The wedding photography industry in Melbourne has expanded by nearly 8% in the 2016-2017 year. A total of 27 photographers left the wedding industry and were replaced by 53 new studios across the state of Victoria.
The range of package prices for wedding photography in Melbourne has remained fairly similar to last year, increasing from $300 - $10,000 in 2016 to $395 - $10,300 in 2017. The average starting price for published wedding packages has increased from $2,183 in 2016 to $2,206 in 2017.
In Melbourne, wedding photographers that increased the price of starting packages did so by between $30 and $1,795. The most common increases were $200, $100, $400 & $300 respectively, accounting for 55% of all price rises.
The proportion of wedding photographers in Victoria who publish a 6 hour package on their website has increased from 15% in 2016 to 18% of photographers today. About half of all photographers kept prices on hold this year, 6% decreased prices and 16% either changed inclusions or no longer publish packages on their website.
Just over a quarter of the 6 hour packages published by wedding photographers last year have increased in price, with the average rising from $1,917 to $1,944 in 2017. The most common increase was $200 affecting 36% of price hikes. All increases were between $45 and $700 representing rises of 3.75% to 39.11% on 2016 packages.
In Victoria last year, 17% of wedding photographers published an 8 hour package on their website. This year that figure has risen to 19%. The average cost for 8 hours wedding photography has also increased this year, from $2,346 in 2016 to $2,669 in 2017.
While 3% of 8 hour packages dropped in price over the past 12 months, just over a quarter showed price increases by up to 40.5%. Most wedding photographers that increased prices raised them by 4% to 17% or between $100 - $300.
The most popular wedding photography package in Melbourne includes 12 hours of coverage & a full set of high resolution images. The number of wedding photographers that publish a price for this package online has risen from 18% of the Victorian market in 2016 to 22% in 2017.
In 2016, packages without an album started at $1,330 and the highest published price was $6,400. That range has expanded in 2017, to $800 - $6,600. Album packages with 12 hours coverage started from $2,250 in 2016 and the high end was $8,350. That range has increased this year to $2,250 - $10,300.
The average cost of a 12 hour package with an album was $4,244 in 2016 and has increased by $179 in 2017 to $4,423. For packages without an album, the average price has increased by $66 in 2017, rising from $3,069 to $3,135.
Further information about the Australian wedding industry is regularly published on our Facebook Page. Join the community & have your say in the conversations happening here now.


If you're looking for a great opportunity to be a part of the Waken Fantazee Rave 99 on May 1, then a flea market booth might just be the answer.
The total cost is only ・4,500, which includes ・500 for the booth and ・4,000 as a start-up fee, which shouldn't take too long to recoup with a few quick sales. Products at the Waken Fantazee Rave flea market should include either art products or hand-made goods, but that doesn't include food and drinks. The flea market is limited to 200 people, so the earlier you get your application in the better chance you'll have of being there. And remember, applications will only be accepted from March 19 to April 20.
The rave will be held at the Southeast Botanical Garden's Community Garden in Okinawa City, and will open to the public for 14 hours from 6 p.m. - 8 a.m. Flea market sellers should be there setting up by 4 p.m. For more details, please contact Key Largo at 098-926-0441 (English language from 9p.m. - midnight).


Computer Chess is a film about a computer chess tournament set in the early 80's. It was directed by local Austinite, and all-around awesome dude, Andrew Bujalski. A few friends of ours act in the film as well, so of course, we'd been incredibly eager to check it out, but had been out of town when it was in theaters. It's shot documentary-style on old Sony tube video camera from the 70's, so it has a pretty crazy visual aesthetic.
We loved it. It's super weird and super funny, and definitely not for everyone, but we highly recommend it.
Upstream Color totally blew us away. Shane Carruth is another Texas filmmaker and we loved his first feature, Primer. In terms of story, pacing, cinematography, etc. the two films couldn't be more different, but yet they feel like they come from the same voice. Like Computer Chess, Upstream Color will definitely not be everyone's cup of tea, but we were entranced.
We'd do it an injustice to try and explain what it's about. It flows like a dream and sticks with you in the best way. That's all we'll say. Go watch it!
This article originally published in our Anniversary Issue. Click to download a free issue today!
Citygram is Austin's #1 city guide app for helping locals and visitors explore their city. The Citygram app celebrates the local businesses, people, and trends that are influencing the city through a unique blend of long form journalism and photography.
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text:
Q: How to stop Interceptor class rewriting return annotations Magento version: 2.2.3
I have a Block class with a method to fetch the designer associated with a product. It is annotated to return a model interface or null.
public function getDesigner(): ?DesignerInterface {
  ...
}

When running Magento in production mode, the system compiles an interceptor class for this Block, but drops the ? in the annotation, resulting in this:
public function getDesigner(): DesignerInterface

This causes a fatal error on product pages where a product does not have a designer associated with it, as the method no longer accepts null as a return value.
First of all, why is Magento modifying my code? This throws a huge red flag for me.
Second, is there any way to disable this?

A: I later discovered that this is actually caused by a bug in Magento. Details can be found here: https://github.com/magento/magento2/issues/15505

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Who Were the Early Israelities and Where Did They Come From?
For someone who is not a Middle East archaelogist, this book could potentially be overwhelming: The synthesis in the last few chapters reads faster than most pages in the early part of the book.
William Dever speaks to the question that is the title of the book from an objective point of view, truly mapping the common ground between the Bible and the archaelogy of the early-Israelite periods in the region. Anyone looking to fully prove or disprove the Bible probably should not look to this book--this book offers the scholarly opinion with as little agenda as is possible given the subject matter involved.
Picked up in the airport while waiting for my flight, this book is geared toward the mid-level manager/executive--but the ideas are not hard to stretch to applications for even the everyday employee. At the beginning of each article is an executive summary.
"Reawakening Your Passion for Work" - Listening to a calling, taking time out, and general examination of where you are and where you want to be.
"Goodbye Career, Hello Success" - Sometimes a successful career is not a conventional career.
"The Right Way to Be Fired" - How to avoid self-destructive behavior and manage the circumstances of being fired.
"Managing Oneself" - Knowing oneself, strengths, weaknesses, values, work and communication methods for more effective performance and teamwork.
"A Second Career: The Possible Dream" - Knowing what path and under what circumstances to follow that new path.
"Five Strategies of Successful Part-Time Work" - Establishing boundaries, communicating your value, and managing expectations when voluntarily moving to a part-time role.
"Managing Your Boss" - A foreign concept at the original writing of the topic, this article is on communicating with your boss--in the right way.
"A Survival Guide for Leaders" - Leading adaptive change, and the pitfalls therein.


text:
Stadionul Kaliningrad (rusă: Стадион Калининград) sau Arena Baltika este un stadion de fotbal în construcție în orașul Kaliningrad, capitala regiunii Kaliningrad, subdiviziune administrativă în Federația Rusă. În conformitate cu decizia FIFA, stadionul va găzdui mai multe jocuri la Campionatul Mondial de Fotbal 2018 și va servi, de asemenea, ca stadionul de origine al clubului de fotbal Baltika Kaliningrad. Stadionul va avea o capacitate de 45,000 de spectatori.

Istorie
În luna aprilie 2012, guvernul regional, sa decis să se bazeze «Wilmotte & Associes Sa» proiect de construcție stadion a biroului de arhitectură francez. Proiectul în sine este în valoare de 720 de milioane de $. 50% din suma va fi alocată din bugetul federal, iar cealaltă jumătate de la bugetul regional. Lucrările de construcție vor începe după documentația tehnică și de estimare instruit arena. Este demn de remarcat faptul că stadionul după Cupa Mondială din 2018 va deveni un 25000th - pentru această parte a acoperișului este retrasă.
La sfârșitul lunii octombrie 2012, autoritățile regionale au anunțat o competiție deschisă pentru dezvoltarea proiectului și a documentelor de lucru pe stadion Cupa Mondială. Castigatorul a fost Mostovik. La începutul luna martie 2013 Mostovik stadion publicate schiță, a primit titlul de lucru al Arena Baltika.

În luna iunie 2014, Curtea de Arbitraj Omsk a declarat "Mostovik", în stare de faliment și martie 2015 a fost inițiată rezilierea contractului cu compania. La 1 aprilie cu 2014 un ordin guvernamental publicat de către guvern a declarat numirea ZAO "Crocus International" ca unic executant al Ministerului Sportului al Federației Ruse pentru lucrările privind construcția. Contractul de stat a fost semnat între Guvernul regiunii Kaliningrad și Crocus International "pentru a dezvolta proiectul și documentația de lucru privind proiectarea stadionului".
La 10 iunie 2015 a fost raportat că proiectul de stadion a fost trimis la examenul de stat. La 20 iulie a fost prezentată structura stadionului.

La început, autoritățile regionale consideră opțiunea cu construirea de noi facilități sportive în centrul orașului, pe locul actualului Baltika Stadium. În cele din urmă, în decembrie 2014 a fost anunțat că luna octombrie Island, chiar dacă de multe ori sub amenințarea inundațiilor și de lucru pe ea necesită investiții financiare suplimentare.
10 august a devenit cunoscut faptul că stadionul va fi numit "Stadion Kaliningrad" sau în versiunea în limba engleză, Kaliningrad Stadium.

