text:
Imprivata Announces Fourth Quarter 2015 Financial Results, Revenue Growth of 18%
Lexington, Mass. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — February 16, 2016 — Imprivata® (NYSE: IMPR), the healthcare IT security company, today announced financial results for three and twelve months ended December 31, 2015. Revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2015 were $34.2 million, an increase of 18% from revenues of $29.0 million for the same period in 2014. Revenues for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 were $119.1 million, an increase of 23% from revenues of $97.0 million for the same period in 2014.
Revenue of $34.2 million
Adjusted EBITDA loss of $1.3 million
Cash Flow from Operations of $1.5 million
Net loss per share: $0.15 GAAP; $0.09 non-GAAP
"Our fourth quarter revenue growth was driven by strong demand from multiple products, as we are solving more security and identity problems in healthcare," said Omar Hussain, President and CEO of Imprivata. "For the year, we added a record number of new healthcare customers, bringing our total to over 1,500 worldwide. Additionally, because of our unwavering focus on customer experience, we maintained our healthcare retention rate at over 97%."
"We have become the vendor of choice in healthcare IT security, which was reflected in the cross-selling across our product platform in the fourth quarter. We are excited about 2016 as we continue to build momentum with our multi-product platform strategy, and we will continue to innovate and expand our market opportunity. For example, at HIMSS we will announce our expansion of Imprivata Confirm ID to a strong authentication platform, replacing usernames and passwords with two factor authentication for not only EPCS, but also for remote access, medical devices and other clinical workflows.
Net loss for the three months ended December 31, 2015 was $3.7 million, or $(0.15) per basic and diluted share attributable to common stockholders, as compared to a net loss of $1.7 million, or $(0.07) per basic and diluted share attributable to common stockholders for the same period in 2014. Net loss for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 was $23.1 million, or $(0.94) per basic and diluted share attributable to common stockholders, as compared to a net loss of $16.7 million, or $(1.37) per basic and diluted share attributable to common stockholders for the same period in 2014.
Adjusted EBITDA(1) for the three months ended December 31, 2015 was a loss of $1.3 million, as compared to a loss of $34,000 for the same period in 2014. Non-GAAP net loss (2) for the three months ended December 31, 2015 was $2.2 million, or $(0.09) per basic and diluted share, as compared to non-GAAP net loss of $1.0 million, or $(0.04) per basic and diluted share, for the same period in 2014. Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 was a loss of $12.4 million, as compared to a loss of $11.5 million for the same period in 2014. Non-GAAP net loss (2) for the twelve months ended December 31, 2015 was $16.8 million, or $(0.69) per basic and diluted share, as compared to non-GAAP net loss of $15.0 million, or $(1.08) per basic and diluted share, for the same period in 2014. A reconciliation of GAAP to these non-GAAP financial measures has been provided in the financial statement tables included in this press release. An explanation of these measures is also included below under the heading "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."
(1) Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization adjusted for foreign currency gains (losses), stock based-compensation and the impact of the fair value revaluation on our contingent liability.
(2) Non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share excludes amortization of purchased intangible assets, stock-based compensation and the impact of the fair value revaluation on our contingent liability.
First Quarter and Full-Year 2016 Financial Outlook
Conference Call and Webcast Information
Imprivata management will host a conference call at 5:30 pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, February 16, 2016 to discuss the Company's quarter ended December 31, 2015 results, its business outlook and other matters. The conference call will be accessible by dialing 877-407-8037, or for international callers, 201-689-8037, and referencing "the Imprivata 4Q15 earnings call". A live webcast of the conference call will also be available on the investor relations section of the Company's website at http://investor.imprivata.com/. Imprivata intends to use the investor relations portion of its website as well as social media as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.
An audio replay of the conference call will be available approximately one hour after conclusion of the call and will be accessible through March 1, 2016. The replay can be accessed by dialing 877-660-6853, or 201-612-7415 for international callers, and providing conference ID 13629767.
Imprivata® (NYSE: IMPR), the healthcare IT security company, provides healthcare organizations globally with a security and identity platform that delivers authentication management, fast access to patient information, secure communications, and positive patient identification. Imprivata enables care providers to securely and efficiently access, communicate, and transact patient health information to address critical compliance and security challenges while improving productivity and the patient experience. For more information, please visit www.imprivata.com.
Investors Relations:
Jeff Bray, CFA, 781-761-1417
John Hallock, 781-761-1921
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, statements regarding the anticipated opportunity and trends for growth in our healthcare customer base, backlog and our overall business, our market opportunity, our expectations regarding sales of our products, our goal to maintain market leadership and our expected financial results for first quarter 2016 and beyond. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "should," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "could," "increases," "improves," "reduces," "implements," "results," "addresses," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date they were first issued and were based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections as well as the beliefs and assumptions of management. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond Imprivata's control. Imprivata's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to, our ability to successfully develop and introduce new solutions and products for existing solutions; our ability to attract new customers and retain and increase sales to existing customers; developments in the healthcare industry or regulatory environment; seasonal variations in the purchasing patterns of our customers; longer sales cycles associated with more complex deals in our healthcare business; slower growth in the non-core areas of our business; the lengthy and unpredictable sales cycles for new customers; our ability to successfully integrate HT Systems and other businesses and assets that we may acquire; our ability to market and sell any acquired products from HT Systems and future acquisitions; our ability to maintain successful relationships with our channel partners and technology alliance partners; our dependency on sole source suppliers and a contract manufacturer for hardware components of our Imprivata OneSign and Imprivata PatientSecure solutions; our ability to manage our growth effectively; our ability to respond to competitive pressures; potential liability related to privacy and security of protected health information; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights, and the other risks detailed in Imprivata's risk factors discussed in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including but not limited to Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 filed with the SEC on March 11, 2015, as well as other documents that may be filed by Imprivata from time to time with the SEC. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent Imprivata's views as of the date of this press release. Imprivata undertakes no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Imprivata has provided in this release financial information that has not been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP. This information includes Adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share. These non-GAAP financial measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative for, GAAP and may be different from similar non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. Imprivata believes that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures provides supplementary information for investors to use in evaluating operating performance and in comparing its financial measures with other companies in Imprivata's industry, many of which present similar non-GAAP financial measures. Adjusted EBITDA (EBITDA adjusted for foreign currency gains (losses), stock based-compensation, transaction costs associated with business acquisitions, transaction costs associated with shelf registration and offering costs and the impact of the fair value revaluation on our contingent liability), non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share exclude amortization expense associated with our purchased intangible assets, stock-based compensation, transaction costs associated with business acquisitions, transaction costs associated with shelf registration and offering costs and the impact of the re-measurement to fair value of our contingent liability. Non-GAAP financial measures that Imprivata uses may differ from measures that other companies may use. These non-GAAP financial measures disclosed by Imprivata are not meant to be considered superior to or a substitute for results of operations prepared in accordance with GAAP, and should be viewed in conjunction with, GAAP financial measures. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. A reconciliation of GAAP to the non-GAAP financial measures has been provided in the tables included as part of this press release.


