The most revered strength training exercise and one of the big "3", the bench is rarely performed correctly. It seems in every gym across America, every Monday is national bench day. But unfortunately, we should label every Monday national "wreck your shoulders" day. Here is a pretty popular "How to Bench" video that I have on Youtube.
In this video you'll learn the perfect elbow correction, why leg drive is important for a big bench, how to setup your arch and your upper back and a ton more. It really is a good and teaches you that the bench is a full body lift, not just an upper body exercise.
Here is an extensive list of bench press variations that will form the foundation for your upper body pressing strength.
There are very important key points to remember when performing the bench press to ensure healthy shoulders and longevity. In fact, these key points apply to all the horizontal pressing movements in this manual.
1.Keep a tight grip on the bar at all times, a tighter grip equates to more tension in the lower arms, upper back and chest.
2.Keep your chest up (thoracic extension) throughout the movement.
3.Elbows should be tucked and end up at approximately 45 degrees from your side.
4.Unrack the weight and take a deep breath and hold it.
5.Row the weight down to your chest by pulling the bar apart, like a bent over row. Do not relax and let the weight drop.
6.Back, hips, glutes and legs are tight and isometrically contracted.
7.When you touch your chest, drive your feet downward and reverse the movement.
Technique– keep back tight and don't relax! Keep your air that you took before the movement started and drive your feet downward. Also, by pulling the bar apart you maintain the tension in your lats which helps you stay tight.
I think I might have a issue with leg drive when I bench. I recently did some floor pressing with my legs strait and flat on the ground and found that I was stronger than on a conventional bench press!
Whats strange is I decided to do the floor presses because I'm weak at the very point where the bar lowers to on a floor press (about 3-4 inchs off my chest). I can floor press 295×3 or bench 295×1.
What can I do to improve my leg drive?
It might be just a technique issue. You've identified the problem and can actively work on driving your legs down when the drive phase starts.
It could be a hip mobility issue. You might have tight hip flexors which prevent you from keeping lower body tension when you're on the bench. Work on your hip mobility even on upper body training days.
It could be an activation issue. Your potentially tight hip flexors could be inhibiting glute strength, and tension throughout the lower kinetic chain. In addition to more hip mobility, do some low prowler crawls, x-band walks and hip thrusts.
It could be a weakness off your chest. The floor press is showing you that you have strong triceps but your weak if you are forced into a full range. Work on some pin presses at the end range. Also, slow negative and isometrics will pay off big time for reversal strength. Dynamic bench will also help improve your speed and activate more motor units.
A kinetic and electromyographic comparison of the standing cable press and bench press. Santana JC, Vera-Garcia FJ, McGill SM.
Source: Institute of Human Performance, Boca Raton, Florida 33432, USA.
This study compared the standing cable press (SCP) and the traditional bench press (BP) to better understand the biomechanical limitations of pushing from a standing position together with the activation amplitudes of trunk and shoulder muscles. A static biomechanical model (4D Watbak) was used to assess the forces that can be pushed with 2 arms in a standing position. Then, 14 recreationally trained men performed 1 repetition maximum (1RM) BP and 1RM single-arm SP exercises while superficial electromyography (EMG) of various shoulder and torso muscles was measured. The 1RM BP performance resulted in an average load (74.2 +/- 17.6 kg) significantly higher than 1RM single-arm SP (26.0 +/- 4.4 kg). In addition, the model predicted that pushing forces from a standing position under ideal mechanical conditions are limited to 40.8% of the subject's body weight. For the 1RM BP, anterior deltoid and pectoralis major were more activated than most of the trunk muscles. In contrast, for the 1RM single-arm SP, the left internal oblique and left latissimus dorsi activities were similar to those of the anterior deltoid and pectoralis major. The EMG amplitudes of pectoralis major and the erector muscles were larger for 1RM BP. Conversely, the activation levels of left abdominal muscles and left latissimus dorsi were higher for 1RM right-arm SP. The BP emphasizes the activation of the shoulder and chest muscles and challenges the capability to develop great shoulder torques. The SCP performance also relies on the strength of shoulder and chest musculature; however, it is whole-body stability and equilibrium together with joint stability that present the major limitation in force generation. Our EMG findings show that SCP performance is limited by the activation and neuromuscular coordination of torso muscles, not maximal muscle activation of the chest and shoulder muscles. This has implications for the utility of these exercise approaches to achieve different training goals.
If there is pain with this movement, regress back to neutral grip dumbbell bench pressing. This means that you take a set of dumbbells and do bench press with your hands facing each other. Sometimes this is referred to as a "hammer" grip or a neutral grip. If there still is pain my suggestion to you is to regress further to more of a basic, fundamental movement, such as a push-up.
Push-ups are an incredible tool that most lifters don't do because they want to build a big bench and a big chest. So they spend hours in the gym on the bench press, with poor form wrecking their shoulders. Many forget push-ups have have benefits that carry over not only to your bench, but to your overall health and wellness.
Push-ups not only stabilize the core and lower back, but also improves your upper back posture by allowing the supportive musculature of the scapulae to get stronger while they allowed to move freely.
Push-ups can also be done with an extended range of motion (ROM). By increasing the ROM you engage more musculature and therefore, build more strength.
Make sure you before you lay down on the bench, you warm-up not only your anterior (chest, shoulders and abdominals), but play special attention to your upper posterior musculature responsible for not only engaging movement, but also stabilizing it, ie. rotator cuff, triceps, serratus anterior, rhomboids, traps, lats.
Check out AMPED Warm-up, the best selling and most comprehensive warm-up system ever created!
Here are some exercises to help with your warm-up for an upper body training session. Face pulls, pull-ups, tricep press downs, t-bar retractions and hand walking on foam are a great way to warm-up the upper back.
Face pulls activate and target the shoulder retractors (rhomboids and trapezius) because each face pull should be preceded by a scapular retraction. The two two pictures depict a typical face pull. The bottom two pictures demonstrate the second type of face pull. It engages an external rotation at the end of the movement, targeting the teres minor, infraspinatus and posterior delts.
This is a pretty simple and easy article. When I started using a bench shirt, I miraculously gained 150 lbs on my bench. No practice, no technique work, nothing. That is the magic of these cheater shirts—you automatically "get it." Anyway, with this increase in bar weight, my wrists were taking a beating and I needed some help. This is where I was bestowed with this knowledge, which I am now giving to you. This may be something you've already read before, but this little tip helped me maintain proper position in the bench press, take stress away from my wrists, and stay healthy.
For the demonstration, I will be using the Metal All-Black Wraps, which have a thumb loop. Like J.D. Salinger, these have been in hiding for a long time. The typical way to wrap your wrist. Notice that only the wrist is covered. This is typically how I would wrap my wrist when squatting, not bench pressing.
In the second picture, notice the big difference is that the heel of my palm is covered by the wrap. By doing this, I am essentially bracing my wrist with my hand. This gives enormous support and keeps my wrists healthy. You will have to play around with how much of your heel you are going to cover.
Ensure that when you are benching, you have a tight grip on the bar. Remember, the tighter you grip the bar, the more tension you will create and the greater control you will have on the bar. One coaching cue would be to tell the lifter to have "white knuckles".
Make sure to ALWAYS keep your thumb on the bar. Taking your thumb off the bar is called a suicide grip and you should NEVER DO IT.
You must keep your wrists straight. If your wrist extends back, you will be more likely to flex or fold your arms toward your head as you lower the weight.
The proper way to hold your wrists is to KEEP THEM STRAIGHT. This can be aided by "casting your wrists" with wrist wraps – SEE ABOVE.
Board presses are a great way to target pressing strength and tricep weaknesses along the entire bench press bar path. By benching to various height wooden blocks, lifters disengage the stretch reflex and force more starting strength, of all of the muscle responsible for pressing power, from a dead stop. Board presses are also great when lifters need to target specific areas in their bench press where they stall out, and keep some lifters in a pain free range of motion. Some guys are weak off the chest so they'll use slow negative and one board presses to target this range of motion. Some lifters stall halfway up, so a two to three board press might be more appropriate. If you want to build the top range of the lockout, four board presses are used.
One key note to understand when utilizing boards is that there will be a tendency to collapse the chest (thoracic extension) when the bar meets the board. Ensure you keep appropriate tension and the chest high (don't compress) during the reversal pressing movement.
Bench pressing onto a foam roller is an amazing and pretty innovative setup. Different density foam rollers can be used to offer varying levels of absorption and rebound at the bottom of the lift. This setup is crucial for anyone experiencing shoulder issues because it prevents them from going into a pain range of motion AND provides them with a little assistance in the hole. Half (1/2) foam rollers can also be used (similar to a one board press) to increase the range of motion of the press.
Accommodating resistance, or resistance that matches the lifter's natural strength curve, is an advanced method of training that powerlifters use to build insane strength and power. This technique, which typically incorporates elastic bands or chains, adds more weight to the lift at lockout (when leverage is better and the lifter is at a better advantage) and less weight near the chest (when leverage is bad and the lifter is weakest). This is an advanced training method that should not be used by beginners. Beginners should focus on the basics and incorporate more volume. Elastic bands vary in length, width and strength and chains are typically 5/8″ linkage x 4′ (approx. 20lbs each).
In this article, we are going to focus on one of the most common errors I see people make on the bench press.
A good setup on the bench requires a great amount of tension throughout the entire body. This is coupled with thoracic (upper back) extension and power breathing. The upper back extension sets the lifter up onto their traps and locks their hips into the floor, providing their have the appropriate hip mobility.
The problem arises when the weight nears a lifter's rep max and the effort required to lock the weight, pushes them out of a good arch – specifically, they lose the retraction and depression of their shoulder blades and they protract the shoulders to lockout the weight. This is a big issue especially for the next repetition in the set. The good stable platform they created with the tensioning in the lats and upper back, along with the retraction of the shoulders, has been lost. And all subsequent repetitions will be placing a great amount of strain on the anterior aspect of the shoulders.
If you have the appropriate upper back strength and mobility to get a good setup on the bench, you should be able to keep it throughout the duration of the entire set. But as we know, fatigue changes everything. Stay away from the "grinder" reps and stick with a weight you can control and still maintain good form.
And remember, putting everything you have into a rep, doesn't mean you have to lose form. Keep practicing and keep that arch!
In the article today I am going to talk about two different techniques for increasing your bench press.
The first technique involves modifying the tempo. When you modify the tempo (as I showed in this previous arm workout) you call upon your muscles to contract differently. If you increase the speed of the movement, you are creating a different recruitment pattern for your motor units and, in turn, your muscle fibers. You are recruiting them at a much more rapid pace and this improves your neurological efficiency.
Typically dynamic efforts, where speed (50-75% of 1RM) is the focus, fall further to the right of the F(v) curve then heavier, maximal efforts (90%+ of 1RM).
If you spend too much time on the left side of the F(v) curve, you'll lose the ability for high threshold motor unit recruitment and you will plateau. You need a different stimulus and dynamic efforts are the ticket.
And remember, the key is speed of the bar. If the bar slows or the reps are not explosive, you'll need to lower the weight. For advanced lifters who are using straight weight (Olympic bar + weight on the bar) and bands or chains, this means something has to be taken off the bar.
People ask me all of the time if the 50-75% of 1RM includes the straight weight and bands (or chains) and I tell them – yes it does. But don't get too caught up in band tension and weight percentages. You need to move the bar fast and with great intent.
The second technique involves creating more tension. The more tension we can create for a specific movement, the more stability we will have throughout the range of motion. Will will also have a more coordinated effort between the global musculature, i.e., more co-contraction and intermuscular coordination. Co-contraction basically means the sum is greater than the individual parts. In our example, it refers to more forcibly engaging the back, traps, shoulders, triceps and chest to better impart speed, strength and power into the system, where the system equals the total mass of the barbell and weight on the bar.
I often throw the cue out of "white knuckles" and "row the bar to your chest." Both of these cues are just to get the athlete actively involved in owning the weight and creating great tension. Do not take a weak grip on the bar, but rather squeeze it like you're going to melt the metal. Do not "relax" to get the weight down to your chest, row it with great tension to your chest and then reverse the path.
A floor press is essentially a bench press on the floor, with a limited range of motion. The lifter will lower the bar until their elbows touch the ground and they drive the weight back up to lockout. This is the upper range of motion of a bench and targets tricep and lockout strength.
The floor press can be overloaded just with bar weight, chains or elastic bands.
Dips target the chest, shoulders and triceps. Dips can be overloaded with a medicine ball between your feet, an elastic band over your shoulders and held in your hands, a weight vest or chains put on in an "X" fashion.
We will explore two very unique chest building exercises in today's article. If you believe the hype and everyone in the gym on Monday's, the bench press is the king of all pressing exercises.
Well, I'm here to give you a different perspective.
The bench press is a great exercise if you know the proper form, you have good posture and are working with minimal dysfunction. But, if you have a slouched upper body (kyphotic) posture, shoulder issues or poor technique, you could be adding to the problem and your potential for injury.
Better choices could be push-ups, neutral grip dumbbell military press, dumbbell floor press or various dynamic stabilization movements challenging the humerus in different positions (example: bamboo bar).
Push-ups can be modified in an infinite number of ways and you are only really limited by your imagination. Truth be told, if trainers would implement more push-ups instead of the bench press, their athletes improve their pressing technique and function.
One variation that we like to do, was highlighted in our last EXTREME DVD – band resisted ring push-ups with the feet elevated.
Progression is the key to development and nothing says progression for push-ups like this exercise. It has everything. The feet elevation and the usage of rings means the core stabilization factor is increased and the band resistance adds the final overload to the movement. Focus on keeping neutral with the torso (which will be a big challenge once fatigue sets in), keep the upper back tight and drive fully through to lockout.
Floor presses are a great way to limit the range of motion of a bench pressing movement when there are shoulder issues or you are trying to target and build the triceps. In my experience however, many athletes have trouble reversing the movement without banging their elbows on the ground. Also, when low back pain is present, creating stability on the floor can sometimes stress the back more during the drive phase.
Foam pressing is one alternative to floor pressing and it provides many of the same benefits. Another variation that we like to use is the floor press while on the bench press. I know this sound kind of strange and hard to picture, but stick with me. By setting up two flat benches next to the main bench, you can create a floor press situation. This not only allows you to focus on the triceps and limits the range of motion, it also allows the lifter to setup better in a more optimal position, i.e., as if they are performing a standard bench press. This is much easier to perform and has less potential for elbows issues during the reverse of the press.
As a side note, if you are using this setup because your athlete has back issues, you can further lessen back strain by raising their feet up onto 45 lb plates.
Follow the video below to learn how to bench correctly, but don't forget to always include basic movements such as a push-up.
Great stuff Smitty. A TON of info to take in!
Jim, congrats! Your article is really great. I enjoy it as well as other publications of you. Thanks from Moscow, Russia.
I really want to say a HUGE "thank you" to you. I have trained for years now and have had a very painful shoulder for at least the last two years, so much so that I wondered whether the only solution was going to be an operation, but decided to train through/in the pain. I was reading through some of my older mails and got to your notification on the bench press post. Watched the video and on Monday did my first "proper" chest workout. The pain has mostly gone, I admit it sounds exaggerated but truly, one workout with the correct form and its all but gone. I am very grateful to you for sharing vital information like this.
Thanks so much for checking out the post and for trying out the new form. Please check out all of my other videos on my youtube site. There are a ton of shoulder rehab and warm-up videos that might help as well.
All my questions are answered as far a bench press is concerned. This is a really well defined and specifically detailed post. Great info. I'll be using it!!!
thanks a lot for sharing your expertise with us. Your article is the best regarding bench press, everything is already covered. Thanks again.
I just have one question, should I follow the same rules (chest up, tight lats,elbow position, etc.) described on your video when I am doing Incline Barbell Bench, I mean arching my back on the incline bench is not that tight as the flat one.
I tore my rotator cuff bench pressing about 7 years ago and had to go through 7 brutal months of physical therapy. All I have to say is – be careful. You might be fine for the time being, as I thought I was, but eventually it will catch up with you. Follow the techniques in this article and you will be a lot better off…..I wish I would have found this article 7 years ago.


