going to have great memories of your wedding ceremony. I hope this review helps with your decision. God bless!
Our very first phone call with Pastor Steve, I knew he was the one I wanted to marry us. He was witty and funny and understanding. When we met him in person he just sat and talked with us like we had know each other for years. Unfortunately 2 days before our wedding he had a family emergency and wasn't able to do the ceremony. That is when Pastor Laura stepped in and was right there with us for the rehearsal and ceremony. She was top notch and again it felt like we were old friends.
Pastor Steve gave us fun, friendship, and a little bit of funk. He brought such humor and love and joy to our wedding, with beautiful, playful vows and his warm laughter. He walked us through our rehearsal ceremony (as we had no idea what we were doing), even giving us tips on when and how to walk to give our photographer the best shots. With his wit, he charmed all of our guests and gave us (the bride and groom) the freedom to be ourselves in front of our friends and family. Above all, Pastor Steve's positivity and down-to-earth personality made our wedding day more perfect than we ever thought possible. You can sit down and share a beer with the man, have a real conversation, and feel like you've been friends for ages. If you want hope, happiness, and humor with some hippie-coolness sprinkled on top for your special day, Pastor Steve is the soul you need presiding over and blessing your marriage.


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Q: How to fix "Error watching file for changes: ECONNRESET" error on react-scripts start? I'm running npm start on a CRA project and receiving this error after the application is runing for a brief period of time:

Error watching file for changes: ECONNRESET

I have been working on this project for over a couple of months and have never seen this error before, it started happening this morning. I'm sure no one else has changed anything in the project since I'm the only one working on it, also I have contacted my company tech support to make sure there hasn't been any modifications nor upgrades to my workstation or the local file server we use. Additionally, when running npm start on my colleague's machine it works as expected.
This is the full error log I get in my shell:
events.js:183
      throw er; // Unhandled 'error' event
      ^

Error: Error watching file for changes: ECONNRESET
    at _errnoException (util.js:992:11)
    at FSEvent.FSWatcher._handle.onchange (fs.js:1359:9)
npm ERR! code ELIFECYCLE
npm ERR! errno 1
npm ERR! my-react-theme@0.1.0 start: `set PORT=3001 && react-scripts start`
npm ERR! Exit status 1
npm ERR!
npm ERR! Failed at the my-react-theme@0.1.0 start script.
npm ERR! This is probably not a problem with npm. There is likely additional logging output above.

npm ERR! A complete log of this run can be found in:
npm ERR!     C:\Users\luis\AppData\Roaming\npm-cache\_logs\2019-01-30T13_50_03_616Z-debug.log

My codebase is quite large for this project. Basically I state manage with Redux and make REST calls using a custom Middleware.
I have read, in responses to other related issues, that I might be something with network requests. But when I had errors while using the REST API before, all I used to be met with as a Redux error saying that it expects actions to be plain objects. So, I'm not quite sure that my problem may come from a REST call.

A: Apparently deleting my project and pulling it again from the remote repository did the trick for me. Still I don't know what has actually caused the issue, but I strongly believe it was something cache related.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Administration Documents
ACNC Governance Standards
ACNC Requirements for Responsible Persons
AGM Nominations and Roles
Clergy Removals
The ACNC Annual Information Statement (AIS)
What is the ACNC?
ADS Organisation Chart
Bishop's Office
Discipleship and Ministry Licensing (Lay and Ordained)
Ministry Appointments and Inductions / Commissioning
Ministry Resources and Publications
General Manager/Executive
Information for Ministry Units
Schools Operations, Property and Property Development
Manna Park
Wambiri
All Saints College
Anglican Investment and Development Fund
Anglicare
Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture
St Mark's National Theological Centre
Synergy Youth and Children
Celebrate Advent and Christmas
Advent Reflections from Bishop Mark
Cessation of Services
Weddings, baptisms and funerals
Easter Message from Bishop Mark
Information, Resources and Updates on the Bushfires
Keep Connected – Resources for Children
Keep Connected – Resources from Bishop Mark
Keep Connected – Resources from Ministry Units
Keep Connected – Responding to Covid 19
St Saviour's Cathedral Services
Login Directory
New Bishop Elected
Anglican News
Bishop Carol Wagner's Page
Bishop Mark Short's Page
Bishop Stephen Pickard's Page
Former Bishop Stuart Robinson's Page
Former Bishop Trevor Edwards' Page
StuTube and Other Videos
Chaplaincy and Mission
Anglican Church Property Trust
Bishop-in-Council
Pelican Foundation
Anglican Historical Society
Ministry Training and Development
Discernment Process
EfM Groups
Training and Formation Process
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What Christians Believe
Participation by the Diocese in the National Redress Scheme
Presidential Address to Synod 2019
Register Directory
Register Synod
Safe Ministries
Management of Known Offenders
Reporting Abuse and Complaints
Survivor Care
Safe Ministry Unit
Forms and Resources for Ministry Units
Safe Ministries Training and Workshops
Company Schools
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Test home page
A Year After the Fires
A critical question we need to ask about this year's catastrophic bushfires is this: What is the best type of long-term spiritual and pastoral care we can offer people and their communities over the years to come.
We have communities of walking wounded in our midst. We have experienced some of the worst fires we have ever seen as well as drought, flood and then the COVID Pandemic. There have been so many external factors out of our control, is it any wonder that we are seeing so much stress in individuals, parishes and our communities.
As Christian communities of faith in the midst of this Christmas season, it is an opportune time to reflect on the God who came to us in our deepest need; on the God who beckons us to walk alongside others in the mess of life to be a source of love and peace. It is important to consider – what is the most helpful way we can walk alongside those who are wounded so that it brings small glimpses of healing and hope?
The impact of the 2019-2020 Bush Fires continues to be evident on so many levels. The huge disruption to so many people's lives has taken an enormous toll on mental health and well-being. Strong and independent communities have faced the worst and been crippled in many ways, in losses experienced by individuals, families and as community. Surviving has been a challenge for many financially as well as emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually. Everybody's story is different and unique although there are many threads that connect us and that seem to help to build strength and resilience and, most importantly, hope for the future.
Mental Health support through many agencies has offered opportunities for people to feel heard, supported and not alone. Listening empathetically to a person's story gives that person the opportunity to process what has, and continues to, happen for them and to make sense of their experience. It gives reassurance to the person and helps them in their understanding. This is hard work and, like any grief, there is no fixed timeline – 'it takes time and there are good days when you feel like you are moving towards recovery and other days when you are feeling like you are going backwards. While the process of recovery may be long and painful, many people are able to use the experience to grow. People often feel they come out of a traumatic experience with a stronger belief in themselves, with improved social relationships, benefits in personal [and spiritual] growth and life priorities.' (Taking Care of Yourself and Families, 2010, Beyond Blue, pp 107&109.)
For the professional carers, our clergy, pastoral carers and bushfire recovery staff in Anglicare, burn out and compassion fatigue is very common and poses a threat to our well-being. Emotional exhaustion can creep up unexpectedly. Vicarious trauma can stop us in our tracks unless we recognise it and acknowledge it. So caring for oneself and each other is vital. Practising kindness and compassion and being ready to receive it is a gift.
The media is reminding us of the year that was, and yet our minds and bodies do not fit in this construct. Time has paused; for some time has stopped. Some are not ready to consider it has been a year. You may be a member of your community trying to work out what to do for each other. It is a stark reminder of the need for that connectedness, coming together to share stories and to remember.
Yet not necessarily everyone who has endured the trauma of the past year wants to or is able to endure the pain of remembering. Pastorally and prayerfully, there are opportunities to get alongside those who seek the enabling of someone who will listen, who will support them through their journey of grief, of the kaleidoscope of emotions that come with such trauma, and assist them to more fully process their experiences in a sensitive and non-judgmental way. Gentle, gentle is the pace and nature of this journey for the wounds are so deep.
Some people are ready to deal with and process their trauma from the fires in positive ways. Many are actively engaging in the creative space and stories are being told through extraordinary artworks, craft, poetry, music, prayers or gardening.
Recent exhibitions I (Janice) have been deeply moved by in the Eurobodalla include Postcards from the Fire held in Mogo and now showing in Batemans Bay, the Creative Arts Batemans Bay art and sculpture exhibition, and initiatives such as Rising from the Ashes in Milton are examples of local communities working together to express themselves and their experiences through the various mediums of the arts. Some people are creating objects of art from remnants found after the fires to truly bring beauty out of ashes.
As much of the landscape begins to bring forth new life and the colours return, the flowers blossom, the crops are ready to harvest and the birds and the wildlife start to return, there are signs of renewed hope and for many there lies new fervour to conserve and protect what remains.
The shared experiences of the past year have brought some communities closer together as they continue to build on the bonding that fighting for survival brought for them, an RFS chief in one community told me very recently. Other communities may not yet be at that point, such is the extent of their loss and grief and the delays in recovery due to sometimes multiple reasons. For some the strain has become unbearable, with couples and families now dealing with fractured relationships in the midst of trauma. Sadly, some families have relocated out of their communities as paperwork and insurance decisions have left them unable to rebuild.
I pray for compassion and wisdom for us all as we move together towards recovery and renewal. Please continue to uphold our affected communities, our clergy, pastoral care workers and Anglicare staff still caring for the needs of those affected.
We invite you to continue to pray this prayer, written by Dean Andreas Loewe, uttered at St Paul's Cathedral early Jan this year by the Anglican Primate of Australia, Melbourne Archbishop Philip Freier.
Almighty God and heavenly Father, we pray for this world that you love so much
that you sent your Son Jesus to be born as the child of Bethlehem:
We pray for the safety of those sheltering from fires and those fighting fires,
for livestock, native animals, paddocks, bushlands and sacred places.
We remember our own loved ones and those who are dear to us facing this crisis.
We pray for those tending to the injured, the frightened and the brokenhearted,
for emergency services, emergency broadcasters, chaplains and counsellors.
We ask for your forgiveness for our own failures in safeguarding your good creation,
and pray for political and community leaders, and all those responding to the current crisis in our nation.
Above all, we pray the peace that passes all understanding, in our nation and state, in our homes and in our hearts.
This we ask in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
(https://www.anglicanprimate.org.au/2020/01/02/a-prayer-amidst-bushfires/)
by Reverend Sarah Plummer and Janice Ackland
Warden, All Saints College, Ainslie – Expressions of Interest
An Anniversary and an Opening in South Wagga
CGGS Students Volunteer with Embracing Ministries
How a University Residential College Fared During COVID
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(Edmonton, Alberta) – The Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) is pleased to welcome Kevin Auch, Carmangay-based producer, into the Vice-Chairman position on the AWC Board of Directors. Auch has served on the board since AWC's inception.
The position was previously held by Henry Vos who remains on the board of directors, and Kent Erickson will continue to hold the Chairman position.
"The AWC board of directors is made up of passionate people who have strong industry experience," Auch said. "The AWC board has taken a leading role in the new direction of the wheat industry and it is an honour for me to take this next step," he added.
The board also welcomes two new members whose terms begin today. Gerry Good joins the board from Region 2 and John Wozniak from Region 4. AWC thanks previous board members Ron Nerland and Brian Tischler for their service.
AWC re-elects its executive annually following the Annual General Meeting (AGM). Directors are able to serve on the board for two, three-year terms. The election and AGM took place today at FarmTech in Edmonton.
The Alberta Wheat Commission's board of directors provides strategic direction that guides the Commission's long-term goals.


