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Catholic icon Teresa was both adored and attacked
The debate over Mother Teresa's legacy has continued after her death, with researchers uncovering financial irregularities in the running of her order and evidence mounting of patient neglect
The debate over Mother Teresa's legacy has continued after her death, with researchers uncovering financial irregularities in the running of her order and evidence mounting of patient neglect (AFP Photo/Roslan Rahman)
Angus Mackinnon
Vatican City (AFP) - For those who revered her, Mother Teresa's elevation to the Catholic sainthood on Sunday came not a moment too soon.
The diminutive nun whose journey from a corner of the Ottoman Empire to the slums of India made her one of the most famous women in the world was regarded by many as a saint during her lifetime.
"Saint of the Gutters" and "Angel of Mercy," were among the sobriquets she picked up over the course of nearly four decades working with the wretched poor of Kolkata and building her Missionaries of Charity order into a global force.
But there was another school of thought. Australian feminist Germaine Greer called her a "religious imperialist" who preyed on the most vulnerable in the name of harvesting souls for Jesus.
And her most ferocious critic, the British polemicist Christopher Hitchens, "a fanatic, a fundamentalist and a fraud."
But Teresa was always far more revered than reviled. Millions acclaimed her as an icon of Christian charity and a global symbol of anti-materialism and worthwhile self-sacrifice.
Her adopted homeland, India, took her to its heart. "It is natural for every Indian to take pride in Mother Teresa's canonisation," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said earlier this week.
On her death in 1997, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II predicted Teresa would "continue to live on in the hearts of all those who have been touched by her selfless love."
The private Teresa was a more complex personality than she appeared to the world. Behind her gaunt, wrinkled face lay a troubled soul.
For long periods, she was plagued by doubts about the faith that drove her mission to provide comfort to the dying.
"There is so much contradiction in my soul," she wrote to the Bishop of Calcutta in a posthumously published 1957 letter.
"Heaven means nothing to me, it looks like an empty place."
- Missionary vocation at 12 -
Two years later, she wrote to a priest friend saying: "If I ever become a saint, I will surely be one of darkness; I will continually be absent from heaven -— to light the light of those in darkness on Earth."
The saintly tag became official on Sunday, thanks to a fast-track canonisation process that reaches its conclusion on the eve of the 19th anniversary of her death in what is now called Kolkata, formerly Calcutta.
Baptised Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, Teresa was born into a Kosovar Albanian family in 1910 in Skopje, then part of the Ottoman empire and now the capital of Macedonia.
Her father, a businessman who was involved in the region's byzantine politics, died when she was eight.
By the time she was 12, according to biographers, Agnes was already a regular visitor to Catholic shrines and knew that she wanted to dedicate her life to missionary work.
At 18 she enrolled in an Irish order, the Sisters of Loreto, spending a brief period in Ireland learning English before her departure for India in 1929.
There she spent two decades teaching geography to the children of well-to-do families before founding her own order in 1950.
- Chocolate and ice-cream -
In 1979, her work in the Calcutta slums was rewarded with the Nobel peace prize. In her acceptance speech she made a fervent defence of her approach to helping the poor, which was by then coming under increasing critical scrutiny.
To those who said birth control was vital to combatting poverty, she replied that abortion was "direct murder by the mother."
To those who said her Order should promote development, she replied that she was a missionary, not a social worker.
Teresa could come across as an ascetic figure and as a strict task-mistress to those under her. "She spoke her mind," Pope Francis recalled in 2014. "I would have been a little bit scared had she been my Mother Superior."
But in his homily at her canonisation mass on Sunday, Francis hailed her as a beacon for the world.
She was, he said, "an eloquent witness to God's closeness to the poorest of the poor."
Those who knew her best describe someone who loved fun, chocolate and ice-cream.
Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, a member of her Order who promoted her sainthood cause within the Vatican, told AFP Teresa would often be found bent over in laughter while discussing the day's events with fellow nuns.
"You felt that she was a mother," he said. "She was not very good at telling jokes but she had a sense of humour and could really find the funny aspects in... daily life."
Group: Billion in aid needed to help Afghan kids in 2021
Some 10 million children in war-ravaged Afghanistan are at risk of not having enough food to eat in 2021, a humanitarian organization said Tuesday and called for $1.3 billion in new funds for aid. Just over 18 million Afghans, including 9.7 million children, are badly in need of lifesaving support, including food, Save the Children said in a statement. Chris Nyamandi, the organization's Afghanistan country director, said Afghans are suffering under a combination of violent conflict, poverty and the virus pandemic.
Suspect William McCall Calhoun Jr. faces a host of charges stemming from the Jan. 6 pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol Building.
Associated Press Videos
Twelve U.S. Army National Guard members have been removed from the presidential inauguration security mission after they were found to have ties with right-wing militia groups or posted extremist views. (Jan. 19)
CBC Chair Rep. Joyce Beatty on attending inauguration: I won't be 'bullied'
Inauguration Day is a time of great expectancy and transformation. There are reports of at least 12 National Guard members being removed from the inauguration patrol duties. There are 25,000 troops in D.C. to protect attendees at the inauguration after the deadly and unprecedented Jan. 6 Capitol Hill insurrection.
Exclusive: Biden administration considers creating White House antitrust czar - sources
The incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is considering creating a White House position focused on competition policy and issues relating to antitrust, two sources familiar with internal deliberations said. The idea remains under consideration and the Biden White House may not ultimately make the move, one of the sources said. "It is yet to be determined if this will be more of a coordinator kind of a role or if this person will really sit at the White House," said another source.
Rand Paul would like you to know that while he "didn't agree with the [Capitol] fight that happened" January 6, he doesn't believe that President Trump — whose batty two-month crusade to convince his supporters the election was stolen served as the proximate cause of the "fight" — should be disqualified from holding office again in the future. Language tends to be intemperate these days, but "I didn't agree with the fight" errs in the opposite direction: It's far too tame a response to the sickening display of January 6. This was no ordinary "fight." It was an attempt to violently disrupt the counting of electoral votes, and hence the peaceful transfer of power to the next duly elected administration. It stunned America and shamed us before the world. It made us look like a banana republic. It resulted in several deaths and might have led to a physical attack on, or even the murder of, the vice president as he was conducting the most important business of his term. Trump's actions may not have met the legal definition of incitement, but he tossed a match on kindling he had carefully placed and thoroughly soaked with kerosene. As Dan McLaughlin has written, Trump must face consequences "sufficiently spectacular to deter any repetition so long as our national memory endures." But if Senator Paul has his way, apparently, Trump will suffer no consequences whatsoever and reenter private life as the heavy favorite to be the next Republican presidential nominee. This is madness. Abraham Lincoln's party was fine without Trump for 150 years and it will long survive him. The parties being largely ruled from the ground up, it's not feasible to eject Trump from a GOP he seized control of in 2015 and has since disgraced, but it is possible for 17 Republican senators to convict and disqualify him from holding any future high office in the United States. This is the right thing to do and it's also the prudent thing to do, for the sake of the party as well as the country. The GOP cannot afford to spend the next four years trying to explain away Trump's indefensible actions. It has to move on, and there is only one way to do that. Paul foresees a colossal schism in the party should Trump be convicted and barred from future office-holding, warning that one-third of the party will walk away from the GOP in that scenario. He's wrong: One of the curses (but also, sometimes, one of the blessings) of our culture is our notoriously short collective memory. Should Trump be disqualified this winter, the discussion will quickly move on to other topics. Who should be the new party's standard-bearer? Don Jr.? I very much doubt it. It's unclear that even Trump Sr. would be enthusiastic about that, having repeatedly ridiculed his younger namesake as, among many other things, "not the sharpest knife in the drawer." For five years we've seen various other Republican politicians attempt to ape Trump's combination of posturing and populism, and it never works. Senator Josh Hawley has spent two years reverse-mortgaging his reputation in an attempt to extract equity out of the Trump bank, and it has gotten him nowhere. A Politico/Morning Consult poll taken in November put him at 1 percent in the polls, and that was before his shameful performance on January 6. Though some of Trump's ideas about trade and immigration may continue to have sway in some parts of the party, Trumpism as a whole is too closely tied up with one man to be handed off to a new leader. It would die with Trump's political career, and the party would move on. A disqualified Trump would, of course, rain hellfire on the senators who disqualified him, as well as any other perceived backstabbers. But four years from now, when ten Republican senators face reelection, Trump's rage will be background noise at worst. Six years from now, when Ben Sasse, Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins, and 17 of their Republican colleagues face the voters, it won't be any noise at all. Trump himself has a short attention span and a fear of being boring; even he won't be able to keep up the insults for four years, much less six, on whatever cable-news perch from which he chooses to harangue the nation. It is true that Trump is the only thing that consistently fascinates Trump. But America does not love a sore loser, and his victim act will begin to go stale by the next time voters go to the polls. Gradually, even many of his most ardent supporters will begin to realize the man is embarrassing. Among those who persist in believing the fantasy that Trump was robbed and that any lawmakers who voted against him are sworn enemies, how will this play out at the ballot box? It won't, because voting will remain a binary choice. Trump, being disqualified, won't be able to run as a third-party candidate and divide the party. The primary motivating force for voters will continue to be, as it has been for years, visceral dislike for one party's style and policies. Joe Biden has signaled in many ways that, far from being a unifying president, he will consider it a core duty to focus on punishing and antagonizing Trump supporters via appointments and policies specifically designed to irritate them. Biden has watched Trump play the role of Troll-in-Chief for the last four years and decided he wants in on the action. Kamala Harris, should she become president, would be even more despised by both conventional Republicans and Trumpists. So never fear, Senator Paul: Post-Trump, Republicans will close ranks quickly. The main thing the American Right stands for is hating what Democrats do, and Democrats are preparing to embark on a presidency full of policies that are easy to hate.
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Vote Leave "facts" leaflet: migration
Published: 23rd May 2016
More than a quarter of a million people came to the UK from the EU in the 12 months to September 2015 - the equivalent of a city the size of Plymouth or Newcastle in just one year
Over a quarter of a million is correct according to official estimates, around the same as Plymouth's population but not quite as much as Newcastle's.
More than half of net migration to the UK comes from the EU.
Estimated net migration of citizens from the rest of the EU is actually slightly lower than net migration from the rest of the world—not more than half.
Claim 1 of 2
"More than half of net migration to the UK comes from the EU. More than a quarter of a million people came to the UK from the EU in the 12 months to September 2015 - the equivalent of a city the size of Plymouth or Newcastle in just one year"
The first part is wrong. Net migration of citizens from the rest of the EU was 172,000 in that period. Net migration from the rest of the world was 191,000. So the EU doesn't make up more than half of net migration.
Overall net migration was 323,000, because at the same time 40,000 more British citizens left than came in.
The second part is correct. Over a quarter of a million immigrants came from the rest of the EU according to official estimates. That's around the same as Plymouth's population but not quite as much as Newcastle's.
Stronger In "facts" leaflet: investment
Stronger In "facts" leaflet: business
Stronger In "facts" leaflet: leaving
Stronger In "facts" leaflet: jobs
"The facts", factchecked
Vote Leave: Taking control?
Vote Leave: EU law
Vote Leave: Exports
Vote Leave: Membership fee
Vote Leave: Business opinion
Vote Leave: Migration
Vote Leave: Trade
Vote Leave: Expansion
Vote Leave: Exporting firms
Stronger In: Business
Stronger In: Jobs
Stronger In: Investment
Stronger In: Leaving
Stronger In: Lower prices