text:
Q: Why does com.opencsv.bean.CsvToBeanBuilder fail when my bean has a constructor? I want to read in a csv file once, and later request information from it. Later this is going to be in a website/Rest-API.
I am new to the world of java-website-development, but I hope this way is the way to do it:
I create a class that reads in the data (I want that this happens once, so I use a static variable for that).
When the csv is read in by opencsv, the data are stored in a bean. For this I create the Car-class as a bean.
I use a third class to do the processing and the logic. Later this is supposed to be the website that processes the data.
Here are the classes:
The bean:
Car.java
package org.example;

import com.opencsv.bean.CsvBindByName;

import java.math.BigDecimal;

public class Car {

    @CsvBindByName
    private int id;
    @CsvBindByName(column = "name")
    private String brand;
    @CsvBindByName
    private BigDecimal price;

    public int getId() {
        return id;
    }

    public String getBrand() {
        return brand;
    }

    public BigDecimal getPrice() {
        return price;
    }

    public void setId(int id) {
        this.id = id;
    }

    public void setPrice(BigDecimal price) {
        this.price = price;
    }

    public void setBrand(String brand) {
        this.brand = brand;
    }

    @Override
    public String toString() {
        return "Car{" +
                "id=" + id +
                ", brand='" + brand + '\'' +
                ", price=" + price +
                '}';
    }
}

abc.csv:
id,name,price
1,Audi,52642
2,Mercedes,57127
3,Skoda,9000
4,Volvo,29000
5,Bentley,350000
6,Citroen,21000
7,Hummer,41400
8,Volkswagen,21600
9,Toyota,26700

ReadCSVFile.java
package org.example;

import com.opencsv.bean.CsvToBeanBuilder;

import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.FileReader;
import java.util.List;

public class ReadCSVFile {
    static String fileName = "src/main/resources/abc.csv";
    public static List<Car> cars;

    static {
        try {
            cars = new CsvToBeanBuilder(new FileReader(fileName))
                    .withType(Car.class).build().parse();
        } catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
            throw new RuntimeException(e);
        }
    }

}

Main.java
package org.example;

import com.opencsv.CSVReader;

import java.util.Scanner;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Hello world!");

        System.out.println();
        for (Car car : ReadCSVFile.cars) {
            System.out.println(car.toString());
        }
        Scanner sc = new Scanner(System.in);
        for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {

            System.out.println("Enter id to get more details about the car.");
            int id_number = sc.nextInt();
            System.out.println("Your selected id is "+id_number);
            Car selected_car = null;
            for (Car car : ReadCSVFile.cars) {
                if (car.getId() == id_number) {
                    selected_car = car;
                }
            }
            if (selected_car == null) {
                System.out.println("No car found that matches your id.");
            } else {
                System.out.println("Selected car matches: " + selected_car.toString());
            }
            System.out.println();
        }
    }
}

This works fine, but when I add a constructor in the Car.java
public Car(int id, String brand, BigDecimal price) {
        this.id = id;
        this.brand = brand;
        this.price = price;
    }

then I get an error: Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: com.opencsv.exceptions.CsvBeanIntrospectionException: Instantiierung des angegebenen Typs (und eventuell vorhandene Untertypen) ist unm�glich.
I do not know how to switch this error message to English; it means something like "It is not possible to instantiate the wanted type (and possibly also present subtypes)".
Does opencsv generally have problems with constructors? Is this a wanted behaviour? Do beans generally lack constructors? Because I feel like I want to have a constructor in the future in my class...
Please feel free to add comments about my general approach how I organize the code.