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AIL TIPS
The Trail is open from dawn to dusk.
Trail users are asked to be considerate of neighboring property. The Trail passes through private lands on a fairly modest right of way.
Best river access is at both ends of the Trail.
Pets should be kept on leashes for their safety and that of other Trail users' pets and neighbors' livestock. Owners are asked to clean up after their pets.
Plants should be left undisturbed. Volunteer crews regularly tackle "invasive" plants on the Trail – if interested, please contact and join us!
Trail users are requested to "leave no trace behind." VMI is in the process of installing trash, recycling, and pet-litter stations at access points along the Trail.
Jordans Point is one of the better places for canoes and kayaks to put in. There's also access just downstream of Veterans Bridge. Boaters also take out at Jordans Point if coming from upriver. Downstream, there's access to put in or take out, a boat ramp at the Buena Vista end of the Trail. The Mill Creek Gate can also be accessed from Old Buena Vista Road. This stretch of the Trail, going east, is one of the best areas in the county to see an abundance of native wildflowers in the spring.
About a mile east of Mill Creek Gate are the ruins of Reids Dam and Lock and an excellent picnic spot below the lock. This is one of the significant historic structures from the canal era. Others include ruins of South River Lock and Ben Salem and Zimmermans locks further down river; Tankersley's Tavern or "Old Bridge," directly across and upriver from Jordans Point; Clifton, an imposing brick home just above and before the Mill Creek area; and some remains of a lockkeeper's house and old railroad ties just before the South River junction of the Trail.
The area is also rich in geology and wildlife. For descriptions of what may be found on the Trail, the Field Guide to the Chessie Nature Trail may be obtained in local bookstores or from the Rockbridge Area Conservation Council.


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Q: Find an equation for the sphere centered at $(1,0,1)$ and tangent to the plane $x+y-z=1$ i know the equation of a sphere tangent to a plane is $(x-a)^2 + (y-b)^2 + (z-c)^2 = r^2$ but I'm having trouble setting up this problem

A: The normal vector to your plane is  $\begin{pmatrix}1\\1\\-1\end{pmatrix}$. So consider the line,$\textbf{L}$ given by $$\textbf{L}=\begin{pmatrix}1\\0\\1\end{pmatrix}+\lambda\begin{pmatrix}1\\1\\-1\end{pmatrix}$$
This line originates from the centre of your sphere. So you can find the point of intersection with the plane by solving for $\lambda$. Then $r$ is simply the distance from the centre of your sphere to that point.


I majored in Music Education at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. I have taken a 15 year break from teaching however I have played the flute for over 26 years. Since I am just getting back in to teaching I would prefer to work with beginner to intermediate students. I have 4 children ranging in age from 2 - 13 years old and can teach in my home or yours, whichever you prefer.
Taught private lessons to local elementary and middle school students in both flute and saxophone.


text:
Dartmouth News
Rothschild Toussaint '23, vice president of Alpha Phi Alpha, opened the program at the Shabazz Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Day with "Wake Up," a poem that he wrote for the occasion. King himself was a member of the historically Black fraternity. (Photo by Katie Lenhart)
Dartmouth Honors Martin Luther King Jr.
A series of events on campus is celebrating the towering legacy of the civil rights leader.
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Quoted: Carolyn Dever on the Power of Perseverance
Dartmouth Now takes note when faculty and other members of the community weigh in on issues of the day. Here is today's "Quoted":"Asking...
Convocation Remarks by President Phil Hanlon '77
Dartmouth College Convocation, September 15, 2014 President Phil Hanlon '77 Good afternoon, and welcome everyone. I have to say to Walt and...
Convocation Remarks by Student Assembly President Casey Dennis '15
Dartmouth College Convocation, September 15, 2014 Casey Dennis '15 Thank you so much, Dean Ameer, for your kind introduction, and a sincere...
Convocation Address by Provost Carolyn Dever
Dartmouth College Convocation, September 15, 2014 Provost Carolyn Dever Good afternoon everyone. I'd like to welcome again the Class of 2018...
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Dartmouth Now takes note when faculty and other members of the community weigh in on issues of the day. Here is today's "Quoted":"May you be...
Convocation 2014 Celebrates Dartmouth's 245th Year
President Phil Hanlon '77 and Provost Carolyn Dever formally opened the school year with encouragement and promises of support, as they...
President and Provost to Speak at Convocation 2014
Convocation exercises marking the 245th year of the College will be held at 3:15 p.m. on Monday, September 15, beginning the fall term...
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Speaking at his Inauguration as the 18th president in the Wheelock Succession, Philip J. Hanlon '77 called on students to look to the words...
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text:
American Bank among companies promising tax bill bonuses to employees
By Anthony Salamone
Of The Morning Call |
Mark Jaindl, president and CEO of American Bank, said Friday the bank is doling out $1,000 bonuses to 60 workers in part because of company savings expected from passage of the federal tax reform bill. (APRIL GAMIZ / THE MORNING CALL FILE PHOTO)
SOUTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP — American Bank became the first Lehigh Valley business to publicly announce it is paying $1,000 bonuses to its 60 workers in connection with the tax bill signed Friday by President Donald Trump.
The bank anticipates saving nearly $1 million in taxes next year, said Mark Jaindl, American Bank president and CEO, with the new law slashing the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent starting Jan. 1.
"And we think [the savings] should go back to the people," Jaindl said.
Jaindl said the bank traditionally has given out yearly bonuses and decided on the extra reward as a "sign of appreciation" of its workers. The South Whitehall Township bank ranks 10th in market share in the region — and second among locally based banks — according to the latest Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. report.
After Congress approved the tax bill, major companies including AT&T announced bonuses, higher minimum wage payments or other perks tied to their anticipated tax law savings. Among them were two other banks with ties to the Valley, Wells Fargo and BB&T.
Wells Fargo said this week it will raise its minimum pay to $15 an hour and anticipated making $400 million in donations to community and nonprofit organizations in 2018. It also plans to contribute 2 percent of after-tax profits for corporate philanthropy beginning in 2019.
BB&T, which acquired Allentown's National Penn Bancshares in 2016, on Friday announced $152 million in benefits, including:
Raising the minimum hourly pay rate from $12 to $15 per hour, effective Jan. 1;
Providing a special, one-time $1,200 bonus to be paid in January, for almost three-fourths of its associates (about 27,000), many of whom do not receive incentives or commissions; and
Donating $100 million to BB&T's philanthropic fund to support charitable organizations.
Michael Andretti's newest venture, Andretti Acquisition Corp., goes public
Most Read • Business


