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Hasenberger ist der Name von

 Birgit Hasenberger, Astronomin
 Christian Hasenberger (* 1971), österreichischer Fußballspieler und -trainer
 Hindrich Hasenberger (1600–1600), schwedischer Hofnarr
 Jan Horák-Hasenberger (1500–1551), tschechischer römisch-katholischer Priester
 Sonja Hasenberger, österreichische Fußballspielerin


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Souleymane Wane (ur. 28 stycznia 1976 w Dakarze) – senegalski koszykarz grający na pozycji środkowego. Mistrz dywizji I NCAA z 1999 roku. Reprezentant kraju, wicemistrz Afryki z 2005 roku. Posiada również amerykańskie obywatelstwo.

Życiorys
Wane w 1997 roku rozpoczął studia na uczelni University of Connecticut, gdzie przez 4 kolejne sezony występował w drużynie koszykarskiej Connecticut Huskies, grającej w dywizji I NCAA. W 1999 roku, wraz z tą drużyną, został mistrzem NCAA. W sumie w ciągu 4 lat gry w rozgrywkach uniwersyteckich rozegrał 121 meczów, w których zdobył 393 punkty i 493 zbiórki. W 2001 roku zgłosił się do udziału w drafcie NBA, jednak nie został w nim wybrany.

W sezonie 2001/2002 występował w bośniackim klubie KK Sloboda Tuzla. W barwach tej drużyny grał w rozgrywkach Ligi Adriatyckiej, wystąpił w 22 meczach, zdobywając średnio po 11,4 punktu i 6,3 zbiórki na mecz. W sezonie 2002/2003 został zawodnikiem japońskiego OSG Phoenix, w którym zdobywał przeciętnie po 20,6 punktu i 12 zbiórek na mecz. Został wówczas 5. najlepszym zbierającym ligi japońskiej, a, wraz ze swym klubem, zdobył także brązowy medal całych rozgrywek.

Latem 2003 roku początkowo był testowany przez niemiecki zespół Brandt Hagen, jednak klub nie podpisał z nim kontraktu. Ostatecznie sezon 2003/2004 spędził w AZS Koszalin. W 26 spotkaniach Polskiej Ligi Koszykówki zdobywał średnio po 15,8 punktu, 10,2 zbiórki i 0,9 bloku na mecz. Był najlepszym zbierającym ligi, 2. zawodnikiem pod względem średniego wskaźnika evaluation i 10. blokującym oraz punktującym całych rozgrywek. W lipcu 2004 roku został zawodnikiem niemieckiego Gießen 46ers, w którym występował przez kolejne 2 sezony (2004/2005 i 2005/2006). W tym czasie rozegrał 55 meczów ligowych, w których zdobywał średnio po 8,3 punktu i 7,9 zbiórki na mecz. W latach 2007–2008 występował jeszcze w kanadyjskim klubie Manchester Mill Rats.

Ostatecznie, w wyniku problemów z kolanami i stawem biodrowym, zakończył karierę w wieku 29 lat.

Wane został powołany do seniorskiej reprezentacji swojego kraju w 1999 roku – wystąpił wówczas w mistrzostwach Afryki, w których Senegal zajął 7. pozycję. Wraz z reprezentacją Senegalu wystąpił także na tej imprezie sześć lat później, zdobywając wówczas wicemistrzostwo kontynentu.

Wane urodził się i wychowywał w Dakarze. Do Stanów Zjednoczonych przyjechał w październiku 1995 roku. Jest żonaty, ma dwóch synów. Po zakończeniu kariery koszykarskiej początkowo mieszkał w Dracut (miasto rodzinne jego żony), a od 2009 roku mieszka w Lowell. Pracuje jako nauczyciel języka francuskiego, jest także asystentem trenera w zespole UMass Lowell River Hawks, drużynie koszykarskiej uczelni University of Massachusetts Lowell. Zna 5 języków: francuski, angielski, hiszpański, arabski i wolof. Jesienią 2012 roku otrzymał amerykańskie obywatelstwo.

Przypisy

Amerykańscy koszykarze
Senegalscy koszykarze
Koszykarze AZS Koszalin
Koszykarze Brandt Hagen
Koszykarze Gießen 46ers
Koszykarze OKK Sloboda Tuzla
Urodzeni w 1978
Ludzie urodzeni w Dakarze

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Sandy Burgoyne, Director of the Future Cities Collaborative, was invited to share with academics and practioners the innovative work of the Future Cites Program at the S3 Singapore Sustainability Symposium held in Nanyang Technological University in April, and the ISCN 2015 Conference held at Hong Kong University in June. She shares with us her thoughts about the conferences and why Universities and Cities must work collaboratively to acheive sustainble development.
One of the major challenges of the 21st Century is managing the smart growth of our cities, so too, is empowering our city leaders with the best insights and science to help them to lead the development of our communities, so that they are productive, sustainable and liveable. This theme was underlined at both S3 Singapore Sustainability Symposium and the International Sustainable Campus Network 2015 Conference earlier this year. With a commitment to sustainability and urban solutions that are transdisciplinary, transboundary and integrated, Singapore's Nanyang Technological University recently hosted the second S3 Singapore Sustainability Symposium. Government leaders, academics, and specialists from around the world attended the symposium.
Conference Delegates at the International Sustainable Campus Network 2015 Conference, University of Hong Kong
The key themes outlined below informed the discussion at the World Cities Summit Mayor's Forum in June this year.
Cities will play an increasingly important role in addressing adaptation challenges, because they will feel many of the impacts most severely and because they're often in the best position to implement high-impact solutions.
It's important to avoid the cynicism often associated with discussions about environmental impact challenges, such as climate change. Cities are often refreshingly insulated from this negativity, and should strive to keep this positive frame to focus on opportunities and more inclusive development.
Cities need champions and leaders to drive sustainability agendas and solutions forward. These champions should move beyond the foundation of immediate cost and logistics planning to describe a vision of what future and liveable cities could become.
Research, science, and R&D will continue to provide concrete and relevant information to support decision-making and action in cities.
The discussion and key themes underlined the need for innovative and collaborative approaches to ensure that city leaders, who are making investment decisions about how our cities are developed, receive the most relevant and current thinking to inform their envisioning process and help solve many of the environmental and urban challenges that communities face. It was also recognised that there can be a delay in the transference of knowledge and research findings between the city leaders and research institutions, leading to sub- optimal solutions for sustainable urban development.
This theme was amplified at the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN) conference, which recently held it's 9th annual conference at The University of Hong Kong. The theme of the conference was "Expanding the Dialogue: Sustainability in a Connected World".
A clear day at The Peak in Hong Kong.
The session that the Future Cities Collaborative was invited to contribute to was focused on the way in which universities and cities can form effective, collaborative alliances to contribute towards meeting the challenge of urban living in the 21st Century.
Mayor Park Won Soon from Seoul, a renowned advocate of sustainable development, kicked off the session confirming that to make greater ground in developing sustainable cities we need "participatory platforms for academics, and students to provide advice and ideas.. to our city leaders." He explicitly made the point that cities and universities must work together to achieve their collective goals both in terms of infrastructure and the development of its communities. Seoul has worked with many universities in South Korea to further these aims.
John Robinson, University of British Columbia, went further to suggest that Universities are best placed to serve as a "Living Laboratory" for demonstrating precinct scale sustainability solutions, which then can be replicated across similar environments in other cities.
As described by Andy Nolan, Director of Sustainability, University of Nottingham, the world's number one ranking Green University in the UI Green Index, commented, " …Urbanisation is the perfect platform to encourage inter-disciplinary collaboration within universities. Those UK universities who have identified this as an opportunity to promote this through an emphasis on urbanisation are creating think tanks, centres of excellence and institutes to address them."
The Future Cities Collaborative, focused on inspiring city leaders by bringing together innovative approaches to policy, practice and research, is forging new ways for universities to work with city leaders to create sustainable communities. Universities and think tanks such as these are well placed to provide a neutral environment for informed debate and learning amongst diverse city leaders, leading to greater confidence and capacity for participating leaders to make brave decisions on new approaches and technologies to create sustainable cites. Increased cross-sectoral collaboration is required to affect meaningful change in creating thriving towns and cities.
So, a key take out is that we need to continue to close the knowledge gap between the decision makers of our cities and the world's urban scientists and researchers, if we are going to bring the best solutions to solve our urban challenges. Real–time collaboration across academia, government, community and industry will continue to inspire and inform what is possible locally, and at scale across the globe.
Panelists from the S3 Singapore Sustainability Symposium: Stanley Yip, Professor, College of Urban Planning and Design, Peking University, China; Mike Nemeth, Environmental Specialist, Alberta Water Smart; Sein-Way Tan, CEO, Green World City Organisation; Khoo Teng Chye, Executive Director, Centre for Liveable Cities; John Jackson Ewing, Director, Asia Policy Institute, New York; Sandy Burgoyne Director, Future Cities Collaborative, Australia.
A Big Thank You to Our Major Sponsors from Perth, Western Australia:
Bobcat Hire Perth – Balcatta Bobcats
Westline Electrical Services
Concept Concrete WA

