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Get Your Free Audiobook
Fury: The Awakening
The Scorned Series, Book 1
By: R.E. Sargent
Narrated by: Daniela Acitelli
After 30 days, Audible is $16.45/mo. Cancel anytime.
Don't Tell
A Riveting Cruise Mystery
By: Alexandria Clarke
Alex Rider is a struggling detective with a career-ending secret, but she puts everything at risk when she tracks a homicide suspect to a luxury cruise liner, only to get trapped on board with the killer. Will Alex put the murderer behind bars or will she become a victim herself?
Heaven's Peak
A Gripping Horror Novel
By: Miguel Estrada
Narrated by: Ryan Gregory LaJoie
After the tragic death of his mother, teenage photographer Kevin Miller moves to a new town with his alcoholic father and eight-year-old sister in the hope of bringing the family together and starting over. However, everything changes when Kevin witnesses his sister being kidnapped by a bizarre creature. The police are skeptical of his story, so he decides to unveil the mysteries surrounding the town on his own. On the other side of the investigation, FBI agent Norman James will do anything to solve the baffling case except believe a traumatized teenager's nonsense.
By: James Hunt, J.S. Donovan
Ghosts and Magic Boxset
By: Sklyar Finn, Conner Donnelly
Narrated by: Ramona Master, Gwendolyn Druyor
Samantha Hale has never met her mother. But when she has a vision on the eve of her 30th birthday, she decides to track down her long-lost family in the sleepy town of Mount Hazel to discover if she's going insane. To Sam's shock, she discovers the legacy she inherited - a legacy of magic - is more exciting and dangerous than she ever could have imagined.
The Mother's Mistake: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller
By: Ruth Heald
Narrated by: Tamsin Kennard
Claire has everything she's always wanted. A newborn baby. A doting husband by her side. A picturesque home in the countryside. But behind closed doors, Claire's life is falling apart. Her husband is barely ever home, she's struggling to bond with her baby girl, and she swears that she is being watched in the remote, lonely cottage. And when a threatening note is posted through her letterbox, saying she doesn't deserve her daughter, it's clear that someone knows about the terrible mistake that Claire made.
Loving Marie: A Fairfield Corners Prequel
By: L.A. Remenicky
Narrated by: Eddie Leonard Jr.
There was an order to James Marsden's future: Get a job as an Indianapolis cop, work his way up to detective, and then find a nice girl and start a family. He never planned on walking into a diner his first day as a rookie cop and for her to blow his entire time line to smithereens. When Marie Griffen's older brother, Steve, introduced her to his new trainee, she was instantly drawn to his shy demeanor and blushing face. Only she couldn't act on her feelings even if she wanted to. Steve wanted her to date someone with a normal job - that wasn't his partner.
Stephanie Duran hoped for the American dream - a husband, a family, a house with a white-picket fence - but every man she ever trusted betrayed her. Forsaken by her last lover, Stephanie finally understands that the American dream will never be her reality. Devastated and emotionally destroyed, she pours all her anger-fueled energy into remodeling her new house - the one part of her dream she could control - when an unexplained phenomenon bestows upon her the mysterious power to right wrongs before they happen. Suddenly empowered and in control of fate, Stephanie finds herself immersed in a world of strange events and discovers too late that she has unwittingly unleashed pure evil.
©2018 R.E. Sargent (P)2019 R.E. Sargent
Making Love Real
Deceived
Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
this was an awesome story!
I really enjoyed this story. The narrator did a great job making all the characters come to life. The plot kept me intrigued all the way to the very end!
Best yet!
Loved the book! Loved the narrator! Is it worth a credit? Without a doubt YES!!! Definitely worth it!
J.J. Lewis
The second time was as good as the first!
This is a terrific story that I previously read as a hard copy. The twists and turns will keep you entertained right up to the climax!
As an audio book I found it equally entertaining as the performer brought nuances to her reading that were different from my own interpretations.
Can't wait for the next installment!
Interesting plot
Overall I enjoyed the book. The title is a little misleading. I thought it would be in the horror genre. The book revolves around time travel. The narrator occasionally talked too slow, but it didn't turn me off to want to stop listening. I consider it to be a worth while listen.
I was given this free audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
loved the twists and creative turns
Beautifully written. I loved the twists and creative turns. I loved Daniela's performance. It was not scary as I first expected.
DivaC
a good fury
It had a good cast of characters and a really good story. Descriptions were believable and you liked the heroine and the people she met along the way. a good mystery that came with unexpected consequences. a really good listen and you'll enjoy the narrator telling it. So when you get a chance pick up a copy and enjoy.
Mary Grace Shelton
Different!
I love the idea of this books! Sadly, I do think a lot of it just seemed too coincidental, but that is fiction! Narration was good! That quality of the recording could have been a bit better, I think. Overall, I liked this story and the whole idea. Definitely recommend!
This is an absolutely entertaining audio book! This is my first book by R.E. Sargent's and really enjoyed it. Narration is also great and clear.
amazing Suspense by R.E. Sargent the narrater : Daniela Acitelli nailed it she made the book to life
can't wait for book 2 as long you keep the same narrater 10/10


This is actually one big cel. Aw! As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it. It's not valuable except in the memories that it invokes of a very happy childhood. As certain things slip away in adulthood, sometimes memories can be very healing, very soothing.


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Bomb scare at Meadowbrook church and school
Austin L. Miller @almillerosb
Sep 13, 2018 at 9:20 AM Sep 13, 2018 at 2:27 PM
Parents picked up students after bomb squad blew up the items and ruled property safe
Police detained a man Thursday they say brought a suspicious package into the parking lot of Meadowbrook Church and school in Ocala.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad X-rayed the package and a backpack. The results were inconclusive, so they blew up the items as a precaution. Police gave the school an all-clear after 11 a.m., and parents picked up their children.
The 24-year-old man was taken into involuntary custody under the state's Baker Act for mental evaluation. He has been Baker Acted before several times, police said. Investigators searched his apartment in the nearby Carlton Arms, but did not find any bomb-making materials, officials reported.
Ocala Police Department officials said the man was on the property of the church, at 4741 SW 20th St. He had a backpack and a box and was detained by school security.
The church was evacuated and the school was placed on lockdown.
OPD officials said the children were safe and protected.
Tina Stelogeannis, principal at the K-12 school, said a maintenance official saw the man, approached him and stopped him.
She put the school on lockdown as a precaution. There are 53 students and staff members at the school.
A school security official — Kevin Fortune of ICU Protective Services — met the man in the the parking lot about 70 yards from the church.
The man was calm, Fortune said. Fortune told him to put the box and backpack down. Fortune searched the man and put handcuffs on him.
At that point, he said, OPD officers arrived.
Parent Joscelyn Hurtado said she had just dropped off her second-grader when a school official approached and told her to evacuate the property. Later, as she was waiting with dozens of parents across the street, she said she felt confident the students were safe and officials had the situation under control.
Ocala.com ~ 2121 SW 19th Avenue Rd., Ocala, FL 34471 ~ Do Not Sell My Personal Information ~ Cookie Policy ~ Do Not Sell My Personal Information ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service ~ Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Modernising Waste Management in Ireland
Irish Enforcement
Rubbish near a beach, Co. Donegal
The Environmental Protection Agency, along with local authorities, can enforce fines for illegal dumping.
© Donegal County Council
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Office of Environmental Enforcement (OEE) enforces and supervises regional and national waste issues. Regular checks by the OEE ensure a constant flow of information from both the Government agency and local authorities. They also have the power to sanction legally binding instructions and prosecutions.
The EPA formed an enforcement network to provide higher and more regulated standards of management. Illegal dumping and unauthorised waste movement are the priorities. There are a number of waste issues that need constant monitoring;
The management of construction and demolition waste
Fly-tipping and backyard burning of waste
Operation of Waste Facilities without the requisite authorisation
Dealing with approximately 20 illegal sites in Northern Ireland containing waste originating in the Republic of Ireland.
An example is Cork County Council's novel approach to intelligence gathering - with a helicopter - which identified sixty unauthorised facilities. Enforcement has already led to the closure of fifteen illegal scrap yards. The remaining forty-five facilities are at various stages of compliance with legal requirements.
You can also play a part by using the illegal dumping phone line.This twenty-four hour call service is a means for the public to report people who illegally dump waste. A review has indicated that 70% of calls are resolved. Approximately 75% of calls received relate to incidents of fly tipping and burning of waste. In its first year of operation (June 2006 to June 2007) Dublin had received 522 complaints which puts it in the top three counties along with Wicklow (349) and Cork (266). The total number of calls received was 2184.
Members of the public can report pollution or illegal dumping via a 24 hour lo-call telephone number 1850 365 121. More information can be found on the EPA's website.
Previous - Polluter Pays Principle
Next - Managing Waste
What Is Waste
Polluter Pays Principle
Managing Waste
Disposal of Waste
Irish Waste Hierarchy
Waste Prevention! What You Can Do


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Home / Community / Stark appointed interim District 3 representative
Stark appointed interim District 3 representative
The Phoenix City Council on June 14 appointed Debra Stark to serve as the District 3 Councilmember until a special election is held. That special election will determine the councilmember to fill the remainder of the term, which runs through 2019.
Bidding farewell to former District 3 City Councilman Bill Gates, center, who stepped down from his seat on May 31, are four of the six fall special election contenders to replace him, from left: Chris DeRose, Dan Carroll, Debra Stark—who will fill the seat until the special election—and Jim Mapstead (photo by Teri Carnicelli).
Phoenix City Councilman Bill Gates, who represented District 3 since 2009, resigned his seat on May 31 to make a run for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. The City Charter states that when a vacancy occurs with more than one year remaining in the term, the City Council must appoint an individual to fill the vacancy until a special election is held to fill the remainder of the term.
There were nine contenders for the fill-in position, and Stark was selected with a 6-1 vote. She will now face five challengers in the fall special election: Dan Carroll, Chris DeRose, Charles Hargrave, Jim Mapstead, and Ann Wallack.
Stark, who has lived in District 3 for almost 30 years, has experience in both city and county government in that she previously served as the Planning and Development director for the city of Phoenix from October 2005 to October 2012, when she left to serve as the Planning and Development director for Maricopa County. She resigned her position with the county in April to run for the vacant Phoenix City Council seat.
The city will hold a special election on Nov. 8 to fill the District 3 Council seat for the remainder of the term.
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Delivering Dreams bus brings children clothes
Seniors stay active, socialize at center
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The 1979 Kentucky Derby was the 105th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 5, 1979, on a track rated fast.