A: OpenCSV's introspection works by creating object instances via a no-args constructor. Therefore, you are required to provide one, even if you have specialized constructors as posted in your question.
By default, there will be a no-arg constructor in Java, however, once you have a custom one, the no-arg one must be explicitly defined in your Java class.
To cure the problem, just add back in a no-arg constructor, eg in a protected form:
protected Car() {}

This way, the code should just work fine at runtime.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Green Hill Engineering provides perc testing, septic system design, site plans, wetland delineation and permitting in Central and Western Massachusetts. For the past 15 years we have been providing high quality services to homeowners, builders and developers.
As a client focused firm, our approach is to incorporate your ideas with our expertise in land design and our understanding of the regulatory climate to create solutions appropriate for each project.
We have an in-depth understanding of the Massachusetts Wetland Protection Act and of Title 5 which, when combined with our expertise and experience in septic design, permitting and land use planning, provides each client with a customized solution to their individual needs.
Contact us today to how we can help you in your next project.


The Canadian Association of Midwives (CAM) is the national professional association representing midwives and the profession of midwifery in Canada. CAM is staffed by a team of enthusiastic individuals dedicated to providing support for midwives and the profession of midwifery in Canada and globally.
The Project Officer will coordinate the implementation, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of CAM's role in two (2) projects in Tanzania. 1) More and Better Midwives in Rural Tanzania (2016-20) and 2) Improved Service Delivery for Safe Motherhood (2017-18). The Project Officer will also assist in identifying new opportunities for partnerships in Tanzania under the direction of the Director Global Program.
Communicate and coordinate activities on a regular basis with project staff located in Juba.
Write reports on the project as required.
Collaborate with CAM Finance staff to monitor project cash flow projections and report actual cash flow and variance to the Director on a regular basis.
Work with Finance staff to prepare financial reports and supporting documentation for funders as outlined in funding agreements.
CAM's head office is located in Montréal, Québec.
To apply, you must be eligible to work in Canada.
Send your CV and a cover letter in one PDF document and ensure that your first and last names and the letters "ProjectTZ" are included in the file name.
Deadline for applications is 5pm Eastern Time on July 21, 2017.


I didn't make this for an aquarium. This was for an underwater robot competition about 8 years ago. I agree that this would not be good for an aquarium.
Thanks. I completely agree. If I were to do this again, I would use the hot-glue, shrink-wrap method.


text:
Inaugural Address and Country Statement by His Excellency Mohamed Nasheed at the Inaugural Session of the Seventeenth SAARC Summit
10 November 2011, Ref: PRO/RMN/2011/219
President Karzai of Afghanistan; Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh; Prime Minister Thinley of Bhutan; Prime Minister Singh of India; Prime Minister Battarai of Nepal; Prime Minister Gillani of Pakistan; President Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka; Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests; Ladies and Gentleman,
Welcome to the Maldives. Welcome to Addu City and the first SAARC conference south of the equator.
In the Maldives, we pride ourselves on welcoming people to our country. I hope that everything is to your satisfaction and that everyone here enjoys their time in the Maldives.
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I believe that the 21st Century will be Asia's century. I believe that Asia, and South Asia in particular, is becoming more powerful and more prominent than any other time in our history. In short, I believe the future is ours to shape.
Our economies are booming. Our political influence is growing. And our ability to shape the course of world affairs has never been stronger. Our populations are youthful and energetic. Our thinkers, researchers and scientists are globally renowned. Our culture is internationally acclaimed. Our private sector companies are some of the world's largest and most profitable.
For too long, South Asia was considered a sideshow in the theatre of global politics. But today, we occupy centre stage. The eyes of the world are upon us. This is our time to shine.
The SAARC region is a region of great wealth. From the Indus plains, to the Ganges delta, from the Himalayan mountain tops, to the islands of the Indian Ocean, if we can harness our abundant resources, we can ensure our people have a decent life.
Fundamentally, our people want the same key things. They want to live in societies based on the rule of law, in which basic freedoms are protected. They want the chance to succeed in our region's economic miracle. They want what everyone wants: a decent life to live in dignity.
I believe, over the next few decades, we can grow our economies and eradicate poverty. I believe we can strengthen and deepen our democracies. I believe we can ensure our region is stable and secure. We can make sure each and every worker earns the decent wage to which they are entitled. We can ensure that babies are born free from transmittable diseases such as Polio. We can make certain that our children grow up free from hunger and want.
But we can only achieve these goals, if we work together. Because our success, is dependent on our neighbour's success. Economic stagnation in one part of our region dampens prosperity in another. Instability in one member state causes insecurity for us all. We can only make progress if we integrate our economies, ensure our financial system is stable, and foster a political climate that creates confidence.
Since our last meeting in Thimphu, there are many reasons to be optimistic. Afghanistan's government remains strong. South Asia is an increasingly wealthy region and we must contribute to the stability in Afghanistan.
Last year, in Thimphu, I spoke about the need for India and Pakistan to compartmentalise their differences and find areas on which they can move forward. 18 months later and India and Pakistan have held many positive discussions.
In February, India and Pakistan agreed to restart peace talks on all issues. In May, Indian parliamentarians visited Islamabad to advance the cause of peace. In July, Foreign Minister Rabbani Khar visited New Delhi. A month later, MPs from both countries met in India to continue deliberations. In September, Pakistani and Indian railway officials met to help boost connectivity and trade. And in the past few days, Pakistan improved trade links by deciding to grant India the status of Most Favoured Nation. Today, the Pakistani and Indian Prime Ministers met in the lovely setting of the Shangri La in the Maldives.
These developments are extremely welcome. I hope all political parties in India and Pakistan applaud these encouraging moves. I hope this summit will be enthused with optimism. And I hope both countries can work to resolve their core issues.
The theme of this summit is building bridges. I hope one of the things we can achieve, at this and future summits is greater integration and co-operation between SAARC countries.
In this regard, I am delighted that at this summit, SAARC countries will finalise the agreement on the Rapid Response to Natural Disasters. And we welcome the establishment of the South Asian Postal Union, which will benefit all our citizens.
But much more work needs to be done to bridge the divides that currently separate our countries, our economies and our people. There are three key areas of co-operation, where we should aim to achieve greater links:
Firstly, trade, transport and economic integration. Secondly, co-operation on security issues such as piracy and climate change. Thirdly, good governance.
Let me address each of these three areas, one by one.
Firstly, on trade, transport and economic integration, I hope we can progress measures to make trade, transport and investments easier between South Asian countries. At this summit, I look forward to progressing the regional ferry service, which will better connect our region, and boost investment, and trade. I am very glad that work on the ferry service is nearing completion, and I hope we can agree to see services start by the end of this year.
To further connect and integrate our region, I would also like to see progress on the Railways Agreement and the Motor Vehicle Agreement, which will make travel between SAARC nations much easier than it is today. I hope that by the next meeting of the Council of Ministers, held in the Maldives in July, we will sign both of these agreements.
At last year's summit, leaders signed the SAARC Agreement in Trade in Services. Leaders also underscored their commitment to the full implementation of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement. These are important steps in driving deeper economic and commercial integration in our region. It is important that at this summit, we build on that momentum. In order to realise the full implementation of SAFTA, we should mandate our finance ministers to discuss a mechanism to promote capital flows and investments. And we would like to see progress reducing, and ultimately scrapping, the SAFTA sensitive list.
Allow me to address the second proposed area of co-operation, maritime security and climate change. Piracy in the Indian Ocean is a growing threat to our security and stability. And so, at this summit, I hope we can consider a regional arrangement to improve maritime security and combat the threat of piracy.
Climate change remains this region's greatest long-term security threat. Already, climate change is causing havoc, threatening our development and prosperity. But the solution to climate change is not cutting back. Rather, it is investing in the new, clean technologies that not only reduce pollution, but also improve energy security and provide long term economic growth.
I hope other SAARC nations can rise to the challenges climate change poses, and agree to invest a significant amount of their national incomes in clean technologies. By embracing climate change as an opportunity to do things differently, we can tackle emissions and earn a competitive edge in the rapidly growing, clean economy.
The third area in which we hope to see more co-operation, is good governance and democracy. South Asia's great, underlying strength is that we are a region of democracies. As our societies mature, so our systems of good governance must deepen. I look forward to building on the success of the SAARC Charter of Democracy at this summit. The charter aims to provide us with a vehicle through which we can work together to strengthen our democracies, through strong national institutions, a clear separation of powers, an independent and competent judiciary, a free press and vibrant civil society.
I welcome the proposal to set up a SAARC Independent Commission on Gender. South Asian women suffer from a wide range of disadvantages and discrimination. Women in our region have some of the world's lowest rates of property ownership and political representation. It is our hope that a Commission on Gender can highlight these issues and work with governments to develope innovative strategies to resolve gender inequality.
To complement the important work SAARC has already achieved in promoting good governance, I hope we can also consider a regional mechanism for the promotion of good governance and human rights. I say this, not because any of us are interested in finger-pointing and criticizing one another. Nor do we want to re-open painful historical wounds.
But we do have a duty, as leaders, to improve the lives of our citizens. As we move forward to build a successful, strong and integrated region of democracies, I believe regional mechanisms would support and strengthen human rights governance. We are not moving for a decision at this stage. Rather, an open dialogue on this issue, and Maldives would be happy to host such a discussion.
We also need to make changes to the way SAARC itself is governed. The SAARC Secretary-General, Her Excellency Dhiyana Saeed, has put forward a number of recommendations to make our organization more effective. And I hope, during this summit, we will support all efforts to revitalise SAARC.
We have a busy agenda. We may not be able to conclude everything in our in-trays. Quite rightly, our Association is based on consensus. SAARC is not a vehicle for revolution, but a vehicle for evolution. Nevertheless, I hope we can build stronger bridges between our nations, bridges of trade, travel and tourism, economic, commercial and financial links, stronger ties on maritime and climate security, and improved governance and democratic connections.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Your Excellencies,
We have many reasons to be optimistic. The fundamentals of our region are strong. We have young, energetic populations. We live in a region of vibrant democracies, with strong civil societies.
As our economies race ahead, our political importance increases ever more. Let us not be held back by history or convention. Let us be the leaders our people want us to be. Let us change our region for the better. Let us change the world.
LATEST FROM THE PRESS OFFICE
First Lady attends the closing ceremony of Mental Health and Young People; Awareness Workshop for Educators
17 July 2019, Press Release
The President and First Lady will depart tomorrow on an official visit to the Republic of Mauritius
Maldives Bar Council Established
President declares Sunday, 28th July 2019 and Thursday, 15th August 2019 as Public Holidays
Vice President tours potential Remand Centre locations in Gulhifalhu

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: python / flask: How to run a function whenever another is called I have a function called when_login()
I need to always run it whenever login_user() function from Flask-Login module is called

*

*sequence :

*

*User provide credentials

*credentials go through auth steps

auth is via a mass of methods
3. once user is authinticated call login_user()
4. [step needed]: whenever login_user() is called then call a function called when_login() on the user logged before redirection

I'm not able to edit / rewrite login_user() to call when_login() and the program functionality
also rewriting functions could lead to slowing down the app
Generally: is there a way of binding functions in python without editing the first that will be called?