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The third High Level Forum on United Nations Global Information Management (UN-GGIM) opened Wednesday in Beijing, gathering authorities from nearly 20 countries to discuss geo-information's role in promoting sustainable development.
The three-day forum will address geospatial information in the post-2015 development agenda.
Discussions will center around critical development issues such as mitigating climate change, disasters, sustainable cities, human settlement and cross-border cooperation.
The forum is co-sponsored by UN-GGIM and China's National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation (NASG).
The NASG said it will sign documents with geo-info authorities from countries including Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Israel, Mongolia and Sweden during the forum, in a bid to strengthen cooperation in China's Beidou navigation system development, monitoring of geographical conditions, building a geo-info database and digital cities.


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S. AFRICA FREES PROMINENT ANTI-APARTHIED ACTIVISTS
Seven prominent anti-apartheid leaders detained for almost three years without charge were released from prison this week. Taken into custody in 1986 at the beginning of the current state of emergency, all had joined hunger strikes by detainees earlier this year.
Among those released Wednesday were the Rev. Sipho Gogola of the Interdenominational Ministers Association of Southern Africa; Lulu Johnson, former president of the Congress of South African Students; and Denis Neer, an official with the Congress of South African Trade Unions.
All seven have held top positions in anti-apartheid groups around Port Elizabeth, one of the most militant black areas in the country. However, the highest-ranking opposition leaders in the area remain in detention.
Key Mandela moments: A biographical timeline
How Chester the puppet sparked battle over race and free speech in South Africa
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela: For many South Africans, 'She was the movement'


The 2016 Assembly Bill 2729 introduced new changes for licensing and bonding requirements for oil and gas wells operators in California, which will become effective come January 1, 2018.
The Bill has set higher bond amounts for oil and gas wells operators who want to use the blanket bond option to ensure legal compliance in the State of California. It also covers new rules and regulations for handling idle wells, which includes fee and provisions for removing unused wells.
The Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) at the California Department of Conservation awards licenses to oil and gas wells operators in California.
As part of the licensing requirement, the State requires oil and gas wells operators to post an Oil and Gas Well Bond. It can be for each individual well, or in the form of a blanket bond for handling more than 20 wells.
Who needs the Oil and Gas Well Bond?
The State (Obligee) specifies that all operators of oil and gas wells, enhanced-recovery wells, service wells (structure, temperature observation wells), water-disposal wells, core-holes, and gas-storage wells that engage in drilling, plugging, deepening, and re-drilling onshore and offshore (within three nautical miles of the coastline), situated on state and private lands of California are required to procure this type of surety bond.
The California Oil and Gas Well Bond amount will be based on the number of wells being operated. The bond amounts for individual wells are $25,000 (less than 10,000 feet deep) and $40,000 (deeper wells).
Aside from a completed application form and financial documents to submit to your Surety, you need to obtain a copy of the official Blanket Oil and Gas Well Indemnity Surety Bond Form required by DOGGR.
The Assembly Bill 2729 aims to address issues concerning neglected and abandoned wells, which pose hazard risks to the public and the environment.
The new bill determines the difference between idle and long-term idle wells.
The new and stricter legislation targets the improvement of managing and operating oil and gas wells throughout the State. With the new surety bond amounts, its purpose is to increase public safety and ensure environmental policies are followed.


SFR, Inc. :: View topic - Table of all the body part dice faces.
Table of all the body part dice faces.
Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 10:15 pm GMT Post subject: Table of all the body part dice faces.
Cool. Now I can make more sense of the different dice and strengths/weaknesses, etc.
Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2013 8:34 am GMT Post subject: Re: Table of all the body part dice faces.
I'm sorry it took so long to get these to you.


CLEVELAND — After years of declining ridership due to the recession and service cutbacks Greater Cleveland RTA's ridership is up and the agency is looking to expand. Future plans for the RTA include service extensions and the rebuilding of older transit stations, according to GM Joseph Calabrese in an interview with Crain's Cleveland Business.
RELATED: "BRT a cost-effective catalyst for urban development."


I was invited to attend the launch of Ryk Neethling's wine at Val de Vie on Friday night. It was a black tie affair with lots of fancy people. It's amazing though, it doesn't matter how fancy people are they still don't seem to have the manners to keep quiet during a speech. The speeches were less than five minutes in total but the people behind me couldn't be bothered to even lower their voices. So I could barely hear what was said and I'm sure the speakers must have found it distracting. I think that is unbelievably rude. I've even been to a wedding where people did not keep quiet during the speeches. If it was my event I would tell them to shut up or get out. Talking during the speeches is like spitting in the faces of the speaker and the host.
Anyway, with that rant out of the way, let me tell you about the event. My friend Leigh from Lip Gloss is my Life (thanks for the pics!) was also invited so we travelled together (you can read her review of the event here). My date was the lovely Michelle who you may remember from the Hugo Boss party.
On arrival, we received a cocktail of gin and a new enegy called 28 Black, it was very pink, but I'm ok with that. What I wasn't ok with was the fact that they put crushed ice in which prompty melted and made the whole drink just taste like water.
On our way through to the patio we admired the Tag Heuer watches which were being displayed. I tried on the puppy pictured (you know I have a weakness for nice watches) but the price tag of R35 000 odd kept my wallet firmly in my pocket. Out on the patio we watched the last of the polo in the fading light. It's actually quite cool to watch but we didn't know the rules so that detracted a little. A little later I found someone I knew who plays polo and she explained the rules.
Then we mingled a bit and chatted to some people we knew and others we were introduced to. All the while snacks were brought around and they were good quality, not the tired canapes often served at functions I attend. Small bowls of squid ink risotto, butternut ravioli or thai salad were the ones I remember. We enjoyed some Val de Vie white until the Ryk Neethling wine was presented which is a red blend. It's an easy drinking wine which won't offend anyone, and at R90 it's not too expensive. I think it will be popular.
After the speeches we mingled some more and then headed home. Not a bad event.
If you're keen to visit Val de Vie and take in some polo, check out our ticket giveaway to the BMW International Polo Tournament.