Campionatul Mondial de fotbal 2018

Referințe

Legături externe

Design renderings at StadiumDB.com Stadionul Kaliningrad Design renderings at StadiumDB

Stadioanele CM FIFA 2018

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Faulty network hardware reason for "terminal process killed by signal 1"? Our company had two separate offices and there were VPN-tunnel between those offices.
ERP software was on Office 1 network and users on Office 2 used it through VPN-tunnel. Everything was fine, there were anything problem on connection to ERP from Office 2 until when Office 2 moved to same building with Office 1.
Network was changed during office moving and VPN-tunnel was removed because Office 2 don't need it anymore to access ERP.
Both offices are in different subnets. We use Zyxel USG-20 to separate networks, in interface 1 is Office 1 network (10.10.10.0) and in interface 2 is Office 2 network (10.10.20.0).
Basicly network is ok and there are no hangups or disconnection but there are ERP are disconnections and hangups between workstation and ERP server. Somehow ERP process gets killed by Signal 1.
Could faulty cable / network switch / increased network traffic cause session to kill by signal 1?
Is there anything way to monitor it without changing everything network hardware?

A: We got separate wlan-ap (Zyxel USG-20) in our network and somehow it causes all the problems. Problem get solved when the device was removed from network.


The original navy Shearling and Hand Knit Gilet. Handmade in England from a blend of luxe Toscana shearling, soft alpaca and organic wool, this lightweight, layering piece is reversible, and finished with a natural edge. This gilet can be worn between seasons, over casual and smart layers alike.


text:
Title 28 → Chapter I → Part 83
Title 28: Judicial Administration
PART 83—GOVERNMENT-WIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (GRANTS)
Subpart A—Purpose and Coverage
§83.100 What does this part do?
§83.105 Does this part apply to me?
§83.110 Are any of my Federal assistance awards exempt from this part?
§83.115 Does this part affect the Federal contracts that I receive?
Subpart B—Requirements for Recipients Other Than Individuals
§83.200 What must I do to comply with this part?
§83.205 What must I include in my drug-free workplace statement?
§83.210 To whom must I distribute my drug-free workplace statement?
§83.215 What must I include in my drug-free awareness program?
§83.220 By when must I publish my drug-free workplace statement and establish my drug-free awareness program?
§83.225 What actions must I take concerning employees who are convicted of drug violations in the workplace?
§83.230 How and when must I identify workplaces?
Subpart C—Requirements for Recipients Who Are Individuals
§83.300 What must I do to comply with this part if I am an individual recipient?
§83.301 [Reserved]
Subpart D—Responsibilities of Department of Justice Awarding Officials
§83.400 What are my responsibilities as a(n) Department of Justice awarding official?
Subpart E—Violations of this Part and Consequences
§83.500 How are violations of this part determined for recipients other than individuals?
§83.505 How are violations of this part determined for recipients who are individuals?
§83.510 What actions will the Federal Government take against a recipient determined to have violated this part?
§83.515 Are there any exceptions to those actions?
Subpart F—Definitions
§83.605 Award.
§83.610 Controlled substance.
§83.615 Conviction.
§83.620 Cooperative agreement.
§83.625 Criminal drug statute.
§83.630 Debarment.
§83.635 Drug-free workplace.
§83.640 Employee.
§83.645 Federal agency or agency.
§83.650 Grant.
§83.655 Individual.
§83.660 Recipient.
§83.665 State.
§83.670 Suspension.
Authority: Sec. 5151-5160 of the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-690, Title V, Subtitle D; 41 U.S.C. 701 et seq.).
Source: 68 FR 66557, 66600, Nov. 26, 2003, unless otherwise noted.
This part carries out the portion of the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 (41 U.S.C. 701 et seq., as amended) that applies to grants. It also applies the provisions of the Act to cooperative agreements and other financial assistance awards, as a matter of Federal Government policy.
(a) Portions of this part apply to you if you are either—
(1) A recipient of an assistance award from the Department of Justice; or
(2) A(n) Department of Justice awarding official. (See definitions of award and recipient in §§83.605 and 83.660, respectively.)
(b) The following table shows the subparts that apply to you:
If you are . . .
see subparts . . .
(1) A recipient who is not an individual A, B and E.
(2) A recipient who is an individual A, C and E.
(3) A(n) Department of Justice awarding official A, D and E.
This part does not apply to any award that the Attorney General or designee determines that the application of this part would be inconsistent with the international obligations of the United States or the laws or regulations of a foreign government.
It will affect future contract awards indirectly if you are debarred or suspended for a violation of the requirements of this part, as described in §83.510(c). However, this part does not apply directly to procurement contracts. The portion of the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 that applies to Federal procurement contracts is carried out through the Federal Acquisition Regulation in chapter 1 of Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations (the drug-free workplace coverage currently is in 48 CFR part 23, subpart 23.5).
There are two general requirements if you are a recipient other than an individual.
(a) First, you must make a good faith effort, on a continuing basis, to maintain a drug-free workplace. You must agree to do so as a condition for receiving any award covered by this part. The specific measures that you must take in this regard are described in more detail in subsequent sections of this subpart. Briefly, those measures are to—
(1) Publish a drug-free workplace statement and establish a drug-free awareness program for your employees (see §§83.205 through 83.220); and
(2) Take actions concerning employees who are convicted of violating drug statutes in the workplace (see §83.225).
(b) Second, you must identify all known workplaces under your Federal awards (see §83.230).
You must publish a statement that—
(a) Tells your employees that the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use of a controlled substance is prohibited in your workplace;
(b) Specifies the actions that you will take against employees for violating that prohibition; and
(c) Lets each employee know that, as a condition of employment under any award, he or she:
(1) Will abide by the terms of the statement; and
(2) Must notify you in writing if he or she is convicted for a violation of a criminal drug statute occurring in the workplace and must do so no more than five calendar days after the conviction.
You must require that a copy of the statement described in §83.205 be given to each employee who will be engaged in the performance of any Federal award.
You must establish an ongoing drug-free awareness program to inform employees about—
(a) The dangers of drug abuse in the workplace;
(b) Your policy of maintaining a drug-free workplace;
(c) Any available drug counseling, rehabilitation, and employee assistance programs; and
(d) The penalties that you may impose upon them for drug abuse violations occurring in the workplace.
If you are a new recipient that does not already have a policy statement as described in §83.205 and an ongoing awareness program as described in §83.215, you must publish the statement and establish the program by the time given in the following table:
If . . .
then you . . .
(a) The performance period of the award is less than 30 days must have the policy statement and program in place as soon as possible, but before the date on which performance is expected to be completed.
(b) The performance period of the award is 30 days or more must have the policy statement and program in place within 30 days after award.
(c) You believe there are extraordinary circumstances that will require more than 30 days for you to publish the policy statement and establish the awareness program may ask the Department of Justice awarding official to give you more time to do so. The amount of additional time, if any, to be given is at the discretion of the awarding official.
There are two actions you must take if an employee is convicted of a drug violation in the workplace:
(a) First, you must notify Federal agencies if an employee who is engaged in the performance of an award informs you about a conviction, as required by §83.205(c)(2), or you otherwise learn of the conviction. Your notification to the Federal agencies must—
(1) Be in writing;
(2) Include the employee's position title;
(3) Include the identification number(s) of each affected award;
(4) Be sent within ten calendar days after you learn of the conviction; and
(5) Be sent to every Federal agency on whose award the convicted employee was working. It must be sent to every awarding official or his or her official designee, unless the Federal agency has specified a central point for the receipt of the notices.
(b) Second, within 30 calendar days of learning about an employee's conviction, you must either—
(1) Take appropriate personnel action against the employee, up to and including termination, consistent with the requirements of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), as amended; or
(2) Require the employee to participate satisfactorily in a drug abuse assistance or rehabilitation program approved for these purposes by a Federal, State or local health, law enforcement, or other appropriate agency.
(a) You must identify all known workplaces under each Department of Justice award. A failure to do so is a violation of your drug-free workplace requirements. You may identify the workplaces_
(1) To the Department of Justice official that is making the award, either at the time of application or upon award; or
(2) In documents that you keep on file in your offices during the performance of the award, in which case you must make the information available for inspection upon request by Department of Justice officials or their designated representatives.
(b) Your workplace identification for an award must include the actual address of buildings (or parts of buildings) or other sites where work under the award takes place. Categorical descriptions may be used (e.g., all vehicles of a mass transit authority or State highway department while in operation, State employees in each local unemployment office, performers in concert halls or radio studios).
(c) If you identified workplaces to the Department of Justice awarding official at the time of application or award, as described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, and any workplace that you identified changes during the performance of the award, you must inform the Department of Justice awarding official.
As a condition of receiving a(n) Department of Justice award, if you are an individual recipient, you must agree that—
(a) You will not engage in the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use of a controlled substance in conducting any activity related to the award; and
(b) If you are convicted of a criminal drug offense resulting from a violation occurring during the conduct of any award activity, you will report the conviction:
(1) In writing.
(2) Within 10 calendar days of the conviction.
(3) To the Department of Justice awarding official or other designee for each award that you currently have, unless §83.301 or the award document designates a central point for the receipt of the notices. When notice is made to a central point, it must include the identification number(s) of each affected award.
As a(n) Department of Justice awarding official, you must obtain each recipient's agreement, as a condition of the award, to comply with the requirements in—
(a) Subpart B of this part, if the recipient is not an individual; or
(b) Subpart C of this part, if the recipient is an individual.
A recipient other than an individual is in violation of the requirements of this part if the Attorney General or designee determines, in writing, that—
(a) The recipient has violated the requirements of subpart B of this part; or
(b) The number of convictions of the recipient's employees for violating criminal drug statutes in the workplace is large enough to indicate that the recipient has failed to make a good faith effort to provide a drug-free workplace.
An individual recipient is in violation of the requirements of this part if the Attorney General or designee determines, in writing, that—
(a) The recipient has violated the requirements of subpart C of this part; or
(b) The recipient is convicted of a criminal drug offense resulting from a violation occurring during the conduct of any award activity.
If a recipient is determined to have violated this part, as described in §83.500 or §83.505, the Department of Justice may take one or more of the following actions—
(a) Suspension of payments under the award;
(b) Suspension or termination of the award; and
(c) Suspension or debarment of the recipient under 28 CFR Part 67, for a period not to exceed five years.
The Attorney General may waive with respect to a particular award, in writing, a suspension of payments under an award, suspension or termination of an award, or suspension or debarment of a recipient if the Attorney General determines that such a waiver would be in the public interest. This exception authority cannot be delegated to any other official.
Award means an award of financial assistance by the Department of Justice or other Federal agency directly to a recipient.
(a) The term award includes:
(1) A Federal grant or cooperative agreement, in the form of money or property in lieu of money.
(2) A block grant or a grant in an entitlement program, whether or not the grant is exempted from coverage under the Governmentwide rule 28 CFR Part 70 that implements OMB Circular A-102 (for availability, see 5 CFR 1310.3) and specifies uniform administrative requirements.
(b) The term award does not include:
(1) Technical assistance that provides services instead of money.
(2) Loans.
(3) Loan guarantees.
(4) Interest subsidies.
(5) Insurance.
(6) Direct appropriations.
(7) Veterans' benefits to individuals (i.e., any benefit to veterans, their families, or survivors by virtue of the service of a veteran in the Armed Forces of the United States).
Controlled substance means a controlled substance in schedules I through V of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812), and as further defined by regulation at 21 CFR 1308.11 through 1308.15.
Conviction means a finding of guilt (including a plea of nolo contendere) or imposition of sentence, or both, by any judicial body charged with the responsibility to determine violations of the Federal or State criminal drug statutes.
Cooperative agreement means an award of financial assistance that, consistent with 31 U.S.C. 6305, is used to enter into the same kind of relationship as a grant (see definition of grant in §83.650), except that substantial involvement is expected between the Federal agency and the recipient when carrying out the activity contemplated by the award. The term does not include cooperative research and development agreements as defined in 15 U.S.C. 3710a.
Criminal drug statute means a Federal or non-Federal criminal statute involving the manufacture, distribution, dispensing, use, or possession of any controlled substance.
Debarment means an action taken by a Federal agency to prohibit a recipient from participating in Federal Government procurement contracts and covered nonprocurement transactions. A recipient so prohibited is debarred, in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation for procurement contracts (48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4) and the common rule, Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement), that implements Executive Order 12549 and Executive Order 12689.
Drug-free workplace means a site for the performance of work done in connection with a specific award at which employees of the recipient are prohibited from engaging in the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use of a controlled substance.
(a) Employee means the employee of a recipient directly engaged in the performance of work under the award, including—
(1) All direct charge employees;
(2) All indirect charge employees, unless their impact or involvement in the performance of work under the award is insignificant to the performance of the award; and
(3) Temporary personnel and consultants who are directly engaged in the performance of work under the award and who are on the recipient's payroll.
(b) This definition does not include workers not on the payroll of the recipient (e.g., volunteers, even if used to meet a matching requirement; consultants or independent contractors not on the payroll; or employees of subrecipients or subcontractors in covered workplaces).
Federal agency or agency means any United States executive department, military department, government corporation, government controlled corporation, any other establishment in the executive branch (including the Executive Office of the President), or any independent regulatory agency.
Grant means an award of financial assistance that, consistent with 31 U.S.C. 6304, is used to enter into a relationship—
(a) The principal purpose of which is to transfer a thing of value to the recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States, rather than to acquire property or services for the Federal Government's direct benefit or use; and
(b) In which substantial involvement is not expected between the Federal agency and the recipient when carrying out the activity contemplated by the award.
Individual means a natural person.
Recipient means any individual, corporation, partnership, association, unit of government (except a Federal agency) or legal entity, however organized, that receives an award directly from a Federal agency.
State means any of the States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or possession of the United States.
Suspension means an action taken by a Federal agency that immediately prohibits a recipient from participating in Federal Government procurement contracts and covered nonprocurement transactions for a temporary period, pending completion of an investigation and any judicial or administrative proceedings that may ensue. A recipient so prohibited is suspended, in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation for procurement contracts (48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4) and the common rule, Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement), that implements Executive Order 12549 and Executive Order 12689. Suspension of a recipient is a distinct and separate action from suspension of an award or suspension of payments under an award.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A Frabill Straight-Line rod/reel combo with slender spoons can be a deadly setup for catching big crappies in deeper water.
This nice bass took the Green Glow, Parrot Slender Spoon, tipped with a wax worm and fished in 10 feet of water with a lift-and-drop presentation. Another win for slender spoons!
Slender spoons can catch all sorts of fish. This is Dan Galusha's best catch, so far, using the nickel-colored slender spoon.
If someone says they are fishing slender on the ice, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are on a diet. There is a very good chance that they are fishing with Custom Jigs & Spins Slender Spoons. The question is, which one and with what technique? There are three Slender Spoons—regular, Pro and Pro-Glow. I prefer the Pro-Glow, but use whatever is working. Fishing Slender Spoons is not only easy, but also very effective, especially on larger fish. My two main species are crappies and largemouth bass. I've also heard of some catching white bass, and most definitely yellow perch. Ice fishing with spoons will help you find bigger fish!
This is a lure that can be tipped with bait, or fished naked. Most of the time, I tip it. But, if the fish are in an aggressive mood, then nothing goes on the hook. Wax worms and Power Crappie Nibbles are my favorites for tipping. I always use an application of Kick'n Crappie, with or without bait. This scent stays on for a long time and disperses in the water. That creates an odor zone throughout the column of water below the hole.
Another tipping idea is to put some spikes or Gulp Waxies on all three of the treble hooks. Both the live bait and Gulp have produced results.
The fishing technique is easy. Just lift and let it fall. Many of the strikes come as the spoon falls, especially with crappies. When a bass hits, it's usually on the lift, or immediately after the spoon falls to the end of the line.
A couple of other actions work for more aggressive fish. First is a rip-and-pause. Quickly jerk the rod tip upward, then let the spoon fall back, keeping the line straight without slack. The second is a hop. Give the spoon three to five quick jerks upward before letting it fall back through where the fish are holding.
While my Vexilar FLX is a must-have tool whenever I'm ice fishing, it is even more important with a Slender Spoon. This is because fish move so quickly in and out after this lure. If no fish move, it is time for you to move. This is definitely a lure for active fish.
I've also noticed is that it catches larger fish. If I've been fishing in a hole with a Demon, Ratfinkee, Ratso, 'Gill Pill or Diamond Jig and catching fish, a switch to the Slender Spoon often brings up the largest crappie. Sometimes I'll be catching crappies and bluegills on the aforementioned lures, then switch to the spoon and hit a bass in the same hole.
I carry one Frabill Straight-Line rod-and-reel combo, just for the spoon, so it is always rigged and ready to go. If the fish aren't hitting it, I put it away and use one of the other lures, going back to the spoon from time to time. If I get some hits from nice-size bass, then I'll switch to the spoon. The next time you head out ice fishing, try fishing slender.
If you have further questions about this or any other fishing subject, drop Dan Galusha a line through the Dan's Fish 'N' Tales Tales® website at dansfishntales.com, the Facebook page at facebook.com/dansfishntales or facebook.com/shootnplink.
Check out more articles on ice fishing, but keep quiet about it.