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Home Posts tagged "Database"
Tag: Database
All Show Locations Data Entered*
By Linh Pham 2019-03-04 2019-03-04 Database	0
After spending a few hours listening to the Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! audio archive that I have found ways to download from the NPR site over the years, I have gone through and updated the show location for all shows in the Stats Page database.
*: Of course, there are a few shows where Carl Kasell didn't say which location a Best Of show was recorded or the venue in which a show was taped from (be it at a public radio station or a location with a live audience).
Stats Page Version 3.4.0: Correcting Some Design Mistakes
By Linh Pham 2018-12-18 2018-12-18 Database, Development, Stats Page, Web Development	0
Ever since I started working on version 3.0 of the Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! Stats Page, one of the design decisions that I made when it came to the individual host, scorekeeper, panelist and guest pages was to use the specially encoded names in the URL. The encoding process would convert certain characters, such as a space, into their URL-encoded version, or "%20" in the case of a space. Well, looking back, that was not really the smartest way of doing it; and, ever since version 3.0 was published back in 2014, I was afraid of breaking any links that may have been created with that URL format and did not have a lot of spare time to re-design the whole thing. As months …
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10 June 2012 Sprint: Data Access Code Completed
By Linh Pham 2012-06-15 2013-09-04 Database, Development, Stats Page	0
Over the past couple of days, I have been working on completing all of the PHP code required to query the WWDTM Stats Page database. Tonight, at the end of my two week sprint, I have reached that all important milestone and have successfully written a test to make sure it works. Warning: this following contains a fair amount of programming talk. If you are not a programmer, please ignore the rest of this post ;) The current version of the WWDTM Stats Page code has grown into a real mess and has become more and more difficult to add new features. The primary goal with version 2.0 is to write almost everything from scratch using proper class objects and breaking up code into manageable …
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Sneak Peek: Database Design for Version 2.0
By Linh Pham 2012-06-02 2013-09-04 Data Structure, Database, Stats Page	0
For all of the Wait Wait fans out there that also are into database designs, you are in for a small treat. Below is an EER diagram of the recently updated database used to house the statistics and other information for the Stats Page. You can view the diagram in its full-sized glory by clicking on this link. My goal is to get the database data and tables as normalized as possible by way of mapping tables. As you can see from the "ww_showpnlmap" table that I have fields for recording: how many points each panelist had, how many points each panelist had before and how many questions the panelists answered correctly during the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank round. I don't have data for every single show …
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Wild Wild Thanet
A little distracted today. On the one hand, Silicon.com are running my thoughts on government's plans for a national ID card and then, with some irony, I've been asked to block my diary in June to meet with members of the Jordanian government in Amman, to discuss their own plans for electronic government and the internet, which also embraces the subject of citizen ID cards. Trapped then between a rock and a hard place, I decided that the best course of action, was to avoid thinking about either today, enjoy the sunshine and take Charlotte over to Wildwood in Herne Bay instead.
Anybody know what the animal asleep in the picture is? Apparently an Arctic Fox, one of the many rare creatures you'll find at Wildwood. Worth a visit, day or even at night, when the badgers are out. One thing I discovered today, is that if an ambulance passes down the road between Herne Bay and Canterbury with its siren going, then this sets off the wolves howling as well. I would never have thought it!
Another Thanet Photo Site
I stumbled across this photo album site today which has a number of interesting photos of Ramsgate, many of which are in Black and White.
A Prize Every Time
I've created a small collection of "Thanet" photos from the library as a slideshow but feel free to send me yours to add to the collection
Originally uploaded by DrMoores.
Thanet Jedi News
For any potential Jedi Masters, of which there seem to be many in Thanet at present, try your skills with a selection of light sabres on this website:
New Baywatch
Kent police will be patrolling the bays this summer looking for signs of anti-social behaviour, which will include, loud music, alcohol consumption, vandalism and speedboats and jetskis making a nuisance of themselves in the popular beaches around Thanet.
Quite how the police will be able to catch a jetski, isn't quite clear yet but perhaps the old wooden pedalboats, that I worked on one season as a teenager, will be bought out of retirement?
Anyway, any police presence along our seafront, as a deterrence against anti-social behaviour, is better than none at all.
BBC Radio Kent Interview on the New Dreamland Rides
BBC Radio Kent's Morning Show host, Steve Ladner, interviews Thanet Life's Children's Editor, Charlotte, about the re-opened Dreamland amusement park in Margate and its new rides.
A Turner Sunset
Thanet at its best on a Bank Holiday Sunday evening at St Mildred's Bay, Westgate. A grey and overcast day is crowned by a breathtaking sunset of the kind that made this stretch of coastline famous in JMW Turner's paintings of the 19th century.
Red Arrows Fly-by
Thanks to the Red Arrows who gave Charlotte a small display on request this afternoon.
We were coming back towards Manston, when I heard them returning on the same frequency, clearing the skies ahead of them as they hurtled at low level down the Thames Estuary towards Thanet.
"I've got a ten year old fan in my right hand seat", I told them and the Manston controller, "Do you mind if I position over the lakes and watch you come in?"
"Alright", said 'Red One', stay eight miles clear to the south and we'll do a fly-by", and they did, along the Manston runway and then up vertically, breaking in a starburst in front of us.
Lucky Charlotte says "Thank you!"
PS.. Don't forget that the Red Arrows will be among the aircraft displaying at next month's Thanet Airshow.
First Photos of New Dreamland Rides
Tested by our Children's Editor
Dreamland Margate opened this evening for the first time in two years* and our children's editor Charlotte was there to test the new rides, many of which are bigger and scarier than ever before, to add to the old favourites, such as Dreamland's famous roller-coaster, the "Scenic Railway."
Test pilot Charlotte
The two biggest rides are G-Force and Megadrop and showing considerable courage, Charlotte, aged 10, was among the first to test "fly" the latter, which has a seat hauled-up parallel with the top of the Arlington tower and then released into free-fall, seconds later.
Waiting for the drop
Entry to Dreamland is by buying tokens at the gate and each ride costs anywhere between 2 and 4 tokens depending on how exotic it is. Best value is buying £20 worth of tokens which should see you around the major rides.
* Dreamland did open briefly as a funfair for a period last summer but with limited rides.
You can find a photo library and slideshow of all the new rides here.
Bay Watch
It's thirty years since I was a Thanet Lifeguard and I notice that there's nobody on duty on my bay, this weekend.
This afternoon, I was seconds away from making a decision over an unscheduled swim, as I watched a middle-aged man attempt to recover a football being blown out to sea in a wind that's gusting up to 40 knots.
I happened to be taking photos, as usual, when I caught him swimming after the ball, towards an area of water, on the incoming tide that can be best described as a washing machine. Fearing the worst, I started snapping photos at the extreme range of my telephoto lens as I walked quickly towards the spot.
The moment he swam across the breakwater into deep water, the waves started smashing him across the concrete and he started to struggle. Fortunately, he managed to pull himself along the breakwater, towards the promenade and an emergency ladder that was conveniently positioned for just such an occasion, finally emerging a little worse for wear and perhaps realising how lucky he was.
An offshore wind like today's is a particular problem in the summer, with so many children and adults now having inflatable rings, waterbeds, crocodiles and more, it's a water-safety nightmare at the best of times and without a Lifeguard on duty there's even more risk.
In the summer of 1975 I went into the same sea to rescue a twelve year old girl who had been spotted, face down in the water, in the unpatrolled area of the waterfront, North of the St Mildred's boating pool, on a rising tide. I found her but was too late to save her.
Dreamland Opening
I've just dropped-in to the Dreamland amusement park in Margate and it's unlikely to be opening before late afternoon or early evening today, I'm told by Harry Ayers, the concessionaire.
Once it opens, I'll take photos of the new rides and place them up in a photo library for readers to view.
Margate's Dreamland, May 2005
Swimming Alert as More Beaches Fail Water Test
The Guardian reports those heading to the coast for the bank holiday weekend might like to think twice before taking advantage of rising temperatures by having a dip in the sea.
The quality of the water at British beaches has declined for the first time in eight years, according to the Marine Conservation Society.
The Isle of Thanet
The society revealed yesterday that 52 of the 800 beaches tested for its 2005 Good Beach Guide failed to meet the European commission mandatory standard for water quality. Last year only 26 beaches failed to make the grade
On the Marine Conservation website, Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate fail to receive a yellow recommendation flag but Reculver, Westbrook, Westgate and Minnis Bay are given high water quality awards.
Beaches which were failed by the guide this year ranged from Church Beach in Lyme Regis, Dorset, to Hele Beach in Ilfracombe, Devon; Haverigg in Cumbria and Viking Bay in Kent.
The BBC reports Viking Bay was the only beach in south east England to fail and Thanet District Council says it had been working with the Environment Agency and Southern Water since August to solve the problem. Council investigations will continue this summer, including a tidal survey in August with samples checked every half hour.
Thanet's 26-mile coastline scooped nine Seaside Awards last month.