Voltage regulator rectifier for arctic cat climb cross m f xf tz lxr z xt bearcat zr oem repl. Mesa boogie triple rectifier head. Dubstep girls massive arrug rectifier reviewparison this is western electrics version of the ug with slightly different specifications it should be fully patible amps stratus m. Voltage regulator rectifier for suzuki ltf f quadrunner x.


Sessums Law Group, P.A. seeks full and fair compensation for those injured in slip and fall and other types of premises liability cases. We protect your right to recover the costs of medical care, lost wages and diminished earning capacity. We have more than 30 years' combined experience standing up to insurance companies and we won't back down until you are treated fairly.
Where do slip and fall accidents typically occur?
Our personal injury attorneys evaluate your case and develop a plan to pursue compensation for your injuries.
What are some common slip and fall injuries?
In extreme cases, a slip and fall can be fatal. Sessums Law Group, P.A. protects injured parties' rights to seek full and fair compensation and we represent family members in wrongful death claims when needed.
How can I prove the property owner is responsible?
Property owners have a legal duty to protect people from injuries on their property due to slips, trips, falls and other accidents. This legal responsibility is known as premises liability. If a person is injured due to a dangerous or hazardous condition, such as the accumulation of ice, snow or water, abrupt changes in flooring, poor lighting or hidden hazards, the property owner can be held responsible.
The owner of the property or an employee knew about the hazardous condition but took no action to correct it.
The owner of the property or an employee should have been aware of the hazardous condition. For example, a landlord may be held responsible if a tenant is injured due to a problem in a rental property that would have been discovered during routine maintenance checks.
Call Sessums Law Group, P.A. for a free personal injury consultation. We seek full and fair compensation for those injured by the negligence of others. We serve clients throughout Polk, Highlands and Hillsborough counties. Contact our Lakeland office at 877-826-5630, our Sebring office at 863-658-4796 or contact us online to set up a meeting. At Sessums Law Group, P.A., we stand for you!


text:
Malaysia Airlines Debuts Light-hearted Raya Video
KLIA, 5 June 2018: In celebration of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Malaysia Airlines today, released a special 4 minute 30 second Hari Raya video revolving around the theme of Malaysian Hospitality.
The video (which can be viewed here http://bit.ly/2kM1miO) tells a story about a little boy planning to welcome a new family member from a different race, who's celebrating Hari Raya with them for the first time. With the help of his neighbourhood friends, he surprises the family with an extravagant display of lights, which quickly takes an unexpected turn. He then learns that the smallest gestures make the most memorable hospitality.
Malaysia Airlines' Group CEO Izham Ismail said, "Our hospitality is a reflection of the combined values of unity, tolerance and warmth which cuts across the multi-cultural races of Malaysia. These values lie at the heart of this short film. For the festivities, we want travelers to know that Malaysian Hospitality is about doing everything we can to make our valued guests as comfortable and as welcomed as possible."
He added, "Malaysian Hospitality is about anticipating our guests' needs. A service that it is not only expected but truly deserved by every one of our guests. We would also like to take this opportunity to wish Malaysians Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, maaf zahir dan batin and hope you have a wonderful celebration with your loved ones."
Malaysia Airlines invites you to balik kampung and enjoy Malaysian Hospitality with exclusive offerings and deals at https://www.malaysiaairlines.com/my/en/campaign/mh-deals.html in celebration of the upcoming Aidilfitri.
The airline has mounted 76 extra flights from Kuala Lumpur, Kota Bharu, Labuan, Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Sandakan, Kuching, Miri, Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya to cater to the high demand during this festive season. Meanwhile, several routes to Kuching and Jakarta, will be upgraded from the B737-800 narrowbody aircraft to a wide-body A330-300 to accommodate to the larger passenger volume.
Join our mailing list and stay up-to-date with our exclusive news and offers
Preferred City of Departure
Accept privacy policy and terms & conditions
Not to worry! An email has been sent to [email protected].
If you'd like to manage your profile, click on the link in the email.
Oops! Your request was unsuccessful. Please try again.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Education abroad is international, cross-cultural learning that will change your life. Prepare yourself for the global work environment by gaining an expanded worldview and new skills for understanding others' and your own culture.
India – Social Work in India with a Focus on Health and Mental Health – With a focus on health and mental health, students will be introduced to the history, culture and society of India. The program field trips include visits to sites of cultural and historic importance and local health and mental health agencies. The program is based in Bangalore and Chennai in the southern part of India.
Jenny Bickley (bickley.9@osu.edu), education abroad coordinator.
College of Social Work students who are accepted to participate in a College of Social Work study abroad program or another approved study abroad program or international research or internship program are eligible to apply for the Students First – Social Work Student Study Abroad Scholarship (click for form). This scholarship provides a small award, approximately $300 to $900, to help cover study abroad expenses.


