From 2015 to 2016, financial institutions in the US significantly increased usage of EMV enabled chip cards. During that time period it was also discovered that the fruad loss rates of debit cards were lowered by about 28 percent from the 2015 levels. This was all determined in a report PULSE Network (Discover Financial Subsidiary) recently released.
The study found that since the 2015 fraud liability shift was enacted, more and more US debit cards have been made more secure with EMV chip technology. It's estimated to be about 80 percent of debit cards that have been converted.
According to the Vice President of Fraud and Risk Management for PULSE, Jim Lerdel, there have been quite a few measures taken by the financial services industry that have resulted in the reduction of fraud losses reported by financial institutions. He names the EMV chip card conversion, mobile commerce tokenization,and increased investment in fraud-fighting solutions as three top measures helping the cause.
Although fraud loss levels are seeing improved results, the study did reveal that fraud is still quite a large burden financially for debit card issuers. The study estimates that almost $900 million was lost in 2016 to debit card fraud.
Based on the study's findings, 2016 showed increased usage in debit cards. Transactions where a debit card were used rose about 7 percent year-over-year. The report also found that active customers' number of debit transactions grew 6 percent to 23.6 transactions each month.
The full results of the PULSE Network study is available here. It was performed by the independent management consulting firm, Olive Wyman and commissioned by PULSE Network. The collective information was obtained through 50 participating financial institutions.
We knew that the fraud liability shift in 2015 would start to bring about big changes in the industry as a whole, but especially with debit card usage. This report just goes to verify our past claims.
If your business is still unable to accept chip card payments, you could be held responsible. Please contact us today to find out how you can easily and quickly accept EMV chip card transactions at your business and avoid costly penalties and fees.
The retail game is ever-changing. Online and mobile shopping has certainly caused many retailers to adapt their marketing and sales strategies, but there's even more to consider these days. Going beyond the current need for a web presence, retailers are having to take into consideration how people are paying for their products.
This is bigger than accepting major card brands, retailers are facing questions of accepting cryptocurrency, loyalty programs, and omnichannel experience. The best tool you can have in your arsenal when facing these concerns is an educated payment processor. That alone can add a tremendous value to your marketing strategy.
Omnichannel experience–denoting or relating to a type of retail that integrates the different methods of shopping available to consumers (e.g., online, in a physical store, or by phone).
Maybe you've heard of cryptocurrency, maybe not, but you've certainly heard of Bitcoin. Some companies have already jumped on board with accepting Bitcoin. There are definitely some perks to accepting cyrtocurrencies, like less bank fees and decreased risk of fraud. The most intriguing aspect, though, is the marketing potential. Accepting cryptocurrency can reach people across varied socioeconomic backgrounds and regions. Wise marketers will want to consider what the acceptance of cryptocurrency can mean for the future of their business.
When you provide a consistent transaction experience across all channels, you can improve customer satisfaction and retention. This puts the payment processing at the top of your marketing efforts. Today's payment processing offers internal loyalty programs, collecting important consumer data even in brick and mortar retail stores. Combining the e-commerce and in-store payment solution, you can know your customers in the store as well as you know your online customers. This tracking gives your business the chance to reward loyalty.
Anything that add convenience and value to your customers is something that will certainly grow in support. The best thing you can do to prepare for these marketing opportunities hidden in your payment processing is to update your current payment technology and tie in processing with loyalty and the ominchannel experience to boost your customer's experience across the board.
When we talk about our "What Goes Around Comes Around" mentality, it goes far beyond us offering card processing and occasionally stopping in to check on our merchants. We firmly believe in patronizing and supporting our merchants, as well as other businesses right in our areas. Merchant or not, when local businesses stick together and encourage and support one another, good things happen. Growth happens. Support happens. Community happens.
Our local businesses can be an incredible tool for growth, but the sense of community is really what drives and inspires Targeted Merchant Solutions. We make sure to go the extra mile in order for our merchants to know just how important they are to us, and we are certain to always lift up and recommend small local businesses when the chance arises. Heck, we've even been known to run terminal paper over to a nearby restaurant because while we were grabbing lunch we overheard they were running low.
Imagine the possibilities if all local businesses firmly believed and practiced "What Goes Around Comes Around…" We see the trend in shopping local and supporting one another locally, and we want to keep that momentum going. Won't you help us? Support your local shops. It can make awesome things happen.
Our President, Jennifer King, can be found all over Myrtle Beach and the surrounding area. (We think there might be some kind of magic involved because she seems to be everywhere at once). You can catch her getting a manicure with Melanie at Élan Day Spa, getting her hot yoga on at OM Yoga, or jetskiing on the ICW courtesy of Myrtle Beach Watersports during her downtime.
Kimmi Fifield, the Sales and Support Lead, holds down the fort at our headquarter office on Broad Street in Southern Pines. She is typically fueled by Swank Coffee Shoppe and grabs a quick bite from Nature's Own or Sweet Basil anytime she gets a chance. Hot Asana helps both Kimmi and Paisley find their calm with a once a week hot yoga session.
The Director of Marketing, Paisley Downing, is rarely spotted without her toddler sidekick, Finn, when around town. The Country Bookshop is a favorite spot for her and Finn. She gets her caffeine fix (to keep up with her little guy) at the Roast Office in nearby Pinehurst and her wine fix ("he whines, I wine," she says) at the Wine Cellar.
Director Jan is living the dream in St. Petersburg, FL. She works hard and plays hard…when it's time for a cold one, she can be spotted at Mastry's Brewing Company. When it's time to eat, Ichiban Japanese Restarurant & Sushi Bar is a go to for her.
If your current merchant service provider isn't giving your local small business the support you were expecting, why not find out about the Targeted Merchant Solutions difference? We are all about a local consultative approach, and we know that through our local support, our communities can truly thrive!
In the past if you wanted to expand your business, add new inventory, or upgrade equipment without tapping out your cash resources, you had to get a loan. For many, the word "loan" means loads of paperwork, waiting, and headaches. Who wants to deal with all that? As a business owner, you just want quick capital to get the ball rolling, and that's just what the Clover Cash Advance offers.
Read enough and ready to get cash? Get Started Now!
Loans aren't easy. On top of that, making fixed loan payments can sometimes prove difficult. A cash advance is based on your future sales, so you're borrowing what you can pay back.
It can help you increase and add new inventory, renovate your business, or even increase your marketing budget. You use your cash advance how your business needs to. It's quite simple.
Apply. All that's needed is a little information about you and your business. Get the one page Clover Cash Advance Application Here.
Repay. Based on your monthly sales, your cash advance will be repaid.
So, you know the extra cash could be great things for your business…why not apply now? The process is incredibly simple. You won't have to worry about wasting precious time because the paperwork required is minimal. The approval rates are high, and you will not have to worry about borrowing more than you can pay back because it is based off your merchant processing. Repayment is even simple.
Welcome to our first of many "Smooth Operations" series. The primary goal of this series is to focus on helping you better run your business in all aspects, but there will certainly be a lot of talk about payment processing (because that's what we know best). Some sessions will discuss all business types, others will be more specific, but all can be used to your benefit whether you run a storefront, online store only, bar/restaurant, etc.
This is part one of three to 3 steps to accept payments and boost business for your small-medium sized brick-and-mortar business…let's get started!
If you've found your way here, it's likely you are already accepting payments somehow, someway, but we are going to start from square one. You may even find out that you're missing out on accepting certain payment types or equipment to make taking all payments simpler. Incorporating the below three steps will add convenience for both your business and the customer and can help your bottom line.
Step 1: In-store payment processing for all payment types.
Today we will focus on the first step: in-store payment processing for all payment types. Sure, you can check customers out if they have cash or a debit/credit card, but what if they prefer ApplePay/Android Pay? What happens when you have a customer that would rather pay by check? (Yes, these people still exist). Providing the ability to accept all forms of payment to your customers will not only make the process of checking out much faster, but it will offer a convenience that will encourage these people to return again and again to your establishment.
A study performed by PYMNTS and InfoScout determined that in March 2017, 20% of people used ApplePay and 9.7% Android Pay as often as possible for transactions.* With mobile wallets on the rise, these numbers are likely to keep climbing. Jumping ahead of the curve could be the best thing for your business, and it could entice a whole new clientele.
Convenience means everything to me right now.
Aside from mobile wallets, you still have your check writers to consider. So many businesses choose not to accept checks for various reasons, but we've found the reasoning typically comes down to time consumption and/or fees. The fact is, 20% of people are still using checks.** These people feel it's safer or it's a comfortable habit. Why make it difficult? You can easily electronically accept checks, satisfying your customers and avoiding bank runs and potential bounced checks on your end.
The best thing you can do when it comes to accepting storefront payments is be educated. While card brands do carry different costs associated with acceptance, no one brand is higher than another. This means that if you aren't accepting American Express and/or Discover because you think their rates are too high, then your processor is doing you a huge disservice. Please don't turn away Discover and American Express cardholders! These cardholders tend to be much more loyal to their card brands than you may realize, and they will find businesses aside from yours if you are not accommodating.
If I find out a store doesn't accept American Express beforehand, then I'm not shopping there.
Added Convenience Makes Happy Customers. Happy Customers Come Back.


