I'm getting too old for this, but I hope I can finish this one last project/design before I'm forced out.
This is often from an extremely experienced coder/designer over 40. It's an old problem. It goes back to the 1970's even. But still today it's present even in the web industry. But why? Are we valuing the perceived spirit of creativity, youth and cheap labour over experience too much?
A while back I read (on dead tree material, sorry can't remember the book) a quote from some of the old time programmers (circa 1970's 1980's) about the professional life expectancy of a programmer. The discussion was along the lines; that due to various management policies not valuing skills over salary cost the life expectancy of a programmer was expected to be about 10-12 years.
After graduating a Programmer will raise through the ranks to the position of Analysis Programmer after a few projects, then onto Senior Analysis, and finally at about 35 they are retired out of programming full time into the ranks of Project Manager or maybe if they are lucky and have talent they get to become a Business Analyst. If they are talent less they end up as a generalist IT Manager or are forced out of the industry altogether. The lucky ones become hired guns and go consulting, but even this has a limited life span in which you can have your fun. Sean McCown discusses this in detail and the implications, so I'm not going into it here.
I know this is old school, maybe I'm showing my age (damnit I'm not that old). But let's consider this in an updated scenario.
Graduate Programmer after a while becomes a Senior Developer; they may become Project Lead, or Project Manager. Again by the time they are 35 years they are expect to be out of coding and starting down a management role where they can stagnant till they retire. It's a little sad really. The business experience, the people liaison skills, and the general systems architecture skills are all lost or not valued.
That's the coder done, what of the other side of the coin the designer. Well they are thrown away at a faster rate, on average a designer (I'm told) is swashed up at 25. And it's very rare to find a designer working (besides freelance or as the boss) in a creative front line position beyond 30. Sure they get assigned as creative lead and later as CDs but they are considered really just directors (in the film sense) of the projects and not the talent that is on a ground doing it all. So for 3 years study we have effective hands on career of 4-9yrs that's disgusting; it's not a physical industry like the dance industry. Consider the great artists did their Masterpieces into middle age, what the hell we are doing, killing of the creative spirit just when it's starting to flow.
I'm excluding small firms, consultants and micro business from this mix. As they often have complete different often non standard staffing requirements and are more to do with the personality of the directors than the any professional career path.
But let's consider them in detail anyway. Are smaller web firms much different? Okay some are, some are not. A lot of web firms will favour younger staff over older ones as they basically are cheaper and work long hours and don't have any of those annoying hang-ups like families / partners or any major social life, you know the social commitments. And if they do the pressure is usually on to commit to the firm 110% and basically live at the office. I'll have some advice on this all "work no play" attitude in a later post.
The question is why we ship our staff off to the management retirement farm or out of the industry with burnout at 30-40. As I don't fit this mold I have often wondered about this.
But the other day someone mentioned they gave up coding at 40 because they could no longer develop as fast as the young guns and they couldn't keep the big picture of the overall code structure and modularity of how it all came together in their head anymore.
Then a friend from way back, who is a designer, tells me she is giving up after 10 years of brilliant work. She says she can't get the drive, the muse, the emotion into her designs; she's just burnt out. Even after an extended time away from the industry she's drained and can't come up with the "exciting new designs" within the tight time frames.
This made me think. Is this just an excuse? Or is it that they are under pressure to forgo family and trappings of settling down (like a mortgage), like their younger co-workers. Is it the extremely smaller timeframe we are putting the creatives under?
If it's not the above employer pressure then is the statement true.
Do you suddenly turn 40 and you loose the ability to think logically and on a complex level, or find/discover that next design.
Coders say it get harder to have relearn a new syntax for the language / framework flavour of the year (note Ruby this year), but I think its gets easier. Then you tend from a design view to internally push yourself to create something radically new, which you know is not really possible, but then you do get technically quicker at the design process once you have the design picture in your head.
But then again I know some gun coders/designers at 40-45, so maybe its just personality and lifestyle change that comes with family, 2.345 kids and social commitment. You mellow and you just don't have that drive anymore. Does the late nights and focus on work alone of youth equate to creative drive?
If it is general social commitment that slows use down then what can we do about it? Besides the family friendly workplace (that's another post too).
We all know the web industry has an extremely rapid cycle of knowledge turn over. This results in a massive self-education requirement every year. This has been rated from 40 to 100 hours a year (not much really only 2 hours a week), personally I would see it as more like 150 to 200 hours a year. Anyway the figure is high, higher than your accountant, your network engineer, your desktop programmer, it's up there with doctors and lawyers.
As previously discussed the industry doesn't in general seem to be able to keep up with the best practice standards than we are often touting. So if we can't stay up to date, is the web industry breeding a group of people that are all destined to burn out or become redundant very quickly? Is the web industry become a product of our throw away society, but now we are throwing away developers and designers.
Do we need to foster and encourage our fellow designers and developers to get back that self-starter mentality that they had when they where young. And take up the burden of self-education again. Or do we just let them stagnate and slip into the roles that keep the admin johnnies of the world happy.
Should we all just shut up shop and stop coding / designing after we reach the age of 40 and go operate lawn mover rounds, as we are all past it and we are just kidding ourselves that we are not?
Remember that old not so hip guy at the end of the bar trying to be forever young, that will be you someday. Think about it.


text:
Cheonan–Asan station  is a ground-level train station located mostly in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do, although part of it lies in the neighboring city of Cheonan.  This station serves high-speed KTX trains that run from Seoul to either Busan or Mokpo.  It is connected to (and it is possible to transfer to trains which stop at) Asan station, a railway station on the Janghang Line which is also served by Line 1 of the Seoul Subway.

History
The location of Cheonan–Asan was finalised on June 14, 1993, though construction did not begin until July 22, 1996.  The planned name of "Onyangoncheon" was changed to "Cheonan–Asan" on November 20, 2003, and the station building was completed on March 27 the following year.  The station opened for business four days later, on April 1, 2004.

On March 30, 2007, Asan station was opened as a transfer station on the Janghang Line, soon to be integrated into the latest extension of Line 1 of the Seoul Subway.

Services
Cheonan–Asan station serves select KTX trains on the Gyeongbu High Speed Railway and Honam High Speed Railway lines. (KTX services calling at Suwon do not pass through Cheonan–Asan, and not all KTX trains that do pass through will stop at this station).

Station layout

Gallery

See also
 Transportation in South Korea
 Korail
 KTX

References

External links
 Cheonan–Asan Station on Doas
Korea Train eXpress
Route Map
 Cheonan–Asan station information from Korail

Railway stations in South Chungcheong Province
Railway stations opened in 2004
Korea Train Express stations

