This past July, Twitter released its Q2 earnings in a letter to shareholders, offering a mostly positive outlook for brands with followers on the platform.
Aside from a dip in stock prices after the platform conducted a massive purge of automated bots earlier in the month, and a 19% decline in shares—the platform's biggest dip since October 2016—the rest of the earnings report is good news for communicators who invest resources in Twitter campaigns.
Despite the massive bot purge, Twitter's Monthly Active Users (MAU) count barely took a hit in Q2—down to 68 million MAU from 69 million in Q1, as illustrated in this infographic published on Social Media Today.
That approximately one million dip in MAU seems a small price to pay for the high numbers of suspicious or fraudulent accounts that Twitter has purged from its platform. Comparing that loss with the reported numbers of accounts purged is suspect, considering those fraudulent accounts weren't included in the MAU counts. Still, the relatively small decline in MAUs compared with the massive numbers of purged bad actors bodes well for the platform's legitimacy.
Moreover, Twitter's daily user count increased by 11%—a substantial increase, and its seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit growth for daily users.
"That shows that Twitter is doing something right, and while the market is concerned about overall growth—because more people means more opportunity to show more ads—increases in active users and time spent on platform could arguably be just as effective in this regard," writes Social Media Today's Andrew Hutchinson.
Moreover, Twitter's willingness to self-regulate its bad actors sets a precedent for accountability that bodes well from a reputation standpoint. Regulation builds trust, and trust builds your user base. We'll be watching the Q3 reports closely to see if the numbers reflect Twitter's commitment to staying legit.


text:
Ron Earl Phillips
Writer • Designer • Publisher • Scoundrel
Uncategorized Writing
Five Broken Winchesters from Zelmer Pulp
Post author By ronearl
2 Comments on Five Broken Winchesters from Zelmer Pulp
Zelmer Pulp is a handful of writers from around the globe who by fate or consequence have gravitated together to produce a series of genre collections. Their first two collections C'mon and Do the Apocalypse, a send off of the zombie horror genre, and Hey, That Robot Ate My Baby, a dastardly take on sci-fi, were some of my favorite reading earlier this year. And if I have to be honest I have known the Zelmer Pulp crew individually as writers and artists for some time now. I've had the pleasure to publish Brian Panowich, Chris Leek, Ryan Sayles, Isaac Kirkman, and Chuck Regan through the Shotgun Honey flashzine. I knew they were talented and crazy, and so I guess like minds attract.
When I heard they were going to tackle the Western next, with their special point of view, I dropped some not so subtle hints I'd like to participate. They were kind enough to oblige, though I imagine they might be kicking themselves for that choice from time to time. The long and the long of it, I managed to contribute my short story called "The Last Shot."
The collection is labeled weird west, but "The Last Shot" is traditional and a counterbalance to the talent you will find in Five Broken Winchesters. The following is the first part of my story.
"Marshal? Do you think I'll hang?"
Hank Markum said nothing at first, taking a sip from his coffee before considering the grave question of his prisoner. He looked across the fire, the flickering light played against the boy's youthful appearance making him seem younger than his nineteen years. The tremble in Caleb Monroe's voice only impressed upon the marshal that this was no grown man he was taking to the gallows.
"Son, they already strung up that boy, Oren Canter, and it doesn't look likely that that judge up in Cheyenne is going to side any different with you," he replied before taking another sip of his harsh brew. "You and the other killed that man, and took his horses, or perhaps the other ways around. Not that it matters much."
"I know that man died. I know, but…" the boy began to bluster before falling into silence.
Markum saw the sheen of tears well up along the boy's eyelids, cresting, capturing the dance of the firelight.
This was the first bit of concern the marshal had seen from the boy since taking him into custody down in Greely two day ago. Any attempt to speak of his crimes or what was to come in Cheyenne was met with silence, sometimes distraction. The boy wasn't obliged to talk, but Markum was grateful for any conversation on the trail. Most of which leaned toward the boy's pa, who Markum figured would have been about his own age had he not died when Caleb was eleven, leaving him orphaned, and eventually in the company of Oren Canter.
"Silence isn't a defense, Caleb," Markum pressed feeling the boy was ready. "It is not likely to be any help in Cheyenne, but maybe talking will ease your conscience, ease the load, before…before we get there."
The boy swiped his hand across his eyes, "I didn't know about Oren."
The two boys, Caleb had told Markum, had been inseparable since he had found his way to Cheyenne after bouncing from one well-meaning home to another. Canter's father drove the stage coach, giving the boys more freedom than ought to be had by two so rambunctious. The stories he told of the two reminded the marshal of the carelessness of friendship, and now the hollowness of the boy's face reminded him of the loss.
"Oren didn't deserve that, not for that old rancher. They was stubborn, the both of them—the old man for putting up the fight, and Oren for insisting we steal his useless swayback nag from the stable." The boy balled up his fists and shook his head in frustration.
"Them tugging back and forth spooked an old gray in the next stall. It gave a kick and both got knocked sideways into the mud. Only the rancher didn't jump back up like Oren. He just moaned, clutching his chest till he didn't moan no more."
"Why didn't you get help," Markum questioned.
"I wanted to," Caleb demanded. "Least I might have thought about it if I weren't scared and Oren weren't insistent on that horse, and the other two."
"It were just an accident. An accident," he pleaded.
"Accident or not, whatever defense you boys had for the rancher's death was void when you stole those horses."
Caleb stared across the fire at the marshal, "I didn't want to steal them."
"But you did, and they still hang horse thieves."
The boy's expression crumpled, and without a word turned away from Markum to lie on the cold unforgiving earth, knowing that was all the comfort he'd enjoy in this life.
Buy Five Broken Winchesters to read the rest.
Tags five broken winchesters, short story, western, zelmer pulp
Contest Uncategorized
CISI Contest Winner: False Promises by Ken Fish
4 Comments on CISI Contest Winner: False Promises by Ken Fish
So, that's what it feels like to pretend, he thought, as he laid in bed staring at the water-stained ceiling, trying to fall asleep for what felt like the millionth time in his fifteen years of living. It had been a normal day. It had been a rough day. In Abel McIntyre Junior's family, there was no difference. In his family, in the trailer park with the neighbors that surrounded him like ghouls from a house of horrors, the best days for him would likely kill any other kid, he always thought.
Abel knew how other kids lived, and it wasn't like him. He could see their houses on the soft, rounded hills across the Mystic River through the loose glass slats of the crank-open windows in his tiny wood-paneled bedroom. They had yards with grass and swing sets in them where children played all summer, and mounds of colorful flowers that gleamed in the most carefree way from mid-spring to mid-autumn. Even in the winter when those same hills were just grey mounds spiked with the craggy skeletons of oaks and maples, the houses glowed golden and warmly, twinkling on the coldest of days when there was ice in the air and the river looked as if it was frozen solid.
They lived in actual houses, and those houses they lived in didn't have wheels under them. This fact alone seemed to provide those kids with some sense of permanence and security that Abel never knew. This fact alone, Abel sometimes caught himself believing, raised them up above him and his ever-toiling Ma, Ethel, and drunkard Da, Abel Senior, and their house with the wheels underneath it just in case they needed to make a run for it again.
"Pretending," his mother always said "is much better than reality." For Abel, there was always a certain disconnect between that mantra of hers and how he thought he lived his life. He never thought what he was doing was pretend, it felt more like protection. It was what he did to make do as the poor kid who lived in the trailer park that was essentially used as a halfway-housing complex for the underfunded and understaffed loony bin on the edge of this otherwise rich white town. For Abel, it was survival.
"Don't you ever change your pants?" taunted Fred, the super-popular star of the soccer team at school. "I can smell those filthy things from here." The reality of it was, Abel rarely did change his pants. In fact, he only owned three pairs; one for every day, one for Sunday, and one for the rare occasion when Ethel would sneak their dirty laundry into the laundry room of the loony bin where she and her sorry excuse for a husband, Abel Sr., worked.
Abel always loved laundry day. He relished the brief moment when the few clothes he had were stiff and crisp and smelled like the industrial detergent they used to kill off every biting, burrowing, stinging, blood-sucking creepy-crawly he imagined inhabiting the flesh of all those crazies where his parents worked. Every time he slipped into a clean pair of trousers or a fresh shirt he felt, if only for a second, reborn.
Abel could feel his face redden as he froze from a sickening mix of anger, humiliation and disenchantment. He'd been caught out again. He'd been targeted by yet another wicked prick who had nothing better to do than pick on the one kid in school who did everything in his power to be invisible to all those around him. Abel always kept quiet. He always kept to himself. He never did anything to anyone. He never did anything to deserve the sort of treatment he got over and over again.
Sometimes he thought he was cursed. When Abel was little, back before he started going to school, he fantasized about what it would be like to be able to get away from his Da every day. He thought it would be some sort of safety-zone, a cinder block oasis where there would be kids just like him, a place beyond the reach of his Da's roaming hands, or worse yet, drunken fists. It didn't take Abel long to discover the difference between fantasy and reality. To Abel, school seemed like the place people like his Da went to learn how to curse, fight, and in general, grow up to be an asshole.
"My gawd!" Fred hollered across the crowded cafeteria. "Didja shit yer pants, or what, Abel?"
Just then, at the very moment Fred called Abel by his first name, the name his worthless father burdened him with, everything else he said, could say, or would ever say again, meant nothing. At that moment, he could hear nothing but the blood rushing in his ears like the roar of the hurricane that crushed the crazy gay twins under the huge choke cherry tree that set their ragged pack of scabby, inbred cats free through the torn sheet-metal of their old 12' by 40' two lots down from the McIntyre's.
At that moment, all Abel could see was Fred, his mouth flapping mutely before him. After that, all he could see was red — red from the mouth of that nasty boy Fred where Abel's first punch landed with a stomach-churning crack, mashing Fred's thin, pale upper lip into hanging shreds of gore. Fred's mouth kept moving, but his face no longer read as arrogant. He looked truly shocked, and under that, truly terrified.
Abel couldn't hear if Fred was trying to backpedal his way out of the suddenly desperate situation his mean mouth got him into. He couldn't hear if Fred was screaming for help. Abel landed another punch, this time, to Fred's jaw. He could feel himself smiling as his now torn knuckles made their impact, and the bone of Fred's jaw gave way with a pop, down and to the left; a deformity deserved.
Abel could see the teeth swimming in Fred's mouth, and his left eye instantly swollen, the indentations of Abel's fist at its rim like the dimples on a fat lady's ass. It looked as if Fred was shaking his head in a frantic NO gesture, but there wasn't
any NO left in this. There was only GO left in this.
Abel heard later that he was growling and grunting like some sort of rabid animal when he was on top of him, that is, when he wasn't laughing like one of those fellas from the fenced-in gravel lot in front of the nut house. Despite being one of the smallest boys in his ninth grade class, it took three middle-aged teachers and a Puerto Rican dishwasher to get him off of that poor boy. Abel was expelled that day, and day later, he was sent to juvenile hall.
A week after he got out, Abel saw Fred with his mother at the local grocery store. He was shattered. Fred acted like he didn't see him, but Abel knew he did.
Abel didn't know what happened that day at school. He relived it in flashes that provided neither context nor explanation. What he did know, is that it was like a dream coming true. All the times he'd been picked on, and all the times he'd been beaten up, had been erased by latching onto that smart-ass, Fred, and beating him to within an inch of his life.
Abel pretended to be sorry in front of the judge. He pretended to be sorry in front his so-called anger management counselor in juvenile hall. He even tried to pretend to be sorry in front of his Ma after his month of being locked up behind a tall chain link fence and those thick concrete walls, but she could see right through him.
"You don't have to pretend to be sorry in front of me, mister," she said smiling wryly.
Abel said nothing in response. He just smiled and thought about how everything was gonna be alright from that point forward. He had no idea if he believed that, or if he was just fooling himself, and to be perfectly honest, he didn't care either way.
Tags contest, flash fiction, frank bill, ken fish, short story, winner
No Comments on Father's Day
It wasn't until 1994 that I ever celebrated Father's Day. I have no recollection of the holiday in my family as a child.
It's not that it didn't happen, I just don't remember. At least not for me personally. My father was absent.
On January 4, 1994 I became a father and the following June my hapless parenthood was celebrated. And every year since.
And as it would happen, I told my own father Happy Father's Day a year later.
Many of my fellow writers and friends share this day with memories. Anything I would have to share would be fiction, so here's a story I wrote last year titled, "Father's Day"
Read Story: http://ronearl.com/fiction/fathers-day/
It might be a odd Father's Day tale, but it's a good read. Enjoy.
Again, Happy Father's Day.
Tags autism, father's day, gun, short story, violence
Cry Father by Benjamin Whitmer
Twenty years is a long ride for Dewey Thompson
Review: A Wind of Knives by Ed Kurtz
Ron Earl Phillips on Five Broken Winchesters from Zelmer Pulp
Rob Pierce on Five Broken Winchesters from Zelmer Pulp
a book a week | on Losing time with Sam Truman
Jedidiah Ayres on Frank Bill giveaway
© 2020	Ron Earl Phillips