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Odell Beckham Jr. asks LeBron if he can borrow his Akron mansion
"The addition of Beckham to the Browns' upgraded roster is worth ".5 to 1 point" to the team's power rating, in line with other elite players like Julio Jones and Antonio Brown, according to Sherman. On Friday, March 8, the Browns traded guard Kevin Zeitler to the Giants for edge rusher Olivier Vernon. However, in the end, he landed in Cleveland.
Much-maligned New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning will soon become the highest-earning player in National Football League history if he remains under contract with the franchise.
Adjust your pending Browns mock draft selections accordingly... Without them, I wouldn't be exactly who I am today! "Movement" was the caption.
Thus, you can count James as one of the people excited that the Browns acquired superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. from the New York Giants on Tuesday. The Browns obliged and the sides mutually chose to cancel the deal struck earlier in the day.
It's interesting to imagine what it would have been like if the Broncos were able to trade for Beckham. And after one year into said deal, he's traded.
Even after the trade, OBJ will remain a polarizing character in NY for years to come.
But the Giants have three of the top 37 draft picks in April, and 12 overall. A first-round pick in 2017, he struggled as a rookie but bounced back and played well last season.
Trump announces immediate grounding of Boeing 737 MAX planes
Brazil school shooting: Eight dead, including six children
Motorola's 5G Moto Mod for Moto z3 Now Available on Verizon
Facebook probed over data-sharing deals with world's biggest tech firms
Dustin Johnson says The Players Championship should become official fifth major
Algerian president withdraws bid for re-election
Facebook finally ends daylong outage, blames server change
Beto O'Rourke's presidential ambitions get reality check from Ellen K.
Hannah Brown Becomes Next 'Bachelorette'
Android Q Beta Ready for Pixel Phones
Toyota lunar rover concept is out of this world
House Democrats take aim at Trump's 2020 budget request
Livescore: Latest Champions League result for Barcelona vs Lyon
The 31-year-old put his side ahead with a ideal Panenka penalty within the first 20 minutes of the match. Messi counts Juventus as one of the top candidates standing in his way, but it is not alone.
Brexit vote latest: MPs vote to reject no deal 'under any circumstance'
May said there was no guarantee the European Union would agree to a delay. I do not think that would be the right outcome. She told MPs: "Let me be clear".
Aaron Hernandez's murder conviction reinstated by high court
Hernandez hanged himself in his cell days after being acquitted in a double-murder case from 2012. Other states allow appellate courts to consider a dead defendant's case, prosecutors say.
Boeing to upgrade software in 737 MAX 8 fleet in 'weeks'
Other airlines, from North America to the Middle East, kept flying the 737 MAX 8 on Monday after Boeing said it was safe. The pilots said they were able to recover quickly following the aggressive dive by disconnecting the autopilot.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


and key strategies to take on the regional MVNO market.
Petaling Jaya, 25 August 2016 – With a vibrant new logo, a new tagline and an updated website, the team from mobile prepaid telco Buzzme announced the brand's revamped new look as well as shared big expansion plans on Malaysia's MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) market and beyond.
Held at hip coffee café Bean Brothers located in Sunway Damansara, the brand re-launch event was held in conjunction with Buzzme's 3rd anniversary celebration, and included in attendance members of the media, brand partners, social and business influencers, and guests.
Spearheading the team were Mr. Loke Yee Siong (Buzzme's Chief Executive Officer), Mr. Kewell Yap (Buzzme's Chief Business Controller), and Mr. Andrew Kok (Buzzme's Head of Consumer Marketing), who via a sharing session revealed Buzzme's comprehensive update and refresh exercise including user plans, reward programmes and brand expansion objectives so as to rejuvenate the entire business portfolio.
SOMETHING NEW TO BUZZ ABOUT!
Among the core values of Buzzme as identified by the core team, include providing customers with the strongest, fastest mobile service; breaking down communication barriers; and helping customers stay connected to loved ones.
In a commitment to upholding the 3 core values, Buzzme proudly presented its new logo and new tagline "beyond mobile. enriching life." at the anniversary celebration: "As we prepare to transform ourselves into a regional MVNO, the new logo provides Buzzme a coherent brand identity, and at the same time reflects the diverse yet inclusive nature of the brand by harmonizing and respecting the different perspectives, lifestyles and cultures of the region," emphasized Loke.
Buzzme prides itself for providing customers with a rewarding experience. For example, Buzzme is the first in Malaysia to provide 20% credit back whenever a customer consumes data, voice and SMS traffic at a pay-per-use rate. This credit is given in the form of reward points, which can then be used to redeem airtime credit or discounts from the m8 online store at www.m8.com.my.
Eucerin® ProACNE Solution A.I. Clearing Treatment.
Birthday Package Launch by Fish & Co.


We have an enthusiastic group of women that comes together twice a week to train. These trainings are held on Monday from 20:15 to 21:15 and on Wednesday, from 18.45 to 20.00h (come together in dressing room nr. 15). For more than 15 years already, the women Wednesday training is led by Marcel Wenneker.
Coming year we will also try to join the official competition with a womens team if we have enough women interested for this. Anyone who is interested in joining this team can contact us at board[[at]]gvc-wageningen.nl.


Create the look of a snow globe winter scene with sweet treats that are fun to look at great to eat! Just don't shake this snow globe or you'll create a sugar snowstorm that will disturb your sweet creation.
These edible sugar snow globes can be as varied as your imagination. You could create a peppermint brownie cake pop edible forest, a decorated cookie display or even a peppermint cookie cane sleigh.
Watch us make edible snow globes here!
To decorate our edible snow globe, we used Peeps brand Christmas tree and gingerbread man; held in place with toothpicks. Gently push the toothpick into the bottom of the marshmallow figure, leaving enough toothpick visible to insert into the foam block under the sugar.
We added gumdrops around the edge, but you could use any type of candies you prefer. Feel free to get creative.


This very welcome 5 CD set has been released to celebrate the seventieth birthday of the Soviet musician Vladimir Spivakov (b. 1944). An all-round musician, he has forged a five-pronged career encompassing that of violinist, conductor, jury member, concertmaster, teacher and educator. He organizes annual music festivals, founded the Chamber orchestra Moscow Virtuosi, which is featured in the compilation, and has always striven to make music more accessible to those less fortunate. As a violinist, he studied at the Moscow Conservatoire, where he was mentored by David Oistrakh, no less. As a budding conductor, both Lorin Maazel and Leonard Bernstein featured prominently in his development. It is also interesting to discover that poetry and painting feature in his life. I can't think of anyone more deserving of an anniversary tribute.
CD 1 contains previously unreleased concert recordings from the Fourth International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1970. Spivakov came away with second prize and a silver medal for his performances of the Tchaikovsky and Sibelius violin concertos as well as captivating accounts of the Tchaikovsky, Sarasate and Shchedrin pieces accompanied by Maria Gusak. The Tchaikovsky Concerto is both exciting and beguiling, and certainly doesn't pander to over-emotionalism. There's a lusty and exuberant current running through the first movement and the violinist meets all the technical challenges head-on. He achieves a beautifully controlled pianissimo in the Canzonetta, and doesn't linger too much - unlike some. The finale showcases some crisply incisive spiccato, and the work ends in a blaze of glory. Yuri Temirkanov proves a sympathetic partner. The Sibelius Concerto is a spacious account, deeply evocative, conjuring up images of the vast, rugged Finnish wilderness. Spivakov's technical command is praiseworthy, yet he imbues the music with eloquent lyricism when called for. He brings poetry and yearning to the slow movement, yet the finale would have benefited from a little more fire and passion. Audience presence in both concertos is faintly discernible but not intrusive in any way. Applause is retained.
There's a violin and piano recital, again from 1970, where the violinist is accompanied by Viktoria Postnikova. The Locatelli Sonata which opens the programme is a work unfamiliar to me. It is intoxicatingly played, and both players lavish upon it refinement, elegance and charm. Paganini's Le Streghe, with its pure harmonics and sparkling left-hand pizzicatos, easily stands comparison with those of Ruggiero Ricci. The Franck Sonata must be one of the most compelling I've heard, and Postnikova's sensitivity adds to the success of the mix. It is unhurried, with both players basking in the score's melodic richness. The Bartók and Prokofiev works are heard in idiomatic and deeply probing readings.
Spivakov's collaborations with the pianist Boris Bekhterev are represented with recitals from 1972 and 1981. This partnership is not as successful as that between the violinist and Viktoria Postnikova. Whilst Bekhterev's contributions are serviceable, I find Postnikova's pianism and artistry more alluring, sensitive and sympathetic. The Schubert Sonatina Op 137/2 which comes at the beginning of CD 5 highlights one problem I have with Spivakov's playing. Whilst his formidable and intelligent musicianship cannot be called into question, and he is technically well-groomed, his fast, insistent vibrato, relentless at times, severely limits his tonal palette. This renders some, but not all, of his playing rather one-dimensional and monochrome. The Schubert Sonatina is one victim of this 'one size fits all' vibrato and, as a performance, doesn't really work for me. The Bartók, Bloch and Saint-Saëns selections fare much better. The only other disappointment is the Wieniawski Polonaise which is over-cautious and rather po-faced, lacking Heifetz's risk-taking and wow factor.
It was in 1979 that Spivakov, together with a group of friends and associates, founded the Chamber orchestra Moscow Virtuosi, mustering some of the finest musical talents around at the time. It took four years, until 1983, to prove its worth and gain official status, entitling it to governmental financial support. Vladimir Spivakov became its artistic director, and it soon amassed a wide-ranging repertoire from Bach to Schnittke.
Discs 2 and 3 feature the orchestra in works by Rodion Shchedrin and Mozart. Shchedrin's Music for the Town of Köthen was written especially for Spivakov. It is an attractive three movement work. The first is spiky and angular, with an underlying sombre complexion. The composer gives plenty of scope for the individual woodwind players to shine. A melancholic Andante follows, ardently realised by the strings. A bustling finale ends the work with gusto. The performance is well-rehearsed and precision of ensemble is remarkable. Shchedrin is better known for his ballet suite Carmen, after Bizet. That work demonstrates the composer's imagination and compositional skill. All the well-known tunes are there. The ballet is a masterstroke of scoring, and the Moscow players do it proud; one senses real joy in the music-making.
Mozart's Symphony No. 28 isn't that well-known, so it's a treat to have it included here. Nicely paced, the Moscow soloists make the sun come out in the opening movement. Spivakov is a charismatic conductor inspiring the orchestra to deliver a performance of spontaneity and freshness. The Andante is deliciously contoured and the Presto finale sparkles with vitality and verve. The Coronation Mass, taped in 1986, is a reverential and stylish account that exudes joy and confidence. It's obvious that Spivakov relishes the music's lyricism. The soloists, none of whom I've heard of before, are excellent in every way and blend well. The choir sound well prepared, with diction clear and cleanly articulated.
Audio quality throughout is exceptionally fine, with the Moscow Virtuosi orchestral selections outstanding. Comprehensive liner-notes in Russian, English and French are up to the mark. This is a worthy anniversary tribute to a multi-faceted musician.