Full results

 Winning Breeder: Mrs. William Jason & Mrs. William M. Gilmore; (KY)

References

1979
Kentucky Derby
Derby
Kentucky
Kentucky Derby

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
The Central Libya offensive, officially known as Operation Paths to Victory, was a military offensive in Libya launched by the forces of the Government of National Accord, to take the city of Sirte and Al Jufra Airbase from the House of Representatives backed by the Libyan National Army. The city of Sirte is considered strategically important because of its close position to oil facilities, which give it control over Libya's oil and gas shipping ports. The Al Jufra Airbase is strategically important for the GNA, due to its central position to Fezzan and denying the Libyan National Army air superiority over Central Libya.

The campaign began on 6 June 2020, one day after the conclusion of the 2019–2020 Western Libya campaign, a failed attempt by the Libyan National Army to capture Tripoli.

Background

A civil war has been ongoing in Libya since 2014, and after 2016 the country was mainly divided between the Tobruk-based House of Representatives in the east, and the Government of National Accord in Tripoli and western Libya. Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army provided military support to the House of Representatives. The rival governments both claim to be the legitimate government of Libya. The GNA is internationally recognised by the United Nations Security Council as the government of Libya, though the LNA receives support from several countries, including Russia, United Arab Emirates, and France. By 2019 the LNA controlled more than half of Libya, while the GNA mainly controlled Tripoli and a few other areas.

In April 2019, Haftar's forces launched an operation to take control of the capital Tripoli from the GNA and unite all of Libya. On 6 January 2020, the LNA captured Sirte. After fourteen months of fighting, the GNA held Tripoli and pushed the eastern forces out of the city by 4 June 2020. After that, the GNA military launched a counteroffensive against Haftar's forces. The town of Sirte and the nearby Al Jufra airbase are considered essential to take control of Libya's oil ports along the Mediterranean Sea, and the airbase houses MiG-29 fighters and Su-24 bombers provided by Russia to Haftar's forces. The Sirte-Jufra Operations Room was established by the GNA to oversee the Libyan Army operations in the area, with Brigadier General Ibrahim Bayt al-Mal as the commander.

The campaign
5 June
The GNA recaptured much of the territory in northwestern Libya that was taken by the LNA during the 2019–20 offensive on Tripoli.
6 June
GNA forces launched an offensive to recapture LNA–held Sirte.
7 June
GNA forces enter Sirte. However, an LNA counterattack using drones, aircraft and artillery drove the attackers back, inflicting heavy casualties on Turkish officers and GNA fighters. According to Libyan and Bulgarian sources, an airstrike launched from an unknown aircraft, possibly Russian MiG-29s, destroyed a Turkish military convoy, leaving casualties (including Turkish servicemen and Syrian rebels) halting the GNA advance.

8 June
GNA affiliated force said they took control of two districts in the outskirts of Sirte.

9 June
The GNA rejected a ceasefire proposal offered by Egypt.

11 June
The LNA was able to slow down the advance of the GNA towards Sirte, using air power.

Aftermath
26 June
According to the country's National Oil Corporation, foreign mercenaries led by the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group entered and seized Libya's largest oil fields, the El Sharara oil field on 26 June and took full control of it by the 27 June. The Sidr oil port was taken as well by the mercenaries.

4 July
On 4 July, unidentified "foreign" warplanes aligned to the LNA targeted Al-Watiya Air Base. The airstrikes destroyed GNA military equipment brought by Turkey; including MIM-23 Hawk air defenses and a KORAL Electronic Warfare System stationed in the base. Sources consulted from Al-Arabiya indicated that the strikes left Turkish intelligence officials wounded and a Libyan Newspaper Libya Akhbar cited 6 Turkish servicemen killed.

13 July
On 13 July, Turkey has warned Haftar if they do not withdraw that they will use military action against him. Meanwhile Egypt is involved in negotiations with Greece over Libya to support LNA.

22 July
Egypt starts to deploy troops after talking to parliament which could lead to an escalation of the civil war or possibly all out war between Turkey and Egypt.

12 August
The LNA air force targeted an armed convoy of suspected Turkish-backed mercenaries affiliated with Fayez Al-Sarraj's GNA in Wadi Bey area west of Sirte. According to LNA sources, the group was trying to infiltrate the city, but it was destroyed, without providing details on the numbers involved or of casualties.

21 August
The GNA and the LNA both declared a ceasefire.

International reactions
On 21 June, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that Sirte and Jufra are a "red line" for Egypt, and that Egypt will militarily intervene if the GNA and its Turkish allies take the area from the LNA.  A Turkish government spokesman said that any permanent ceasefire requires a LNA withdrawal from Sirte. Saudi Arabia has also shown its support for Egypt's position, along with Jordan.

The GNA condemned the Egyptian president's statement, saying that it is "a hostile act and direct interference, and amounts to a declaration of war". Aguila Saleh Issa, the speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, supported the statement from Sisi and Egypt's assistance against the GNA. Issa told the Egyptian media: "The Libyan people are officially asking for Egypt to interfere with military forces if the necessities of maintaining Libyan national security and Egyptian national security require this." GNA Prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj vetoed an Egyptian proposal to have an Arab League meeting to discuss the situation in Libya. President Sisi inspected the troops on Egypt's western border with Libya and said that the Egyptian military is prepared to intervene.

On 22 June, French president Emmanuel Macron condemned the role of Turkey in supporting the GNA, calling it a "dangerous game". On the same day, news emerged that Syrian militia would be sent to Libya to fight with LNA forces. Also on the same day, United States Africa Command commander General Stephen J. Townsend and U.S. Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland met Fayez al-Sarraj and his delegation in Zuwara near the Tunisian border. On 24 June, Italy's foreign minister, Luigi Di Maio, met Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli to stress "the need to resume the political process and end foreign interference". On 10 July, Egypt starts raising military readiness as it prepares for a potential showdown with Turkey over Libya.

References

2020 in Libya
Conflicts in 2020
June 2020 events in Africa
Military operations of the Second Libyan Civil War


1. Pre-Inspection - Our technician will perform special tests to determine the content of your fabric. The content will determine what type of cleaning solutions and techniques will be used. We will also point out any potential permanent stains or areas of concern.
2. Area Preparation - We will prepare the area where the upholstery will be cleaned to protect your surrounding furnishings.
3. Pre-Vacuum - All textiles should be vacuumed thoroughly before cleaning. This step will remove dry soils and any loose particles from cracks and crevices.
4. Pre-Treat - Depending on your fabric, a special solution designed for your fabric type and the soiling condition will be applied to "emulsify" the soil.
5. Pre-Spot - Any potentially difficult spots will be pre-treated with special solutions to increase chances of removal.
6. Pre-Groom - The fabric will then be gently groomed using soft brushes or towels to loosen the soil.
7. Soil Extraction - The soil is then extracted from the fabric.
8. Neutralize - The fabric is then pH balanced to maintain its soft, fresh feel.
9. Post Spot - Any remaining spots will be treated with special stain removal products.
10. Post Groom - Fabrics with a pile (such as velvet) will be gently combed with a special fabric brush.
11. Speed Dry - High velocity air movers will be placed on the upholstery to speed dry the fabric.
12. Post Cleaning Inspection - Our technician will review the cleaning results with you to insure that your expectations have been met or exceeded.


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The Monroes is a primetime soap opera starring William Devane and Susan Sullivan, that ran from September 12, 1995 to October 19, 1995 on ABC. The Monroes capitalizes on the rise of high drama in politics.

Cast
 William Devane as John Monroe, a powerful and wealthy power broker who is running for governor of Maryland
 Susan Sullivan as Kathryn Monroe, the smart and long-suffering matriarch
 David Andrews as Congressman William "Billy" Monroe, the eldest son who is politically ambitious but keeps stumbling into extramarital affairs
 Lynn Clark as Anne Monroe, Billy's suffering wife
 Cecil Hoffman as Greer Monroe, a cold-blooded and intelligent attorney who is having an affair with a Washington, D.C. figure who, for the time being, is not revealed but who may just turn out to be the President of the United States
 Steven Eckholdt as James Monroe, John's favorite son, a former astronaut, despises politics and his father's plays
 Tracy Griffith as Ruby Monroe, a photographer and newlywed already on the brink of ending her marriage
 Darryl Theirse as Michael Bradley
 Tristan Tait as Gabriel Monroe

Reception
From the start, the show faced stiff competition against Seinfeld and was not expected to fare well. In Variety, Brian Lowry wrote:[The] show's chances appear contingent on patience and modest expectations. Even so, look for this serialized drama about a high-powered political family to have a tough time winning a second term.