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
<?php if (!defined('BASEPATH')) exit('No direct script access allowed');

class SimianGrid
{
    var $_user_cache;

    function SimianGrid()
    {
        $this->ci =& get_instance();

        $this->_user_cache = array();

        log_message('debug', 'SimianGridClient Initialized');

        $this->ci->load->library('Curl');

        $this->_init();
    }

    function _init()
    {
        $this->grid_service = $this->ci->config->item('grid_service');
        $this->user_service = $this->ci->config->item('user_service');
        $this->asset_service = $this->ci->config->item('asset_service');
        $this->hypergrid_service = $this->ci->config->item('hypergrid_service');
    }

    function _rest_post($url, $params)
    {
        $response = $this->ci->curl->simple_post($url, $params);

        $response = decode_recursive_json($response);

        if (!isset($response))
            $response = array('Message' => 'Invalid or missing response');

        return $response;
    }

    function search_user($thing)
    {
        $query = array(
            'RequestMethod' => 'GetUsers',
            'NameQuery' => $thing
        );
        $response = $this->_rest_post($this->user_service, $query);
        if ( is_array($response['Users']) ) {
            $result = array();
            foreach ( $response['Users'] as $user ) {
                $this_result = array(
                    'name' => $user['Name'],
                    'id' => $user['UserID']
                );
                array_push($result, $this_result);
            }
            return $result;
        }
        return array();
    }

    function user_delete($user_id)
    {
        $query = array(
            'RequestMethod' => 'RemoveUser',
            'UserID' => $user_id
        );

        $response = $this->_rest_post($this->user_service, $query);
        if (element('Success', $response)) {
            return true;
        } else {
            return false;
        }
    }

    function get_user($user_id, $force = false)
    {
        if ( $force || empty($this->_user_cache[$user_id]) ) {
            $user = $this->_user_get('id', $user_id);
            $this->_user_cache[$user_id] = $user;
            return $user;
        } else {
            return $this->_user_cache[$user_id];
        }
    }

    function get_user_by_name($name)
    {
        $user = $this->_user_get('name', $name);
        if ( $user != null ) {
            $this->_user_cache[$user['UserID']] = $user;
        }
        return $user;
    }

    function get_user_by_email($email)
    {
        $user = $this->_user_get('email', $email);
        if ( $user != null ) {
            $this->_user_cache[$user['UserID']] = $user;
        }
        return $user;
    }

    function user_id_from_name($name)
    {
        $user = $this->get_user_by_name($name);
        if ( $user === null ) {
            return null;
        } else {
            return $user['UserID'];
        }
    }

    function is_user($user_id)
    {
        $user = $this->user_get($user_id);
        if ( $user == null ) {
            return false;
        } else {
            return true;
        }
    }

    function _user_get($type, $thing)
    {
        // Fetch account data for this user
        if ($type == 'id') {
            $query = array(
                'RequestMethod' => 'GetUser',
                'UserID' => $thing
            );
        } elseif ($type == 'name') {
            $query = array(
                'RequestMethod' => 'GetUser',
                'Name' => $thing
            );
        } elseif ( $type =='email' ) {
            $query = array(
                'RequestMethod' => 'GetUser',
                'Email' => $thing
            );
        } else {
            return;
        }

        $response = $this->_rest_post($this->user_service, $query);

        if (element('Success', $response) && is_array($response['User'])) {
            return $response['User'];
        } else {
            return;
        }
    }

    function get_identity($identifier)
    {
        $identities = $this->_get_user_identities('name', $identifier);
        if ( count($identities) == 0 ) {
            return null;
        } else {
            return $identities[0];
        }
    }

    function get_user_identities($thing)
    {
        return $this->_get_user_identities('id', $thing);
    }

    function _get_user_identities($type, $thing)
    {
        if ( $type == 'id' ) {
            $query = array(
                'RequestMethod' => 'GetIdentities',
                'UserID' => $thing
            );
        } else if ( $type == 'name' ) {
            $query = array(
                'RequestMethod' => 'GetIdentities',
                'Identifier' => $thing
            );
        }

        $response = $this->_rest_post($this->user_service, $query);
        if (element('Success', $response) && is_array($response['Identities'])) {
            return $response['Identities'];
        } else {
            return null;
        }
    }

    function auth_user($username, $password)
    {
        return $this->authorize_identity('md5hash', $username, '$1$' . md5($password));
    }

    function auth_openid($openid)
    {
        return $this->authorize_identity('openid', $openid);
    }

    function auth_facebook($token)
    {
        return $this->authorize_identity('facebook', $token);
    }

    function authorize_identity($type, $identifier, $credential='') {
        $query = array(
            'RequestMethod'  => 'AuthorizeIdentity',
            'Identifier'     => $identifier,
            'Credential'     => $credential,
            'Type'           => $type
        );