PRIME MINISTER: Mr Speaker, as we always do in this place, we meet on Ngunnawal land.
We acknowledge and pay our respects to Ngunnawal Elders past, present and those emerging.
I pay my deepest respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here today and right across our land.
The Member for Hasluck and Minister for Indigenous Health and Senior Australians and Aged Care, the Honourable Ken Wyatt. The Member for Barton, the Honourable Linda Burney. And Senators Patrick Dodson and Malarndirri McCarthy.
I welcome the co-chairs of the Indigenous Advisory Council Andrea Mason and Roy Ah-See as well as all who have travelled to be here for this occasion, including Warren Mundine.
I also acknowledge the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Senator Scullion.
I also wish to acknowledge the Member for Warringah, both as Special envoy and as someone who has a profound impact on my understanding and appreciation of indigenous Australians and the challenges they face in our country.
I want to acknowledge his long standing compassion, advocacy, commitment and dedication to the first peoples of our nation.
I want Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to have the same opportunities as all other children growing up in Australia.
But this is not true for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Australia today. It's never been true. And I don't know when it will be true. And that is the truth we must confront again today.
I remind myself of this truth each day as I walk into my office, as I have done for many years.
In my office is a photo of a plaque embedded in a rock memorial at a remote outstation in Central Australia that I visited with the Member for Warringah and Senator Scullion many years ago, outside a small school that was attended by Shirley Ngalkin.
When Shirley was away from her community, she was brutally raped and drowned by teenage boys in Hermannsburg in 1998. She was six years old. She would be a young woman now, probably raising her own family, perhaps her own daughters.
On her memorial it says "I am Jesus' little lamb", with the prayer that she now rests in His care. I pray that is true, because we certainly failed to provide it. And we still do.
I'd like to tell you that this no longer happens. But we all know it does, even though we are often told we shouldn't say so, but we should.
Young girls are taking their lives in remote communities, so are young boys. Lives are being consumed in a hopeless dysfunction that seems to defy any sensible response.
While I am not going to pretend today that this situation does not remain in an unforgivable state, I am going to say that we can never rest as a nation until we change this for all time.
That is what Closing the Gap is all about.
Mr Speaker, in 2008 we began this process of Closing the Gap.
Successive Prime Ministers have reported since on our progress on meeting these national goals.
Born out of the National Apology, Closing the Gap was recognition that words without deeds are fruitless.
The process that began in 2008 was born of good heart.
It recognised that accountability is vital if we are to bring about a change and meaningful progress that has eluded our nation for two centuries.
But I must say, that while guided by the best of intentions, the process reflected something of the hubris of this place.
It did not truly seek to partner with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
It believed a top-down approach could achieve the change that was rightly desired. That Canberra could change it all with lofty goals and bureaucratic targets.
It was set up to fail. And has, on its own tests. And today I am calling that out.
This was not a true partnership – not with the states and territories, or with Indigenous peoples themselves.
Yes, there was more funding, programs, workers, and accountability – but this was just another version of what we were already doing, so often unsuccessfully, in different forms, for generations.
So, while there has been incremental and meaningful progress on many fronts – as of 2019 only two of the seven Closing the Gap targets are on track.
What we're doing has to change and our Government is leading a process to change it.
That is why, two years ago, we embarked on a Closing the Gap refresh – because our efforts were not meeting our worthy ambitions.
Late last year, a Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Bodies made representations to me about Closing the Gap.
They came to me seeking a partnership.
One where we listen, work together and decide together how future policies are developed – especially at a regional and local level.
This is a message I've also heard from the Indigenous Advisory Council.
At COAG in December last year, all governments committed to share ownership of, and responsibility for, jointly agreed frameworks, targets and ongoing monitoring of a refreshed Closing the Gap Agenda, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples at its heart.
COAG asked that this work be finalised by the middle of this year.
This is a major step toward the genuine and mutually respectful formal partnership between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians that will empower individuals and allow communities to thrive.
Governments fail when accountabilities are unclear. When investment is poorly targeted, When systems aren't integrated. And when we don't learn from evidence.
This is why clear accountability will be at the centre of a new approach to Closing the Gap, with states and territories and the Commonwealth Government and Indigenous Australians having clear responsibilities for delivering on targets.
This is also why the progress we jointly make will be subject to regular independent Indigenous-led reviews.
This is about delivering action on the ground.
And this is about giving us all the best chance for success.
Our communities need the jobs and economic growth that makes true aspiration viable – and we need a renewed focus on education so that the next generation of Indigenous men and women will have every opportunity to participate in and contribute to our economic prosperity.
As we commence this refresh of Closing the Gap, it is important to report on what has occurred over the past ten years of reports.
While it is important to acknowledge the gap that exists and the gap that must be closed, we must careful not to take a deficit mentality to our task.
This is a long journey of many steps. We cannot allow the enormity of the task to overwhelm our appreciation for what we are achieving.
If we focus only on the gap and not what is being achieved, we are at risk of losing heart. We may fail to recognise achievements and strengths that can be built upon.
Sure, those achievements are still not enough.
But in this space, every achievement is hard won.
Every child that gets into school and stays in school is a a victory.
Every child born healthy is a victory.
Every parent in every town who gets a job and stays in a job is a victory.
Every woman or child who is kept safe from abuse is a victory.
Every night a family can rest their heads in a home that is clean, safe and not overcrowded is a victory.
This process must claim it's victories, while being honest about it shortcomings. Because it is the victories upon which success built, and our failings from which lessons are learned.
Over the past ten years the life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians has increased – men born between 2015 to 2017 can expect to live for an additional 4.1 years and women 2.5 years compared to those born 10 years earlier.
This improvement is encouraging. It points to better work being undertaken drawing together the different threads of health: physical, social, emotional and mental.
This progress is the culmination of incremental progress in communities across Australia.
Across Australia there are hundreds of services making a meaningful difference.
In Queensland, the Institute of Urban Indigenous Health provides clinics, eye examinations, dental examinations and support to deal with addictions.
In Central Australia, the Purple House is taking dialysis services to patients - with a mobile dialysis unit, the Purple Truck.
And in communities across Australia it requires sustained effort. It's intensive and it's absolutely vital.
However, despite the progress, we are not on track to close the gap on life expectancy by 2031.
Since 2008 Indigenous child mortality rates have fallen by 10 per cent.
The child mortality rate is a rate per 100,000 children, and so with a small population, the rate moves around a lot from year to year.
That means we have to be cautious about any claim of improvement.
While the Indigenous child mortality rate has fallen, the non-Indigenous infant mortality rates have fallen at a greater rate.
While we welcome both falls, the gap has not narrowed.
But there are positive signs – the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers attending antenatal care has risen from 41 per cent in 2010 to 60 per cent in 2016; the maternal smoking rate has decreased from 54 per cent in 2005 to 43 per cent in 2016; and we are seeing significant increases in immunisation rates.
I acknowledge the work being done on the ground that is making meaningful differences.
In Queensland, the Apunipima Cape York Council's Indigenous health workers, through the One Baby program, are conducting health checks, immunisation and treatments in homes and through clinics.
In the Northern Territory, a team of Aboriginal women is helping young mothers through the nurse-family partnership program - and imparting an understanding of what contributes to good health and wellbeing.
This is work that is extremely targeted and helping families make the best choices when it comes to the health and wellbeing of their young children.
The target to have 95 per cent of Indigenous children in early childhood education by 2025 is on track.
In 2017, 95 per cent of Indigenous children were enrolled in early childhood education.
New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and the ACT now have enrolments at the 95 per cent benchmark rate or above.
We should note that attendance rates for Indigenous children were lower in remote areas – particularly Very Remote Areas – up to 16 percentage points lower than the rates for Indigenous children in other areas.