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Episymploce brevipes es una especie de cucaracha del género Episymploce, familia Ectobiidae.

Distribución
Esta especie se encuentra en India.

Referencias

brevipes
Insectos descritos en 1871

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Friday 13th pickpocket pair caged
Published: 6:41 PM May 18, 2011 Updated: 12:06 PM October 13, 2020
Two women pickpockets, caught red handed by plain-clothed police officers in Romford, have been jailed for a total of seven months - and all within 24 hours.
Parashkeva Kircheva, 28, and Evgeniya Ivanova, 21, were arrested last Friday (May 13).
They were charged and appeared at Redbridge Magistrates' Court the following day, where they pleaded guilty to theft.
Kircheva was sentenced to three months imprisonment and Ivanova was sentenced to four months imprisonment.
Officers from BusTag, part of the Met's Police Service's Safer Transport Command, funded by Transport for London (TfL), were carrying out patrols around Romford Town Centre when they spotted Ivanova and Kircheva acting suspiciously.
Kircheva was seen stealing a purse from the handbag of an elderly shopper, while Ivanova concealed her actions.
The pair were arrested on suspicion of theft and later charged.
The purse - thrown away by Kircheva as she was being detained - was found and returned to the victim.
Chief superintendent Sultan Taylor, said: "Thanks to the observations by the BusTag officers, these two pickpockets have been brought to justice and taken off London's streets within a short timescale.
"I urge people to always be aware of their surroundings and ensure they keep their possessions zipped up, to prevent this type of crime."


Ever wish you could get a "do over?" Unfortunately, that's not usually an option in life—but with a little expert help from Dr. Gurley, you can improve the appearance of discolored, misshapen, broken, or worn down teeth to give you gorgeous smile.
If you have teeth that are worn down, broken, misaligned, discolored, or misshapen, dental veneers can be the perfect fix. Dr. Gurley can utilize beautiful porcelain veneers to give you a flawless yet natural-looking smile.
Dental veneers are thin shells that are bonded to the front surfaces of your teeth to fortify your smile and make it look more attractive. They are strong, durable, and will last for years.
The dental veneer process includes preparing the teeth, taking impressions, creating the veneers, and placing the veneers. The teeth that require dental veneers will need to be filed down slightly to make room for the veneers. This will promote a natural look when the veneers are placed.
Next, Dr. Gurley will take impressions of your teeth so that he can deliver veneers that are perfect for your smile. Your custom veneers must be formed, and then they can be placed on your teeth. Dr. Gurley will bond the veneers to your teeth with a special cement and curing light.
There are several steps in the dental veneers process, but we want to give you your ideal smile quickly and comfortably. Dr. Gurley utilizes state-of-the-art dental technology so that it is possible to install your veneers in just a couple visits.
During your pre-visit, we will talk you through what to expect, "wax up" your teeth, and make sure you're prepped and ready to go for your veneer fitting appointment. Using photos and impressions of your teeth, our lab will wax up a model of what your teeth will look like when completed. The temporaries you wear home that day will give you a good idea of what to expect, so if you have any concerns or want to change something, we can make adjustments before your final porcelain veneers are fabricated.
Eric Newell is a dental ceramist whose job it is to ensure your teeth look fantastic. He has been making dental ceramic restorations since 1986, and loves his job. Over the years, Eric has spent countless hours studying the nuances of how to use a man-made material to mimic nature's beauty.
When Eric is asked to design a new smile for a patient, he is keenly aware that it is a scary but exciting time for the patient. The patient should always be pleased—and never be surprised—with their new smile. If you cannot discuss your desires and concerns with the ceramist, your final result often is a surprise, but not in a good way! To achieve top-notch results, there must be open communication between the dentist, the ceramist and the patient.
Who doesn't want to see a perfect smile when they look in the mirror? You don't have to wait to achieve the smile of your dreams—we'd love to help you!
Dr. Gurley has been my dentist for over 10 years and he is AWESOME! He and his staff is always professional with a personal touch. I highly recommend him to anyone. I LOVE my smile!!


The Hancock County Community Partnership is pleased to make available funds from the ADAMHS Board for local wellness efforts (Hancock County organizations only). These funds may be used to support prevention initiatives that promote the health and safety of individuals and Hancock County communities that focus on reducing the likelihood of or delaying the onset of behavioral health problems (i.e. harmful substance use, mental illness, suicide, and problem gambling).
The Community Partnership has made available a total of $5000.00 for the Fiscal Year 2019 Mini-Grant program.
For additional details regarding the Mini-Grant Program, including deadlines, proposal guidelines, and requirements, please CLICK HERE.