        $response = $this->_rest_post($this->user_service, $query);

        if (element('Success', $response, false) ) {
            return element('UserID', $response);
        } else {
            return null;
        }
    }

    function add_capability($owner_id, $resource, $expiration_timestamp)
    {
        $query = array(
            'RequestMethod' => 'AddCapability',
            'OwnerID' => $owner_id,
            'Resource' => $resource,
            'Expiration' => $expiration_timestamp
        );
        $response = $this->_rest_post($this->user_service, $query);
        if ( element('Success', $response, false) ) {
            return element('CapabilityID', $response, null);
        } else {
            return null;
        }
    }

    function set_user_data($user_id, $key, $value)
    {
        $query = array(
            'RequestMethod' => 'AddUserData',
            'UserID' => $user_id,
             $key => $value
        );
        $response = $this->_rest_post($this->user_service, $query);
        if ( element('Success', $response, false) ) {
            return true;
        } else {
            return false;
        }
    }

    function remove_user_data($user_id, $key)
    {
        $query = array(
            'RequestMethod' => 'RemoveUserData',
            'UserID' => $user_id,
            'Key' => $key
        );
        $this->_rest_post($this->user_service, $query);
    }

    function search_scene($name) {
        return $this->_search_scene('name', $name);
    }

    function get_hyperlinks($enabled = true)
    {
        return $this->_search_scene('hypergrid', $enabled);
    }

    function _search_scene($request, $thing)
    {
        if ( $request == "name" ) {
            $query = array(
                'RequestMethod' => 'GetScenes',
                'NameQuery' => $thing
            );
        } else if ( $request === 'hypergrid' ) {
            $query = array(
                'RequestMethod' => 'GetScenes',
                'HyperGrid' => 'true',
                'Enabled' => $thing
            );
        } else {
            return null;
        }
        $response = $this->_rest_post($this->grid_service, $query);
        if ( is_array($response['Scenes']) ) {
            $result = array();
            foreach ( $response['Scenes'] as $scene ) {
                $this_result = array(
                    'name' => $scene['Name'],
                    'id' => $scene['SceneID'],
                    'x' => $scene['MinPosition'][0] / 256,
                    'y' => $scene['MinPosition'][1] / 256
                );
                array_push($result, $this_result);
            }
            return $result;
        }
        return null;
    }

    function set_scene_data($scene_id, $key, $value)
    {
        $query = array(
            'RequestMethod' => 'AddSceneData',
            'SceneID' => $scene_id,
            'Key' => $key,
            'Value' => $value
        );
        $response = $this->_rest_post($this->grid_service, $query);
        if ( element('Success', $response, false) ) {
            return true;
        } else {
            return false;
        }
    }

    function get_scene($scene_id)
    {
        return $this->_get_scene_info('id', $scene_id);
    }

    function get_scene_by_name($name)
    {
        $result = $this->_search_scene('name', $name);
        if ( $result != null && count($result) > 0 ) {
            return $this->get_scene($result[0]['id']);
        } else {
            return null;
        }
    }

    function get_scene_by_pos($x, $y)
    {
        return $this->_get_scene_info('pos', "<$x, $y, 0>");
    }

    function get_scene_by_owner($owner)
    {
        return $this->_get_scene_info('owner', $owner);
    }

    function _get_scene_info($request, $thing = null)
    {
        if ( $request == "id" ) {
            $query = array(
                'RequestMethod' => 'GetScene',
                'SceneID' => $thing
            );
        } else if ( $request == "pos" ) {
            $query = array(
                'RequestMethod' => 'GetScene',
                'Position' => $thing
            );
        } else if ( $request == "name" ) {
            $query = array(
                'RequestMethod' => 'GetScene',
                'Name' => $thing
            );
        } else if ( $request == "owner" ) {
            $query = array(
                'RequestMethod' => 'GetScene',
                'EstateOwner' => $thing
            );
        } else {
            return null;
        }

        $response = $this->_rest_post($this->grid_service, $query);
        if (element('Success', $response) ) {
            return $response;
        } else {
            return;
        }
    }

    function get_texture($uuid, $x = null, $y = null)
    {
        $image = $this->ci->curl->simple_get($this->asset_service . $uuid);

        if ( $image == null ) {
            return null;
        }

        $im = new imagick();
        $im->readImageBlob($image);

        $im->setImageFormat("jpeg");
        if ( $x != null && $y != null ) {
            $im->scaleImage(200, 200, true);
        }
        return $im;
    }

    function register($username, $email)
    {
        $userid = random_uuid();
        $query = array(
            'RequestMethod' => 'AddUser',
            'UserID' => $userid,
            'Name' => $username,
            'Email' => $email
        );
        $response = $this->_rest_post($this->user_service, $query);
        if (element('Success', $response)) {
            return $userid;
        } else {
            return null;
        }
    }

    function identity_set($user_id, $type, $identifier, $credential='')
    {
        $query = array(
            'RequestMethod' => 'AddIdentity',
            'Identifier' => $identifier,
            'Credential' => $credential,
            'Type' => $type,
            'UserID' => $user_id
        );

        $response = $this->_rest_post($this->user_service, $query);

        if (element('Success', $response)) {
            return true;
        } else {
            return false;
        }
    }

    function identity_remove($user_id, $type, $identifier)
    {
        $query = array(
            'RequestMethod' => 'RemoveIdentity',
            'Type' => $type,
            'Identifier' => $identifier,
            'UserID' => $user_id
        );

        $response = $this->_rest_post($this->user_service, $query);

        if (element('Success', $response)) {
            return true;
        } else {
            return false;
        }
    }

    function create_avatar($user_id, $avtype)
    {
        $query = array(
            'RequestMethod' => 'AddInventory',
            'AvatarType' => $avtype,
            'OwnerID' => $user_id
        );

        $response = $this->_rest_post($this->user_service, $query);

        if (element('Success', $response)) {
            return true;
        } else {
            return false;
        }
    }

    function set_access_level($user_id, $level)
    {
        $user_data = $this->get_user($user_id, true);
        $query = array(
            'RequestMethod' => 'AddUser',
            'UserID' => $user_data['UserID'],
            'Email' => $user_data['Email'],
            'Name' => $user_data['Name'],
            'AccessLevel' => $level
        );
        $response = $this->_rest_post($this->user_service, $query);
        if (element('Success', $response)) {
            return true;
        } else {
            return false;
        }
    }

    function simulator_details($scene_id)
    {
        $scene = $this->get_scene($scene_id);
        if ( $scene == null ) {
            return null;
        }
        $url = $scene['Address'] . "monitorstats/$scene_id";
        $url2 = $scene['Address'] . "jsonSimStats";
        $result = $this->ci->curl->simple_get($url);
        if ( $result == null ) {
            log_message('debug', "Unable to retrieve simulator stats from $url");
            return null;
        }
        $result2 = $this->ci->curl->simple_get($url2);
        $json_result = array();
        if ( $result2 == null ) {
            log_message('debug', "Unable to retrieve instance information from $result2");
            $json_result['Version'] = "??";
            $json_result['Uptime'] = "??";
        } else {
            $json_result = decode_recursive_json($result2);
        }

        $xml = new SimpleXMLElement($result);

        $result = array(
            'simulation_fps' => $xml->SimFPSMonitor,
            'physics_fps' => $xml->PhysicsFPSMonitor,
            'version' => $json_result['Version'],
            'uptime' => $json_result['Uptime'],
            'dilation' => $xml->TimeDilationMonitor,
            'prim_count' => $xml->ObjectCountMonitor,
            'agents' => $xml->AgentCountMonitor,
            'child_agents' => $xml->ChildAgentCountMonitor
        );
        return $result;
    }

    function total_user_count()
    {
        $data = array(
            'RequestMethod' => 'GetUserStats'
        );
        $result = $this->_rest_post($this->user_service, $data);
        if ( isset($result['Success']) ) {
            return $result['UserCount'];
        } else {
            log_message('error', "Unknown response to GetUserStats. Returning 0.");
            return 0;
        }
    }

    function total_scene_count()
    {
        $data = array(
            'RequestMethod' => 'GetSceneStats'
        );
        $result = $this->_rest_post($this->grid_service, $data);
        if ( isset($result['Success']) ) {
            return $result['SceneCount'];
        } else {
            log_message('error', "Unknown response to GetSceneStats. Returning 0.");
            return 0;
        }
    }

    function link_region($hg_uri, $region_name, $x, $y)
    {
        $data = array(
            'x' => $x,
            'y' => $y,
            'hg_uri' => $hg_uri,
            'region_name' => $region_name
        );
        $result = $this->_rest_post($this->hypergrid_service . '/sg_api/link_remote', $data);
        return $result['Success'];
    }
}

?>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


you will enjoy to use.
If you want to get to know us better, please download our brochure.
Our products are 100% designed, planned and made in Italy.
Enjoy Creations is a new company. Here are our first products!
Where you can find our products in Italy stores and online.
Copyright © 2016. Enjoy Creations All Rights Reserved. Created by Frêney.


text:
Marmalade Extension for AdBuddiz

Easy integration:

-- In the mkb of your project add the extension.

subprojects
{
    ..\s3eAdBuddiz
}

-- Add "s3eAdBuddiz.h" reference to either .h or .cpp file.

-- Check if extension is available:

  if (s3eAdBuddizAvailable()) {

-- Inside the check initialize the extension:

// Depending on your app, replace "TEST_PUBLISHER_KEY" with the right publisher key.
s3eAdBuddizInitialize("TEST_PUBLISHER_KEY");

-- Show ad when needed

s3eAdBuddizShowAd()

Note: Example app has detail of the other options.