In Entertainment Weekly, critic Ken Tucker wrote:John's wife, Kathryn, played with icy devilishness by Susan Sullivan, is both smart and long-suffering. And, of course, it doesn't take long for a mistress of John's to pop up and utter the line "Your husband has an enormous appetite for conquest of all kinds." Most of The Monroes is as stiff as that snippet of dialogue, but Devane and Sullivan have obvious fun as would-be power brokers, and anyone who wishes Dynasty were still on may find this potboiler amusing.

Episodes

References

External links

1995 American television series debuts
1995 American television series endings
American television soap operas
American primetime television soap operas
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
American Broadcasting Company original programming
English-language television shows
Television shows set in Washington, D.C.


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Q: How to see if string matches any regex keys in ruby hash I have a JSON file full of regex keys with responses based on the message  sent (eg. Hello, Dragnflier!). The file contains values like this:
{
  "/hello/i" : "Why hello there!",
  "/how are you.*dragnflier/i" : "I'm good thank you! How are you?"
}

I load these into a hash at the start of my ruby program. Is there a more efficient way to see if the message matches any of the regular expressions in my hash than just running a loop over it with all of the keys? I want to get the value that the key returns, not a list of keys or a boolean value.

A: The solution ended up being, based on other answers for the opposite case:
val = myhash.keys.select {|key| message.to_s.match(key)}

A: Yes, there is more efficient way:
hash = {
  /hello/i => "Why hello there!",
  /how are you.*dragnflier/i => "I'm good thank you! How are you?"
}
message =~ Regexp.union(hash.keys)

You stated that the goal is to check "if the message matches any of the regular expressions in my hash." The above is way more efficient than the solution you came up with.
After this preliminary check is done, one might do whatever she wants to detect the respective key (this claim appeared in the questions after I have it answered.) This approach will be more efficient than just bruteforce detect on keys.
Please note, that the answer you have provided is not correct, since
Regexp.new '/foo/i'

becomes
#⇒ /\/foo\/i/i

and not
#⇒ /foo/i

as you probably expected.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Sep 22, 2020 by Robert Gravelle
Certain relational databases, including MySQL and SQL Server, have an INFORMATION_SCHEMA system database. It contains database metadata, such as the names of databases, tables, the column data types, and even access privileges. It's also sometimes referred to as the data dictionary or system catalog. Regardless of how you refer to it, the INFORMATION_SCHEMA database is the ideal place to obtain details about table columns. In today's blog, we'll use the INFORMATION_SCHEMA database to find out whether or not a column exists and how many columns a particular table has.
Viewing the INFORMATION_SCHEMA database in Navicat
Being a system table, you won't be able to see the INFORMATION_SCHEMA database unless you explicitly tell Navicat to show it. To do that, add the INFORMATION_SCHEMA database to the Databases list defined within a database connection:
That allows us to open the Columns table in the Table Designer or Viewer:
The sheer number of columns should give you some idea as to what types of information we can obtain from the Columns table.
Note: the INFORMATION_SCHEMA is a read-only database, so you can't make any changes to its structure or contents.
Introducing the Column Count Query
The Columns table may be queried like any other to look up information about table columns. Here's the basic syntax to do so:
SELECT count(*) AS anyName FROM information_schema.columns
WHERE [table_schema = 'yourSchemaName' AND]
table_name = 'yourTableName';
The table_schema is the database in which the table resides. It's not crucial to the query, but in cases where you have more than one database with the same column name, it filters results to that particular database table. In a situation where you maintain multiple copies of the same database, the column count will be for of all tables with the same name.
For instance, I have four copies of the Sakila database:
As a result, when I run the query without the table_schema, I get a column count of 51, which is on the high side!
Specifying the table_schema in a more accurate column count of 12:
If we now open the film table in the Table Designer, we can confirm that 12 columns is correct:
Determining Whether or Not a Column Exists
In a dynamic application, you may want to look up information about a column, including whether or not it exists. Here's a query that lists every instance of the "title" column, along with meta-data about each of them, including which schema and table it belongs to, as well as details such as the default value, data type, and maximum length:
In today's blog, we learned how to utilize the INFORMATION_SCHEMA database to find out whether or not a column exists and how many columns a particular table has.
Interested in Navicat Premium? You can try it for 14 days completely free of charge for evaluation purposes!


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Austria's far right eyes comeback in next month's polls
Thursday, 29 Aug 2019 12:06 PM MYT
Former chancellor Sebastian Kurz's conservative People's Party (OeVP) could once again partner with the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) in a re-run of late 2017 when the two parties rose to power together on an anti-immigration platform. — Reuters pic
VIENNA, Aug 29 ― Austria's far right, relatively unscathed by the so-called "Ibiza-gate" scandal that brought down its government in May, hopes for a second chance in national elections next month.
Former chancellor Sebastian Kurz's conservative People's Party (OeVP) could once again partner with the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), said analyst Thomas Hofer, in a re-run of late 2017 when the two parties rose to power together on an anti-immigration platform.
"The conservatives are more cautious today than they were in 2017 to renew an alliance with the FPOe... But this possibility cannot be dismissed because any other form of coalition would be unstable," Hofer told AFP.
Popular despite scandal
The OeVP-FPOe partnership came crashing down in spectacular fashion in May when hidden camera footage from 2017 showed then FPOe leader Heinz-Christian Strache appearing to offer public contracts to a fake Russian backer in exchange for campaign help.
After the footage emerged, Strache resigned as vice chancellor and from all his other posts, the coalition fell apart, Kurz was thrown out in a no-confidence vote ― the first-ever such successful vote in modern Austrian history ― and fresh elections were set for September 29.
Despite the unprecedented chaos, both the OeVP and the FPOe ― founded after World War II by former Nazis ― have sustained their popularity, according to polls.
The OeVP remains the strongest party on 36 per cent, while the FPOe stands at 20 per cent, six percentage points lower than in October 2017 but neck-and-neck with the Social Democrats, according to a recent survey by the Unique Research institute published in the weekly Profil magazine.
Strache has continued to defend himself from various corruption allegations on his Facebook page.
The page counts almost 800,000 followers ― far more than his party colleagues and most other Austrian politicians ― and its administration was recently taken over by the FPOe.
FPOe leaders have sought to distance themselves from Strache, a heavyweight who flirted with neo-Nazism in his youth and led the party for 14 years.
His wife Philippa, however, is running for a parliament seat on the party's list.
Norbert Hofer, who replaced Strache as FPOe leader, has openly said he wants another coalition with Kurz.
"We extend a sincere hand to the conservatives to continue the work begun together to reform Austria," Hofer, who ran for president in 2016 and narrowly lost to a green liberal politician, told reporters recently.
FPOe campaign billboards which have started to spring up around the central European alpine country of 8.8 million people proclaim the party wants to "renew the patriotic coalition" that Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has touted as a "model" for all of Europe.
Party infighting?
However, Kurz has made it a condition of any cooperation that the FPOe's former interior minister Herbert Kickl, another heavyweight known for his incendiary rhetoric, not return to government.
That has put Hofer, who is also seen as an ideologue but who has a softer public persona, in a tough spot and fuelled rumours of party infighting.
One of the biggest controversies of Kickl's tenure were interior ministry raids on Austria's domestic intelligence agency BVT.
Numerous documents were seized, raising fears among Austria's Western partners over possible leaks to Moscow.
The FPOe has a cooperation agreement with President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.
In the Unique Research survey, 60 per cent deemed an OeVP-FPOe partnership incapable of governing after having drawn ridicule internationally with "Ibiza-gate".
"There are several challenges... A comeback will be difficult," Patrick Moreau, an Austria expert at the French National Center for Scientific Research, told AFP.
Kurz, whose party's popularity now is four percentage points higher than in October 2017 but who cannot form a majority government alone, has so far avoided saying which partner he prefers.
He ended a coalition with the Social Democrats ― who are scoring their lowest-ever poll numbers ― when he took over the OeVP leadership in 2017, triggering that year's elections.
A possible coalition with the Greens has been floated, which would be a first on the national level but similar to those which already govern some Austrian states.
The Greens stand at 12 per cent in the Unique Research survey, far higher than in 2017, when they failed to make the four per cent threshold to enter parliament in a shock result. ― AFP
Austria's Kurz back in power with Greens after far-right fiasco
Power imbalance in new Austrian coalition shows as deal is unveiled
Reports: Austrian coalition deal includes headscarf ban, preventive custody


"What do you want from me? Why don't you run from me?"
Billie Eilish has teased her latest single in a new cryptic video teaser.
Ahead of releasing her debut album later this year, the teaser sees Eilish's head being mysteriously gripped by hands in black gloves as a brief snippet of the song play outs.
"What do you want from me? Why don't you run from me? What are you wondering? What do you know?," Eilish sings in the 15 second clip.
As the snippet fades to black, the words "When we all fall asleep, where do we go?" make a cryptic appearance on the screen.
The new offering comes after Eilish released 'When I Was Younger' earlier this month – which comes straight from the soundtrack to the Academy Award nominated movie Roma.
Speaking to NME, Eilish also tackled online sexism and admitted that being a woman in the spotlight has made her more susceptible to trolls.
"Hell yeah," she told NME, when asked whether she thought she was more likely to be harassed online because of her gender. "I've spoken a lot to female artists about this, because if you're not a female artist you probably don't think about this.
The 17-year-old rising star was speaking after being named among the NME 100 of the best new artists set to dominate 2019.