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'Ad Astra' tells human story on cosmic level
Hunter Friesen reviews James Gray's sci-fi film "Ad Astra," which follows Roy MdBride's (Brad Pitt) journey into space to find his father and save the planet. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an 83 percent rating.
You may not have noticed, but the 2010s have been a renaissance for space movies. It all started with "Gravity" in 2013, followed by "Interstellar," "The Martian" and "First Man." The one thing each of these great movies has in common is their ability to tell a story of perseverance and triumph on a universal scale, with the bonus of mind-blowing visual effects.
Another addition to the list of greats -— but not entirely for the same reasons — is James Gray's "Ad Astra."
Set in the near future, a catastrophic power surge travels across the solar system and strikes the earth, killing thousands. SpaceCom (the new NASA) has tracked down the source and believes it to most likely be from Dr. Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), whose last known location was near Neptune 16 years ago. The doctor's son, Major Roy McBride (Brad Pitt), happens to be the most respected engineer/astronaut in the world. Realizing the personal and planetary stakes this mission will have, Roy is recruited by the higher-ups to travel to the surge's source and destroy it before our planet is wiped out.
James Gray has always been a highbrow filmmaker who has been able to take big stars and concepts and use them for projects that reach beyond the tropes of the genre.
Just like in his previous film "The Lost City of Z," Gray here centers the story on a man on a journey, ending with the protagonist discovering more about himself than the destination he set out for.
But don't worry, the destination here is well worth your time as Gray makes full effect of the two things most scarce in space: light and sound. Hoyte Van Hoytema illuminates every vast beauty through his awe-inspiring photography, with Max Richter's soothingly intimate score perfectly complementing the most emotional moments.
Despite centrally being an emotional film, Gray does liven things up from time to time with a few action set pieces that are both extremely creative and tense. Each one encapsulates the perils of space and the feeling that humans are out of their element once they venture beyond their atmosphere.
The writing of "Ad Astra" is what makes this film unique. Having more in common with "Solaris" and "2001: A Space Odyssey" than the films mentioned in the beginning, Ethan Gross and Gray's screenplay delivers an introspective and philosophical story that increasingly becomes more human as the setting becomesmore cosmic.
The story is centralized through McBride as we follow his point of view through the dangerous mission. Narration by Pitt is used to convey his character's inner thoughts. Defying all norms of narrative storytelling, the narration works for the betterment of the film as it gives viewers an in-depth view of his perception of the unfolding events.
Gray's scripts have always had another layer to them. There is a sense of something deeper underneath that's slowly coming to the surface throughout the film. "Ad Astra" is another example of this trend as each line of dialogue or new information learned tends to serve dual purposes and lead to something bigger down the road.
There do end up being a few frayed storylines that don't receive the attention they deserve, but the overall story compensates for that fault, ending up as more than the sum of its parts.
Already having a banner year with "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," Brad Pitt possibly delivers his greatest performance here. While "Hollywood" used Pitt's movie star power to its full potential, here, the actor is at his most subtle and whole. He carries the emotional weight of the film and never holds back or gives too much, leaving with just the right amount of characterization.
Tommy Lee Jones is also great is his supporting role as the father, Clifford McBride. He's more haunting than Pitt as we see the full effects that decades of claustrophobic space travel can have on the human mind and spirit.
Liv Tyler shows up as Roy's significant other in a small supporting role that, judging by the trailers, was supposed to be a lot more central to the story before being edited down. Reserved more to flashbacks, Tyler gives the more emotionally heavy performance that contrasts with Pitt's.
Overall: 4.5/5
James Gray's "Ad Astra" is part of the space renaissance of this last decade. But instead of following in the footsteps of those films it has joined, it charges down its own path and tells a deeply humanistic story on a cosmic level. Make no mistake: this is one of the best films of the year.
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Leave a Reply to Eric Xavier Cancel reply
Eric Xavier	• Sep 26, 2019 at 12:05 am
Really liked the movie, wish it had a bit more action though.
https://www.northerniowan.com/11017/showcase/ad-astra-tells-human-story-on-cosmic-level/#comment-248