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You will have immediate access to this PDF. Upon payment, you will automatically be redirected to a page with a link to the downloadable file.
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Now these are some nice additions, Revlon! The new, and I think non LE polishes from Revlon are called Matte Suede and come in 4 shades. I'm seeing them mixed in with the permanent collection in stores, as well as in table top displays. The stickers on the caps don't say Limited Edition, so hopefully they'll be around for a while. The finish on these is more of a satin matte and what's interesting about them is that the glitter doesn't seem to have the same finish, because it's brighter and well, glittery! These are not as flat of a finish as the OPI Suedes, for reference.
Above & Below: Fire Fox is a bright red with the slightest hint of pink to it. It's shown above in a natural state, and below with a clear top coat. The glitter is a pink/red tone.
Below: Emerald City is shown both alone and with a top coat. This shade has a lot of charcoal in it and the glitter is a lighter shade of emerald that flashes to a pale aqua in brighter lighting.
Below: Powder Puff is a white that's toned down with a very slight pale blue iridescent overlay. Not enough to make it look blue, but enough to take some of the starkness of the white away, leaving a delicate white that works very well by itself. I shy away from white unless I'm using it as a base or stamping color, but this is something I'd definitely wear alone. The glitter in this one is both white and pale aqua.
Below: Powder Puff also makes a nice streak-free base for layering, shown here with Liquid Euphoria Nirvana.
Below: Ruby Ribbon, a wine shade with light purple glitter covered very nicely in 2 coats. I used 2 coats on all of these with the exception of Powder Puff, which was 3 coats.
I am loving these polishes! The application was easy as can be, and the pigmentation is high in all of them. I had some uneven areas with Powder Puff due to the fact that it's a lighter shade perhaps, so that was the lone 3-coater. The finish is not terribly flat, and the glitter still stands out nicely on these. Of course adding a clear top coat enhances the glitter all the more. These would likely work well as stamping polishes and with the more matte finish, stamping them over a gloss finish would give a somewhat texture-toned look.
I'm hoping these are permanent additions to Revlon's core display, because I would love to have some more shades from this line. Already thinking ahead, I can imagine a dark taupe, a purple, a deep teal, and maybe even a lighter gold shade. What other colors would you like to see in the Matte Suede line?
powder puff is so beautiful!
I must have them all. I simply must.
I love Fire Fox for the name alone :P Powder Puff is neat.
I love the look of the pink and white one. Doesnt the white look like a great not too eyecatching wedding appropriate polish!??
Oh, those are absolutely gorgeous, and I love the way when you add a topcoat they seem to have so much depth! These are seriously beautiful! I'm glad to see these from Revlon, it's a line I've normally ignored in the stores. Now I'm wondering why I did that!
I just saw this display yesterday but didn't have time to really check them out. I'll have to go take a closer look this week. Thanks for the swatches!
I haven't seen these yet, but I'll be looking for them especially Powder Puff and Emerald City.
Amazing swatches! I haven't seen these yet!
Had my girlfriend look for these over the weekend and she didn't see any. I'm looking forward to all of them. Especially Emerald City and Ruby Ribbon. I hope they do keep these in their regular lineup.
I saw Ruby Ribbon at www.lacquerized.com a couple weeks ago and couldn't stop thinking about it. Love Powder Puff too! I hope I can find them at Walgreens or CVS; we don't Meijer in OK.
I've decided I have to have Emerald City,even though it leans towards aqua,I find it extremely appealing.
I'm in love with Powder Puff!
These are discontinued. I bought Emerald City and I love it with a top coat. It reminds me of a color of a car I used to drive, which are good memories for me!


Your daughter doesn't let anything stop her from playing her best on the golf course, so Garb created the Nellie, girls golf leggings, to keep her playing and practicing, even in cold weather. The polyester/spandex material moves with you so your daughter wont have anything holding her back. These leggings can be worn on their own or can be layered under the Jan skort! We give you our best so she can give it hers!


text:
« Back to All Daily Grace
How do you keep Lent?
Every year on Ash Wednesday, Christians all over the world have our faces marked with ashes, with a reminder that we are dust and to dust we will return. Where does this come from?
In the Scriptures, we find stories of people marking themselves with ashes as a sign of penitence, humility or grief. See, for example, Jonah 3:5–9, Job 42:6, Jeremiah 6:26 and Matthew 11:21.
As far back as the third century, people who had fallen into sin and wanted to be reconciled with God and the community went through a penitential rite that began with a mark of ashes on the forehead on the first Sunday of Lent. On Maundy Thursday, they would be solemnly and joyfully welcomed back into full fellowship with the community.
Sympathetic friends and relatives would often present themselves for ashes alongside the repentant sinner, and before long almost everyone in the congregation received ashes on the first Sunday of Lent.
Throughout history, Lent has been a time for spiritual renewal in anticipation of the great feast of Easter, the center of the church's year. How do you keep Lent?
This message is an excerpt from a free Women of the ELCA free resource, "Lent: Penitence, Pilgrimage, Preparation," available for download. Today we remember George Herbert, hymn writer, who died in 1633. Today begins Women's History Month. It is also Ash Wednesday. The readings are Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Isaiah 58:1-12 (alternate); Psalm 51:1-17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21.
Sign up for Daily Grace. If you enjoy this resource or our other free resources, please Donate Now.
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Daily Grace is an on-the-go companion for your journey, offering a faith reflection every day. Encounter God's extravagant, boundless and often surprising grace by signing up for a daily email message. You can also download the newly updated app for your IOS and Android devices.


text:
Home Latest WE Communications Expands In Germany With Frankfurt Office
WE Communications Expands In Germany With Frankfurt Office
The agency adds to its Munich team in response to client demand; plans further expansion in Europe.
Maja Pawinska Sims 30 Jul 2019 // 7:00AM GMT
FRANKFURT, GERMANY — WE Communications is expanding its presence in Germany, opening an office in Frankfurt to work alongside its Munich team.
The Frankfurt team of five new hires are specialists in health, consumer, technology and analytics, including data analyst Constantin Steiner, who joins from research and media analysis company Unicepta.
They will report to WE's Germany vice president and general manager, Bianca Eichner (pictured), who said: "Frankfurt is one of the fastest growing cities in the Rhine-Main region and it is the next logical place for us to open an office. We can better serve clients, as well as attract a wider pool of talent in a growing innovation hub that has an increasing number of businesses with EMEA and global ambitions."
In October, WE will add more senior talent to its team in Munich, including an un-named new head of health and a creative director/scientific lead, which will bring total headcount in Germany to 30.
WE global chief operating officer and president, international Kass Sells told the Holmes Report that the expansion in Germany was in response to client demand: "Germany has grown in double digits in the past year and has had a great start to this year, and we need to add more talent to serve those clients, particularly in healthcare, which is particularly strong and where we work with probably eight of the top 10 pharma companies in Germany."
And he said it was likely that there would be further expansion in Europe: "We don't anticipate any acquisitions in the second half of 2019 but we will look at continued growth for 2020 in Germany and also in London, which is our number one growth priority and where [UK MD] Ruth Allchurch has brought such energy."
There will be further expansion of the agency's PLUS partner network. Last year, WE added to the global network with its first region-specific network of specialist partners in Germany, and Sells said this had proved successful: "Being independent doesn't mean that we have to go it alone, and in Germany we have been working with YouGov on research, Interel on public affairs, experiential agency Jazzunique and digital and design partners. It's been a good source of new business and we'll be expanding PLUS to the UK and South Africa."
News Agency WE Communications


text:
Зебастиан Прьодъл (, ) е австрийски футболист.

Роден е на 30 юли 1987 г. в Грац, Австрия.

Играе за националния отбор на страната. Играч е на германския "Вердер", Бремен от 2008 г.

Статистика
 43 мача и 4 гола за СК Щурм Грац (2006 – 2008)
 11 мача и 0 гола за Вердер Бремен (2008-настояще)

Австрийски футболисти
Футболисти на Вердер Бремен
Родени в Грац
Футболисти на ФК Уотфорд