Hong Kong Geography Day (HKGD) is the most significant event of the geography education and research community in Hong Kong. This biennial event aims to promote academic exchange and collaboration between faculty members and postgraduates students working in geography and closely-related fields, and to promote geography education in secondary schools.
The theme of HKGD 2018 was 'Geography and well-being', encompassing a broad spectrum of topics in geographical research and practice, with the aim of sparking discussion around current and emerging issues and approaches, and identifying gaps in research and teaching.
HKGD was held at the Education University of Hong Kong (the EdUHK) on 24 November 2018 (Saturday). Our Department, as a centre of geography education in the territory, enthusiastically participated in this event. A significant number of our research students participated by presenting their research in seminars and a poster competition. Members of the Department enjoyed learning from our colleagues at other universities, and meeting new and old friends.


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KEFALONIAmarinet2019-03-29T09:22:49+00:00
Welcome to Kefalonia (or Cephalonia) island, one of the largest islands in Greece and the largest in the Ionian.A magnificent island famous worldwide for the its rich historical monuments
Mount Enos
The highest mountain range on Kefalonia extends through the Southern part of the island and is the backdrop to the villa. It has a total length of 10km, and its highest peak is Mount Soros at 1,628m.
Melissani Lake
Melissani Lake is located in Karavomylos, just 2km from Sami on the South East coast. It is well worth a visit to see this unique cave structure with a lake whose waters reach a depth of 39 metres. The cave is open to visitors every day from 9am and you can tour the lake on a boat and admire the wonderful colours.
Drogarati Cave
The Drogarati Cave lies 3km from Sami and is worth a visit whilst at the lake. The cave is regarded as one of the finest in Greece and situated 120m above sea level, the cave descends to a depth of 95 metres. The cave is a rare geological phenomenon and is open to tourists every day.
The endless beach of Skala is fringed by a pine tree forest where you can enjoy a pleasant break from your sunbathing. There are water sports facilities and many relaxing bars along the sea front as well as an abundance of restaurants to choose from in the evening.
Argostoli is the capital of Kefalonia. It is lively modern town full of boutiques, clothing shops, food markets and galleries with a mountain backdrop.
Fiskardo is a beautiful Greek harbour village on the Northern tip of Kefalonia. It is unique in that it was left virtually undamaged during the great earthquake of 1953. Fishing boats moor alongside the picturesque harbour and many yachts many owned by the rich and famous who are attracted by the tranquillity of Fiskardo.
Sami is the second busiest port on Kefalonia serving ferries to Corfu, Ithica, Patras and Italy. Sami is a very charming working town with a long waterfront, lined with shaded restaurants and tavernas serving the locally caught fish of the day.
Poros is a picturesque village with a vast indented coastline, that is 2km long abundant in sandy beaches and ports. The area is renowned as a fishing place, while its caves are a shelter for the seal Monachus-Monachus and the turtle Caretta-Caretta.
Myrtos Beach
Myrtos is the most famous beach on Kefalonia and has been voted one of Europe's most beautiful. The beach is a huge sweep of white limestone frames by steep cliffs that make it really breathtaking.
Unforgettable scenery and the towering remains of a Venetian fortress. It is described as the most ʽatmospheric village' on the island, clinging to a small isthmus with picturesque houses overlooking the harbour. The centre of the village is Paris Square, which offers relaxation in the shaded comfort of its tavernas.A track leads from the village up to the fortress that guards Assos. The Venetians built the fortress in the 1590's to protect the inhabitants from pirates. If you're in the mood for romance, be in Assos at sunset to see the sun go down behind the castle and the light streaming across the ruins.
Moni Kipoureon
The monastery dedicated to Virgin Mary Kipoureon was built in 1759 and is situated in Palliki peninsula.The visitor apart from the remarkable relics will also have the chance to admire the unrivalled view towards the endless blue sea. An unforgettable experience.
Lixouri is Kefalonia's second city. It is a quiet and friendly city situated sounth on Paliki peninsula, of which is the capital. It is surrounded by mountains and built around a port. The harbour area is alive with boats and motors departing to Argostoli. The biggest part of Lixouri was destoyed by the earthquake of 1953 and is therefore rebuild with wide streets. Worth visiting is the library and the icon museum (on the coastal side in an old mansion which was survived the earthquake).
Archeological Museum of Argostoli
Assos Town and Castle
Corgialeneion Historical and Folk Art Museum
Cyclopean Walls
Drakaina Cave (Poros)
Drogorati Caves
Lakovatis Mansion (Lixouri)
Mellisani Underground Lake
St Georges Castle (Peratata)
Agia Thekli,
Paliki, Kefalonia Greece
Tel: +30 26710 97701, 26710 97702
Email: info@petanibayhotel.gr
Hotel Adults Only - Hotel on Kefalonia
wind: 5m/s NNW
Web design & Seo by Marinet Ltd
Junior Suite Superior Panoramic Sea View
Junior Suite Executive Sea View
Suite Superior Sea View
Suite Deluxe Sea View
Junior Suite Superior Sea View
Junior Suite Superior Pool View
Superior Rooms Sea View
Suite "GEA"
Suite "ONIRO"
Suite "URANUS"
POOL BAR / RESTAURANT


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FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Dustin Pedroia swears he hasn't changed since entering the league in 2006. Fine, he'll concede he has a few more grey hairs, but that is about it.
Things, however, have changed. As Pedroia and I chatted about his kids at his locker on Friday morning, the Red Sox second baseman was pulling on a knee brace. It will be as much a part of his uniform this season as the number 15 stitched into his New Balance cleats.
Pedroia will wear the brace as he continue to make his comeback from knee surgery in 2017. The cartilage restoration procedure involved grafting cartilage from a cadaver into his left knee. It's a surgery that caused him to have second thoughts.
"I don't regret doing it," he said, "But looking back, knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have done it."
The operation resulted in Pedroia missing all but three games in 2018. He admitted that in hindsight you can't expect to put a cadaver's knee in your body and play ball in six months. Yet that's exactly what Pedroia tried to do.
"I might have pushed it too hard or done too much. But as far as following directions, I followed every step. I think some of the directions, timing-wise, were a little off."
A lesson learned. A man changed. Whether he'll readily admit it or not.
Pedroia has a Rookie of the Year Award to go along with an MVP, but what he's best known for is his relentless nature on the field.
If Dustin Pedroia can play, he wants to be in the lineup. When healthy, we would always hear managers talk about having to force him to take a day off.
Last season Pedroia had 159 days off. Enough time to think about how to stay on the field, even if it means he's not playing night after night.
Over the 20-plus minutes Pedroia spent talking to the media on Friday, he repeatedly used the word "smart".
The second baseman is going to be smart about his rehab. He will be smart about the number of ground balls he fields in spring. He'll be smart about the kinds of plays he makes on the field.
The guy who didn't feel like he really played in a game unless his uniform was covered in dirt, knows he can't sacrifice his body unless the game absolutely requires it.
"If we are up by ten runs and a guy hits a ball [and] I don't know if I can make the play," he said, "I'm sure our pitcher will understand if i don't dive for it and it goes through."
Make no mistake about it, Pedroia will go to any length to win a game. But this year, he's not going to play stupid. He knows if he is reckless with his 35-year-old (36 in August) body, it could all be over.
"I don't want to push it and not be able to do what I love to do. I just have to be smart."
He'll also continue to be relentless in his pursuit to get back on the field. Manager Alex Cora said he'd like to reward Pedroia's hard work by letting him bat leadoff when the Red Sox open the season in Seattle on March 28.
"I appreciate him doing that," Pedroia said, "He better not give me too many days hitting leadoff if I stay there. I think these guys have seen how hard I've worked to come back. To give me that opportunity would be cool."
But the guys Pedroia really wants to impress? The sons we talked about on Friday morning.
"The most important thing for me coming back is my kids seeing me push through adversity."
Sounds like something an older, wiser, smarter dad would say.
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Celtics easily on your device.


Thank you to everyone who supported my petition for a third lane southbound over the Waimak Bridge. On Friday I presented the petition to the Greater Christchurch Urban Development Implementation Committee (UDSIC). A few hours later we were celebrating we had been heard.
The UDSIC has recommended to the New Zealand Transport Agency construction of a third lane south subject to conditions. Getting the voice of our commuters to the discussions was my priority. My online petition received over 1000 signatures. To have this level of support in such a short period shows how many in our community wanted the Waimak voice to be heard.
As your local MP it is important to me to keep connected with all my constituents. I know life can get busy with work and family commitments, and traditionally an MP's office is only open during business hours. That's why I am bringing back my evening meetings. Although we are increasingly communicating via email and social media, nothing beats connecting face to face. Next month I will be hosting my Keeping Connected Evening Meetings across the electorate for us to have a conversation about what matters to you. All the meetings run from 7.30pm to 8.30pm and there's no need to RSVP – just turn up and join in the discussions: Rangiora Town Hall: 1 May; Kaiapoi Library: 8 May; Woodend Community Hall: 15 May; Oxford Town Hall: 16 May; West Eyreton School: 17 May; Belfast Rugby Club: 18 May; Swannanoa Community Hall: 22 May; Cust Community Hall: 29 May.