You can find a full description of this strategy by reading this article.
They are only truly useful for them. Add it in your MT4 platform.
You can easily analyze currency charts to find channels, or trends.
Now, lets talk about the actual strategy itself. As explained, with this strategy you will be able to predict the future movement of an asset. In order to use this strategy, you will have to activate the above-mentioned indicators on your charting interface. First you will have to watch out for the following things: You will be able to tell which boundary the asset will cross based on the direction of the general movement of the above-mentioned three indicators.
Applicability of this Strategy So, now you would want to know what exactly you would have to do in order to use this strategy to your advantage.
There are actually multiple positions you could open in such cases. You also notice that the three of these indicators are moving downwards. You will have to remember that after a short while the value of the underlying asset will always return back into the two boundaries of the Bollinger Band.
There are basically two choices you can make in this situation. Remember, using this newbie strategy in most cases you will be able to predict that the asset will go below 1. This choice is a bit risky because you cannot know exactly when that event will happen during the next minutes. This choice is less risky because the value of the asset will most likely go down during this time frame. If all this seems too complicated at first, you can try out a service such as IQ Option initially.
This will check the charts for you automatically for this and similar positions. You can then execute trades and learn to use this strategy yourself. Best applicability So, at first read the strategy might sound a little bit complicated to total newcomers who have never traded binary options or other instruments online.
You will have to enable these indicators on your charting interface in order to use them. You will be able to tell which is which based on the color of the line representing them. You will only have to remember which color is which after which with a little practice you will be able to recognize them with ease. Here is a color reference for these indicators: So, after watching these indicators, and you see the pattern mentioned above 13 WMA crossing the 20 SMA, 26 EMA crossing the 20 SMA after which crossing the 13 EMA you will most of the time be able to predict the movement of the underlying asset but remember, not always — nothing is guaranteed in financial trading.
As of today, I am selling my first manual binary trading strategy. I have three more, which I will soon list for sale. Live Binary Trading Example 1: It is possible to do, but not required in anyway. Click here to see more of my trade history images: What is binary option trading? BO [binary-options] is a special kind of financial instrument. It allows traders to invest money in speculative currency trading. Are you wondering why people call it financial betting? Well, BO is surely a financial instrument, but truth of the matter is, brokers execute no real trades in the inter-bank, or with any market maker.
Binary trading is much simpler than forex trading. With forex brokers, you can actually trade currencies in the inter-bank, though you need much bigger investment to do that.
Binary options are an alternative to forex trading and it helps you limit your losses. Instead of losing huge amount of money, BO limits your profit and loss on a per trade bases.
In BO trading, you simply choose the direction in which you think a currency pair is going. In forex trading, you have to use a trading platform such as MetaTrader 4.
Many forex brokers also have their own web-based platforms. You can open a trade by buying or selling a currency pair; you can use Stop-Loss and Take-Profit features to trade effectively. Unfortunately, not many traders trade successfully in forex. Binary trading is simple and easy to understand. However, you still need a working strategy to make profits.
If you leave things to pure-guessing, then you are going to lose all your money to your binary broker. You need to find a system that works i. What is a binary option contract? A BO contract is simply a trade that you open with a binary option broker. Each contract, or trade, has a fixed expiry time. If it moves in the direction you predicted, then you win the trade.
Note that the asset price has to not just move but also stay above or below the rate at which you opened the trade. A trade can also end in a tie if the opening and closing rate of the asset is same at expiry-time. If you use a good system, you can earn good profits in this business.
What percentage of winning [in-the-money] trades is profitable? This winning percentage will only keep your account in positive. Your winning ratio should be at least 7: But why buy my strategy when you can get free ones online? Yes, you can get your hands on many BO strategies on internet. However, do you really think someone is going to publish a real money generating system online for every trader to see?
Even if someone does that, how long can such strategy work before it runs out of gas? I am going to show you few binary strategies now; these are available online free of cost.
Buying items from eBay, Etsy or even Craigslist, rehabbing them, and turning them around for sale can net you big profits. This is another great way to clean house and clean up at the same time! Try your nearby local bookstores or sell books on Decluttr or Amazon. Recyclable materials Bottles, cans, bags, newspapers… the list of things that can be recycled just keeps getting bigger. Photos How would you like to turn your amateur shutterbug hobby into a money-making profession?
The best part of doing this is, posting your pictures can turn into a perennial revenue stream that pays you over and over for those pictures you thought no one would ever want! Plasma Blood banks always need plasma and blood products to help treat sick and critically injured people.
Depending on your blood type, you could turn your blood products into a helpful source of extra income. Sperm Not everybody is comfortable with the idea of selling their DNA.
Beat Binary Options is an easy to read analysis of the binary options trading market filled with excellent first-hand examples and an understandable approach to planning, entering the market, and beginning to trade binary options/5(11). Ready? Start trading binary options now. The popular strategies to go for are: I – Fundamental Analysis Strategy. This strategy is concerned with the analysis of the behavior of the overall performance or attributes of a company.
After placing binary option market. What number of products offered by many people. For this they charges of the Indian exporters with increasing state of mind understand anything else likely to result for the beginning how to build any entry signal. How To Win In Binary Options Before we can discuss winning in binary options and applying the recommended steps outlined below, we need to establish the type of binary options traders out there. What works for some users may not .
Traders love this binary system as it has an exceptionally high ITM [In-The-Money] percentage. You can look for other binary trading strategies on the internet; I bet you cannot find anything as effective as this. You can leave the time behind when investing money in binary trading was not all that different from flushing it down the toilet. Best Binary Option Broker. TopOption – At TopOption you can trade Binary Options from as little as whilst the maximum single Binary Option trade limit at TopOption varies in value. You could make a maximum profit of 85% at TopOption.