A small boy consulting the famous St Mildred's oracle for clues about his future, the truth about Father Christmas and the likelihood of a very warm bank holiday weekend.
Apparently, Tesco has sold-out of BBQ sets and there is good reason to expect Thanet to go up in charcoal-scented flames this weekend, early preparation having already started outside many of the beach huts along the seafront.
Have I Got News for You
The main headlines this week from around Thanet.
Stop press.. Thanet becomes centre of African international fish trade! Fish to claim asylum.
Even More Photos
A whole new collection of aerial photos, taking in the Thanet coastline from Palm Bay to Herne Bay has just been added to the library. If you happen to live anywhere between the two, along the seafront, then you might just see your house.
Visit the aerial photo section here to view and download the photos.
Tongue Sands
If you ever wondered what the Tongue Sands north of Margate looked like at low tide, then here's a photo of one of the sandbanks with its distinct red colour. There used to be a lightship anchored there many years ago.
The sandbanks stretch west towards Reculver and the one below, where you'll find the sleeping seals today, is just in-front of Minnis Bay, Birchington. In fact, if you download a better resolution photo from the library, you can just make out a family of seals on the sands. The higher resolution image I took yesterday allows you to count them individually.
Kent police have been busy all morning with a traffic operation on the A299 towards the St Nicholas roundabout. There are brand new police motorcycles tucked in behind the exit before the roundabout and two policeman by the side of the road tracking incoming cars, with "captured" vehicles being pulled off into the layby hidden behind the roundabout.
What's unusual today is that coming and going this morning, I noticed that the police officer on "point" is not wearing his high visibility jacket and has it tucked behind him. I have asked for a comment from the Press Office at Kent Police but they appear reluctant to answer the very direct question as to whether the traffic officer is breaching regulations by not wearing his regulation jacket on road traffic duty and within a metre of a dual carriageway.
"After all", I said to the PR girl "they are supposed to play fair."
Thanet Life has just breezed by its 15,000 visit. That's an extra 5,000 in just under the month. Its growing nicely but we do need more contributions because when I'm away, it stops. Does anyone want to volunteer as a deputy editor?
Ed: Dougal Bell of Thanet Police tells me: "An officer is not required by law to wear his high visibility jacket if he is not on the highway but it is a discretionary Health & Safety issue in an operational role. It would have been adverse to the operation for the officer to have been wearing his jacket in the circumstances."
I've been busy this morning taking photos of Thanet and the sands offshore. New photos in the collection of almost a hundred, include Margate's Dreamland, waiting to open this weekend, The Sea Bathing Hospital area, Westgate, Margate, North Foreland and Cliftonville and some very large seals dozing on the sandbank offshore.
You can find the photo library here to view or download.
Dreamland Roller Coaster
A Bohemian Rhapsody
We used to call it a "sanity check", you take a business idea to a group of colleagues and then they pull it apart, looking for weaknesses in the proposition.
Tonight, I listened to Sam Thomas, Thanet District Council's "Regeneration Officer" at a CIBAS event, "Inspired Thanet", at the Media Centre in King Street, Margate and wondered at the size of the gap that sometimes occupies the space between imagination and reality.
Jan Dunn of Spotty Dog Films sees Thanet as a location of limitless possibilities, a Bohemian quarter of enormous potential, with cheap properties of the kind that attract artists but back to Sam who views the Turner Centre in much the same light as Tony Blair waxed lyrical over the Millennium Dome, pointing enthusiastically at the artist's impression of a seaside vista to match Cannes at its finest. As for the Arlington tower, well, if you cover it in smoked glass, he quipped, perhaps nobody will notice or perhaps a little sculpting could deliver a Burj Al Arab effect that mimics the best of Dubai?
TDC Artist's Impression of the New Arlington Tower
Of course we need regeneration and the efforts of the arts community who assembled at the Media Centre tonight but I don't quite see how the miracle of The Turner Centre will bootstrap Thanet as the new Brighton unless we start by telling eighty other local councils to stop dumping their Social Services problems on our doorstep and to give us their artists instead. But then, would the introduction of a thousand Tracey Emins' make Thanet a better, more cultured and more prosperous place in which to live?
Here to There - With Luck
Worrying about identity cards and more, I had to go to London today, an invitation to lunch with three MPs, one ex-MP, Richard Allan, and the legendary Guy "Bud" Tribble, Apple Computer's Vice President of Software Technology. Forget driving I thought, "Let the train take the strain" and I did, as far as Sittingbourne, that is, where it broke down.
I wouldn't complain but this has happened three times to me in the past twelve months, thanks to the the new rolling stock which doesn't much like snow, leaves, stations and of course, passengers or "customers", as South East Trains calls us. Airads' Captain Bob, tells me that one of his mates was marooned at Faversham for two hours yesterday, same problem, the doors on the train were stuck.
The irony is that one of the MP's who joined us for lunch - I finally arrived in London but late - is Derek Wyatt the MP for Sittingbourne and he's been making a fuss about the quality of the trains and the train service that serves his constituency,which lies between us and London.
From my own point of view, this 1 in 3 chance of finding a train to London that actually gets there on time and as advertised and without breaking down has moved beyond a joke. How on earth can we encourage businesses, like my own, to operate from Thanet, if public transport is delivered at third-world levels?
Laws of Libel
I've just taken-down one of our comment threads which has potentially libelous content and in my view, breaks the simple rules I have asked contributors to follow.
Having fought and won two libel actions in the past, I'm conscious, that if any person wishes to make allegations against another, then such content should be capable of scrutiny in a court of law and that this website should not be used as a vehicle for hearsay.
Thank you Ed.
Dunkirk Anniversary on Thursday
Fleet of little ships top leave from Ramsgate
Barrie Smith reminds us that tomorrow morning, an armada of small boats will leave Ramsgate for Dunkirk for the 60th anniversary of the evacuation of the wartime evacuation, a spectacle worth seeing.
Safely home for some
The Battle of Dunkirk (in French: Dunkerque, and in Britain normally referred to simply as Dunkirk) was a major battle during World War II which lasted from around May 26 to June 4, 1940. A large force of British and French was cut off in north-east France by a German armoured advance to the Channel coast at Calais. Over 330,000 Allied troops were evacuated by sea.
French soldiers arriving at Margate station
Photo Call
Angel-1
Angel, the Doolittle's Hamster, has been having a modelling session.
Unusual for a Hamster, Angel, has a habit of hanging upside-down from the bars of her cage, like a bat, grasping a chocolate button in her paws, which is quite possibly how they evolved in the first place but without the chocolate!
One piece of local news, I notice that English Heritage will be running a "Roman" experience for children at Richborough over the Bank Holiday weekend, entrance is £3.00.
If you know of any other activities taking place, there must be many, let me know.
Gale`s View
North Thanet Conservative MP, Roger Gale's Regular Column
"Respect" is the buzzword that was generated by comment upon the Queen`s Speech. "We want," said the Prime Minister "a society with the rules, order and proper respect due to each other as equal citizens".
We can all, I am sure, agree with the sentiment but respect, Prime Minister, is not something that can be demanded or legislated for. Respect has to be earned......and can be squandered.
If the man or woman at the top cannot be trusted then the institutions over which, effectively, he or she presides are diminished. That applies to politicians as it applies to policemen or doctors or teachers or lawyers or any of those charged with a duty of professional care, public office and responsibility or confidentiality.
I met, at the weekend, with two astute and committed representatives of a local youth council. We discussed, amongst many other matters, attitudes to the dress, demeanour and behaviour of those in public life and service and in close contact with young people. I had expected that my own views might be regarded as Out of the Ark if not Off The Wall and was pleasantly surprised to discover that my young friends were no more impressed, as today`s teenagers, by dressing down and dumbing down in the interests of trying to appear "trendy" than I had been myself at the same age.
In tandem with "respect" rides "modernisation". I have asked many Members of Parliament and several journalists what they mean by "modernisation" and apart from, in the minds of some, not wearing a jacket and tie (!) it is clear that "modernisation" means whatever you want it to mean so long as it does not owe too much to what used to be described as "traditional values".
But wanting "a modern society", to use the Prime Minister`s words, does not have to involve lowering aspirations and standards to the lowest common soap opera or "celebrity" challenge script.
"Respect" and "modernisation" should mean a recognition of the hopes and fears and ambitions and responsibilities and rights not just of those at the more fortunate and affluent end of the social pile but of every citizen in the land. That recognition is not the monopoly of any one politician or any one political party. There are many on both sides of the House who have taken their seats in Parliament for the first time this month who are wholly committed to the cause for entirely the right reasons. It would be a good thing if those at the Government despatch box were now to lead by example.
On 15th March I wrote to the Home Office to ask why £14.8 million owed to Kent in payment for the provision of support to asylum seekers had not been paid. This was followed by parliamentary questions and the threat of legal action by Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart on behalf of the council taxpayers of Kent. This week the Minister has replied to say that "the Home Office has paid the Council £7.1 million and is in the process of making a further payment of £3.24 million". Why "in the process" and when will the debt be paid in full?