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Richard Honour
Opinion: We're making a mess in our forests with our sewage sludge.
The spreading of sewage sludge carries considerable risk and should be stopped. As scientists, we are increasingly concerned with this reckless practice.
Richard Honour, Steven R. Vincent
SNOQUALMIE, Wash.—Out in the Snoqualmie forests of eastern King County, on the west side of the Cascades, the ground is black and mucky. It's an unnatural scene with a toilet-bowl stench.
And it comes from tons upon tons— about 120,000 tons a year—of sewage sludge that King County, home of Seattle and more than 2 million people, disposes of annually in these forests and on farms and rangelands of central and eastern Washington.
This sludge, known euphemistically as "biosolids," consists of semi-liquid waste obtained from the processing of municipal sewage. The goal of this process is to obtain clean water to release into the environment, and thus, the cleaner the water, the more toxins and contaminants are retained in the sludge. This sludge is used to be dumped into the ocean, but because of its toxicity this process is banned. Instead we now spread it in our forests and on our agricultural lands.
The spreading of this sludge carries considerable risk and should be stopped. As scientists, we are increasingly concerned with this reckless practice.
An unimaginably large number of chemical and biological contaminants exist in sewage sludge, and many persist for decades after disposal. Scientific investigations have identified only a tiny fraction of the total contaminant load. We cannot describe with any confidence the true range of contaminant risk from the sludge. Call it an "unknown unknown."
But we get an idea of the potential synergistic interactions from the contaminants that we do know.
To illustrate the difficulties, take just one group of persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic compounds known to be in sewage sludge at high concentrations: brominated flame retardants. Perhaps the most well known sub-class of the brominated flame retardants are called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). There are 209 different PBDEs, each of which has a unique toxicology and environmental fate.
Our initial analyses—not yet published—revealed high concentrations of PBDEs in the soil and water of forests "treated" with sludge.
PBDEs have been studied around the world for several decades, yet we still have a poor understanding of the true risks from their release into the environment. We have, for instance, no definite information on how PBDEs affect human health. But research on laboratory animals suggests an array of adverse health impacts, including thyroid hormone disruption, delayed puberty, learning impairments and behavioral changes.
Not surprisingly, we also find polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, compounds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned in 1979 because of their lengthy residence time in the environment and their link to cancer and birth defects in lab studies. The PCB family also has 209 different members, all with varying degrees of toxicity. There are another 210 chlorinated dioxins and dioxin-like "congeners," also found in some sludges.
These are just the contaminants we have identified. To refer to our current knowledge as the tip of the iceberg would grossly overestimate what we actually know.
Meanwhile the sludging continues. The sludge is hauled by tandem dump trucks into the forest via old logging roads, where it is dumped into skids and then loaded into spreaders.
Credit: Richard Honour
These monster vehicles drive along secondary access trails while slinging the sludge up the trees, as high as 35 feet up and into the forest. They often hit the streams and wetlands in the process, because drivers cannot see what they are doing. It is a mess, with uncontrolled rates of application.
Rain spreads the sludge into and across the forest soils, drains it into numerous streams and wetlands, ultimately carrying the contaminants into the Snoqualmie River and other waters, and on to Puget Sound.
The mass killing is difficult to comprehend. This sludge kills many forms of wildlife: snakes, lizards, newts, insects, moles, shrews—a clear case of ecosystem disruption. The sludge attracts masses of flies, gnats, mosquitos and other insects, which breed in the sludge and in the sludge puddles and pools, and then die from the contaminants. It is toxic waste.
The science surrounding sewage sludge is unacceptably sparse. Either the reviews are out-of-date and incomplete, failing to account for all that we do know about emerging contaminants and what we don't know, or they are written more as promotional materials for the sludge disposal industry in an attempt to sell the product.
We must stop this madness. Municipalities and regional sewage districts look eagerly at the revenue stream from selling their sludge. An entire industry has sprouted—Big Sludge—to market and sell this allegedly "non-toxic" resource. They fail to disclose to taxpayers the considerable risks from the contamination of lands and waterways. The science does not agree with this oversimplification.
Out in the Snoqualmie forests, a deep, oily, wet layer of sludge has sealed the soil in this patch of woods. The vibrant soil microbiology has gone anaerobic, generating methane and other greenhouse gases. A video shows the bleakness; pardon the sneeze in the middle—the fumes are overwhelming.
As sickening as this stench is, the denial of state, regional and county officials who fail to take a precautionary approach to biosolids is every bit as nauseating. We will all pay for this in the long run.
Read the Full Article on www.environmentalhealthnews.org
Other_birth_defects Sewage_systems toxification Sewage_sludge Forest biodiversity_forests Endocrine_disruption Soil_sediment Surface_water Water Altered_puberty Birth_defect domestic Ocean Biological Cognitive_neurological_behavioral Flame_retardants PCBs Cancer waterQualityQuantity Greenhouse_gases Automobile_trucks edcs Arthropods Wetland soil_quality interplay

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Johanna Konta reaches third round of Silicon Valley Classic
Johanna Konta eased past American Sofia Kenin to reach the quarter-finals of the Silicon Valley Classic.
A day after inflicting the worst defeat of Serena Williams' career, British number one Konta struck nine aces in a 6-1 6-4 victory.
"I approached the match as a separate challenge," said Konta, 27. "Every tournament that I go into, I want to be there until the very end."
Konta will face fourth seed Elise Mertens of Belgium next.
Mertens reached the last eight with a 6-2 6-0 victory over American wildcard Ashley Kratzer.
Konta added: "[Mertens is] a great player. She has been playing very well consistently this season, and that is a big task and she is been doing that so well."
Spain's top seed Garbine Muguruza withdrew before her second-round match against former world number one Victoria Azarenka because of an arm injury.
Belarusian Azarenka instead faced lucky loser Anna Blinkova, 19, of Russia and needed less than an hour to complete a 6-1 6-0 thrashing. She plays Danielle Collins next.
At the Citi Open in Washington, Britain's Katie Boulter was 6-4 4-4 down on American Allie Kiick in their second-round tie before play was suspended due to rain.
Sloane Stephens' preparations for her US Open title defence suffered a setback when she was shocked 2-6 6-4 6-2 by German Andrea Petkovic.
In the men's draw, former world number one Andy Murray took another big step in his comeback from hip surgery by beating fellow Briton Kyle Edmund 7-6 (7-4) 1-6 6-4 to reach the third round.
Silicon Valley Classic.


Guests celebrating their honeymoon with us will receive Bottle of sparkling wine and flower petals in room on day of arrival.
To receive this offer, just enter ""FH-2019"" in the Special Service Request section during check-out or call our Customer Care Center and we will be happy to make the notation for you.
Important Information: Proof of marriage must be provided at check-in.
Free "Simply Elegant Wedding Package"!
Qualifying couples will receive a Free ""Simply Elegant Wedding Package"".
To receive this offer, just enter ""FSE-WED19"" in the Special Service Request section during check-out or call our Customer Care Center and we will be happy to make the notation for you.
Important information: Only two weddings per day are performed, please contract customer care center to make a reservation.
Qualifying couples will receive a Free "Simply Elegant Wedding Package".
Colorful and vibrant, this alluring beachfront getaway offers a seductive Caribbean charm amidst gracious amenities and comfortable guestrooms. A pleasant home away from home, its relaxed ambience appeals to families and couples alike through fun-filled activities at the kid's club, a three-tiered freshwater pool, unique restaurants and beautiful gardens.
All rooms are Non Smoking. Smoking is permitted outside the guestrooms in designated public areas. If non compliant, a cleaning charge of $200 will be added to bill at check out.
A new mandatory Barbados Government tax known as "hotel levy charge" will be applied to all guests. The amount of the levy is $9.63 USD per bedroom per night and it will be charged locally, directly to guests and collected at check-in or check-out. Please note that the amount of this fee is subject to change at any time without prior notification.
Current Renovations: Description: All rooms are Non Smoking. Smoking is permitted outside the guestrooms in designated public areas. If non compliant, a cleaning charge of $200 will be added to bill at check out.
All rooms are Non Smoking. Smoking is permitted outside the guestrooms in designated public areas. If non compliant, a cleaning charge will be added to bill at check out.
Bedding -1 King bed or 2 twin beds.
Occupancy limits - 2 adults, 1 child, 3 total.
Maximum of 1 child under two years of age stays free in existing beds with 1 adult.
Bedding - 1 King bed or 2 twin beds.
The Cave Bar - Walk up service, or swim up through the waterfall.
Drifters Beach Bar - Beachfront bar.
Drifters Beach Bar - Open for lunch (BBQ and snacks) and dinner. No dress code required.
Drifters Beach Bar - This open-air informal restaurant .
Offers a variety of activities from tennis and team games, to tie-dye and jewelry making, to sand castle building.
Additional fees apply for program participation.
There are 3 pools on site. This Property has Swim up Bars.


"That`s the martial art I think would be good to start" said my Ju Jitsu teacher after class one evening. Dave Butler sensei invited the class to view a video – which I discovered much later was called "Budo, The Art of Killing" – a commercial video production with a whole range of martial arts film segments, including one about Aikido. I kept in mind what Butler sensei had said, even after classes with him finished (and which ended up being for just a few months), as he and his family re-located to Christchurch. It was to be some years before the name Aikido came up again. In the mean time, I was busy establishing my psychiatric nursing career at Kingseat Hospital near Papakura. Starting martial arts was in part prompted by an interest in knowing more about self–defence. Occasionally I tried to find a copy of that video, but got nowhere.
What good is it that we train hard and strive to achieve the harmony of energy on the mat, if it is lost once we step out of the dojo? Understanding O-Sensei`s message through practice is Aikido`s essence. I have travelled along that path for a while now, sometimes unsure of what direction to take, and at other times amazed at the wonder of it all. Blending with Danny, and Barry from Rotorua, in a timeless nage-becomes-uke-becomes-nage practice under Richard Moon sensei – or being drawn into a vortex as uke by Suzuki Sensei….Enjoying the laughter of children`s classes.
Much more recently, Henry sensei, Mike and Danny have all been to the Mitcham dojo, as well as Conrad Edwards from Wellington on two occasions. Their visits have offered new insights to my students who I can see have seen the possibilities of aiki for themselves, now that we have been going for 2 1/2 years.
My old school friend Maurice Perry was the first to sign up as a new student. He and I have remained friends over all the years since we met as 15 year olds at our church youth club and being at the same high school here in Melbourne. Now there are 8 regular students making progress and training hard. I see the challenges and doubts, and the "wow" moments when some new understanding happens. We have blue tumble mats and I have taken to asking them to consider that the training surface is like infinity of possibilities where opening up to new experiences is an essential part of the path. As Nadeau sensei says – learn to work to the next dimension!
And I did finally come across a copy of that video – discovering yet another connection – the Aikido segment was of Shioda sensei – and David Lynch was taking ukemi. ! I always smile about that when I think about it, having come to know and respect David so much over the years. And those people who have passed on – Ron Russell, and Adam Cooper – that 11 year old who started in the children`s class in Rotorua – and who amazed us all so much.
The meaning of aiki springs from the commitment each of us brings to training – and in the practice with our partners on the mat. My direct teachers over the years have each in their turn given me so much. Clyde Sutton, Mike Ashwell, and Dianne Haynes. I am very grateful to the many people whom I have met along the way in my journey on the path of aiki. I have become a better person for it.