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'Star Wars' Cast and Fans Pay Tribute to David Prowse, Darth Vader Star Dead at 85
Ryan Lattanzio
November 29, 2020, 12:18 p.m. ·3 min read
David Prowse, the British actor most widely known as the man in the Darth Vader suit in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, died on Saturday at the age of 85 after battling an illness.
"It's with great regret and heart-wrenching sadness for us and million of fans around the world, to announce that our client Dave Prowse MBE has passed away at the age of 85," Prowse's agents Bowington Management tweeted on Sunday.
Other fans and cast members took to Twitter to pay tribute to Prowse, including Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill ("He was a kind man and much more than Darth Vader") to "Star Wars" superfan Edgar Wright, who wrote, "As a kid Dave Prowse couldn't be more famous to me; stalking along corridors as evil incarnate in the part of Darth Vader & stopping a whole generation of kiddies from being mown down in street as the Green Cross Code man. Rest in Peace, Bristol's finest."
"It was a great gift to work with him and an honor to call him my friend," Billy Dee Williams wrote. "The Mandalorian" cast member Rosario Dawson, and "Star Trek" lead William Shatner, also paid tribute. See below.
Born in 1935, Prowse was a weightlifting champion in his early days, winning the British championship in 1962 and representing England at the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane that year.
Other film roles included Frankenstein's monster in 1967's "Casino Royale," and again "The Horror of Frankenstein" in 1970 and "Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell" in 1974. He had a small role in Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" in 1971, which earned the attention of George Lucas, who reportedly auditioned Prowse for both the roles of Darth Vader and Chewbacca before Prowse eventually went to the Darkside. Because of Prowse's accent, however, the voice was performed by James Earl Jones.
Prowse had another major spotlight in British culture beginning in 1975 with his debut as "Green Cross Cod Man," a superhero starring in a British road safety campagin for kids. In 2000, he earned the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire award.
So sad to hear David Prowse has passed. He was a kind man & much more than Darth Vader. Actor-Husband-Father-Member of the Order of the British Empire-3 time British Weightlifting Champion & Safety Icon the Green Cross Code Man. He loved his fans as much as they loved him. #RIP pic.twitter.com/VbDrGu6iBz
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) November 29, 2020
Incredibly sad to hear Dave Prowse has passed. It was a great gift to work with him and an honor to call him my friend 💔#RIPDaveProwse #StarWars
— Billy Dee Williams (@realbdw) November 29, 2020
Saddened to wake up to the news that my Twitter friend David Prowse passed away. David, a literal giant among men, played many roles in his career. His most famous role was being the misunderstood father who tried to give the universe to his very disobedient twins. #DarthVader
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) November 29, 2020
Rest In Power David Prowse. The force is with you and your loved ones. Always has been. Always will be. #TimeToShineInTheLight pic.twitter.com/rFkyAJnZnW
— Rosario Dawson (@rosariodawson) November 29, 2020
As a kid Dave Prowse couldn't be more famous to me; stalking along corridors as evil incarnate in the part of Darth Vader & stopping a whole generation of kiddies from being mown down in street as the Green Cross Code man. Rest in Peace, Bristol's finest. https://t.co/VYdxM37JWb
— edgarwright (@edgarwright) November 29, 2020
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SIGNARAMA is the leader in custom-designed menu board signage. Our full-service signs center is your source for high-impact, easy-to-use indoor and outdoor menu boards. Using our state-of-the-art digital printing capabilities, we can easily design graphics that will clearly represent your product and encourage your customers to make certain purchasing decisions.
SIGNARAMA indoor menu boards are available in a variety of layouts and sizes from our basic single-panel to as many as 16 panels. Each menu board comes with an aluminum frame with a baked-on powder-coated finish, smooth or scalloped chrome corners and multiple colors to choose from. Custom-engraved wordstrips are also available in multiple colors and slide out of the frame with ease for quick changes, or choose from our series of magnetic wordstrips for even easier changes. Illuminated panels, high quality, full-color graphics and simple-to-read lettering make it easier for your customer to see your products and make a purchase.


Large sack of Alpaca fleece at £10 each.
We not only breed alpacas, we have other animals including a white goat, ponies and wallabies. We also have different types of birds including geese, an owl and two golden pheasants.
We started out in the White Peak district of Derbyshire with a few alpacas, growing over the years to the herd we have now. We moved to our present location in 2001. For those of you who are new to alpacas we are always happy to provide advice and assistance, in addition to the information on this website.
This website can only give you a flavour of alpacas ― to really appreciate their qualities you need to see them up close. We would be delighted to have you visit our farm and experience them first hand. Do come and see our alpacas ― you'll be glad you did.
Spend a day out in the Cheshire countryside visiting the White Peak Alpaca Farm of Mobberley. We are open Saturday - Monday 10am to 4pm. and by appointment during the week. Admission is £5 each.
We can cater for small groups if required.
We have teamed up with Wowcher so you can join us for a 60 min experience,among our Alpacas here at White Peak Farm.
While you are here why not ask Joanna for her exclusive walks with the Alpacas.
Looking for that Birthday gift or that special day out! but don't know what to get them.
We can solve that problem for you with a White Peak Alpaca Voucher.
You can buy a Voucher for your loved ones to spend at White Peak Alpaca Farm. They can be used for anything from entrance fee to alpaca products in the shop.
We have two price's which are £25 or £50.
Why not ask about them now for a Christmas present or just a treat for yourself.
© 2017 White Peak Alpaca Farm All Rights Reserved.


Ceramic and marble tiles come in various colors and textures which are often used for designing floors. Marble tiles mostly come in black and white with different striations while ceramic tiles come in a wide range of colors. So, what tile works best for your house? To help you decide, we have listed the pros and cons of ceramic and marble tiles.
ECONOMICAL FACTOR – Marble is expensive because it has to be mined and cut into tiles. This increases the cost. It takes less time to install, but needs extra baseboard support. Ceramic grouts range between 3/16 inches to half an inch, whereas marble tiles come with 1/16th inch of the grout line. Installation cost is cheaper for ceramic tiles as it does not need experts to install.
MAINTENANCE – The glaze on ceramic tiles protect the tile from wearing off and is maintenance free. Marble tiles are of superior quality but require more maintenance because it can easily leave stains due to its porous surface. Therefore, resin sealer should be used and sealed after few months. Marble tiles need to be cleaned every year to remove stains. One can get glazed marble tiles these days. It is also softer which can result in cracks. Marble keeps the house cool in summers, but can keep the room cold in winters. Since it can leave stain, use a mild detergent to clean the marble floor almost every day. Non yellowing wax can be used to give that extra stain proof layer. On the other hand, ceramic tiles do not need a professional to install. But once chipped off, it is difficult to be repaired or resurfaced.
DURABLE – Both tiles are durable but are prone to different damages. Marbles can withstand cold, while ceramic tiles may not be a good option in winter. Ceramic flooring can easily get cracks while marble tiles can get scratches and dents. Ceramic tiles are best suited for bathroom, kitchen, outside areas like patio as these areas are more exposed to moisture. On the other hand, sealed marble tiles last longer when used for kitchen cabinets. Both tiles have a long-lasting effect.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTOR – Some home re-modelers say marble is more environment-friendly because it is a natural stone that has been mined and cannot deplete. The Eco-friendly nature of ceramic depends on how it has been manufactured.
Before selecting the tiles, consider how the space will be used – is it for outdoors, exposure to moisture, location, etc. Whether you are going for stunning marble tiles or exquisite looking ceramic tiles, get in touch with a reputed tile installer or home remodeling.