TAA is an active bet where asset classes with superior performance potential are overweighted at the expense of those with inferior prospects. Successful TAA – or market timing, which amounts to the same thing – requires skill and is, of course, a legitimate way to generate alpha. But, as shown in the previous post on alpha, we have to differentiate between truly tactical active bets and persistent strategic biases. The example above obviously represents the latter.
Actively managed balanced portfolios invest in a number of asset classes with benchmarks that consist of a series of indices that represent those asset classes with fixed weights. The investment manager has a whole hierarchy of active decisions at her disposal. She can (1) set asset class weights that deviate systematically from the benchmark weights, introducing what I call systematic bias, (2) engage in tactical allocation bets by under- and overweighting certain asset classes for a limited time, seeking to generate alpha, and (3) take any of the various types of bets within asset classes as discussed in the previous post. Note that both systematic bias and TAA may involve asset classes that are not included in the benchmark. As an example, if an equity manager with a pure equity benchmark holds cash voluntarily, i.e., beyond the level needed for the effective management of the portfolio, she engages in market timing.
Many managers reject the notion that they might be subject to strategic biases. Instead, they insist that what I mistakenly interpret as their strategic biases are really long-term tactical bets. It is true that there is no clear boundary between strategic bias and long-term tactical bets. But I find it difficult to accept that biases that survive an entire economic or market cycle should be considered as legitimate tactical bets. Therefore, when we look at the long-term track record of a multi-asset class product, any significant deviation of the average asset class weights from their benchmark weights should be considered as evidence of strategic bias. We shall return to the question on how to determine these strategic asset class weights later.
Pursuing biases requires no skill. Anybody can recreate – replicate – such a position. Therefore, for a multi-asset class portfolio, what we called the replication portfolio must include the impact of these biases. Formally, the replication portfolio includes all asset classes in the portfolio, both those that are part of the benchmark and those that are not, with the weights set to their strategic weights. Thus, the impact of the strategic allocation biases on performance is simply the difference between the return of the replication portfolio and the benchmark return. Naturally, this impact may be positive or negative, i.e., a manager's strategic biases may add to or subtract from the performance of the portfolio.
Given the definition of the replication portfolio, it is the natural basis for the evaluation of a manager's tactical allocation skill. Consequently, the alpha derived from TAA should be measured relative to the replication portfolio and not relative to the benchmark. Note that I use the term replication portfolio in two different contexts: in the previous post, it was a single asset class portfolio that captures all strategic biases in terms of risk factors, geography, etc.; here, it is a multiple asset class index portfolio whose weights capture the strategic allocation biases.
At any point in time, the sum of all timing bets, i.e., the total deviation of the actual weights from the replication portfolio weights, must be zero. For any overweight, there must be a corresponding underweight. In order to add value, a manager must therefore overweight those asset classes that do relatively better than those that are underweighted. To isolate the impact of TAA on portfolio performance, ignoring all active bets within asset classes, we construct a portfolio in which all asset classes are represented by their indices with weights equal to the actual portfolio weights and compare its performance with that of the replication portfolio. I call this portfolio the TAA portfolio. Formally, the value added or subtracted by TAA equals the sum over all asset classes of of the product of the difference between actual and replication portfolio weights and the return of the asset class index.
For traditional approaches to TAA, this value added or subtracted is likely to be mostly skill-based alpha. For strategies that include important positions in options and other asymmetrical derivatives or are based on momentum or mean reversion models, the analysis becomes more complicated. But this is a topic that is best left for the next post in this series that will deal with alpha in hedge funds and other alternative products.
Note that traditional performance attribution models insist on assigning TAA gains and losses to individual asset classes. But given the zero sum nature of active TAA bets, this makes little sense. If I overweighted equities in a 50/50 equity-bond portfolio, splitting the impact between the two asset classes is a nonsense given that I took a single decision. The impact of TAA on portfolio performance should be analysed in its entirety and not decomposed arbitrarily.
So far, we have decomposed the performance of a balanced portfolio into replication portfolio return and the added value from TAA. What is left over is the sum of the impacts of all active decisions that are not related to allocation decisions. As discussed in the previous post, this will include active bets and biases within asset classes but may also include the impact from currency and similar overlays.
I have collected all the formulas for the calculation of the various measures in an attachment (download the pdf file). The formulas are quite simple but as will be discussed below, it is unlikely that all required data are available. As an example, equations (2) and(8) would require access to a complete history of detailed performance attribution data. Also note that all formulas are based on arithmetic return differences even though geometric differences should be used in practice to ensure that long-term results compound correctly. The table below shows the basic relationship between portfolio, replication portfolio, TAA portfolio and benchmark returns.
One result is noteworthy. The combined impact of strategic bias and TAA is independent of the definition of the replication portfolio (as seen in equation (7) of the attachment). Investment managers will have an obvious interest in arguing for a replication portfolio that adds little to performance so that most of the active performance will be considered alpha. On the other hand, this result also means that the "left over" part of the value added can be determined independently of the definition of the replication portfolio.
I chose not to have a time subscript on the strategic weights u (in equations (3), (5) and (6) of the attachment), treating them as constants. An alternative would be to consider the systematic deviation from the benchmark weight as a constant instead. Actually, this second approach captures the spirit of strategic bias better as it defines bias directly as a systematic over- or underweight. Obviously, for balanced benchmarks that have fixed weights, i.e., are rebalanced regularly, the difference between the two definitions is likely to be rather small. In any case, the definition of the strategic weights will always involve an element of judgment. There is no single correct set of strategic weights for any portfolio; a degree of arbitrariness will remain – and thus room for disagreement. But this is just one of the issues that we face when we try to separate alpha and bias in practice.
We already mentioned that, while the formulas in the attachment are quite simple, their implementation requires a large amount of data. These include a complete set of asset class weights for both benchmark and portfolio as well as performance data for asset class indices. Unfortunately, it is not realistic for any outsider to hope to be able to obtain this information. As a result, we usually need to use Sharpe's regression approach – where we extract estimated asset class weights from a time series of portfolio returns – in this case as well. Recall that it is an estimation method and that all results should be viewed with a great deal of skepticism.
One fundamental practical difficulty is the choice of the length of the interval over which we perform the calculations. If it were available, we could use daily return data. In theory, this should lead to very precise results. But since the analysis is based on estimated data, that precision is likely to be an illusion. But if we use monthly or quarterly data, we will not capture the impact of any TAA changes made inside the period since the formulas keep the beginning-of-period allocation unchanged throughout the entire period. Thus the short-term impact of intra-period TAA changes will be mistakenly assigned to the "left over" category. Note that this category is also charged with all trading costs associated with allocation changes since we measure the impact of strategic bias and TAA skill using index data that ignore transaction costs.
The simplest way to set strategic asset class weights is obviously to extract the average weights from the regression analysis. As we shall see further down, that may be appropriate for products whose characteristics remain largely unchanged through time. But if there are changes in the investment universe or in the benchmark, further analysis may be required to ensure that the replication portfolio captures a significant part of the asset class exposures of the product.
Clearly, given these obstacles, untangling bias and skill will never be an exact science. But it is nevertheless possible, using a simple set of tools, to improve our understanding of a manager's style biases and skill and to have a clearer sense of the principal sources of her active performance.
The complex practical problems associated with bias and alpha of balanced portfolios are perhaps most easily explored in the context of an example. My choice is a traditional Swiss balanced fund with a long track record going back to 1993.
The only historical numbers that I have access to are the fund's monthly returns. For the past 15 years, its annualized net performance has been 1.9 percent. The fund's current benchmark is a complex custom benchmark including high yield bonds and emerging market debt. It is likely to have been quite different some years ago. For lack of a better alternative, I assume that the fund started out as a traditional Swiss balanced portfolio concentrated on just four asset classes: Swiss and global equities and Swiss Franc and foreign currency government bonds and with a total equity weighting of between 40 and 50 percent. For such a product, the Pictet LPP 40 index is a suitable benchmark. It has an equity weight of 40 percent and about 60 percent in Swiss Franc assets. Over the past 15 years, it has returned 4.0 percent p.a.
We cannot know what asset classes were included in the portfolio over the past nineteen years and what their weightings were. Consequently, we have to apply Sharpe's regression method to estimate portfolio weights. We might be tempted to run a very complex regression including all imaginable asset classes but, as I pointed out in the previous post, this is likely to lead to serious multicollinearity problems with estimates of little value. It is preferable to start with a smaller number of asset classes and apply a heuristic trial and error procedure to add or eliminate asset classes. Obviously there can be no guarantee that we will capture all relevant asset classes and risk factors that have made significant contributions to portfolio performance.
I will stick to the four classic Swiss asset classes mentioned above as potential components of the replication portfolio. I consciously ignore emerging market equities and debt, corporate bonds as well as any regional bets inside the equity and fixed income parts of the portfolio and, last but not least, cash. This means that while the "real" replication portfolio would have some exposure to those asset classes, ours will not. As a result, we will underestimate the return of the real replication portfolio and, consequently, overestimate the value added from TAA.
We regress the monthly portfolio returns on the four asset class returns (using a 36-months sliding window) and find the following estimates for the average asset class exposures: Swiss equities 9 percent, global equities 40 percent, Swiss Franc bonds 50%, foreign currency bonds one percent. These averages are calculated based on the monthly estimation results as shown in Chart 1. I will apply no corrections to these results and consider these averages as the weights of the replication portfolio even though the foreign currency bond weight seems unreasonably small. Chart 1 shows that the estimated foreign currency bond exposure gradually disappears. We know that there are still foreign currency bonds in the fund, but they are mostly emerging market debt and corporate bonds whose behavior is not well captured by the government bond index used in the analysis. Consequently, this exposure is somewhat randomly allocated to one of the other three asset classes, most likely Swiss Franc bonds. We should now go back and repeat the exercise with some additional asset classes to search for a better, more realistic estimate of the replication portfolio.
When we compare the characteristics of the fund and the LPP 40 index, we find that they share some important characteristics: the average equity content is 50 percent for the fund (according to our estimates), 40 percent for the index; fund and index have identical Swiss Franc exposures of 60 percent; and the volatilities of 7.1 percent for the index and 8.8 percent for the fund are also reasonably similar. However, the fund should have found it easy to beat the index given its freedom to invest in riskier asset classes. Instead, we have to explain an underperformance of 2.1 percent.
When we apply equation (3) of the attachment to our (highly inadequate) replication portfolio, we find that it returned 4.1 percent p.a. compared to the index's 4.0 percent. See the dark blue line in Chart 2 for the time series of the value added of the strategic allocation bias. The impact is surprisingly small. There are two very different possible explanations for this. Either the manager did not deviate much from the traditional allocation of Swiss balanced funds and/or our replication portfolio is poorly specified. Given the way in which I constructed the replication portfolio, the second explanation is likely to be correct; including the riskier asset classes would have led to a much better performance of the replication portfolio.
We can now use the estimated monthly allocations from chart 1 (which are based on 36-months estimation periods) to determine the value added from TAA relative to the replication portfolio on a month-by-month basis (using equations (4) and (6) of the attachment). For the entire period, we find that the TAA activity led to a modest loss of 0.4 percent p.a. (before costs). The red line of Chart 2 shows the time series of the TAA alpha. The total impact of strategic bias and TAA is -0.3 percent p.a. If our conjecture about the understatement of the replication portfolio return is correct, the loss on the TAA activity would be correspondingly greater. In any case, there is no evidence of great allocation skill.
For this fund, the "left over" part dominates active performance. It amounts to -1.8 percent p.a. but recall that it gets burdened with all cost elements (the fund's total expense ratio is 1.7 percent). The green line in Chart 2 shows that the losses were greatest in periods of market stress. These results are quite intuitive. Chart 1 suggests that tactical bets were typically quite small. Thus, the potential for a significant TAA alpha was limited and the adjustment costs of TAA changes are a heavy drag on performance (but are falsely attributed to the "left over" bucket). In addition, managing a traditional balanced portfolio is a very complex process: changing the tactical allocation while preserving the potential for generating alpha inside all asset classes while keeping transaction costs under control is an art that few master successfully.
As mentioned above, a serious analysis of this fund would require several additional steps in order to improve the quality of the replication portfolio. My choice is quite inadequate – the good news is that the results (Chart 1) make that fact very obvious.
Theory – Grinold's fundamental law of active management – suggests that TAA is more "difficult" than stock selection since there are fewer decisions to be taken so that there is a smaller diversification effect. The very patchy track records of GTAA (global tactical asset allocation) products offered by some of the best known names in the industry suggest that the theory is largely correct. While balanced management is attractive in principle by offering maximum flexibility to the manager, almost no balanced portfolios generate skill-based TAA alpha net of costs. The few that do tend to take bigger tactical bets and exercise a great deal of discipline in their implementation.
But, from an investor's viewpoint, it would be very useful to have access to great TAA managers. There are fewer capacity issues with tactical allocation than with stock selection. Also, the alpha sources are very different – macro factors dominate. Personally, I would look for a product that focuses on TAA and nothing else. It might be either a (very aggressive) traditional fund that covers the tactical range of an investor's portfolio using indexed funds as building blocks, an overlay product, or a mixture of the two.
This post has tried to outline some of questions that we should consider when evaluating managers who claim to have skill in TAA. Their track records can tell us much about their biases and their skill, despite the imperfections of our tool box. Because of the obvious incentives, strategic biases will likely dominate the active performance of most managers. Fortunately, it is not overly difficult to identify and quantify the sources of these biases.