Chaplin Farrant is a multi-disciplinary architectural practice, providing a range of planning, design, engineering, CDM and cost consultancy services to our clients across East Anglia. Our award-winning practice provides responsive and client-focused solutions for a wide range of sectors including, community, commercial, residential, health, education and social.
To provide technical support to local firms wishing to make adjustments to their properties. Our healthcare team will be available to provide guideance to assist in improving facilities to become more dementia friendly.
To provide training (open to all architectural practices) on the requirements of dementia friendly design.
Raise awareness amongst our clients and industry of the requirements for dementia friendly design.


With Discovery insure you can get up to 50% back in fuel rewards each month when you fill up at BP or Shell.
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Begin your search with Wilmington's waterfront and luxury home expert. Monica Rolquin is an award-winning, 22-year veteran of luxury home sales representing buyers and sellers. She is a Certified Luxury Home Marketing expert, a Member of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing and also a licensed North Carolina Attorney. Purchasing or selling a luxury home may be one of your biggest investments and you deserve the best to represent you.
For mortgage information or to obtain pre-approval for a loan, contact Pat Holsten, Regional VP and Senior Mortgage Banker with American Security Mortgage.


Like tapping a newly found oil well, companies everywhere are in hot pursuit of creating value from data analytics. In 2014, data analytics and business intelligence companies received the largest amount of venture capital of any technology segment, representing 10% of total VC investment in Q4 2014 alone.
Data analytics isn't just a new company phenomenon. Given my previous experience running a data analytics company, I have been introduced to and recently met with several companies looking to add analytics to their existing product offerings. In some cases these companies have completely changing their focus to becoming "an analytics company." Typically, these companies already provide a cloud-based software or other product and are making the leap to provide greater customer value through analytics. Whether these companies are generating data themselves through their software or IoT-like sensors or other devices, or they are able to tap into another data source, they are looking to maximize their value by creating new customer insight via analytics.However, the road to how to incorporating analytics into an existing product line is not always clear as there are multiple strategies for creating product and company value. Companies like Netflix and Amazon have used analytics, in the form of a recommendation engine, to enhance their product offering, which is an effective strategy. Startup unicorn Square has demonstrated how analytics can create additional, reinforcing customer by enhancing its core business offering, as a transaction and payments engine, that differentiates it from other platforms.Still others, like my last company, PublicEngines (now part of Motorola) took the path of creating a new service offering that was separate and distinct from our other products. In our case we created a predictive analytics platform that took advantage of data that we already has access to and reused it to create additional customer value, and we commanded a subscription premium for it.
Think game changer. Don't think about analytics just as a product or product feature alone. Instead, make analytics an inimitable strength for your strategic position and create additional barriers to entry for your company. In the software world especially, playing fields are too level, barriers to entry are too low to not create as much advantage as possible. So, find a way to use analytics as a strategic asset. For example, in my last company, we discovered that much of the data that we used, which was generated by the customer, was inaccurate. So, we used a product feature to change our position and our value to them. In this case, we created tools that automated the clean up of their data for them. The catch? The data resided in our data center, so we had a better, cleaner, more accurate version of their data than they did. That not only attracted them to using our product in the first place, it raised switching costs if anyone else entered with a competitive product.
Be aware of target market and user changes. Be aware of subtle or even dramatic shifts in how your software may be used or who may be using it when creating or adding an analytics solution. Your software, service, or product may provide a functional purpose at one level or position, but the analytics may be used at another level or they may be attractive for a target customer that you didn't reach previously. At PublicEngines we discovered through customer validation that our predictive analytics solution would more likely be used at a very tactical level, much different than our previous products. That had several implications. First, it made sense that we approached the market with a separate and distinct product. It also had implications for the UI, who the decision maker was for purchasing the product, and how we sold the benefits of the analytics solution. Finally, it opened up our solution to target customers that we didn't reach previously because it automated roles that they previously couldn't afford to hire.
Focus on user experience over function. When I think about user experience, I think about who, how, and what they will get out of the solution. Sometimes we get caught up in what "solution" or how much of the stack we can provide rather than what the user needs to get out of it. One example is that there is a tendency to focus on a higher level order of analytics, with predictive analytics being at the pinnacle, rather than what the user needs. Not all problems are solved by predictions. Analytics comes in many flavors: visualizations, descriptive, normative, operational, and predictive, just to name a few. Make sure you are providing analytics that are usable. Another example where products often fail in experience is in the user interface. This is especially true with agile-based development teams, which invite a level of incrementalism that piles on new features and operations until the user experience becomes cluttered. Make sure you step back and take a functional design approach that aims to provide the right information in the right way. Square describes their purchase analytics as "Data made Digestible." That's a good standard to improve any user experience.
Create a path to user success. To ensure your own success, make sure that you understand how to make your customer successful. Too often developers feel like they need to expose every analytics visualization, summary, and comparison in a buffet of graphs and data. This approach shows a lack of understanding of what the customer needs to be successful. I see this even in consumer products like fitness trackers (FitBit). Ground your product's success in research and validation by finding out what people really need and focusing on it. The feedback can be invaluable. In one product, our customer validation led us to adding historical, descriptive information embedded into our predictions that ended up being one of the most significant differentiating features because it helped users know how to use the predictions. In another recent product I worked on, we used customer feedback to reduce the analytics information down to three key metrics that we knew were the basis of customer success and greatly simplified our user interface to match it.
Align your economic model. Finally, evaluate how to align your economic (pricing) model with the value that you provide. Most companies want to immediately charge for analytics as a separate product or module. It has worked for me in several companies I worked with because analytics provided such a significant value to a distinct target user. But it's not always the case. Square, for example, provides analytics as an additional set of features that comes with the product, and the benefit to Square is to differentiate themselves from the competition. Other opportunities may also present themselves in charging other parties for data analytics or insight, especially when you can aggregate data and provide normative analytics or by selectively giving some pieces away for free and charging for others. You may also find analytics providing value in other ways. Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, for example, recently revealed that his company spends $150 million per year on their analytics-based recommendation engine. It is not a feature that users would pay for, but NetFlix saves money by increasing customer satisfaction and reducing churn. I am sure they also see benefits in using their analytics engine to determine the value of new content, likely saving them millions of dollars per year.
Data is really changing almost every product and service in the market today. The exponential growth of data will make analytics more and more vital to companies to master and incorporate into their products and services. While no formula is going to guarantee success in the analytics market, taking a mindful approach to using analytics to create customer value will increase your chances of succeeding.
What have you seen that has helped organizations be more successful at offering analytics solutions?