Sunnyside Shines is hosting free music and dancing performances at Bliss Plaza, located at 46th Street and Queens Boulevard, from 4 to 7 p.m. each Tuesday of the month in September.
September 11 features Beats in Bliss Plaza with the Queens Opera Theatre. The theatre was founded by Brian Gill and Andy Anderson, and the pair has extensive experience working in musical theatre production across the country.
September 18 will feature live Irish music and dance with the McManus Irish Dancers. There will also be games and craft activities at the plaza.
For more information, visit www.sunnysideshines.org.


Sadness is an emotion that can range from feeling bummed out because the last chocolate donut was heisted by the enemy coworker to feeling almost numb or paralysed over a relationship that has ended. Sadness takes away self assurance.
What else makes us feel sad? We might have control over how we feel if we can figure out the reason why we feel sad at that moment.
In today's world everyone is sharing personal experiences, photos, and stories on social media sites. Trying to compare one's life with others may stir the emotional kettle to allow sadness. Is it really fair to compare our life with others?
Let's not forget, world news and events are seen all over those same sites. Feeling a lack of control over events that may affect our personal life may increase the levels of emotion.
Everyone has an image in their mind of how they think they should look. When the mirror does not reflect what we think we should see, we can become sad and depressed. We become our own enemy fighting against our mirrored twin.
Being sad only further affects how we look by adding wrinkles. Learning to love how we are is hard but worrying about it consumes our minds and our time. Time is our life slowly ticking by. Utilizing that time to enjoy life and not giving in to the evil mirror twin is where it should be spent.
Giving or helping others is a great way find joy. But, when things go unnoticed or unappreciated, it may feel like a punch in the gut. Maybe the reason behind what we do for others is not the right reason.
Giving should always be a selfless act. If sadness is felt because someone didn't say thank you, forget about it. Learn to pat yourself on the back for good deeds. Some people truly don't know how to react to certain types of kindness.
We know that bullying does not stop when the high school doors close. Rumors fly and this black hole of sadness opens up sending us sliding right to the bottom of the pit. It is not easy getting through this time in your life but some really good things can come of it.
Friends are not a number on a social page. Friends are people who believe in you and if you can count the number of friends on one hand, then you are blessed. A rumour is a hot butter knife that cuts through butter separating your friends from your enemies.
Have you ever felt sad for no reason? There is a reason, but finding it might not be easy. We can fall into these ruts on this road of life that seems to keep us stuck in one place. Could it be we need motivation to get our wheels turning again by trying something new?
Emotions can drive creativity with a force that is indescribable. A blank canvas painted with the colours of emotion is art therapy. Art is an excellent way to escape reality because is a personal creation that has no rules to follow except to keep creating until one is satisfied.
Being happy doesn't need to be an art. There are a lot of things that makes us sad. There are also lots of things that can make us happy.
Do we create our own sadness? Whether we want to face the truth or not, we do. We learn at a young age what is right and what is wrong. When we break the rules to our own moral standards, we get punished. The paddle of sad and guilt is quickly swung at our behinds.
We know how to solve the problem of wrongdoing but maybe we are afraid to. Being honest and taking responsibility for ones actions is not easy but it is the right thing to do. We all make mistakes. A mistake happens once, after that, it is no longer a mistake, it is a habit.
Can I Separate Sizes of Sadness?
Sadness comes in many levels. When we're younger we feel sad because we can't go somewhere, or we don't have the money to go to the movies. When you get older, feeling sad is the result of much larger issues and we as human beings need to have reasons to be happy.
Thinking about friends one has lost, or what to do after a spouse passes away is a sadness that is hard to overcome. It is hard to realize that there will bigger problems that one will face later on in life and to appreciate the little bumps on the road. Take some great old time farmer's advice and learn to separate the real chit from the bull chit.


text:
La Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles (RENFE), frecuentemente publicitada bajo su marca comercial Renfe, fue una empresa estatal española que operó la red nacional ferroviaria de ancho ibérico entre 1941 y 2005. Durante más de seis décadas y como monopolio, se encargó en exclusiva del transporte de pasajeros y mercancías por sus líneas, así como de la gestión de su infraestructura.

Fue fundada en España a comienzos de 1941, tras el final de la guerra civil española, y existió durante casi 64 años hasta su disolución el 31 de diciembre de 2004. En cumplimiento de las normativas europeas sobre transporte ferroviario, RENFE se dividió en dos nuevas entidades: Adif, el mayor ente gestor de las infraestructuras ferroviarias españolas, y Renfe-Operadora, compañía que se quedó con la explotación de los ferrocarriles de titularidad pública. Posteriormente, a partir de 2013, sucedería lo mismo con FEVE, la compañía estatal homóloga encargada de la red ferroviaria de ancho métrico.

Historia

Antecedentes

La fundación de RENFE se produjo en el contexto posterior a la guerra civil española, con buena parte de la red ferroviaria española gravemente dañada durante la contienda. Sin embargo, la cuestión sobre la nacionalización de los ferrocarriles ya venía de lejos, en tanto que Francisco Cambó durante su etapa ministerial ya había propugnado esta idea debido a la deficiente actuación de las compañías ferroviarias privadas, las cuales mantenían un parque móvil anticuado y a veces hasta un tendido ferroviario en mal estado. Con el estallido de la guerra civil, el 18 de julio de 1936, las compañías ferroviarias quedaron incautadas por el estado en el Decreto estatal de 3 de agosto de 1936. Si bien en la zona «sublevada» o «nacionalista» los ferrocarriles continuaron su existencia independiente, el control real fue ejercido por los militares y no por los Consejos de Administración. Tras la guerra, miles de kilómetros de tendido se encontraban inservibles, a lo que se unía que el 40% del parque móvil estaba destruido y el restante por reparar. Ante esta situación, el nuevo estado franquista en 1939 gestionará las compañías ferroviarias que se encuentran incapaces de ejercer sus labores, previo paso a la creación de RENFE en 1941.

1941-1959

El 24 de enero de 1941, el Gobierno aprobaba la Ley de Bases de Ordenación Ferroviaria y de los Transportes por Carretera por la que todas las compañías de ancho ibérico que operaban en España fueron reunidas en una sola empresa estatal, la Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles, RENFE. De las compañías nacionalizadas más importantes destacaban la Compañía de los Caminos de Hierro del Norte de España (1858-1941), la Compañía del Ferrocarril de Madrid a Zaragoza y Alicante (1856-1941) y la Compañía Nacional de los Ferrocarriles del Oeste (1928-1941). La Compañía de los Ferrocarriles Andaluces, debido a sus pésimos resultados económicos, ya había pasado a control del Estado en 1936, mediante su integración en la de los Ferrocarriles del Oeste. El siguiente paso dado por el estado fue el de la difícil tarea de calcular el monto de indemnizaciones que recibirían las antiguas compañías. Al frente en la prioridad del cobro de los rescates pagados por el Estado (que acabarían siendo bastante elevados) se situaron los obligacionistas, seguidos de los accionistas y, por último, en caso de que quedase algo que repartir, las sociedades participativas. Así, RENFE se convertía durante casi 64 años en el actor dominante del ferrocarril español.

En el momento de su creación RENFE contaba con 12.401 km de vía así como un variado y ya anticuado parque móvil procedente de las antiguas compañías. En los primeros años de su existencia tuvo que responder a escaseces de todo tipo y la necesidad apremiante de la reconstrucción de los daños producidos por la reciente Guerra Civil, una tarea difícil por la escasez de recursos económicos. La falta de repuestos y desgaste del material fue causa de no pocos y graves accidentes como el que tuvo lugar en Torre del Bierzo en enero de 1944, el más grave de la historia de España. En 1949 cuando se aprobó el Plan General de Reconstrucción y Reformas Urgentes (conocido en la época como Plan Guadalhorce) con el objetivo de resolver las necesidades más importantes. Entre otras cosas, preveía 5000 millones de pesetas para la renovación de la Red y el desarrollo de un amplio programa. También incluía el Plan la renovación de material: estaba prevista la adquisición de 200 locomotoras, 5000 vagones y 400 coches de pasajeros para completar los pedidos iniciales desde 1941.

En los años cincuenta se empezaron a ver los frutos del Plan Guadalhorce y a recuperar, en parte, la situación de preguerra, pero España era un país depauperado y las mejoras e inicios de modernización fueron muy tímidos. A pesar de todo, se dan algunos pasos que serán el tímido símbolo de las reformas pensadas. En el mismo año 1950 empiezan los primeros servicios comerciales de los Talgo entre Madrid y Hendaya, aunque no es la única innovación; en 1952 entran en servicio los automotores diésel TAF que supusieron un gran salto cualitativo en los viajes de Larga Distancia. Y dos años después, en 1954, es inaugurado el primer centro de Control de Tráfico Centralizado, situado entre Ponferrada y Brañuelas. Coincidiendo con el final del decenio, se producen dos hechos de gran importancia: en 1958 entra en servicio el ferrocarril Zamora-Orense, cuya construcción había comenzado en 1927 y la cual se había alargado hasta ahora. Primeras «Suizas» para el tráfico de cercanías. Sin embargo, esta época de avances e inversiones previstas de RENFE dentro del Plan de Estabilización se ve detenida bruscamente en 1959, en respuesta a la inflación y grave crisis económica que se vivió en España a finales de esa década. Las causas de esta grave crisis son el claro fracaso de la política autárquica que había imperado en el régimen franquista desde 1939 y que tenía atada la economía española.