I live in a unit built around 1970's and there is a timber fence with grey boards attached to timber posts. I suspect the boards are made with asbestos. I need to someone to come out, inspect and remove the boards so I can replace with normal timber boards. the fence height is about 1.5m and 5m long. please check photo for reference.
I need to have approx 5m2 of asbestos sheets removed from backdoor area of my 1964 home. The sheets to the left and right of door are approx 1m W and 2m H . And one above approx 1m x 1m . All look quite easy to remove once timber beading is around them is removed.
asbestos need to removed from a textured ceiling in an approved and safe manner. the house is 110 sq meter but 80-90 sq. meter ceiling contains the textured ceiling. need to know the cost and time it needed. The area included 3 rooms 1 small room, dining and living room. can provide more details if needed.
I have a fence, carport and shed with 160sqm asbestos I need removed before demolition. Fence is 11 sheets of corrugated sheets 2.3x0.8m or 21sqm. Carport roof is 31sqm corrugated sheets. Back wall is 13sqm corrugated sheets and 2 walls of flat sheets 18sqm of flat sheets. The shed has 72sqm flat sheets. Not 100% sure the flat sheets are asbestos. Removal late September or October.
Hi, I have an older style house with what is believed to be asbestos roofing on it that we need to be removed before we can replace the roof.
I have a 1970's home with textured walls in the lounge and stair walls which I would like removed so I can put in new walls. Surface area is around 45sqm. Prefer someone who has availability over the next few weeks.
To remove 8 m2 of asbestos popcorn ceiling in one of the bedrooms. Need approx. costings.
I have 2 rooms which have been tested positive for Abestos. Approx 10 square metres in total. Textured ceilings with abestos which I needs removed.
I have asbestos cladding on the south side of my house it's under 10 m2. I would like to get a quote for the removal and disposal of it. I will need to coordinate with a builder so they can replace with new sheets of cladding.
we are considering the idea of having our house removed from our section and replacing. We definitely know there is asbestos in the cladding around the house for sure. Its a small 2 bed batch style home built in the 1950's. I beleive that before we can get an estimate for the house removal we need to get an asbestos test done. I am looking to have this done in a month or so from now just wanting to see how much this might be? Also does anyone on here do this?
Asbestos removal and a small amount of building work.
I have a 1970's style home with fiber cement cladding on the exterior. I would like it to be replaced with some modern durable cladding... open to consider the options. House is approx 120m2 and it's single level dwelling.
Need a quotation for the removal of Asbestos cladding (Fibrolite) on a 6x4 garage in Henderson.


The innovation behind Gorilla Baby is right from The Grommet's backyard. Steve Listwon lives next door to our office, and he's the Co-Founder of Jaywalk Studio, a design and fabrication shop around Boston. He and his partner, Haik Tokatlyan, heard about us and were inspired to make the first Gorilla Baby prototype from the remnants of their other design projects. Gorilla Baby looks like a minimal, natural piece of home décor, but it is actually a small—and stealth—cord organizer. Not many cord management solutions have a natural, artisan appeal. But this one is designed to organize and be beautiful at the same time. Handcrafted sapele and maple wood encase a steel core, which helps anchor the small cube to surfaces. Three low-profile grooves keep thin wires—like USB cables and phone chargers—straight, while silicone feet add traction. The natural wood grain and rounded corners look elegant and modern. Gorilla Baby—and Steve and Haik—remind us that we're honored to have a place in the Maker Movement as well as the respect of our local community.
Gorilla baby is here! We are proud to unveil our first product on The Grommet. Gorilla baby is the best way to control your cables on any horizontal surface. We are always available to field any questions you may have, and we thank you for taking the time to check out the latest work from Jaywalk Studio.
I have a Baby Gorilla that is currently being used on a window sill to hold iphone/ipod cords, it looks great next to all of my plants; beautiful made product - 10x better than the cheapo plastic variants offered.
@JASIO, Thanks for the note, Gb is very much at home around plants.
@Steve & Haik How long is the cord leading to the electrical outlet?
@Ron, The Gb doesn't have a cord of its own, It is used to organize cords you are already using.
@Steve Thank Steve, much appreciated!
from the video, it looks like you can only handle 3 cords. I have 14 devices I charge with 14 different cables. Do you have a product that will handle 14 cables?
@Shelley Hi Shelley, you are correct an individual Gorilla Baby handles 3 cords. We currently don't offer a solution for more cords but we will consider this as a future project.
Is there a weight inside the wood to give it more weight or is it just the feet that hold it in place?
Sorry, I went back and saw your blurb about the steel core. Answered my question. Guess that would explain the price.
The steel core is part of what makes the Gorilla baby so stable. The price is more a reflection of the labor involved with the production process, as each GB is hand crafted.
Last time I was in town with the family, we tested out a few of the prototypes Steve and Haik put together.
It was awesome seeing the evolution of the product (though I did not know the original was a rock!) and getting a chance to field test each iteration with different device cords.
I'm happy to say I'll pick a couple up for our home. They'll go great with the walnut desks we have here, but would pair equally well with any modern or rustic design aesthetic.
One day, we may finally have cordless everything, but until then, the GB is aces!
Thanks so much for the kind words, Benjamin!
Thanks for the support Ben!
This is lovely...well thought out and great to look at, thank you for creating functional beauty--we all need more of that. When budget allows, I may join the ranks.
ps, I also like the the rock. ??
Thank you Liz! The rock is where it all got started.
The innovation behind Gorilla Baby is right from The Grommet's backyard. Steve Listwon lives next door to our office, and he's the Co-Founder of Jaywalk Studio, a design and fabrication shop around Boston. He and his partner, Haik Tokatlyan, heard about us and were inspired to make the first Gorilla Baby prototype from the remnants of their other design projects.
Gorilla Baby looks like a minimal, natural piece of home décor, but it is actually a small—and stealth—cord organizer. Not many cord management solutions have a natural, artisan appeal. But this one is designed to organize and be beautiful at the same time.
Handcrafted sapele and maple wood encase a steel core, which helps anchor the small cube to surfaces. Three low-profile grooves keep thin wires—like USB cables and phone chargers—straight, while silicone feet add traction. The natural wood grain and rounded corners look elegant and modern.


We offer full-service event management and party planning services for our clients. For the last 13 years, we have developed a reputation for bringing timeless style and elegance to all types of events.
Allow us to serve as your trusted advisor during the process, starting with your initial consultation, through the conceptualization, design, and successful execution of your vision.
Tiffane Golson is an experienced event planner, designer, and proprietor of Belle Grey Events located in the metro DC area. Original and uber stylish, Tiffane excels at creating glamorous and sophisticated events for her clients. Her passion for design, unique innovations, and professionalism are a natural fit for a great event planner.


text:
Q: Laravel Incorrect table definition; there can be only one auto column and it must be defined as a key I have a table which has ID and also Slug.  I want the Slug to increment as well as ID but when I try this
$table->increments('slug')->nullable();

I get an error saying there can only be one auto column.  Is there a way around this?  My table structure is below
Schema::create('catalog_products', function ($table) {
            $table->engine = 'InnoDB';
            $table->increments('id');
            $table->boolean('is_featured')->nullable();
            $table->string('title')->nullable();
            $table->increments('slug')->nullable();
            $table->text('description')->nullable();
            $table->timestamps();
        });

A: You can't have two increments, but you can have a integer slug and everytime you add a row you manually increment your slug.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Embrace the Grace: Grateful Heart!
No joking matter, but worth every bit of weariness to have experienced the past two months. My heart is full to overflowing with gratitude!
As Mom would say (in a thick southern accent), "Hit's a right fuhr piece!"
Now I know why I kept praying "Lord, increase my capacity to absorb all I'm experiencing!" I needed Divine assistance!
Israel was truly the dream trip of a lifetime! And the fact that our church family blessed us with such an adventure......well, that journey just can't be equaled!
Frank and I talk about it with a sense of awe and extreme gratitude. We're still sorting through pictures and experiences and emails from our fellow travelers.
The next two trips were mainly ministry. While in NC, I preached three times in 24 hours. Spain became a new record for me - I preached, taught or coached more than 12 times in 8 days.
The last night we were in Barcelona, they sent Molly, Kristin and I to three different community groups scattered around the area. Kristin with the young ladies group. Molly with a home Bible study. I met with the couples group. We had already met with the church leadership team in the morning and the women leaders for lunch.
By the time we cleared airport security early Thursday morning, we could say with confidence that we had truly left it ALL on the field!
But oh, the adventures of these weeks! The sights! The new friends!
We discovered a long lost "daughter" in Israel. As well as a "son" who gave Frank a farewell hug of epic proportions.
We found a "brother," "sister" and "nephew" in Spain. The Dowson family (who hosted our team) instantly became lifetime friends! By the middle of our first meal, we all knew the Lord had brought us together for the blessing of a rich connection! So much laughter! So many genuine hugs!
Then there was time with the beautiful young couple pastoring International Church of Barcelona. We had a "family" connection with them during their itineration three years ago. John and Brandi Carrano are amazing trail-blazers!
So many stories to share with you in the coming days. I'm trying to sort them now. But it felt important to share this thought.
God is still very much at work all over the world!
If we look, we will find Him!
Everyone has something to share with someone!
Miracles are happening all around us - just look!
May your summer be filled with great moments and experiences that cause you to overflow with gratitude!