text:
Homes England to launch new framework to help speed up the a delivery of new homes
At the end of this month Homes England launches the procurement of its new Multidisciplinary and Technical Services Frameworks, which will broaden the range of technical and design services available to support Homes England's and other public bodies' work to accelerate the supply of new homes
The frameworks will provide direct access to professional, technical and design services, building the strong working relationships needed with these service providers to prepare land for housing development and disposal to the market.
The frameworks will provide Homes England, and other public sector bodies, with an OJEU compliant and efficient means to procure technical and design services, helping support the government's ambition to deliver 300,000 homes a year by the middle of the next decade.
Stephen Kinsella, Director for Land at Homes England said: "This will be the fifth generation of our multidisciplinary framework and our biggest yet, demonstrating Homes England's expanded role in bringing together land and expertise to speed up the building of new homes.
"We want to create strong working relationships with a wider range of companies who can provide valuable technical advice and design expertise to help accelerate housing development, deliver value for money and great places to live."
Valued at £150m, the new frameworks with replace Homes England's current framework that expires in November 2018.
Homes England will make the frameworks available to other public sector bodies, for example local authorities, to help them procure specialist technical services and develop homes for their residents. Our frameworks have been used by over 300 other public bodies.
The new frameworks will have an underpinning Multidisciplinary Framework, which will act as a one stop shop to procure a range of integrated technical and design services from a single source. Homes England has operated this arrangement successfully in the past, which will enable the organisation to continue to work with companies and their specialist sub-consultant teams.
The Multidisciplinary Framework will also be supplemented by a range of specialist frameworks to meet specific future needs and enable Homes England to engage directly with a broader range of companies. These specialist frameworks will consist of:
• Five regionally based frameworks to provide planning, masterplanning and consultation services to help us obtain planning permission on Homes England sites. This will enable Homes England's regional delivery teams to engage directly with consultants with sound regional knowledge and experience.
• A project, cost management and development monitoring framework which will support Homes England's investment activities and also provide more general project and cost management advice aligned to housing development and regeneration.
• Specialist site survey and asbestos frameworks to provide very specific services to enable Homes England to quickly prepare brownfield land for development.
The Multidisciplinary and Technical Frameworks supplement the services provided by Homes England's £150m Property Framework and our £8bn Housing Development Framework Delivery Partner Panel 3 (DPP3).


text:
Eight is enough! IT's biggest frenemies
BlackBerry Z10 review: The BlackBerry we've wanted is finally here
Mobile management morphs
BYOD, or else: Companies will soon require that workers use their own...
BYOD blues: What to do when employees leave
Layoffs, terminations, resignations -- here's how not to get burned when employees leave with their devices
By Lisa Schmeiser
Contributor, InfoWorld |
The bring your own device (BYOD) trend is gaining steam, thanks to the cost benefits and increased productivity that can come from allowing employees to provision their own technology. Mobile workers are more likely to put in more hours, so if your employees want to buy their own equipment and do more work on their own time, it's a win for the company.
At least, a BYOD-practicing workforce seems like a win right until you have to let one of your BYOD workers go and there's no easy way to ask if you can please see their iPad for a moment because you want to check if there's anything on their personal device that doesn't belong to them.
[ For iOS, Android, BlackBerry OS, and Windows Phone: Learn how to manage mobile devices in InfoWorld's 20-page BYOD and Mobile Management Deep Dive PDF special report. | Subscribe to InfoWorld's Consumerization of IT newsletter today. ]
As more workplaces embrace BYOD practices, they'll increasingly confront the question of how to balance the benefits of a self-provisioned workforce against the risks of company assets walking out the door when workers are let go. What can IT departments currently do to minimize risk when BYOD-practicing employees are laid off? What practices and policies can they put in place to make future departures as smooth as possible?
BYOD layoffs: What you can do now
It's a fact that some data always walks with the employees: email addresses of business contacts, or knowledge of the organization's key business practices and initiatives. In the old days, people slipped files into their briefcases. Digital files just mean that copying and moving information can be done quickly.
Skip through the denial and anger stages and just accept that some data is inherently more vulnerable than others, and it's that vulnerable data, such as emails, that will be walking out the door.
"There's no definitive way to get on to a [departing] employee's personal devices and undo what's been done," says Joshua Weiss, CEO of mobile application development firm TeliApp. "And if your workers have been using off-the-shelf solutions like Dropbox, it's virtually impossible with some sort of exit interview."
Rick Veague, CTO of IFS Technologies, says that you can sift structured communications data into three distinct categories: email, files that could contain company information, and mobile data. Once you've sifted out the data, you can figure out whether your soon-to-be-ex employee is really in danger of walking out with the company's assets on an iPad.
"Mobile data is a big problem, so it's time to start compartmentalizing risks. This way, you can find a balance between the benefits of a [BYOD] workforce and the risks," Veague says.
And how can your IT department manage the risks without cutting into the perceived BYOD benefits? By planning ahead for the next employee departure.
BYOD layoffs: Plan for the future
If your company is in the happy position of not having to lay anyone off in the near future, then you have time to get a game plan together. Here is a rundown of policies and practices you should consider implementing to make the unfortunate event go more smoothly, while mitigating company risk.
Have a written BYOD policy
This is a simple idea in theory, but not an easy one in practice. TeliApp's Weiss says that it took his company three months to come up with their current policy. "It started off as a simple paragraph and turned into what felt like a three-page demand letter," he says.
Why did it take so long? TeliApp treated it like a software development project. After that one paragraph, Weiss and his management team began compiling what-if scenarios and incorporating them into the policy -- what Weiss calls the policy's "alpha testing." Once the team discovered they hadn't thought of everything, they expanded the BYOD policy to include the real-life situations that arose. After this beta period, the policy was set.
For managers looking to establish a BYOD policy, here are some of the issues to consider:
Defining "acceptable business use" for the device, such as which activities are determined to directly or indirectly benefit the business.
Defining the limits of "acceptable personal use" on company time, such as whether employees will be able to play Angry Birds or load their Kindle's ebook collection.
Defining which apps are allowed or which are not.
Defining which company resources (email, calendars, and so on) may be accessed via a personal device.
Defining which behaviors won't be tolerated under the rubric of doing business, such as using the device to harass others on company time, or texting and checking email while driving.
Listing which devices IT will allow to access their networks (it helps to be as specific as possible with models, operating systems, and versions).
Determining when devices are presented to IT for proper configuration of employment-specific applications and accounts on the device.
Outlining the reimbursement policies for costs, such as the purchase of devices and/or software, the worker's mobile coverage, and roaming charges.
Listing security requirements for devices that must be met before personal devices are allowed to connect to company networks.
Listing the what-ifs, including what to do if a device is lost or stolen, what to expect after five failed logins to the device or to a specific application, and what liabilities and risks the employee assumes for physical maintenance of the device.
Consider other employee policies
Most companies have established noncompete, confidentiality, and nondisclosure agreements. With these legal protections in place, Weiss says, your employees are already constrained from walking off with a company's intellectual property and using it for their personal gain.
Monitor where your data is going
This is where IT can shine. By setting up shared company file servers and as well as protocols for who can access files and how, IT can monitor people accessing any locally hosted files.
Weiss says that TeliApp runs on the understanding that anything on the company server is company property, and so users don't copy files to their desktops. If someone does copy a file, the action is immediately logged and remedied. "Everyone understands the policy after their first well-meaning screw-up," Weiss says.
Try to keep data off local devices
When choosing applications and services, make sure a lot of data can't be downloaded and saved to local devices. One of the keys to minimizing risk in a BYOD workplace is restricting user access to networks and central repositories. You'll want to find tools that can sync all user data to a central account that an administrator controls access to. You'll also want to find ways to place intermediary technologies between the company network and employee devices. It will ultimately reduce IT's workload and add a layer of security to the company's networks.
"If you mobile-enable users and they have access to your enterprise data in an unrestricted fashion, you have to actively manage that device, which is difficult to do," Veague says.
One example of a cloud-based service that can minimize risk to the BYOD workplace: YouMail. The voicemail service stores all its customers' voicemails and call history in the cloud, so an employer who has YouMail as its voicemail standard will retain contact information and voicemail content even after an individual user leaves. The downside? In the current business-class offerings, users can still access their old accounts. However, in a forthcoming enterprise product, which is still in private beta, but aiming for customer deployment by the end of the summer, an administrator will be able to activate and deactivate individual user accounts.
You'll also want tools that let an administrator remotely wipe or delete an account. This way, former workers can maintain their device, yet they will no longer have access to their old accounts in certain apps.
Find applications that minimize the amount of data that's downloaded to any mobile device, Veague suggests, and follow this rule of thumb: "If you can't access the app, you can't access the data." If this rule is followed, then all an IT admin has to do when an employee leaves is shut off the individual user account; the data remains safe.
Do sweeps regularly
One of the downsides of a self-provisioning workforce is that not every worker is going to be as assiduous about application updates, security measures, and backups as a dedicated IT professional is. So have IT step in and do regular security check-ups on any devices that are allowed to access company networks. Because security requirements will be written into any BYOD policy, users will know that their devices are going to be scanned and updated regularly.
Hire carefully
This last step may be out of IT's hands, but it is often the first step in avoiding any problems. Weiss says, "You have to know who you're hiring -- it all comes down to that. If you don't think a person's trustworthy, regardless of what their credentials are, then don't hire them."
With these steps in place, the risks of letting employees provision their own hardware are managed in a way that lets IT professionals still maintain their primary responsibilities to a company without being perceived as an obstacle for mobile-mad employees to work around. And being seen as business-friendly while also protecting the business? That's the real win-win when you think about employees' departures as you're bringing both them and their devices on board.
This story, "BYOD blues: What to do when employees leave," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in Consumerization of IT at InfoWorld.com. For the latest developments in business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.
Lisa Schmeiser is a San Francisco-based reporter, editor and blogger. She also publishes a thrice-weekly news digest, So What, Who Cares? , and podcasts regularly at The Incomparable.
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Stay Away from the sun during the peak hours of 10 am and 4 pm, Block the sun with sunscreen, Cover up with hats, sunglasses, and a long-sleeved shirt, and Seek shade when outdoors.
No tan is a healthy tan! Dermatologists recommend using a sunblock with a minimum of SPF 15. If you or your child has fair skin, light colored eyes and hair, freckles, or spends a lot of time outdoors, consider using an SPF 30 or higher. The effects of a sunburn in childhood can lead to skin cancer later in life. Sunburn prevention needs to start early. The goal is not to scare people out of the sun, but to teach them how to enjoy the sun safely. Protect Beverly kids!
Slip ~ Slop ~ Slap!!
Remember - Slip! on a shirt, Slop! on some sunscreen and Slap! on a hat. You've only got one skin. Don't let a sunburn ruin your fun!