1960-1989

El desarrollismo en los años sesenta significó una mejora progresiva en la economía española que igualmente se tradujo para los ferrocarriles. En este sentido, se produjo una significativa mejora del material rodante de RENFE aunque este no alcanzase a todas las líneas ni a la totalidad del parque móvil. Las mejoras siempre se movieron en las principales líneas que concentraban el mayor tráfico de viajeros como es el caso de la línea Madrid-Barcelona, que es electrificada y dotada de doble vía en la mayor parte del recorrido.

En el caso del tendido ferroviario, en 1962 el Banco Mundial, dentro de un amplio informe sobre la economía española, recomienda abandonar las inversiones en nuevas líneas y centrar el esfuerzo presupuestario en mejorar la red existente. El único proyecto que se salvó de estos recortes fue el Ferrocarril de Madrid a Burgos por Aranda de Duero, que se inauguraría unos años después. Siguiendo las líneas preconizadas por el informe del Banco Mundial, en 1964 el Gobierno aprueba el Plan Decenal de Modernización de 1964 a 1973 que traería modernización del parque móvil y la mejora de la red ferroviaria permitieron que en 1967 la velocidad máxima de algunos trenes se elevara a 140 km/h. El comienzo de la década de los 70 traerá una desaceleración en el Plan Decenal de Modernización de 1964 a 1973, que al final daría lugar el nacimiento del Plan RENFE 1972-1975, con un importante programa de modernizaciones.

El 23 de junio fue puesta fuera de servicio la última locomotora de vapor (una Mikado, la concretamente la número 141F 2348) en la Estación de Clasificación de Vicálvaro (Madrid). La desaparición de la tracción vapor no será el único hecho que ocurre este año, en tanto que el 20 de noviembre muere el dictador Francisco Franco y con ello comienza el principio del fin para el franquismo. Esto incidirá en RENFE pues supondrá el comienzo de una época de amplias reformas que buscan convertir a los ferrocarriles españoles en un eficaz medio de transporte. La situación a la que había llegado RENFE a finales de los años setenta con gigantescos déficits anuales y un servicio ferroviario que además de poco eficiente se había demostrado insostenible. En 1979 se produce la firma del primer Contrato Programa, elaborado como el Plan General de Ferrocarriles y que debía tener 12 años de vigencia pero el cual sólo se realizaría muy parcialmente. Además, se empezaron a implantar servicios de Cercanías en Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga o Valencia, con el objetivo de absorber el tráfico de pasajeros que se mueven en estos grandes centros urbanos. Las Cercanías se convertirán en una de las joyas de la corona para RENFE. Sin embargo, todo nuevo plan de reformas que se haga choca con la realidad.

En 1984 RENFE se encuentra en una situación crítica con déficits anuales gigantescos y es que, sus trenes se mueven principalmente en solo 5000 km de los 13000 km de vía que gestiona: Hay demasiadas líneas que no son rentables. Por ello se acuerda el Contrato Programa de 1984, por el que el 1 de enero de 1985 se cierran 914 km de vías y se dejan para uso exclusivo de mercancías otros 933 km: 12 líneas y 132 estaciones se quedan sin servicio. Además, las comunidades autónomas salen al rescate de más de 600 km para evitar su cierre. Se llevará a cabo la modernización de instalaciones, como las estaciones de Madrid, Sevilla o Barcelona, que sufren profundas transformaciones para adaptarse a las nuevas necesidades. Otras muchas estaciones y vías también son modernizadas. En concreto, el tráfico de Atocha fue absorbido por la Estación de Chamartín hasta la inauguración de la nueva Estación de Atocha en 1992.

1991-2005

Continuando con los proyectos ya lanzados en los años ochenta, en 1991 siguen en marcha las obras del Nuevo Acceso Ferroviario a Andalucía (NAFA), que supusieron la construcción de la Estación de Santa Justa para concentrar el tráfico ferroviario en Sevilla. Ello conllevó a su vez que las Estaciones sevillanas de San Bernardo y Plaza de Armas fueran desmanteladas. Gran parte de estas obras realizadas en la ciudad hispalense tenían otro motivo: la celebración de la Exposición Universal de 1992 (Expo 92). En Barcelona se produjo una reorganización del parque de vías que circulaba por distintas zonas de la ciudad así como la mejora y adecuación de algunas estaciones como la de Barcelona-Término (renombrada como Estación de Francia) y Barcelona-Sants. Y al igual que en Sevilla, estas obras se realizaban el marco de una reordenación urbana con motivo, en este caso, de la celebración de los Juegos Olímpicos de 1992 en la Ciudad Condal. El 14 de abril de 1992 se produjo la inauguración de la línea de alta velocidad Madrid-Sevilla, coincidiendo con la inauguración de la Expo'92. Fue un gran momento para RENFE y la Historia de los ferrocarriles españoles, que daban ante el mundo una imagen de modernidad gracias a la publicidad de la Expo'92 y las Olimpiadas de Barcelona.

Otra importante medida fue creación de las Unidades de Negocio en 1991, consecuencia de la reorganización a fondo de los servicios ferroviarios de RENFE y cuya creación terminará haciendo desaparecer el modelo territorial de las Zonas. Este nuevo modelo persigue la rentabilidad económica, reduciendo la burocracia y los altos costes que suponían la organización en Zonas. A partir de ahora RENFE se articulará en torno a las tres unidades de negocio principales: Cercanías, Media Distancia y Larga Distancia.

El 30 de diciembre de 1998 fue fundada la empresa Gestor de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (GIF), una entidad pública empresarial que se creó debido a las medidas del transporte ferroviario que la Unión Europea comenzó a impulsar a partir de la Directiva del Consejo 91/440/CEE sobre el Desarrollo de los Ferrocarriles Comunitarios, donde establecía (entre otras cuestiones) la separación entre los operadores de los trenes y el sujeto gestor de la infraestructura. En 2003 se produjo la inauguración del tramo Madrid–Lérida de la Línea de alta velocidad Madrid-Zaragoza-Barcelona-Frontera Francesa (a 200 km/h), siendo la segunda inaugurada en España después del Madrid-Sevilla y la primera del s.XXI.

A causa de las nuevas directivas económicas de la Unión Europea, el Estado debía abrir la red ferroviaria a la competencia, por lo que se dispuso una nueva legislación para el sector ferroviario (LSF, o Ley 39/2003 del Sector Ferroviario), que en principio debía entrar en vigor el 1 de junio de 2004, pero que se retrasó con la asunción del Gobierno de José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero al 1 de enero de 2005. Ese día la Entidad pública empresarial «Renfe» se separaba de RENFE y esta a partir de ese momento comenzó a llamarse «Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias» (Adif). Las funciones de la antigua compañía quedaban repartidas entre las dos nuevas entidades:

 Renfe-Operadora, que se encarga del transporte de mercancías y pasajeros, en régimen de competencia con otras empresas. También realiza el mantenimiento y fabricación de material ferroviario, participando en importantes proyectos nacionales e internacionales.
 Adif, que gestiona vías, estaciones, comunicaciones, etc., cobrando un canon a las empresas usuarias de la red, entre ellas a Renfe.

Estructura interna
A partir de 1990 la estructura interna de la empresa cambió con la creación de las Unidades negocio, reestructurándose de la siguiente manera:

 Unidad de Negocio de Cercanías
 Unidad de Negocio de Regionales
 Unidad de Negocio de Largo Recorrido - Grandes Líneas
 Unidad de Negocio de Alta Velocidad
 Unidad de Negocio de Cargas
 Unidad de Negocio de Transporte Combinado
 Unidad de Negocio de Mercancías
 Unidad de Negocio de Mantenimiento Integral de Trenes
 Unidad de Negocio de Mantenimiento de Infraestructura

Presidentes

Organización territorial

Orígenes

En su primer quinquenio de funcionamiento, la RENFE primitiva mantuvo una división burocrática de su red basada en gran parte en los límites territoriales de las antiguas compañías absorbidas, por lo que se solía hablar de la «zona Norte», la «zona MZA», la zona Andaluces, etcétera.

Este sistema pronto se demostró obsoleto y el 6 de abril de 1948 se implantó una nueva división por zonas, creándose un total de siete y que recibían el mismo nombre donde se encontraba su centro: Madrid-Norte, Madrid-Atocha, Sevilla, Valencia, Barcelona, Bilbao y León. En el caso de Madrid se dividió en dos, por lo que los ferrocarriles que salían de Madrid hacia el norte tuvieron su centro en la Estación del Norte (actual Estación de Príncipe Pío) mientras que los que salían al sur tenían su centro en la Estación de Atocha. Los coches y vagones llevaban marcado en un rótulo (situado generalmente en los bajos del vagón) el número de la zona a la que pertenecían. Los Directores de Zona llegaron a tener, especialmente en las décadas de los años cuarenta y cincuenta, una autoridad casi militar, disponiendo a menudo de pequeños automotores para su transporte personal para inspeccionar las rutas a su cargo.