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
AboutAutoNews
aboutautonews.com
Home » Car Reviews » Changan to launch four new models in Philippines – set to become new Geely rival for the ASEAN market? – paultan.org
Changan to launch four new models in Philippines – set to become new Geely rival for the ASEAN market? – paultan.org
Changan has revealed that it will be releasing its line-up of four models for the Philippines market, comprised of the Changan Alsvin, CS35 Plus, CS75 Plus and CS95, reports Auto Industriya.
The new range begins with the B-segment Alsvin sedan, which measures 4,390 mm long, 1,725 mm wide and 1,490 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,535 mm, and is offered in the Philippines with a choice of two engines – a 1.4 litre naturally aspirated inline-four petrol engine producing 100 PS and 135 Nm of torque, and a 1.5 litre NA inline-four petrol that outputs 107 PS and 145 Nm of torque.
The Alsvin is offered in three variants; the base version gets the 1.4 litre engine mated with a five-speed manual gearbox, while the mid-range and top trim variants get the 1.5 litre engine, which is paired with a five-speed wet dual-clutch gearbox. Safety kit on the Alsvin includes dual front airbags and ABS as standard, while the mid-range and top Platinum trim variants gain stability control, hill hold and a blind spot camera.
The Alsvin B-segment sedan comes equipped with a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment unit with Bluetooth and USB connectivity, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, a 12-volt power outlet, reverse camera and tyre pressure monitoring system. Exclusive to the top Platinum trim are leather upholstery, cruise control, a powered sunroof and rear parking sensors.
Next is CS35 Plus, the most compact of the SUV trio here. Measuring 4,335 mm long, 1,825 mm wide and 1,660 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,600 mm, the CS35 Plus is offered in just one variant. This is powered by a 1.4 litre turbocharged, direct-injection inline-four petrol engine producing 158 PS at 5,500 rpm and 230 Nm of torque from 1,500 rpm to 4,500 rpm. This drives the front wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
Safety equipment on the CS35 Plus includes six airbags, ABS with electronic brake force distribution, brake assist, blind spot camera, hill hold, hill descent control, reverse camera with parking sensors as well as speed-sensing door locks.
Conveniences include a 10-inch touchscreen display with Bluetooth and USB connectivity, a four-inch digital instrument panel, automatic climate control with N95 cabin air filter, panoramic sunroof, full leather upholstery, halogen projector headlamps, 18-inch wheels, remote engine start, cruise control and a tyre pressure monitoring system.
Next up in the latest SUV range from Changan is the CS75 Plus, which wears a more aggressive set of styling cues compared to its smaller sibling. Measuring 4,690 mm long, 1,865 mm wide and 1,710 mm tall, the CS75 Plus carries over its angular styling into the cabin as well, where a dual digital display setup is comprised of a seven-inch LCD instrument panel and a 12-inch touchscreen infotainment unit, with Bluetooth and USB connectivity.
Motive power for the CS75 Plus comes courtesy of a 1.5 litre turbocharged inline-four petrol producing 178 PS at 5,500 rpm and 265 Nm of torque from 1,450 rpm to 4,500 rpm, sent to a six-speed automatic transmission. The CS75 Plus gets three driving modes – Eco, Normal and Sport.
The CS75 Plus gets most of the safety kit that equips the CS35 Plus, and additionally gains a 360-degree surround view camera setup as well as traction control as standard.
Topping the Changan range as its latest flagship is the CS95 SUV, a three-row, seven-seater model which measures 4,949 mm long, 1,930 mm wide, 1,790 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,810 mm. Propulsion for the CS95 comes courtesy of a 2.0 litre turbocharged inline-four petrol engine that produces 232 PS at 5,000 rpm and 360 Nm of torque from 1,750 rpm to 2,500 rpm. Transmission is via a six-speed automatic gearbox.
Safety equipment for the CS95 builds upon that of the CS75 Plus, with the flagship gaining front and rear parking sensors, a 360-degree surround view camera with video recorder and lane departure warning.
Changan has yet to release official Philippines pricing for the Alsvin sedan and the SUV trio, though Auto Industriya learns that the B-segment sedan will start from below PhP 540,000 (RM45,601), while the CS35 Plus will start from less than PhP 1 million (RM84,514) and the CS75 Plus from below PhP 1,230,000 (RM103,937). The flagship CS95 will start from around PhP 2,178,000 (RM184,045), according to the news site.
Changan Alsvin
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The problem of politicisation last became acute in the 1970s. After the post-war Bretton Woods currency system collapsed, central banks failed to tame racing inflation because politicians, who pulled the strings, were reluctant to bear the short-term cost of higher unemployment. Two decades of runaway prices and crises led to a new orthodoxy that central banks should be given operational autonomy to pursue an inflation target. In the euro zone, Japan and Britain central banks became legally independent in the 1990s. In America the White House refrained from even publicly discussing Fed policy. This consensus survived the crash of 2007-08 and is one reason why global inflation has been only 4% a year on average over the past two decades.
This is what makes today's politicisation so dangerous. Technocrats face a difficult challenge.
The rich world has hardly any room to cut interest rates before hitting zero, so central banks will once again have to turn to unconventional stimulus, such as bond-buying. The Fed and other central banks may also need to co-operate globally, as in the wake of the crisis. The ECB will have to convince markets that it will do whatever it takes to contain another financial panic on Europe's periphery. The presence of political appointees, who are either ill-qualified or northern European hawks, would make all these tasks harder. It is not just that their votes count, but also that they would poison the public debate about what central banks should and should not do to deal with recessions.
- Despite the equity market rally, long-term interest rates continue to move lower.
- Long-term interest rates move lower when growth and inflation decline.
- The equity market was pessimistic in December and optimistic in January yet conditions have not changed.
- Bonds are speaking - we should listen to what they are saying.
- A comprehensive analysis of Treasury rates.
A little over one month ago, I penned a research note titled, "Bonds Are Saying Something - We Should Be Listening," in which I gave a comprehensive analysis of interest rates and discussed the opposing messages in the stock market and the bond market.
While some readers took this analysis to mean that I am bearish on the stock market or short the stock market, this is not the case as I am actually long equities on a net basis.
This research note was simply an analysis of the Treasury market but many equity bulls or strictly stock investors always conflate research on any asset class to mean something for their equity position.
This analysis will be a follow-up to the original research note and again, will be about what the Treasury market is telling us and not what this means for the stock market.
As a macroeconomic analyst, the Treasury market provides the most comprehensive and accurate information about the forward outlook on Fed policy, growth and inflation.
While the equity market suffers from the rapidly changing sentiment, narratives and emotion that is typical in stocks, the bond market is different. Short-term bonds can whip around with the stock market which changes expectations of monetary policy from the Federal Reserve. Long-term bonds, specifically 20-30 year Treasury bonds, which are most sensitive to growth and inflation conditions, do not respond to wild emotional swings as the stock market does, and typically do not overreact in either direction.
In the last research note, I did a comprehensive study on the rapid rise in interest rates that occurred in September and October, what caused it and why it was a buying opportunity in long-term bonds. In the middle of October, I wrote a note suggesting that the rise in interest rates was a buying opportunity while there was panic in the bond market and 30-year rates are over 30 basis points lower since that note. You can find that note by clicking here.
As I wrote in the last note, the primary factors behind the analysis of the long-term Treasury bonds, and thus ETFs like (TLT), are growth expectations, inflation expectations, and credit risk. I have covered these factors at length in previous notes, and this can be empirically proven in the data. In this note, those factors will be used as assumptions.
Let's take an updated look at the Treasury curve and understand what the bond market is saying relative to the lows at the end of December.
The equity market has rallied strongly off the Christmas Eve low and it is appropriate to take a look at how the bond market has done over that time period, referring back to the low level at the turn of the new year as a goal post of expectations.
At the turn of the year, fears of a recession and a global slowdown were at their highest so comparing the action in the Treasury market to the turn of the year is a relevant measure.
The Treasury market is full of information across various time durations but in this note, we will stick to the long-term rate.
Since November, the 30-year Treasury rate has fallen from a high level of 3.46% to a low closing level of 2.92% on January 3rd. From the low 2.90% range, the 30-year Treasury rate has increased as high as 3.13% and sits at 3.03% as of this writing.
Several factors have contributed to this decline in long-term interest rates. First, the removal of monetary tightening expectations allowed the entire yield curve to have a parallel shift lower.
In October, the market was expecting the Fed to tighten policy around three more times. As that expectation vanished, the market lowered the 5-year rate and the 2-year rate by roughly 70 basis points, the amount of the previously expected monetary tightening.
The 30-year Treasury rate shifted lower as a result but could not fall the equivalent 70 basis points.
When thinking about Treasury rates, you must consider both the nominal rate on the Treasury bond as well as the shape of the yield curve.
If the 30-year Treasury rate fell an equal amount as the short-term rates, that would have put the 30-year rate at roughly 2.75%. This would have put the 30-year rate just 35 basis points above the Federal Funds rate, a spread that is uncommon without credible recession risk.
While growth is slowing, there is not an overwhelming risk of recession in the data yet so the 30-year Treasury rate cannot fall that low.
The best measure of recession risk is the 30-year Treasury rate minus the 3-month Treasury rate. This measure takes the longest-dated Treasury bond, the least influenced by the Federal Reserve, and the 3-month rate which is mostly controlled by Fed policy. The difference between these two rates is critically important to monitor for long-term recession risk. This spread will not tell you anything about the next week or the next month but as far as a long-term credible recession risk, there is no better spread.
When looking at this spread below, we can see that at the point the market was most fearful about slowing growth and recession risk, the 30-3 month spread was 51 basis points.
Interestingly, with over 50 basis points between the two rates, the market was never hyper-concerned with a recession but the risk of a recession was rising. As long-term followers of my research know, I speak most often in rate of change terms.
At 51 basis points, a recession was not likely but the market was, at that point, most fearful about a recession relative to this economic cycle. As the equity market bounced, that spread bounced too, but earlier this week, moved back to 54 basis points, just three basis points above the closing low.
If the spread moves back to 51 basis points or lower, it would be fair to say that a recession is still not yet a probable outcome in the next 12 months but that the market is equally as fearful about a recession as it was back in December and January.
The fact that this spread is nearly at the same level as it was at the turn of the year is suggestive that the long-term growth fundamentals have not changed much since the December low, despite the equity market reaction.
As I wrote in the last research note, the yield curve does not have to invert for there to be a recession but a recession is almost certain if the 30-year rate falls below the 3-month rate. The better way to measure these spreads is in rate of change terms. Is recession risk rising or falling? Is this spread compressing or widening?
Over the long-term, there are three main drivers of long-term interest rates; growth, inflation and credit risk. Given that credit risk is virtually zero in all major developed nations, this boils down to growth and inflation. We can argue about credit risk in another research note but I would submit those countries that have a public and private debt to GDP ratio 200 points higher than the US will experience credit risk first.
That aside, in the short-term, well, short-term for me but the medium term for most other investors, Fed policy can push the yield curve higher or lower in a parallel fashion if growth/inflation expectations remain unchanged.
So, growth, inflation, and Fed policy.
As one more aside, this is worth considering. Since 2015, China has not been a net buyer of US Treasury bonds. In that time, there have also been nine rate hikes, QT, a tax cut, "the greatest economy ever", and an improvement in the "trade discussions." The 30-year Treasury rate is exactly flat over that time period. These are not the drivers of long-term interest rates.
Now that the Fed is essentially out of the market, with the market forecasting zero interest rate hikes, growth expectations play a larger role.
The market has shifted to expecting one rate cut over the next two years and thus, the 30-year rate has now been oscillating around the 3.0% level, falling to 2.98% earlier this week.
Growth/inflation expectations will change the shape of the yield curve while Fed policy can impact the entire yield curve, up or down, in a parallel fashion.
Should you invest in long-term bonds? Well, that depends on your expectations of Fed policy and growth/inflation.
To have a proper view on long-term rates, you need to consider if the Fed will change policy, up or down, and have an analysis on the trending direction of growth and inflation.
As I did in the last research note, here is a template with the possible outcomes.
To clarify, this analysis is shorter term in nature than the secular call on interest rates which suggests growth and inflation will continue to trend lower and make a new secular low. For more on that analysis, click here.
If you think the Fed will raise rates again, this will put upward pressure on the entire curve. If you think growth/inflation will trend higher, this will steepen the yield curve and put additional upward pressure on 30-year yields.
There are hundreds of factors that can push interest rates up or down on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis. There are idiosyncratic risks that are impossible to model from a quantitative perspective and I will, therefore, leave the short-term game for those who are inclined to trade the chop.
For longer-term investors, these are the factors to be aware of as it pertains to the trending direction of 30-year rates.