Involved in a Serious Bike Accident?
Every time you choose to ride a bicycle, you are unfortunately assuming a certain amount of risk. However, if another individual chooses to be negligent in their actions — putting the cyclist in harm's way — the victim may be entitled to recover damages from the negligent party. In California, roads create confusing and therefore hazardous conditions for cyclist and motorists alike. Although both modes of transportation must follow the main traffic laws, the way these laws affect a victim differs slightly. This is where a San Jose bike accident lawyer can help your case.
Based in San Jose, California, the experienced attorneys at Needham Kepner & Fish, LLP assist people throughout the San Francisco Bay Area who have suffered injuries in a bicycle accident. We have experience assisting in many different types of bike accident cases and can ensure that, no matter what situation you find yourself in, your rights are not being violated. Below are answers to questions we often receive about bicycle accidents. For further information, or to speak with a San Jose bike accident lawyer, please contact us today.
Q: What Do I Do in the Event of a Severe Bike Accident?
If you are involved in a serious accident, the first thing that you need to do is seek any necessary medical attention. Your health is most important. Even if you feel as though you are not able to pay for the necessary treatment, choosing to avoid treatment could end up costing you more than your opportunity to recover compensation — it could cost you your life. At the time of the accident, if you are able to do so, then it is important to contact the police.
Even if you are partially at fault for the accident, expert testimony can help prove what exactly happened. Photograph the site, including damage to persons and vehicles, and take physical evidence as soon as possible. It is also important to keep a written and detailed record of your memories of the incident as soon as you are able. Additionally, make sure to gather information from the driver and all available witnesses. Then, after you are safe, contact a bicycle accident lawyer.
Q: Who Is Responsible If a Defective Road Caused My Accident?
You can sue the government entity in charge of maintaining a roadway if your bike accident occurred because the road was dangerous as a result of poor maintenance, defective construction, poor signage or other unsafe conditions. There are, however, greater limits and difficulties when suing the government (e.g., a city, county or the state) as opposed to a person or business. Generally, California law gives you two years after an injury to file suit against a private person or private business. To sue the state government, however, you must provide written notice of your claim to the proper public entity or entities within six months of the accident, a much shorter deadline.
Unlike pedestrians, bicyclists do not have the right of way at an intersection. Rather, bicycle riders must follow the same rules as cars. This includes obeying traffic lights and stop signs as well as yielding to pedestrians.
Q: If I Violate a Traffic Regulation, Can I Still Recover Damages for My Injuries?
Under California's comparative negligence law, you can still recover damages even if you were partially at fault. However, your damages will be reduced by the percentage you were at fault. For example, if you failed to yield and that failure is determined to be 20 percent responsible for the accident, your recovery would be reduced by 20 percent. For these and other reasons, it is in your best interest to contact a bike accident lawyer as soon as possible after a crash. Our California bicycle accident lawyers will investigate all possible causes of your accident in order to maximize your claim.
California requires bicyclists younger than 18 to wear helmets. Even though adult riders are not required to wear helmets in most of California, it is still a good idea to wear one. A properly fitting helmet can greatly reduce the risk of serious head injuries if you are involved in a crash. Some cities and counties extend the helmet requirement to riders of all ages.
Q: How Long Do I Have to File a Claim After a Bicycle Accident?
Typically, you have two years from the date of the incident with a negligent party to file a claim. However, if a public or government entity is in any way responsible for the accident, then the claim must be filed with the proper public entity or entities within six months. There are also unique rules and timelines when a child is involved in an incident. Generally, it is wise to not wait long before making a claim because evidence can be lost and the exact details of the accident may become more difficult to prove after the passage of time.
Q: How Can Our Bike Accident Lawyers Help You?
In the event of a bike accident, you may feel like you do not have many options for recovery. Without the help of a San Jose bike injury lawyer, you may be left thinking that your only option is to pay out of pocket and go through your own personal insurance. This is not always the case. Our experienced legal team has been serving the Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo counties for decades. We are willing to fight for the rights of our neighbors. Contact us today for a free consultation and learn how we can assist you.


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Superdry's unisex 'STADIUM' jogger shorts feature Superdry Athletics branding down both sides, a drawstring waist, two front zip fastened pockets and one single pocket at the rear. The Stadium shorts are finished with a Superdry Athletics logo tab on the rear pocket. Available in red and grey.


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Search in titles only Search in General Discussion only
the only way Ford beats GM
SpiderGearsMan replied
that company hasn't been the same since bill odom retired as head of ford credit
ford lol ....the b team
SuperBuickGuy started a topic the only way Ford beats GM
Ford Marketing Head: "Fuck GM"
http://jalopnik.com/5823432/ford-marketing-head-####-gm
Ford's chief marketer Jim Farley has overseen some of the company's most important successes of the past few years, ones that have made it the most profitable automaker in America. How does he get motivated? By vowing to "fuck GM." UPDATED
apparently Ford is still trying to find a way to beat GM, they may, however, have found success
you will have to replace the 4 # signs in the link with a 4 letter word that starts with F besides Ford (yet means the same thing)
Last edited by SuperBuickGuy; July 22, 2011, 10:35 AM.


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BlackBerry Offers Radar Asset-Tracking Solution with Pana-Pacific
December 18, 2017 • by Staff • Bookmark +
Screenshot via Blackberry
Blackberry and Pana-Pacific have announced that Blackberry Radar, an asset-tracking solution, will be made available to more than 2,800 heavy-duty truck dealerships across North America.
As part of the agreement, Pana-Pacific's customers will have access to BlackBerry's Radar-M, which is designed for trailers and containers, as well as Radar-L, which is designed for flatbeds, chassis, containers, heavy machinery, and other valuable transportation or non-powered equipment assets.
Blackberry said the Radar solution would be avialable through retail by the third week of January. The hardware portion of Radar carries a one-time fee and the software tracking service and analytics are available by subscription.
"At Pana-Pacific, we strive to offer unique products and programs that exceed the needs and expectations of our commercial vehicle customers," said John Trenberth, CEO. "We decided to add BlackBerry Radar to our portfolio because we believe the near-real-time information it provides will empower our customers to make better business decisions and improve the overall performance of their transportation operations."
Blackberry said it collects up to 100 times more data than conventional GPS-based track and trace solutions, and uses this information to build a fuller visualization of a customer's assets to ensure safety, security, and regulatory compliance. All data is stored securely on a cloud platform, which maintains the privacy of user information at all times.
"BlackBerry Radar allows fleet managers and equipment owners to make smarter decisions for their business, saving time, money and resources," said Philip Poulidis, senior vice president and general manager of Radar at BlackBerry. "We're excited to partner with forward-thinking companies, like Pana-Pacific, who realize the value that technology and actionable data can provide to the transportation and logistics industry."
Related: BlackBerry Offers Asset Tracking for Trucking
Read more about Analytics Asset Tracking BlackBerry Limited BlackBerry Radar