Outdoor patio porch curtains we made these out of. Diy outdoor curtains from drop cloth ck when i get a. Outdoor curtains porch curtains porch enclosure. Outdoor decor curtains room ornament. Natural outdoor curtains for porch bistrodre porch and. Outdoor decor: 13 amazing curtain ideas for porch and. Diy outdoor curtains.
Check striped grommet lined 2 eyelet curtain panels red. Baby boy nursery blackout curtains ~ thenurseries. Bathroom: bathroom shower accessories unique bathroom sets. The 25 best patchwork curtains ideas on pinterest. Slider door curtains photos wall and door. Outhouse shower curtains wooden country outhouse metal. Constellations (black) shower curtain by camillechew. Best shower curtains online curtain menzilperdenet. The 25 best closet door curtains ideas on pinterest. Cherry blossom shower curtain butterfly pink floral flower. Ideas john deere bedroom decor artsnola home decor.
Home expressions regan tuck valance. Home expressions jessica lace rod pocket 2 pack curtain. Flooring rugs: awesome flooring using chic vct tile. Wood venetian blinds gallery wooden venetian blinds uk. Flame bright tapestry chenille throw. Red plaid shower curtain foter. Home expressions curtains trueserialsclub.


text:
Manuel Requena de la Dueña, más conocido como Requena, (nacido el 10 de febrero de 1976) en Cartagena (Región de Murcia), es un entrenador español de fútbol. Actualmente es segundo entrenador del Mérida Asociación Deportiva.

Trayectoria

Entrenador

Manuel Requena de la Dueña ha dirigido a varios equipos de las bases del Real Murcia y pasa a dirigir al Real Murcia CF Imperial en la Segunda División B tras la marcha de José Miguel Campos al primer equipo del Real Murcia tras la destitución de Javier Clemente en diciembre de 2008.

En febrero de 2012 pasa a ser director deportivo de las bases de la EFB Pinatar. Además es colaborador del Getafe Club de Fútbol en la Región de Murcia y profesor de la Federación de Fútbol de la Región de Murcia.

En la temporada 2012/2013 se hace con el cargo de director formativo de las bases del Lorca Fútbol Base.

En mayo de 2013 se convierte en segundo entrenador del FC Cartagena. El técnico llega de la mano de José Miguel Campos, con el que había trabajado en las bases del Real Murcia.

En la temporada 2013/2014 se convierte en segundo entrenador de La Hoya Lorca CF y Director formativo de las bases del Lorca Fútbol Base, donde estaría durante dos temporadas.

En la temporada 2015/2016 se convierte en segundo entrenador de Granada Club de Fútbol "B", junto a José Miguel Campos, con el que había trabajado en el Real Murcia y la La Hoya Lorca CF.

En la temporada 2016/2017, vuelve a acompañar a José Miguel Campos, para ser segundo entrenador del Mérida Asociación Deportiva.

Referencias

Deportistas de Cartagena
Entrenadores de fútbol de la Región de Murcia
Entrenadores del Real Murcia Club de Fútbol Imperial
Nacidos en Cartagena (España)


text:
is a Japanese science fiction and fantasy writer.

Life
Born in Aomori Prefecture, he started writing in 1982 for SF Izumu magazine. Afterwards he collaborated on a number of published works. In 1988 he published his first novel, Summer Road (Natsukaidô-Samârôdo), followed by various other fantasy books, often set in large cities or characterized by a surreal streak.

Hayami also worked on a number of novelizations of science fiction or horror manga and anime. In the latter field, his work on the tie-ins for the anime series Vampire Princess Miyu became so popular that the original characters and situations were in later entries of the series modified to account for his personal additions to the canon.

References

1961 births
Living people
Japanese writers
People from Aomori (city)


text:
// Licensed to the .NET Foundation under one or more agreements.
// The .NET Foundation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.
// See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information.

#nullable disable

#region Assembly Microsoft.VisualStudio.Debugger.Engine, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a
// References\Debugger\v2.0\Microsoft.VisualStudio.Debugger.Engine.dll

#endregion

using Microsoft.VisualStudio.Debugger.CallStack;

namespace Microsoft.VisualStudio.Debugger.Evaluation
{
    public class DkmIntermediateEvaluationResult : DkmEvaluationResult
    {
        public readonly string Expression;
        public readonly DkmLanguage IntermediateLanguage;
        public readonly DkmRuntimeInstance TargetRuntime;

        private DkmIntermediateEvaluationResult(
            DkmInspectionContext inspectionContext,
            DkmStackWalkFrame stackFrame,
            string name,
            string fullName,
            string expression,
            DkmLanguage intermediateLanguage,
            DkmRuntimeInstance targetRuntime,
            DkmDataItem dataItem) :
            base(inspectionContext, stackFrame, name, fullName, DkmEvaluationResultFlags.None, null, dataItem)
        {
            this.Expression = expression;
            this.IntermediateLanguage = intermediateLanguage;
            this.TargetRuntime = targetRuntime;
        }

        public static DkmIntermediateEvaluationResult Create(
            DkmInspectionContext InspectionContext,
            DkmStackWalkFrame StackFrame,
            string Name,
            string FullName,
            string Expression,
            DkmLanguage IntermediateLanguage,
            DkmRuntimeInstance TargetRuntime,
            DkmDataItem DataItem)
        {
            return new DkmIntermediateEvaluationResult(
                InspectionContext,
                StackFrame,
                Name,
                FullName,
                Expression,
                IntermediateLanguage,
                TargetRuntime,
                DataItem);
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Acadian Monitoring Services offer this financing program as a "Value Add" for its dealers. Recognizing the constantly changing environment that exists in today's market place and the need for "tools" to compete, we have designed this program to feature flexibility and simplicity. We realize it's not for everyone nor should it be used indiscriminately. It is a "tool" and used properly, it will support dealer growth and continuing success.
This gives dealers the ability to be competitive with mass marketing offers; capitalize on their professionalism, local connections and reputation AND meet price sensitive competition. Markets and situations differ and how this program is used is totally at the discretion of individual dealers. We offer sales and marketing ideas to assist in developing your marketing programs using the financing program.
Any financing portion is invisible to your customer. During the pay-back period billing will appear as if from the dealer. All service needs, upgrades and additional revenue are billed by the dealer. All contract renewals are the property of the dealer. Billing to customer during initial term will be at no charge to dealer. Contract reverts automatically to full dealer control after initial term.
All services that are included on the contract and billed as part of the monthly fee (RMR) are eligible for multiples. Multiples paid on all credit scores meeting 650 minimum. The multiple applies to all residential and commercial installs. Any charge backs are pro-rated for full credit on the payments made.
There are no quotas, monthly minimums, variable multiples, branding or affiliations. Equipment choices are at dealer discretion, as are the use of third-party services. Special pricing is available for third -party services. Dealer retains their total independence and identity using sales and marketing programs of their design and unique to the market dealer serves.