Nevertheless, there is significant progress overall and this should be celebrated – because enrolment and attendance are precursors to improving developmental outcomes ahead of attending school.
Much of this work has been supported by National Partnership Agreements with the States and Territories - ensuring that every child has access to a quality preschool education in the year before school.
Since 2008, there have been improvements in schooling outcomes.
The Commonwealth, working with the States and Territories, through the National School Reform Agreement is bolstering these improvements with $308 billion from 2018 to 2029, with a priority focus on driving improved outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
The biggest improvement over the past decade has been in Year 12 or equivalent attainment.
We have witnessed an almost 18 percentage point jump in the proportion of Indigenous Australians achieving this milestone since 2006.
More Indigenous students are now graduating and moving into employment or further studies.
We can be particularly proud of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island young people who face the additional challenge of living in Very Remote Areas – they have achieved the largest leap in attainment, with rates rising from 23 per cent in 2006 to 43 per cent in 2016.
However, the target to close the gap in school attendance is not on track.
Attendance rates for Indigenous students are at around 82 per cent compared to 93 per cent for non-Indigenous students.
While there is a disproportionate share of Indigenous students below the minimum standards for reading and numeracy, we have made progress over the past decade.
The proportion of Indigenous students at or above minimum standards are 11-13 percentage points higher than in 2008 – for reading in Years 3 and 5 and for numeracy in Years 5 and 9.
This Government understands that one of the keys to transform Indigenous employment rates is to encourage Indigenous businesses to grow.
Indigenous enterprise means Indigenous jobs.
Since the commencement of the Indigenous Procurement Policy three and a half years ago, the Commonwealth has awarded almost 12,000 contracts to over 1,470 businesses.
Those contracts have a total value of over $1.8 billion.
Last financial year, 366 Indigenous businesses won their first Australian Government contract.
The Commonwealth and all portfolios exceeded their three per cent Indigenous Procurement Policy contract target.
To ensure this growth continues, from 1 July this year, we'll introduce a three per cent target based on value, beginning at one per cent and phased in over eight years.
We'll also expand the reach of the mandatory minimum requirements for Indigenous participation in major contracts to include additional service categories from 1 July 2020.
It is through the development of small, family and medium sized Indigenous businesses that we will tackle the Indigenous employment gap.
I am aware that many have entered this place with grand plans and lofty promises. All soon forgotten.
As Prime Minister I am not going to add further well intentioned promises to what is a long and disappointing list.
The Closing the Gap initiative seeks to promote action across a broad range of fronts. It must and will continue to.
As Prime Minister I intend to have a more specific focus. To seek to make an impact in just one area that I believe can achieve generational change.
I want to get kids into school and to stay in school for longer.
Education is the key to skills.
It is the key to jobs.
It is the key to building enterprises – and giving young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians the opportunity to create their futures.
It's the key to a good life.
If you can't read, if you can't write, there is no possible way you can share in the prosperity of Australia.
I am yet to meet a person who says they regret studying.
Because even if we take a different path to our studies, it becomes a foundation on which to build.
As Ian Trust, the Chair of Wunan an Aboriginal Development organisation in the East Kimberley, puts it: "If you want to have things you have never had before, you must be prepared to do things you have never done before. For us, this will mean getting more of our people educated and into a job in order to break the cycle of poverty for our people".
Education is the foundation: for skills, jobs, health, prosperity, and longevity.
As the Member for Warringah has noted: when Indigenous students finish school and complete a degree – they have much the same employment outcomes as other comparable Australians.
We are seeing good signs from around the country.
The number of Indigenous women enrolling in university education has continued to rise and Indigenous women are graduating in increasing numbers.
For example, only last month, five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women graduated as doctors from the University of Western Australia. This is a tremendous outcome and I congratulate these new doctors.
And last week, on the other side of the continent, in Port Macquarie, the first Indigenous graduate in the University of Newcastle's Bachelor of Midwifery completed her studies.
While there has been progress, we need to accelerate our efforts, particularly in our work in remote areas.
We must start with incentivising and rewarding teachers in remote communities.
I know you can't be a teacher in a very remote area without having a deep commitment to teaching and making a difference.
If you are a teacher in a very remote area, what you are doing is more than a job, it's an expression of love.
We should never take advantage of that great act of love. If anything we should reward it.
That is why the Government will provide incentives to teachers working in Very Remote Areas to help them pay their Higher Education Loans.
For these teachers, their HECS debt will be frozen. From today, teachers working in a Very Remote Area will not have one cent of interest added to their debt whilst they are working in a Very Remote Area.
For teachers, who from today, work for four years in a Very Remote Area, their HECS debt will be scrapped.
As well, the Minister for Education, the Special Envoy, and the Minister for Indigenous Affairs will work closely with a small number of communities to improve attendance rates.
Community by community. School by school.
This could include providing additional school facilities such as community infrastructure or learning centres helping disengaged students return to school. The goal being supporting and addressing school attendance.
We have seen the success of organisations that provide scholarships and mentoring for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boys and girls.
The Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, the Clontarf Foundation, and so many other programs are producing great outcomes and we need to invest in that success – helping indigenous boys and girls choose the futures they aspire to.
The Government will provide an extra $200 million in support over the forward estimates for scholarships, academies and mentoring support.
The Indigenous Youth Education Package will provide further certainty for scholarships, academies and mentoring of Indigenous students.
This is an area which is working, and we are investing in success.
There is change happening in our country: a shared understanding that we have a shared future.
The change is manifesting itself in thousands of small ways, each cascading to create change.
I remember being a boy, just 12, and travelling with my older brother Alan to a property 30 kilometres east of Cloncurry in North West Queensland, that property is under water today.
It was the family property of my late uncle Bill. The grandson of Dame Mary Gilmore who sensed and wrote of the yearning and mourning of Indigenous Australians long before most others.
I remember being in awe of the land – and marvelling at seeing a horizon on land rather than just at sea. I'd never seen that before, I grew up on the coast.
There was a large Indigenous family working on the property.
I had had almost no interaction with Aboriginal people in my life – and my first reaction as a young boy – was to withdraw.
We too often withdraw what we do not know or understand.
My uncle sensed my unease. So he helped me to connect, to see, to appreciate and understand.
During the days that followed I came to learn about their deep connection to land and country, and got to know a family that was beautiful, generous and kind.
I fast forward a generation – to the evening before Australia Day this year.
And I took my family to the shores of Lake Burley Griffin to spend time with representatives of the Ngunnawal people.
My girls are just a little younger than Alan and I were when we went on our country trip.
But my children had no apprehension, only enthusiasm – and they already have an understanding and appreciation of Indigenous culture that I didn't have as a child.
And on the shores of our man-made lake, they encountered the same beauty, generosity and kindness that we had a generation before.
That afternoon, all of our faces were painted by our hosts – and we danced – some of us not that well – and we laughed and we listened.
We listened not just to the Elders, but to the very country that is home.
That afternoon, I again saw the great grace of Indigenous Australia.
Despite the dispossession; the loss of identity; the renaming of their lands; the ignominy of our history, including the crimes and the misguided good intentions; there was a good and open-hearted grace.
There was an offered hand where you might not expect any.
The miracle worked in any Apology is not when it is offered, but when it is accepted and that forgiveness takes place. That is when true reconciliation occurs.
In an age of offence, and where the bonds between us are under strain, there is much we can learn from our Indigenous brothers and sisters.
So we draw strength from their grace and renew our efforts to address the gaps in health, education, safety and housing.
We owe it to history, we owe it to the country that we share, to work together and to make the difference that is vital to so many lives.
Mr Speaker, I present the 2019 Closing the Gap Report.