Michael's Keys Locksmith Richland Hills, TX, is the most relied on company name within the Fort Worth, Dallas, mid-cities, area in regards to locks, safes and other security hardware.
We always maintain a team of more than 30 very skilled, insured locksmith techs, plus we have in excess of twenty-three vehicles on the streets. Richland Hills, Texas, is inside our active service area, and so, if you've got an emergency lock-out situation, you can be sure that we will get you support quickly, 24/7!
Our company is a total service locksmith. We can attend to your complete security and lock smithing needs for Residential, Business oriented, and Automobile.
Our company has the largest selection of key blanks inside the metroplex (greater than 5,000). If our staff can't make you a replacement key, then, no-one can! We also re-key locks.
We maintain a wide selection of safes, domestic in addition to business. We also relocate safes.
We provide you with speedy lock-out resolution services, that is, when you are locked out we will arrive and get you back indoors super fast. We are able to make you a couple completely new keys or re-key all of your locks for you. It is possible to even set you up with a master key system. We offer Deadbolt installing, peepholes, and other security equipment type installations.
Like in a residential home lockout situation, we're swift to respond to commercial lockouts. Our qualified professionals can help you with filing cabinet locks, panic hardware, security door installation and repair, and more. All of our techs are qualified to work on all kinds of digital locks and Access Control systems.
We do car or truck lock out services, door opening, and also ignition switch maintenance and complete replacement. We are able to create brand-new keys, even the transponder types. Oh, and in addition we also remove broken car keys out of doors and ignitions.
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Bryant has been held to less than 50 receiving yards the past three weeks, and has only one 100-yard receiving game in five games since returning from a fractured right foot that sidelined him the previous five games.
Along with the foot, Bryant has been dealing with knee and ankle injuries of late as well. But he felt he was getting closer and closer to 100 percent after last Sunday's game in Miami.
Bryant had been held in check most of last week by Dolphins cornerback Brent Grimes, but did have a touchdown catch from the slot when Grimes wasn't on him. Bryant and Grimes traded jerseys after the game, as Bryant called him arguably the best corner in the league.
Bryant had no such luck against Norman and the Panthers secondary, and Norman wasn't afraid to take some shots at Bryant afterward.
The Cowboys and Bryant reached a five-year, $70 million extension last offseason. Norman went on to talk about Bryant trading jerseys with Grimes.
"Brent Grimes was obviously the best corner in the league. He got his jersey. And he was four (catches) for 45 (yards) with a touchdown," Norman said. "I think today he was two for 26 and no touchdowns. I don't know how many he caught on me, but I can think of one and that was 6 yards.


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Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Release date: 2009-08-17
When John Thaw, star of The Sweeney and Inspector Morse, died from cancer in 2002, a nation lost one of its finest actors and Sheila Hancock lost a beloved husband. In this unique double biography she chronicles their lives - personal and professional, together and apart. John Thaw was born in Manchester, the son of a lorry driver. When he arrived at RADA on a scholarship he felt an outsider. In f… act his timing was perfect: it was the sixties and television was beginning to make its mark. With his roles in Z-Cars and The Sweeney, fame came quickly. But it was John's role as Morse that made him an icon. In 1974 he married Sheila Hancock, with whom he shared a working-class background and a RADA education. Sheila was already the star of the TV series The Rag Trade and went on to become the first woman artistic director at the RSC. Theirs was a sometimes turbulent, always passionate relationship, and in this remarkable book Sheila describes their love - weathering overwork and the pressures of celebrity, drink and cancer - with honesty and piercing intelligence, and evokes two lives lived to the utmost.
Genre: Autobiography: arts & entertainment
Collection: Bloomsbury Publishing
Other ebooks releases by Hancock Sheila Hancock


From entry-level to professional options, we offer personal monitoring system accessories from trusted brands like Archgon, Beurer and more. Modern technology brings convenience to a whole new level and allows patients to manage their health and conditions anywhere and anytime with detectors and trackers. You can further improve your personal monitoring system with health accessories like a digital thermometer or pulse oximeter that can help you gain accurate insights into your wellbeing so you know when to seek medical help.


We love Alien Frontiers. It's one of the reasons Rise to Nobility is on this Math Trade. But we feel the Outer Belt is the better expansion and usually we'll just play with that one.
Still in excellent condition. We've only played one game with it and the cards were sleeved.
This is a reasonably recent version - bought new late 2018.
Reminder: This is an expansion and requires Alien Frontiers to play.
Update: Will add in Fortress as a Sweetener. This is essentially a resetable, legacy-style (rules change from game to game) card game with no rulebook - you learn the game as you go. A neat idea, but not one we want to revisit.
Components are all present and in good condition.


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Virginia Government & Politics
Gubernatorial election debate broadcast live Tuesday night
By Bill Bartel
PilotOnline.com
Ed Gillespie and Ralph Northam (File photos)
Two of the three candidates for governor in the Nov. 7 election will face off Tuesday night in a debate being broadcast across Virginia.
Republican Ed Gillespie and Democrat Ralph Northam are scheduled to answer questions from journalists and a government and politics expert in a one-hour forum to be broadcast live at 7 p.m. on NBC affiliates statewide, including WAVY-TV in Hampton Roads.
Missing will be Cliff Hyra, the Libertarian candidate , who was not invited.
Hyra, a patent attorney, was excluded because the debate has traditionally been limited to candidates from the two major parties, said Alex Thompson, spokeswoman for the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, which is co-sponsoring the event with George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government.
The debate, moderated by NBC "Meet The Press" host Chuck Todd, also will be livestreamed at NBCWashington.com
It will be the second debate between Northam, Virginia's lieutenant governor, and Gillespie, a communications consultant long active in Republican politics. Their first was July 22 before the Virginia Bar Association.
Bill Bartel, 757-446-2398, bill.bartel@pilotonline.com