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Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Positive Features and Ominous Signs
Mainstream, VOL LVI No 48 New Delhi November 17, 2018
Positive Features and Ominous Signs
Sunday 18 November 2018, by SC
As the process of State Assembly elections is set in motion, one special feature of these polls has come out in bold relief in the first phase. One of the States where elections are taking place is Chhattisgarh. Out of the 18 constituencies that went to the polls in the first round in the State, the turnout was as high as 76.28 per cent, definitely significant since eight districts in this State are affected by extreme Left insurgency and the Maoists had given a call for poll boycott to enforce which they had resorted to coercion in the form of violence. Whereas in the past two weeks there were at least six Maoist attacks wherein 14 persons, including a photo-journalist, were killed, on polling day six Maoists were killed and five security personnel and a civilian were injured in two incidents. Yet the polling was not affected by such acts of violence.
As The Indian Express editorially asserts:
Maoism in India has got more and more militarised and, notwithstanding the loose talk about "urban Naxals", its influence is now limited to inaccessible pockets of central India. The support Maoism commands even in its strongholds is sustained mostly by fear of the gun. The indiscriminate attacks on security forces and civilians perceived to be state agents is meant to perpetuate this politics of fear. It restricts the space for dialogic politics and creates hurdles and delays in the establishment of civic institutions, the rule of law and due process. When the Adivasi in Dantewada marches defiantly to the polling booth and asks, "how many fingers can dadalog chop off?", he is exposing the bankruptcy that lies at the heart of the Maoist project.
This is the reality in the Maoist heartland today. And this was also reflected lately in an interview of a local villager in one of Chhattisgarh's Maoist-infested regions taken by a team of intrepid journalists. Without any fear or hesitation, the villager—once a Maoist sympathiser—said he had decided to vote for a Communist in these elections as in the last in order to ensure that his difficulties and problems were effectively raised in the State legislature. All of us who celebrate democracy must comprehend these words in full.
The Supreme Court-mandated comprehensive probe into the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France that has caused a furore in political circles too is a manifestation of the persisting strength of our democracy despite the varied attacks on it from different quarters including those enjoying the proximity of the present-day rulers. The three-judge SC Bench, that includes the Chief Justice of India, has reserved its order for the present but it examined even IAF officers on the issue of defence requirements at this stage.
These are positive developments. But in spite of these positive features, there are certain ominous signs which call for serious introspection by all who are interested in sustaining and nurturing our democracy. Right-wing elements have been on a rampage for quite sometime seeking to destroy our composite culture. Lately they have targeted T.M. Krishna, that eminent singer of classical Carnatic music, who was supposed to perform in the Capital's Nehru Park on November 18-19 at a concert, a collaborative venture by Spic Macay and the Airports Authority of India. Two days ago on Tuesday (November 13), the AAI announced that the event was indefinitely postponed; it thus surrendered to Right-wing trolls which demanded that the concert be cancelled. Why? Because Krishna is a critic of Hindutva and the Modi Government.
This is nothing short of cultural fascism. As historian Ramchandra Guha writes today,
When, as happened to me in Ahmedabad, a scholar is prevented from speaking, that is intolerance. But to prevent a great musician from performing in the national Capital is not mere intolerance—it is barbarism.
And when members of the Hindutva brigade seek to compel MPs opposed to the construction of the Ram temple at the site where the Babri Masjid stood till December 6, 1992 at Ayodhya to change their stand, as they have already declared to do so, that is a new manifestation of curtailment of democracy, something which has become the norm since the Modi dispensation assumed power in 2014.
On the occasion of our first PM's birth anniversary this week, the moot question is: where are we heading?
November 15 S.C.


Canada and the Renegotiation of NAFTA: What's Happening with the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS)?
The re-negotiation of NAFTA ramped up again this week as Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland heads back to Washington for talks on Thursday. The business press is calling this latest round of talks crucial.
Significant issues remain to be settled between Canada and the U.S. Bloomberg News is reporting that those "core" issues include: cultural exemptions, dairy, cross-border shopping, pharmaceuticals, intellectual property, and dispute panels.  In the latter category, Bloomberg mentions only Chapter 19 (the panels that deal with dumping and tariffs). No mention is made of Chapter 11 and the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clause that allows foreign companies to sue governments for lost future profits (in secret and private tribunals) if they feel their investments have been treated unfairly by government policy.
This same report suggests that "'old-fashioned ISDS' would remain in play for certain sectors: oil and gas, infrastructure, energy generation and telecommunications" that have contracts with the government.
Obviously, nothing can be said with certainty until (and if) the text of the preliminary agreement is released. But major industry groups in Canada and the U.S. have been fighting to preserve the ISDS system in NAFTA, including the Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Petroleum Institute, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and others.
Of the three NAFTA governments, Canada has been sued the most often under ISDS, and in 41 lawsuits (that we know of), Canada has already paid out more than $200 million in settlements, well over $67 million in legal fees, faces a $570 million charge under the recent tribunal ruling on Bilcon, and still faces billions more in ISDS lawsuits under NAFTA. Nonetheless, the Canadian federal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (and Stephen Harper before him) has long insisted on retaining ISDS in its various trade deals and investment treaties.
While media pundits have called that insistence "odd" and "curious" and "inexplicable", I decided to try to find the explanation for it.
In my latest book, Bypassing Dystopia, published in May 2018 (Watershed Sentinel Books) I devote a lengthy section to unravelling the mystery of why Canada keeps on insisting on ISDS in trade deals.
What I found isn't pretty. As it turns out, it's not only fat-cat Canadian lawyers and legal firms that make a bundle off ISDS, but also third-party funders of the lawsuits, and entire industries like the Canadian mining industry. Canadian federal administrations have not only been reluctant to jettison ISDS, they have even assisted Canadian corporations in launching at least 55 such lawsuits, usually because of a target government's environmental policies. As a result, Canadian multinational corporations and investors are the fifth most prolific users of ISDS lawsuits in the world, according to international statistics.
But now the investor-state dispute settlement clause has become so widely known by the public and so widely hated across most of the planet, that the list of countries that refuse to sign trade or investment deals which include ISDS is growing: India, South Africa, Indonesia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Australia, Bolivia, Argentina, Norway, and even members of the EU are balking at full ratification of the Canada-EU deal (CETA) because of it.
Now, even the Trudeau government appears to be getting the message.
As far as I can determine, that CBC report of Sept. 8 (more than 2 weeks after the launch of the public consultation) was the first (and still only) mention of it in the press. To date, no NGO in Canada has mentioned this public consultation: not even the Council of Canadians, which has long fought against ISDS and other controversial trade issues.
They probably expect no members of the public to respond. Why not surprise them?
 Josh Wingrove (Bloomberg News), "U.S.-Canada NAFTA talks are poised to come to a head this week," Financial Post, September 17, 2018.
 Mike Ludwig, "Hundreds of State Lawmakers Want a NAFTA Without Corporate Tribunals," truthout.org, September 13, 2018.
 Janyce McGregor, "Why NAFTA's unloved investor-state dispute chapter may be in rouble," CBC News, September 8, 2018.
 Megan Cassella, "Dog days are busy days on trade," politico.com, August 20, 2018.
 Tyler Durden, "'Big Trade Agreement Could Be Happening Soon': U.S. Mexico On Verge Of Resolving Key Nafta Negotiation Hurdles," zerohedge.com, August 25, 2018.