Our field work trials, conducted with companion animal veterinarians indicate non-THC CBD help reduce anxiety in many situations for both dogs and cats.
RELAX seemed to be extremely complimentary to traditional anti-inflammatory therapy. Veterinarians were able to decrease other medications when previously this was not possible.
For dogs and cats that were not feeling well or off their food due to the effects of other medications RELAX acted as an appetite stimulant.
Omega essential fatty acids are beneficial in improving skin and coat condition. CBD derived from hemp is one of the richest and most balanced all-natural sources of omegas.
My rescue dog is no longer demonstrating aggression while taking RELAX" Carol Ann.
Centaur Health has two companion animal dosing options for non-THC CBD at this time.


text:
Public Sector: 1 to 6 of 10 matches
The Curve, Slough
Market Sector(s): Leisure, Public Sector
Caunton completed the frame for The Curve, the civic building in Slough As the name suggests the structure is a steel-framed curved rectangle in shape and plan. Each of the building's elevations feature either cantilevers or sloping and curving facades, with the main north side presenting the most striking aspect with a long sweeping, predominantly glazed, elevation looking on to the adjacent list...
RAF Brize Norton
Market Sector(s): Public Sector
There has been much construction activity over the past few months at RAF Brize Norton. The sad, but proud, duty of receiving our fallen military personnel killed in action, has now transferred to RAF Brize Norton from RAF Lyneham as of 1 September 2011. The deceased are flown back on a C-17 of Number 99 Squadron where members of their families are waiting at the new purpose built Repatriation Cen...
Rochdale MBC New Municipal Offices - Link Walkways
On the new Rochdale Municipal Offices Project, contractor Sir Robert McAlpine is tight for time with the tower cranes. The design is for a series of concrete structures linked by steel walkways. The contract for the steel walkways was placed with Caunton Engineering. With the demands on the tower cranes' time at a premium, Caunton developed an offsite modular approach. The links were designed, fab...
Multi-Storey Car Park, Loughborough University
Market Sector(s): Public Sector, Car Parks
Caunton supplied the structural steelwork for a new three storey multi storey car park at Loughborough University. This is part of the University's East Park Campus development plan.
Leicester Grammar School
Market Sector(s): Education, Public Sector
Caunton Engineering supplied the structural framework for the new Leicester Grammar School. Early in 2007 the Leicester Grammar School Trustees announced that they had completed an agreement with Land Securities Trillium for the construction funding and long term investment of the relocation of Leicester Grammar School and Leicester Grammar Junior School to Mount Farm, Great Glen.
Cardiac Catheterisation Unit, Kettering General Hospital
Market Sector(s): Public Sector, Health
Caunton Engineering have been employed at Kettering General Hospital to help build the new Cardiac Catheterisation Unit. They are working for Medicinq Ltd., the Procure 21 NHS-framework contractor – in actuality a team of four major contractors. Simons Construction is the lead contractor for Medicinq in this case.


text:
Palmarès

Club

Competizioni nazionali

Stade Malien: 2002-2003, 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2012-2013, 2013-2014

Competizioni internazionali

Stade Malien: 2009

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

Calciatori della Nazionale maliana

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Betty P. Moss
By NJJN Staff December 13, 2010, 12:00 am Edit
Betty P. Moss, 90, of Ewing died Nov. 1, 2010. Born in New York City, she was a former resident of Roslyn, NY, and Hallandale Beach, Fla.
Predeceased by her husband, Louis, she is survived by a son, Dennis; a daughter, Karen Schwartz; four grandchildren; and four great-grandsons.
Services were held Nov. 2 with arrangements by Orland's Ewing Memorial Chapel, Ewing.


text:
Epitalamium (łac. z gr. Epithalámios – pieśń weselna, od epí– na oraz thálamos – sypialnia małżeńska) – gatunek liryki chóralnej, pieśń na cześć nowożeńców, pierwotnie wykonywana przez chór młodych kobiet lub mężczyzn pod komnatą panny młodej lub sypialnią nowożeńców; później również każdy utwór pochwalny napisany z okazji ślubu.

Greckie utwory tego typu pisywali m.in. Safona, Eurypides i Arystofanes. Tradycję kontynuowano w starożytnym Rzymie, gdzie wzbogacono tradycyjne epitalamium o pochwałę zalet młodożeńców i życzenia pomyślności i płodności. Wykształciło się tam także epitalamium epickie, zawierające również opowieść o historii uczucia pary młodej. Epitalamia w Rzymie tworzyli m.in. Klaudian Klaudiusz i Katullus. W średniowieczu gatunek uległ silnej chrystianizacji – ślub traktowany był jako wydarzenie religijne, łączące dusze, wprowadzano także pochwałę dziewictwa i Marii. Oprócz tego pojawiały się również epitalamia świeckie. W okresie renesansu wykształciło się także epitalamium podzielone na role. Epitalamia tworzyli m.in. Ludovico Ariosto, Torquato Tasso, Giambattista Marino, Erazm z Rotterdamu, George Buchanan i Pierre de Ronsard.