Short on news today, beyond noticing that the entrance to Westgate library is surrounded by a dense jungle of grass and weeds which might conceal a lost tribe of South American indians.
Apparently, I've broken the Thanet Tourism website. Try this link.
Clever eh?
According to an email from the Tourism webmaster in reply to a letter from reader Barrie Smith: "Having had a look at your comments I noticed a very curious feature of browsing no matter what the platform or browser. I had a look at the page - on Thanet Life - where you found the link and noticed that on their absolute reference to the Thanet Tourism website, they have appended an additional "/" to the end of an explicit reference to a page (not just a domain or directory). When this is applied to any URL it produces the same result of broken links and images. Please use the following as a link to the Thanet Tourism website for a better browsing experience."
Which all means I've broken their website!
Picture postcard view of Margate
A tennis coaching scheme appears to have begun, in the afternoons and evenings at the tennis courts in Westgate. Local children and teenagers need more activities like this over the summer months and in countries like France and Sweden, there's a great deal more effort and of course budget placed behind keeping them busy with sporting activities.
Ironically, I first made my living from tennis a very long time ago but while its a great sport, it uses alot of space and I'd really encourage the council to think about putting-up basketball hoops in the public tennis courts for use by the local children when the courts are closed for business. Another idea would be to allow the courts to be turned into proper five-a-side space in the winter Westgate are already used this way, so why not encourage it?
Gone Crabbing
A quick crab census at St Mildred's Bay suggests that only one in ten of the creatures is alive and the green-backed crabs are virtually extinct. Very few live adult crabs for the time of year and whatever virus or toxin killed thousands two months ago, has wreaked havoc with the local ecology.
Still. There are some survivors and the children are having to work harder to find any of real size.
In the photo below, you can see a quick dance of victory from three local boys, as a crab is spotted in a rock pool.
What's happening in the air over Thanet and a quick weather forecast. Still testing the webcast technology, a pilot's pilot, so to speak!
RSS Feed Information
Margate Sands 1
Thanet Life has an RSS newsfeed or more accurately, it uses ATOM, the Blogger/Google standard.
If you have RSS news reading software such as Newz Crawler, then paste "http://birchington.blogspot.com/atom.xml" into the feed address and new columns and comments will be delivered to your PC automatically. In fact, I'm using Newz Crawler to read all the available Sunday papers at once and for free this morning.
If you want the photo feed, this is "http://www.flickr.com/services/feeds/photos_public.gne?id=10233720@N00&format=atom_03"
Must be Handball Ref..!
Joshua J -11 May 2
Football fever grips Thanet on FA Cup Final afternoon but nobody has explained the handball rule to young Joshua!
Getting ready for the first experimental broadcast of Thanet Life's digital TV channel. It can only get better and promises an improvement on local weather webcams.
Also.....
What the Thanet local paper is writing about on Friday 20th May
Volunteering for the Rum Ration
Chartfield School's outing to the Grand Turk sailing ship anchored in Ramsgate harbour.
More photos and a slideshow on the website.
Local Newsflash
Harry Ayers the man behind the re-opening of Dreamland tells us that the amusement park will NOT open this weekend as planned. Delays in setting-up the amusements mean that Dreamland will only open Thursday of next week at the earliest but "Definitely" Friday, in time for the Bank Holiday weekend.
EUjet have just announced suspension of their flights to Budapest until further notice. Apparently, the Hungarian capitol's airport has raised its charges by three hundred percent, enough to make it unviable, as a destination for low cost airlines.
Stuart McGoldrick, EUjet's Group Commercial Director, said: "The cancelling of Budapest is a disappointment, but the massive increase in airport charges has made it no longer a commercially viable route. We understand other airlines are pulling out of the Hungarian capital too."
A potentially damaging move for the Hungarian tourist industry I would have thought at a busy time of year.
EUjet has also chosen temporarily to change the frequency of flights to a number of domestic routes during the summer in line with customer demand. The number of flights to Edinburgh will be reduced from 12 to 11 per week and to Newcastle and Belfast from six to three.
Stuart McGoldrick continued: "Over the past two months our bookings and passengers carried have consistently increased, in particular to our Spanish destinations, Dublin, Edinburgh and Prague, and we are confident that this will continue.
"One example of the growing demand for the EUjet service from Kent International Airport is that all our flights during the forthcoming Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend are full."
Since EUjet began flights from Kent International Airport on 1 September, 2004, the airline has already taken over 360,000 passenger bookings and currently more than 90% of its flights arrive in on time – better than any other UK airline – and 76% of all flights are early.
The EUjet Customer Services team will be contacting all passengers affected by the suspension of the Budapest route and other changes to arrange alternative itineraries, routes or refunds. In the meantime passengers can visit www.EUjet.com or call 0870 414 1414 for further information.
Westgate on Sea Station Update
South Eastern Trains response to "Clean-up" call
The Managing Director of South East Trains, Michael Holden, has this week responded to a call from the village`s MP, Roger Gale and local Councillor Brian Goodwin to take steps to clean up the station and to make it safe.
Following complaints from local resident Geoffrey Shaw Case and a site visit the MP wrote to Network Rail and South Eastern on 27th April saying:
"I am appalled to see how very seriously and dangerously this station has deteriorated since I last visited not so very many months ago".
The MP and Cllr. Goodwin drew attention to poor CCTV coverage and broken platform lighting, and a lack of manning and referred to a use of part of the downside platform as "a shanty youth club with a broken sofa, armchair and other paraphernalia obviously used by those who at night vandalise the station".
In reply this week Michael Holden, accepting responsibility for the problems, says:
" We have been putting a great deal of time and effort into station presentation over the past 12 months and I am disappointed that Westgate on Sea station was in such poor condition on your visit. I have instructed the station Manager to attend to the repair issues and the removal of dumped items of furniture. I have also asked our Head of Security to check that the CCTV does cover all areas of the station and to liase with British Transport Police and TDC`s community warden for the area regarding the station`s use as an after-hours hang-out by local youths"
"I am pleased that South Eastern are responding swiftly to this situation" says Roger Gale " and that they are meeting with Thanet`s community safety officers and area manager to draw up an action plan. Westgate Station ought to be a credit to the village and an asset: at present it is a potentially dangerous eyesore"
Snow Scene
With summer struggling to make an appearance, here's a nice and rather chilly photo of a Margate snow scene submitted by Philip Page.
The Weald's Favourite Airline
It came as a surprise. Walking onto the apron at Manston with the other passengers for EUjet's flight to Dublin, we walked past the two Fokker 100 jets and on towards the squat-looking Airlinair ATR 42-500 turbo-prop aircraft that I had previously wondered about, tucked-away in the corner.
Photo of the ATR taken at Dublin - Not Manston.
Can I take a photo I asked our escort? "No" she replied, "Security", and I nodded knowingly, EUjet having confiscated my blunt nail scissors half an hour before.
Where the BAA have now re-allowed blunt nail scissors to be carried on passenger flights, EUjet, which has it's aircraft under an Irish registration, is still bound by Irish regulations, so no scissors or anything vaguely metallic or pointed that may pose a security risk to the aircraft or its crew.
I recently interviewed Stuart McGoldrick for Airliner World and Thanet Life and knowing a number of people, management and crew at the airline, I have been asking EUjet if it might be possible to fly the right seat of one of their Fokker 100's for Pilot Magazine review of the aircraft. - not on a passenger flight of course - and they're looking into it but the ATR was an extra unexpected bonus, as I was thinking of approaching Air Atlantique for ride in theirs.
Comfortably settled down in my seat at the front of the aircraft, I asked the two flight attendants if I might take their photos for ThanetLife. One, Aofe Larkin, is Irish and her colleague, Elodie Tatara is French. Airlinair is an Air France company and apparently, the ATR is leased-out to EUjet for a week while they take a view on using such aircraft for short-haul flights. With a cruising speed of 260 to 300 knots, it's not much slower than a Fokker 100 which can do the Dublin run in sixty minutes as opposed to ninety and can take-off and land on a billiard table.
Having introduced myself to the girls and my loose connection with the airline and aviation, - I've done aviation news reports for both Sky and CNN - Elodie asked if I would like to meet the rest of the crew and called the Captain for his permission. Once the aircraft was settled en-route, I was escorted forward to meet Francois Roubes, the ATR's Captain and his First Officer, Claudio Dumay.
Francois, who was a helicopter pilot in the French navy has been a Captain on the ATR for five years, while Claudio, who was a flight engineer, has two years on type. Both are based at Orly, outside Paris.
ATR First Officer Claudio Dumay
We arrived in Dublin "on the dot" and as passengers Chris and Nicky Ewings commented on the way in to passport control, "We've had about sixteen flights with EUjet now and have never had any problems, they're really excellent."
I then got on with my real job, meeting Irish Trade Minister Michael Ahern TD and others at a conference on the Irish economy, I was addressing at the Croke Park Stadium before making my way back through the traffic to the airport again this afternoon.
Israel's Sol Gradman, Minister Ahern TD and Simon Moores