text:
The Final Table
A Global Cooking Competition
The Final Table launches globally on November 20th, 2018
12 teams of world renowned chefs compete for a seat at The Final Table.
The Final Table is a global culinary competition show featuring the world's most talented chefs fighting for a spot at the elite, Final Table made up of the greatest chefs from around the globe. The series features 12 teams of two chefs from around the world cooking the national dishes of Mexico, Spain, England, Brazil, France, Japan, the U.S., India and Italy.
Each episode focuses on a different country and its cuisine, with celebrity ambassadors, food critics and the country's greatest chef eliminating teams until the finale. In that last episode, only one of our competing chefs will win a place at the Final Table, joining the nine legendary culinary icons - Enrique Olvera (Mexico), Andoni Aduriz (Spain), Clare Smyth (UK), Helena Rizzo (Brazil), Vineet Bhatia (India), Grant Achatz (US), Carlo Cracco (Italy), Yoshihiro Narisawa (Japan) and Anne-Sophie Pic (France). The series will be presented by Andrew Knowlton, James Beard Award-winning Writer and Editor at Large, Bon Appétit. Created and exec produced by Robin Ashbrook & Yasmin Shackleton. The production company is theoldschool.
The 12 teams include (listed with their associated restaurants and location) including 3 chefs hailing from Australia:
Aaron Bludorn (Cafe Boulud: New York, New York, USA) and Graham Campbell (Castlehill Restaurant: Dundee, Scotland/United Kingdom)
Darren MacLean (Shokunin: Calgary, Canada) and Timothy Hollingsworth (Otium: Los Angeles, California, USA)
Shin Takagi (Zeniya: Ishikawa, Japan) and Ronald Hsu (Lazy Betty: Atlanta, Georgia, USA)
Alex Haupt (101 Gowrie: Amsterdam, Netherlands) and Ash Heeger (Ash: Cape Town, South Africa)
Shane Osborn (Arcane: Hong Kong, China) and Mark Best (Bistro by Mark Best: Hong Kong, China & Singapore)
Monique Fiso (Hiakai: Porirua, New Zealand) and Amninder Sandhu (Arth: Mumbai, India)
James Knappett (Bubbledogs/Kitchen Table: London, United Kingdom) and Angel Vazquez (Salomé: Puebla, Mexico)
Jessica Lorigo (Topa Sukalderia: San Sebastian) and Johnny Spero (Washington DC, USA)
Collin Brown (England) and Colibri Jimenez (Mexico City, Mexico)
Esdras Ochoa (Hong Kong) and Rafa Gil (Hong Kong)
Charles Michel (Colombia & France) and Rodrigo Pacheco (Ecuador)
Manuel Berganza (Singapore) and Benjamin Bensoussan (Madrid, Spain)
Background on Aussie featured chefs:
Mark Best (Sydney, Australia): The executive chef and owner of Bistro by Mark Best located in Hong Kong and Singapore, Mark's humble beginnings mastering contemporary Australia food began in Sydney Australia. Mark began his culinary career at just 25 years old after being an electrician. With only 5 years of kitchen experience under his belt, Mark opened his first restaurant. Years later, Mark set to Sydney to open up Marque restaurant which won 3 chef hats for 10 consecutive years.
Shane Osborn (Perth, Australia): Hailing from Perth, Australia, Shane is the chef/co-owner of Arcane in Hong Kong, China. Growing up with a caterer for a mother, Shane's passion for culinary arts was cultivated at a young age. So much so that at 15 years old he took on a 4 year culinary apprenticeship. At 21, Shane relocated across the world to London where he learned refined European cuisine, his speciality today.
Alex Haupt (Sydney, Australia): Originally from Sydney Australia Alex is the head chef/owner of 101 Gowrie Amsterdam in the Netherlands alongside holding the position of head chef at Hoofdstad. Alex has had a lifelong relationship with food being the son of chef/restauranteurs. He began his journey at the young age of 14 years old and in 2015, became a head chef at only 24 years old. Alex has worked across the world in the finest restaurants including Heston Blumenthal (London) and Pendilino (Sydney)
The chefs will be judged by celebrity ambassadors and food critics from 9 countries around the world including Dax Shepard, Hasan Minhaj, and Alessandra Ambrosio.
Ambassadors:
Colin Hanks and Dax Shepard (United States Ambassadors)
Martha Higareda and Julio Cesar Chavez (Mexico Ambassadors)
Miguel Bose and Ana Polvorosa (Spain Ambassadors)
Gary Lineker and Cat Deeley (United Kingdom Ambassadors)
Alessandra Ambrosio and Bebel Gilberto (Brazil Ambassadors)
Ranganathan Madhavan and Hasan Minhaj (India Ambassadors)
Alessandro Del Piero and Eleonora Cozzella (Italy Ambassadors)
Esterelle Payany (France Ambassador)
Hikari Mori and Yuji Ayabe (Japan Ambassadors)
Food Critics
Sam Sifton (United States Food Critic)
Mariana Camacho (Mexico Food Critic)
Borja Beneyto (Spain Food Critic)
Jay Rayner (United Kingdom Food Critic)
Josimar Melo (Brazil Food Critic)
Rashmi Uday Singh (India Food Critic)
Andrea Petrini (Italy Food Critic)
Francois-Regis Gaudry (France Food Critic)
Akiko Katayama (Japan Food Critic)
www.netflix.com/thefinaltable


Whill, a Japanese start-up, is launching its first mobility device in the US called Whill Type-A, the design of which incorporates feedback and suggestions from hundreds of mobility device users. The sleek looking machine allows the user to lean into the wheelchair (as one would on a bicycle) and the user need not sit in an passive manner as is the case in conventional mobility devices and is controlled through a joystick.
The device features all wheel drive and the "tires" of the wheels themselves rotate transversely, so it can move unlike any other chair. The wheels should work well on various surfaces including grass, dirt or gravel roads, and also allow for a turning radius small enough to be able to rotate in a spot, thereby providing excellent mobility and maneuverability.
A high-profile mode allowing the user to move in a "lean-in" position.
A low-profile mode that is table-friendly, and allows the user to sit close to a table.
An off-mode allows the user to relax and travel in comfort.
The user can switch between the different modes by merely sliding and folding away the front arms, and can get on and off the vehicle by folding the front arms and sliding the seat forward. The wheelchair makes use of minimalistic design and is only 23.6 inches wide and 32.5 inches long. It has a top speed of 6 mph and a range of 15 miles. This sleek looking wheelchair is sure to turn heads on sidewalks and hallways!


text:
Social Network Use Inside Companies Still a Cause for Concern
IT Directors are faced with bandwidth and security issues stemming from employees' in-company use of social media.
Employees frequently access social networks from the company network and this creates bandwidth and security issues. We already highlighted in an earlier article that European IT Directors tend to be wary of social media and these concerns have led many companies to block access to the social networks. Now a new study carried out by Clavister , a Sweden-based provider of mobile and network security solutions for large enterprises, cloud service providers and telecom operators,has found that the explosion in use of social networks is indeed nowadays a big headache for IT Directors. First of all, the fact that social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook command a wide audience means that they are often used as 'launch pads' for cyber attacks. A second concern is that some sites - YouTube for example - consume a great deal of bandwidth. If this usage is not controlled, it can both affect access to business critical applications and impact staff productivity. It is therefore essential for IT Directors and systems managers to be fully aware of the threats and to put countermeasures in place to minimise risk.
Measures a company should be taking
Social media are today part of an employee's toolkit and they can prove very useful, but organisations clearly need to be fully aware of the various threats that use of these media poses to security, productivity and bandwidth consumption. Clavister CTO John Vestberg: "IT directors have a lot to think about when it comes to social media in the workplace. Is it stifling productivity? How much bandwidth is it using and is it putting us at an increased risk of security threats?" Companies should therefore be putting in place new measures to cope with these dangers. Clavister recommends controlling use of in-company access to the Internet – i.e. specifying which users have access to which websites and when. The Swedish network security specialist also advises establishing parameters for each application: the user profiles which are allowed access, how much capacity they can use, and when.
Ring-fencing the use of social networks
The use of social networks in the workplace must be controlled, as it can cost a lot in downtime, warns John Vestberg. "If an organisation has 500 employees and each member of staff spends 30 minutes a day on social media, that could equate to as much as €3 million per year in lost productivity," he points out. When it comes to bandwidth, Clavister has developed a system that enables a company to give priority to business critical applications. That means bandwidth can be allocated for social media only when it isn't going to disturb more important traffic. In an enterprise network environment, organisations also need to make proper use of application-aware firewalls, preferably with intrusion detection and anti-virus scanning support. They must also make sure client software is updated regularly and hold employee training to raise awareness on a broader level, stresses Clavister.
Study: 24 Percent of Companies have Disciplined Employees for Social Network Use
Archive September 2009
Public social network practices to enhance internal social network...
Using Digital Books in Social Networking Mode Still Has Some Way to Go