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Axminster youth admits burglaries in the town
Published: 12:00 PM June 24, 2010
AN AXMINSTER youth has admitted carrying out a spate of burglaries in the town.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, burgled several properties between May 25 and June 1.
He was accused with co-defendant Michael Peter Taylor, 19, for a break-in at Cloakham Lawns Sports Centre, with intent to steal, and a burgly at a house in North Street - stealing goods to the value of �441.
He was also charged with a burglary at Bolts Hair Design, stealing �50 in cash; stealing food items from the United Reformed Church; and entering as a trespessar with the intent to steal at Karen's Hair Fashions.
He pleaded guilty to all five charges, which Central Devon Magistrates' Youth Court gave him credit for when sentencing.
The youth was referred to Exeter Youth Offending Team panel, for a contract of nine months.
1 Five-year-old girl dies after road accident near Honiton
2 Dramatic departure of six Honiton councillors after council tax vote
3 Devon model railway manufacturer expands factory space to keep up with demand
4 Serious road accident at Wilmington
5 Information sought on fly-tipping incident in Honiton
6 Mum-to-be's relaxing holiday ends in baby being delivered at Devon resort
7 New £60,000 funding for Honiton play park
8 Rise on the rise with confident home victory
9 Bringing the best of British to Honiton
10 Aldi chocolate and yoghurts containing metal among recent recalled products


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October 6, 2009 .
Jeff White Biography
Director of News Content for VirginiaSports.com
In 2009 Jeff White joined the Virginia athletics staff as the Director of News Content for VirginiaSports.com. White, a 1985 graduate of UVa, previously worked as a sports writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Before coming to UVa, White worked for newspapers in Richmond for 21 years. He started with the afternoon News Leader and then moved to The Times-Dispatch when the papers merged in 1992. He covered the UVa beat from 2000 to 2009. The National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association honored him six times since 2001 as the Sportswriter of the Year in Virginia.
In addition to writing for VirginiaSports.com, he contributes to Virginia's athletics Facebook and Twitter sites throughout the year.
White and his wife, Beth, also a UVa graduate, have two children: Hannah and Zack.
Five Cavaliers Named Preseason All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse
Virginia Men's Tennis Match vs. Richmond Moved to Saturday
Virginia Swimming & Diving Hosts UNC, NC State this Weekend


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Tag Archives: Boston Marathon
8 Notes on the Boston Marathon Bombing
I first found out about the Boston Marathon bombings while I was on my way out of one class and on the way to another. There's something fundamentally weird about hearing of a probable terrorist attack through your ESPN app. When I arrived at my next class, the instructor asked us all to forget about the events in Boston for an hour and a half and try and focus on the course material at hand. It was impossible. I was able to make it through most of the class passing between the readings and coverage of the events, but I lost it while reading a tweet about marathon runners continuing to run to Mass General to donate blood. I think the professor saw me.
After class, I purchased a six-pack of Sam Adams and T.G.I. Fridays-brand potato skins for dinner. It seemed like a stoic move at the time, a way to show support for such a beloved and beleaguered city while proclaiming my Americanism. I'm now not so sure about it. Continue reading →
Tags: 9/11, America, Bombing, Boston, Boston Marathon, civilians, CNN, Copley Square, death toll, Mass General, Patriot's Day, Sam Adams, September 11
Categories Essays, Lists
Hate a Random Country: São Tomé and Príncipe
NASCAR hasn't quite caught on here yet
It is widely understood that island nations are the gingers of the international community. Under that model, the pitiful African state known as São Tomé and Príncipe is the global equivalent of Molly Weasley. Boasting a population slightly smaller than that of Boise, São Tomé and Príncipe, (henceforth to be referred to as STP, so I don't have to type all of those goddamn accents) is a volcanic island chain off the coast of the prosperous, stable nation of Gabon. The country is technically a "Democratic Republic," but it's safe to presume that whoever told them they were a democratic republic is the same person who told Dr. Dre he was a doctor. However, since the atrophied remainder of my moral fiber prevents me from scrutinizing a country for its legitimate poverty and instability, I'll just stick with my tried-and-true routine of scrutinizing a country for its culture and heritage.
Even a high James Franco could design a better flag than this.
We'll start with the national flag. The predominant colors on the flag are yellow, green, and red; a ground-breakingly creative move on the part of STP. The only other West African countries with those colors are Ghana, Togo, Benin, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Senegal, Cameroon, and Burkina Faso. And you thought those nights of drunken Sporcle wouldn't amount to anything. To add to the cliché color scheme of the flag, note that the flag displays a whopping two stars. First of all, since everyone's thinking it: by default, the United States is 25 times better than this lamentable excuse for a country. Really, though, two stars? In the context of constellations, two stars can get you the left half of a belt or about one-third of a fucking spoon. In the context of kindergarten, the kids who wound up twenty years later with meth labs in their basement had no trouble getting a pair of stars on a spelling test. Even the hardly-picturesque Chicago night sky shines with more than two stars. Skeptics may conjure up horseshit excuses like "They represent the two islands that make up the nation," but at the end of the day, the two stars are about as pathetic as Oprah Winfrey standing next to Pippa Middleton.
It's kind of tough when your soccer pitch is a fucking sandlot
As if the national banner didn't shed enough light on the nation's inherent rancidness, a little Wikipedia page called "São Tomé and Príncipe national football team"offers some more material. One fascinating table on this page revealed STP's World Cup record; the words "Did Not Qualify" appeared so many times, you'd think Rosie O'Donnell was trying to run in the Boston Marathon. On several occasions, they even failed to qualify for the African Nations' Cup – essentially, they got a rejection letter from a community college. Even more laughable are STP's record games; in 1976, STP suffered an 11-0 loss at the hands of The Congo. That's almost as bad as losing a night game to Purdue. On the bright side, there are two games tied for STP's biggest win: the 2-0 decimation of Equatorial Guinea in 1999 and the 2-0 rout of Sierra Leone in 2000. However, after the magnificent 1999-2000 season, the glory days of two goals in one game became nothing but a fond memory amidst a sea of pimp-slaps from various Western African republics. STP's next match is against the Republic of the Congo (yet another rival yellow-green-red flagged country) in November 2011 – who knows? Perhaps they'll break a national record and win by more than 2 goals. But more likely, they'll be curb-stomped into submission by the country that inspired "Heart of Darkness."
This country is almost as disappointing as The Matrix Revolutions
It goes without saying that STP is a steaming cocksicle of a nation. Yes, it's tropical and shit, but so is Brazil, and we all know how atrocious that place is. Any nation that prides itself on the number of stars that Ebert and Roeper would instinctively give a movie with Keanu Reeves, has never won a soccer game by three or more goals, and is located on a fucking island can count of being devoid of my adoration. So join the ranks, São Tomé and Príncipe – Uruguay, New Zealand, and dozens of other horrendous countries will welcome your unabashed taintitude with open arms.
Tags: "Hate a Random Country", Africa, African Nations' Cup, African state, atrocious, atrophied remainder of my moral fiber, Benin, Boise, Boston Marathon, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chicago night sky, cliche, constellations, culture, Democratic Republic, Dr. Dre, drunken Sporcle, Ebert and Roeper, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, gingers, glory days, green, Guindea, Guinea-Bissau, Heart of Darkness, heritage, horseshit excuse, instability, international community, island nations, Keanu Reeves, lamentable excuse for a country, losing a night game to Purdue, Mali, meth labs, Molly Weasley, nation's inherent rancidness, national flag, national football team, New Zealand, Oprah Winfrey, Pippa Middleton, population, poverty, red, rejection letter from a community college, Republic of the Congo, Rosie O'Donnell, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sherman Ave, Sierra Leone, steaming cocksicle of a nation, STP, The Congo, Togo, tropical, two islands, two stars, unabashed taintitude, Uruguay, volcanic island chain, Western African republics, Wikipedia page, World Cup record, yellow
Categories Hate a Random Country
Author Ross Packingham


Involuntary attention to faces is a behavior seen from birth and is a key factor underlying the development of social skills. Maturation of social skills continues through increased regulation of involuntary attention to social stimuli. Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders typified by inattention to faces and poor development of social skills. It has been hypothesized that abnormal activity of the amygdala, a region thought to respond to salience, may underlie abnormal social attention in ASD. However, the relationship between amygdala activity and involuntary attention to social stimuli is unclear, particularly in the context of developing social skill. To investigate these relationships, this dissertation describes three studies conducted evaluating the relationship between functional connectivity (FC) of the amygdala and involuntary attention to faces. The first study investigated amygdala FC during involuntary attentional orienting to emotional faces from late childhood through late adolescence, to better understand the relationship between amygdala FC and the development of mature social attention. Results found that amygdala FC with cognitive control regions increased with age, while FC with attentional orienting and emotion processing regions decreased with age. Results also showed a developmental shift from increased amygdala FC for negative stimuli in late childhood to increased amygdala FC for positive stimuli in late adolescence. The second study investigated amygdala FC during involuntary attentional orienting to emotional faces in children with ASD. Results found that amygdala FC was increased with cognitive control regions during orienting to both positive and negative emotions, but that FC with attentional orienting and emotion processing regions differed by valence. The third study investigated amygdala FC during the conscious inhibition of involuntary attention to emotional faces in children with ASD. This study demonstrated that amygdala FC with cognitive control and emotion processing regions was increased in children with ASD during inhibition of attention to facial stimuli. Together these studies show that effective FC between the amygdala and cognitive control regions leads to better regulation of involuntary attention to emotional faces, while ineffective FC between amygdala and cognitive control regions may account for abnormal social attention in ASD.