Las Zonas de la Red
Esta división de las 7 zonas permaneció casi intacta durante muchos años, estando en 1973 los límites de las zonas marcados por las siguientes líneas:

 Primera zona (Madrid-Norte): Con sus servicios centrales en Madrid, estación de Príncipe Pío. Se extendía por las líneas que nacen en Madrid hacia el Norte, con límites de Oeste a Este, en Palazuelo-Empalme, frontera de Portugal, Puebla de Sanabria, Astorga, Santander, Venta de Baños, Burgos y Coscurita. El tramo Venta de Baños-Burgos de la línea de Madrid a Irún había pertenecido en 1948 a la Sexta Zona.
 Segunda zona (Madrid-MZA): Con sede en Madrid, estación de Atocha, y límites en la frontera con Portugal por su parte Oeste, Zafra, Almorchón, Santa Cruz de Mudela y Villarrobledo en el Sur, Utiel al Este, y Casetas y Soria en el límite Noroeste.
 Tercera zona (Sevilla): Prácticamente coincidía con la región andaluza, y sus límites eran Zafra, Almorchón, Santa Cruz de Mudela y Baza.
 Cuarta zona (Valencia): Comprendía la región levantina y la provincia de Teruel. Sus límites eran, de Sur a Norte, las estaciones de Baza, Villarrobledo, Utiel, Calatayud, Zaragoza-Delicias y Tortosa.
 Quinta zona (Barcelona): Comprendía Cataluña y Aragón y llegaba hasta la frontera francesa, al norte; Zaragoza y Tortosa, al oeste y Sur, respectivamente. La cabecera de Zona era Barcelona-Término.
 Sexta zona (Bilbao): Con límites meridionales en Casetas, Calatayud, Soria, Burgos y Venta de Baños. En Calatayud se dio durante mucho tiempo el único caso de coexistencia de tres zonas de Renfe en una sola población, al pertenecer la línea de Madrid a Barcelona (ex-MZA) a la 2.ª, la de Calatayud a Cidad Dosante (ex-SM) a la 6.ª y la de Calatayud a Valencia (ex-CA) a la 4.ª. En la división original de 1948 coexistían en Casetas las Zonas 2.ª, 5.ª y 6.ª.
 Séptima zona (León): Comprendía las provincias gallegas, Asturias y León, con sede en la capital de esta última provincia y límites en Palencia, Astorga y Puebla de Sanabria.

A raíz de la finalización de las obras procedentes del Plan de enlaces ferroviarios de 1933, se fueron incorporando a RENFE un gran número de nuevas líneas en la zona de Madrid-capital entre 1967 y 1972, dando lugar a numerosos puntos de contacto entre la Primera y la Segunda Zona. Madrid había dejado de ser estación término de muchos trenes de viajeros, para pasar a ser estación de paso, con lo cual a la larga se acabó imponiendo la unificación de las dos zonas en una sola, llamada «Zona Centro». La apertura de la Estación de Chamartín en 1967, que supuso la entrada en decadencia de la Estación del Norte también influyó en esto, siendo trasladadas sus competencias a la Estación de Atocha. Para evitar que quedara un número sin asignar, el número 2 fue otorgado a la zona astur-galaico-leonesa antes representada por el número 7.

El 1 de enero de 1987 RENFE hizo entrar en vigor la Circular número 5372, por la cual se redujo el tamaño de la Zona Centro, para equilibrar su tamaño con el de las zonas periféricas.
En los años noventa desaparecieron paulatinamente las «zonas» y fueron sustituidas por las gerencias operativas, como reflejo del fin de la terminología militar en favor de la corporativa de inspiración anglosajona. En el año 2005 las competencias de la Red Nacional a nivel de infraestructuras fueron transferidas a Adif, y las de material rodante y explotación a Renfe.

Material motor

Tracción vapor

Tracción diésel

Tracción eléctrica

Véase también
 Anexo:Lista de empresas de ferrocarriles
 Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (Adif)
 Alta velocidad ferroviaria en España
 Euskotren
 Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha (FEVE)
 Ferrocarriles de la Generalidad de Cataluña (FGC)
 Ferrocarriles de la Generalidad Valenciana (FGV)
 Gestor de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (GIF)
 Historia de los ferrocarriles en España
 Red ferroviaria española
 Renfe
 Servicios Ferroviarios de Mallorca (SFM)

Referencias

Bibliografía

Enlaces externos

 El proceso de nacionalización de los ferrocarriles en España. Historia de las grandes compañías ferroviarias, 1913-1943

España en 1941
Primer franquismo (1936-1959)
Franquismo
Reinado de Juan Carlos I
Empresas ferroviarias desaparecidas de España
Renfe Operadora
Historia económica del siglo XX en España
Empresas fundadas en 1941
Empresas desaparecidas en 2005
España en 2005

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Barbra Streisand Redefining Beauty, Femininity, and Power Neal Gabler
Jewish Lives
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Individual Actors & Performers »
An enthralling appreciation of the monumentally gifted popular artist and cultural icon who challenged Hollywood's standards of beauty and glamour
Barbra Streisand has been called the "most successful...talented performer of her generation" by Vanity Fair, and her voice, said pianist Glenn Gould, is "one of the natural wonders of the age." Streisand scaled the heights of entertainment—from a popular vocalist to a first-rank Broadway star in Funny Girl to an Oscar-winning actress to a producer and director. But she has also become a cultural icon who has transcended show business. To achieve her success, Brooklyn-born Streisand had to overcome tremendous odds, not the least of which was her Jewishness. Dismissed, insulted, even reviled when she embarked on a show business career for acting too Jewish and looking too Jewish, she brilliantly converted her Jewishness into a metaphor for outsiderness that would eventually make her the avenger for anyone who felt marginalized and powerless.
Neal Gabler examines Streisand's life and career through this prism of otherness—a Jew in a gentile world, a self-proclaimed homely girl in a world of glamour, a kooky girl in a world of convention—and shows how central it was to Streisand's triumph as one of the voices of her age.
Neal Gabler is the author of An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood; Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination; Winchell: Gossip, Power and the Culture of Celebrity; and Life: The Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality.
"[A] spirited and entertaining cultural appreciation."—Jennifer Senior, New York Times
"In this fascinating and insightful exploration of what it means to be Barbra Streisand, and what it took to become her, Mr. Gabler writes with the heart of a fan and the mind of a Freudian. He delves into Ms. Streisand's tragic childhood and her anguish at the hand of neighborhood bullies, who taunted her for her big nose and relative poverty, and shows how they engendered in her an implacable—and stupefyingly correct—belief in the singular power of her talent as a performer."—Rachel Shukert, Wall Street Journal
"Gabler, the estimable journalist, pop-cultural historian and author . . . returns to his interest in the intersection of Jews, gentiles and Hollywood in BARBRA STREISAND: Redefining Beauty, Femininity, and Power. . . . The author does a neat job of weaving every thread he can pull into the cloth. . . . This brief biography looks at a well-documented star in a new way."—Lisa Schwarzbaum, New York Times Book Review
"Gabler . . . argues that Streisand could never have triumphed as she did if she were a natural winner . . . a convincing account of how, once, Streisand really did bend the world to her will."—Victoria Segal, Sunday Times
"Gabler's immensely readable book demonstrates through Streisand's remarkable story that . . . it is talent that matters most, and for her embracing who she was and accepting with confidence what she looked like was instrumental in displaying that talent to the world."—Richard Edmonds, Birmingham Post
"Gabler's enthusiasm is so infectious and Barbra Streisand's star quality so magnificent that I found myself singing the songs."—Jessica Weinstein, Jewish Chronicle
"[A] smart new book, a biography-cum-critical essay on the Brooklyn-born diva. It may be the best book about Streisand you will ever read, an acute and sympathetic rendering of a career forged from yearning and steel."—Tom Shone, New Statesman
"[An] invaluable book"— Stephen J. Whitfield, Journal of Modern Jewish Studies
"A clear-eyed, frank, and energetic look at Streisand, filled with revealing details, that fuses her life and career into vivid focus."—Bob Spitz, author of The Beatles: The Biography
Radical Vision
Soyica Diggs Colbert
Ibsen's Kingdom
Evert Sprinchorn
Adam Begley
Nick Mauss
Ben Hecht
Adina Hoffman
A Child of the Century
Miyazakiworld
Susan Napier
Sophie Whettnall (at) Work
Emiliano Battista
David Thomson
Lee Siegel
Ivo de Figueiredo
Wendy Lesser
Oliver Hilmes
Molly Haskell
Allan Kaprow and Claes Oldenburg
Robert E. Haywood
Bugsy Siegel
George Prochnik
Liel Leibovitz
Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg
Theodor Herzl
Derek Penslar
Yehudah Mirsky
Lillian Faderman
Phyllis Rose
Paul Mendes-Flohr
Steven Gimbel
Jabotinsky
Hillel Halkin
Menasseh ben Israel
Steven Nadler


f you are married when you retire, your annuity will be reduced to provide a full survivor annuity for your spouse (unless he or she consents to a lesser benefit). To provide for a survivor annuity, your annuity will be reduced by 2.5 percent of the first $3,600, plus 10 percent of the annuity over $3,600. The survivor annuity will be 55 percent of the amount of your annuity before this reduction. Note: If you were divorced after May 6, 1985, your former spouse may receive by court order, all or part of the survivor annuity that your current spouse would otherwise get. You can also elect a survivor annuity for a former spouse (but if you are married, you must get your spouse's consent).
If you are not retiring for disability, and are in reasonably good health, you can provide a survivor annuity for a person who has an "insurable interest" in you such as a relative who is in your care, or a current spouse who would not otherwise get a survivor annuity because of a court-ordered award to a former spouse. To provide this benefit, your annuity would be reduced from 10 to 40 percent depending on the difference in your age and the age of the person named. This reduction would be added to any reduction required to provide a survivor annuity for a spouse or former spouse.