This is for a flask application but I'd be pleased with python-wide answer.

A: I am not sure if this is what you want, there maybe a Flask specific way to do this, but here is what I have tried
from flask_login import login_user as login_user__

def run_first(fun):
    def inner(*args):
        fun(*args)
        when_login() # add arguments you want for making this call
    return inner

def when_login(*args):
    print('processing something with args in when_login')

@run_first
def login_user(*args):
    print('login_user is running first')
    return login_user__(*args)

login_user() # call this however you normally use

Output:
login_user is running first
processing something with args in when_login

Calling login_user makes that run first followed by when_login, you can notice that in the print statements.
This does not require you to change your code, add this at the top level before you start your flask process.


text:
Life+Times Premiere: The O'My's "Keeping The Faith" EP
ab soul chance the rapper keeping the faith maceo haymes the o'my's
"I think this is a statement piece as to what our sound is," singer, guitarist and co-founder of Chicago band, The O'My's, Maceo Haymes says of his band's new EP, Keeping The Faith. "We've gone through a lot of different changes over the years, searching for different sounds, but I think this is a good synthesis of all that."
The O'My's have worked with Chance The Rapper, Ab-Soul, and other hip-hop artists in recent years, and at the same time released multiple records of their own tinged with soul, blues, rock and funk. A near-fatal accident while on tour last year almost kept this moment from happening; instead, it served as a catalyzing moment for the diverse crew, reaffirming their purpose. Here, The O'My's premiere their latest EP and Haymes breaks it down for Life+Times.
Life+Times: Take me through the accident that you had. It sounds like that was a key moment in getting you to the point that you're at now. What did that experience do for you?
Maceo Haymes: Yeah, last spring the band was on tour with ZZ Ward – I believe we were in Idaho somewhere – and we ended up crashing. The van rolled over and ended up completely totaled, it was done. Somehow, everybody came out safe. For us, I guess it was a turning point – the whole tour was. We've been around for awhile, so we've had a lot of different musicians come in and out of the band. This iteration of the group has been around for the past two years. It was a turning point for us because we all realized – [keyboardist] Nick Hennessey and myself, in particular, because we're the bandleaders and writers – that these are the musicians and friends that we trust, and decided to open up the process to them and bring them in in terms of recording which we hadn't really done entirely.
L+T: Moving forward, how did that lead to Keeping The Faith? How did bringing everyone in for the first time impact the recording process?
MH: Once we decided that this project was going to be a full-group endeavor, we started writing songs and stockpiling them. That was a process we used to do a long time ago. Working with Blended Babies and other producers for the last couple projects, and also doing home recordings, we got accustomed to writing in the studio as it was going along as opposed to fully thinking out a song and working from that perspective. We wanted to incorporate more of that. Both approaches are important, but we wanted to take it back and foresee the project in total before stepping into the studio. So, Nick and I came up with a couple songs, and we went up to Michigan and recorded demo tapes. We went through a whole bunch of songs and got a feel for the project. It was nice because there was no reception up there, so it was a long weekend dedicated to music only. That's where we got the pulse of what the project was going to sound like. Then we just worked on those songs until we went to the studio and recorded it in three night sessions from 10 PM to 10 AM.
L+T: Is the name Keeping The Faith derived from the car accident experience?
MH: Actually, we had the name maybe four years ago for a project that never ended up [coming out]. It was completely different music. The name popped back in my head when we looked at the overall project and what the message is. It has to do with being thankful for being alive and the accident, but the times that we're living in at this moment make it very hard for people to love, trust and believe in themselves and what they're trying to do in this world. The name of the project and the subject matter is a reaffirmation of each other's humanity. That is something that is grossly construed, sold, bought and sold back to people. The tone of the project is bringing to life some of the real issues that people deal with. As a band, we've been around for awhile and seen a lot of ups and downs, so growing up, it's a statement piece as to where we're at.
Life+Times: Describe the first two singles "Rise Up" and "Pieces".
MH: The first single we released was "Rise Up." It was a good first song to introduce the project because it directly talks to the sort of subject matter the project is centered around, the conflict of trying to be a good person and live a full life when the circumstances around the world are not really helping you. In fact, they're in opposition to you doing that. It's acknowledging those things, but it's saying, "Yeah, we can overcome that." About halfway through the song, we go through a gospel progession and the song takes a whole new light. I think that was intentional for that reason. "Pieces" is really intersesting, it actually started as a song we were recording at home with Noname Gypsy and it kind of got lost. I was going through old recordings and it popped up. It was pretty much a straight hip-hop beat. We revamped it and built a whole song around the chorus. The concept behind that is connected to the same thing. It deals with intimacy and sex, but the overall message is that in that exchange of love, there's also an exchange of strength and support that allows you to go out in the world and go through the bullshit. There is a power that's there.
L+T: For you as a band, how is the process of finding a lane for yourselves. You guys are a soul band with strong instrumentation, but you've also played with a lot of different hip-hop artists, including Chance The Rapper, Ab-Soul and others. There's not many bands in Chicago or elsewhere that do what you guys do.
MH: The beginning of the group was very much based around classic soul and funk, and there was actually an original MC band member, Zach Wicks. So there was always hip-hop involved in our sound, but it wasn't until we started to work with Blended Babies that we really started experimenting and adding hip-hop, collaborating with different folks. It's natural for us because there's a direct lineage between R&B, funk, soul and hip-hop. All of us, generally, if we're not listening to old school shit, it's pretty much just rap and hip-hop.That connection was an easy one. What's been difficult for us is establishing ourselves outside of just the hip-hop collaborations that we do, or the hip-hop influenced recordings that we've done, because if you come to a live show of ours, there's a big difference between what lots of our recordings are and the show that we put on. So, we want to try to bridge the gap between those. We still are incorporating lots of what we've learned in terms of the process of adding different sounds inside of the studio, but we wanted to start with an organic base and build around that.
Keep up with The O'My's and download Keeping The Faith here.


text:
Kingdom of Broken Barriers :: Archived :: Creation Corner :: Character Creation Share
Alice-Finished
Subject: Alice-Finished Fri Aug 07, 2015 8:34 pm
Name: Alice Abrams
Title: Shade
Alice possesses a short but fairly busty frame. She is blessed with a beautiful, unblemished skin tone and golden hair which spirals into two curls, drooping over her shoulders. She wears a white blouse, a brown corset and a long, yellow skirt. Her legs are adorned with striped, grey stockings and yellow shoes. Truly, her looks radiate both innocence and elegance. However, looks can be deceiving. Though many people will fawn over her graceful beauty, they will rarely look into her deep, amber eyes. Those who do are met with a chilling, empty gaze, betraying no emotion to it's audience. They see her lips curled into a small smile, a smile which remains present even during a massacre. And when they do, they realise that they are looking at the face of a killer.
The Londorn-born girl has always had a good reputation among her peers. She somehow managed to be both the teacher's pet and the popular kid, a feat few can boast about. A skilled student and an intuitive learner, Alice got along well with everyone in the neighbourhood. Everyone wanted to sit next to hear, to eat lunch with her, to do homework with her. People loved the prodigious young girl. People truly believed that Alice was their best friend.
People are stupid. So very stupid. So stupid, in fact, that on four separate occasions, said people allowed themselves to be walked into a place with no witnesses. Now, in Alice's defence, she didn't exactly want to kill them (okay...maybe just a little bit), but her victims had practically chopped themselves up and served themselves to her on a silver platter. The poor girl simply could not resist the temptation. But, regardless, the day eventually came when the youth was spotted fleeing from a crime scene, far too excited about having committed her fourth murder to notice that somebody had been watching her. Thus, she had finally been caught, and was now to be left alone in a dank prison cell for the rest of her life. So much for a happy ending.
But this was not the end for Alice. She would not simply sit in a cell and rot while the rest of the world got on with it's jolly life. She was certain the one day she would be free to commit whatever heinous acts she desired. Her freedom came during The Reign. Unaware of what was happening, Alice awoke to the sound of screaming, a sound she relishes to this day. Her prison cell rumbled, the vibrations surging through her body as her excitement and curiosity grew. Moments later, something blew a massive hole in the wall. A giant, lumbering thing marched into the cell. But Alice had left, leaping out of the cell the moment an opportunity presented itself. She ran as far as she could, avoiding any more of the giant black things. She was not one to show fear, but even she understood the danger these things posed.
Eventually, her legs gave in underneath her, and she fell. Everywhere around her, the black things were causing destruction, and were about to kill her too, no doubt. Except, they didn't. Seemingly oblivious to her existance, the creatures simply ignored her, continuing along their path of destuction until the entire area was rendered desolate. Taking no chances, Alice scurried away, blissfully ignorant to the fact that this was happening all around the world.
Within days, Alice had managed to leave the country, learning by word of mouth that people were fighting back, liberating several countries from the grasp of the Excul. If they were indeed as righteous as they had been described, then they would have no mercy for the crazed murderer. Thus, she chose a different path. The path of darkness. She joined a group of people named the Shades, along the way discovering her own supernatural powers. She now had a purpose. Alice, along with the rest of the Shades, would drag this world and any other into darkness.
They would make it their own little playground.
Alice puts on the facade of a sweet, polite young girl, who obeys her superior's every command. She is the type of person who only speaks when spoken to, and whose words are those of encouragement and comfort. She has impeccable manners, and is always willing to offer words of advice to those in need. She is eternally loyal to both her friends and her leaders, following their requests without a second of hesitation. Most people would describe her as a great friend, someone who would be a pleasure to be around.
To bad she's a lunatic.
Though she mostly shows no emotion, speaking with an upbeat tone and always with a smile on her face, she takes a slight pleasure in the suffering of others, shown by her lips curling ever so slightly into a grin. In combat, she retains her polite demeanour, often letting her foes go first in what some percieve to be a mocking manner. She is known to bow after gruesomely mutilating her opponent.
Succession World: Kill la Kill
Successor: Nui Harime
Passives:
Regeneration: Due to having Life Fibers infused into her body, Alice has incredible regenerative capabilities. She is able to heal lost limbs almost instantly, and can even survive having her heart ripped out. The only exception to this power is being cut by the Scissor Blades or the Bakuzan, both of which prevent Life Fiber restoration.
Free Form Abilities:
Life Fiber Arms: Both of Alice's arms have been replaced with Life Fiber replicas, capable of morphing into things such as powerful blades or wings for flight. +20 Strength
First Tier Abilities:
Mon-Mignon Prêt-à-Porter: Alice has the ability to create an enourmous amount of clones, though each individual clone is no stronger than a blank. Despite being cannon fodder to any successor, their large numbers can quickly overwhelm those who are not prepared. 200 clones can be summoned at a time.
Second Tier Abilities:
Enhanced Physical Prowess: Due to having Life Fibers infused into her body, Alice is capable of superhuman feats of strength and Speed. +30 Strength and +20 Speed
Third Tier Abilities:
Strength: 100->150
Speed: 125->145
Magic Defence: 10
Magic Power:10
Sense: 5
» AstroSlugs is now available! - Mr. Bill finally finished it!
» Flying Monkeys Vanished?
» Best Friends Forever: Alice and the Crushers(book)
» 2nd Abk tour ....finished...
» IvanhoeB47e / Houdini20 blitz test tour 2 core...finished..
Kingdom of Broken Barriers :: Archived :: Creation Corner :: Character Creation