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State Board Home
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Iowa's Workforce Development Board Bylaws
Article I – Name
The name of the organization shall be Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) Board
Article II – Duties of the Workforce Development Board
The Board is charged with performing all duties established in Iowa Code § 84A.1B as currently enacted and as may be amended in the future.
Article III – Membership - Workforce Development Board
Both the voting and nonvoting membership of the Board shall be as established by Iowa Code § 84A.1A(1).
Article IV – Appointment or Replacement of Members
Members who are appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate shall be appointed pursuant to the process set forth in Iowa Code § 84A.1A(1)(a)(8) and Chapter 69 of the Iowa Code, as applicable. Members who are appointed by members of the General Assembly shall be appointed pursuant to the provisions of Iowa Code § 69.16B Members of the Board shall represent diverse geographic areas of the state, including urban, rural, and suburban areas. Members appointed by the Governor are subject to the provisions of Iowa Code §§ 69.16 and 69.16A requiring political affiliation and gender balancing among the appointed members. An individual appointed to the Board shall not serve as a Member in more than one representative capacity. A vacancy on the Board shall be filled in the same manner as regular appointments are made for that position.
Article V – Term of Service
Members of the Board appointed by the Governor shall serve staggered four-year terms. Members appointed by members of the General Assembly shall serve the term provided by Iowa Code § 69.16B. Other Members shall serve at the discretion and pleasure of the appointing or designating authority, or so long as they hold the requisite position as set forth in Iowa Code § 84A.1A. The terms of Members appointed by the Governor shall be staggered so that the terms of no more than nine such members expire in a calendar year. A Member who fills a vacant position shall have a term equal to the unexpired portion of the regular term. A Member's absence from three or more consecutive regular meetings, or more than half of all regularly scheduled meetings within a 12-month span, may be deemed a resignation at the discretion of the appointing or designating authority. Subject to and without limiting the authority and discretion of the Governor, the Board recommends that Members appointed by the Governor serve no more than two consecutive terms.
Article VI – Officers and Duties
The officers of the Board shall consist of a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson.
Chairperson. The Governor shall select a Chairperson for the Board in accordance with Iowa Code Chapter 84A. The Board recommends that the Vice-Chairperson be elevated to 2 the role of Chairperson at the conclusion of the Chairperson's term; however, nothing shall interfere with the Governor's authority and discretion to select a Chairperson.
Vice-Chairperson. The Vice-Chairperson shall be selected by a majority vote of the Board from among the Board's business representatives. A Board member must serve for a minimum of one year as a business representative to become eligible to serve as Vice-Chairperson.
Subject to the authority and discretion of the Governor, the terms of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson shall be for one year in each position.
The Chairperson shall preside over all Board meetings and shall see that all orders and resolutions of the Board are communicated to the proper persons or entities for implementation. The Chairperson shall execute all documents on behalf of the Board.
The Vice-Chairperson shall perform the duties of the Chairperson in the Chairperson's absence and shall assume the Chairperson's office should the office be vacated prior to the completion of the Chairperson's term, subject to the discretion of the Governor.
The Board may appoint such other officers as the business of the Board may require, each of whom shall hold office for such period and have such authority to perform duties as are provided by the Bylaws or as the Board may determine.
Article VII – Committees
In accordance with Iowa Code Chapter 84A, the Board may designate and direct the activities of standing committees of the Board to provide information and to assist the Board in carrying out its duties. At minimum, the Board shall designate the standing committees required by Iowa Code Chapter 84A. Additional standing committees may be established as necessary by a majority vote of the Board. Except as otherwise provided below, standing committees shall be chaired by a Member or a designee approved by a majority vote of the Board, and other committee members may be either Members of the Board or nonmembers who have the appropriate experience and expertise.
A) The Board shall have an Executive Committee which shall be composed of the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and five additional Members. The five additional Members shall be chosen by the Chairperson and shall be from the voting membership of the Board. The Chairperson may appoint additional members as deemed necessary. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for coordinating and overseeing the activities of the Board and its other Committees to ensure the satisfactory performance of functions stipulated by the Governor, these Bylaws, and all relevant statutes and regulations. The Executive Committee shall also monitor and guide the administrative management of the Board. The Executive Committee shall act on the Board's behalf when the Board is not meeting. Any Executive Committee meeting in which any official business, policy, or public matter is formulated, presented, discussed, or voted upon by the committee shall adhere to the requirements of the Iowa Open Meetings laws. Fifty percent of the members seated on the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The Executive Committee may meet as often as it deems necessary. The Executive Committee shall make recommendations to the Board and exercise such powers as may be delegated to it by the Board. Any actions taken by Executive Committee shall be ratified by the Board at the next scheduled meeting. Any actions taken by the Executive Committee shall be immediately enforceable and remain enforceable until such time as the action loses the Board's endorsement. 3 The Executive Committee shall act on behalf of the Board when quorums are not established at Board meetings. When the Executive Board acts on behalf of the Board due to a lack of quorum, the actions taken by the Executive Committee shall be the official acts of the Board subject to ratification at the next meeting at which a quorum of the Board is present.
B) The Board shall have a standing committee relating to the State Workforce Development System. The committee shall provide information and assist with operational and other issues relating to the system.
C) The Board shall have a standing committee relating to Policies and Practices. The committee shall provide recommendations regarding the best policies, procedures, and practices regarding workforce development programs, services, and activities.
D) The Board shall have a standing committee relating to Youth Services. The committee shall provide information and assist with issues relating to the provision of services to youths. The Committee shall include representatives of community-based organizations with a demonstrated record of success in serving eligible youths.
E) The Board shall have a standing committee relating to Disability Services. The committee shall provide information and assist with issues relating to services to individuals with disabilities, including compliance with state and federal nondiscrimination laws relating to the workforce development system and appropriate training for staff regarding the provision of support, accommodations, and employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
F) The Board shall have a standing committee relating to Minority Unemployment and Outreach. The committee shall provide information and assist with issues relating to disparities in the minority unemployment rate in Iowa.
Article VIII – Meetings
The Board shall meet at least quarterly. The regular meetings shall be held at a location to be designated by the Chairman, and such location shall be posted on the IWD website at least thirty days prior to the date of the meeting. The agenda for each meeting shall be made available at least seven calendar days in advance of the meeting, provided that the agenda may be subject to change up to 24 hours in advance of the meeting if necessary. Notice of regular meetings, specifying time, date and location shall be provided in writing or electronically to Members at least seven calendar days prior to scheduled meetings and shall be conspicuously posted on the Workforce Division's website. The date and frequency of meetings may be revised at the discretion of the Chairperson or Executive Committee except that meetings will not be held less frequently than quarterly.
Special meetings of the Board may be called by the Chairperson, the Executive Committee, or by written request of a majority of board members. Notice of special meetings shall be provided to board members at least three business days prior to the special meeting and shall state the purpose of the meeting.
Article IX – Quorum
A majority of the voting Members shall constitute a quorum. Members appearing remotely via telephone, videoconference, or other means shall be considered present for purposes of establishing a quorum.
Article X – Voting Each voting Member shall be entitled to one vote on each matter brought before the Board for a vote. Nonvoting Members are not entitled to a vote on a matter brought before the Board. The action of the majority of the quorum present at any meeting shall be the action of the Board. In all voting matters, Members shall adhere to the Conflict of Interest Policy, as stated in Article XI of these bylaws and Chapter 84A of the Iowa Code. 4
Article XI – Conflict of Interest
1) A Member of the workforce development board shall not do any of the following:
A) Vote on a matter under consideration by the Board that concerns the provision of services by the Member or by an entity that the Member represents.
B) Vote on a matter under consideration by the Board that would provide direct financial benefit to the Member or the immediate family of the Member.
C) Engage in any other activity determined by the Governor to constitute a conflict of interest.
2) Whenever a potential conflict becomes known to a Member, the Member shall proceed as follows:
A. The Member shall divulge the existence of and the reasons for the potential conflict and refrain from voting on or participating in discussions which relate to the topic. Such declaration and recusal shall be clearly noted in the Board's minutes.
B. In the event that a Member is unsure of whether their relationship to an issue constitutes a conflict, such Member shall make their concern known before the discussion continues and before a vote occurs. The Board may then vote to determine whether the Member's relationship to the topic constitutes a conflict. Their vote shall determine whether the Member shall be able to discuss the topic and vote on the issue. This decision shall be reflected in the minutes.
Article XII – Rules of Order
All meetings of the Board shall follow the rules of order set forth in Roberts Rules of Order unless otherwise provided for by these bylaws.
Article XIII – Amendments of Bylaw
These Bylaws may be amended, supplemented, or superseded only by the affirmative vote of not less than a majority of the Members of the Board present, provided there is a quorum present and Members were given at least seven calendar days written notice of such proposed amendments. Bylaws and amendments shall not conflict with existing federal or state laws, regulations or guidelines.
Article XIV – Board Member Expenses
Members of the Board shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. Each Member of the Board may also be eligible to receive compensation as provided in Iowa Code § 7E.6.
Article XV – Staff Support Technical and clerical staff support to the Board and its committees shall be established by, and be under the direction of, the Director of the Workforce Development Department, which is designated as the state agency administrator of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Legal staff support to the Board shall be provided by, and be under the direction of, the Office of the Attorney General.
The undersigned hereby acknowledges and agrees to adhere to the foregoing bylaws and any approved amendments of such bylaws for the term of his/her service.
Original Document (Download Available)


What is the best strategy when a recruiter asks about your current salary before making an offer?
What your strategy shouldn't be: go in with a mindset that goes something like "I wonder what they'll offer me" or "they should be paying me more than I make now!", "I'll negotiate up from whatever they offer me." That's a recipe for losing this important part in taking on a new role.
Be straightforward about your current compensation, and ready to talk about your top 3 reasons why you should be paid more in your new role.
1. Research how your current salary stacks up against your peers (i.e. Glassdoor) in the industry. Is it less? Then probably you are being underpaid while still having awesome results – that's a sound reason to switch. Is it more? Then that might be a sign that your company values your skills more than other companies do! Use that to your advantage.
2. Research the typical salaries for the new role, considering company size, location, seniority etc. If they are lower than your current one, then you need to ask yourself whether this is a kind of position you want to take. However, listen to what they have to say/offer. If it's higher, then it becomes a valuable piece of info in your discussion for the new position.
3. What's the difference in responsibilities between the current and the new role? If the new position requires more then there's a strong reason for you to ask for more salary. If it's about the same or less, then think about different factors.
4. Is this new role going to challenge you and require more time than the current one? That's great and you're ready to go the extra mile, but your potential new employer should too, so consider that as well.
5. The standard of living – if you are moving to a new city, region or country for the new role, then you need to factor the cost of living in, but don't forget about expandable income. If at the end of the month you're left with less than what you previously had, and it's important to you, then think twice.
6. What are the other components of your compensation package? Do they stack up against your current one? If the hiring organization doesn't have comparable components, you should quantify their value and include that in the salary discussion.
7. Be creative about asking for a higher salary – if the hiring organization has good reasons to not give you a higher salary right off the bat, then fall back to asking for an incremental increase that's time and legally bound (shows up on your employment agreement). I.e. after 6 months in the role 5% increase, and after 12 months in the role another 5% increase.
Keep in mind, your approach should always reflect (and come from) a genuine desire for both your and the hiring organization's win.
We'll start with one statement: The interviewers expects you to be genuine.
We know there are probably hundreds of online and printed articles about the smartest questions you can come up with. It all comes down to you and the opportunity in front of you.
There are a lot of things that are important to you, and only a handful that is crucial. Those are typical aspects that reflect what you expect of your life, career, the people or things that make you happy and fulfilled, and not least your health (this is a shortlist, you certainly have your own). You are there because in one way or another the job opportunity you're interviewing for contributes to what's critical to you. Once you've figured that out, think about what kind of questions you could ask that will clarify whether pursuing the job opportunity will contribute to what's critical to you.
Or you may think: "it's crucial that I work for organizations that value a healthy culture that encourages creativity, instead of a top-down" so your question to the interviewer might be: "Could I meet some of the people I'd be working with?" If they are open to the idea, it will be a good way to tell what kind of culture you'd be dealing with.
Employers do spend the time to put Job Descriptions together. But that's not all that they have on their webpage that can give you an idea of who they are and what they do. Their "about" page will help you know how they think, what they value (value/principles), where they're going (vision), and how they're going to get there (mission/objectives). Then review their "products/services" section of their website. Is there any aspect in particular that intrigues you? Is there anything that you think might be related to your job?
Notice most of the questions are open-ended. This approach ensures you get the most out of your of conversation with the interviewers.
How they respond is an important indicator of that organization's values. Did they provide honest and meaningful answers? Were they specific or generic/quoting from a "textbook"? Etc.
So be genuine, be yourself!
There are many details one could use to respond to this kind of question — for instance, you could highlight quantifiable achievements that match up to what's requested of you. It's a bit obvious but they would not have invited you to the interview as well as the other 15 people who have a similar skills set.
However, one of the things that a recruiter will be looking at (we believe the most important) is how genuine you are. We all have different upbringings, life and work experiences, and personalities. Those, combined, are difficult to mimic. Why did you show up for that interview in the first place?
Are you passionate about what this role entails?
Do you like their culture and you think you'd fit right in?
Are you excited at the growth opportunity in that position?
Does the company have a great reputation as an employer?
These are all real & true reasons. Pick a few and be genuine about your answer.
Do it with a spin (if possible), again staying true to who you are: how does this job play out towards your dreams, your ambitions, and your career? Think of the long run or the well-known "what do I want to be when I grow up" — how this job is a stepping stone towards that (i.e. 20 years from now), and why that motivates you to master the skills required to succeed in this role. Most employers don't have unrealistic expectations of keeping you around for the next 10 years or even 5 years.
If you don't yet have a picture of what the long run looks like, don't worry about it right then, and stick to the immediate things that really pushed you to apply for this job.
And finally: interviewers are human and will be prone to being subjective. You might have been bright and shiny at the interview, but if the interviewer had a bad day, that could have just been the only reason for a rejection. Pick yourself up, and don't give up on being who you are all the way through. Adjust the format but don't compromise the substance.
To summarize: be genuine, paint a broader picture than that job, talk about what drives you to succeed, be genuine about it.