With some heavy weather and a strong headwind over the Irish Sea, EUjet UNI04W back to London, was twenty-five minutes late and it was ten minutes before seven before we were all on board ready for the flight home. This time, and about a quarter of an hour into the flight, I was invited to meet Captain Chris Kalisvaart, a Dutchman with over six thousand hours on the Fokker 100, who has been flying them since 1993 when he worked in Indonesia. His First Officer is Lee Salway, enjoying his first job flying jets. Lee built-up his own flying experience dropping parachutists before being accepted as an airline pilot, finally finding his way to Manston and a right seat on the EUjet fleet, where he tells me he's enjoying life immensely. This was the aircraft's second trip to Dublin of the day.
Lee Salway
We arrived at Manston only two minutes late, thanks to a strong tailwind. As a both passenger and a pilot, I can't fault the EUjet experience of the last two days. The aircraft that gave them so much trouble earlier on in the year, with the undercarriage emergency, has now gone and with it, the many delays and technical problems that went with it. Every new business has its problems and if you watch the Airline series on TV, you'll know how challenging a business this can be. However, what really marks out the EUjet experience from a local perspective, is how committed the people are to making our local airline a success and how much they want to show our local and frequently cynical, community what a good service they can offer.
You can see a collection of EUjet aircraft and crew photos here.
Waiting for Aisle 9
Sitting here waiting for aisle 9 to open at Dublin airport so I can catch the 18:30 EUjet flight back to Manston.
Pictured, flight attendants, Aofe Larkin and her colleague, Elodie Tatara from yesterday's flight out which left and arrived exactly on time.
The flight had more surprises as I found myself chatting with the crew on the way to Dublin, which I'll write about in the two hours left before the flight opens. Perhaps with luck I will get to ride the ATR 42 the same way back again to Manston.
Nick Carter & Karmen Debauche
PS.. you can see a collection of EUjet aircraft and crew photos here. If EUjet crew want to send me their interesting destination "snaps", I'm quite happy to host them as a collection here, so you can share them.
Dreamland Countdown
I've just been to the Dreamland site in Margate to see the new amusement park owner, Harry Ayers. They're all busy down there working towards achieving the coming weekend's planned opening date and Harry has promised us a full progress update on Friday, as well as giving permission for a complete photo montage of all the new rides that we'll put up here as a slideshow on Thanet Life.
The Bells of Westgate
"Hark, I hear the bells of Westgate,
I will tell you what they sigh,
Where those minarets and steeples
Prick the open Thanet sky."
Audio file of John Betjeman's poem, "The Bells of Westgate", written circa 1930.
It is probable that the future Poet Laureate, John Betjeman took a certain degree of poetic licence when writing his poem 'Westgate on Sea'. At the time he visited the place, probably while staying at nearby Birchington, the church of St Saviour ( the only Anglican church in Westgate ), a prime example of the Victorian architecture which Betjeman so unfashionably advocated, only had one bell, and a rather high-pitched one at that. Furthermore, Westgate was still a Parish Council in the early 1930s when the poem was written. It has been suggested that 'the bells of Westgate' may have been augmented in the poet's imagination by the bells of the many schools in existence there in those days, whose pupils appear in the poem. Notwithstanding, the poem charmingly evokes the orderly, genteel resort of the 1930s , with its balconied housefronts.
"Striving chains of ordered children
Purple by the sea-breeze made,
Striving on to prunes and suet
Past the shops on the Parade."
It's changed a little since 1930 but the covered shopfronts remain. when I was a boy, in the 60's, it was full of prep schools and now, the spaces where they stood and the playing fields where I once played cricket are crammed with houses.
if you want to find out how well the local schools rank in the OFSTED report, visit the BBC site which publishes all the figures. The complete Kent school primary listings are HERE.
Complete poems of John Betjeman.
This is one view at the westerly end of the Manston runway. I hadn't realised that the chalk quarry on the roundabout had become such a "Des Res." What happens if it rains hard I wonder?
Several of our local quarries have a rich history associated with them and here's a link to more information if you would like to find out more.
There was also an underground brigade HQ located in a disused quarry at Sarre which you probably see on the way to Canterbury, which was subordinate to the Battle HQ at Canterbury. The area was fortified by Canadians who would help form the defence force if needed to reinforce South East Command forces if there was an invasion in 1940.
An Interview with Richard Samuel Part III
The third part of an interview with Richard Samuel, Chief Executive of Thanet District Council. Richard discusses the replacement of the Clock Tower traffic lights with a new roundabout and the issues surrounding traffic congestion at Westwood Cross.
"It has", Says Richard Samuel, "been a longstanding aspiration to construct a major new road through the EuroKent Business Park and the intention has always been to close the Haine Road, which is really unsuitable which is when the traffic can start to build up. When the Council approved us on price, it secured half a million pounds in traffic improvements around Westwood, but of course what these type of things do not do, they do not deliver what other things a lot of people think they should dual carriageways and things like that, that is going to be appropriate for that location. There has been a significant increase in the amount of investment for traffic improvements round there, just from the half million that has been provided by the Development Team to improve the traffic flow."
"I think " continues Richard Samuel, "we are the victim as all local authorities are where infrastructure investment does not get funded through Government sources in advance of private sector development. The planning system here requires developers to contribute to the impact of their development, but it does not answer the sort of key questions. So if you had a big development in the town centre, you do not get your town centre revamped and improved on the back of that necessarily. So, really it is a plan-led system here of the developer-contribution system, doesn't really provide the infrastructure that I think people expect to be provided."
Thanks to www.morningpapers.com for the transcription service.
The audio quality of the complete interview is grainy but I've now bought an MP3 recorder for future interviews.
Over a hundred local authorities have visited the website today as a result of the eGov monitor story that ran yesterday. One reader writes:
" Thank you for showing what the web can do for local democracy."
The BBC news is reporting this morning that a man has claimed that he had his car "hijacked" on the A299 outside Herne Bay in the early hours of Monday morning by two armed men, dressed as policeman in a car with a blue flashing light!
There may be rather more to this story than meets the eye and it does seem a great deal of trouble to go to and a huge amount of potential jail time, to steal one car.
In the Queen's speech today, the Government will be introducing new legislation to address the "respect deficit" in our society, starting with a universal ban on teenagers in town centres if some MPs have their way.
Manston in May
Podcasting For Beginners.
Here's a link to a BBC site which explains RSS (Really Simple Syndication). In a nutshell, it's a way of speed-reading Web sites, such as the BBC News and there's an RSS feed built into Thanet Life.
With a free RSS newsreader you can, very simply, create your own newspaper, which in my own case, picks-up, the BBC, The Guardian, Wired Magazine, Thanet Life and the headline of a hundred other titles latest, quite automatically. As a result, newspapers are a thing of the past unless I really want to buy one to read on the train. Add in a Podcast feature as mentioned in the last post and you can take many of your favourite news and radio programmes and listen to them "offline" with your iPOD or MP3 player if you have one or on your PC's Windows Media Player or MAC equivalent.
It's certainly worth looking at and saves you having to visit a Website like this one to see if there have been any updates. Instead, they come to your PC directly.
An Audio Weblog, "Podcast" message to Thanet Life readers. Staying at the "Bleeding" edge of internet publishing technology. More content coming soon. I recommend a visit to iPodder to download the software that will let you capture this and other "Pod Content", now even from the BBC to your own iPOD, Media Player or PC quite automatically. It's free!
You can also find the longer , eGov monitor version of the interview with Richard Samuel HERE. The final part of the interview which deals with Westwood, building et al, should be published today.
One clever solution to the local traffic problem and the soaring cost of petrol
Humbug the Shetland pony runs on hay and water and does not require an MOT, insurance or regular servicing. Marginally faster and less prone to rust than a Rover 216, he can manage a breath-taking average speed of 10Mph between his Manston home and Westwood Cross.
Only a two seater though, he might be considered a hatchback as a basket can be attached at the rear for any Tesco or Sainsbury supermarket shopping.
When Making Comments Please Note
Readers, please note that however strong your feelings might be on any subject, personal invective directed against any person or contribution is not permitted here. I've just taken down the conversation thread against one entry and in the interests of encouraging a healthy exchange of views and opinions, I would ask all visitors to keep to the rules, courtesy to others at all times please and absolutely NO personal remarks ar any time. Thank you. Ed:
Up and Away with TGA
With the return of the good weather, the aircraft and the helicopters are out at Manston. Immediately below is a photograph and a slideshow of the Stearman biplane owned by TG Aviation, who offer flying training at Manston. You can find out about trial flights, getting your own pilot's license or even flying the Stearman by calling them on 01843 823520 or on the Web at www.tgaviation.com.
TG Aviation Stearman
Nicknamed the "Yellow Peril" thanks to its somewhat lively ground handling characteristics, the Stearman is a rugged classic of the pre and post world War II era. The Stearman "Kaydet", as it was officially named, was the only American aircraft used during World War II that was completely standardized for both Army and Navy use as the PT 13D (Army) and N2S-4 (Navy). Sold by the thousands after the war, the Stearman has found roles as as a trainer, crop duster and aerobatics trainer and this particular model in Navy colours, found its way to Thanet.