MINNEAPOLIS — More than 24 hours before the final whistle blew, signaling the end of a wild, unpredictable finish to Super Bowl LII, the Philadelphia Eagles spoke their future into existence.
Together, joined by Coach Doug Pederson, team executives and staffers, they walked onto the field at U.S. Bank Stadium and formed a circle near midfield to conclude Saturday's walk-through practice. Punter Donnie Jones stepped forward, taking center stage in the sea of bodies and the rest of them closed ranks around him.
"Are you with me?!" he screamed.
"Hell yeah!" his teammates screamed back at him.
Then, on cue, they collectively cried out into the still air of an empty stadium.
"World champs!" they bellowed in unison, capping their final dress rehearsal of the week.
All along, against seemingly insurmountable odds, these Eagles did what no one else thought they could. The loss of their franchise quarterback Carson Wentz to a knee injury was supposed to cripple them, especially in this Super Bowl matchup against the great Tom Brady. Pederson, their second-year head coach, was supposed to falter against the indomitable force known as Bill Belichick.
But instead, the Eagles never believed they never had a chance. Someone forgot to tell them that they were underdogs and that their quarterback, Nick Foles, was nothing more than a backup.
All Foles wanted to do was to make his young daughter, Lily James, and his family proud, and to be a good teammate and brother to the men who surrounded him each day in the locker room. But with another masterful postseason performance, Foles did so much more.
The 29-year-old signal-caller who gave an entire city hope after Wentz's season came to a seemingly cruel, premature end, wound up delivering more than anyone could have imagined: the Eagles' first NFL championship since 1960.
Foles — the Super Bowl MVP — threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns while catching another to help set the stage for a 41-33 upset of the defending champion New England Patriots.
"She has no idea," a smiling Foles said as he looked down at Lily, donning pink noise-canceling headphones, while on the stage during the on-field presentation of awards. "To be here with my daughter, my wife, my family, my teammates, the city, we're very blessed."
No one expected Foles to be here, not even him. But here he was, years removed from those thoughts of retirement that once gnawed at him late at night. Here he was, the veteran quarterback who thought his starting days might be behind him, wound up saving his best performance for the last, most crucial game of the season.
It was the Eagles' defensive line — the unit that had brought the pressure and the sacks totals all season — that was expected to be the key to a Philly victory, required to keep Brady off his game and out of the pocket. And in the final two minutes of a seesaw battle of wills, the unit did just that, with Brandon Graham's strip-sack of Brady and Derek Barnett's recovery of the fumble playing a key role in the outcome.
But for much of the game, it was Foles who set the tone.
"We have been wanting this for a long time," Foles said, "And I am just blessed to be a part of it. We have such a great group of guys, such a great city to play for and I am proud to be a Philadelphia Eagle."
While a wide-open Brady botched a Patriots' trick play in the first half, dropping a perfectly thrown pass by wide receiver Danny Amendola, Foles had no problems pulling off the "Philly Special."
Pederson was as aggressive as always on Sunday, dialing up a trick play the team had been practicing for weeks. On fourth and goal at the Patriots 1 with 38 seconds left in the first half, running back Corey Clement took a direct snap and tossed it to tight end Trey Burton, who threw it back to Foles, who easily scampered into the end zone to give Philly a 10-point lead.
"That play we were working on for the past couple of weeks. Just needed the right time," Pederson said of the trick play with the fitting name.
"It was an amazing throw, right on the money," added Foles.
It was the highlight of an impressive night for the veteran, who signed a two-year deal with the Eagles and will return in 2018 as Wentz's backup.
But on this night, the stage and the city belonged to Foles and the Eagles, who pulled off what many deemed impossible.
Brady's final stat line was better: 28-for-48 passing for 505 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 115.4 rating. But in the end, it was the league MVP who sat with a towel over his head in the waning seconds of the game after the Eagles' defensive line had their way with him.
Meanwhile, Foles didn't fold. Instead, he was the composed, precise and fleet-footed leader these underdog Eagles — intent on upstaging the defending champions — needed.
Said Foles: "I didn't have to be Superman."
No, he wasn't a superhero. But he was the better quarterback in the biggest game of the season.
"Nick Foles is a great player and a great person," wide receiver Nelson Agholor said of his quarterback, who completed 28 of 43 passes for 373 yards, one interception and a 106.1 rating.
It might take days before the magnitude of this moment sinks in and all that comes with it — the falling confetti at their feet, the fireworks going off above their heads and the members of the front office hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in the air. But for Foles, the backup who had prepared alongside Wentz all season long, providing tutelage to the young star and face of the franchise, this night was, and ultimately will be, about so much more.
"We're Super Bowl champs," he said, "but time just stops when you look into your daughter's eyes."