For people with a chronic health condition, managing medication is typically an ongoing challenge. Recent reports estimate that medical mistakes are the eighth most common cause of death in the United States.
A tiny startup called PillPack wants to solve this problem with its new online pharmacy. For $20 a month, PillPack makes it easier for patients to manage their meds so they won't miss any of the crucial pills they need.
The company, founded by TJ Parker (who grew up in the pharmacy business and worked at Massive Health before it was acquired by Jawbone), disclosed today that it has raised $4 million in venture funding in July from Atlas Venture and Founder Collective. The Manchester, N.H.-based company opted to delay this announcement until its commercial launch in 31 states today.
Sign up online and you receive all your prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, and vitamins in a two-week roll of individual packs, which are organized by date and time. PillPack works with your doctor and insurance provider if a prescription requires a prior authorization, and it manages your refills. Customers are also billed every two weeks in one comprehensive charge. The company has hired pharmacists to answer questions 24 hours a day.
This isn't the only startup helping patients take their medication on time. Medisafe Project makes a mobile app that reminds people to take their pills, and Mango Health has a gorgeous mobile app that offers a "fun new way" for patients to manage their medications and reach health goals.
"PillPack is a breath of fresh air for anyone who has spent endless hours counting pills, coordinating medications, and navigating a complex system that causes frequent and often serious errors," said Fred Destin, a partner with Atlas Venture, in a statement to the press.
Watch the video below to learn more about PillPack's service.


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Hoole Methodist Church "Let all the World in every corner sing: My God and King!"
About our Organ
The old pipe organ was installed second hand shortly after the Church opened in 1928 and apart from a good clean in 1990; only running repairs were ever undertaken. Although the organ sounded well, it was built of inferior quality materials, and in latter years the number of niggling faults coupled with the need for tuning visits was on the increase.
It's never easy saying goodbye to an organ you've enjoyed listening to or played for many years, however, the Church, decided that purchasing a digital organ was the way forward, as we would never raise sufficient funds to replace the pipe organ with another pipe organ.
After investigating the market, it was decided that The Organ Workshop headed by Hugh Banton, who as well as having a lifelong interest in electronics and music has over 25 years experience in electronic organ design and voicing, and is also a professional organist and musician, was the way forward. The Organ Workshop offer a range of services, but it was their ability to custom design and build an organ for our particular Church that got them the job!
There were no restrictions, other than financial, in terms of stop list, couplers or voicing style and they had the ability and enthusiasm to produce a console to fit within the existing pipe organ facade. All the woodwork, including the new console, has been expertly built into the existing pipe facade by Renatus Ltd., who are now the leading independent suppliers to the whole pipe & digital organ industry. We can't praise the quality of their workmanship highly enough, an organ to be seen as well as heard!
click link to view organ specification
For those interested in the technicalities, the organ is based on the Bradford System (BEST) developer at Bradford University. The system uses additive synthesis to create sound and is able to build up sounds from sine waves, making it uniquely flexible in allowing the sounds to be changed to suit the type of building acoustic in which the organ is to be played. The Bradford System is used and understood by numerous manufacturers and engineers and is the system used by Copeman Hart and Norwich Organs in the UK, as well as other firms in USA, Germany and Holland. It is probably the only system used by several digital organ builders as all other manufacturers use systems unique to themselves.
The initial installation took place in December 2007 but as mentioned above, the ability for on-going refinement of the sound is a feature of the Bradford System. The organ has 3 manuals and 45 speaking stops, along with the usual couplers and pistons. We aren't making any wild claims about the new organ other than to say surprisingly, that not one member of the congregation has said they'd prefer the pipe organ back, which is quite a relief!


Assigned to the Nuremberg war trials, special agent James Cronley, Jr., finds himself fighting wars on multiple fronts, in a dramatic entry in the popular series about the birth of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Cold War. By the author of Curtain of Death.
In a novel set in the near-future, a rural's life is disrupted when the man is called for a distant mission, and his wife receives an unconventional replacement so he won't be missed. By the internationally best-selling author of I'm Thinking of Ending Things.
I Let You Go follows Jenna Gray as she moves to a ramshackle cottage on the remote Welsh coast, trying to escape the memory of the car accident that plays again and again in her mind and desperate to heal from the loss of her child and the rest of her painful past. At the same time, the novel tracks the pair of Bristol police investigators trying to get to the bottom of this hit-and-run. As they chase down one hopeless lead after another, they find themselves as drawn to each other as they are to the frustrating, twist-filled case before them.
The author of The Sixth Day and Riptide presents a next high-suspense entry the best-selling FBI Thriller series.


One Solution for your Payroll Needs!
Union reporting, certified payroll and multi-state processing are just a few of the unique requirements faced by construction payroll departments. AccuBuild's Payroll module provides the flexibility and functionality you need to efficiently handle these issues and control the entire construction payroll process. With AccuBuild's construction accounting software, you can be confident that complex calculations are computed accurately. For example, our construction Payroll module can calculate pay for a single employee on several job sites, in multiple states, under multiple union jurisdictions, and under a variety of workers' compensation insurance classifications – all within the same pay period.
AccuBuild's construction Payroll module lets you choose pay methods, set user-defined deductions and automatically calculate employer burdens. Prevailing wage reporting for state and federal projects can be based on job site location. And unlimited time card entries are available for each job and phase. With AccuBuild, you can even execute multiple payroll runs within a single pay period to generate payroll checks as needed.
Detailed reporting with various formats and sort options let you view data the way you want to see it. Certified payroll, prevailing wage, union, workers' compensation and quarterly payroll tax reports are just some of the many standard reporting options available within AccuBuild's construction Payroll module.
What's more, AccuBuild is an integrated construction accounting software system, which means that labor hours entered in Payroll immediately update in Job Cost without the need for additional data entry.
This report allows you to verify tax calculations and validate taxable wages prior to printing payroll checks. This information is very useful for companies with retirement and cafeteria plans where contributions to the various plans are exempt from certain payroll taxes.
Local deductions can be set up for any local city, county, or school district taxes and may be assigned to each job so that the tax amounts are calculated accurately as the employee works on various job site locations. Reciprocal tax calculations are supported between each local tax entity. In addition, you may use local deductions to handle other types of payroll deductions such as tax levies, child support and payroll benefit plans. Each of these deductions are assigned to their respective collection agencies and accrued to the designated G/L Account. Local deductions can be set up for specific state codes or designated for all states.
Reports can be generated at any time for jobs that require Certified Payroll Reports. These reports can be generated for any payroll period in any payroll year, so if they are lost or misplaced, they can be reproduced easily. These reports can be generated for both union and non-union contractors and include a Statement of Compliance.
AccuBuild's Union Reports are very comprehensive and allow for up to 15 benefit accumulators per union classification. In most cases, these reports may be submitted directly to the union administration office along with your payment. Union burden amounts are accrued during each payroll run and expensed to the various jobs. These accrued amounts are then included on the monthly reports to ensure that the accrued amounts match the monthly total being paid to the union.
During the Payroll posting process, AccuBuild's construction payroll software automatically calculates the employer's burden along with an employee's gross wages in order to expense accurate labor costs to various jobs. These burden calculations include union benefits, workers' compensation, liability insurance and all associated Payroll taxes paid by the employer. This report can be generated for any time period to recap the costs for each employee on each project and cost phase. This historical cost information is a valuable tool for project managers and estimators to use when reviewing how actual labor costs compare to the original estimates.


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Tag: bacon
The Following Review
jcannon - March 5, 2013 1
Whenever we see a network promoting a new show we can always assume one of three things: It's a crime drama, it's a comedy that'll get axed after two episodes or it's an American remake of a British show that will get axed after one episode. There appears to be a plethora of crime dramas on the air today, such as NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, CSI, CSI: New York, Hawaii Five-O, The Mentalist, Castle, Bones, Criminal Minds, Body of Proof, Blue Bloods, Southland…you get the idea. Every once and awhile, amidst the countless CSI spinoffs, there's one cop drama gem that tries to take a unique look at the genre. Some of those include Justified and The Killing. The latest attempt at defining the genre is Fox's The Following featuring the latest stud to switch from movies to television, Kevin Bacon (Mmmm…bacon).


2017 has seen some big wins for the Israeli autonomous vehicle sector, with Mobileye's sale for $15.3B at the beginning of the year and just last week, Argus, the Tel Aviv based autonomous cyber security startup was sold for a reported $430M. Founded in just 2013, its sale and that of Mobileye, demonstrates how rapidly the automotive industry is evolving and how Israel is primed to drive its transformation.
We've been charting the sector's growth and have been investing in it for several years now, with Arbe Robotics being one of our more recent investments. So to get a sense of how those on the inside are feeling with all this good news, we spoke to Arbe Robotics founder, Kobi Morenko, about what he believes this latest sale means for autonomous vehicles and Israel.
With another big win for the autonomous vehicle sector last week, is confidence running high?
"The Argus deal highlights that companies… with the right technology have a huge opportunity to capitalize on an industry that's going through a period of huge transformation. And Israel is best placed to capitalize.
"Because Israel is leading the way when it comes to R&D for autonomous driving. The innovation in the Israeli market is a close second to that of Silicon Valley and certainly far superior than any other place in the world.
It all sounds very positive but there must been some areas of caution or challenges?
"For us the bad news is that the big players in the industry are showing that they're not going anywhere. I can't foresee much change happening in the next ten years – the majority of cars on the road will still be produced by the existing manufactures who will continue to have the stronghold thanks to relationships with their existing tier 1s.
It therefore means that the majority of automotive startups will be purchased and we won't see the likes of Facebook, Uber or Amazon of autonomous driving. Instead, we'll see 99% of successful startups being bought with valuations around the price of this deal ±.
How has 2017 been for Arbe Robotics?