Fancy a Helicopter Ride?
Local company, Helicharter, 01843 822555 are also offering regular fifteen minute experience flights during weekends from the Spitfire Museum at Manston. I happened to catch them working a queue of people there at lunchtime today.
Remains of the Day
What now remains of the medieval manor of Dent De Lion in Garlinge between Westgate-on-Sea and Margate, now turned into apartments and houses on either side of the 14th century gatehouse that once looked into a very different world, the baronial fief of the local Dent De Lion (Tooth of the Lion) family.
Dent De Lion castle
To Boldly Go - To Thanet
This one caught me by surprise but it's true. In the book, Star Trek: The Next Generation: Do Comets Dream? by S. P. Somtow:
"Every five thousand years, the people of the planet Thanet believe, the world ends in fire and a new cycle of creation begins. Now the Last Days are once again upon them, and a fiery star draws near. This is the Death-Bringer, whose coming heralds the end of all things.... But Captain Picard faces a dilemma: how can he save the Thanetians' civilization without destroying the very beliefs upon which their culture is based?"
I wonder if the author has a distant connection with any hotels in Cliftonville?
An Interview with Richard Samuel Part II
Thanet District Council's Chief Executive speaks to Simon Moores on improving local services.
How can the council offer more efficient services?
"I recently spent a half day on our customer service desk and somebody rang up to have some bulky rubbish removed. I can't book it direct. I have to take the information, pass it to our client team who in turn can't pass it by computer to the contractor and eventually way down the chain the resident will have his rubbish picked-up. Now I want to change that to the type of situation that the first person you speak to, can book your appointment and take your money and do it all in one hit and at the other end, the contract work force will have their work booked in advance for them, leading to a much faster service and reflects where we will be moving to over the next year or so. "
"There is so much work to do to modernise this authority that you do have to break it up into separate pieces."
Margate Beach
Why has Thanet fallen so far behind in its ability to deliver joined-up online services?
"It's certainly true that Thanet started late. When I arrived here three years ago, I think email was barely functioning, we had a very unstable IT network that was constantly failing and we were under-resourced in terms of people who we had to provide the IT service. And when you think that data has incredible value, not just monetary in terms of its purpose and use, modern organisations simply can't survive without good IT. We've made it a priority to start putting those problems right we quite early on we engaged a consultancy firm to give us a health check and have followed their recommendations faithfully and put effort into creating a secure and stable network which we have now and have put much more work and effort into web publishing and information and increasingly starting to use internet applications to do business but we are behind, there's no doubt about that."
Does the council have an anti-technology culture?
"I think there is a culture of a reluctance to learn, highlighted by the audit commission last year and which was spot on. A reluctance to accept that members of the public might have the answers to some of our problems and that it's not wrong to take on-board those ideas in the interests of improvement. To try and get everyone to accept this is not easy as people have ingrained ways of working and it something I try to encourage but you can't track six hundred people's interaction with the public everyday to check they are doing the right thing."
"The senior team here is pretty clear about the direction it is trying to take the council but we have a pretty big task in terms of changing thirty years of culture - since 1974 - and I have found that people in Thanet can often be quite insular about the opportunities that exist in the world and we see this in the resistance to change here and I know that's true because I talk to people and I talk to employers around Thanet but we can do what we can with our organisation."
Council officers don't' appear to have engaged the concept of the internet as a delivery mechanism?
It's not all bad news out of 400 authorities ranked, our arrangement came out as the second best in Kent after KCC in the way our front-end call handling has improved since the last - unfavourable - audit commission report. What has happened is that the infrastructure has been assembled so the first point of customer access can do as much for the customer as possible, phone being our highest volume. We want to hit as many requests for service from the first point of contact but until this year we haven't had the infrastructure to this, which we have now and which is being moved across incrementally to make sure it works and doesn't fall over, so the change is starting. Behind that is really a complete reconfiguration of what is called the Back office, removing the duplication of resources, and ensuring that we have a single point of contact who can deal with a broad range of enquiries efficiently, giving people better service as a consequence."
"If you can't deliver the service, contract or otherwise to the person who needs it, then you've failed and I'm not looking to move delay from the back to the front office. Instead, I'm looking to improve the whole flow of activity."
"We introduced new standards of service that we expect our staff to follow in dealing with the public at the end of last year and we are about to launch a detailed training programme with all staff to reinforce our expectations, which will, for the first time be a consistent standard. This has come very late to Thanet but it's being done now and you will see an improvement from the end of this year onwards, in the way in which people deal with the public because I completely agree with your point on passing the buck and the message we are trying to get across to our staff is, 'If you take an enquiry from the public, it's not unreasonable that you give your name and what you do. It's not unreasonable to ask, how can I help you and actually mean it' and if you have to do a little more work to follow it through, you have to deal with it seriously and not leave it lying in your in-tray."
When Stephenson demonstrated his first railway engine over two hundred years ago, serious scientific debate surrounded the danger of its passengers being suffocated, through being unable to breathe the air at speeds above 30 MPH. This is a danger which is unlikely to be experienced behind Thanet's loyal community of elderly Rover drivers along the seafront between Cliftonville and Birchington on any day of the week.
Having just attempted to drive home from the Northdown Road at the reckless speed of 23 MPH behind two Rovers, who, at walking pace, just managed to get through the Clock Tower lights before they changed to red, I'm left wondering what will happen if the Government pushes through its plans to re-test everyone over the age of seventy? Thanet's roads would be a great deal emptier than they are now and the regular accidents and the occasional award-winning reversing manoeuvre into High Street shop windows might become a thing of the past.
At least, before the demise of Rover, seeing one of its estate models, gave the driver following a visible warning, that he or she should add on several hours to his journey time to Westwood Cross but without the presence of a Rover brand, how are we to know that a five mile diversion around Manston might be quicker than risking the lights on Hartsdown's Coffin Hill?
Perhaps the answer is to once again employ people to walk in front of cars with a red flag? It's quite possible that a few of our local drivers can still remember those days when life was rather more unhurried and less stressful than it is today.
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BBC Radio Kent Interview on the New Dreamland Ride...
A Turner Sunset Thanet at its best on a Bank Holi...
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Have I Got News for You The main headlines this w...
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Here to There - With Luck Worrying about identity...
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When Making Comments Please Note Readers, please ...
Up and Away with TGA With the return of the good ...
Remains of the Day What now remains of the mediev...
To Boldly Go - To Thanet This one caught me by su...
An Interview with Richard Samuel Part II Thanet Di...
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Check out the SoundGirls.Org website's About Us page and you'll see their unofficial mantra: "You Can't Be What You Can't See." It is the organization's mission to "inspire and empower the next generation of women in audio" by shining a light on women who are living it, every single day. Founded in 2013, SoundGirls is dedicated to fostering community as well as providing tools, knowledge, and support to individuals who are actively building careers in audio, sound, and music production.
When we reached out to Karrie Keyes, the executive director and co-founder of the organization, and asked her to describe her role to us, she responded: "As Executive Director, I work with our co-directors and our chapter heads on developing programs. I oversee the day to day of running the non-profit and work with our volunteers to keep things running." That's no small feat considering that SoundGirls now boasts an international membership of more than 6,000 members with dozens of chapters worldwide. Also, never mind the fact that Keyes already has super important job —as the monitor engineer for Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder — a post she's held for the past 28 years!
Since starting out in L.A's punk circuit during the 80's under the mentorship of Dave Rat of Rat Sound, Keyes has worked with an array of bands and artists including The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sonic Youth, Fugazi, and Neil Young. We caught up with Keyes at The 2019 NAMM Show to learn more about SoundGirls and some of the issues women in audio are facing today.
Your "Guide to Supporting Women in Sound" shares this bit of advice: "Don't comment on someone's gender, take interest in their work." Why is commenting on someone's gender before you learn more about their work probably not the best approach?
How did SoundGirls come about in the first place? What prompted you to found the organization?
What would you like girls and women who are considering a career in audio, sound, or music production to know?
Do you hope STEAM will lead to more females entering audio?
*Note: STEAM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Mathematics.
What can studio owners and managers do to make their work environments more inclusive?