W Polsce epitalamium wzorowane na utworach starożytnych pojawiło się w XVI wieku, a jego geneza związana była z uroczystościami ślubnymi np. królewskimi, inspirującymi twórczość panegiryczną. W baroku twórczość taka podlegała ponadto często wpływom sielankowym. W Polsce epitalamia tworzyli m.in. Andrzej Krzycki, Jan Kochanowski i Wespazjan Kochowski.

Przypisy

Bibliografia

Gatunki literackie


"When was the last time you had a real conversation?" is what the video starts with. Well it is a relevant question after all. Ever since smart phones became popular we humans, much to our guilt have become phone addicts. And this is without considering all the social media and the era of free Wifi and 4G that is available to us mind you.
Admit it you are guilty of doing the same aren't you? The thing is that we have become so dependent on our phones these days that we forget to enjoy real life and experience moments. Let's consider some examples shall we. When was the last time you actually enjoyed a beautiful scenery through your eyes and not through your phone screen? When you go out with your friends just to hang and chill, you ultimately end up just checking your phones instead of having relevant conversation and how much of the said conversation is actually about our life? Don't you just end up talking about Snapchat and Instagram or what you saw the other day on Facebook?
We have reached an era where we need Phone Valets to actually leave our phones and enjoy time with our loved ones. Well let's hope that this social experiment reaches many people and teaches them to enjoy life rather than enjoy stuff in their phones. You don't necessarily have to throw your phones away mind you, because it has become a necessity for us humans, but let's just take some time off our phones and talk to real people and enjoy real things. Let's #LookUp and communicate. Hats off Vodafone from TMN for creating such awareness.


text:
PHOTOS: Courtesy National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum
Fit Luka Doncic in a Stocking
December 13, 2021 December 14, 2021 Staff Report	0 Comments FP
While you might not have a nearly 7-foot stocking just sitting around, ready to hang by the chimney with care, that doesn't mean you have to give up your dream of shoving a Dallas Mavericks guard into a comically oversized sock this holiday season.
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled an officially licensed, limited-edition bobblehead featuring Dallas Mavericks All-Star (and Preston Hollow resident) Luka Doncic — just in time for the holiday shopping season.
For a mere $30 (plus shipping) you can get your own Doncic bobblehead celebrating the 2018-2019 NBA Rookie of the Year, or buy a few to dole out to fellow Mavs fans.
All the details are below, and you can find pictures, graphics, an animation, and a video of the bobblehead at this Dropbox link.
"Bobbleheads make the perfect gift for any fan and we're excited that this new bobblehead featuring Luka Doncic arrived just in time for the holidays," National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said.
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which is located at 170 S. 1st. St. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, opened to the public in 2019. The bobbleheads were produced by FOCO.
← Casey & Jeffrey Blackwatters
Audubon Dallas Plans to Count Birds Saturday →
Color It Christmas
December 23, 2021 December 22, 2021 Staff Report 0
Scardello Artisan Cheese Continues Virtual Classes
January 4, 2022 January 6, 2022 Staff Report 0
New Retailers, Restaurants Coming to Mockingbird Station
October 23, 2021 October 26, 2021 Staff Report 0


text:
Too many errors of judgment
in Petra Caruana Dingli
by Petra Caruana Dingli April 10, 2019, 7:26 am
We've heard this line before: as long as nothing manifestly illegal occurred, it is business as usual. Konrad Mizzi had used that argument on his Panama dealings as government minister, and we have heard it many times since.
We are on a slippery slope, as it is the dominant mentality in everything. In the granting of building permits, for instance, a proposal gets through as long as it ticks enough legal boxes. Planners ignore the bigger environmental picture and the developer can go ahead. And just look how the country has ended up.
Seeing how readily Maltese voters seem to accept this legalistic approach to right and wrong, it is no wonder that PN leader Adrian Delia and his inner circle follow the same method.
Delia has attempted to excuse the meeting held by MPs Kristy Debono and Hermann Schiavone with Yorgen Fenech of Tumas Group, also of 17 Black, by saying that the most important thing is whether they actually did anything wrong which could harm the PN's position. I guess it all depends on what you mean by 'wrong'. Moving with the times, Delia apparently means anything specifically illegal.
Debono and Schiavone pointed out that there was no official PN directive against holding such a meeting. In other words, it was not 'illegal' to ask Fenech for sponsorship and therefore this 'error of judgment' is excusable. People might hope for the bar to be raised higher by the PN; but there you go, this is the state of the nation.
The reality is that there are far too many Debonos and Schiavones in Maltese politics across the board. Plenty of them. And with too many errors of judgment, and questionable standards of political behaviour. There is almost nowhere left to turn.
Ultimately, if all that politicians will respond to is the letter of the law, then that is how standards must be raised. For a start, political parties must be weaned off excessive reliance on donations from private sponsors. They cannot be expected to run on thin air, but they could be more independent if provided with an element of State funding.
But this must also come with transparency and stricter rules about donations, including sponsorships in kind. Other countries have tried various models of political party funding. An open discussion is overdue on which model could fit the Maltese system best, and how to improve this mess.
Our current political system is rotten to its core. It can never be cleaned up as long as private interests continue to bankroll it.
The abuse of power means favours – which are not necessarily illegal. Politicians have the power to introduce laws or policies, or to influence decisions, which benefit themselves and their circle more than the rest of the public. A strong system of checks and balances must therefore be in place. This forms the bedrock of democracy. Unfortunately, the government has instead rolled some checks back.
One change in the law introduced by this government has not received as much comment as it should have. This change has enabled members of parliament to hold Board positions on government authorities and agencies. As a result, politicians form part of Boards meant to act autonomously.
For instance, as the permits for the LNG tanker at Delimara were being processed, one of the main concerns was health and safety. But when environmental NGOs and others attempted to address their concerns on this major government project to the supposedly autonomous and impartial regulator, the OHSA, they found that a sitting member of parliament had been appointed as its chairman.
I am not implying that the OHSA or the MP personally did anything wrong. The point is that this direct political involvement undermined public trust. Why was it necessary? Politicians and regulators are not interchangeable. Appointing MPs to lead public agencies and authorities is bad practice from start to finish.
Just because it is not illegal does not make it right. This law should be tightened up again immediately, but as it benefits our legislators, the MPs themselves, they will not stick out their necks to do so.
So-called 'errors of judgment' can also undermine public trust. Did Debono not sense the dark shadow of 17 Black hovering above her like a political stormcloud, as she walked into Fenech's office at Portomaso? How could Schiavone possibly forget that MPs and MEPs from his own Party have been calling for more investigation into 17 Black?
Did they not care? Did they really think it was ok? Was anything else discussed at this meeting besides the conference room? This incident may not seem such a big deal to some, but still it reveals a lot. Thankfully we have journalists to shine a light beneath the political surface. No wonder those with things to hide would love to stamp out the media.
Previous article Impunity is the name of the game
Next article MEP elections: 10 proposals for press freedom
PD slams Opposition Leader's decision to drop no confidence motion against Konrad Mizzi
by The Shift Team November 29, 2018, 12:04 pm
Disinformation Watch #25: Going for broke – 17 Black
by The Shift Team November 11, 2018, 7:46 am
in The Shift's View On...
Malta's crisis of democracy
Impunity is the name of the game
MEP elections: 10 proposals for press freedom