After years of delays and passionate protest across the country, fracking has finally begun in the UK. Critics are furious that the government has decided to throw its weight behind yet another fossil fuel industry at a time when renewables are taking off. Proponents argue that cheap gas is still needed and point to US shale as a model to follow. But does the UK really need fracked gas?
Also in the UK, we consider Scottish Power's announcement that it will move to 100% renewable energy, and talk to UK Power Networks about its world-first grid-scale smart network that will help energy consumers save over £400m by 2050.
Plus, we profile Poland's energy mix and prospects, learn more about the neutrino power cubes able to supply energy by harnessing the kinetic energy created by waves of cosmic radiation, and speak to DNV GL about the weirdest and most wonderful power technology trials the company has taken part in.


If you want to make money in the stock market right now.
I bought 65 shares of Altria at 76.07 when I recommended it in my post about shorting the market. I know that it is unlikely that this stock will double in the next year, but I also do not want my money sitting idle. Right now, nothing is working but defensive names in the market. I'm not sure when this market will turnaround. The fact that we are more than 10% off the highs of the market is a good sign that we might have corrected and now may move up, but I am still weary of the market right now. I think Altria along with other defensive names like JNJ are the way to go. They won't get you the fast money, but they will keep you safe for now.
By the way,my stock picks from that post are doing quite nicely. In two days, the QID is up 6% SDS is up 3.5%, MO is up 3.5% and JNJ is up about 1.5%. This compared to the market being down almost 4% isn't a bad showing.
I have been reading your blog since the very first few days and I am still enjoying it. I was just wondering whether your plan now is to manly trade stocks with your money or whether you are going to come up with some other more unusual and unexpected ways to earn money. So I hope you can find some ways (I know its hard) other than trading. This stuff would be even more exiting and fun to read because there are already so many sites out there training to spot the best stocks :-) But until then, keep up the good work!
I just went through your Shopping-List again. The one stock that I am interested in is Home Depot. But just at this moment they are going done another (3.76%, 23.8). Have you changed your opinion on that stock or do you still think its a good buy? Or would you still go for the more defensive stocks as you mentioned such as J&J or Altria? What would you do If you could risk some money right know? Home-Depot or Altria? I must admit I do not know the US market that good since I am from Europe. But since the US-Dollar is quite low at the moment I would like to buy some US stocks.
Thanks for commenting Jones and being a loyal reader. I really did mean to explore some other options. In fact my friend Rick also keeps bugging me to do more things for this site. My big problem is the new job. It takes up a lot of my time, so I haven't really been able to sit down and explore any other opportunities.
I do promise to do something else soon. I'm getting the hang of my new job, and hopefully things will slow down there.
Right now, I still avoid HD. It's on my watch list, but I wouldn't recommend buying it here. I still stand by my recommendation of JNJ and MO. If you are going to put new money into the market, stay defensive.
I agree with you that JNJ is a good long term stock. I only hesitate to dabble in Altria myself because of the slight unsettling feeling I might feel benefiting from smokers. I know that people make their own choices. Yet I wonder could I say to myself that I am completely uninvolved when I know my money will go towards marketing cigarettes? I can avoid answering this question by not buying that stock.
I echo Stephen - having a problem with cigarettes, I just don't know if my own personal morals would allow me to invest in it.


text:
Merle Yoder - Electrical and Computer Engineering - Purdue University
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Merle Yoder
Managing Director, Equity Unit
Greenwich Investment Management
BSEE 1982
Merle Yoder is a Principal and Co-Founder of Financial Tracking Technologies, a Connecticut-based software company providing compliance solutions to the financial services industry. Clients include Registered Investment Advisors, Family Offices, Mutual Funds, Hedge Funds and Corporations.
Merle started his career in the 80's with brief stints at Hewlett-Packard Company and Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation. He then embarked on a 30+ year career in financial services software.
He moved to New York City in 1983 and was an early employee of FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS), starting as a software engineer, then moving into the organization's Sales, Sales Management, and Executive Management teams. He relocated to London to start and run the European division of FactSet, spending six years abroad during the 90's.
Merle's additional experience includes five years as a private equity investor and member of various PE portfolio-company management teams, as well as six years with the software firm Capital IQ, which is now part of S&P Global.
Merle earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Purdue in 1982. While at Purdue, he balanced his EE studies with his avid interest in playing the trumpet, participating as a member of the All-American Marching Band, Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Band, and Concert Band.
His current activities include advising several start-up firms as well serving as a board member and fundraiser for two non-profit organizations. He resides in Greenwich, CT with his wife, Nina. Together they have raised three grown children.
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I have just been sent an email giving me a tracking number for a City Link parcel due to be delivered. On checking this on their website, I found that I only need the tracking number to track the parcel and no other information. Is this a problem?
Well, I think it is. Via my tracking number I am able to find the company name of the sender and my postcode. Now, postcodes normally only relate to around a dozen properties at most. However, that's not the end of the story. By entering different numbers (based on the one that I received) I was able to get the details of other parcels being sent around. Incidentally, their format is AAAddddd - representing three uppercase letters followed by sequential numbering.
Does this matter? Well, by going backwards through the sequential numbering system I was able to find a parcel that had just been delivered (at 13.50 to be precise) to a postcode in West Yorkshire - BD22 (I have omitted the last part of the postcode here). Helpfully, they include the surname of the person that signed for the parcel. Then it was a simple matter of doing a quick search on the properties to find someone with the correct surname. I found Denise and Jonathan X living at that address for a number of years and was able to find additional information, such as the fact that Jonathan worked for a local University. Crucially, I was able to find email addresses for them. It would now be very simple for me to launch a phishing attack on them as I have real details with which to trick them. There is simply a privacy issue here as well. Do you want anyone and everyone knowing what deliveries you receive and from which organisations? This could make a very good profile.


text:
HomeBollywoodSalman Khan Took Instagram With Storm Again
Salman Khan Took Instagram With Storm Again
M.G July 28, 2019
Salman Khan is on a social media spree of posting and photos showcasing his family along with him.
Recently, the Dabangg 3 star dropped yet another shirtless image to flaunt his ripped abs and netizens are left gasping for breath.
Check Out and Take a look at how Salman Khan oozes hotness as he goes shirtless to flaunt his washboard abs & fans are left breathless.
Credit: @Salman Khan
Whenever it comes to name a celebrity who raised the bar of fitness and created awareness among people by setting a benchmark, then only one name crosses the mind, and it's none other than Salman Khan.
The Tiger Zinda Hai actor has been a committed fitness enthusiast, along with his love for working out needs no introduction.
From sweating it out in his gym to heading out for biking, Salman Khan opts for many distinct ways to stay healthy.
Certainly, his fans assert that Salman has the best body in the business and it appears his latest shirtless photograph is a validation to this.
Recently, Salman Khan took to his Instagram account to share a shirtless picture of himself, which has made fans gasping for breath.
Since quite a few weeks, Salman has been committedly working on his body to shed a few pounds, and with the current image, it would appear that the 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' star has managed to achieve his physical fitness objectives.
Flaunting his rock hard abs and his perfectly toned body, Salman Khan can be seen striking a cool pose.
Wearing Denim jeans and looking right at the camera, the Sultan superstar surely took his fans' breath away.
Over the past several weeks, Khan was sharing photos, and videos out of his personal life, and fans are enjoying the glimpse into their favorite superstar's life.
Salman Khan is currently shooting for his much-awaited film 'Dabangg 3' The movie is a sequel to superhit Dabangg 2 and will comprise Salman as the Robin Hood cop, 'Chulbul Pandey.'
Sixty percent shooting of the film is already completed, and the remaining parts are being filmed.
Directed by Prabhu Deva, Dabangg 3 is slated to hit the theatres on December 20, 2019. Besides this, Salman also has Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Insha Allah' with Alia Bhatt which will release on Eid 2020.
See: Kargil vijay diwas special


Ten years ago, that tagline was attached to the first of Paramount's live-action Transformers movies, which helped launch one of the most profitable film franchises in cinematic history. Now, almost a decade has passed and Sony Pictures has used the same tagline for its adaptation of The Dark Tower, Stephen King's undisputed magnum opus about one man's quest to reach the titular edifice – and the resistance he faces from a certain Walter O'Dim.
On board to bring those famous roles to life are Idris Elba (Roland Deschain/The Gunslinger) and the Oscar-winning Matthew McConaughey (O'Dim/The Man in Black), and today, Sony has rolled out a stunning new international trailer designed to shed light on the transdimensional conflict brewing between Elba and McConaughey's warring leads. Caught up in the middle of that battle is Tom Taylor's Jake Chambers, a regular human boy who follows his nightmares and mind-bending premonitions all the way to Mid-World, where he crosses paths with the last remaining Gunslinger.
For generations, Roland and his kind have protected humanity from the coming of the dark, but with the Man in Black planning to destroy the Tower – the nexus of time, essentially – Elba's roguish anti-hero is left with little choice but to rise up against Walter O'Dim in the name of Mid-World, along with the many realms tethered to the Dark Tower itself.
Director Nikolaj Arcel is behind the lens, presiding over an ensemble cast that also includes Claudia Kim, Fran Kranz, Abbey Lee and Jackie Earle Haley. At least for the time being, Elba and McConaughey continue to be the focal point of Sony's marketing blitz, and until we have more footage for you to peruse, you can find the film's official synopsis, below.
It's been a long, meandering road to release, but The Dark Tower is finally beginning to come into view. August 4th is the date for your diaries, but in the meantime, you can share your own thoughts on today's international trailer via the comments section.