text:
Symbolism In Pleasantville
154 Words1 Page
Pleasantville is exactly how it sounds like, it is a town where everything is pleasant and swell. The town is a closed universe, where the streets loop back onto themselves. Also, where the only job for firemen was to rescue cats from trees. The main characters, David and Jennifer were suddenly sucked into the TV series. As the show progress with David as Bud, and Jennifer as Mary Sue, things start to change in Pleasantville. Other colors start to appear in the show, instead of the classic black and white. The new colors that start to appear represent freedom and individual thoughts. However, this only happened to the characters with strong emotions and who were also breaking away from "tradition". For example, when David/Bud suddenly changed
Landscape Symbolism In My Antonia
In My Antonia, the most important symbol is the Nebraskan landscape. It symbolizes the larger idea of the pioneer life in general. It also symbolizes the relationship between Jim and Antonia. The landscape reflects how Jim feels throughout the book towards Antonia. As his feelings change so do the landscape.
Symbolism In Ernest J. Gaines A Lesson Before Dying
Ernest J. Gaines delivers emotional and powerful messages through his novel "A Lesson Before Dying". He speaks of race and injustice in a time where slavery is abolished, but where its victims still suffer as third-class citizens. In doing this, Gaines effectively utilizes multiple stylistic elements that aid to provide deeper meaning and connections. Through the application of similes, imagery and symbolism, a memorable story unfolds.
Symbolism In Our Good Day By Sandra Cisneros
Everyone is hidden behind their mask, scared to show their real identity and afraid to be judged. Sandra Cisneros used the symbolic meaning of shoes and feet to taunt this human trait. Cisneros used shoes to represent mask and feet as our intrinsic nature. Cisneros used Esperanza to make the reason we hide behind our disguise more visible as she acknowledged one's pain to endeavor to conceal our real intentions was to face others and to get protections by revealing Esperanza's experience in her own perspective. To do that, Cisneros used shoes and feet to show the need to fit in, the protection they seek for, and the cruel reality of age breaking the mask.
Symbolism In Ben Rector's 'Song Of The Suburbs'
Ben Rector is a unique musician in the fact that the hardest songs for him to write are his most priced accomplishments. His lyrics stylistically reflect human emotion and his internal struggle between fame and humility, and faith and conformity. His music speaks louder than everyday pop music because it conveys a non-superficial and applicable message. In Ben Rector's lyrics for "Song of the Suburbs" he utilizes personification and symbolism, emphasizing that there is more to life than self-advancement and money.
Symbolism In Cooks Brook
"Cooks Brook" begins with a dive into a pool which could be taken as a symbol in life as people take chances and will never know the outcome until they try it. They use a hyperbole in the sentence saying it is better to chicken out then, to smash their skulls against the rock which is exaggerating the thought of peer pressure as it can take over a person. They also use symbols as the thought of praying for wings while they jump which is describing the the feeling that they don't want this painful event to be their end but, a new life experience like when angels lift you higher with those wings. A simile is used as how quick is the event which is compared to a small wound. There is even more imagery since it describe the feeling after you have
A Long Way Gone Symbolism Essay
Authors use symbols in literary to show you gateways into themes. Some are easily noticed but some are much more complex. In his literary work, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah uses symbols to underscore his central theme of oppression and freedom. The symbols used in this literary work to show the theme of freedom are the moon and the cassette tape Ishmael had from his childhood rap group. The symbol used to represent the theme of oppression is Ishmael's dreams or nightmares.
Mockingjay Symbolism Essay
In the novel "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins, there are many memorable symbols used. One of these symbols is the Mockingjay. The reason this symbol is important is that it helps the reader to understand some of the main ideas of the novel. Suzanne Collins wants the reader to think about the Mockingjay. The Mockingjay in "The Hunger Games" is a symbol used as a representative of the rebellion, this is so, because, many years ago in Panem, the Capitol breed these birds, called Jabberjays, specifically to spy on rebellions and find out what their plans were, the Capitol were able to do this through the usage of these birds as they were able to pick up what people said, and replicate the words said precisely.
Brave New World Symbolism Essay
Brave New World is a Good Book Living in a utopia is nearly impossible, and the society in Brave New World tries to do it. Symbols throughout the story convey that this society wasn't really a utopia. Their society that they live in is genuinely a disaster even though the people do not know it. The symbols in the story portray how the society really is in Brave New World. In the novel, the symbols soma, Ford, and the electric fence explain why the society is corrupted as a whole.
Symbolism In The Road
Hope is defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary as wanting something to happen or to be true and think that it could happen or be true. With hope, people can achieve anything the wish to achieve. Many times authors use both materialist and non materialistic things to symbolize hope, as hope is intangible. According to Thomas Foster "Action can also be symbolic" (Foster 112). With hope being an indefinite concept, it is often symbolized through actions.
The Joy Luck Club Symbolism Analysis
Tan's narrative style involves giving the symbols and allusions in all her novels. She emphasizes the symbols such as food, dreams, orchids, silence, ink, fate and paintings to carry the weightage of the themes in all her novels. In case of The Joy Luck Club, the symbols and allusions are interwoven with food, dreams and Chinese language. Through these devices, Tan explores the layers of palimpsest that is her text, her narrative of the immigrant experience in America, her exploration of the bond between mother and daughter. A crucially important symbol in the novel is the Joy luck Club with its mah-jong table as a center piece that links past and present and codifies place and identity for club members.
More about Symbolism In Pleasantville


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Medical Center to Pay Nearly $41 Million to Resolve Allegations of False Billing for Unnecessary Cardiac Procedures and Kickbacks
Seattle Whistleblower Attorneys report that Ashland Hospital Corp. d/b/a King's Daughters Medical Center (KDMC) has agreed to pay $40.9 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims to the Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid programs for medically unnecessary coronary stents and diagnostic catheterizations and had prohibited financial relationships with physicians referring patients to the hospital.
Assistant Attorney General Stuart F. Delery of the Justice Department's Civil Division, U.S. Attorney Kerry Harvey for the Eastern District of Kentucky and Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Kentucky region made the announcement.
"Hospitals that place their financial interests above the well-being of their patients will be held accountable," said Assistant Attorney General Delery. " The Department of Justice will not tolerate those who abuse federal health care programs and put the beneficiaries of these programs at risk by providing medically unnecessary care."
The government alleged that, between 2006 and 2011, KDMC billed for numerous unnecessary coronary stents and diagnostic catheterizations performed by KDMC physicians on Medicare and Medicaid patients who did not need them. The government also alleged that the physicians falsified medical records in order to justify these unnecessary procedures, which allegedly generated millions of dollars in Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid reimbursements for KDMC.
"The conduct alleged in this matter is unacceptable, victimizing both taxpayers and patients," said U.S. Attorney Harvey. "Treatment decisions motivated by financial gain undermine public confidence in our health care system and threaten vital federal programs upon which so many of our citizens rely. We will not relent in our efforts to protect the public from the sort of systematic misconduct alleged in this case."
The settlement also resolves allegations that KDMC violated the Stark Law by paying certain cardiologists salaries that were unreasonably high and in excess of fair market value. The Stark Law is designed to limit the influence of money on physicians' medical decision-making by prohibiting financial relationships between hospitals and referring physicians, unless these relationships meet certain designated exceptions.
In connection with this settlement, KDMC has agreed to enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with HHS-OIG, which obligates the hospital to undertake substantial internal compliance reforms and to commit to a third-party review of its claims to federal health care programs for the next five years.
"Medically unnecessary procedures can cause serious health issues, cost the taxpayers millions of dollars each year and drain the Medicare Trust Fund," said Special Agent in Charge Jackson. "The OIG will continue to protect beneficiaries and hold health care providers accountable for improper claims."
"This type of alleged conduct deceives individuals when they are seeking medical treatment and are vulnerable," said Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI's Louisville Field Division. "The level of funds involved in this matter is staggering. This money has been stolen from the patients and the taxpayers."
The Commonwealth of Kentucky will receive approximately $1,018,380, which represents the state's share of the recovered Medicaid funds. The Medicaid program is funded jointly by the federal and state governments.


I love a good object lesson. I'd like to think that's part of how God made me.
If you take a quick look at Jesus' ministry, and add up all the parables and metaphors He used, I think you'll find he likes a good object lesson too.
In January 2014 I moved to Sweden and found myself stuck in a winter unlike any I'd ever experienced. Beyond being incredibly cold, we only had gray daylight from 9am-4pm. It's hard to know how impactful the sun is until you don't see if for 2 months straight.
Though I'd previously read passages that described Christ as the light of the world, and our sin as the deepest darkness, those passages took on a new meaning when I looked at the physical darkness around me. And when the physical darkness mirrored a spiritual darkness, the words of John 1 carried me forward.
Christ has always been light, and the darkness has not and will not overcome Him, but as I biked home in darkness in the early afternoon, the promise that God was bigger than something that felt so oppressive felt all the more real. I needed sunlight, and through that need I more fully saw my need for God's light in my life.
When I moved to Australia a few weeks ago, I tried to keep my eyes open for how God might be using the world around me to teach me about His character. My dad and I trekked 75 miles across Brisbane over the course of the week, checking out potential apartments, and I learned a thing or two about heat.
As we walked around, Psalm 42 came to mind. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.
I don't mean for that to sound flippant. While I was incredibly thirsty all week, I was in a place where water was readily accessible, which is a privilege. But I was experiencing thirst in a way I hadn't ever before, and in the same way I felt my soul thirst for God amidst the fear of settling into a new place.
When it was hot and I was tired and grumpy, a big cold glass of water felt magical. And in John 7:37-39, Jesus declares that He is living water that will never run dry. Being in a new country, and feeling quite alone, having a physical reminder of how refreshing the Gospel is for the soul was a great encouragement.
Perhaps it's a cheesy exercise, but if God promises to reveal Himself through His creation, then I want to see it. As Paul says in Romans 1:19-20, we are all without excuse, because God's invisible attributes are revealed in the things He has made. Of course, what we see in creation should push to us to seek out where God has revealed Himself even more clearly – in His Word.
I'd encourage you take a look at your circumstances, both physical and spiritual, to see how God might be speaking. Pray that God would reveal His character to you through the world around you as you seek His truth in Scripture. Oftentimes it can feel heard to hear God, but I also know that creation screams out His glory, and we only have to look out for it.


THIS DVD PROGRAM FEATURES PROFESSOR ANDREW HOPKINS AND FOCUSES SPECIFICALLY ON THE COMMUNICATION SKILLS OF SAFETY LEADERS.
The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) uses this program for their Fundamentals of Process Safety five-day course and our Process Safety for the Board one-day course.
Mindful Leaders are acutely aware that the best of systems can fail, even though auditors might be assuring them that all is well. They know that if they want to be sure their systems are working as intended, they need to go and find out for themselves and undertake non-systematic auditing of their own. In order to do so, Mindful Leaders need to be able to communicate effectively with workers.
This program provides guidelines on face-to-face communication with workers on site, not an idea which appeals to many senior managers.
This program illustrates in detail, how management at all levels – Senior Executives, Middle-ranking Managers and Front-line Managers need to communicate with their workers. Specifically, it delves into the 5Ws ('Who', 'What', 'Where', 'When' & 'Why') and 1H ('How') of effective communication.
As a Safety Culture Consultant, Professor Andrew Hopkins brings a wealth of communication experience to this program - experience built on speaking to people at all levels in companies- from operators all the way to senior management. And in different industries and in different countries around the world.
Professor Hopkins' techniques in undertaking Safety Culture audits results in more detailed information for management than typically made available.
This program is a must for all Supervisors, Managers at all levels and Chief Executives.
CD with supporting material that includes Power Point Presentations and Prof. Hopkins' working papers.
Mindful Leadership With References to BP Texas City – a DVD that identifies the key aspects of "Mindful Leadership" and illustrates how lapses in leadership contributed to the BP Texas City disaster.