through all the windows, the eyes.
What is this state, but floating in love?
an incredible sensory, sentimental perception.
What happens next? How does it all end?
happens in movies and plays, it's only a dream."
in love, Or you had simply fallen.
you start to dance again, take chances again.


Kindra's Blogging Designs: Christmas Layouts!!!
These layouts were used from the cutest Christmas kits I have ever seen! Check out her website here!
I love your Christmas designs. I found it a couple days ago but decided to wait until after Thanksgiving. I am so excited to finally put it on. Thanks.
Thanks for the cute Xmas layout! When I view your blog, the background is black, and I'm not able to see most of the writing on the page, unless I highlight it.
Hello! I just love your designs.. You can visit my blog if you like, I have one of your gourgeous christmas backgrounds. Thank you very much.
This is not the last time I visit your blog.. you have many nice layouts and backgrounds.
Unfortunately my blog is a 3 column.
Do you have it in 3 column?
I'll be checking back. Thanks.


Were you seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident? Did an explosion at work kill a family member? Did a medical error lead to a lifelong disability or a brain injury? You don't need to face this catastrophe alone.
Catastrophic injuries often cause permanent damage and disability, even deaths. If you have suffered a catastrophic injury or a loved one was involved in a fatal accident, you and your family will need considerable compensation to cover your losses and to pay for long-term medical care.
Let a skilled and experienced personal injury lawyer help you secure your financial future. Do not accept the first settlement offer made by the insurance company. Consult a Dallas catastrophic injury lawyer from the law firm of Jerry D. Andrews, P.C., first.
It takes a proven trial attorney to thoroughly prepare the most serious claims and aggressively pursue compensation. Jerry D. Andrews has more than 20 years of experience and is board-certified in personal injury law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. No matter how complex a case is, he knows how to determine liability and build a strong argument for compensation. When the opposing lawyer will not negotiate fairly, he can pursue the case at trial.
Working with economists, medical experts and life-care planners, we will calculate your past, present and future losses. This may include medical bills, long-term medical care, the loss of wages and benefits, pain and suffering, funeral expenses and compensation for the personal loss of a loved one.
This is not a complete list of the types of cases we have handled. Don't take our word for it. Review some of our successes, and read our client testimonies to help with your decision to hire our firm. We assist accident victims throughout the Dallas metro area, including the city of Carrollton.
To schedule your free consultation, contact us online or call us in Dallas at 214-736-1661 or from anywhere else toll free at 866-417-6038. Claims are handled on a contingency basis, which means that you do not pay if you don't win.


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Robin Lod (Helsinki, 17 april 1993) is een Fins voetballer die doorgaans als als middenvelder speelt. Hij verruilde HJK Helsinki  in juli 2015 voor Panathinaikos. Lod debuteerde in 2015 in het Fins voetbalelftal. Met HJK Helsinki won hij vier keer de Finse landstitel.

Clubstatistieken

Interlandcarrière
Onder leiding van bondscoach Mika-Matti Paatelainen maakte Lod zijn interlanddebuut voor Finland op 19 januari 2015 in de vriendschappelijke wedstrijd tegen Zweden (0-1), net als Roope Riski (Hønefoss BK) en Johannes Laaksonen (SJK Seinäjoki). Riski nam in dat duel de enige treffer voor zijn rekening. Lod had in 2013 al eens meegespeeld met de nationale ploeg, maar dat betrof een officieus en niet door de FIFA erkend duel.

Erelijst
 HJK Helsinki
Fins landskampioen
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014Beker van Finland
 2011, 2014

Zie ook
Lijst van spelers van HJK Helsinki

Fins voetballer


It was a great honor to document Nicole and David's elopement! Words will never be able to explain how truly magical it was. Nicole and David share a love that is one of a kind and absolutely beautiful. They are both very sentimental and elegant people. They chose to elope at Denny Blaine - a place they love to spend time at together.
(This was the first elopement I've been able to witness and I can only hope it's not the last! ) There is something so romantic about getting married with a very small gathering and in a setting so personal - I just LOVED being part of this special day.
Congratulations again Nicole and David! May your undeniable love for each other bring you endless happiness throughout your lifetime!


Discussion in 'DIY (Do-It-Yourself)' started by slinky66, Oct 21, 2009.
OK, BMW DIY gurus, I need your help with this one.
I drove home from work yesterday, went in my house - I came out 10 minutes later and my '95 525i would not turn over - Cranked fine but would not turn over.
I can't help with your problem, but I can help you with your description of the problem. "Cranking" is "turning over". It means that the starter is engaged properly and it is able to rotate the engine crank as it should. What you meant to say is, the car cranked/turned over, but it would not start. That means you have an ignition or fuel delivery problem, but it eliminates all the inquiries into the starter switch, starter, and battery. That is how we narrow a problem down to its cause.
will the car start if you cycle the key (turn the key to position two, turn it off and then turn it back to position two and then start the car) if this makes a difference i would look for a failed check valve what could be happening is as the car sits (overnight or for a long period of time) the fuel could be leaving the fuel rail, lines and back into the fuel tank because of gravity and therefore cycling the key would re-prime the system so to speak so the engine would have fuel to run the engine. If not i would check the fuel pump itself as it can be a source of failure. other possibilities can be fuel pump or dme relays or faulty injectors etc... start with the basics and if it goes beyond your comfort level i would take it to a known quality repair shop or dealer to properly diagnose it because you would need a fuel pressure gauge to attach at the fuel rail to check for a loss of fuel pressure while the car sits.
i can't really tell what is in the picture it almost looks like heater valves or possibly the auxiliary water pump. the aux water pump delivers coolant to your heater core(s) depending if you have dual climate control in the car and thus gives you heat during the winter time.


This night-inspired bicycle tour is a comfortable and perfect way to see the city - an authentic experience packed with adeventure, colourful sights and sounds.
This 4-hour guided cycling tour is for those who prefer exploring the city as it winds down for the night. The architectural buildings come to life as the lights come on, while street vendors set up their stalls for hungry crowds. The cycling routes cover over 8 areas of the inner and outer area of the city. You will also have a local dinner to keep your strength up and get a taste of the local culture.
Our grand cycling tour starts at 5pm and ends at 9pm. You will be escorted by an experienced local guide to over 50 attractions along a 14km cycling route. Ride down the little alleys and take in the wondrous duality of Kuala Lumpur - where colonial landmarks meet modern skyscrapers, and rural traditions meet urban vibes. By nightfall, the city is just as lively, with scenes you would not be able to see in the day.


Starting again. This morning I wrote the first paragraph of this thought ramble and saved it. So I thought. Evidently my editors didn't agree with what I had written because it was ALL GONE.
I get SO MUCH help on a very daily basis, most of which I'll admit that I don't recognize. I guess that is why I get in so much trouble. The reason for the title of this ramble is that once again I'm being nudged to lose weight. I have tried numerous times, sometimes with success but sadly life happens and the lost weight comes back with interest. I'll state that I have NO INTEREST in going on a diet. They are too restrictive and I end up required to give up food that I like: potatoes, corn on the cob, etc.
New plan — hopefully this time I will succeed. The first nudge came when my husband was encouraged to attend the MOVE nutritional group at the local Veterans clinic. I was allowed to join him for support. (I'm chief cook.) That led us into the exercise part of the program. Since then I've added evening stretches to my preparation for bed routine.
Second nudge — a couple of the volunteers are using a Fitbit to track their steps and sleep. Listening to their results, I learned that the Fitbit recorded more steps than the pedometer I had been wearing. About that time, the pedometer that I had been wearing stopped working. The Fitbit also records my sleep habits. I've learned that when I get less than 6 hours sleep I'm more tired. Recent articles in print and on the news have highlighted lack of sleep as a contributor to weight gain among other issues. I'm trying to increase my sleep hours to seven or even eight. One disadvantage: I wear the Fitbit on my wrist, in order to record steps my arms have to have movement — when shopping, arms on a cart don't record steps.
Third Nudge: I've recently learned that the Fitbit will link to My Fitness Pal. When I tried to link them, My old My Fitness Pal program didn't have the tools necessary. The My Fitness Pal program on the I Pad didn't allow us to change participants. Since I don't give up easily, I took out our lap top where I was successful. Not only was I able to set it up for him with a newer program, but that version allows us to change the path so we both can individually use the same program. Now I'll admit that being lazy, I haven't entered my food on My Fitness Pal for months although I do keep a food log — just no calories. Of course I had to add my food for the day to see if it would work.
Linking the two programs, I entered my food and was very surprised to see the calories acquired on Fitbit as well as calories expended. It will be interesting to see how the two programs influence my weight and sleep habits. I asked my husband if he wanted me to link his programs. He admitted that logging his food was more fun than he wanted.
Will I succeed this time. Good question. STAY TUNED!