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On 26 May 2014 26 May 2014 By sheeplessIn Food Explorations1 Comment
Game of Thrones has a lot to answer for. The last 6 weeks of my life has been a repeat of eat, sleep, work, GoT, eat, sleep, work, GoT. The downside of having completely caught up with the latest aired episode is that I now have to wait a very long, anxious week before I can watch the next episode rather than just flicking it over. I just might DIE!
But now that I'm completely caught up and am waiting for the next episode, I suddenly have time to do other stuff than just eating, sleeping, working, and GoT-ing. This freeing up of my schedule just happens to coincide with a lovely warm, dry spell here in Sydney. It's well and truly autumn (as the Starks would say, winter is coming) and temperatures are still in the mid-20s, around mid-70s℉.
Taking advantage of the blue skies and warm weather, this weekend the White Russian and I rode our motorbikes up to the Hunter Valley, around 2 hours north of Sydney. We found a few twisty roads, and also found ourselves on a dirt, unsealed road, which made me feel a bit nervous.
While we were in the area, we dropped into Bistro Molines, which shares a scenic spot with Tallavera Grove wineries. If you're lucky and book ahead, you can snare a table on the verandah which overlooks the valley, marked with rows upon rows of vines. Or if you aren't so fortunate, the tables inside still have the beautiful panorama thanks to the open dining area, which is filled with lovely fresh cut flowers and warm, rustic decor.
We were served a simple but delicious taster of cherry tomato, olive and buffalo mozzarella, and the bread was served with a rich aioli, an interesting but slightly strange change from the usual butter or olive oil.
As a starter, we shared the charcuterie platter of a rich, creamy duck liver pate and a delicious rabbit rillettes served with a garden of pickled treats.
The White Russian had the special of roasted rabbit served with speck and white bean puree. I may have encouraged him to order it since, when do we ever have rabbit at home? He said it tasted like chicken. My baked figs with gorgonzola and prosciutto were a nice combination of sweet and salty, soft and crisp.
Unfortunately we couldn't fit in dessert without risking a food coma on the long 2 hour ride back to Sydney, so we gave it a miss. Instead we ordered a caffeine hit and scored some bittersweet chocolate tartlets to finish a splendid lunch date.
A hidden piece of Sydney
On 21 March 2014 26 May 2014 By sheeplessIn Food ExplorationsLeave a comment
Owning a motorcycle means that you are more likely than most people to just go out cruising around without actually needing to go somewhere. The benefit of this is that you end up exploring some wonderful roads and areas that you would normally never think to visit.
One of the places that I discovered was Church Point, up the northern end of Sydney. After a ride through the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park to the West Head Lookout to check out its lovely views over Pittwater and to Palm Beach, a lunch at the Waterfront Cafe at Church Point is a nice way to enjoy a sunny Sydney weekend.
Sitting on the deck at the cafe makes you feel like you a thousand miles from the city, when you're only 32km away. Boats bobbing about on their moorings, and you can enjoy the views to Scotland Island and the Pittwater activity.
The menu here is pretty extensive, which is usually a bit of a red flag. It spans Italian classics such as veal saltimbocca, pizzas and pastas, to burgers and steak sandwiches, fish and chips, a mezze plate, and seafood platters. At least there will be something for everyone!
The mezze plate comes with 5 generously proportioned servings of dip (beetroot, eggplant, olive, roast capsicum and avocado) and is served with a cheesy, garlic pizza.
The bouillabaisse is a delicious serve of seafood in a tomato-based broth. Be prepared to get your hands dirty working through that crab.
The burger comes stacked pretty high, which can make it a challenge to get your mouth around. The bread is thick and crusty, which is a change from the soft, brioche buns that are the latest trend.
The fish special is pan fried dory, which was served with wilted baby spinach, roasted potatoes and a fresh tomato sauce.
Sadly we were pretty stuffed and didn't have room for dessert (who would've thought this possible?) I can't even explain the pain of regretfully turning down a sweet finish when the selection which came out on a long paddle to tempt us. However, despite our early misgivings, the food here is decent and it's well worth the trek up here to enjoy a relaxing lunch with friends, family and the spectacular views.
A taste of Canton at Mr Wong
On 7 November 2013 7 November 2013 By sheeplessIn Food Explorations4 Comments
October is one of my favourite months of the year. It's spring, the weather is warming up, and the days are getting longer. Best of all, it's Good Food Month, which means lots of special food events, and an excuse to taste lots of different foods all around Sydney.
Most of the events are in the city, and it's a shame that I don't work in town to take advantage of all the lunch specials. Regardless, I managed to make it to a couple of restaurants that I have been meaning to try, including Mr Wong.
This funky Cantonese-style restaurant has had an amazing year, being crowned Best New Restaurant by both the Good Food Guide and Time Out, and winning two chef's hats in the Guide. The decor transports you to an old Chinese opium den, with exposed brick and timber, and dim lighting. The service is friendly and eager to ensure a seamless experience. The bar staff are also very handy at dishing up some delicious cocktails too, if that's what you want with your dim sum!
The menu for this "surprise" lunch was a mix of treats from their existing menu, but some special guest appearances as well. We started with a leafy salad of cucumber, fennel, woodear mushroom with chewy glass noodles, before each of us received our individual mini bamboo steamers with plump dim sum.
The dim sum here are exquisite, and you would expect no less from the master himself, Eric Koh, from the globally successful Hakkasan and Yauatcha. Succulent and juicy, and left us wanting more.
Stir fried corn kernels were a surprise. I don't think I've ever seen corn in a Chinese restaurant, except for those tinned baby corn spears, but this was very good. Then again, anything with lap cheong, the deliciously fatty Chinese sausage, is guaranteed to be a winner.
The mains were a lot more familiar, with lovely, delicate steamed fish with ginger and shallots, stir fried king prawns with black pepper and garlic, and a fantastic crisp-skinned Shandong chicken, which is twice cooked with a black vinegar sauce.
The perfect finish to our meal was a light and refreshing lychee sorbet with raspberries.
We had a wonderful time here, thanks to the stream of surprise dishes (we hadn't seen a menu), the attentive service, and the fantastic atmosphere. For $55 a head, I thought it was very good value, since we were well and truly stuffed, although I think that the a la carte menu could get way out of hand pretty easily. Having said that, I'm looking forward to coming back here one lunchtime to take the dim sum menu out for a spin.
A long lunch at Ormeggio
On 17 July 2013 16 September 2013 By sheeplessIn Food Explorations2 Comments
When I called up to book a table at Ormeggio at The Spit, the host asked me, "is this for a special occasion?", to which I replied, "oh, just lunch!"
Winter in Sydney is nothing like the winters I experienced in London, and with the latest run of sunny weather, a lunch at Ormeggio overlooking the yachts moored at The Spit was the perfect way to spend a Sunday lunch. A special occasion indeed!
The White Russian and I decided to treat ourselves to the 8-course emozioni degustation with matching wines ($105, or $189 with matching wines). We had even made the journey to the restaurant by public transport so that we could indulge without guilt or danger to fellow motorists. Before we launched into lunch, we were perusing the cocktail list for an aperitivo, and our host recommended a negroni, which is a cocktail comprising of gin, vermouth, and Campari. The first taste was a hit of bitterness, but it had a nice, dry finish that sufficiently whetted the appetite.
Lunch was a lovely slow and scenic journey through a range of flavours and cooking styles, with some leaning towards classic Italian and others more a fusion of Modern Australian. There was octopus cooked sous vide at 85C for 4 hours, a Flinders Island wallaby buttata (or tartare), and tortelli filled with wonderfully smokey burnt eggplant.
After admitting that the sourdough bread was our downfall (we just couldn't stop after that first taste of warm, crusty bread slathered with freshly churned sour butter), we were full to the brim before the dessert courses arrived. However, it was hard to resist them when they came out, with the carrot sponge with fennel seed ice cream being our preferred choice over the pomegranate jelly served with frozen yoghurt on a dry rye biscuit.
Four hours after we arrived, we rolled out of the restaurant toward the bus stop, satisfyingly full, content, and sobered up after the ratio of food to wine finally swung back in favour of the former. The service was spot on attentive, knowledgeable, and always friendly, and made it a relaxed and enjoyable Sunday lunch.


In the previous posts about web design inspiration we have shared collections eCommerce website designs for inspiration, Unique website designs, Flat style web designs examples, responsive website design examples and many more. Today, in this post we are going to share some website design examples which are based on illustrations. You will see amazing use of illustrations in these websites.
Illustration in web design are very effect to attract the people toward your design. Illustrations are more important than regular images as they can show more data in visual form. As SVG (scalable vector graphics) are becoming more popular so illustration in web design is also becoming more popular. Here are 35+ Illustration Website Design Examples For Inspiration.
What new things you see in these website designs? Please share in comments !


With the advancement in the technology in the present world, the limitations of the Spanning Tree Protocol in networking are creating increasing problems in Network Virtualization. The demand for smooth networking in big mess topology, its scalability and reliability are not met by the Spanning Tree Protocols (STPs). Transparent Interconnections of Lots of Links (TRILL) and Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) nowadays are becoming reliable and practical protocols in solving this problem in the networking industry.
To deploy either TRILL or SPB has been emerging as a challenging and hot debate for many large vendors such as Arista, Avaya, Brocade, Cisco, Extreme, and HP. This thesis explains the limitations on STPs regarding Virtualized Data Centers and Cloud Computing, and elaborates on the use, operation, and the differences of both TRILL or SPB.


text:
cask 'flymaster-designer' do
  version :latest
  sha256 :no_check

  url 'http://downloads.flymaster.net/FmDesigner.dmg'
  name 'Flymaster Designer'
  name 'B2designer'
  homepage 'http://www.flymaster-avionics.com'
  license :gratis

  # Renamed for clarity: app name is inconsistent with its branding.
  # Original discussion: https://github.com/caskroom/homebrew-cask/pull/9334
  app 'B2designer.app', target: 'Flymaster Designer.app'

  uninstall quit: 'net.flymaster.designer'
end


text:
Apple Watch to ship in April as Tim Cook announces record profits
But iPad sales are being 'cannibalised' by other products, Tim Cook said
By Fred O'Connor
The Apple Watch will ship in April, CEO Tim Cook said yesterday, ending speculation about when Apple will release its first new category of product in more than four years - as the company announced record profits on revenue of $74.6 billion for the final quarter of 2014.
Rumours about the release date have swirled ever since the device was shown in September. At that time, Apple said the smartwatch would ship in early 2015. It has yet to reveal a few key details about the product, such as its battery life.
Cook revealed the ship date during a conference call to discuss Apple's earnings, which sailed past expectations. Sales of iPhones and Macs helped its revenue soar to $74.6 billion for the quarter ended December 27, up from $57.6 billion a year earlier, to report a net profit of $18 billion - the biggest quarterly profit ever made by a public company.
iPhone sales came in at a record 74.5 million units and provided more than two-thirds of Apple's revenue, at $51.1 billion. That was up from 51 million iPhones and $32.5 billion revenue a year earlier.
Last quarter was the first full quarter that the iPhone 6 was available. Apple doesn't break down its sales by model, but Cook said the iPhone 6 was the top seller.
Revenue from China increased by 70% to $16.1 billion, and sales outside the US accounted for 65% of revenue.
Mac sales were another highlight. The systems brought in a record $6.9 billion, up from $6.4 billion a year earlier. The company sold 5.5 million Macs, up from 4.8 million.
A bleak spot was iPad sales, which have been in decline for the past three quarters. Apple sold 21 million tablets, down from 26 million in its first fiscal quarter of 2014. iPad revenue was $8.9 billion, compared to $11.5 billion a year earlier.
"I believe over the long arc of time the iPad is a great business," Cook said, adding that "there's probably some level of cannibalisation going on with the Mac on one side and the phone on the other."
The iPhone 6 features a larger screen than previous models, and the MacBook Air is lighter than traditional laptops, features that give the devices some of the mobility of a tablet.
Another factor contributing to declining iPad sales, according to Cook: a longer upgrade cycle for tablets compared with iPhones and Macs.
Apple's attempt to establish a greater presence in the enterprise market, an area where it has struggled to gain acceptance, may change the iPad's fortunes.
In July, IBM announced it would sell Apple products and services to its enterprise customers. The first results of the partnership appeared in December, when the companies unveiled a suite of mobile apps aimed at specific industries. During yesterday's call, Cook said that 12 apps will debut this quarter, including some targeted at new markets like healthcare and energy.
Apple products are used in many businesses, but only a small percentage of workers at those companies use iPads, said Cook. IBM's experience dealing with business users, and Apple's mobility background, could change that situation.
"The real opportunity is to bring mobility into the enterprise. To do that, you obviously need apps that are written for specific jobs. IBM provides us with knowledge of the verticals," he said.
Income for the quarter was $18 billion, up from $13.1 billion in the same quarter last year. Earnings per share came in at $3.06 compared with $2.07 a year earlier.
The company's revenue and profit also beat financial analysts' expectations. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had called for revenue of $67.7 billion and earnings per share of $2.60.