text:
How Watches Work — A Look At Exotic Case Materials With IWC, Bvlgari, Hublot, Richard Mille, And More
Because why use steel when you can use carbon, ceramic, sapphire, and cheese
Lex Stolk
You have to draw the line somewhere. And I draw the line at cheese. Anything beyond cheese is a step too far for me. I'm talking cheese as a building material for watches of course, not cheese as food. Cement, granite, wood, and marble are highly debatable, but at least you can't eat the stuff. Anyway, after looking at all kinds of metals in the first part of this "How Watches Work", I'm leaving alloys behind and will proceed to look at some of the more exotic offerings out there.
Let's start with getting some of the more unusual, maybe I should say ridiculous, materials brands make watch cases from out of the way. H. Moser & Cie. used Vacherin Mont-d'Or cheese to make a point regarding the Swiss origins of a watch. Was its Swiss Mad Watch tasty or tasteless? You be the judge.
It depends heavily on the level of your open-mindedness to accept these unusual materials.
Giuliano Mazzuoli is an Italian designer who also creates watches. His Manometro is a clean piece of instrumental and industrial design. It looks good in bronze or steel for instance. But in cement or granite? It depends heavily on the level of your open-mindedness to accept these unusual materials. And do you remember the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Quatuors with a silicon case? They made three of them and these lightweight and potentially slippery watches had a price of CHF 1,000,000. Let's just forget it and focus on carbon, ceramic, sapphire, and recycled plastic watches.
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Quatuor in silicon — four escapements and one slippery case
Ceramic: scratch-proof, lightweight, and hypoallergenic, but not perfect
When I say ceramic, you might think of Rado. But I also remember the white and black ceramic Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar IWC launched in 1986. The reference 3755 was a world first, but the world wasn't ready and after selling about 1,000 pieces both black and white models were discontinued.
The 1986 Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Chronograph in black and white ceramic were a world first
And there's also no denying the role the Chanel J12 played in popularizing the material and familiarizing the watch audience with ceramic.
Chanel J12 caliber 3125 on the left (the movement it uses is based on the Audemars Piguet caliber AP 3120) and other members of the ceramic family
It's all in the sintering
Ceramic is an ultra-hard and almost completely scratch-resistant zirconium-based composite. It is formed by extreme pressure and heating. Rado uses it almost exclusively as does Chanel.
It's safe to say that almost every self-respecting Haute Horlogerie brand has a ceramic watch in its collection. Noteworthy is that Hublot is the only brand to produce a thoroughly colored type of ceramic.
… four times as hard as traditional steel.
The brand from Nyon uses patented, through and through red, blue, or green colored ceramic for its very exuberant creations. The sintering process used for this ceramic combines heat and pressure without burning the color pigments. An additional advantage is that the colored Hublot ceramics are also harder than traditional black ceramics, which are already four times as hard as traditional steel.
Hublot MP11 Red Ceramic
Aesthetical versatility
Ceramic is in any case a very suitable material for watch cases. In addition to being very hard, it is a very light, hypoallergenic material with a low weight of around 4 grams per cubic centimeter. This makes it two times lighter than steel, for example, which weighs 8 grams per cubic centimeter.
Omega Speedmaster Dark Side Of The Moon Vintage Black
The aesthetical versatility of ceramic is also something that needs to be addressed. The material lends itself to all kinds of colors. From monochromatic tones to bright ones, and even beige. Rado has proven that it can also imitate the shine and finishing of metal.
Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ceramic
Ceramic can be brushed, bead-blasted, and polished for a variety of visual sensations — from dressy to sporty I would say. An Omega Speedmaster Dark Side Of The Moon Vintage Black is the polar opposite of a thin and shiny Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ceramic.
IWC Pilot's Watch Chronograph "Tribute to 3705" made in black Ceratanium, a mix of ceramic and titanium
Damaged beyond repair
A downside of ceramic is that it is relatively brittle. On impact, a ceramic watch case can break whereas an alloy watch would (just) suffer a dent. Unfortunately repairing a chipped ceramic case is impossible.
IWC got the idea to combine the low weight of titanium with the hardness of ceramics …
The only way to fix a broken ceramic watch case is to get a new case. It is this limitation that makes ceramic a great but not perfect material for a watch. IWC got the idea to combine the low weight of titanium with the hardness of ceramic to end up with the best of both worlds. The material they created is Ceratanium. By heating and compressing the two materials a ceramic-like surface is created that bonds directly to the titanium. The result is both lightweight and hard, but also less brittle.
Hublot Big Bang Unico Sapphire
Sapphire — The luxury of transparency
Sapphire is everywhere in the world of luxury watches and yet in the context of cases, it's quite rare. Partly because making a sapphire watch case is complicated, time-consuming, and therefore expensive. This is due to the hardness and at the same time the brittle structure of the material. But if everything stays in one piece, a sapphire case provides an amazing optical spectacle. Clear and transparent or lightly colored, a sapphire case allows an unobstructed view of the movement and, as a bonus, sparkles in a rather unique fashion.
MB&F Horological Machine No. 9 "Sapphire Vision"
Caution, sapphire case in the making
Sapphire glass is a synthetic material grown in a lab. Due to its extreme hardness, sapphire glass requires diamond-tipped milling machines for processing. As I said before, manufacturing a sapphire case is a very complicated, time-consuming, and therefore an expensive process.
… sapphire glass's brittle nature makes it susceptible to irreparable shattering …
Extreme caution is also advised because sapphire glass's brittle nature makes it susceptible to irreparable shattering. Still, it didn't stop several brands from releasing unique models with sapphire cases in recent years. But please keep in mind that if you're hypnotized by a sapphire watch, fall under its spell, and feel the need to own one, that the price is very likely to be in the upper echelons.
Richard Mille RM 56-02 Sapphire Tourbillon
Something you would expect because when thinking of brands that do work with sapphire, the likes of Hublot, MB&F, and Richard Mille come to mind, not Certina, Oris, or Hamilton. No offense!
Doxa Sub 300 Carbon Caribbean Blue
Carbon — The Formula 1 Feeling
Carbon is all about strength and light-weight. There's a good reason why Formula 1 teams have a carbon fetish. Carbon is made of synthetic resin wires with a small diameter. The tough resin holds these carbon fibers, with a diameter of only seven-thousandths of a millimeter. These carbon fibers weigh less than 2.6 grams per cubic centimeter. That is twice as light as titanium, but after the manufacturing process, it's also three times as stiff.
Urwerk UR-220 Falcon Project
A forged carbon watch case is made by heating a paste of very fine carbon fibers (about 77,500 fibers per square centimeter) and forming the material using great pressure. This gives the case of for instance the Doxa Sub 300 Carbon Divingstar its unique marbled appearance.
Both forged and woven carbon cases are extremely strong …
A case formed from 3K carbon — the "K" stands for a thousand and indicates the number of carbon wires per bundle — can be recognized by the neatly ordered, striped weave structure. Both forged and woven carbon cases are extremely strong and light as a feather. This is what a Formula 1 car must feel like when you transform it into a wristwatch.
IWC Ingenieur Automatic Carbon Performance
Just like an old oak tree