A new subtype of multiple sclerosis, called myelocortical MS, has been discovered by researchers at Cleveland Clinic.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) has long been characterized as a disease of the brain's white matter, where immune cells destroy myelin — the fatty protective covering on nerve cells. The destruction of myelin (called demyelination) was believed to be responsible for neuron death that leads to irreversible disability in patients with MS.
However, in the new findings, a research team led by Bruce Trapp, Ph.D., identified for the first time a subtype of the disease that features neuronal loss but no demyelination of the brain's white matter. The findings could potentially lead to more personalized diagnosis and treatments.
Myelocortical MS (MCMS), was indistinguishable from traditional MS on MRI. The researchers observed that in MCMS, part of the neurons become swollen and look like typical MS lesions indicative of white matter myelin loss on MRI.
The disease was only diagnosed in post-mortem tissues.
said Trapp, chair of Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute Department of Neurosciences.
In the study of brain tissue from 100 MS patients who donated their brains after death, the researchers observed that 12 brains did not have white matter demyelination. They compared microscopic tissue characteristics from the brains and spinal cords of 12 MCMS patients, 12 traditional MS patients and also individuals without neurological disease.
Although both MCMS and traditional MS patients had typical MS lesions in the spinal cord and cerebral cortex, only the latter group had MS lesions in the brain white matter.
said Daniel Ontaneda, M.D., clinical director of the brain donation program at Cleveland Clinic's Mellen Center for Treatment and Research in MS.


Finally, some rational comments on the NSA's program of intercepting calls between people in the U.S. and al-Qa'ida members (aka The Enemy) located overseas. Deliberately mislabeled by the Leftmedia as "domestic spying," this program's sole purpose is "to detect and prevent attacks," according to General Michael Hayden, Deputy Director of National Intelligence. His remarks, delivered at the National Press Club last week, were a strong rebuttal of the program's critics. General Hayden also explained what the program is not, saying, "It is not a driftnet over Dearborn or Lackawanna or Fremont, grabbing conversations that we then sort out by these alleged keyword searches or data-mining tools... This is targeted and focused." General Hayden also pointed out that he, personally, had briefed Congress about the program over a dozen times.


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Q: link_to_function "javascript:history.back()" not working in google chrome Working on some dynamic pages and specifically we have profile pages for users. However there are several routs for them to get to these pages so its not practical to set up a specific rout for the back button.
here is my code:
<%= link_to_function "Back", 'javascript:history.back()', { :class => "button-back" } %>

and it generates this html:
Back

this is working in IE and Firefox but not Chrome....What gives? I have looked at the other stack questions that are similar but none of them are browser specific and according to them this should work. Any help would be appreciated.
Edit:
After further testing it turns out the real problem is that this is working in chrome but is not working when I drop the pages into an Iframe and try and use the button to navigate inside of a chrome extension. The reason I am doing this is because we are using these pages cross browser in different apps/extensions/toolbars depending on the browser. Its working in all of them except our chrome extension.

A: The javascript: protocol it for hrefs, not for onclicks.  If you take out the javascript: it might work:
<%= link_to_function "Back", 'history.back()', { :class => "button-back" } %>

It's strange to me that IE and Firefox accept that though..


LegsLavish: Gabrielle tries Le Bourget Tights	No ratings yet.
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LegsLavish: Gabrielle Styles Silver Mermaid Leggings	No ratings yet.
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Gabrielle with Corsetti fishnets	No ratings yet.
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Gabrielle's First Review – Conte tights	No ratings yet.
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Dan Cunin for Town Council - Cochrane, Alberta | I believe that being part of a community is more than just living in it.
Please note that I tend to share my activities and interesting information via my Facebook group. Visit the page, and if you like what you see follow and share it. Thanks Cochrane!
Have a question about my campaign?


As of 2016[update], U.S. News & World Report has given the following rankings to graduate programs at Stony Brook: The School of Engineering is ranked 67th, the School of Social Work is ranked 71st, the School of Medicine is ranked 59th in Research and a 'Rank Not Published' in Primary Care nationally. Nuclear Physics (categorized as a Physics specialty) ranked 4th; Geometry (categorized as a Mathematics specialty) ranked 4th; Clinical Psychology ranked 4th; Topology (categorized as a Mathematics specialty) ranked 11th; Physician's Assistant program ranked 16th; Physics ranked 23rd; Midwifery ranked 23rd; Mathematics ranked 25th; Political Science ranked 29th; Earth Science ranked 34th; Materials Science (categorized as an Engineering specialty) ranked 37th; Psychology ranked 39th; Sociology ranked 40th; Computer Science ranked 40th; Occupational Therapy ranked 44th; Biological Sciences ranked 55th; Chemistry ranked 56th; English ranked 60th; Economics ranked 63rd; History ranked 63rd; Physical Therapy ranked 64th; and Fine Arts ranked 98th.
In 2018, Stony Brook University accepted 41.8%, or 15,800, of the 37,828 freshman applications it received. Of the 15,800 freshmen applicants accepted, 3,383 chose to enroll, or a rate of 21.4%.
The average SAT score of 2018 freshmen is 1323 out of 1600.
^ Finder, Alan (August 11, 2005). "To Woo Students, Colleges Choose Names That Sell". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "Birth of MRI". www.stonybrook.edu. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "Charles Wang's philanthropy reached around the world". Newsday. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ Durgy, Edwin. "Billionaire Hedge Funder Donates $150 Million to SUNY Stony Brook". Forbes. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "Stony Brook University's $40M Student Recreation Center Opens". Three Village, NY Patch. October 22, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "Hilton Garden Inn Celebrates Grand Opening on Stony Brook University Campus". SBU News. May 13, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ Rossin, Steven. "Professor recognized for over 30 years of dedication to university". The Statesman. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "Stony Brook commences $21.1 million Stony Brook Arena renovation". Stony Brook University Athletics. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "University opens $40.8M computer science building". Newsday. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ Liebson, Rebecca. "To build or not to build?". The Statesman. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "Stony Brook set to open $194 million cancer center". Newsday. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ Tesoriero, Brittany. "Student Union will undergo three-year renovation". The Statesman. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "University gets $25M for new engineering building". Newsday. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ Liebson, Rebecca. "Public-private partnership will add 500 units of on-campus housing". The Statesman. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "Stony Brook Achieves Highest-Ever U.S. News Ranking". SBU News. September 10, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "Fast Facts". Stony Brook University. 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
^ "State University of New York Stony Brook University 2018-2019 CDS" (PDF). Stony Brook University. Fall 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
^ a b c d "Athletic Traditions | Stony Brook Traditions". www.stonybrook.edu. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "Holy Cow! SBU announcer is Harry Caray's grandson". Newsday. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
^ "Glance @ SB Athletics". www.stonybrook.edu. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "Stony Brook Dedicates Goldstein Family Student-Athlete Development Center". Stony Brook University Athletics. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "WebCite query result". www.webcitation.org. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "SBU to begin $21.1M arena renovation". Newsday. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "Pritchard Gymnasium". Stony Brook University Athletics. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "What's the Plan for Dubin's Hedge Fund Fortune?". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "SBU gets $5M pledge for indoor training center". Newsday. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "Together We Transform Thursday: Oct. 12, 2017". Stony Brook University Athletics. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ Press, The Associated (June 11, 2012). "Stony Brook Defeats L.S.U. to Advance to College World Series". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "Stony Brook Makes Historic Run To College World Series". americaeast.com. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ Sanders, Jeff. "Padres roster review: Travis Jankowski". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ a b "Stony Brook Selected as No. 5 Seed in 2018 Division I NCAA Tournament". Stony Brook University Athletics. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
^ "Suffolk Transit Connection | Transportation and Parking". www.stonybrook.edu. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
This page was last edited on 19 April 2019, at 16:48 (UTC).