To keep our clinic associated with the best care around, our veterinarians are also highly skilled surgeons. At Bay Animal Clinic, we do our best to put you at ease and to keep your pet comfortable throughout the entire process. Surgery is done in several stages. The first stage is a physical examination including blood work and x-ray pictures. The next step in the process is a meeting with the doctor on options available that may or may not include surgery. If surgery is the best option for you and your pet, then your pet is taken into our surgical suite and is immediately sedated so that all pre-op testing can be done without upsetting your animal.
During surgery, our doctors use the latest surgical techniques to fully complete your pet's surgery in a timely and efficient manner. One way that we are able to do this is by using the technique of laser surgery. Laser surgery is a way to keep scarring at a minimum and healing to a maximum by reducing bleeding and promoting cell reproduction almost immediately. Bay Animal clinic uses a radiofrequency laser surgery machine, which is a highly rated piece of equipment used by not only veterinarians but also human doctors and dentists as well.


US stocks have surged with broad gains led by the technology and healthcare sectors as investors, relieved to put midterm elections behind them, made bets that a divided Congress would be good for equities.
Democrats won control of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, while President Donald Trump's Republican party expanded its Senate majority, pointing to a political gridlock in Washington.
The S&P's biggest boosts came from the S&P technology sector , which rose 2.4 per cent, and the healthcare index , which gained 2.8 per cent as investors were more comfortable taking on risky bets. The consumer discretionary sector was also a strong gainer as Amazon.com soared.
"I don't think any of Trump's agenda that he's already accomplished gets unwound. That was the main point of concern for investors," said Robert Phipps, a director at Per Stirling Capital Management in Austin, Texas. "We've got a relief rally because the market got exactly what it expected."
While a divided Congress will make it harder for Trump's administration to push through new legislation such as additional tax cuts, investors were not expecting a reversal of tax cuts and deregulation measures that have already been enacted.
"We've gotten the broad uncertainty out of the way," said Chad Morganlander, senior portfolio manager at Washington Crossing Advisors.
Some strategists said Democratic control of the House means President Donald Trump would have a harder time gaining support for efforts to impose more regulations on Amazon.com, which rose 6 per cent providing the S&P 500's biggest boost from a single stock.
DaVita Inc jumped 10.9 per cent after California rejected a proposal to limit the rates dialysis clinics can charge commercially insured patients.
Anadarko Petroleum Corp surged 5.8 per cent and Noble Energy Inc jumped 5.2 per cent after Colorado voters a rejected a tougher rule on oil and gas drilling, which spurred shares of companies operating in the state.
Among the laggards were luxury handbag maker Michael Kors Holding Ltd and beauty products maker Coty Inc , which tumbled 14.8 per cent and 24.5 per cent, respectively, after both missed quarterly revenue estimates.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 3.07-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.90-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 34 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 61 new highs and 61 new lows.


Ensemble also provides specialized business service classes that use this adapter, and one of those might be suitable for your needs. If so, no programming would be needed. See the section "Connectivity Options" in Introducing Ensemble.
Within a production, an outbound adapter is associated with a business operation that you create and configure. The business operation receives a message from within the production, looks up the message type, and executes the appropriate method. This method usually executes methods of the associated adapter.
To create a business operation to use EnsLib.File.OutboundAdapter, you create a new business operation class. Later, add it to your production and configure it.
You must also create appropriate message classes, if none yet exist. See "Defining Ensemble Messages" in Developing Ensemble Productions.
Your business operation class should extend Ens.BusinessOperation.
In your class, the ADAPTER parameter should equal EnsLib.File.OutboundAdapter.
In your class, the INVOCATION parameter should specify the invocation style you want to use, which must be one of the following.
Queue means the message is created within one background job and placed on a queue, at which time the original job is released. Later, when the message is processed, a different background job is allocated for the task. This is the most common setting.
InProc means the message will be formulated, sent, and delivered in the same job in which it was created. The job will not be released to the sender's pool until the message is delivered to the target. This is only suitable for special cases.
Here Sample is the name of the method, RequestClass is the name of an Ensemble request message class, and ResponseClass is the name of an Ensemble response message class. In general, the method code will refer to properties and methods of the Adapter property of your business operation.
For information on defining message classes, see "Defining Ensemble Messages" in Developing Ensemble Productions.
For information on defining the message handler methods, see "Creating Message Handler Methods," later in this chapter.
For other options and general information, see "Defining a Business Operation Class" in Developing Ensemble Productions.
Studio provides a wizard that you can use to create a business operation stub similar to the preceding. To access this wizard, click File —> New and then click the Production tab. Then click Business Operation and click OK.
When you create a business operation class for use with EnsLib.File.OutboundAdapter, typically your biggest task is writing message handlers for use with this adapter, that is, methods that receive Ensemble messages and then write files.
Here Sample is the name of the method, RequestClass is the name of an Ensemble request message class, and ResponseClass is the name of an Ensemble response message class.
Examine the inbound request message.
Make sure that you set the output argument (pOutput). Typically you set this equal to the response message. This step is required.
Your business operation class can use the following instance methods of EnsLib.File.OutboundAdapter.
Using the pFilename string as a starting point, incorporate the time stamp specifier provided in pSpec and return the resulting string. The default time stamp specifier is _%C which provides the full date and time down to the millisecond.
For full details about time stamp conventions, see "Time Stamp Specifications for Filenames" in Configuring Ensemble Productions.
Returns 1 (True) if the file exists, 0 (False) if it does not.
Gets a stream from the file.
Writes a string to the file and appends to the string the characters specified in the LineTerminator property. By default, the LineTerminator is a carriage return followed by a line feed (ASCII 13, ASCII 10).
Writes a string to the file.
Writes a stream to the file.
Renames the file in the current path or moves it to the path specified by pNewPath.
The following code example shows a business operation class that references the EnsLib.File.OutboundAdapter. This class can perform two operations: If it receives valid patient data, it files patient information based on patient status. If it receives invalid patient data, it logs this information separately.
Add an instance of your business operation class to the Ensemble production.


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How Austin Ekeler Spent His First $1M in the NFL
Running back Austin Ekeler's first job was as a raft guide in the Rocky mountains. Now he's in the middle of his fourth season with the Los Angeles Chargers on a 4 year, $24.5M contract extension. From an $85K Corvette Stringray C8 to $800K in real estate, find out everything Austin Ekeler spent the first million dollars in the NFL on.
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Service Nepal provided many opportunities for each student to grow and develop with team building activities, as well as intrinsic individual growth. The Service Nepal trip kicked off to a thrilling start with rafting as the first hurdle of our voyage. We geared up for rafting and were taught how to paddle and the different actions to take in different situations. Rafting was a very exciting experience for us, as most of us had never done it before. We rafted for about 3 hours and it was extremely tiring. When we finally arrived at the campsite, it was difficult to carry all the dry bags and school supplies to the site, but we managed.
We went to Gandaki Primary School in Gorkha District where we painted and taught the students PLUM lessons and basic Water Safety. The children of Gandaki and the Lincoln students enjoyed the interactions and grew strong bonds with the younger students of the Gandaki primary school. The journey to Gandaki Primary School also proved very challenging as the school is on the summit of the hill, however the LS students pushed through this difficult journey carrying supplies such as paint, buckets, and brushes to the school.
Through this trip we saw the true beauty of Nepal and Nepal got to see the true beauty in us (care, love, and compassion). If we have learned anything as a class about this trip, it was that we must not only think about ourselves, but our social responsibilities too. Our class was able to experience a trip in a joyful manner through dancing, singing, and enjoying the campfire with each other. We ended on a good note and the experience was everything we hoped and more. We were able to jump out of our social media and our comfort zones and experience the trip and nature as a whole.


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text:
Q: Angled Spherical Sector - formulas? I am glad to be here.
First off, please excuse my almost saddening lack of knowledge. Math (in general) isn't my strong point. I might ask some really basic questions, you have been warned :)
The background:
I am building a (so-to-speak) galaxy simulator. I have generated an eliptical galaxy with a large number of "stars"; currently staying at 10.000 but the final number will be around 2 million. They are represented as dots in a 3D space, generated using spherical coordinates which are also transformed and available as cartesian coordinates.
The work:
There are two things I'm working on right now:

*

*Let Sphere A with radius 10000 containing 10000 dots with known spherical/cartesian coordinates. Within sphere A let Sphere B with radius R, centered around coordinates X, Y, Z. Find out all dots located both within Sphere A and Sphere B.
This one I solved by using a cube with size 2R, centered at X, Y, Z, then finding all dots located between x-r and x+r, y-r and y+r, z-r and z+r. Then I calculated the distance between the center of the cube and each of the dots. If the distance is greater than R, then they are ignored, leaving only the dots which are located within the sphere inscribed in the cube. I am, however, interested to find whether there is a more elegant solution which wouldn't involve the "cube" middle step.

*Let Sphere A with radius 10000 containing 10000 dots with known spherical/cartesian coordinates. Within sphere A let a dot with known cartesian coordinates X, Y, Z. From this dot we generate a spherical sector B with radius R and cone angle phi (which is between 30 and 90 degrees). Find out all known dots which are located both within sphere A and spherical sector B.
This one I couldn't solve. It is further complicated by the fact that it doesn't necessarily start from the center of sphere A, and its angle relative to sphere A could point pretty much anywhere.
To make an analogy, imagine you're located on Earth and you look at the sky through a telescope. You could point the telescope anywhere. You need to find only stars which are within your field of view, given the fact that you know all star coordinates relative to the center of the galaxy.
How I approached this second problem:
I generated a "virtual" sphere (S1) centered on coordinates X, Y, Z and found all dots located within this sphere using solution outlined at point 1. Then I converted all the cartesian coordinates to "local" coordinates. But then I kind of got stuck... I can't figure a reliable way to limit the volume to only cover the spherical sector.
Please let me know if that makes sense... I'll try to give more details if needed.
Additional information
Thank you for your answer, however...

The way to find the stars in some region is to loop through the stars
  and for each one evaluate a formula and do a test to see if it is in
  the region or not.