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Can luxury work on Amazon?
digital disruptors | Jan 29, 2020 |
Love it or hate it, Amazon is one of a very small handful of companies that you simply can't avoid—it's too big to ignore. Even if you've never set up a Prime account or listed something for sale on Jeff Bezos's marketplace, the world around you now runs on Amazon time. Design industry professionals may feel particularly aggrieved, as a century-long emphasis on craftsmanship collides with a generation of clients raised on free two-day shipping.
Despite Amazon's ubiquity, there are still very few (if any) high-end design brands that sell on the platform. Are they missing an opportunity? To find out, Business of Home spoke with Laura Meyer, the CEO and founder of Envision Horizons, a firm that specializes in helping companies navigate the intricacies of Bezos's world.
I had no idea Amazon marketing was a profession. How did you get into it?
I used to work for Amazon. It became very clear to me that brands were struggling a lot with selling on Amazon. I would have calls and their response would be, "That sounds great in theory, but I'm not spending a dollar until X, Y and Z is fixed."
Envision Horizons founder Laura MeyerCourtesy Envision Horizons
So you started a company that could answer those questions.
Right. In early 2017, I started Envision Horizons to help brands with all of the elements of their Amazon presence. It's partially media buying with Amazon, but also we help them with their SEO strategy, the user experience and creative on their product detail pages, and a lot of the backend logistics.
It's very easy to get bulldozed by the 10,000-pound gorilla that is Amazon. At this point, small, medium or even large brands can't beat Amazon—at least not in the next few years. So if you can't beat them, you have to join them. But you have to make it work for you. It's shocking to me how many brands are selling on Amazon, and the only one making money is Amazon.
We cover the interior design industry, and one thing I hear a lot is that companies in our world don't want to be on Amazon because it would hurt their brand. Can luxury work on Amazon?
When it comes to luxury products, the strategy on Amazon is very different. My response to the "stigma" of Amazon is that the new form of luxury is convenience. When I think of my own shopping habits, luxury is being able to order a product and have it delivered to my door in a quick manner.
[For the beauty category] Amazon is also rolling out "storefronts," creating an enhanced brand concept—including video on your product detail pages. And when it comes to the fashion category, they're doing a lot to curate it. I think there will be a shift there.
Will a brand like Prada ever sell on Amazon?
Probably not their top-tier products. But there's a possibility for them to sell $400 wallets instead of $2,000 bags. When it comes to the lower price tag items, it could be a great channel because younger shoppers are extremely Amazon loyal. As these luxury brands need to compete for those younger consumers, they need to start getting in front of them and having those gateway buys to their brands.
So there's an opportunity there.
Especially for first movers. When I did some research, even a few months ago, the phrase "Gucci belts" on Amazon was in the top 1,000 searched items. If we start building relevancy on that term, the problem for Gucci is that if they decide three years from now that they now want to start selling their belts on Amazon, we're already going to be organically ranking on their branded terms. It's going to take them a while to disrupt us even though they're the brand.
It's like staking your claim in a gold rush.
There will be those products that should never be sold on Amazon. But when it comes to gateway products—those I think have tremendous opportunity. The evergreen products, those are what do really well on Amazon. Anything that is seasonal or super trendy, those aren't the top sellers.
It's a question of, How can they position themselves in a way that they don't get lost in all the noise of the cheap stuff?
Laura Meyer
What does it not make sense to sell on Amazon?
Price is a barrier. You want to try to keep things under $500 on Amazon … [But] I also think what the consumer is willing to spend in certain instances could shift. I'll be curious to see this luxury program for beauty, and if they end up doing something similar for fashion.
The luxury experience is only for beauty right now, but if it works, presumably Amazon will replicate it in other areas.
Yeah. They're going after Sephora and Ulta. Amazon is still a marketplace where basics and essentials do really well, but their algorithm isn't lucrative for trendy items. For example, you can go to Amazon and search "men's blazer," and you're not going to see like the hip blazers that you might see if you search on Nordstrom or Neiman and even Banana Republic. You're going to see the cheap Chinese-made blazers that have been listed on Amazon for three years.
Why is that the case?
That's how Amazon's A9 algorithm works. It gives preference for legacy listings or older listings because there's more data on them. If a product has traffic and high conversion and it's still relevant to keywords that consumers are searching, it's going to show up higher on those various phrases.
When we help a client launch a new product, it can take anywhere from three to six months to ramp it up to a point where we're seeing it rank in organic searches. Amazon's algorithm isn't going to just magically put you to the top.
It's more like a search engine almost, than a marketplace. What do brands not understand about all this when they come to you?
There are a lot of headaches that are going to come up. For us, it's [about] being patient and understanding their perspective and educating them that if X, Y and Z happens, we can't just pick up the phone and call someone at Amazon to get your product unsuspended. There is a whole process and red tape that we have to jump through.
I assume that because you're a former employee, your clients are like, "Hey just call your friends at Amazon and take care of it!"
There are things that we do have direct lines of contact to, but there are certain things that no one does. There are groups at Amazon that are quarantined from everyone else. If something's wrong within those, well, we will help you deal with it, but it's not an overnight fix.
For a brand that is already on Amazon has already gotten their store up and running, what are some basic tips to maximize profit?
As a firm, we have graphic designers as part of our team because I think the visual storytelling component is so crucial. You have to think of the customer journey of searching for something. And if it's not a great image or it's zoomed out, the likelihood that they click on your product from the search results page immediately goes down.
What about product selection? Should brands just list everything?
We had a beauty brand where their model has been that they launch and then discontinue product—like a fashion company. We've advised them to not do that for their Amazon strategy. They had a product that was close to 60 percent of their total sales and they came to us one day being like, "Oh by the way, we've decided to discontinue this product."
And we're like, "Whoa whoa—how about we make this an Amazon exclusive SKU? We need to keep this [online] because it has traction, it has proven success. And even if you launch a slight variation of it, we don't want to lose all of the reviews and the momentum we already have. We can then just add it as a variation to the preexisting parent listing that already is on Amazon."
Amazon has a ton of its own house brands. Do you ever worry for your clients that if they get too successful, Amazon will just rip them off?
Well, if you have a commoditized product in the first place, that's a bigger overarching business issue. If you have a product that can easily be ripped off and you don't have a brand, then why are you in business? If Amazon's going rip you off, a thousand other businesses are going to rip you off, too.
Is there anyone in the home furnishings world who you think is doing Amazon right?
I haven't seen too many companies really break through within the category. There certainly are some. A lot of it is Wayfair-quality furniture though.
It's that kind of thing, I think, that makes higher-end companies a little hesitant to sell on the marketplace.
What it ultimately comes down to is, if they think Amazon is not a good fit for them, then what is right? Because the average conversion rate on an e-commerce site is between one and two percent, and Facebook is only getting more expensive to acquire customers. How is it that these luxury brands are getting in front of consumers?
The opportunity is there for the brands that get it right?
Homepage image: Shutterstock
digital disruptors
A new online sampling platform makes its debut
That cute new kitchen? An algorithm designed it
SideDoor partners with Affirm, bringing financing to the trade
1stDibs introduces auctions
Inside Etsy's first virtual holiday showhouse
What are digital multilines, and how can they work for you?


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Home/FAQ/Popular question: Why morocco is mar ?
Popular question: Why morocco is mar ?
This is because of the large French influence in the country, whilst the official languages of the country are Arabic and Berber. The French word for Morocco is Maroc – and the abbreviation MAR is therefore used for sporting events and as the official country code.
Amazingly, what country is MAR short for? The explanation of the MAR country code is similar to Iceland's, although a bit more fraught. While the country's English name is Morocco, the country is known as Maroc in French.
Also, what is nor country? NOR is the three-letter country abbreviation for Norway.
Also know, what does ISL stand for Iceland? Languages. Icelandic language (ISO 639-2 tag: ISL), a language spoken in Iceland. Indian Sign Language also known as sign language of the deaf community in India. International Sign Language, any of several international auxiliary languages. Irish Sign Language, the sign language of Ireland.
In this regard, what is LKA nationality? LKA is the three-letter country abbreviation for Sri Lanka.Country Code IS Country code according to ISO-3166 Alpha-2 IS is the two-letter country abbreviation for Iceland.
Is Morocco a country?
Overview of Morocco. The Kingdom of Morocco is a Muslim country in western North Africa, with coastlines on the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Just an hour ferry ride from Spain, the country has a unique mix of Arab, Berber, African and European cultural influences.
Why is Morocco Mar in Olympics?
Is GBR a country?
GBR is the three-letter country abbreviation for United Kingdom.
What does ROC stand for?
Russian athletes are competing under the name of the "Russian Olympic Committee," or ROC for short. Viewers of previous Olympics will recall that the designation was also used during the recent Tokyo Games, and the term "Olympic Athletes from Russia," or OAR, was used in PyeongChang in 2018.
Which country is ISL?
ISL is the three-letter country abbreviation for Iceland.
Why is Switzerland Sui?
According to Fansided, the French translation of the Swiss Federation is Fédération Suisse. So, SUI is short for Suisse. This can also be seen in the track and field uniforms worn by the Swiss.
What is Mar in French?
[ˈmɑːʳ ] transitive verb. (= spoil) gâcher ⧫ gâter.
What is Mar in Latin?
From Old Catalan mar, from Latin mare ("sea"), from Proto-Italic *mari, from Proto-Indo-European *móri.
What does PFF stand for?
Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United States.
You asked: Why morocco is mar ?
Why is morocco abbreviation mar ?
What's morocco country code ?
How well does organic henna work on gray hair and is it good for your hair ?
Frequent question: Learn how to paint henna ?
Quick Answer: How to make own henna cones ?
How many countries signed marrakesh agreement ?
How many citizenships can you have in morocco ?
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Popular question: What to put on henna to make it darker ?
What is the henna ritual in jordan bridal showers ?