text:
Foodpharmacy.blog - Organic health products, herbs and superfoods
Organic Chamomile: Best Natural Products
Nature's Answer, Chamomile, Alcohol-Free, 1 fl oz (30 ml)
The herb is either smoked or chewed, or it's juices are ingested. However, many herbs and teas offer harmless subtle ways to improve your health. Complementary and alternative medicine (Cam) is provided as an adjunct to mainstream medicine with the intention to provide symptom relief and improve quality of life. The enduring popularity of herbal medicines may be explained by the tendency of herbs to work slowly, usually with minimal toxic side effects. Tyler's herbs of choice: The therapeutic use of phytomedicinals, third edition effectively fosters understanding in patients and practitioners of the role that herbs and phytomedicinal products can play in both self-care and healthcare. This study shows that even commonly used herbs and spices, such as green tea and turmeric, can cause problems when combined with certain medicines. A prominent feature of homeopathic medicine is that each patient will ideally receive an individualized treatment plan, tailored to his or her symptoms and biology. German chamomile is a sweet-scented, smooth plant and self-seeding annual herb. In addition, homeopathy is not based on proven, scientific concepts.
Nature's Way, Chamomile Flower, 350 mg, 100 Vegetarian Capsules
One big problem for the chamomile following crop are volunteer chamomile seeds. We love animals at helios and know the benefits that homeopathy can bring to all creatures great and small, both domestic and wild. They also presented results from 2 additional observational studies that contained reports of drug-herb interactions. It has the same properties scientifically tested on the sweet chamomile (Matricaria recutita, l). Botanical alternatives to hydrocortisone: Glycyrrhetinic acid from licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), and capsaicin from cayenne pepper (Capsicum frutescens). Externally, chamomile has been used to treat diaper rash, cracked nipples, chicken pox, ear and eye infections, disorders of the eyes including blocked tear ducts, conjunctivitis, nasal inflammation and poison ivy (31, 32). All species of chamomile belong to the same plant family (Asteraceae) as the highly allergenic ragweed. Establishing whether or not therapeutic effects of chamomile are beneficial to patients will require research and generation of scientific evidence. Horizontal contamination may occur if the growing herbal plants are mulched with pa containing plants,…
Herb Pharm, Organic Chamomile, 1 fl oz (30 ml)
Unlike big pharma homeopathy is able to cure (Not merely treat) emotional trauma also. Ultimately, arnica shows promise for the reduction of pain, inflammation, and bruising, but it still remains to be seen as to whether or not it's effectiveness is better than other anti-inflammatory herbs or therapeutic modalities. Ingredientsalbizia, corydalis, kava, californian poppy, lavender, passionflower, baical skullcap, ziziphus, chamomile, homeopathic mag phos, kreosotum and colocynthis. Answers also revealed plants used in households; reasons for herbal consumption, and opinions on common statements concerning herbal stereotypes. The most frequently reported adverse drug reaction, for all assessed herbal medicinal products, was gastrointestinal complaints. The use of chamomile as a therapeutic agent is mentioned for common cold, cardiovascular conditions, eczema and gastrointestinal conditions among others. Data obtained from these clinical trials did not support the pre study hypothesis that chamomile could decrease 5-fu-induced stomatitis. However, the national center for complementary and integrative health (Nccih) advise that none of the many studies that people have conducted on…
Nature's Answer, Chamomile, 650 mg, 90 Veggie Caps
Avoid using herbs for infants and children and for those who are pregnant and breastfeeding. The oral consumption of arnica at high levels may pose some serious health risks, so never put the raw or whole herb in your mouth. Is this how you came to the fantastic decision that homeopathy or some other alternative medicine backed by some flimsy anecdotes was superior to science based medicine? The essential oil of roman chamomile contains less chamazulene and is mainly constituted from esters of angelic acid and tiglic acid. The contamination of herbal products with heavy metals is also of concern as heavy metals can have significant toxicity. Because of the variability in these studies, trying homeopathy is not recommended by mainstream doctors. Use of chamomile can cause allergic reactions in some people who are sensitive to the family of plants that includes chamomile.
Nature's Way, Chamomile, Standardized, 60 Vegetarian Capsules
34,76 Considering the scarce evidence available, chamomile should be used with caution during pregnancy. Kava kava is a good herb of choice for a tense, nervous or anxious dog. It works synergistically with other herbs for anxiety like valerian, hops, and chamomile. We hope this guide will act as a starting point to those who wish to integrate herbal remedies into their lives and arrive armed with knowledge. Likewise, it seems that active ingredients of chamomile oil might have anti-diabetic effects. Most botanical names currently used in homeopathy are still similar to the current botanical nomenclature used for the source material. As one of the oldest tree species, gingko is also one of the oldest homeopathic plants and a key herb in chinese medicine. Note: Do not take sedative herbs if you are taking a prescription tranquilizer or sedative, and let your doctor know any supplements you are taking. This blend of mimulus, rock rose, aspen, bluebells, chamomile, cherry plum, copper beech, elm, honeysuckle, larch, pink cherry, pink yarrow, vervain a. The efficacy of the novel agent tbs-101, a mixture of seven standardized botanical extracts including chamomile has been recently t…


Me & my princess love you gorgeous girl!!
for the girls they were so easy to make and looked great!
I think I mentioned before in a previous post how much my gorgeous girl loves animals.
Her only request for the party was that there was an animal farm.
us a visit to the Ice Cream party he was such a hit!


Today, driving a long to Long Tan – Nui Dat Battle Field - is arguably the most famous battle fought by the Australian Army during the Vietnam War. It was fought in a rubber plantation near the village of Long Tần, about 40 km north-east of Vung Tau, South Vietnam on August 18–19, 1966. Time to visit Long Tan Cross, Horse Shoe then to Long Phuoc Tunnels en-route. After lunch, visit Nui Dat (SAS Hill). Return to your hotel in Ho Chi Minh city and trip ends around 18:00 pm.


When logged in, click 'My account' in the upper right corner and choose 'Settings' from the drop down menu. You will be directed to your Profile editing page.
You can't change your name and surname in the profile after your first transfer reaches our account, or your ID has been reviewed. Remember to keep your other personal data, such as your address and phone number, up-to-date.
Please inform us if your name and/or surname changes and provide documented proof, e.g. a copy of a marriage certificate, and we'll edit your profile details for you.


text:
Home › Virus & Threats
Sophisticated iLOBleed Rootkit Targets HP Servers
By Eduard Kovacs on January 03, 2022
An Iranian cybersecurity firm claims to have discovered a sophisticated rootkit that is designed to target HP servers.
The malware, dubbed iLOBleed, was analyzed by Tehran-based Amnpardaz, which indicates that it has been used to target organizations in Iran. However, no other information has been shared on victims.
It's unclear who is behind the attacks involving iLOBleed, but its sophistication suggests it's likely an advanced persistent threat (APT) actor. The United States and Israel are suspected to have launched sophisticated cyberattacks against Iran.
According to Amnpardaz, iLOBleed is an implant that targets HPE's Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) embedded server management technology, which enables users to remotely monitor, configure and update their servers. iLO is embedded on the motherboard of HP servers.
The rootkit, first spotted in 2020, appears to leverage iLO firmware vulnerabilities discovered and disclosed publicly in the past years. The Iranian company's researchers noted that while these flaws may be fixed in more recent versions of HP firmware, an attacker can downgrade the firmware to a vulnerable version, which is possible on most systems, except for Gen10 series servers, on which users can enable a non-default setting that prevents firmware downgrades. Users cannot completely disable iLO.
Such rootkits are highly persistent and stealthy, and they can be delivered to targeted devices through the dedicated iLO network port, as well as through the server's operating system by a user with administrator or root privileges.
"This means that even if the iLO network cable is completely disconnected, there is still the possibility of infection with the malware," Amnpardaz wrote in a blog post published last week.
Once it has been deployed on a device — the rootkit adds a malicious module to the iLO firmware — iLOBleed gives the attackers full control over the compromised machine.
It also silently prevents firmware updates but goes to great lengths to make it look like the update process has been completed successfully to avoid raising suspicion.
"The malware pretends the upgrade to be successful, with all the right messages and logs. Even the exact number of firmware versions is extracted and displayed in appropriate places in the web console and other locations, although in fact no upgrade has been performed," the researchers explained.
When Amnpardaz discovered the malware, the attackers initiated a process that involved repeatedly wiping the infected server's disk, likely in an effort to cover their tracks.
Amnpardaz has informed organizations concerned about their servers getting infected with this rootkit that the best way to detect iLOBleed is by looking at the iLO user interface — the interface is different on a compromised device. On the other hand, the company noted that the attackers might take steps in the future to prevent this detection method.
Amnpardaz is working on a tool that can be used to verify the integrity of the firmware.
Related: FiveSys Rootkit Abuses Microsoft-Issued Digital Signature
Related: Shrootless: macOS Vulnerability Found by Microsoft Allows Rootkit Installation
Related: Diplomatic Entities Targeted with New 'Moriya' Windows Rootkit
Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is a contributing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as Softpedia's security news reporter. Eduard holds a bachelor's degree in industrial informatics and a master's degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.
Previous Columns by Eduard Kovacs:
XDR Firm Trellix Launches Following Merger of McAfee Enterprise and FireEye
Ukraine Attacks Involved Exploitation of Log4j, October CMS Vulnerabilities
VPNLab Goes Down After Servers Seized in Law Enforcement Operation
ICS Vendors Targeted in Espionage Campaign Focusing on Renewable Energy
Virus & Threats


Home GENERAL BJJ KIDS Brayden Esposito the Effective Martial Artist.
I am 10yrs old and weigh in at 59lbs. and I am an academic achiever who has been training and competing in BJJ Since late October 2011. January 2012 I started Judo and February 2012 Muay Thai Kickboxing. I am training 4 days a week at Dayton MMA, 1 day a week private lessons and 1-2 days at home. Promoted to Judo Yellow belt April 2012, and promoted to Yellow Belt in BJJ September 2012.
I fear no competitor. I will never back down from a fight. I am determined to be recognized as only the best. I am going to show what I have inside, there is no stopping me. In the short time I have been in the sport I have been in 19 tournaments, and 1 Modified Youth MMA fight. In addition to Martial Arts, Soccer is the only other sport I play.
I have academic achievements in school and I am on the Honor Roll every quarter.
OGC Tri-State grappling challenge January 2012 advanced div.
OGC Midwest open march 2012 beginner div.
Currently the #1 Ranked NAGA under 13 fighter in Ohio and in the top 5 for the Midwest.
Actively supporting and promoting The Wounded Warrior Project.
Donates to the local animal shelters.
Fund raises for the local homeless shelter.
Collected toys and goods for the victims of hurricane Katrina.
More events to follow in the Midwest, Southeast.


TriboGel On Aerospace Lubricants, Inc.
TriboGel is a H1 rated, NSF registered, #138214, synthetic assembly and lubricating gel that is clear, Tasteless and Odorless. Temperature range of -20 ºF to +350 ºF, resistant to water washout, commercial detergents, CIP & COP solutions will remove it for a clean and sanitary surface. Will not dry out, gum on equipment, separate or bleed. Compatible with most O-rings, seals and elastomeric materials. Approved by USDA for use in all federally inspected meat, poultry and food processing plants.


0%73°44°Night - Partly cloudy. Winds variable at 6 to 8 mph (9.7 to 12.9 kph). The overnight low will be 49 °F (9.4 °C).Cloudy with a high of 72 °F (22.2 °C). Winds variable at 2 to 6 mph (3.2 to 9.7 kph).
Tonight - Partly cloudy. Winds variable at 6 to 8 mph (9.7 to 12.9 kph). The overnight low will be 49 °F (9.4 °C).