If you're looking for custom wheels to make your vehicle pop, we have the ability to design them the way you want them.
WE NOT ONLY CARRY PARTS, BUT WE INSTALL THEM FOR YOU.
Call now or stop by to check out our large selection.


text:
Q: What is the PySide2 way of emitting a signal with a named parameter to QML In PyQt5 you would do:
from PyQt5.QtCore import pyqtSignal

sumResult = pyqtSignal(int, arguments=['sum'])
sumResult.emit(42)

And then in QML:
onSumResult: console.log(sum)

Just using the PySide2 signal does not work:
from PySide2.QtCore import Signal

sumResult = Signal(int, arguments=['sum'])
sumResult.emit(42)

Error:
TypeError: 'arguments' is an invalid keyword argument for this function

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


How Much Notice is Enough?
The Eleventh Circuit found that even though Nationstar did not receive notice of the debtor's objection to its claim, it was enough that Nationstar had actual notice of a court-ordered change in the status of its claim from secured to unsecured and failed to take timely action to protect its interest. Nationstar Mortgage v. Iliceto, No. 16-16815 (11th Cir. Dec. 11, 2017) (unpublished).


text:
Freedom, Art, and the Infernal Machine
August 29, 2010 by Mark Athitakis, posted in Jonathan Franzen
My review of Jonathan Franzen's new novel, Freedom, is in today's Chicago Sun-Times. It's standard operating procedure to clip the beginning of the review, but I want to point to a few sentences a little lower in the piece, in order to get at one of the reasons why I think the novel doesn't quite come off:
Throughout the novel are glimpses of people who are more coddled by art than inspired by it. A rock club is full of fans of a "gentler and more respectful way of being . . . more in harmony with consuming." When Richard gives an interview saying rock "never had any subversive edge," the provocation is subsumed into blogosphere noise. But writing can hurt, Franzen insists, and art can reshape us.
"Richard" is Richard Katz, a musician friend of the couple at the center of the novel, and something of a mouthpiece for the frustration/contempt/weltschmerz Franzen feels toward the way culture is made and consumed in America. There's no question that Franzen is a firm believer in the power of storytelling—the whole novel is a study in how the stories we tell one another or ourselves can have a huge impact, sometimes literally wound us. Yet in nearly every scene in which Richard arrives, Franzen appears to be wringing his hands over the usefulness of pursuing art in a society that's dead to it. It's a valuable question, but Franzen pursues it awkwardly, and doesn't resolve it in a satisfying way.
The problem is that, within the structure of Freedom, Richard can't win regardless how much or little he succeeds. His first band, the Traumatics, is a poor-selling but critically acclaimed punk band that puts out grim-titled albums like Greetings From the Bottom of the Mine Shaft. He's a smart guy who's engaged in a pointless pursuit according to Patty Berglund, who narrates the bulk of the Traumatics' history: The band is dedicated, she writes, "to releasing further wryly titled records that a certain kind of critic and about five thousand people in the world liked to listen to, and doing small-venue gigs attended by scruffy, well-educated white guys who were no longer as young as they used to be." Richard sings angry all-caps lyrics ("A wall of Regis Philbins! I tell you I'm starting to feel/INSANELY HAPPY! INSANELY HAPPY!") but not many are listening—though Walter, Patty's husband and Richard's friend, is among that enthusiastic 5,000.
When people are listening, the deadness of art-making is even worse. Richard later starts a new band that releases an album of polite folk-rock, and it becomes a hit, "the perfect little Christmas gift to leave beneath tastefully trimmed trees in several hundred thousand NPR-listening households." That mild sneering about popular art expands a few times in the course of the novel. First in an interview where Richard rails about the relationship between art and mass-consumption and iPods:
We in the Chiclet-manufacturing business are not about social justice, we're not about accurate or objectively verifiable information, we're not about meaningful labor, we're not about a coherent set of national ideals, we're not about wisdom. We're about choosing what WE want to listen to and ignoring everything else. We're about ridiculing people who have the bad manners not to want to be cool like us. We're about giving ourselves a mindless feel-good treat every five minutes.
The feeling of contempt only deepens when Richard heads to Washington, DC, and attends a show by indie-rock cause celebre Conor Oberst at the 9:30 Club. Richard takes in the crowd:
…left to themselves to ritually repudiate, for an hour or two on a Saturday night, the cynicism and anger of their elders. They seemed…to bear malice toward nobody. Katz could see it in their clothing, which bespoke none of the rage and disaffection of the crowds he'd been a part of as a youngster. They gathered not in anger but in celebration of their having found, as a generation, a gentler and more respectful way of being. A way, not incidentally, more in harmony with consuming. And so said to him: die.
So how to justify the effort of producing a brick of literature—art!—in 2010 when you've expended a lot of effort in its pages dismissing the utility of art, popular or not? A little strangely and unsatisfyingly, it turns out. Franzen has Patty, a woman not especially inclined to reading in his characterization, consume War and Peace, finding parallels in its pages with her own life. (In turn she'll write her own set of pages that'll have an impact on her family, pages written in an expert style that recalls a certain American novelist named Jonathan Franzen. Later, people will comment on how well-written those pages are.) And without giving too much of the plot away, it becomes clear that Walter internalized the Traumatics catalog deeply enough to go on an all-caps rant of his own, in a hokey, forced set piece. Awkwardly enough, Franzen is on better footing dismissing the value of art than he is asserting it. And if that's the case, why bother?
It's not as if Franzen hasn't spent serious time trying to answer that question. In his excellent 1996 essay, "Perchance to Dream," (subscription req'd), he argued that as a novelist he was obligated to look at the big picture, to defend the social novel, even as he was despairing over living in a time when there was no real audience for it. (The essay is a kind of defense of the novel that a certain kind of critic and about five thousand people in the world like.) So Franzen knew, going in, that writing a novel like Freedom would put him in a bind. He writes in the Harpers essay:
The American writer today faces a totalitarianism analogous to the one with which two generations of Eastern Bloc writers had to contend. To ignore it is to court nostalgia. To engage with it, however, is to risk writing fiction that makes the same point over and over: technological consumerism is an infernal machine, technological consumerism is an infernal machine…