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SIUE students uncover residents' opinions about city project
Charles Bolinger, charles.bolinger@edwpub.net
The latest rendering of the ice rink's main level. Separate locker rooms were developed for the EHS and SIUE teams.
Courtesy of the city of EdwardsvilleShow MoreShow Less
Besides the track on the upper level, there may be a performance workout space for sports training, plus the offices moved from the main level.
EDWARDSVILLE — Mayor Hal Patton and other city officials attended Professor Katie Robberson's marketing class at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) last week, where students presented survey results about the city's proposed community center.
Students Aris Robinson, Alyson Woods and Austin Zurliene led the presentation on Tuesday with a mission — inform, persuade, and remind — as part of the SIUE Successful Communities Collaborative (SSCC), which aims to help the city work on the city's ice rink and teen center project.
"One of the pieces of feedback we received from Robberson and others is that we need to change the name and the branding, so we might be converting it to a community center instead of an ice rink and teen center," said Mayor Hal Patton Friday. He said Robberson advised that the community center label has a broader appeal and helps quell the notion that the place is meant just for those who want to skate, run or exercise.
Students surveyed 395 people via social media, and on a Saturday at the Goshen Market about the facility and interest in having one in Edwardsville. The majority of people surveyed were between 18 and 74 years old. The largest age group was 35-44 with nearly 160 respondents. Women outnumbered male respondents more than two to one. More than 350 respondents were Caucasian, and more than 200 people who replied listed average household incomes of at least $100,000.
Approximately 140 responders indicated they have a household of four people, followed by three- and two-member households. Most of the respondents either listed associates, bachelor's or master's degrees as their highest level of education and about 240 people listed themselves as full-time employees.
Not surprisingly, most of the people surveyed live within Edwardsville School District 7 but there were a few other school districts listed — Triad, Collinsville and Bethalto, among others. More than 250 of those surveyed live within five miles of Edwardsville High School, with 80 people who live between six and 15 miles from the school and 30-35 respondents who live 16 to 25 miles away. Thus, it's not likely that distance will impact interest.
When it came to gauging the public's interest, the students divided respondents into three categories – promoter, passive and detractor. Based on their results, 45 percent of those surveyed fell into the promotor category and 34 percent were detractors. Those on the fence, or passives, made up the remainder at 21 percent.
Next, the students asked the same people how many of them would be willing to travel for a rink. The numbers changed to 33 percent as promotors or who would travel and 44 percent as detractors or those who would not. That left 23 percent as passives.
• Construction of a NHL Ice Rink - 200 x 85 feet
• Indoor track - 1/8th of a mile with a rubberized surface with sprint lanes
• 3,500-square-foot workout/fitness area
• Teen Center with afterschool study, counseling, computer work and tutoring
• Possible second sheet of ice
• 217 parking spaces
• Junior Service may manage Teen Center aspect of facility - gaming and tutoring center
• YMCA may manage operation and maintenance of site; possibly giving it a third area facility
Among those who are against the idea, the complaints are: cost/concerns about taxes; poor use of city/state funds; project serves a very small group of residents; it's a pet project; grant could have been used to fund other city parks or other park projects.
Another faction of citizens believe the ice rink is too much, too soon, considering the city will not open Plummer Family Sports Park until next spring.
The demographics for promoters versus detractors are nearly identical. This told the students that there is no single, clear target market on which the city should focus.
People surveyed reported visiting these other skating rinks the most – East Alton, Affton in St. Louis County, Granite City, Steinberg in Forest Park, Brentwood in St. Louis County and McKendree in O'Fallon.
About 75 of those surveyed said they would be willing to buy a membership to the new rink, with 175 people were listed as maybes. A total of 145 participants said they would not purchase a membership.
A deeper drill-down among those who said "yes" to buying memberships reveals they are between 35 and 44 years old (52%); make at least $100,000 a year (60%); have a household size of four to five people (52%); hold at least a bachelor's degree (67%); almost three-quarters of them live within District 7's boundaries; and the closest ice rink they go to is located in East Alton (53%).
The students noted that income does not indicate interest or non-interest.
When it came to the proposed overhead walking track, close to 90 people said they were extremely likely to use it while 150 people replied they were somewhat likely to use it. The rest of the respondents were indifferent (58) or would not use it (106).
As far as using the rink for physical education class at Edwardsville High School, about 85 people said they strongly agreed with the notion, nearly 72 agreed and about 37 somewhat agreed. Almost 90 people were indifferent to the idea.
Making use of career programs through the teen center drew 50 people to say they were extremely likely to use it; more than 80 people indicated a moderate likelihood of using it and 55 people who might use it.
When it came to a social skills class at the teen center, 70 people said they were extremely likely to take advantage of that, while about 120 people said they were somewhat likely to use them.
Respondents said the most interesting activities for the teen center are – science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses, life skills classes, after-school groups, game clubs, fitness classes, nature classes, hobby classes, tutoring, a guest speaker series and a mentorship program.
The students recommend reputation management. Their key points include a full campaign that explains the project and the community needs it fills; social media to document progress and upcoming activities; focus groups to gather best practices for the teen center; a partnership between District 7 and the city to display goodwill to the rest of the city.
Reach reporter Charles Bolinger at (618) 659-5735.
Charles Bolinger
Charles Bolinger covers Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville, Edwardsville Township and the Collinsville School District for The Edwardsville Intelligencer. A graduate of Webster University in St. Louis, he has been writing for the paper since 2018.


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Splendor and Space 2 BR in Dubai Marina!


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State legislature budgets includes $1M for opiate abuse prevention
By Heather Chin • March 18, 2014 @ 8:00 am
An increase in heroin usage around the state and country has not gone unnoticed by the state legislature.
In the Assembly, members have proposed $1 million in funds be allocated from its 2014-2015 budget towards prevention and treatment programs. In the State Senate, members included $450,000 in their budget for opioid prevention and treatment.
The moves come as drugs of choice move from prescription to non-prescription drugs, which are cheaper and easier to come by. Between 2007 and 2012, heroin use in the country reportedly increased 79 percent and 81 percent of first-time users had previously used prescription drugs, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
New York State Assembly
new york state senate
opoiod prevention
Brooklyn's SUNY Downstate becomes mental health 'hub' of State University system
Park Slope boy with incurable disease helps raise awareness for 'World Rare Disease Day'


When Michael Franks, co-owner of Chez Melange in Redondo Beach, got into the restaurant business several decades ago, there were two distinct differences: very little fresh food was served and many restaurants didn't allow children. Much has changed.
Most eateries – including Chez Melange, which opened in 1982 – now welcome families. "We grew up with the family, and now we're going through a second generation, and even a third generation, of customers," Franks says.
The menus for the three Chez Melange restaurants – Sea Change, Bouzy Gastropub and the Chez Melange Oyster Bar – change daily and feature fresh ingredients. Alice Waters' iconic Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, which opened in 1971, inspired the name and the approach.
This includes produce from Chez Melange's Seed to Plate garden at Valmonte Elementary School in Palos Verdes. Young-adult students from the school district's special education programs work in the garden, learning valuable skills along the way. The program makes weekly deliveries of produce and eggs to the restaurant, and those appear on diners' plates.
On the ever-changing menu for all ages, you can usually find these crab cakes from chef and co-owner Robert Bell, a great option for kids who enjoy grown-up dining. "We've always wanted to be a grown-up, kid-friendly restaurant," Franks says.
Blend together the crab, mayonnaise, herbs, salt and pepper, being careful not to break up the crab.
Shape the mixture into cakes about one inch thick. Dip each cake into the flour, then the egg, then the bread crumbs, coating evenly.
Heat the oil in a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat. Place all of the crab cakes in a single layer in the pan and sauté about 2 minutes without disturbing them. Flip the cakes over and sauté 2-3 more minutes, until golden on the outside. Serve immediately.


A testing par 4 to start. A straight drive is required to the top of the hill to have any chance of reaching this green in regulation. From here the long narrow green is now visible, but it still requires a long iron or fairway wood to find the putting surface. Beware of anything fading right as a steep bank awaits.