Sometimes a standard length cable is just too short. You just need cables for your latest custom cre..
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Save yourself plenty of time and work with a driver instead of a hex key. These 2.0mm hex drivers ha..
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Q: What command convert mjpeg IP camera streaming to mp4 file with lowest CPU usage? like above question, I want find out what ffmpeg command can help me reduce cpu usage when running 50 IP camera (running same 50 command).
My ffmpeg command:
ffmpeg  -f mjpeg -y -use_wallclock_as_timestamps 1 -i 'http://x.x.x.x:8090/test1?.mjpg' -r 3 -reconnect 1 -loglevel 16 -c:v mjpeg -an -qscale 10 -copyts '1.mp4'

50 command like that take my computer (4 core) 200% CPU
I want this computer can run for 150 camera, any advise?
=========================================================
using -c:v copy can make it faster but fize size is terrible
I try slow down frame rate by 3 with -r 3 or -framerate 3 to decrease file size but not succesful  (because vcodec copy can't do that).
Have any option to force input frame rate by 3?
(sorry for my bad English)

A: by setting -c:v mjpeg you are decoding and re-encoding the stream. set -c:v copy to copy the data without re-encoding it.

A: ffmpeg -re -i 'rtsp://user:password@10.10.10.30/rtsp_tunnel' -pix_fmt yuv420p -c:v libx264 -preset ultrafast -profile baseline -crf 18 -f h264 udp://0.0.0.0:3001


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Cecilia Violetta Lopez: More than a "Zoom" – a Blast-Off!
By Meizhu Lui on July 7, 2020 REVIEWS
The old cliché is that "if life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Hawaii has tons of lemons, and the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival (HPAF), judging from the opening concert on Monday, July 6, is making a big batch of a unique blend of lemonade that will both wake up your taste buds and fill you with delight. Yes, we cannot see the performances in person; yes, our computers don't have great sound systems. But those sour notes are made up for by the sweetness of having a free front-row seat, and by getting to know the performer like a new friend through the Q&A after the show in the chatbox.
It was fitting to have Cecilia Violetta Lopez open the season. First, she is a 2011 graduate of HPAF. Second, she went on with only a BA in hand to become a bona fide rising star – she was named one of 25 "Rising Stars" by Opera News. Last but not least, the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis caused many organizations including HPAF to think deeply about how they might more consciously address racial inequities. Cecilia, a Mexican American who worked with her immigrant mother in the beet fields of Idaho, exemplifies the talent in communities of color that only need the opportunity to blast off to the moon. I'm proud that HPAF is re-examining and refining its commitment to racial diversity.
To get us comfortable, Cecilia began with the familiar and beloved aria "O mio babbino" from Puccini's opera, Gianni Schicchi. Those held high notes are always heart stoppers, but I not only had chicken skin, but unexpected tears came down my face, I was so moved by the passion combined with the delicacy of her interpretation. "Prendi" from L'elisir D'amore by Donizetti showcased her vocal control. There are long runs of rapid 16th notes and several soaring cadenzas which she made seem effortless. Because of her ability to convey nuances of emotion and her unobtrusive vibrato, her singing is almost conversational, perfect for opera.
Cecilia sang in her living room with her piano accompanist, and in that bare-bones setting, she was able to demonstrate her talent not just as a singer but also as an actress. Her face and eyes are so expressive; with just her hands and face, she made us understand the characters she was portraying. For example, as Manon from Massenet's opera, she captures the excitement of the young woman who has just arrived in the city on her first trip away from home; she is so bedazzled she is both crying and laughing at the same time. By illuminating Manon's youthful naivete with face and voice, Cecilia makes us understand what drives her tragic trajectory. Given a tiny taste of Manon, we can tell that it would be amazing to see her perform the whole opera. What if there was also a set, costumes, an orchestra!
Her last set was special because the selections sprang from her roots. She sang three songs of the early 20th century in the Mexican folk tradition, songs which she heard from her mother as they worked together. Jose Alfredo Jimenez wrote musica ranchera, songs either sung solo or with a guitar; for this music, the piano is less than ideal but we make do with what we have in these COVID times, and her accompanist captured the spirit well. Her final selection, Tato Nacho's "La Borrachita," with its lovely, simple melody and intense emotion – it can be sung with over-the-top melodrama, but Cecilia keeps it real – brought tears to her own eyes, as the song brought back childhood memories. These songs gave us a window into her life and into the history of Mexican immigrants.
While Cecilia's warm, animated, and gracious personality shone through her performance – how many performers do you see affectionately pat their accompanist on the shoulder?! – the question and answer period at the end, moderated by HPAF Executive Director Justin John Moniz and Artistic Director Val Underwood, made us feel like we were all sitting together next to her, soaking in her energy and wisdom. She reminded us that there is science behind the vocal technique and that you must be hyperaware of what's going on with your "instrument," and to take good care of it. For students watching, it must have been both inspiring to hear the vocal results of the hard work and practice it took to earn her "rising stardom," and reassuring to find that she's a modest person one might have been friends with as a child in rural Idaho.
Thanks to HPAF for the refreshing lemonade, on which we plan to become "borracho" – drunk! – over the next two weeks. Cecilia Violetta Lopez and Monday's opening night at noon – fantastico!
Meizhu Lui didn't know there was any other kind of music except classical until she hit junior high! Piano and flute have been her own instruments of choice. She is now pursuing her bucket list goal of deepening her musical knowledge and skills.
Photos courtesy of CeciliaViolettaLopez.com
Big Island Music Magazine Cecilia Violetta Lopez Hawaii Performing Arts Festival HPAF
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Rockin' The Kahilu… Dirty Cello Does It Once Again!


Join us for the 2018/2019 Basketball Season! No matter what your child's skill level or age — you will find a basketball program to fit your needs.
In the Travel/House League program, players develop offensive and defensive fundamentals while working in a team setting and competing with friends. The programs include officiated games, trained/certified coaches, team uniforms and championship/participation awards. Practices and games are assigned a 60-90 minute time slot within the listed time period.
For those looking for a more competitive program, players in the Elite and Feeder Basketball program play against teams and participate in tournaments throughout the Chicagoland area. Teams practice 2 days a week. The day, time and location of practices vary depending on the program. Home games are played at the Rec Center of Highland Park, Northwood Jr. High, or Highland Park High School. Games are held primarily on the weekends, but there is the possibility of weeknight games.
The 6th grade Boys Feeder team will play games starting in Mid January with the Boy 7th and 8th grade Feeder teams. Teams will start practicing one day a week starting in October and two days a week starting in November. Teams will also participate in tournaments in December and early part of January before the feeder season gets underway in mid January.
Highland Park High School Varsity Coach, Paul Harris and his staff will introduce the high school system (attitude, dedication, loyalty and communication). Practices will be held on Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons at Highland Park High School. Games will be scheduled against other feeder programs such as Niles North, Stevenson and Buffalo Grove. Games will begin in mid January after the middle school season has been completed. They will be primarilty on weekends but their will be some weeknight games. Players will be selected to an "A", "B" or Developmental team. Players who make the "A" or "B" team will pay an additional fee of $470. Players who are selected to the Development team do not pay an additional fee.
The Girls 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade Feeder teams will participate in the Northern Illinois Girls Basketball Feeder Association. Each team will practice two days a week. Those days will be determined by the players, coach and gym availability. Games will begin in mid January after the middle school season has been completed. They will be primarilty on weekends but their will be some weeknight games.
Boys and Girls, Grades K-8 develop offensive and defensive fundamentals while working in a team setting and competing with friends.
(Grades 3 & 4) Register Here!
Players compete in the North Suburban Basketball League (NSBL) and tournaments in the Chicagoland area.
Welcome to the Park District of Highland Park Tournaments page! For tournament information please see below. We take pride in hosting our tournaments at some of the best facilities on the North Shore.