Freedom is no nostalgia piece, and there's much to admire in it—it reads beautifully, has an admirable scope, and the extended parts about bird population and coal mining are less draggy than they have any right to be, even with one long scene literally taking place in a conference room. But it's a novel with that persistent, irritating drumbeat in the background—technological consumerism is an infernal machine…—and while Franzen obviously threw his best effort into stifling that noise, to cover it up in singing prose and intimate characterizations, the platitude just keeps welling up.
Previous postLishing vs. Copyright Law
Next postEnter Ghost
12 thoughts on "Freedom, Art, and the Infernal Machine"
Certainly an odd stance from a writer whose last literary novel was a bestseller and an Oprah book club pick – in other words, both a serious work of art and financially successful. Seems like he's one of the lucky few who gets to have it both ways – but still feels guilty, as if the market success of the book somehow negated its artistic aspirations.
rggblog says:
Thanks, Mark. And you've accomplished one possible outcome for a review, in my case, pass. It sounds like the book is not much more than a bald, unexamined stance and a review of a lot of topical matters. We see another problem in the literary scene — the Sun-Times didn't give you much space to make your case, a problem elsewhere.
If he wants to take on our cultural decay, why do it through the vehicle of a punk rock band? How much can that yield?
"[R]eleasing further wryly titled records that a certain kind of critic and about five thousand people in the world liked to listen to" reminds me of criticism he's made of other writers today and their work, and I suspect is a veiled dig. But what has he himself, esthetically, put against it for comparison?
There is so much writing in American lit, so much other art in our culture, past and present, that he could have touched one way or another for comparison and contrast. Instead, it looks like he's ignored or turned his back on it. In fact he sounds like a product of the mess himself. And he has an audience and reputation and guaranteed sales. Why not branch out and develop?
I'm rereading Heinrich Boll's Group Portrait with Lady now, for the third time. Look at the corrupt culture Boll takes on — the Third Reich! Yet the book is alive with cultural reference and humanity and depth and perception and inventive, utterly engaging writing. It is a book that restores the possibilities of culture, of humanity.
John Francisconi says:
"In his excellent 1996 essay, "Perchance to Dream," (subscription req'd), he argued that as a novelist he was obligated to look at the big picture, to defend the social novel, even as he was despairing over living in a time when there was no real audience for it."
From what I gather, Franzen didn't defend the social novel, he more or less buried the idea of it. He thinks of the social novel, as he defines it, an impossibility.
From http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/unbound/interviews/int2001-10-03.htm:
Q: Many critics are saying that The Corrections is the next social novel. Would you agree?
A: No. I want to curl up and take a nap when I hear the phrase "social novel." So I would never want to apply that term to my book, because I wouldn't want you to think of it as a snore.
Franzen is uncomfortable with the term, and he knows that the "social novel" doesn't have the cultural force it once did—these days people reflexively think such a thing must be a "snore," as he points out. But he still spends time in "Perchance to Dream" defending the social novel in spite of a media culture that has limited its power and a reading culture that seems increasingly disinterested in consuming it. The social novelist, he writes in the essay, "desires to represent the world not simply in its detail but in its essence, to shine light on the morally blind eye of the virtual whirlwind, and who believes that human beings deserve better than the future of attractively priced electronic panderings that is even now being conspired for them." If that's not Freedom's mission statement, I don't know what is.
I'm probably wrong, but I can't think of a single author who is respected and lasts who calls attention to his morality and social mission. The goal of good writers is to be good writers.
Pingback: The Saint Louis Library | Mark Athitakis' American Fiction Notes
Pingback: The Facile Trick | Mark Athitakis' American Fiction Notes
I loved THE CORRECTIONS and am loving FREEDOM (nearing the half-way point). I can't say I see Franzen's melancholy about the uselessness of art as a flaw, or as something that needs to be resolved. I think writers today frequently carry a kind of depression around about the fact that novels reach an increasingly small audience and seem to have no real chance of influencing society. (Though it's worth posing the question of whether they ever did, with the exception of a few novels about social ills that tend not to be well regarded as art to begin with.) And yet, they go on writing, because that's who they are. What resolution to this could there possibly be?
Pingback: Reading Franzen's Freedom » Novel Readings - Notes on Literature and Criticism
Harry Bingham says:
Patty is the clue, isn't she? When you have a sports jock whose written therapy exercise reads exactly like Jonathan Franzen, some weird transaction has taken place. In this case, Franzen has simply steamrollered his character – and why? Because his conscious intentions for the book have proved more important to him than his characters.
And how can that ever, in the end, be right? If art is to succeed in an age when 'technological consumerism is an infernal machine', it needs to succeed via authenticity. It needs to succeed via character and story, not a plan, not a strategy.
That's not to say Freedom is a bad novel. Of course it isn't – all the same, though, it's accomplishment ends up being less than the sum of the author's very considerable parts.
Pingback: The Anxiety of Self-Influence | Mark Athitakis' American Fiction Notes
Peter Massey says:
I'm indifferent to the writer's anguish over the value of art. I'm happy to read all the intellectual doubts and dissections in the world. But I also want an author to believe in his or her guts that a book is worth writing. Otherwise, why should I read it?
Overall, I agree with Harry Bingham that Freedom is finally less than the sum of the author's (or I would say the novel's) considerable parts. My main problems were with the "Iraq war contractor" and "Warbler versus Mine" plots, both of which seemed to me designed to act as parts of a "decade-summarizing" statement.
But instead of delivering a grand zeitgeist synthesis, I thought those sections just went clink-clank-clunk, and pulled the novel down with it. By trying to do more, Franzen ended up with less.
Which is not to say, as Harry also discusses, that Freedom is a bad novel. It's not. And I do think Franzen is a major writer, which means his failures are considerably more valuable than most authors' successes.