I can't evaluate two million points every time I want to find what's in a region that might find 5 of them. Combined with the fact that such a query needs to finish really fast (under 500 ms worst case scenario, preferably within 100 ms), it becomes obvious that evaluating 2 million entries every time is really out of the question.
My "sphere within a sphere" PL/SQL procedure gives an answer in about 60 ms for "maximum" thresholds of r (which is about 5% of maximum radius) so I'm good there.
As for the spherical sector, I understand most of the formulas presented, however they all gravitate around comparing all those 2 million points, which puts a lot of strain on the queries. Isn't there a way to reduce the number of checks?
The spherical sector (which is a bit more than a cone) will have the following inputs:
- cone axis (theta, phi, r)
- cone angle width (in degrees): 30, 45, 60, 75 or 90 degrees.
That is, the user will enter, for example: Find_stars(10, 10, 1000, 45) which means "Find all stars located in the spherical sector with axis at theta=10, phi=10, length of 1000 and width of 45 degrees", and he will be presented with a list of entries showing all stars located within those bounds.

A: The way to find the stars in some region is to loop through the stars and for each one evaluate a formula and do a test to see if it is in the region or not. There's not much point in using a cube first; on modern computers multiplications are cheaper than "if" statements!
So the important step is to find the formula for the shapes you are interested in.
The interior of a sphere centred on the origin with radius $r$ satisfies this inequality:
$$x^2+y^2+z^2 \leq r^2$$
This is just Pythagoras's theorem, applied to find the distance from the origin to the point $(x, y, z)$.
If you want the sphere centred elsewhere or with a different radius, you can just substitute for $x$, $y$, $z$:
$$x = x' - x_0$$
$$y = y' - y_0$$
$$z = z' - z_0$$
This gives:
$$(x'-x_0)^2 + (y'-y_0)^2 + (z'-z_0)^2 \leq r^2$$
In this formula, $(x_0, y_0, z_0)$ is the centre of the sphere.
The formula for the interior of a double cone with its point at the origin and its axis along the z-axis and a half-angle of 45 degrees is:
$$x^2 + y^2 \leq z^2$$
Again, this is just Pythagoras's theorem. The left-hand side is the squared distance from $(x, y, z)$ to the point on the z-axis at $(0, 0, z)$.
Note that this gives a double cone; if we want just one of the cones we need in addition something like:
$$z \geq 0$$
You can change the half-angle of the cone to $\phi$ by scaling $z$:
$$x^2 + y^2 \leq (z \tan(\phi))^2$$
If you want to change the axis of the cone, you can do it as follows. First, rewrite the equation as follows:
$$x^2 + y^2 + z^2 \leq z^2 (\tan^2(\phi) + 1)$$
Now the left-hand side looks like the formula for a sphere, and does not depend on the orientation of the cone. The right-hand side does. We need to replace $z$ on the right-hand side with a quantity $d$ that measures the distance along the desired axis of the cone.
Suppose you want the cone to point towards $(u, v, w)$. Then a measure of the distance in that direction is the dot-product:
$$d = \frac{u}{l}x + \frac{v}{l}y + \frac{w}{l}z$$
Where $l$ is the length of the vector $(u, v, w)$, which can be computed (again) using Pythagoras's theorem:
$$l = \sqrt{u^2 + v^2 + w^2}$$
So, putting this all together:
$$(x^2 + y^2 + z^2)(u^2 + v^2 + w^2) \leq (wx + vy + wz)^2 (\tan^2(\phi) + 1)$$
$$ux + vy + wz \geq 0$$
Finally, you can move the point of the cone around using a coordinate transform, just as for the sphere.

A: One way to deal with a problem like this involving very large numbers of irregularly distributed points is to organize the points within a regular intermediate structure before making any queries.
For your two problems, you could use your Cartesian coordinates to build a box around the galaxy and subdivide that box into a three-dimensional grid containing many cubical cells.
The boundaries between cells are formed by regularly spaced planes perpendicular to each axis; between two adjacent parallel planes you have a "slab" of cells arranged in rows and columns.
It is a simple task to sort two million points into an array of such cells.
You can organize the array of cells in memory so that any cell is easily found by the coordinates of one of its corners. (The corner with minimum $x,$ $y,$ and $z$ coordinates is a convenient index.)
To find the cell in which each point resides, you add suitable offsets to its $x,$ $y,$ and $z$ coordinates, divide each of the results by the width of a cell, and truncate away the fractional parts after division. You then have three integers that identify the cell in a three-dimensional array where the point belongs.
For a sphere of radius $R$ centered at $(X,Y,Z),$ you know that lower and upper bounds on the $z$ coordinates of any point in the sphere are $Z-R$ and $Z+R.$
Take each of those coordinates and apply the offset-divide-truncate algorithm to determine the range of slabs of cells that could possibly contain points within the sphere.
Then you visit each of these slabs one at a time.
You compute the radius of the largest circle on the sphere contained in that slab.
For slabs "below" the center of the sphere that circle is the intersection of the upper boundary of the slab and the sphere; you can find the radius by taking the $z$ coordinate of the upper surface and applying the formula $r = \sqrt{R^2 - (Z - z)^2}.$
For slabs "above" the center of the sphere you make a similar calculation using the lower surface of the slab.
For the slab containing the center of the sphere the radius is simply $r = R.$
Now that you have a radius $r,$ you find the minimum and maximum $y$ coordinates of the intersection of the sphere with the slab: $Y - r$ and $Y + r.$
The offset-divide-truncate algorithm identifies the range of columns of cells within the slab that could possibly intersect the sphere. Then within each column you find the first and last cell that could possibly intersect the sphere:
for columns to the "left" of the $y$ coordinate $Y$ you take the rightmost $y$ coordinate and apply the formula $(X - x) = \pm\sqrt{r^2 - (Y - y)^2}$ to obtain minimum and maximum $x$ coordinates, from which you can find the row numbers of the cells within that column that could possibly intersect the sphere.
If you are careful, you can determine not only which cells in each column have any intersection with the sphere, you can determine which cells are entirely with in the sphere.
For each column you then visit each cell that intersects the sphere. If the cell is entirely in the sphere you simply collect all the points in that cell; every one is in the sphere.
If the cell intersects the sphere but is not completely contained, you apply the distance formula to each point to decide whether it is in the sphere.
By the time you have visited every intersecting cell in every row in every slab, you will have found all the points in the sphere.
Alternatively, if the mathematics of finding the intersecting columns in each slab and the intersecting cells in each column are more complicated than you care to implement, you can just take all the cells whose $x,$ $y$, and $z$ coordinates overlap the ranges $[X-R, X+R],$ $[Y-R, Y+R],$ and $[Z-R, Z+R],$ and visit every one of those cells. This adds some computation because you are inspecting some cells that cannot possibly contain any points in the sphere and because you are checking the distance to each individual point (not just the ones in cells that are not completely contained), but as long as the sphere is smaller than the galaxy you are not visiting all two million points.
This is similar to your intermediate cube algorithm in that it involves an intermediate data structure which involves a cube.
But unlike your custom-made cube, the cubes in this structure were determined just once during the entire run of your program.
When the program receives the center and radius of a sphere, it does not have to examine every one of the two million points even to determine if it is in the bounding cube of the sphere; instead, you simply walk through a subset of the cells in the precomputed array of cubes and visit only the points in those cells.
The computation for a sector follows a similar idea, though it is slightly more complicated because you are dealing with both a sphere around a point and a cone with a vertex at that point.
Consider the  angle between the axis of the cone and the lateral surface of the cone (which may be $\phi$ or $\phi/2$ depending on how you define "cone angle").
If the maximum value of that angle is $45$ degrees then it is always possible to choose an axis such that the cone's intersection with any slab boundary perpendicular to that axis is always an ellipse.
You find the formula of the cone as a quadratic equation in $x,$ $y,$ and $z.$
Then if (for example) the slabs for this particular cone are perpendicular to the $z$ axis, you take the $z$ coordinate of each slab boundary and plug it into the equation, obtaining an equation of an ellipse with variables $x$ and $y.$
You can then use that equation to determine the minimum and maximum $y$ coordinate of the ellipse, find the columns intersecting the ellipse, and find the cells in each column intersecting the ellipse.
Unlike the calculation for the sphere, for each slab you have to consider the ellipse at both its upper and lower boundary plane, and you also have to consider the two lines through the coordinates $(X,Y)$ (from the vertex of the cone) tangent to both ellipses. Altogether the calculations could be rather complicated to work out and you might prefer to just figure out the minimum and maximum $x$ and $y$ coordinates of the intersection of the cone with the slab (which you can get from the two ellipses) and visit all cells in the resulting rectangular block.
You will also consider the sphere of radius $R$ around $(X,Y,Z)$ as before, which provides another boundary of the sector.
If the maximum angle between the axis and the lateral side of the cone is greater than $45$ degrees then you must also deal with cases where the intersection of the cone with a slab boundary is a hyperbola. You will also need to use the circular intersection of the sphere with the slab boundary in order to get upper and lower bounds on the coordinates.
Alternatively you can do some mathematics to determine the minimum and maximum of each of the coordinates of the sector, and simply iterate through all cells that overlap those ranges of coordinates.
To find the minimum and maximum coordinates you need merely consider the vertex of the cone, the circle where the cone intersects the sphere, and the points where any axis intersects the sphere inside the cone.
For a narrow cone in a diagonal direction this alternative can mean that most of the cells you visit do not intersect the cone at all, but if $R$ is smaller than the diameter of the galaxy it can at least let you avoid visiting most of the two million points.
But this has the advantage that the mathematics for a wide cone is not more complicated than for a narrow cone.

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