Truest Riches: What Does Compassion Do?
To start with I thought I would do a post about what Compassion does.
Compassion International has offices all across the world, their main headquarters are in the USA but anyone can sponsor through their regional office or the US office – even if they don't live in the US! They have sponsorship programs in 26 countries around the world and have released over 2 million children from poverty in Jesus' name! I actually live in New Zealand and we have Tear Fund which is the same organisation as Compassion but under a different name, they do great work too! The reason I chose a Compassion sponsored child is when I was looking at their website (for fun ) I saw a picture of her and she melted my heart and I knew I had to sponsor her!
The Child Survival Program is targeted at mother's and babies and gives practical help (food, medicine) as well as training in nutrition, health care, and other useful skills. They also share the good news of Jesus with the mothers and as a result many women have come to know Jesus! Children who are in the this program usually move onto being sponsored children once they turn three .
The Leadership Development Program is a program for young people who have graduated from the sponsorship program, however it is a much more specialised program and only a handful of young adults are chosen to participate in it each year. The sponsorship they receive allows them to attend university and while their they also a Compassion based course in leadership and a bible college qualification as well! The young adults that are picked are aspiring leaders who are very involved with helping out in their communities. The LDP allows these young people a wonderful opportunity to reach their leadership potential and be even more of a help in their communities!
These are the three main programs Compassion is involved with but they also help out with disaster relief – like the 2010 Haiti earthquake or the terrible typhoon that has just hit the Philippines! They also have an unsponsored child's fund for providing for the children while they wait for a sponsor. If you want to help out either of these things then you can donate any amount of money and donate once off or on a monthly basis. If you want to support one of their main programs it is only $46NZ/38US a month for child sponsorship or $24NZ/$20 a month for the Child Survival Program. The Leadership Development Program is significantly more but still a great investment into a young person's life, it costs $361NZ/$300US.
Change a life today and SET A CHILD FREE FROM POVERTY IN JESUS' NAME!
P.s. check out this 4min promotional video clip which is about Compassion child sponsorship and features some people who used to be sponsored children!


Schools help: Best essay writing company uk % professional!
❶Then, you can get custom essays online, delivered directly to your email. Their customer service is too polite.
cwmetr.gq writes the best essays I've seen so far and I will recommend them to everyone. I ordered a term paper from a company they recommended – cwmetr.gq and I didn't regret it. UK essay-writing service.
personal responsibility essay. Best essay writing company uk as the college thesis. N. Ms essay best writing company uk creative writing cwmetr.gq lo discuss the nature of the application of muybridge photographs. The company has been rated the Best Writing Service in UK by experts, but also by students from all over the world. The team of writers is made up by experts with MA and PhD degrees from important universities.


text:
El Paso Electric employee caught on video yelling profanities about 'Mexicans' has been fired
Update: All lanes are now clear on Loop 375 after crash shutdown several lanes
UPDATE: All lanes are now clear.
ORIGINAL: A crash was reported, Friday at around 3:30 p.m., on Loop 375 at Montwood, according to El Paso Police.
All lanes are closed right now according to TxDot. The agency is asking all drivers to seek an alternate route.
Drivers are being allowed back on the loop at Edgemere.
TRAFFIC ALERT:
Loop 375 north @ Montwood, crash. All lanes closed. Traffic must exit Montwood. Plan alternate route. pic.twitter.com/pjW4eReVvZ
— TxDOT El Paso (@txdotelp) October 25, 2019
According to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, the crash involved an El Paso County Sheriff's Office Transport van. Two people in the van were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
KTSM Video Center
As some students return to the classroom, school districts work with local providers to vaccinate teachers and staff
Otero County Commissioners call for Couy Griffin's resignation, feds press charges
Star on the mountain lit in honor of those who died from COVID-19, part of national event
Renewed hope for undocumented immigrants, DACA recipients under Biden's immigration plan
Studies show money can make you happier
More El Paso News
More Local Stories
El Paso City Council approves funds for Aug. 3 memorial and public art plan
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) - Plans to create a permanent city version of an Aug. 3 memorial have life with funds allocated through this year's Public Art Plan.
City officials say some reallocation of funds from city projects and savings will go to implementing a new memorial to the traumatic events that unfolded at an East El Paso Walmart on Aug. 3, 2019. The city has allocated $250,000 for the project, which is expected to replace the current site.
by J Russell / Jan 20, 2021
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – A woman who was seen on a viral video yelling profanities about Mexicans has been let go from her position with El Paso Electric.
The woman, who was upset about paint splattered on her property. In the video, she appears to be on the phone and yelling at her neighbor, calling her "some Mexican lady" and "scumbag Mexicans."
by Karla Draksler / Jan 20, 2021
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) -- The inauguration of President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris being held in times of a pandemic is one with many firsts.
Dr. Todd Curry, associate professor of Political Science at UTEP, said inaugurations are historically known as a unifying moment for the country.


Eatin' tacos! Just kidding, I had to stop eating tacos so I would have time to listen to all of these new albums! Just look at them all down there! So many of them! And so many exclamation points! Necessary? Probably not!


American Water's iconic skyline signage, designed by CG, is adding sparkle to its new home on the Camden waterfront. The scale of the letters make them clearly visible from Penn's Landing, across the Delaware River. The $1 billion complex, developed by Liberty Property Trust and designed by Robert AM Stern, will be completed in 2019. American Water is the largest, publicly traded water company in America.
Notable: the illuminated letters can change color for special events or community celebrations.


text:
Reserves may aid buyouts
By Wang Xiaotian (China Daily)
China is in position to direct more foreign capital toward acquisitions
China is gearing up to channel more foreign reserves toward overseas acquisitions, a top banker has said.
Li Ruogu, chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of China, said the next two years would be a key period for Chinese enterprises to buy overseas assets from European and North American companies.
"We expect the State Administration of Foreign Exchange will set a higher foreign currency quota for us to support enterprises' overseas purchases," he told China Daily in an exclusive interview.
The Export-Import Bank of China is one of two major non-commercial banks, along with the China Development Bank, supporting Chinese enterprises going overseas.
Li said last year about one-third of the bank's total loans were in foreign currency, and he expected the ratio would rise to almost one half in 2012.
"In the next two years, Chinese enterprises have very good opportunities to purchase more national resources and financial institutions in emerging markets and Australia," Li said. "But that would be from the hands of players in Europe or the United States, as they've been severely influenced by the economic slowdown and debt plague," he said.
Li, also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks on the sidelines of the annual session of China's top political advisory body.
The Export-Import Bank of China is prominent in the African market while the Chinese Development Bank stands out in Latin America and Central Asia through backing local acquisitions by Chinese companies.
"We are planning to broaden overseas networks in Europe, US and Africa to strengthen support for increasing overseas acquisitions by Chinese enterprises," Li said.
It now has offices in France, Russia and South Africa.
According to Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, mergers and acquisitions by Chinese companies continued to be active in 2011, with transactions during the year increasing 5 percent to a record high 5,364.
It said more Chinese mainland enterprises will be seeking overseas acquisitions in 2012.
"We have noticed a rising demand from our clients to borrow foreign currency, especially dollar-denominated loans to make overseas purchases. But given that China still has restrictions for exchanging the yuan into other currencies, we could only lend out very limited loans in foreign currency," he said.
"The foreign exchange watchdog should not set any quota in that regard, given that the currency exchange with the non-commercial banks will not pose any investment risk to the foreign exchange reserves."
Li Jie said the move will reduce the central bank's yuan-denominated debts, and cut into the country's $3.2 trillion in foreign reserves, a result that China would like to see.
The large amount of foreign reserves will be increasingly challenging for China's asset management, said Yi Gang, deputy governor of the central bank and head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
He said as companies and individuals generate more willingness to obtain foreign currencies for overseas investment and purchases, the foreign reserves will decline naturally and the investment dilemma for the government will be eased.
Guo Tianyong, an economist at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said earlier that China should use its foreign reserves to back investment by domestic enterprises in the real economy overseas, rather than focusing on stable returns and risk control.
wangxiaotian@chinadaily.com.cn