Every business and organisation needs to be active in this digital age—Touchpoint Design have the design-knowledge and the technical skills to build your online presence. We build scalable, responsive, fully-tested websites and apps. Our understanding of the importance of effective branding—integrated across print and digital design mean that we can give you a full creative solution to meet your business objectives.


8 Updated ebuild so the certs directory is created.
11 Changed openssldir to /etc as suggested by Corporate Gadfly <corporate_gadfly@hotmail.com> in #9315.
28 Version bump, closes #6290. Ebuild contributed by hannes@mehnert.org.
34 Added ppc to KEYWORDS.
46 ebuild simply removes the incorrect value if ARCH="sparc".
52 Update to latest. Added LICENSE, SLOT. Use make vs. emake.
61 'doc' subdirectory. Remove all old patches, digests and ebuilds.
65 it is a standard 2-liner.
69 warrant a revision bump on the ebuild.
79 can find in the root directory of the portage repository.


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Accelerator Deadline Microsoft France
« ngGirls Berlin Web Development Workshop
Accelerator Deadline EY Startup Academy Frankfurt »
Microsoft's AI Factory in Station F – Microsft France is focusing on helping AI-based startups contribute in five key areas: health, environment/energy, transportation, financial services, and agri-food. The first accelerator in this new program – AI for Green Energy – has launched in partnership with Schneider Electric, and is focused on finding new ways to use AI to decrease consumption and increase energy efficiency. Paris, France; Deadline: August 31, 2019
Two years ago, Station F opened its Parisian doors to 1,000 early-stage companies from around the globe, to help visualize their dreams.
Dubbed the world's largest startup campus, Station F launched with Microsoft's AI Factory – an on-site artificial intelligence program, designed to help startups develop AI proof-of-concept projects by offering scientific, technological, and business expertise. The AI Factory aligns with Microsoft France's commitment to the development of trusted and ethical AI in France, which is also bolstered by the company's AI skills program and Paris-based AI School.
Now, after two years and 27 supported startups to date, Microsoft France is focusing on helping AI-based startups contribute in five key areas: health, environment/energy, transportation, financial services, and agri-food. The first accelerator in this new program – AI for Green Energy – has launched in partnership with Schneider Electric, and is focused on finding new ways to use AI to decrease consumption and increase energy efficiency. Other programs will be presented before the end of the year.
AI for Green Energy
Selected startups will benefit from the technical and business expertise of Microsoft and Schneider Electric during a three-month acceleration period. The ambition of this first program is to accelerate the digital transformation of this sector and to help European startups continue their AI development.
The Inria laboratory, Sigfox, Elaia, Energize Venture and France Digitale are also partnering with this program and will be involved at different stages of the program, such as startup sourcing, selection process, coaching and more.
Startups must have developed a green energy solution based on artificial intelligence technology for businesses and organizations. Entrepreneurs with great ambitions to use AI to transform energy solutions should apply here to file an application. The application process is open from July 1 to August 31, based on some conditions:
Startups must have already carried out fundraising. The announcement of the six winners will be made official on October 2in Barcelona, at Schneider Electric's Innovation Summit. Agnès Van de Walle, Director of the One Commercial Partner entity states that "We are delighted to leverage our ecosystem of partners to serve together with the most important causes to society, thanks to the start-ups of tomorrow. Schneider Electric will bring to this first promotion in-depth expertise and personalized support, accelerating innovation across the energy sector. »"We are delighted to partner with Microsoft to incubate new ideas to use AI to help the energy sector in the energy transition," Cyril Perducat, Chief Executive IoT and Digital Transformation, Schneider Electric: continues. Co-innovation projects like this one are important to move the entire energy industry towards a sustainable future."
Accelerator Deadlines, Paris
Accelerator Deadline, France, Microsoft France, Paris
https://news.microsoft.com/europe/2019/07/04/calling-all-ai-startups-microsoft-france-and-schneider-electric-want-to-help-you-achieve-your-green-energy-dreams/
5, PARVIS ALAN TURING
https://stationf.co/
Microsoft France
Open Data Science Conference ODSC Milan 2020


Young students across the United States are packing up their things and heading off to college. While the decision to go away to school might be thrilling for students, it can be an emotional and hectic time for parents.
Millions of sun-hungry retirees make the trek down South each year to escape the cold and snow of winter. These folks are called "snowbirds," defined simply as someone who spends the winter months in a warm place.
Making a living doing what you love might be the exception rather than the rule, but there's something to be said for following your passion when considering a career path.
Freedom, health, a job, a spacious home… these are privileges we tend to take for granted. But what would happen if you lost them one by one? Meet one man whose appreciation for the good things grew after his battle with cancer.
In the midst of planning a move or home renovation? It's an exciting time, but it can also be very stressful. Here's how three Fort Worth families minimized the anxiety and tension during their home renovations.
Moving out and moving on after a breakup is not easy, but Diana certainly made the most of it. Get inspired by her moving story and see just how she was able to move on after an unexpected breakup.
How did the Life Storage COO end up behind the wheel of a Porsche GT3 Cup car?


This unit and the next unit (Unit 2) deals with those questions and their answers. We use them all the time so make sure you get them right!
Rita is in her car. She is on her way to work.
This means: She is driving now, at the time of speaking.
A. I am (= I'm) driving.
He/she/ (it) is (= he's, etc.) driving.
We/they/you are(= we're, etc.) driving.
Let's go out now. It isn't raining anymore.
B. We also use the present continuous when we talk about something that is happening around the time of speaking, but not necessarily exactly at the time of speaking.
Tom and Rita are talking and having coffee in a cafe. Tom says: "I'm reading an interesting book at the moment. I'll lend it to you when I've finished it." Tom is not reading the book at the time of speaking. He means that he has begun the book and hasn't finished it yet. He is in the middle of reading it.
But perhaps Maria and George are not doing these things exactly at the time of speaking.
Tom isn't playing football this season. He wants to concentrate on his studies.
Please be quiet. I ______ to concentrate.
Please be quiet. I am trying to concentrate.
Please be quiet. I try to concentrate.
I try to concentrate is incorrect since the person is asking the other person to be quiet 'at the moment' so that he can 'concentrate now'.
Why ______ at me like that? Did I say something wrong?
Why are your looking at me like that? Did I say anything wrong?
Why you look at me like that? Did I say anything wrong?
'Why you look at me like that' is incorrect because the speaker is asking the other person why he/she is looking at him/her like that 'at the moment' and therefore 'Why are you looking at me like that?' would be the right answer.
Excuse me, I ________ for a phone booth. Is there one near here?
Excuse me, I look for a phone booth. Is there one near here?
That is incorrect because, the person needs to find a phone booth right now or at the moment. He is not on the look out for phone booths in general. Therefore the answer should be 'I am looking for a phone booth' and not 'I look for a phone booth'.
The number of people without jobs ________ at the moment.
The number of people without jobs is increasing at the moment.
The number of people without jobs is improving at the moment.
This option is incorrect because 'improve' is used in a positive sense but the reference here is to the number of people who don't have jobs. 'Increase' refers to a rise in the number. It is neither a positive sign nor a negative one.
It's a good movie, isn't it? _________ it?
It's a good movie, isn't it? Are your enjoying it?
It's a good movie, isn't it? Do your enjoy it?
'Do you enjoy it' is incorrect because it would mean that the person enjoys that movie in general or at all times. In this situation, one person is asking the other if he/she is enjoying the movie while watching it.
Why ______ your coat today? It's very warm.
Why are you wearing your coat today? It's very warm.
Why do you wear your coat today? It's very warm.
This is incorrect. When you ask 'why do you wear your coat?', it means you are asking the person why he/she wears a coat (in general/always). In this sentence, one person is asking the other, why he/she is wearing a coat on a particular day when it is warm.
He is still sick, but he ______ better slowly.
He is still sick, but he is getting better slowly.
He is still stick, but he gets better slowly.
This is incorrect. When you say ' He gets better' it means that he improves in general. For example: He gets better after each time he practices table tennis. But in the previous sentence, 'He is getting better..'means his health is at the moment improving.
I _____ this week. I am on vacation.
I do not work this week. I am on vacation.
This is incorrect. When you say ' I don't work' it means you don't work in general/always. In this sentence, 'I am not working this week' means you are not working at the moment and will not be working for the rest of the week.


Water sports enthusiasts and scuba divers should always have a good rescue knife that's easy to carry and ready for use. Like the Blakely™ Rescue Knife by M Essentials™.
The sheepsfoot design offers greater control while minimizing the chances of being pierced by the point, which is essential for anyone spending time on the water. The flat, serrated cutting blade is ideal for cutting or slicing your way out of danger.
Featuring full-tang construction, a 3-inch blade, 420-stainless steel and a KYDEX™ sheath, the Blakely Rescue Knife offers the control you need to cut yourself out of any sticky situation.