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Research Reveals Attitudes on Automatic Facial Recognition Technology
Written by: kmoss
The first study to examine attitudes of societies across the world towards the use of automated facial recognition (AFR) by the police, governments and private companies has revealed people's suspicions around the software. Researchers from the University of Lincoln, UK, and the University of New South Wales, Australia, conducted the global research project which will […]
Research Reveals Attitudes on Automatic ...
The first study to examine attitudes of societies across the world towards the use of automated facial recognition (AFR) by the police, governments and private companies has revealed people's suspicions around the software.
Researchers from the University of Lincoln, UK, and the University of New South Wales, Australia, conducted the global research project which will have implications for policy decisions around the world.
The potential benefits of AFR include the potential to speed up criminal investigations, bring more offenders to justice and help to resolve and prevent crimes.
AFR does this by automatically detecting faces in an image or video and comparing these with an existing database. For example, the database may be a criminal watchlist, and the target image may be CCTV footage of someone committing a crime.
Despite increased use of AFR worldwide, there is uncertainty amongst the public about what the software is, how it operates and who it is used by. In turn, this has led to conflicting opinions about the ethics of its place within society.
Over 3,000 individuals from the UK, Australia and the USA completed focus groups or a survey to answer questions about their opinions on AFR use in their country. This global research project, funded by the British Academy, outlined the circumstances in which respondents felt comfortable with the technology.
Dr Kay Ritchie, Senior Lecturer in Cognitive Psychology at the University of Lincoln, says the data shows that trust in the use of AFR depends on who is using the technology, and what it is being used for.
She said: "We were really interested to see that members of the public in all the countries we surveyed were very specific about which users and uses of automatic face recognition (AFR) they were willing to support.
"For example, people in all countries trusted the police more than governments, with lowest trust for private companies using AFR.
"We feel that governments should be providing clear legislation and information around the use of AFR – in the UK this could mean including guidance in PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence Act)."
Attitudes amongst people in the UK, Australia and the USA were broadly similar, with only a handful of inconsistencies. For example, people in the USA indicated less trust in the police but more trust in private companies in comparison to people in the UK and Australia.
Whilst respondents could largely appreciate the potential security benefits of security and safety, the most common reasons not to trust AFR use included concerns about data misuse and storage.uThe paper recommends that developers, system designers, and users of AFR, including police and governments, do more to publicise the use, data privacy, and accuracy of the software. It has been published in the PLOS ONE journal and can be freely accessed here.
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text:
Fraunhofer Portugal Challenge
FRAUNHOFER AICOS
Success Beyond the Challenge
Fraunhofer Portugal Challenge has been the launching pad for many ideas.
In this feature, we catch up with some past edition winners who've gone on to do great things since participating.
© Fraunhofer Portugal
Researching the news and then making the news
Nuno Moniz
2nd prize winner for his idea "Prediction and Ranking of Highly Popular Web Content" (PhD, 2017)
Can one anticipate which web content items will be highly popular and use such predictions to significantly improve the recommendations of content to users? That's what Nuno Moniz set out to discover, and thus he created a new predictive strategy to rank web content based on social media popularity. This was the solution that in 2017 won 2nd prize in the PhD category of Fraunhofer Portugal Challenge.
Nowadays, Nuno Moniz is a Visiting Professor at University of Porto's Faculty of Sciences and a researcher at INESC TEC. The idea that won him recognition in 2017 is still in development, and he is currently working on validating the predictive strategy on a scientific level.
"Participating in the Challenge was great", he says. "I found the stage process very interesting, as it forced me to look at the project from perspectives I hadn't even thought of, as I was focused only on the scientific part".
Another interesting result of his participation, he tells us, was the media attention he received after winning. Not only was it another kind of validation of the merit of his idea, it also allowed him to "talk with the people who make the news, which are at the centre of my project".

An app to further health literacy
João Monteiro
2nd prize winner for his idea "HealthTalks – Improving Health Communication and Personal Information Management" (MSc, 2017)
"Amazing" is the word João Monteiro uses to describe his experience during the Challenge.
In 2017 the 2nd prize of the McS category was awarded to João Monteiro and his app HealthTalks, which functions as a management system of personal medical information and aims to improve the communication between doctor and patient by providing information about medical terms.
We caught up with João Monteiro, who is currently working on further developing the app at INESC TEC. At the moment, besides working on new features for the app, the team is gathering feedback from medical professionals as well as testing the solution in a real life environment, and things are looking up for the app's future.
"The app wouldn't have had the reach it did any other way", says the researcher. "The Challenge publicised our project, and we received contacts from all over the country to talk about the app. There were even university papers written about it!".
To anyone considering participating, he says: do it! "I was fearful at first, convinced I wasn't going to be chosen and that must be a ton of better projects that mine… but at the end of the day I got up in the podium!"

A patent pending idea
2nd prize winner for his idea "Physiology assessment tool using Virtual Reality" (MSc, 2016)
In 2016, Bernardo Marques' Virtual Reality (VR) gamification approach to physiological assessment impressed the judges and earned him 2nd place at Fraunhofer Portugal Challenge. The solution proposed modulating the response of spider phobic individuals using levels with different VR stimulus exposure supporting hand interaction, with the virtual reality environment - spiders included - after which the individual's reaction was acquired synchronously for post processing.
The idea is currently patent pending in Portugal. After Fraunhofer Portugal Challenge, it went on to be developed in partnership with University of Aveiro, DETI, DEP, IEETA and CINTESIS. This multidisciplinary approach to development, the researcher explains, involves engineering, biomedicine and psychology.
Besides devoting time to the project, Bernardo Marques is also a Research Grant holder at Smart Green Home, a project born out of a partnership between University of Aveiro and Bosch Termotecnologia S.A. He is also attending the first year of a Doctoral program in Computer Engineering at University of Aveiro.
Looking back, he characterises his experience participating in the Challenge as overwhelmingly positive. "Anyone who has been involved in the development of a research idea understands the many obstacles that are inherent to the process. But participants leave Fraunhofer Portugal Challenge with the feeling that it is worth investing in these ideas, that we do have the ability to make a difference and contribute to the improvement of the lives of others", he says.
Bernardo Marques also leaves some advice for future contestants: "Participate! You'll be recognised for your work and you'll be opening new doors for your future".
From applicant to Senior Researcher
Luís Rosado
Fraunhofer AICOS Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
© 2019 Fraunhofer Portugal
Online in Internet; URL: https://www.challenge.fraunhofer.pt/en/previous-editions/successbeyondthechallenge.html
Date: 5.11.2019 17:30


text:
Sunday 16th, January 2022
Canara
India/World
Canara Connection
Lemon grass oil for pregnant women to fight Zika virus
Published On : 06 Feb 2016
Bengaluru, DHNS: Mosquito repellent will be part of Madilu kit, says Health dept. The State Health and Family Welfare department is making preparations to distribute lemon grass oil to poor pregnant women, to help prevent them from getting bitten by mosquitoes. Lemon grass oil, a natural extract, acts as a mosquito/insect repellent. The department aims to provide the repellent to the beneficiaries in the next 10 to 15 days.
This is one of the few measures the department has initiated after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared an 'emergency' over the explosive pandemic of Zika virus, which has put over 22 countries in the Americas on red alert.
Also, the Centre too has issued guidelines to all the State governments to control the spread of the virus, which is especially dangerous to pregnant women.
'Madilu' kit
The department has held talks with the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd (KS&DL) to distribute lemon grass oil, along with the 19 other products in the 'Madilu' kit, a scheme which was launched by the government in 2008 to provide postnatal care for poor pregnant mothers, and the child. The BPL card holders would be eligible for the oil.
Principal Secretary of Health and Family Welfare department M Lakshminarayana said that as there were no vaccines to check the spread of the virus, preventing mosquito bites was the only immediate measure that can be taken by people, especially pregnant mothers.
Pregnant women infected by the virus in the first trimester carry the risk of giving birth to children with a severe birth defect called microcephaly, who are born with abnormally small heads, underdeveloped brains and reduced life expectancy.
Though there are several repellents available in form of oils or ointments in the market, the department has approached KS&DL to avoid any procedural delays.
GO in two days
Lakshminarayana said a government order would be issued in a couple days to purchase the product from KS&DL.
Shamla Iqbal, managing director, KS&DL, said that the government-run firm is already procuring 1,000 kg of lemon grass oil annually from a Gujarat-based company. "We have been using the extract in our soaps. Once the GO is issued, we will start the supply of the oil in a phased manner. We will have to float tenders to procure extra oil," she added.
KS&DL is paying Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,300 per kilogram of lemon grass oil. Iqbal said that around 8 lakh kits are distributed annually, at a cost of Rs 18.25 crore.
Photo credit: DHNS
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