text:
Meaning of Government by Lexico
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Looking Back 2017: Towards a Black Body Politic
2017 began in the final month of the Met Breuer's landmark retrospective of some 72 paintings by Chicago's Kerry James Marshall, and draws to a close with Zanzibar-born Lubaina Himid winning the Turner Prize. The intervening months were, without fail, punctuated by the high-profile exhibition or public recognition (sometimes long […]
2017 began in the final month of the Met Breuer's landmark retrospective of some 72 paintings by Chicago's Kerry James Marshall, and draws to a close with Zanzibar-born Lubaina Himid winning the Turner Prize. The intervening months were, without fail, punctuated by the high-profile exhibition or public recognition (sometimes long overdue) of black artists boldly elaborating and subverting the figurative tradition.
Undoubtedly, portraiture has long occupied a freighted place in the scheme of contemporary art, especially in the realm of painting, which tends to reward abstraction or the merging the medium with forms of linguistic or performative address. Or, as Linda Nochlin argued back in 1971, realist painting has long been seen as the province of the domestic, of women's labour, even in its most hyper-mediated forms. Things become more complicated when figuring black subjects. On one hand much of the force of various black internationalist art movements since the 1960s has derived from their refinement of a 'black aesthetic' and the positive – even heroic – portrayals of black people. Such insistence framed debates around careers as wide ranging as Robert Mapplethorpe and Kara Walker, even as the culture wars of the 1990s further conflated black bodies with either sexual excess or moral danger.
In the era of Black Lives Matter, Brexit, and a resurgent xenopolitics in the West, the time is certainly right to wade back in to the debates. Many of this year's best exhibitions did just that, highlighting the work of artists who put black bodies front and centre. Kehinde Wiley, for instance, has long been a stalwart of the genre, juxtaposing the European tradition with sitters drawn from urban life, in a simultaneous gesture of appropriating the canonical while elevating black figures to a near-hagiographic kind of beatitude. His summer show 'Trickster' at Sean Kelly Gallery was loosely based around a central trope in diasporic religions, and lionized fellow artists such as Wangechi Mutu, Nick Cave, Carrie Mae Weems and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.
While Wiley entered the broader cultural context with work featured on, for instance, the hip-hop-infused drama Empire, he became a household name this year when it was announced in October that he would paint Barack Obama's official portrait. The nod to Wiley was an unsurprising – if important – gesture from a President known for decorating the White House with contemporary art and keeping Jay-Z on his iPod. The selection of Michelle Obama's portraitist, Baltimore's Amy Sherald, on the other hand, was more compelling still. Sherald showed new work in a group show at Monique Meloche's New York outpost in March or her signature style: black figures facing the viewer, pictured from the knees up before a saturated monochrome or subtly patterned background.
Nochlin's decades-old observation that realism would increasingly mimic the hyperreal – the world as seen through a lens – and re-frame literal objects in subtle ways seems to hold true for Sherald's array of everyday people. There is an uncanny flatness at work, of a piece with recent graphic design and directorial forms of photography. But that flatness yields a stillness that calls forth something vital about the sitters. If Wiley's is a blend of baroque lighting and bling excess – what historian Krista Thompson has called the 'shine' at work in black visual culture – Sherald's palette is muted, restrained, but somehow more vivid in spite (or because) of its economy of means.
Of course, Nochlin was writing in parallel with Jeff Donaldson and Romare Bearden, titans of figurative work who elaborated a form of augmented reality called 'the super real'. That is, the banality of black life by the 1960s was anything but, and everyday images could crystallize imminent but invisible energies, be they spiritual, surreal, or psychedelic. This is the terrain charted in three of 2017's finest shows: Jordan Casteel (at Casey Kaplan Gallery), Toyin Ojih Odutola's mid-career 'To Wander Determined' at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and Njideka Akunyili Crosby's 'Counterparts', a small suite of large-scale interiors at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
Casteel is on track for a meteoric rise, and her Harlem street scenes amplify the pedestrian and exude near hallucinogenic intensity. Odutola, who has steadily built a repertoire of figures braided from shimmering, fibrous material brought her charcoal and pastels into a greater chromatic range to depict two upper-class Nigerian families. Crosby was named one of the year's 'MacArthur Geniuses', and her tableaux update tropes of the domestic, balancing dense patterning stirring lighting effects to complicate hierarchies of location and genre. The latter seem to knowingly cite Bearden and Marshall, but are striking in their originality – they present nothing less than a new vision of American subjectivity, one that is from the outset plural and dynamic.
For all of the prominence of black figuration in 2017, the weight of history was always present either in the background, or woven into the substitution and reclamations staged in the pictures themselves. A crucial issue in that history is the way in which black bodies are represented and, indeed, by whom. One version of this story played out at Hilton Als' show of vintage paintings by Alice Neel of 'Uptown' New York around the mid 20th century. These smaller works show Neel immersed in her Harlem community, and counterbalancing the expressive maximalism of the era with patient and poignant images of subjects typically hidden from view during a time of more overt segregation. The other version came in March at the Whitney Biennial, as a likeness of Emmett Till in his coffin was included in a series of abstract paintings by the white painter Dana Schutz.
The ensuing debate generated productive debate around the limits of appropriation and the dangers of censorship (perhaps best spelled out by Coco Fusco). Either way, the incident was a reminder of the power of images as metonyms for larger cleavages in national life. The case of Till has long animated exhibitions centered on representations of black subjects and persists as an image that reminds us of collective work that remains to be done. Whatever one's position on the ownership of such an image, Schutz's orphistic rendition somehow made its subject matter less potent, a clever readymade for a slapdash painting.
More illuminating figuration could be found elsewhere, where 60 year-old Los Angeles painter Henry Taylor was the breakout artist of the Whitney show; his portrayal of an unarmed Philando Castille – shot and bleeding in his car – was both humane and sobering, a reminder of how little has changed since Till's death in the summer of 1955. bell hooks once wrote of the ways in which white patriarchal dominance is mediated by images of black bodies. She called for something else, suggesting that 'a revolutionary visual aesthetic must emerge that reappropriates, revises, and invents, that gives something new to look at.' hooks is arguing here for new visualizations of a 'black body politic' and, in 2017, that body politic arrived.
Main image: Lubaina Himid, Swallow Hard: The Lancaster Dinner Service, 2007, paint on porcelain. Courtesy: Hollybush Gardens, London
Eritrea - Political structure
Tue Mar 31 , 2020
Political structure in Eritrea Head of state: President Isaias Afwerki Head of government: President Isaias Afwerki President Isaias Afwerki. President Isaias Afwerki and his cabinet of 16 […]
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Necropolitics | The Anthropology of Biopolitics


Moscow 1924. The Soviet Union is an infant. The Revolution is almost forgotten. Communism is everywhere - little understood by the general populace but greatly feared. A landlord and his family have to pretend to be Communists in order to hide their bourgeois origins. Their cook gets mistaken for a Russian princess - the missing Anastasia. And their lodger constantly threatens to bring in the militia because a pan of noodles fell on his head...Erdman writes in the tradition of Gogol (think Government Inspector) - and it certainly shows in this madcap but sinister farce.


Yeah, it just started working again (for no good reason, too). It feels slower than usual, so I'll keep an eye on it.
Thanks for letting us know here and for the others that PM'd me.
Checking into this now... stand by.
Topic: Disable "[search term] ignored"
Re: Disable "[search term] ignored"
I've altered the search settings and rebuilt the main index. Now there will be no words excluded because they're too common!
Topic: fretsonfire.org Forums are back online!
fretsonfire.org Forums are back online!
Topic: A birthday and some renovations!
Re: A birthday and some renovations!
There's some great recommendations here. It's a good place to start!


Box for a 5 year old girl.
For the two triplet girls I also made some stationary boxes. Main box contains sticky notes and envelopes.
The tray contains pens, colored pencils and erasures. The tray sticks up so that it holds the lid in place. At the birthday party, I received orders for 6 more boxes. Apparently the idea was a hit.
Box is made from pallet wood that I resawed and glued up, keeping an eye on the grain.
Finish is BLO and tung oil.
Nice job, especially the grain matching. Reusing wood from a pallet and turning out such a nice project is just awesome.
Great use about palette wood.
The kids would love the "secret storage" layer!


The instance An Act to Provide That Claims of the United States to Certain Documents Relating to Franklin Delano Roosevelt Shall Be Treated as Waived and Relinquished in Certain Circumstances, (electronic resource) represents a material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Boston University Libraries. This resource is a combination of several types including: Instance, Electronic.
"Feb. 1, 2010, (S. 692)."


Best-selling author Frédéric Delavier introduces 42 programs for sculpting every region of the body. Featuring 40 exercises targeted to the back, shoulders, abs, buttocks, legs, arms, and chest, Delavier's Women's Strength Training Anatomy Workouts includes 171 photos and 442 remarkable anatomical illustrations.
Frederic Delavier is a gifted artist with an exceptional knowledge of human anatomy. The former editor in chief of the French magazine PowerMag, he is the author of the best-selling Strength Training Anatomy, Women's Strength Training Anatomy, The Strength Training Anatomy Workout, Delavier's Core Training Anatomy, and Delavier's Stretching Anatomy. Michael Gundill has written 13 books on strength training, sport nutrition, and health, including coauthoring The Strength Training Anatomy Workout and The Strength Training Anatomy Workout II. His books have been translated into multiple languages, and he has written over 500 articles for bodybuilding and fitness magazines worldwide, including Iron Man and Dirty Dieting.
Part I. Developing Your Own Training Program; Part II. The Exercises; Part III. The Programs.


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Say It Ain't So, Newt!
by Ed Kilgore April 12, 2012 January 9, 2022
From Delaware, where Newt Gingrich is inexplicably campaigning this week, comes this sad and shocking news:
Asked by a radio host inside a small diner whether he would work for a Romney administration if given the opportunity, Gingrich answered "probably not" but "not because I am opposed to Mitt."
"Look, if the choice does end up being Romney versus Obama, I can be very, very enthusiastic for Romney, that is a huge choice. But I had a very good life doing a lot of fun things," the former House speaker said. "I am very happy to be an adviser. I did a lot of that in the Bush administration both on health care and national security."
Knowing Newt, of course, you'd have to figure he considers himself a little too big for a Cabinet post, being a Churchillian global strategist and all. And then there's the fact that he can make a lot more money being an "adviser" to the administration, and avoid all those messy disclosure and conflict-of-interest rules.
The other possibility is that he knows Romney may never be able to forgive him for "The King of Bain," the Gingrich Super-PAC flick that depicted Mitt as a depraved Wall Street predator who derived enormous personal pleasure from destroying the lives of regular folks. Indeed, if Newt harbors private fantasies of occupying some new Cabinet post like Secretary of Ideas and Bloviation, he might want to ask Winning Our Future to take down "King of Bain" from the web, where it still sits emitting radioactivity and documenting Romney's command of French.
Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, vs. Mitt Romney?
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Newt University
Ed Kilgore
Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.
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