text:
The Art & Science of Mountain Driving
July 3, 2019 • by Jim Park
Consider how much energy is required to get a loaded truck to the top of a mountain grade. An equal amount of energy must be dissipated in the form of heat to bring the truck safely down the mountain.
Photos: Jim Park
A truck driver can drive down a mountain 100 times too slowly, but only once too fast. An inexperienced driver on a steep grade could spell disaster unless properly trained.
In late April, a horrific truck crash occurred on Interstate 70 near Denver, Colorado. An apparently out-of-control truck careened down a 5-mile stretch of steep highway grade before slamming into a line of stopped traffic. Four people died in ensuing inferno; a dozen others were seriously injured. The speed limit for trucks on that hill is posted at 45 mph, yet witnesses have video showing the truck scorching past a runaway-truck ramp at well over 60 mph.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing at the time of this writing, but the driver's level of experience has already been called into question. Published reports indicate the driver, 23-year-old Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, of Houston, Texas, has had a commercial driver's license for less than three years and had only recently begun operating outside his home state. There's no indication of how much mountain driving experience he had, but it's safe to say he didn't get any mountain training when took his CDL course in Houston.
The Texas CDL training manual (and most others for that matter) has only 1.5 pages devoted to mountain driving, which is little more than a footnote to the full training curriculum. That's probably not much different from what many CDL trainees get.
There are few areas in the country that have hills, never mind mountains, big enough to train on. So many newly minted commercial drivers find themselves in places like Colorado and Western Pennsylvania and Washington without the benefit of a thorough understanding of how to manage long downhill grades in heavy trucks.
"Far too many commercial drivers today, 'bet the house' while descending steep grades," says Larry Hall, a veteran British Columbia-based owner-operator and organizer of a group calling itself ADEPT (Assembly of Drivers, Educators and Professional Truckers) that is trying to raise entry-level driving course standards across Canada. "Equipment today provides a false sense of security. With upwards of 600 horsepower of engine-braking ability, there seems to be little or no concern for the 'what if' scenario: What if the engine brake fails? What if you come around a corner and traffic is stopped or there is an animal standing in the lane? Those drivers have no Plan B."
Entry-level driver training is a hot topic today, with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration moving to establish training programs that adequately prepare new drivers for the real world. While most agree that it's a step in the right direction, entry-level training is just that. Mountain driving, like winter driving, is an advanced driving skill.
Related: What Went Wrong in Colorado's Deadly Truck Crash?
Long steep grades often have runaway truck ramps. They are sometimes are steep upgrades that will safely stop the truck, often they are "arrester beds" filled with loose gravel that grips the tires. You will not get a ticket for using a runaway ramp, but you may have to be towed out.
How do Flat-landers Teach Mountain Driving?
Karl's Transport of Antigo, Wisconsin, recently opened a training facility of its own to help get new drivers into the company ranks. It offers instruction to any prospective driver, but applicants are offered free tuition if they agree to work for the company for at least 18 months after obtaining their CDL. Tim Kordula, the school's chief CDL instructor and administrator, says the program lasts between eight and 10 weeks, depending on the progress of the students. He spends at least one full day discussing what he calls extreme driving, such as mountains, winter weather, and road construction.
5 Tips on How to Safely Descend a Mountain Grade
1. Make sure your brakes are properly adjusted and in good working order before venturing into mountainous terrain.
2. Slow way down or stop in a brake-check area at the top of the hill while the brakes are still cool.
3. Proceed down the hill in a gear that allows the truck to maintain a speed where the engine rpm is in the 1,800- to 2,000-rpm range in any of the three engine brake positions, depending on the steepness of the grade -- without making a service-brake application.
4. Avoid the temptation to upshift if you are seemingly going too slow. Use the engine brake to control vehicle speed. The grade might get steeper around the next curve.
5. Ignore the speed other drivers are doing. They may be lightly loaded, inexperienced, or driving dangerously fast for conditions.
"We don't have much in the way of mountains in northern Wisconsin, but since we run 48 states and Canada, our drivers need to know about mountains and weather and those more challenging parts of the job," he says. "We can't replicate the Colorado front range, but we do have a couple of hills near here with a 5% grade that we spend a day practicing on. I think that gives our students at least a sense of what the mountains are all about."
Kordula takes the students up and down those hills, practicing shifting and braking techniques as well as procedures at brake-check areas, still found at the top of many mountain grades.
"We cover brake inspection and adjustment, air compressor performance and why we use snub braking; that sort of thing," he says. "We talk about brake fade and runaway ramps, too. That's usually an eye-opener for the students."
The Challenge of Geography
Aside from the question of whether or not advanced driving skills can or should be taught in an entry-level program, there's the problem of geography. You can't do much more than lecture on mountain driving in many parts of the U.S., as the requisite terrain simply doesn't exist.
Andy Roberts owns and operates a driving school called Mountain Transport Institute in Castlegar, British Columbia, which is located in the Kootenay Mountain range in the southeastern part of the province. It's quite literally surrounded by mountains. MTI offers tractor-trailer driving instruction on several levels, from a five-week entry-level to an eight-week advanced course. It also offers a week-long mountain driving program that includes four hours of classroom instruction, two hours of shifting-simulator training, and 24 hours of in-truck instruction on the four mountain passes located near the school.
Perhaps surprisingly, even British Columbia does not include any formalized mountain driving training in its existing CDL training or testing. Roberts says the B.C. driver's handbook contains a couple of pages of decent information on the topic, but drivers are not necessarily tested on the material, and there's no mountain component to the driving test.
"My entry-level program includes at least one trip down a mountain grade, and my advanced students get two days out there," Roberts says. "It's not ideal, but at least the entry-level driver gets some exposure to the driving techniques required to drive safely in the mountains."
Signs such as this are helpful in alerting driver to the profile of the road ahead. Not all grades have such signs, and who could remember all that detail anyway?
Into the Unknown
Drivers exposed to mountains for the first time face a dilemma. They don't know what lies ahead and therefore won't be aware of what speed they should be traveling. Some grades have signs that display a profile of the hill; some signage offers ambiguous warnings such as, "Use Lower Gear" or "Slow Down" – but lower than what? How slow?
During the development phase of a tablet-based in-cab application designed to provide drivers guidance and warnings about the proper speeds to use on slopes and curves, research revealed that even experienced drivers consistently drive as much as 20 mph over what would be considered a safe descent speed on the mountain roads on which they were testing the app.
"In about half of the slope runs we observed, drivers reduced their speed by using brake snubbing to slow the truck but they still did not get down to the recommended safe descent speed," says Garth Lawrence, one of the developers of the Road-Aware app. "Many times, we saw drivers running 20 mph or more over the recommended safe descent speed, driving right past a runaway truck ramp that the Arizona DOT says is used about twice a week by runaway trucks."
Lawrence's observations produced some interesting insights into driver behavior when braking on long slopes. They understand the need to reduce speed, but they seem to be operating under a false sense of security. They underuse their engine brakes and snub or drag the service brake to check speed increases. This inevitably increases brake temperature, which reduces the brakes' stopping power – known as brake fade. Like the 100 times the driver may have descended that hill previously, they are still under control and still have some service braking capability left, even though it may be seriously diminished. But if on the 101st time down the hill an animal steps onto the road or they run into stopped traffic, the ability to stop is jeopardized.
The problem, Lawrence says, is that drivers are not using the safest method for descending hills. It's not a matter of driving at a given speed; drivers should be descending at a speed that allows them to use only the engine brake – no service brake applications at all.
If your brakes are already smoking and the brake pedal feels mushy, the brakes are already dangerously hot. You may not get a second chance at self-preservation.
Safe Mountain Descent Technique
That's the way Roberts instructs his students. He says drivers should not need to use the service brakes at all to slow the truck if they are driving at the appropriate speed. The engine brake provides the most retarding power at higher rpm, so keep the engine speed in the 1,800- to 2,000-rpm range. If this slows the truck too much, do not upshift, instead switch the engine brake to position 1 or 2.
"If you need a service brake application to check the speed, you're in too high a gear," he says. "Conversely, if you are running the engine brake at 1,500 to 1,600 rpm on position 3, you're in too low a gear.
"The steepness of the grade will vary, so toggle the engine brake between the three positions to maintain a safe steady speed. Use position 3 on the steeper portions, and toggle back to position 2 or 1 on the less-steep portions of the hill. If you're in the right gear you should not need to apply the service brakes to slow the truck."
In recent years, much emphasis has been placed on keeping engine rpm as low as possible to conserve fuel, which means to some drivers 1,800-2,000 rpm may seem like forbidden territory. You are not using any fuel when using the engine brake (no more than you would at idle). With the engine brake on, the engine is acting like a big air compressor that's driven by the momentum of the truck via the drive wheels. Teach drivers they can keep the engine speed high, and understand that fuel economy will not suffer.
Some automated transmissions are programmed to upshift automatically when engine speed reaches a certain point. While running the engine at 1,800-2,000 rpm, drivers may need to place the transmission in "manual" or "hold" mode to prevent an upshift. If they are going too fast to begin with, even at high rpm, the weight and speed of the truck coupled with the steepness of the grade may eventually cause the transmission to upshift to protect the engine from overspeed. The problem there is not an inadequate engine brake; it's that the truck is going too fast for the engine brake to maintain a safe speed.
"If you get into the wrong gear, the time to fix that is at the top of the hill before the brakes get too hot," adds Roberts.
The old bit of wisdom drivers once used, "use the same gear to come down the hill that you used when climbing the hill," doesn't always apply today.
"Engines are more powerful than they once were and may be capable of climbing faster than they can safely be driven down the hill," Roberts says. "Besides, you may have a different load on coming down than when you went up the hill, or you may have never been on that hill before."
The best course of action is still to choose a gear that will allow the truck to maintain a speed where the engine rpm is in the 1,800- to 2,000-rpm range in any of the three engine brake positions, depending on the steepness of the grade.
What About Disc Brakes?
All the technical detail we have discussed here, so far, relates to drum brakes. Drum brakes are subject to brake fade because excessive heat can change the friction properties of the lining and the drum expands as it gets hotter, causing increased stroke length and eventually diminished application force. Disc brakes are fundamentally different in that the rotor, which rotates between two brake pads, expands toward the friction material as it gets hotter, shortening the application stroke and actually improving brake performance.
If the tractor has discs and the trailer has drums, or vice versa, an imbalance situation could result where the disc-equipped vehicle is doing more of the work, causing those brakes to wear faster.
However, even with disc brakes, the weight and speed considerations still apply. A loaded truck barreling down a hill will need a much greater distance to stop than when operating on level ground. If you stick with Andy Roberts' advice on how to descend a mount grade, it won't matter if you have discs or drums because you won't be using any service brakes on the hill anyway, right?
Related: Whoa or Go? App Helps Prevent Rollovers, Brake Fade on Grades
Originally posted on Trucking Info
Read more about Drivers Driver Safety Fatal Accidents Driver Training Safety
Crane Industry Services Announces New Certification
The Leading Safety Works certification program is designed for construction and utilities managers.
Study Ranks Most Dangerous States to Drive
Some of the most dangerous states to drive included New Mexico, South Carolina, Arizona, Louisiana, and Texas.
Daimler Trucks Creates Compliance Role
Daimler Trucks North America LLC announced that Sean Waters has been promoted to the newly-created role of vice president of product compliance and regulatory affairs.
How GPS Tracking Solutions Improve Construction Fleet Safety
Do you face safety challenges with your construction vehicles and assets? Find out the strategies to overcome this challenge with a GPS tracking solution.
Kenworth, Peterbilt Trucks Recalled for Rear Axle Output Shafts
Paccar is recalling certain 2020 model-year Kenworth T800, T880, and W990 and Peterbilt 348, 367, 389, 520, and 567 vehicles.
Top Five Fleet Accident Descriptions
Fleet drivers said they experience most vehicle accidents when their parked assets are hit by non-fleet vehicles, an incident that is often the product of distracted driving but may also be a fabricated event by the drivers.
FMCSA Doubles Random Drug-Testing Percentage for 2020
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is doubling the minimum annual percentage rate for random controlled substance testing for commercial motor vehicle drivers, from 25% to 50% percent, effective Jan. 1.
800+ Pedestrians Killed on Freeways in 2018
More than 800 pedestrians were killed trying to cross a freeway in 2018, which represents a significant increase from a decade earlier, according to new research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.