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As Seen on TV | Custom Cages & Custom Aquariums
Custom Cages on TV
CagesByDesign.com partners with Jack Hanna to outfit Columbus Zoo
In spring of 2007, Custom Cages partnered with Jack Hanna and the Columbus Zoo to completely renovate their holding room for promotional animals. These are the very same animals you see Jack on various television shows with. "We are very excited to win the approval of such a conservationist and well known figure in the industry," says Adam Keller, president of Custom Cages. "We are very happy and honored to do this for them." In October, the Custom Cages team installed the over $50,000 worth of enclosures and accessories for Jack Hanna at the zoo. The cages hold everything from macaws to snakes to armadillos.
MTV's "Pimp My Ride"
CagesByDesign.com helps "Pimp" her ride!
In June of 2006 a terrarium built by CagesByDesign.com was featured on MTV's "Pimp My Ride". In the words Gyasi, of one of the professionals at GAS "Galpin Auto Sports" who renovated the WWII style Volkswagen, the terrarium was "the bomb!" CagesByDesign.com custom build this enclosure to what Gyasi described as a perfect fit for the back seat of the vehicle. This is just another one of the advantages to CagesByDesign.com's enclosure system, they can be custom sized for just about any application down to about 1/16th of an inch! The owner of the vehicle featured in this episode is going to use the enclosure to transport her California King snakes and her Ball Pythons. All the inner accessories such as bark, vines, and logs were also provided by CagesByDesign.com with one exception, the TV! The GAS team also installed a tiny television into a rock mounted inside the cage so even the snakes could ride in style!
Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"
"I think they are the most beautiful cages you can buy!" – Thom, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
On June 6, 2006, CagesByDesign.com's enclosures were featured on the season premier episode of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy". The fab five took their skills to Las Vegas and renovated an entertainer named Max Clever. Max does an animal/comedy act at the Stratosphere hotel and casino. The producers of "Queer Eye" contacted Custom Cages in March of 2006 to help them in their renovation. The Custom Cages team went quick to work to set up the perfect enclosures for a pair of cockatoos. The enclosures could not be missed during the show as they are the focal point of the interior renovation. In one scene (shown below), the fab five introduced the new cage to Max with great excitement, and at one point Thom (the interior decorator member of the fab five) even said "I think they are the most beautiful cages you can buy!". The Custom Cages team wishes good luck to Max and his wife, as well as all their pets!
For more information go to: http://www.bravotv.com/Queer_Eye/photos/episode/236
In November 2004 the "Elcano Family" episode of ABC's reality show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" showcased several of CagesByDesign's cages.
For more information go to: http://abc.go.com/primetime/xtremehome/images/gallery/ep_Elcano/gallery.html?photo=28
Renovate My Family
In September 2004 the "Cole-Reimer" episode of Fox's reality show "Renovate my Family" showcased several of CagesByDesign's cages.
For more information go to: http://www.fox.com/renovatemyfamily/
REPTILES Magazine August, 2006
Brian Holbein of Duluth Minnesota won the "Show us your stuff" contest in the August 2006 edition of Reptiles Magazine. Shown on the top of his display is an enclosure manufactured by CagesByDesign.com
Majestic Line Reviewed as 'Top 3 Pet Palaces'
Spirit Magazine (Southwest Airlines)
Americans will spend an estimated $40.8 billion this year on their pets. And some of that goes toward spectacular spreads for the furry, feathered, and finned. Here, Andrea Arden, resident pet expert for the Today show and author of Dog-Friendly Dog Training (Howell Book House), picked CagesByDesign's Majestic Enclosures as part of three ways to put up your loyal companions in style.
MSNBC Features CagesByDesign.com
Frank Silverstein, producer for MSNBC's 'Your Business' sat down with Adam Keller, President of Custom Cages for an interview which aired on December 9th, 2007. The premise of the show was to showcase how Custom Cages became a successful small business by manufacturing their products in the United States rather then importing their products from China through offering innovative designs, high quality output, and customized products. Go to the CagesByDesign.com web site to find out more about the interview.
REPTILES Magazine Features CagesByDesign on Extreme Makeover
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and related graphic are © 2004 ABC, Inc.
Renovate My Family™ and related graphic are © 2004 Fox and its related entities. All rights reserved.
Bird Aviaries for Banks
Bird Aviaries for Pet Stores
Frog Vivariums
Hotel Bird Aviaries


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A. Marm Kilpatrick: Researcher on West Nile virus and climate change
A. Marm Kilpatrick of the University of California, Santa Cruz
As anyone who pays even a little attention to the news knows, the Dallas-Fort Worth area has been contending lately with a major outbreak of West Nile virus (WNV), a mosquito-carried illness that arrived in the U.S. in 1999 and can be fatal, though it usually is not.
West Nile virus is spread to humans and other animals by mosquitoes that have bitten infected birds. Climate is one of the variables in the disease's transmission that is receiving increasing attention from researchers and public health officials.
According to the latest statistics that had been published by the Texas Department of State Health Services at the time of this article's publication, there have been 586 cases of the illness, including 21 deaths, in 52 Texas counties this year. The previous year with the most cases in Texas was 2003, with 439 cases with 40 deaths in 86 counties.
Texas – and the DFW area, in particular – is the national epicenter for this year's cases of West Nile virus disease. In its most recently published tally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that there had been 693 cases of the illness, including 26 deaths, this year.
Dallas County – where both county and City of Dallas officials have declared public health emergencies – reported 242 WNV cases with 10 deaths through last Friday. Tarrant County, which includes Fort Worth, reported 205 cases including four deaths through Monday.
To explore the climate angle on West Nile virus and the DFW-area outbreak in particular, Texas Climate News posed several questions to A. Marm Kilpatrick, a biologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and leading researcher on the ecology of infectious diseases.
In 2008, Kilpatrick was the lead author of a study published in the journal PLoS Pathogens, which reported that higher temperatures had "helped a new strain of West Nile virus invade and spread across North America," according to a report on the study by his university.
"The study shows that the warmer the temperature, the greater the advantage of the new strain. It also indicates that increases in temperatures due to global climate change would have major effects on transmission of the virus," Kilpatrick said at the time.
In 2010, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced a four-year, $2 million grant to UC Santa Cruz for work that Kilpatrick is leading to achieve better understanding of the effects of climate change on West Nile virus' distribution in North America and how it impacts public health.
"One thrust of the project is to find out what the climatic factors are that determine whether it's going to be a bad year for West Nile virus," he said in a university announcement of the research effort.
The American Ornithologists' Union named Kilpatrick as the winner of its Ned K. Johnson Young Investigator Award in 2008 with this praise:
Kilpatrick studies the impact of pathogens on animal populations, the effects of changes in animal communities on pathogen dynamics, and the spread of animal pathogens to new areas. His work is important, timely, and at the cutting edge of the field, as reflected in extensive media coverage, requests to testify before Congress, and abundant citations of his research. Originally trained as an engineer … Kilpatrick has become a leading figure investigating the ecology of disease in avian populations.
Kilpatrick answered emailed questions from TCN editor Bill Dawson:
Q: First, please offer whatever general observations you may have on the climate-change implications of the Dallas-Fort Worth area outbreak of West Nile virus in connection with the findings in your 2008 study in PLoS Pathogens.
A: It's not clear to me that we can ascribe the outbreak to climate change. As with any other individual event (e.g. a hurricane or heat wave), attribution is difficult or impossible. In addition, a complicating factor is that we don't fully understand the relationships between temperature and rainfall and WNV transmission in the field, as detailed below.
Q: In particular, is there evidence that the mosquitoes involved in the DFW area this year represent the new strain in your study – or is it possible this is yet another, newer strain?
A: I have not heard about detection of any new strains of WNV so I'd guess it is the [same] WN02 type of virus, but I haven't heard of anyone genotyping the virus there so anything is possible.
Q: All of Texas had an extremely hot and dry summer last year, and temperatures around the DFW area were especially hot. Were those summer conditions, followed by wetter conditions early this year, possible or likely factors in this year's West Nile virus outbreak – in light of your finding that "increases in temperature greatly accelerated transmission by increasing the efficiency of viral replication in the mosquitoes?"
A: There are several anecdotal stories suggesting that this pattern influences WNV transmission but I am not convinced by any of these studies – simply put, they are not rigorously done.
That being said, it is possible that climate is playing a role. One mechanism that has been proposed (but not tested with data) is that droughts kill predators of mosquito larvae so that the following year mosquitoes do well and WNV epidemics are intensified. It would be nice to see a detailed study of this idea but none have been done yet.
Q: Where do things stand with regard to the research you're now doing under the National Institutes of Health grant that was announced in 2010 to examine the relationship of climate change and the transmission of West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne diseases?
A: We are attempting to understand the link between climate and WNV, including exactly the events like that one in Texas. However, when we look at the data broadly, we find that other factors appear to be stronger drivers than climate. However, these analyses are ongoing and so I'm not in a place to make strong statements.
Q: What are some of the complexities that make this sort of research difficult in terms of identifying regional and local factors involved in West Nile virus transmission that are relevant to public health officials?
A: There are a few key issues:
1) Increasing temperature can increase transmission through viral replication, as described in the 2008 PLoS Pathogens paper, as well as more frequent biting by mosquitoes due to faster digestion of bloodmeals and egg development, and possibly by increasing developmental rates of mosquito eggs/larvae. This last mechanism has not been fully explored – we know mosquitoes develop faster at higher temperatures but we don't know if this always translates into more mosquitoes. However, increasing temperature can also decease transmission by shortening mosquito lifespans. We don't know which is more important in the field.
2) The influence of rainfall can also be mixed. Some water is required for mosquito larvae, but there is some limited evidence that mosquitoes can be flushed from containers by heavy rain.
3) Finally, WNV is a multi-host pathogen, transmitted among many different birds – humans and other mammals are incidental bystanders. We aren't sure to what extent human behavior determines human infection risk. There are several studies showing that it can influence things to some extent, but whether climate influences or human behavior are more important is not yet known.
Thus while we understand many of the individual components of how temperature and rainfall can influence WNV transmission, discerning the relative importance and effects is really quite challenging.
Q: In your opinion, does science know enough already about the current and potential impact of climate change on West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne diseases for public health officials to be factoring climate change into their planning for addressing the vectors [insects that transmit disease] – things like having enough insecticide on hand in case they decide to undertake more spraying? What should they be doing or thinking about doing?
A: Unfortunately, no. But that is the thrust of our research and we hope to provide meaningful guidance on exactly this.
Q: In your opinion, will climate change – as projected by models cited by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, National Academy of Sciences, etc. – probably mean the United States has to contend more with West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne diseases in the years and decades ahead?
A: Due to the reasons described above, I don't think we can give a definitive answer yet. What I can say is that in the colder areas (e.g. Maine) warming will definitely increase WNV. In other areas it is less certain.
Image credit: Courtesy of A. M. Kilpatrick