I've just started taking an amazing online class from the beautiful Pauline Agnew. I'll be working on expressive faces and figures. So please bear with me as I will be posting my classwork on my blog. I'm super excited about this new artistic adventure, a little scared, too, as I typically paint in another style completely, but my excitement outweighs that big time.
Here's the first. I used charcoal.
You're off to a great start! Getting out of your comfort zone is a very good thing.
Thank you! I agree about getting out of your comfort zone. I'm doing my best to be positive about what I'm creating and I'm loving it!


text:
Japan eyes new path to structural reforms
According to The Nikkei Asian Review today, a government committee has proposed a new approach to boosting Japan's competitiveness.
The Industrial Competitiveness Council on Thursday suggested two new mechanisms with which to kick-start structural reforms. The first is a backcasting approach.
In a draft proposal, the council suggested the government first set long-term goals based on conversations with the private sector, then count backward to draw and implement specific reform plans. The second is a business-oriented approach to cutting regulatory and administrative costs.
The proposals appear to reflect the government's frustration with a lack of notable progress toward structural reforms and its struggle to keep pace with rapid advances in technology.
Backcasting was tested in November. In a public-private dialogue on Nov. 5, Hisashi Taniguchi, CEO of Tokyo-based venture robot developer ZMP asked Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to relax rules to allow autonomous vehicles on public roads.
"In the fourth industrial revolution, speed is key," Abe responded. The government "will decide on necessary measures right now right here without delay."
And at the end of the meeting, Abe announced the measures. The government, he said, "will work to allow driverless cars on expressways and transportation services by such cars by 2020, when Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games."
Japan had been slow in creating a legal framework for autonomous vehicles despite an ever-accelerating global race to commercialize the technology. But since Abe set the 2020 deadline, relevant ministries have hastened their work and the National Police Agency in April published tentative guidelines for testing autonomous vehicles on public roads.
"I thought the [backcasting] approach really works," said a ministry official who took part in writing the latest draft proposal, looking back on the November episode. The draft proposal points out that there are limitations to the conventional manner in which structural reform is undertaken. It also talks about the difficulty of foreseeing what innovations the fast-paced fourth industrial revolution will throw our way next. A moment's delay, the proposal says, could spoil everything.
The council suggests that the government use the backcasting approach when the speed of growth hinges mostly on regulation, such as internet of things technologies and artificial intelligence.
The second mechanism -- an approach to cutting regulatory and administrative costs -- has its model in Europe. It is a way of reducing complicated rules and red tape by measuring workloads and setting numerical reduction targets as well as deadlines for achieving the targets. Under the mechanism, progress is reported and reviewed to measure its effectiveness. The U.K., Germany and the Netherlands each cut unnecessary red tape by more than 20% over a few years using the approach.
If the approach helps reduce the time and number of people needed for inspections, examinations and other administrative procedures -- not to mention obtaining permits and licenses -- Japanese companies will benefit and foreign companies may be more willing to enter the Japanese market.
However, including this proposal in the draft faced strong opposition. Critics say setting numerical targets and deadlines is tantamount to ministries giving up on many existing regulations and ceding their administrative powers.
On 4April, a private-sector member of the government's Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy suggested that administrative services and efficiency should be improved by 20% within a year. But due to a strong backlash from ministry officials questioning the method's effectiveness, the council had to back away and significantly change the language. Its working-level paper, published on April 25, does not include a proposal for setting numerical targets and deadlines.
The latest draft proposal by the Industrial Competitiveness Council also falls short of calling for numerical targets and deadlines. Instead, it calls on the government to "reach a consensus within a year" on how to drastically streamline regulatory and administrative procedures for foreign businesses hoping to invest in Japan. Although no specific figure or deadline is included, several members of the council are still calling for expedited structural reforms.
This is not to say that backcasting is on a fast track. If goals are not properly set, deregulation measures designed to achieve them may end up wide of the mark. The key is for a new public-private conference on the fourth industrial revolution to understand the fast-changing needs of industry and swiftly reflect them in structural reforms.
In a rapidly changing world where new services -- ride sharing is one example -- can spread across borders in an instant, the government needs to swiftly react and rewrite regulations.
Ref: http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Policy-Politics/Japan-eyes-new-path-to-structural-reforms
If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:
http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/1460405
Haru Kinase


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