Two dice and nine numbered flaps make up this clever game of skill and fortune. Each player takes it in turn to throw the dice. Each time the dice is thrown the player may close one or more flaps with a total 'value' that matches the combined value of the two dice. For example if a player throws a five and a four, they could close either just the flap marked '9', or both the '5' and '4' or '6' and '3' or '2', '3' and '4' or any other combination. If you cannot close a flap or flaps to the value of the dice, the turn passes to your opponent. The object is to finish your turn, leaving as few flaps open as possible. A small wager often adds fun to the result! Instructions included.
This classic game of Solitaire makes a wonderful gift for anybody and it is one of the few games for solo play. Made with superb quality board and the balls are made from re-forested hardwood. Peg Solitaire is one of the most recognisable and popular board games of all time. With easy-to-learn rules and seemingly simple goals, many are taken by surprise when they discover how deceivingly difficult the puzzle turns out to be. The object of the game is to not only remove all of the pegs from the board by jumping over them with any of the other pegs, but also to accomplish this daunting task while simultaneously ending your jumping spree with a peg resting exactly in the centre hole of the board.
A popular classic which has been given a contemporary twist. Presented in a luxury black, faux leather case with white stitching, each game contains finest quality pieces and makes an ideal gift for both the novice and serious games player. The set comes in attractive metallic silver packaging and include comprehensive rules. The set contains everything needed to play cribbage including a folding wooden board, a set of metal pegs and a pack of playing cards.
The classic game for two to six players. Superb quality board made from reforested hardwood and wooden pegs. Each player takes a different coloured set of men and 'hops' their way across the board in an attempt to get all their pieces into the opposite point of the star. When all players have their pieces in the centre of the board it gets a bit like Spaghetti Junction! Instructions included.
PLEASE NOTE - the manufactuer Gibson have updated this set to a white domino on both sides rather than the black & white shown. Our imagery will be updated as soon as we have more stock to photograph. All online imagery about this product (on whatever site) is currently out of date. It\'s still a lovely set though! A popular classic which has been given a contemporary twist. Presented in a luxury black, faux leather case with white stitching, each game contains finest quality pieces and makes an ideal gift for both the novice and serious games player. The set comes in attractive metallic silver packaging and include comprehensive rules. The set contains everything needed to play dominoes including 28 competition quality \'Double-six\' sandwich tiles with metal spinners. Also includes comprehensive rules.
A popular classic which has been given a contemporary twist. Presented in a luxury black, faux leather case with white stitching, the set contains finest quality pieces and makes an ideal gift for both the novice and serious games player. It is packaged in an attractive metallic silver box and contains everything needed to play Mah Jongg including 144 engraved two tone tiles, four wooden racks, wind indicator, scoring sticks, dice and comprehensive rules.
How many times have you been on holiday and thought, "To make this moment complete would be a game of cribbage...but I haven't got a board!" Made from the finest quality wood from sustainable forests, this board is everything you could ask for. Complete with pegs (three coated black, three plain metal) and instruction sheet, the board folds up to the same size as a cigar case to fit snuggly into that dinner jacket ready for when the gentlemen take leave of their ladies and retire to the smoking room, where one might hear the phrase "one for his knob"
This compact set, beautifully made from re-forested hardwood is the ideal travel companion. Packaged in an attractive green box and includes a comprehensive rules booklet. The set has a hinged top to allow the Chessmen to be stored inside. Game instructions are included.


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Why plummeting panel prices could mean industry instability
The U.S. market watched the prequel to this current panel price-slide in 2011 — and the question is why the sequel is happening again so soon.
October 4, 2016 Frank Andorka
Markets & Policy
Photo: White Gorilla Media
Solar panel prices are falling again, thanks to miscalculations by (primarily) Chinese manufacturers. Recent data suggests prices are sliding, which is good news for downstream installers and consumers across the United States — but is horrible news for PV makers.
For those with institutional memory, they will remember the industry saw the prequel to the current movie — and for those PV module manufacturers who aren't prepared to compete, it could have devastating consequences.
The U.S. industry faced a similar situation in 2011, when a flood of undervalued panels entered the market. Overproduction by Chinese manufacturers, designed to capture marketshare from the German firms that were dominating the market at the time, allowed them to unload panels at aggressively low prices (often below the actual manufacturing costs) and PV makers felt the bite across the board.
While the panel-beat reporter at Solar Power World, I witnessed the pain first hand. At my first Solar Power International show in 2011, on the final day, I met with one marketing person from a Chinese manufacturer who was the most depressed marketing person I've ever met. He told me the price drops were killing the panel market and that few — if any — panel companies would make profits that year. That marketing person's company went belly up, and he was quickly out of a job. No wonder he was depressed.
2011 was a rough year for PV makers. Manufacturer after manufacturer pulled out of the U.S. market, costing the industry competition and Americans jobs. Things got so bad that one PV maker launched a crusade against Chinese manufacturing that has an impact on the industry to this day.
While the causes are different, Paula Mints, founder and chief market research analyst for research firm SPV Market Research, says the results may well be similar. Mints cautions, however, that those who make direct comparisons between now and 2011 are ignoring the different causes.
"This time, the price slide is caused overproduction by Chinese manufacturers and Taiwanese cell manufacturers," Mints says. "On the part of the Chinese, it was primarily to fulfill demand for its accelerating domestic market — 22-GWp by July and probably around 28-GWp by the end of the year. The government only wanted 15-GWp a year."
Mints adds that despite a highly unprofitable market, slow or no FiT payments, and high levels of curtailment, developers (in most cases developers in China are directly connected to manufacturers) just kept on building.
Eventually, however, the Chinese government stopped the unmanageable building, which leaves gigawatt levels of production — at this point it is manufacturer inventory — needing a home. Unlike 2011, which was aggressive pricing by Chinese manufacturers to capture marketshare, today's slide is caused by panic selling, Mints says.
Mints adds that it remains to be seen if the industry can learn the lesson it didn't before — that these low prices are not progress and not related to cost. But she's afraid she's already seeing evidence of unlearned lessons.
"Unfortunately, we're seeing this lesson play out again on the demand side, too, where low PPA bids are a gathering storm indicating margin compression for developers." Mints says. "For cell and module manufacturers, they are currently in the unenviable position of struggling to make profits."
Mints sees the slide continuing for several months as the oversupply of panels works its way into the market and production is scaled back.
All of which is reason for savvy investors and industry observers to watch the panel market closely. It could be a bumpy ride for a while, and there may be some manufacturers that succumb to the competition. Let's hope the collateral damage that results panic selling doesn't result in the industry bloodbath that followed the 2011 drop.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author's own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.


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Come a Little Bit Closer is the seventh book in Bella Andre's featuring the Sullivans (specifically, the San Francisco Sullivans) and tells the story of Smith Sullivan, mega-movie star and the woman he falls in love with Valentina Landon. The Sullivan books don't have to be read in order, but they are certainly more enjoyable when you do. Case in point: one of the supporting characters in this book and Valentina's sister, Tatiana Sullivan, will return in the tenth book of the series, Just to Be With You. That book makes several mentions to the movie that Smith is producing, directing and starring in during this book, Gravity. Another kind of easter egg is that at the close of this book, there's a reference to the Maverick Group, which is a nod to another of Andre's series that she co-authors with Jennifer Skully. To recap then, you can completely read these books in any order and you can skip books if you don't they will appeal to you. On a personal note, I've skipped books three and eight, but read all of the others in the San Francisco and Seattle Sullivans series.
There are three watchwords around which much of the thematic content of the book revolves–close, closer, and gravity. Not going to spoil that for you, but if you do pick the book up, make sure to pay attention to Andre's use of those words in particular. It gives a lot of insight into Smith and Valentina's needs and their relationships with each other and their families. As alluded to above, the story finds Smith starting the first day of production on a film where he wrote the screenplay himself and is producing, directing and acting in the film. It is a major turning point in his career, and he is intent upon not losing his focus at such a crucial moment. And yet, he can't help but be distracted by his co-star's sister, Valentina Landon. As Tatiana's business manager, she will be on the set everyday, and finding a way to ignore his attraction is part of his internal struggle. The love story between Smith and Valentina takes place against the backdrop of a film in production, and it's no coincidence that the film is also a love story, where the male protagonist bares many similarities to Smith, his creator. One aspect of the novel that makes this book stand out among the other books in this series is that Andre plays with the narrative structure, showing the scenes that are being filmed by narrating the events so that readers can follow the parallel story. She does this by showing it through Valentina's point-of-view, though it's not necessarily true to how we would absorb it if we were watching the actors play out the scene. All we would see is the dialogue, the characters' body language, the background; we wouldn't have privy to the characters' inner thoughts or the back story, but because Valentina has read the script, in a way she is our interpreter, our narrator, filling in the gaps between the dialogue..
Throughout the series, Smith Sullivan makes brief appearances, and there are times when his absence makes him a presence in the other books. Consequently, it really is a delight to finally read his story, and as is sometimes the case in a series where one character's story is long-awaited, I'm glad to report that I wasn't at all disappointed with him or his story. Smith's character is a fully developed and realized character at the end of the story, and though perhaps he doesn't go through as much of a change as other protagonists, there are bits and pieces that demonstrate that falling in love with Valentina has pushed him into unfamiliar territory and into behavior that is wholly uncharacteristic of him. In some ways, he is your cliche character who is in some way famous (here an actor, but Andre has already given us this trope with in Marcus and Nicola's story, Ryan and Vicki's story and will use it again in Mia and Ford's story). He doesn't ever think he will be loved for who he really is beneath the fame and celebrity. He has millions of adoring fans but none of them really knows who he is. While that is the case, Smith is unique enough to hold your attention.
Valentina is also a likeable, believable character and she is strong enough to stand up to Smith and say exactly what is on her mind but she also conventional in that beneath the strength there is vulnerability and a fragile need for love. She is also conventional in her insistence that she will not date an actor, providing Andre with a built-in way of increasing the unresolved sexual tension. Another concern in a series like this where Smith's story was long-awaited is that the mate chosen by the beloved character isn't close to who you would imagine him finding a happily ever after with. Again, this is something that doesn't happen and Valentina is definitely not a disappointment. She easily becomes a character readers can fall in love with and who easily fits effortlessly into the Sullivan clan.
I've had this book on my to-read shelf for a long time, and honestly, I hadn't started reading it for the very reasons listed above–I was worried I would be disappointed. Instead, this was the perfect book for a Saturday when all I wanted was to spend the day on the couch getting lost in a good book. Come a Little Bit Closer is actually my second-favorite book in the series, and the thing that makes that statement interesting to me is that Just to Be With You (the book featuring Tatiana Landon and Ian Sullivan) is by far my favorite book in the series. Somehow, Bella Andre got it right with these two Sullivans and the sisters they fall for. It didn't all five stars when I rated it after reading it (the end seems to drag a bit) but it is definitely one of my recommended reads and gets a star next to it on my list of books read for the year, reminding me it was a favorite. Give it a try. If you like contemporary romance, I think you'll enjoy it.