The exhibition match between Valletta F.C. and Manchester Reds Legends XI was held yesterday, 9th September, at the Centenary Stadium in Ta' Qali.
This football game, organized by the Valletta 2018 Foundation in collaboration with the Manchester United Supporters' Club Malta and Valletta Football Club, was a great success, with all tickets sold within a few days. All proceeds will go towards the crèche of the Ursuline Sisters of Angela House in Gwardamangia.
Valletta F.C. won this game with a score of 3-2.
Carmel Busuttil (il-Bużu) was one of the players invited, playing for Manchester Reds Legends XI. The players on this team, who all played for Manchester United between 1971 and 2008, won several Premier Leagues, FA Cups and Champions Leagues. Among these were Wes Brown, Raimond van der Gouw, Ronny Johnsen, Jonathan Greening, Lee Martin, Chris Casper, Andy Ritchie, Sammy Mcllroy, Keith Gillespie, Danny Webber, Ben Thornley, Arthur Albiston, Russell Beardsmore, Nick Culkin, and manager Jimmy Greenhoff. Victoria Ajax striker Malcolm Licari also joined this team as a guest player.
Valletta F.C. Assistant Manager Gilbert Agius. Other players were Sean Sullivan, Ray Mifsud, Joe Camilleri, Jeffrey Chetcuti, Stefan Giglio, Nardu Farrugia, Keith Fenech, Frankie Grima, Joe Zarb, Ivan Zammit, Carlos Dimech, Ray Sciberras, Ian Zammit, Jeremy Agius, Melchior Cremona, Chris Camilleri Shaun Bajada, Joe Micallef and Eddie Vella. Between them, these players have won many Maltese Premier Leagues and Cups.
Valletta 2018 extends its gratitude to Valletta F.C. President Mr Victor Sciriha, Manchester United Supporters' Club Malta President Mr Joseph Tedesco, and each club's respective committee members, for their cooperation and collaboration to make this exhibition match a success.
Visit valletta2018.org and follow the Valletta 2018 Facebook page to keep yourself updated on upcoming activities in the Cultural Program of the European Capital of Culture.


This type of review is suitable for Peter Mac staff only.
Retrospective research involves projects where there is a research hypothesis and statistical analysis of Peter Mac patient data from previous treatment or investigations, or of pre-existing research data, and an intent to publish or otherwise present the data beyond the staff of this hospital. This category includes retrospective studies that also collect prospectively anything that qualifies as clinical follow-up data, such as survival status at last contact, date of last contact, date and cause of death or other information related to the management of patients' disease.
Protocol (a template protocol suitable for a simple Retrospective project is provided if required) NOTE: The protocol must have a version/date in the document e.g version X dated day month year.
Email your submission to the appropriate Divisional Review Panel (see contacts below) with the term 'Divisional Review Submission' in the subject line of the email. Scanned copies of the signed application form(s) are acceptable.
The Principal Investigator will be advised of the outcome of the review and any further queries or requirements.
No extra documents are required.