Carbotech is a material that Panerai uses and it's a material made of long thin sheets of carbon fibers that are bonded together under high pressure and temperatures. A high-end polymer called PEEK (Polyether Ether Ketone) makes sure the layers bind together. The result is a very strong and durable watch case. And also a case with a unique striped pattern. You can actually visualize the building process by looking at the case that somehow reminds me of the growth rings of a tree.
Panerai's Carbotech watch is lighter and stronger than a ceramic or titanium equivalent …
The big difference of course is that, unlike a medium-sized oak, it didn't take decades to create the Luminor Submersible 1950 Carbotech. Panerai's Carbotech watch is lighter and stronger than a ceramic or titanium equivalent making it an ideal tool watch in theory. In practice, you might want to take it easy because when the watch was launched it retailed for €17.5K.
Panerai Luminor Submersible 1950 Carbotech PAM 616
The future of carbon
One important question about carbon watch cases still hangs in the air. And that is how carbon watches cases will stand the test of time. There is no information on that, but according to the five largest manufacturers of carbon fiber bike frames on the planet, a carbon fiber frame has a life of five to seven years if ridden. When you don't ride it — and maybe we should focus on these numbers as a watch case is a static object — the life expectancy is seven to ten years. But maybe that lifespan is a bit pessimistic. And that's because, unlike an alloy, carbon doesn't fatigue, and that means that a carbon watch case can theoretically last forever.
The plastic case of the Gyre Seacleaner is made from recycled fishing nets
Recycled plastic – Thrown away, fished-up, and put on the wrist
Recycled ocean waste might not sound luxurious, but it's definitely important to start the closing stages of this overview of non-alloy watchmaking materials to talk about it. Since environmental consciousness, our ecological footprint, and sustainability are not something we can ignore, we have to mention plastic watches.
The shape of the case and the position of the crown are tell-tale signs that watch experts were involved …
Plastic made from old fishing nets for instance, as used by the young Dutch watch brand Gyre. Not because the brand wants to be cool, but because it wants to make a change. Luckily the founders are watch enthusiasts so the solar-powered Gye Seacleaner doesn't just have a good heart and good intentions, it also looks the part. The shape of the case and the position of the crown are tell-tale signs that watch experts were involved in the design. Alpina, Ulysse Nardin, and Triwa also use recycled plastic and many more are to follow, I'm sure of that.
The Tissot RockWatch screams 1980s, but I think it could make a strong comeback in a new shape and form
Carbon, ceramic, sapphire and recycled plastic watches are cool, but what about granite?
I discarded cement and cheese at the beginning of this article. And then I proceeded with carbon, ceramic, sapphire, and recycled plastic watches. As you saw I also deemed wood an unfit material for creating a decent watch case. But what about the Tissot RockWatch from the 1980s? I know it's no longer in production, but it sure made an impression on me when it came out. And I was clearly not the only one who was impressed as they became very popular. The granite Tissot used came from the Alps in the Grischun, Ticino, and Valais areas. It took a serious multi-million dollar investment to build the right machines to grind the granite into small, usable pieces of stone.
The RockWatch looks outdated now, but a new version would not go unnoticed …
Later versions of the Tissot RockWatch used different stones sourced worldwide including alabaster, Brazilian aventurine, Scandinavian basalt, picture jasper from the African Kalahari Desert, and Australian pink rhodonite, quartz, and thulite. The RockWatch looks outdated now, but a new version would not go unnoticed, I'm very sure of that. Are you reading this, Tissot?
Last but not least, I would love to hear your thoughts. What are your favorite watches made from special materials? Did I miss anything out which you would have like to see covered? Let me know in the comments below.
Please find and follow me at Lex Stolk • Instagram
WatchWally says:
Lex, I must take issue with your statement "Ceramic … with a low weight of around 4 grams per cubic centimeter … [is] two times lighter than steel … which weighs 8 grams per cubic centimeter." This is meaningless. If steel is 8g/cm3, then this is equivalent to "one times" the weight. So two times the weight is 16g/cm3. So far so good. But "two times less" here implies the calculation "8 – 16 = -8". Obviously, ceramic material doesn't weigh -8g/cm3. Actually it is HALF the weight of steel. In the same way, if a price is €1000, then DOUBLE that price means €2000. But does "two times more" mean double or does it mean "€1000 + €2000 (two times more) = €3000? There, rant over, let's say what we mean unambiguously.
I agree that in isolation of the shared figures this could be taken to mean either, however, this sentence structure could mean both half the weight and three times as much. Given the context provided by the numerical examples, I think it's easy enough to follow, although I agree there is a growing debate as to how "two times" and so one should be used. The key, in my opinion, is the surrounding modifiers like "as much" or "more". Using either one makes the statement clear (and correct or incorrect) but in this instance, Lex used neither and leaned on the numbers to clarify.
I think this thread helps anyone who cares get up to speed with the debate (which isn't really much of a debate about correctness, more about usage): https://www.englishforums.com/English/2TimesMoreTwiceAsMuch/qxhzn/post.htm
Thanks, Watchwally. That mental exercise woke me up!
Welcome to Monday, Rob. For me, as a translator, words and meaning have to be clear…
I knew what Sexy meant! 😂
Raoul says:
Excellent response.
Ugo says:
i'd had liked a mention for exotic metals like tantalium or gallium.
and i totally agree about the rock watch from Tissot: the cases were awesome. the horrible thing was the hands, but a new version with some decent clue would be awesome…
Lex says:
Thanks, Ugo. Gallium I didn't mention, but tantalum was included in my article on different alloys. Have a look here: https://www.fratellowatches.com/how-watches-work-its-alloys-galore-ranging-from-the-obvious-to-the-obscure/
Shameless says:
Full sapphire cased Aventi A11 is an order of magnitude cheaper than listed examples; even more dodgy Alibabba sellers go another order of magnitude lower.
Quality wise there is unlikely to be much meaningful difference, certainly one will not be a hundred times better than another.
Brand/marketing-wise there is plenty of room for criticism, though that would naturally also go both ways (manufactured/manufacturing scarcity can be as much if not more of a critique on Rolex as on a random micro-brand, even when discarding any discussion of heritage as the latter usually holds no substance other than marketing speak anyhow, given streneous at best connection to any heritage models, usually in emulated looks only and how then can there be any significant heritage value which is not also similarly encapsulated by for instance a vulgar Steinhart)
Not all sapphire is created equally. I'm not saying that the vast prices differences are totally warranted, but the cheap Aliexpress "sapphire" cases (if indeed that's genuinely what it is) will be vastly inferior to the sapphire cases from the renowned manufacturers.
EXCELLENT article explication on the structure of carbon!
He did a good job, didn't he!
Agree. I thought this was great.
The quality and breadth of topic of the articles from all of the team seems to improve all the time. I genuinely feel now (without wanting to appear sycophantic) that Fratello is light years ahead of the "competition" these days.
That in turn seems to generate better informed, more amusing posts by other members of the community.
I still occasionally read the others just to make sure I am getting a full breadth of opinion, but find myself sighing a lot when reading them 🥴
Thank you, Warky!
Thanks, Raoul, much appreciated!
Hands-On With The Seiko SLA019J1 Marinemaster


text:
//
//  Copyright 2014 Gustavo J Knuppe (https://github.com/knuppe)
//
//   Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
//   you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
//   You may obtain a copy of the License at
//
//       http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
//
//   Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
//   distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
//   WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
//   See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
//   limitations under the License.
//
//   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
//   - May you do good and not evil.                                         -
//   - May you find forgiveness for yourself and forgive others.             -
//   - May you share freely, never taking more than you give.                -
//   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
//

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text.RegularExpressions;
using SharpNL.Utility;
using Dic = SharpNL.Dictionary.Dictionary;

namespace SharpNL.POSTag {
    /// <summary>
    /// A context generator for the POS Tagger.
    /// </summary>
    public class DefaultPOSContextGenerator : Disposable, IPOSContextGenerator {
        protected const string SE = "*SE*";
        protected const string SB = "*SB*";

        private const int PREFIX_LENGTH = 4;
        private const int SUFFIX_LENGTH = 4;
        private static readonly Regex hasCap;
        private static readonly Regex hasNum;

        private readonly Cache contextsCache;

        private readonly Dic dict;
        private readonly string[] dictGram;
        private object wordsKey;

        static DefaultPOSContextGenerator() {
            hasCap = new Regex("[A-Z]", RegexOptions.Compiled);
            hasNum = new Regex("[0-9]", RegexOptions.Compiled);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="DefaultPOSContextGenerator"/> without cache.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="dictionary">The dictionary.</param>
        public DefaultPOSContextGenerator(Dic dictionary) : this(0, dictionary) {}

        /// <summary>
        /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="DefaultPOSContextGenerator"/> with the specified cache size.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="cacheSize">The cache size.</param>
        /// <param name="dictionary">The dictionary.</param>
        public DefaultPOSContextGenerator(int cacheSize, Dic dictionary) {
            dict = dictionary;
            dictGram = new string[1];

            if (cacheSize > 0)
                contextsCache = new Cache(cacheSize);
        }

        #region . DisposeManagedResources .
        /// <summary>
        /// Releases the managed resources.
        /// </summary>
        protected override void DisposeManagedResources() {
            base.DisposeManagedResources();

            if (contextsCache != null)
                contextsCache.Dispose();
        }
        #endregion

        #region . GetPrefixes .

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets the prefixes.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="lex">The lex.</param>
        /// <returns>The prefixes.</returns>
        protected static string[] GetPrefixes(string lex) {
            var prefixes = new string[PREFIX_LENGTH];
            for (int li = 0, ll = PREFIX_LENGTH; li < ll; li++) {
                prefixes[li] = lex.Substring(0, Math.Min(li + 1, lex.Length));
            }
            return prefixes;
        }

        #endregion

        #region . GetSuffixes .

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets the suffixes
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="lex">The lex.</param>
        /// <returns>The suffixes.</returns>
        protected static string[] GetSuffixes(string lex) {
            var suffixes = new string[SUFFIX_LENGTH];
            for (int li = 0, ll = SUFFIX_LENGTH; li < ll; li++) {
                suffixes[li] = lex.Substring(Math.Max(lex.Length - li - 1, 0));
            }
            return suffixes;
        }

        #endregion

        /// <summary>Gets the context for the specified position in the specified sequence (list).</summary>
        /// <param name="index">The index of the sequence.</param>
        /// <param name="sequence">The sequence of items over which the beam search is performed.</param>
        /// <param name="priorDecisions">The sequence of decisions made prior to the context for which this decision is being made.</param>
        /// <param name="additionalContext">Any addition context specific to a class implementing this interface.</param>
        /// <returns>The context for the specified position in the specified sequence.</returns>
        string[] IBeamSearchContextGenerator<string>.GetContext(int index, string[] sequence, string[] priorDecisions,
            object[] additionalContext) {
            return GetContext(index, sequence, priorDecisions, additionalContext);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Returns the context for making a pos tag decision at the specified token index given the specified tokens and previous tags.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="index">The index of the token for which the context is provided.</param>
        /// <param name="tokens">The tokens in the sentence.</param>
        /// <param name="prevTags">The tags assigned to the previous words in the sentence.</param>
        /// <param name="additionalContext">Any addition context specific to a class implementing this interface.</param>
        /// <returns>The context for making a pos tag decision at the specified token index given the specified tokens and previous tags.</returns>
        public virtual string[] GetContext(int index, string[] tokens, string[] prevTags, object[] additionalContext) {
            return GetContext(index, Array.ConvertAll(tokens, input => (object) input), prevTags);
        }

        /// <summary>
        ///  Returns the context for making a pos tag decision at the specified token index given the specified tokens and previous tags.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="index">The index of the token for which the context is provided.</param>
        /// <param name="tokens">The tokens in the sentence.</param>
        /// <param name="tags">The tags assigned to the previous words in the sentence.</param>
        /// <returns>The context for making a pos tag decision at the specified token index given the specified tokens and previous tags.</returns>
        public virtual string[] GetContext(int index, object[] tokens, string[] tags) {
            string next, prev, prevPrev;
            string tagPrevPrev;
            string tagPrev = tagPrevPrev = null;
            string nextNext = prevPrev = null;
            string lex = tokens[index].ToString();

            if (tokens.Length > index + 1) {
                next = tokens[index + 1].ToString();
                if (tokens.Length > index + 2)
                    nextNext = tokens[index + 2].ToString();
                else
                    nextNext = SE; // Sentence End
            } else {
                next = SE; // Sentence End
            }

            if (index - 1 >= 0) {
                prev = tokens[index - 1].ToString();
                tagPrev = tags[index - 1];

                if (index - 2 >= 0) {
                    prevPrev = tokens[index - 2].ToString();
                    tagPrevPrev = tags[index - 2];
                } else {
                    prevPrev = SB; // Sentence Beginning
                }
            } else {
                prev = SB; // Sentence Beginning
            }
            var cacheKey = index + tagPrev + tagPrevPrev;
            if (contextsCache != null) {
                if (wordsKey == tokens) {
                    var cachedContexts = (string[]) contextsCache.Get(cacheKey);
                    if (cachedContexts != null) {
                        return cachedContexts;
                    }
                } else {
                    contextsCache.Clear();
                    wordsKey = tokens;
                }
            }

            var e = new List<string> {
                "default",
                "w=" + lex // add the word itself
            };

            dictGram[0] = lex;
            if (dict == null || !dict.Contains(new StringList(dictGram))) {
                // do some basic suffix analysis
                var suffixes = GetSuffixes(lex);
                for (var i = 0; i < suffixes.Length; i++) {
                    e.Add("suf=" + suffixes[i]);
                }

                var prefixes = GetPrefixes(lex);
                for (var i = 0; i < prefixes.Length; i++) {
                    e.Add("pre=" + prefixes[i]);
                }
                // see if the word has any special characters
                if (lex.IndexOf('-') != -1) {
                    e.Add("h");
                }

                if (hasCap.IsMatch(lex)) {
                    e.Add("c");
                }

                if (hasNum.IsMatch(lex)) {
                    e.Add("d");
                }
            }

            // Add the words and POS's of the surrounding context
            // if (prev != null) { removed... always true
            e.Add("p=" + prev);
            if (tagPrev != null) {
                e.Add("t=" + tagPrev);
            }
            if (prevPrev != null) {
                e.Add("pp=" + prevPrev);
                if (tagPrevPrev != null) {
                    e.Add("t2=" + tagPrevPrev + "," + tagPrev);
                }
            }

            // if (next != null) { removed... always true
            e.Add("n=" + next);
            if (nextNext != null) {
                e.Add("nn=" + nextNext);
            }

            var contexts = e.ToArray();
            if (contextsCache != null) {
                contextsCache.Put(cacheKey, contexts);
            }
            return contexts;
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Should I wait for ajax request to load in vue or angular SSR? I have application with vue or angular. when the app component load, I make an ajax request to get the data I display in the child components.
I also use server-side-rendering (ssr).
My question is should I include the ajax request for the data in the server side so everything include the data will be ready or for the data I need to do just a client ajax request?

A: If you're talking about performance, the difference will not be significant.
Your backend will respond as quickly when called from the internet, than when called from local, and the amount of data will be almost the same in both cases (formatted in SSR, raw in client side).
So the things to take in consideration are the following:

*

*Which experience do you want for your users? Do you want to serve an empty app shell fast, then fill the blanks with data later? Or do you want a filled first paint of the app?

*If your app is public, and the concerned pages don't require authentication, do you want them to be indexed by search engines?

If you choose SSR, you'll have to deal with data loaded twice (once by the server, once by the client when the client side takes over). On Angular, there is the built-in TransferHttpCacheModule that serializes the raw data in HTML for use on client side. I presume there are also such things in Vue.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange