text:
package org.innovateuk.ifs.finance.service;

import org.innovateuk.ifs.commons.rest.RestResult;
import org.innovateuk.ifs.file.resource.FileEntryResource;
import org.springframework.core.io.ByteArrayResource;

/**
 * Interface for CRUD operations on Overhead File Entries.
 */
public interface OverheadFileRestService {

    RestResult<FileEntryResource> addOverheadCalculationFile(Long overheadId, String contentType, long contentLength, String originalFilename, byte[] file);

    RestResult<FileEntryResource> updateOverheadCalculationFile(Long overheadId, String contentType, long contentLength, String originalFilename, byte[] file);

    RestResult<Void> removeOverheadCalculationFile(Long overheadId);

    RestResult<ByteArrayResource> getOverheadFile(Long overheadId);

    RestResult<ByteArrayResource> getOverheadFileUsingProjectFinanceRowId(Long projectFinanceRowId);

    RestResult<FileEntryResource> getOverheadFileDetailsUsingProjectFinanceRowId(Long overheadId);

    RestResult<FileEntryResource> getOverheadFileDetails(Long overheadId);

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Forget about Danny Murphy, it is the SoupBowl or whatever they call it here the weekend. Whilst the FA Cup celebrates 125 years, this Sunday's Superbowl will be America's 40th.
Every year one of my best mates (a fellow Addick) and some of his pals make a pilgrimage to the US to watch the game. This year they have chosen Washington DC, so I am flying over there this afternoon to spend the weekend sightseeing, drinking and watching huge blokes bash the crap out of each other on the television.
Superbowl is a massive day in the US, which makes it more of a shame to me that the FA Cup has lost a little of its magic because when I was a kid Cup Final day was something to really look forward too. I remember once when our tele' blew up the morning of the game, just before Cup Final It's a Knockout, cried my eyes out I did!
The Superbowl is of course not about the game at all. I read recently that only 6,000 tickets will be shared between fans of the two finalists, Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers, the rest going to corporate entities, the NFL, players, and general hangers on.
The game also plays second fiddle to the adverts with companies such as Pepsi, Burger King and Budweiser paying up to $2.5m for a 30 second slot!


text:
Das Haus mit der postalischen Adresse Badenstraße 2 ist ein denkmalgeschütztes Gebäude in der Badenstraße in Stralsund.

Das viergeschossige, dreiachsige Haus wurde in der Mitte des 18. Jahrhunderts errichtet. Im Jahr 1930 wurde es mit dem benachbarten Haus Badenstraße 1 durch einen Laden im Erdgeschoss verbunden. Die Fassade ist verputzt. Ein kleiner, dreieckiger Giebel krönt das Haus mit seinen hohen, spitzbogigen Fenstern.

Das Haus liegt im Kerngebiet des von der UNESCO als Weltkulturerbe anerkannten Stadtgebietes des Kulturgutes "Historische Altstädte Stralsund und Wismar". In die Liste der Baudenkmale in Stralsund ist es mit der Nummer 52 eingetragen.

Literatur
 Friederike Thomas, Dietmar Volksdorf: Die Altstadtinsel Stralsund – Illustrierte Denkmalliste. Die Baudenkmale der Altstadt in Text und Bild. Hrsg. vom Bauamt der Hansestadt Stralsund. Selbstverlag, Stralsund 1999, , S. 16.

Weblinks

Baudenkmal in Stralsund
Altstädte von Stralsund und Wismar
Erbaut im 18. Jahrhundert
02
Wohngebäude in Stralsund

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: I'm looking for a "date-picker" that works for all the browsers This is how it should look on all the browsers:

And this is how it looks on Safari, for example:

This is the code that I am using at the moment:
<%= date_field 'birth_date', rel => 'birth_date',
        class => "form-control", required => undef %>

A: You're using the Mojolicious date_field tag helper. This generates a <input type="date"> HTML input field.
But support for the date input isn't universal. In particular, you'll see that Safari doesn't support it.
So you'll need to use some kind of plugin, I guess. If you're using jQuery, then one of these might work for you.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Steph Carson Named President of Elevation
Steph Carson has been promoted to president of Atlanta-based creative agency Elevation.
Carson joined the agency as office manager more than a decade ago. Most recently, she served as the company's executive producer, overseeing branding, animation and design products.
In her new role, her responsibilities and focus will shift toward big-picture vision and opportunities, such as implementing new technologies and maintaining company culture in a fully remote environment.
"Our company is in an exciting period, and creating the role of president is about our long-term growth goals," said Stephen Cocks, Elevation's creative director and CEO, in a statement. "Having a more robust executive team will enable our company to grow the right way."
"Elevation is already on a wonderful path of innovation and creative excellence. In terms of the overall trajectory, we're not changing that course," Carson said, also in a statement.
"With the volume of work we produce, it was challenging as executive producer to continue to innovate the company as a whole, while also keeping a pulse on project intricacies and details. I'll still be involved in our projects and with our clients, but this new role is an incredible opportunity to focus more on the 'big picture' and continue Elevation on its path to reach further and jump higher."
Carson joined Elevation in 2012 in a role that was part office manager, part receptionist and part client assistant.
"When I started in 2012, Elevation was heavily broadcast-focused, with a large quantity of work done at in-person sessions with clients," Carson said. "Part of my job was to take lunch orders for the clients and staff every day. It's likely if you visited our offices in 2012, I still remember how you like your burger."
From there, Carson quickly grew into the role of producer, and then executive producer.
Over the last decade, Elevation has evolved as a company.
"I've tried to bring new things and new parts of myself to each role I've held at Elevation," Carson said. "I've seen all angles of this company, and that kind of insight is invaluable. I've had the wonderful advantage of watching Elevation change and grow over the years, and myself along with it! This new role for me is truly a testament to Elevation's focus on personal growth and opportunities to push yourself further with the support of the company behind you."
"Steph is an amazing person. Many of her best qualities — her work ethic, her energy, her humor, her empathy — are why she excels as a leader. Despite her tremendous talent, she remains humble and full of fun with a great sense of adventure," Cocks said.
"Stephen's exact words to me when he offered me the role were, 'Let's tip the apple cart,'" Carson said. "That phrase was a lightbulb moment for me. If you're familiar with our branding, you might get our 'Newtonian' nods towards our trade-marked phrase 'Outdare Gravity.' Offering me this position was more than just one person's promotion. It's a call to action for the whole team to reassess who we are, why we do what we do, how we do it, and how we show it. I'm thrilled to see where we can go!"
Learn more about Elevation at Promax's Agency Marketplace.
Tags: career moves elevation steph carson stephen cocks
Hallmark Unwraps Even Bigger 'Countdown to Christmas'
UP NEXT: Hallmark Unwraps Even Bigger 'Countdown to Christmas'

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Michael Ballack (Görlitz, 26 de setembro de 1976) é um ex-futebolista alemão que atuava como meio-campista. Seu último clube foi o Bayer Leverkusen.

Cedo mudou-se com a família para a cidade de Chemnitz, então chamada Karl-Marx-Stadt. Começou a jogar futebol no clube de mesmo nome, rebatizado de Chemnitzer após a Reunificação Alemã. Nascido e crescido na existência da Alemanha Oriental, devido a isso tem maior facilidade em falar russo (de ensino obrigatório nos países de influência soviética na Europa) mais do que o inglês.

Tem uma fixação pelo número 13, costumeiramente reservado a ele nos clubes e na Seleção Alemã, das quais é um dos jogadores mais talentosos no início do século XXI.

Carreira

Início no Chemnitzer
Debutou no time principal do Chemnitzer na temporada 1995–96 da segunda divisão alemã. Em seu primeiro ano teve emoções mistas: a equipe foi rebaixada à terceira divisão, mas o garoto, já apelidado de "Pequeno Kaiser", receberia sua primeira convocação para a Seleção Alemã Sub-21.

Kaiserslautern
O clube não conseguiu voltar à segunda divisão na temporada seguinte, mas seu desempenho atraiu a atenção de Otto Rehhagel, que acabara de promover o tradicional Kaiserslautern à elite alemã. Estreou na Bundesliga na sétima rodada, contra o Bayer Leverkusen. Utilizado em metade das partidas do campeonato, como uma boa opção entre os reservas, participou de um ineditismo na história do futebol alemão: seu novo clube tornou-se o primeiro, e único até hoje, a ser campeão nacional na temporada seguinte em que fora campeão da segunda divisão.

Firmou-se de vez entre os titulares na temporada seguinte, a de 1998–99, em que o clube disputou pela primeira vez a Liga dos Campeões da UEFA, desde que o mais importante torneio europeu de clubes adquirira o novo formato. A equipe só foi parada nas quartas-de-final, para os conterrâneos mais fortes do Bayern de Munique, que terminariam vice-campeões.

A boa temporada de Ballack lhe renderia a primeira convocação para a Seleção Alemã principal (integrando inclusive o grupo que foi à Copa das Confederações daquele ano), e o garoto seria vendido, curiosamente, ao time contra quem estreara na elite alemã: o Bayer Leverkusen.

Bayer Leverkusen

Em Leverkusen, tornou-se líder da equipe, que constantemente vinha disputando seu primeiro título na Bundes, mas perdendo-o nas rodadas finais. Com Ballack no elenco, a primeira taça no campeonato nacional esteve perto de vir em duas ocasiões. Em sua primeira temporada, a de 1999–2000, um empate contra os também bávaros do Unterhaching daria o título. O adversário venceu por 2 a 0 com um gol contra dele, e a conquista acabou sendo de outra equipe da região, o Bayern Munique; os dois concorrentes terminaram com a mesma pontuação, mas os muniquenses tinham uma vitória a mais, o primeiro critério de desempate. A temporada se encerraria com a Alemanha decepcionando na Eurocopa de 2000, sendo eliminada na primeira fase.

Uma decepção pior viria na de 2001–02: o clube esteve perto de conquistar três títulos e perdeu todos: liderava a Bundesliga a três rodadas do fim com cinco pontos de vantagem, revertida pelo campeão Borussia Dortmund, campeão com um ponto a mais; a Copa da Alemanha ficou com o Schalke 04, que venceu por 4 a 2; a última e mais importante no clube, a Liga dos Campeões, foi perdida para o Real Madrid. Um quarto vice viria com a Seleção, na Copa do Mundo da Ásia, juntamente com seus colegas Carsten Ramelow, Oliver Neuville, Bernd Schneider e Hans-Jörg Butt.

Após o mundial, foi para o principal clube do país, trocando o Leverkusen pelo München: ali, viveria sua melhor fase: como principal referência entre os jogadores de linha, ganhou três vezes o campeonato alemão, em 2002–03, 2004–05 e 2005–06 e, nas mesmas temporadas, também a Copa da Alemanha. Obteve também sua melhor média de gols, anotando 44 em 107 jogos na Bundes, ótimos números para um meio-campista.

Chelsea
Ainda antes do fim da temporada 2005–06, foi comprado pelo Chelsea, juntamente com o ucraniano Andriy Shevchenko, outra estrela mundial. Chegou a Stamford Bridge após a Copa do Mundo naquele ano, disputada na Alemanha. Sendo desta vez uma entre várias outras grandes estrelas no elenco de um time, não obteve a mesma visibilidade individual que tinha no Bayern, alternando altos e baixos no clube londrino.

Com o superelenco dos Blues, voltou a amargar reveses duros. Na Liga dos Campeões da UEFA de 2006–07, foi eliminado nas semifinais pelo Liverpool, um frequente rival no torneio: os Reds, que já haviam eliminado os londrinos na mesma fase em 2005, finalmente foram batidos em 2008. Entretanto, jogando sua segunda final no torneio, Ballack foi novamente vice, desta vez contra o Manchester United, justamente o clube que havia tirado o título inglês do clube semanas antes (e também na temporada anterior).

Na de 2008–09, teria sido uma das estrelas responsáveis pela queda de Luiz Felipe Scolari. O grupo novamente falhou nos principais objetivos, terminando em terceiro no campeonato inglês e eliminado da final da Liga dos Campeões (onde teriam a chance da revanche contra o United) em casa, a minutos do fim da partida, contra outros rivais adquiridos na competição, o Barcelona.

Em sua quarta temporada, finalmente conseguiu seu primeiro título no Campeonato Inglês com o Chelsea. A temporada foi coroada ainda com uma double, a conquista dupla do campeonato e da Copa da Inglaterra, a terceira de Ballack - que até então só havia vencido este torneio e uma Copa da Liga Inglesa pelo clube londrino. No entanto, justamente na decisão desta terceira FA Cup, contra o Portsmouth, lesionou o tornozelo após sofrer revide de Kevin-Prince Boateng, a quem agredira minutos antes com um tapa no rosto. Como precisaria de oito semanas de tratamento para jogar plenamente, Ballack acabou ficando sem condições de ir para a Copa do Mundo de 2010.

Retorno ao Bayer Leverkusen
Após não renovar seu contrato com o Chelsea, no dia 25 de junho de 2010 assinou um contrato de duas temporadas com sua antiga equipe (e que seria a sua última), o Bayer Leverkusen. Após quase quatro meses sem jogar, retornou aos gramados no dia 6 de janeiro de 2011, contra o Oberhausen.

Sem o contrato com o Leverkusen renovado e sem assinar com nenhum outro clube, no dia 2 de outubro de 2012, através de uma nota oficial lida pelo seu advogado, anunciou sua aposentadoria. "Com 36 anos, fico com a recordação de uma longa e maravilhosa carreira como profissional que em criança nem me atrevia a sonhar. Foi um privilégio jogar com treinadores de primeira classe e com jogadores fantásticos", disse Ballack no comunicado.

Seleção Alemã
Integrante da Mannschaft que fracassou na Copa das Confederações de 1999 e na Euro 2000, era um dos poucos jogadores poupados pelos resultados ruins, ao lado do goleiro Oliver Kahn. A Seleção vinha perdendo o temor e respeito que despertava, chegando a ser goleada em casa por 5 a 1 contra os rivais ingleses nas Eliminatórias para a Copa do Mundo de 2002. Ainda assim, Ballack continuava sendo um oásis entre a falta de talento da equipe - classificada ao mundial após eliminar a Ucrânia com ele marcando três dos cinco gols alemães no placar agregado da repescagem -, o que só aumentou após as contusões de Sebastian Deisler e Mehmet Scholl, que não puderam ir à competição.

Na Ásia, Ballack após ser ofuscado na primeira fase pela artilharia momentânea de Miroslav Klose, repetiu a liderança na Seleção, marcando três vezes, dois deles salvadores: foram os gols da vitória pelo placar mínimo nas quartas-de-final (contra os Estados Unidos) e semifinal (contra os anfitriões da Coreia do Sul) - o outro tento fora feito no jogo inaugural, na goleada por 8 a 0 frente a Arábia Saudita. O gol que recolocou os desacreditados germânicos em uma final de Copa veio ironicamente minutos após ele receber o terceiro cartão amarelo no torneio, o que o suspenderia da decisão. Assistiria o vice-campeonato (o quarto que teria na temporada) no banco de reservas, suscitando opiniões de que o resultado poderia ter sido outro se ele pudesse ter jogado.

Na Eurocopa 2004, a Alemanha voltou a decepcionar, sendo novamente eliminada na primeira fase, chegando a empatar em 0 a 0 contra a fraca Letônia. No ano seguinte, o país, anfitrião da próxima Copa do Mundo, hospedou também a Copa das Confederações. Os alemães voltaram a empolgar, reencontrando nas semifinais o Brasil, desta vez com ele em campo. Ballack fez de pênalti o seu gol, mas mesmo com ele e jogando em casa, a Nationalelf perdeu por 3 a 2.

Na Copa do Mundo de 2006, não marcou, não estando tão ofensivo; ele, que foi ao mundial recuperando-se de lesão, só entrou no time na segunda partida. Com a Seleção também não tão carente de talentos, com os ótimos Philipp Lahm, Torsten Frings, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski e Miroslav Klose, Ballack passou a jogar mais recuado, como segundo volante, protegendo a zaga, rendendo comparações com a trajetória de Lothar Matthäus (meia ofensivo que encerrara a carreira como líbero).

Na Copa, acertando as redes apenas na decisão por pênaltis nas quartas-de-final, contra a Argentina. Mas não deixou de exibir boa fase, juntamente com os outros dois conterrâneos da ex-Alemanha Oriental no elenco - Tim Borowski e Bernd Schneider: mesmo sacrificando-se para estabilizar o antes contestado sistema defensivo da Seleção, ainda deu assistências decisivas: uma para o gol de Klose contra o Equador, outra de cabeça para o mesmo Klose empatar contra a Argentina a dez minutos do fim. Os anfitriões, que buscavam o tetracampeonato, ficaram com o terceiro lugar - e o tetra iria para a Itália, que os eliminou na semifinal.

Chegou novamente perto de seu primeiro título pela Alemanha na Eurocopa de 2008. Salvou duas vezes a Seleção: na última rodada da primeira fase, o país fez um duelo germânico contra os anfitriões austríacos, tecnicamente mais fracos mas animados com as chances de se classificarem se conseguissem vencer (o que resultaria também na eliminação alemã). Um gol seu de falta no início do segundo tempo credenciou sua seleção a avançar às quartas-de-final, onde fez também o gol da vitória por 3 a 2 contra Portugal. A equipe chegou à final, onde acabou derrotada pelo placar mínimo pela Espanha.

Ballack era nome certo para a Copa do Mundo de 2010, mas a lesão no tornozelo na final da Copa da Inglaterra (agravamento de uma falta cometida sobre ele pelo volante Kevin-Prince Boateng durante um amistoso contra Gana), semanas antes, impediu-lhe de ter condições de jogar no mundial, não sendo convocado.

Estatísticas

Clube

 (*) Copa da Alemanha, Copa da Inglaterra, Copa da Liga Inglesa e Supercopa da Inglaterra.
 (**) Liga dos Campeões da UEFA.

Títulos
 Kaiserslautern
 Bundesliga: 1997–98

 Bayern Munique
 Bundesliga: 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06
Copa da Alemanha: 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06
Copa da Liga Alemã: 2004

 Chelsea
 Premier League: 2009–10
Copa da Inglaterra: 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10
Supercopa da Inglaterra: 2009
Copa da Liga Inglesa: 2006–07

Prêmios individuais
 FIFA 100
 Futebolista Alemão do Ano: 2002, 2003, 2005
 Melhor meio-campista da UEFA: 2002
 Seleção da Copa do Mundo FIFA: 2002, 2006
 Seleção da Eurocopa: 2004, 2008

Ligações externas

Naturais de Görlitz
Futebolistas da Alemanha
Futebolistas do Chemnitzer FC
Futebolistas do 1. FC Kaiserslautern
Futebolistas do Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Futebolistas do FC Bayern München
Futebolistas do Chelsea F.C.
Jogadores da Seleção Alemã de Futebol
Jogadores da Eurocopa de 2000
Jogadores da Copa do Mundo FIFA de 2002
Jogadores da Eurocopa de 2004
Futebolistas da Copa das Confederações FIFA de 2005
Jogadores da Copa do Mundo FIFA de 2006
Jogadores da Eurocopa de 2008
Futebolistas da Copa das Confederações FIFA de 1999
FIFA 100


The issue here is mainly about GSM gateway. For S-Series, the SMS function is applied with SMS to Email and Email to SMS. Please refer to the specific troubleshooting guide.
You could send or receive SMS on Yeastar device. Receiver could receive could your SMS. In the Outbox, you could see Failed SMS.
2. GSM trunk registration. Check if your GSM trunk is registered or not.
3. SIM card balance. Check if your SIM card own enough balance.
4. Contact carrier. Contact carrier support to see what happened.
If issue persists after the checklist, please post us the following information via our support portal.
2. Result of each step in the check list.
3. System log (For S-Series only) with SMS option enabled How to Get System Log, AT Command log (optional for S-Series) How to Get AT Command Log.
4. SMS Center Number. Check if this number has been configured properly.
5. Receiver number. Check if the number is correct. You might miss the country code, +. You could use 00 to replace + to test.
6. Contact carrier. Contact carrier support to see what happened.


The Arabic Bayán is a book written by the Báb around 1848. Its larger sister book is the Persian Bayán. The work is incomplete, containing only eleven Vahids. Each Vahid serves as a chapter and contains nineteen Abwab. The grammar is highly irregular. The work was composed while the Báb was imprisoned in Maku, Iran.


text:
ICT and Big Data
Greenpeace:
Apple, Facebook, Google Leading Shift to 'Green' Internet While Amazon Lags
Jennifer Elks
Apple, Facebook and Google are leading a growing number of tech companies that are working to power the Internet with 100 percent renewable energy, signaling a major shift in the sector over the past two years, according to a new report released today by Greenpeace. Those companies are leaving behind Amazon Web Services, the company that hosts the data for many of the Internet's most popular services, which powers its infrastructure with polluting energy sources that contribute to global warming, the report found.
The report, Clicking Clean: How Companies are Creating the Green Internet, details the immense power that technology companies have either to drive a renewable energy revolution, or to chain the new digital economy to old, polluting sources of power. The stakes are high: If the Internet were a country, its electricity demand would currently rank sixth, according to the report. Estimates from the industry expect Internet data to triple from 2012 to 2017.
"Apple, Facebook and Google are powering our online lives with clean energy, and building a greener offline world for everyone in the process," said Greenpeace's Senior IT Analyst Gary Cook. "These companies have proven over the past 24 months that wind and solar energy are ready and waiting to power the Internet, and the rest of our economy, with clean electricity."
Greenpeace evaluated the energy choices of 19 leading Internet companies, surveying their electricity supply chains of over 300 data centers. Five of those companies — Apple, Facebook and Google, along with fast-growing business-to-business companies Rackspace and Salesforce — have committed to a goal of powering their operations with 100 percent renewable energy.
Apple became the first company to achieve its 100 percent renewable energy goal to power its iCloud, leading the companies evaluated with its Clean Energy Index of 100 percent. Apple is operating the largest privately owned solar installation in the US at its North Carolina data center.
"Apple's rapid shift to renewable energy over the past 24 months has made it clear why it's one of the world's most innovative and popular companies," Cook said. "By continuing to buy dirty energy, Amazon Web Services not only can't seem to keep up with Apple, but is dragging much of the Internet down with it."
Meanwhile, Facebook flexed its muscles to push its utility in Iowa, MidAmerican Energy, to power its data center there with wind energy. MidAmerican responded by investing $1.9 billion in wind power generation, placing the world's largest-ever order of onshore wind turbines in part to meet the social network's demands.
Google has pioneered the use of power purchase agreements for wind energy to provide electricity for its services, including Gmail and YouTube.
Google, Apple and Facebook all pushed Duke Energy, the largest utility in the US, to offer new renewable energy options for large electricity buyers in North Carolina.
Amazon Web Services, which hosts a large part of the Internet, including popular companies including Pinterest, Netflix, Spotify, Tumblr, Airbnb, Yelp and Vine, currently sources only 15 percent of its electricity demand with clean energy, according to the report; coal powers 28 percent of the company's cloud, nuclear 27 percent, and gas 25 percent. Amazon's growth is fueling the increased use and construction of coal and gas-burning power plants in Virginia, and has jeopardized clean energy growth in Oregon. While Apple, Facebook and eBay have led the broader sector to be more transparent about its energy use, Amazon steadfastly refuses to reveal any details about its energy footprint to its customers or the public.
Twitter also does not share any details about its energy footprint, and has made no efforts to procure cleaner electricity, in stark contrast to its social media rival Facebook.
Greenpeace assessed colocation data center companies, which rent out data center space to customers, for the first time in Clicking Clean, finding that they use low amounts of renewable energy; most also lacked transparency about their energy footprints.
Greenpeace is calling on all major Internet companies to:
Make a long-term commitment to become 100 percent renewably powered.
Commit to transparency on IT performance and consumption of resources, including the source of electricity, to enable customers, investors, and stakeholders to measure progress toward that goal.
Develop a strategy for increasing their supply of renewable energy, through a mixture of procurement, investment, and corporate advocacy to both electricity suppliers and government decision-makers.
One company not included in the Clicking Clean investigation but making bold commitments that would make Greenpeace proud is SAP, which announced last week that it will power all its data centers and facilities globally with 100 percent renewable electricity starting in 2014.
And Microsoft, which earned some favorable mentions in Greenpeace's report, announced in its 2013 Citizenship report that it had achieved carbon neutrality, after introducing an internal carbon fee for renewable energy and carbon offsets; this led the company to increase its purchase of renewables in the US by 70 percent, from 1.1 billion kWh in 2011 to 1.9 billion kWh in 2012.
Published Apr 2, 2014 4pm EDT / 1pm PDT / 9pm BST / 10pm CEST
Purpose & ESG Are Not Interchangeable; You Need Both
Google to Acquire Nest Labs, Inc for $3.2B
Intel CEO Challenges Entire Electronics Industry to Become 'Conflict-Free'
Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions to Broaden Possibilities for Internet of Things and Services


text:
Pickup Truck Rear-Ends an 18 Wheeler
In the news, we often hear of 18 wheelers hitting other vehicles - but what happens when a pickup truck traveling at high speeds hits an 18 wheeler? Parker was the driver of that 18 wheeler and shares his story of the injuries he sustained and long-lasting emotional devastation that followed. The Hamilton Wingo Law Firm was able to help Parker receive justice and alleviate his medical debts, as well as award the compensation he deserved for his pain and suffering.
READ MORE VIEW VIDEO
"Hamilton Wingo was Able to Give a Little Person a Voice"
"Before I got on the phone, I just, I stopped and I just prayed that God would lead us to a person that not only would get something done but also cared about me."
Blame the Victim Defense – How Hamilton Wingo Fights Back
"When we met Rodney we just knew we had somebody that we had to fight for and that this guy had been seriously hurt, and he was in a bad place. But the one thing I could tell when I met Rodney is that he was a fighter, and he was going to see it through to the end. And that was important for us in taking on this case, because we knew we had somebody that was in a position that they were going to have to go with us all the way to the end on this." - Chris Hamilton
"There Wasn't Much More Than a Flicker of Hope Until I Called Hamilton Wingo and Spoke with Paul."
Medical malpractice cases are very difficult, but not impossible. Where other law firms shy away from taking med mal cases, Hamilton Wingo steps up to seek justice for those who have been wronged.
The Catastrophic Results of Objects Falling off Trucks
"I was traveling behind a truck with a high sided trailer that was hauling building materials. I'm going 70 miles an hour down Bush. And all of a sudden, the wind caught the full panels of sheetrock, about five pieces, and lifted them up about 20 feet in the air... I had one of the pieces of sheetrock with my name on it, and it came through my windshield on the driver's side."
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Last year, a photograph was published on the back page of a Berlin daily. It depicted a German mother from the town of Eisenhuttenstadt–strongly built and dressed in loose jogging clothes–grabbing hold of her skinhead son and dragging him away from the hostel for asylum-seekers that he and his friends had been attacking with rocks.
Another picture of the same boy appeared a little later. In fact, the boy kept popping up in the press–sometimes with a kerchief wrapped over his face, sometimes without–in Stern, Die Tagezeitung, on television. But it was that first photograph that everyone remembered: mothers do not drive to the front lines to drag away their children by the scruff of the neck. Journalists Max Thomas Mehr and Regine Sylvester spent two days in Eisenhuttenstadt looking for the famous mother of the skinhead son and persuaded her–along with her husband and son–to talk to them. They met in a restaurant with loud music and a single grumpy waitress and began by asking the mother what she was telling her son as the picture was taken.


The self-employed have a flexible vision of retirement. They plan on working past traditional retirement age, easing into retirement, and fully retiring at an older age.
These findings are highlighted in a new survey report from the Aegon Center for Longevity and Retirement and the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies which also warns that many self-employed are not taking adequate steps to prepare for their future retirement.
"The self-employed face unique challenges in terms of saving and planning for retirement, such as irregular incomes and a lack of access to employer-sponsored retirement benefits," said Catherine Collinson, executive director of the Aegon Center for Longevity and Retirement and president of Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies. "For the self-employed, preparing for retirement requires a long-term do-it-yourself approach which many are not undertaking."
The new report titled Retirement Preparations in a New Age of Self-Employment from Aegon's Fifth Annual Retirement Readiness Survey draws from survey findings of the self-employed across 15 countries spanning Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Australia.
Only 26 percent of the self-employed are very or extremely confident they will be able to retire in a lifestyle they consider comfortable.
"The self-employed offer an exciting vision of a flexible retirement which can bring continued income and enjoyment, a vision which should be an inspiration for all. However, this vision can only be achieved with adequate planning and preparation," said Mike Mansfield, Manager of Aegon Center for Longevity and Retirement.
The report offers a detailed portrait of the self-employed, country-specific fact sheets, country-by-country comparisons, and comparisons with employed workers. Countries featured in the survey include: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Japan, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States.


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Diego Almeida and the lessons learned by taking a side gig to keep his dream alive
04/06/2020	| Escrito por: Carlos Arthur Jr.
Diego Almeida is a black belt from Double Five. Personal Archive
The black-belt Diego Almeida, 25, learned from BJJ that it's in the biggest adversities that we recognize our own strength. Amidst the pandemic, he has begun doing deliveries in San Angelo, Texas. It was Diego's first option, after spending 20 days at home, to keep paying the bills of his academy, Seeds 13, which he opened a few months ago.
In a recent interview, he told about doing the new gig as he continued to provide online lessons to students. "I worked for a month and a half doing deliveries to keep alive my dream, which is my own gym here in the U.S., which God has blessed me with. I worked to support my family and my business — I had to face the problem head-on. I had no ego about working in another field, which I didn't choose, to make money. Many people in jiu-jitsu and in the world are idle at home and doing nothing due to ego. I may stay down for a while, but I will rise again, because God gives me opportunity. I respect the creation of the live Instagram sessions people do these days, but that, the way I see it, won't earn me money. I don't want popularity; I want to follow what God has for my life."
Diego, an athlete from team Double Five, said the new job provided him with knowledge about business, customer service and how the big food companies manage their communication. "It was amazing to see how the mind of big entrepreneurs works during a crisis, how they react, how they think to get back on top. This time at home has been a watershed moment in my life — I'm a new person now. I was able to have new habits, like reading daily — every day I set aside ten minutes to read, for example. Instead of spending money, I am now able to save it. It's also been possible to take care of my health as I eat well — I've already lost over 6kg. So, when life returns to normal I'm gonna be a different person, I'll be more intelligent and I'll offer a better service to my students, who have been very concerned with me during this phase we're living worldwide."
Diego wrapped up the interview with a new insight gained from observing how McDonald's functions. "The structure is something essential; they are organized in details. The food isn't even that good, nor is it healthy, but the marketing they do messes with the customer's psychology. For example, they put the food in a recyclable bag with a sticker that said 'This was sealed with a big smile,' as well as writing 'Thank you' by hand."
"When I would go to local businesses," Diego added, "it was as if I was doing them a favor due to the lack of structure and knowledge. Of course, it wasn't all of them, but it was often that way. There were always wrong orders; they were disorganized. The bigger companies have more organization and more qualified people for this type of job. The owner of McDonald's doesn't work at the restaurant; he has trained people to offer an excellent service.
"The lesson derived is to strive to become qualified in every way. We see that social media has gotten much bigger, but people still don't tell you how to make a company qualified, what to do to sell better. The online product is the new generation for jiu-jitsu. The future is all online."
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Twitter: @StarCityOnline
Instagram: @starcitybroadcasting
Star City Youtube
What's on FOX16, NBC16, and WPBY ABC
Purdue Sports
The Big Fix
Kris Sommers, Star City News Chief Meteorologist
Kris was born and raised in Long Grove, Iowa. From a young age, he was always interested in the changing weather.
Kris graduated from Northern Illinois University with a bachelor's degree in Meteorology. During his junior year, he worked an internship at a TV station in Davenport, Iowa. After graduation, Kris was hired at that station to update the station website and also to do fill-in work for the weather department. He was eventually promoted to Weekend Meteorologist and spent six years in that capacity. Kris then changed career paths and worked for an insurance company for seven years. He recently decided to get back into broadcasting the weather.
When Kris is not busy keeping up with the weather, he loves to spend his time outdoors, golfing, working out, and bowling. He has bowled several 300 games.
3824 S. 18th Street
Coastal Television of Indiana LLC


The history of anatomical models dates back to the mid 18th Century.
In the early days they where made of wax.
Italy, especially Bologna and Florence, was the centre of the wax technique and supplied models to all parts of Europa.
But it was a costly method and the models where fragile.
In the early 19th Century a new material, papier maché saw the light of day.
produce models of the new material.
Others, like the well known Louis Thomas Auzoux, followed.
Later in the 19th Century other materials, like plaster, where used and production spread to Germany and other countries.
In the early 20th Century massproduction started and the models lost thereafter for ever their individual look.
The very best of the 19th C models are like pieces of art, the hand skills and the artistic expression is still there!
Dont miss the Reference Litterature list at the end of this page!
The World Of Auzoux. Models of Man and Beast in papier-maché.
Encyclopaedia Anatomica. Museo La Specola Florence. Taschen Verlag. 1999. The largest collection of 18th C Anatomical wax models in the world.


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Где-то там  () — австрийский документальный фильм в 12 эпизодах, повествующих о жизни в 12 различных местах Земли. На протяжении 2000 Николаус Гейрхалтер и его команда путешествуют по разным местам Земли и снимают в каждом месте 1 месяц, ища места, где ничего неизвестно о смене тысячелетия. Фильм был выпущен на многих языках: немецком, английском, фалиаше, гренландском, хантыйском, короваи, гунвинггу (наречие австралийцев-аборигенов), ладакхи, наси, нисга'а (язык аборигенов Канады), оджихимба, саами, сардском, тамашеке.

Ссылки

Фильмы 2001 года
Документальные фильмы Австрии
Фильмы на английском языке
Фильмы на ладакхи
Фильмы на хантыйском языке
Фильмы Австрии 2001 года


JACKSON HOLE, WYO – Community Entry Services (CES) will host "The Art of Love," its second Annual Plate Auction featuring one-of-a-kind signature plates by nearly 40 Jackson artists on Thursday, October 12 at Center for the Arts.
Building off the success of last year's inaugural event, CES has beefed up this year's offerings with the unique works of nearly 40 local artists. The fundraiser benefits adults with developmental disabilities.
The plates to be auctioned are crafted by ceramist Sam Dowd. They showcase the unique artwork of Addie Dore, Amy Ringholz, Anika Youcha, Bill Sawczuk, Bobbi Miller, Boughton Walden, Bryan Iguchi, Carrie Wild, Cynthia Boynton, David V. Gonzales, Deb Fox, Deb Penk, Deb Smith, Diana Eden, Emily Boespflug, Greta Gretzinger, Jason Borbay, Jennifer L. Hoffman, Jenny Dowd, Joe Arnold, Kathryn Mapes Turner, Katy Fox, Katy Klotz, Linda St. Clair, Liz Park, Mike Piggott, Nicole Gaitan, Sally Painter, Sam Dowd, Sarah Webber, Shannon Borrego, Shannon Marie Schacht, Stephanie Strickland, Tenley Thompson, Todd Kosharek, Travis Walker, and Walter Gerald.
Also, this year, CES is very excited to present works by celebrated students from Jackson Hole High School's art classes including Freedom Lennon, Jessie Garcia, Lyla Kirkpatrick, and Annaliese Mayor, as well as pieces from several CES participants.
All artists volunteered their time and talent to create masterpieces that will be auctioned off during a fun evening of cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and live entertainment.
Title sponsor this year is Lotus Organic Restaurant, plus sponsors First Western Trust, Willow Street Group, Big R Ranch and Home, Prugh Real Estate, The NeVille Group, Bank of Jackson Hole, and Flowers by Chloe. Special thanks to Senator Randolph Townsend and Robyne Townsend.
CWC culinary program will provide hors d'oeuvres. Wine is donated by The Liquor Store and Wine Loft. Signature cocktails and liquor provided by Grand Teton Distillery. Beer is from Roadhouse Brewery. There will also be live music and entertainment.
Thursday, October 12 at Center for the Arts beginning at 6pm, live auction starts at 7:30pm.


In the RGB color model, hex triplet #5d5da6 has decimal index of: 6118822, is composed of 36.5% red, 36.5% green and 65.1% blue. #5d5da6 in CMYK color model, is composed of 44% cyan, 44% magenta, 0% yellow and 34.9% black.
#666699 is the closest web-safe color to #5d5da6.
Sample HTML/CSS paragraph codes using #5d5da6 color.


Roger Federer made a flawless comeback after two and a half months away, as the Swiss advanced over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday to power into the third round of the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters.
Beating Garcia-Lopez in the second round is nothing special for a 17-time Grand Slam champion with 88 career titles. But it was more about relief than anything else for Federer, who had arthroscopic surgery on February 3 for torn cartilage in his left knee.
Federer had been due to make his comeback from knee surgery at the Miami Open, but was forced to withdraw from the event at short notice due to a stomach virus.
"The knee felt really good, like in practice. Felt like I didn't have to worry about it. I could just go freely," Federer said. "I think in a way it was a perfect match. It was close in the beginning, then I was able to go on a roll. Points were cut short by virtue of me serving better and returning better, getting second serves, taking advantage of that fact. At the end, again, I had to fight for it. I went through different phases in the match. Also emotionally, I was excited and tense in the beginning, just because it's a first round. It's my first match back. So it was nice to go through all these emotions."
The 34-year-old Federer is a four-time finalist at the Monte Carlo Country Club, finishing runner-up from 2006-08 (l. to Nadal) and again in 2014 (l. to Wawrinka). The Swiss is chasing his 25th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown.
"I think I got what I needed. So we'll see how I feel tomorrow, tonight, the next day," Federer said. "Sometimes after a match, you can feel it for two days. At this point I'm pretty confident I'll feel fine."
Federer was gifted the first break of the match in game six when Garcia-Lopez followed up two double faults with a loose backhand that floated long.
The third seed threatened to give up the initiative when falling 15-40 down in the next game, but saved both break points - the second with a sweetly struck backhand winner - before holding with an ace.
An increasingly attacking Federer served out the opening set with the minimum of fuss and there was to be no way back for Garcia-Lopez, who cut a frustrated figure as his hopes of victory rapidly disappeared.
Having been dominated throughout set two, the Spaniard surprisingly broke to love when his rival first attempted to serve out the match.
However, Federer got the job done in his next service game to set up a third-round tie with Roberto Bautista Agut.


At Boston Jewish Film, we believe that stories – and film – can change lives. Boston Jewish Film Studio teaches students to be discerning consumers and thoughtful creators of film, fostering compassion, tolerance, and thoughtful analysis. Through our Youth Outreach Program, we bring our films, teachers, and filmmakers to schools and community centers all across Greater Boston, promoting awareness and lively discussion. With our hands-on Filmmaking Courses, we enable Boston area youths to tell their own stories on screen.
Boston Jewish Film Studio launched its first two pilot filmmaking courses in 2017-2018 at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston Teen Center in Mattapan. In each course, students learned to storyboard, script, shoot, and edit a short feature film across eight 90 minute sessions. In addition to filmmaking techniques, students learn valuable team skills, and, most importantly, broaden their capacity to communicate through words, sounds, and image. We intend to expand the course to additional Boys and Girls Clubs facilities around Boston, and to other area community centers and schools.
Like so many across the country, we are alarmed at the rise in racist and anti-Semitic language and incidents. Many of these are perpetrated by teenagers, who may not understand the nature—or danger—of their acts. Drawing on its reservoir of relevant, insightful documentary films, and compelling teachers and filmmakers, Boston Jewish Film Studio wants to start a discussion that can make a difference. We kick off the program this Fall at Wayland and Weston High Schools with a screening and panel discussion of "Etched in Glass." The award winning documentary tells the story of Holocaust survivor and New England Holocaust Memorial founder Steve Ross. We intend to grow this program with regular film screenings, debates, and encounters, and to develop curricula and learning materials that will expose our teens to Jewish and other world cultures.
Boston Jewish Film is currently seeking support for its Studio program. For more information, please contact Lauren Scharf at 617-244-9899, x210.


New WordPress themes are released all the time, and it's hard keeping up with the best that's out there. And let's face it: a lot of new themes aren't very high quality.
Below we've collected nearly fifty high-quality WP themes from around the web.
A little over half of them are free themes, released under a variety of licenses.
The rest are premium themes, ranging in price from around $30 right up to $200, depending on the creator and licensing options.
Have we missed any good ones here, feel free to add their links in the comments!


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Page URL: https://www.bionews.org.uk/page_95259
Man fails paternity test due to passing on unborn twin's DNA
By Jessica Richardson
Appeared in BioNews 826
A man discovered he was not the genetic father of his child, due to a rare form of chimerism that means some of his cells carry a genome belonging to an unborn twin who died in the womb.
The US man and his partner had a son using intrauterine insemination. When they later found that the child's blood type didn't match either of theirs, they carried out an at-home paternity test, which revealed the man was not the father of the boy. This was confirmed by a second paternity test.
Thinking that the fertility clinic must have mixed up the father's sperm with someone else's, the couple enlisted a lawyer and the help of geneticist Dr Barry Starr of Stanford University, California.
Dr Starr suggested that the couple use the company 23andMe for genetic ancestry testing. The report said the man was 25 percent related to the child, suggesting he was actually the child's uncle.
'That was kind of a eureka moment,' Dr Starr told Buzzfeed News, who said this was when they realised the man must be a chimera. 'Chimera reports are very rare, but they are real,' he added.
Dr Starr's team confirmed their suspicions by testing multiple tissues from the man. The buccal sample, which is used in standard paternity tests, showed he was not the genetic father of the child.
However, analysis of a semen sample from the man showed that approximately ten percent of its cells were genetic matches to the boy. DNA analysis of different tissue samples revealed multiple alleles of genes are present at the same loci – a phenomenon indicative of chimerism.
Chimerism can occur in the womb, when one twin dies early in pregnancy and the fetal tissue is absorbed by the other twin, the mother or the placenta. This is known as vanishing twin syndrome and is thought to occur in 20 to 30 percent of multiple pregnancies.
In this case, the cells the man had absorbed from his twin included germ cells, which develop into sperm, meaning his unborn twin's DNA was passed on to his child.
'This is certainly very unusual and interesting because it's a germline chimerism,' Professor Dieter Egli from Columbia University, New York, told Time. 'What is interesting is to explore in what way this affects the person's feeling of identity. These are questions that are more important as we start to use cell therapies and cell transplantations as well.'
Dr Starr suggests that paternity tests should include more genetic markers to detect chimerism. Although this is the first reported case of standard DNA testing excluding paternity due to chimerism, it may occur more frequently as the use of fertility treatments and incidence of multiple births increase, he says.
Dr Starr's team reported the findings last month at the International Symposium on Human Identification in Grapevine, Texas and the American Society for Human Genetics Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.
SOURCES & REFERENCES
Chimeric germline tissue: Alleged father's genetic contribution to child found in semen sample but not in buccal sample [pdf]
International Symposium on Human Identification Meeting 2015 | 12 October 2015
How a Man's Unborn Twin Fathered His Child
Time | 28 October 2015
Man who failed paternity test for son discovers his twin who died in the womb is the real dad
The Mirror | 26 October 2015
This Man Failed A Paternity Test Due To His Vanished Twin's DNA
Buzzfeed News | 24 October 2015
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The presence of male DNA in female brains is fairly common, scientists have found, and likely originates from cells of a male fetus crossing into the mother during pregnancy. The implications of the phenomenon for health and disease remain uncertain...
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Due to a succession of owners, Courage had lacked a consistent campaign approach since its iconic 'Gertcha' campaign of the 1980's. Our brief was to put Courage back at the heart of pub banter once more to help stabilise declining sales.
Research indicated that our target audience often found themselves in man-crises – emotional moments in day-to-day life where they might need a 'little bit of courage' to say or do the right thing. Under the banner 'Take Courage my friend', we chose to celebrate a number of scenarios that would stimulate pub conversation as well as open up PR opportunities for the brand.
The campaign put the brand right at the heart of pub conversations across the country once again. Many national newspapers ran stories about the return of Courage advertising and the showpiece came from Jeremy Paxman celebrating the campaign in a lengthy feature on Newsnight. Brand tracking showed the campaign had strong cut through with both existing and wider audiences helping to boost trade listings and increase sales across the UK.
£3m worth of PR coverage was generated from an advertising budget of less than £300,000.


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Crunchyroll to Halt Ad-Supported Streaming Starting With Spring 2022 Season
Crunchyroll confirmed that with continuing anime, ad-supported viewing will not be available with episodes starting with the spring season, but episodes prior to the spring season will be available.
Crunchyroll announced on Friday that it will no longer offer free ad-supported viewing starting with its spring 2022 season line-up.
Funimation and Crunchyroll announced on March 1 that that Funimation and Wakanim's anime library and simulcast content have moved to Crunchyroll.
The first three episodes of each title will be available for ad-supported viewing for a week after their premiere on Crunchyroll until May 31.


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Rocket landing spot
Photo: Amir Cohen
Rocket lands near school in Ashkelon
Siren sounded in seaside city at around 7 am Monday, followed by explosions. One rocket lands in southern neighborhood inside city, another in open area. One woman suffers from shock, several houses sustain damage
Shmulik Hadad |Published: 05.12.08 , 07:28
Ashkelon's resident woke up Monday morning to the sound of a rocket alert siren. Moments later, at around 7 am, explosions were heard in the area.
One rocket hit a southern neighborhood in the seaside city and another in the Ashkelon National Park south of the city. The first rocket landed near an elementary school in an area where several schools and kindergartens are located. One woman suffered from shock and several houses sustained damage.
Gaza Terror
Officials: Suleiman visit last-ditch effort to prevent IDF strike in Gaza
Roni Sofer
Egyptian intelligence chief due in Israel Monday morning with draft proposal for truce between Israel, Palestinian terror groups in Strip. 'This is not peace, but a temporary ceasefire that will serve Hamas and the other Palestinian terror organizations,' Minister Boim says
Haim Asokar, who lives nearby, told Ynet, "I was just making coffee on my way to leave the house. We heard the siren, but we have no fortification here and our bomb shelter is closed. I then heard a very loud explosion. The entire house shook.
"My mother, who looked out the window, noticed something flying right in front of her and falling near the building. A great miracle occurred here, although had the rocket landed several minutes later, children would have already arrived in the area and many people would have been walking around here."
Sappers remove rocket from building (Photo: Amir Cohen)
Ashkelon Deputy Mayor Avi Vaaknin was not surprised by the rocket attack.
"We estimated that Hamas and the terror organizations would continue firing at Ashkelon. We can't accept this situation. This is a city with 120,000 residents. There are tourism and real estate businesses here which can be damaged if this rocket fire continues. The government must act in order to prevent a situation similar to what is happening in Sderot," he said.
Meanwhile, the Palestinians reported that the Israel Defense Forces had fired at least 10 shells into the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya.
Residents near rocket landing spot (Photo: Amir Cohen)
On Sunday afternoon, Palestinian gunmen fired two Qassam rockets at the western Negev. One of the rockets landed at the parking lot of Sapir College, causing a woman to suffer shock and damaging some vehicles.
The other rocket landed in Sderot near a bus carrying schoolchildren.
Three children suffered shock and were treated by Magen David Adom paramedics. The bus' windows were shattered and a fire broke out nearby. The Islamic Jihad's military wing, the al-Quds Brigades, claimed responsibility for the shooting.
The rocket fire at southern Israel has renewed in the afternoon after several hours of relative calm. At about 2 pm a Qassam landed in an open field outside Sderot, causing no injuries or damage. The attack on Sapir came about an hour later.


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Vagrant Story
June 13, 2012 | Posted by Vlado in Reviews | Comments: 3
The second review of a game on the original PlayStation I will do is of a game that came out relatively late in the console's lifespan. Like Xenogears, Vagrant Story is one of the less known Squaresoft gems. It is a single-person dungeon-crawler action RPG with a really unique concept and design choices. It's also not a very long game – it took me under 30 hours of playtime to beat. Playing through it was a very interesting experience, and I will elaborate why.
Game: Vagrant Story
Developer: SquareSoft
Platforms: PlayStation; PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita (PSOne Classics)
Original release: 2000
Territories: All
Vagrant Story is set in Ivalice, the world of Final Fantasy Tactics, however, it takes place many years in the future and the two games are practically unrelated. The setting is medieval, with dukes, knights, swords, all that jazz. There is, of course, also magic, and already in the intro you see some very strange things happen that make you wonder just what kind of world is this game throwing you into.
You take the role of a single protagonist named Ashley Riot, and that sets Vagrant Story apart from most other RPGs – you have to watch over your character carefully because, if he dies, it's an immediate game over. You do not have party members to revive you. Nevertheless, once you get used to that, you can immerse in the really rich gameplay and start looking for the best ways to use the particular mechanics for your purposes. An interesting thing to note is that Vagrant Story features a bunch of fascinating cube puzzles. You encounter them occasionally, and solving them is necessary to progress further in the game. But I'll get to the specifics in a bit.
Intriguing political story
Fascinating characters pursuing their own goals
Experimental battle system that works great
Occasional entertaining puzzles bring variety to the gameplay
Great visuals by PlayStation standards
Attacking magic is practically useless
Weapon crafting is a cool feature, but doesn't yield anything amazing
AN INTERNAL CONFLICT PLAGUES A COUNTRY
As the game begins, we see the flames of battle, as Duke Bardorba's manor has been taken over by Mullenkamp cultists, who take his family hostage. The Cardinal's organisation, the Crimson Blades, launch a counterattack, aiming to destroy the invaders, free the hostages and reclaim the manor. The Valendia Knights of Peace (VKP) send agents Ashley Riot, a Riskbreaker, and Callo Merlose, an Inquisitor, to investigate the situation. The Duke is an incredibly powerful man, holding the parliament in the palm of his hand, Mullenkamp cultists are known for their ruthlessness and dark rituals, and the Cardinal has sent the Crimson Blades without consulting or even informing the VKP. Obviously, many interests are clashing, and, since hostages are involved, the situation is very complicated. As Ashley confronts the Mullenkamp cult leader, Sydney Losstarot, he quickly realises that this won't be just any ordinary mission… As Sydney escapes, Ashley must follow him towards the ghost city of Lea Monde, the cult's stronghold.
Political intrigue is at the centre of the story, much like in Final Fantasy Tactics. The Ivalice team (Tactics, Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy XII) really likes exploring those themes. Several different parties struggle for power, and the hero is trying to do the right thing in the midst of it all. Mysticism also plays a major role, but it wouldn't be a Square game without some magic now, would it? Some of the cutscenes, especially in the beginning, suggest vast potential. Ultimately, the game struggles to keep the "awesome" factor as high as the standard set early on, but it is an ambitious effort nonetheless.
Many things remain unclear until the very end, and a few even afterwards. The twists the story takes are really satisfying. As in many great games, things are not exactly the way they seem on the surface. I enjoyed the story a lot, even if at times the gameplay stretches between cutscenes were so long I had to revisit some scenes to remember what had happened beforehand (of course, it also has to be kept in mind that I played through the game over the course of 2-3 months). It's a local conflict – you do not save the world this time, but perhaps that is what gives Vagrant Story some of its unique charm.
DIVERSE AND MEMORABLE CAST
Vagrant Story's unique structure (dungeon-cutscene-dungeon) practically does not allow for random NPCs, as there is no town roaming. Nevertheless, the game manages to retain a strong cast with a very limited amount of characters involved. The protagonist, Ashley Riot, is a skilled warrior, determine to see his mission to success. He is aided by Callo Merlose, a slender girl who holds the rank of Inquisitor within VKP, but has no battle experience. Ashley, concerned mostly for her safety, leaves her behind and goes on after Sydney on his own. Ashley is a very interesting character, we find out more and more about him as the story unfolds. A hardened fighter, he is not afraid to go after forces that seem supernatural. He is a rather straightforward character, at least for a greater part of the game. But it's hard not to like him due to his courage, his consideration for his friends and the weak, and his cool one-liners ("I am the reinforcements."? Cheesy, maybe, but it works in context). Still, he is not a top-tier game character or anything. I certainly wouldn't put him on the level of the Ivalice team's earlier protagonist Ramza.
Practically, the only real ally Ashley has is Merlose, and the two spend the majority of the game apart. It's a one-man mission, in every sense of the word. I liked Merlose, as a whole, she certainly has a pretty design, but she didn't particularly stand out as a support character. The other true stars, aside from Ashley, are the three strong men in their struggle for power – Sydney – the Mullenkamp leader and master of the dark arts, Rosencrantz – the former Riskbreaker who inserts himself solo into the situation for his own personal gain, and Guildenstern – the leader of the Crimson Blades who seeks to destroy the Mullenkamp cult.
Sydney, the obvious villain, as the beginning sequence already suggests, is probably the most interesting character in the game, his mysterious powers being a major plot point. After their initial confrontation, he realises what a powerful adversary Ashley is, and that he needs to take him into account for his future plans. The way the relationship between the two develops is quite intriguing. As with every good game villain, Sydney is far from one-dimensional, and many players would surely sympathise with him later on – I know I did. I also liked Sydney's closest friend Hardin a lot. He really stood out as a sidekick who wouldn't just follow his partner blindly (something so common in games and other media, especially when we talk bad guys and their henchmen), but would rather think independently on the situations at hand and offer his own suggestions. Hardin and Sydney had a nice contrast between each other, too – as master of the dark arts, Sydney appeared almost non-human, while Hardin showed consideration and care – still without putting his mission in jeopardy – for Duke Bardorba's son, even if he was his hostage.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, aside from their names being Hamlet references, add a lot to the game, as well. Rosencrantz, as a former Riskbreaker, is extremely powerful, on par with Ashley. Disillusioned after many battles, he has chosen to cut all ties with military organisations and pursue his own goals. I really liked him and his attitude, he just seemed like a very realistic figure with his thoughts and motivations. The leader of the Cardinal's Crimson Blades, Guildenstern, is another powerful figure, holding much influence over his troops, and hell-bent on destroying Sydney's cult. He shows no mercy to those who stand in his path. Unlike Rosencrantz, who believes in nothing but himself anymore, Guildenstern is the kind of person who sees the world in black and white and is certain that his way is the correct one. As such a character, he is hard to like, unless you have acquired that kind of taste. But I appreciated his role in the game, he certainly added a lot.
Duke Bardorba and Cardinal Batistum, while powerful political figures in the world of Vagrant Story, do not play particularly active roles in the game. Nevertheless, both are still important to the plot, their actions having influenced the events we see unfold as the game goes on. And much is at stake, for the Duke and, respectively, for the country, as his only son Joshua is being held hostage during the crisis.
UNIQUE, ADDICTIVE GAMEPLAY
Despite the story being quite outstanding, I dare say the gameplay of Vagrant Story is an even bigger draw. Once you get the hang of it, it starts flowing smoothly and is a real joy. There is platforming, Ashley can jump to higher levels in the room. During a battle, you can attack enemies with your equipped weapon, or open a general menu (which pauses the battle) where you can use a spell, an item, Break Arts (powerful moves associated with a kind of weapon), etc. If you press Circle, which equates to choosing to attack, Ashley draws his weapon and a sphere appears around him, showing you what you can attack, based on the distance to the enemy and the range of your weapon. You can also target different body parts, which sometimes does different damage, depending on the enemy. Also, attacking the same body part a lot causes it to get more susceptible to damage.
Best of all, just as your hit lands, an exclamation mark appears, allowing you to chain with another attack, as long as you press a button (Square, Triangle or Circle) again before the exclamation mark disappears. Of course, that window of time is very small, but, once you get the hang of it (for instance, you could rely more on what you hear than the exclamation mark you see, as it usually appears right as your hit lands and makes the respective sound), it's not so hard to chain even 10+ attacks. My personal record was 21, the streak gets harder and harder to maintain with each subsequent hit, as your heartbeat increases with the thrill of having hit many times in a row. It's a real rush, you should just experience it yourself instead of relying on my explanation here.
While your first attack is a "normal" one, the chained ones depend on what you bind the three buttons to. It's possible to do a percentage of the first attack's damage (even 100% at the expense of losing some health yourself), to try to inflict a status effect on the enemy, or even to inflict damage to HP or MP depending on how much HP/MP you've lost yourself. "Chaining" is also possible when the enemy attacks, except it's just a single counter-attack as opposed to a chain of hits. Again, you assign three different skills to the three buttons, and those can be reducing or reflecting a percentage of the damage of a certain type or element, as well as healing yourself from some status effects. Mastering the "Chain" techniques is absolutely crucial for your success in Vagrant Story.
Aside from HP and MP, another important value you need to keep track of is Risk. It increases as you attack or are attacked (chaining increases it greatly), and it decreases as you are out of battle (faster if you sheath your weapon). There are also Risk recovery items. The higher the Risk, the more damage enemies will do as they hit you, and the more powerful your magic will be. High Risk can be useful, as your recovery magic will recover more HP, but it's pretty bad in general, especially with enemies' spells that hit more than once. Thus, as a Riskbreaker, Ashley should look to keep his Risk low!
One of the best parts of Vagrant Story, giving the game a great diversity in the way you can play it, is the weapon selection. There are many kinds of weapons – daggers, swords, bows, rapiers, axes, maces… One-handed (leaving the other hand open so you can carry a shield) and two-handed. You can use any weapon you like, and you can switch them at any time. I used the large two-handed battle axe type for 90+% of the game. Weapons get stronger the more you use them, but they also get worn out. Fortunately, there are workshops scattered through the game's world where you can repair them. At those workshops, you can also assemble new weapons after getting parts from old ones, and add gems that enhance certain affinities of a weapon or shield (breaking a weapon into parts and adding/removing gems does not even require you to be in a workshop). Weapons, armour and accessories also have different affinities towards different enemy types, elements, edged/piercing/blunt weapons, etc.
There is also magic in the game, and Ashley can learn spells from items called "Grimoires," which can be found during his adventures. Healing magic is, of course, crucial, support magic is also quite useful (especially the "Analyze" ability which allows you to see what element/weapon type the enemy is weaker to). In my experience, attacking spells are, unfortunately, quite underpowered, as a decent chain will usually do much more damage to an enemy than an offensive spell costing much MP. Break Arts suffer from the same fate – while flashy and cool to look at, they are just not as effective as they should be. Status effects are also featured in the game, with the nastiest ones being Paralysis (you can't attack physically), Silence (you can't cast spells) and Numbness (you can't chain).
Boss battles are another highlight of Vagrant Story. Even the regular ones (e.g. you walk into a room, door closes, a giant dragon appears) are quite fulfilling, and story ones are just epic. While regular enemies can give you a difficult fight, bosses are almost universally hard and require some thinking, not to mention reflexes, to defeat. It's great help to discover the boss' weakness, as long as you're able to exploit it. But chaining will usually be your main weapon – be it to stack up a lot of damage or reflect a percentage of a powerful attack's damage back at the enemy. Once you win, a special win screen appears, appropriate music plays, and a roulette spins, giving you the stat increase it stops on.
Last, but not least, the puzzles… The game features rather extraordinary cube puzzles, where you have to move different kinds of cubes around a room to proceed (usually, the goal is to reach a high place). The best part is that their difficulty also progresses as you move on through the game, with the last few ones being real thinkers and granting a very satisfying feeling when you solve them. There are quite a few different cubes – ones you can lift, ones you can just push, magnetic ones, ones you can or cannot destroy… You have to manipulate them craftily in order to achieve your goal. There is even a puzzle mode which activates once you go into a puzzle room you've already been to. The time you solve the puzzle in is recorded and you then try to improve it. If that's not your thing, puzzle mode can be deactivated from the menu.
Once you beat Vagrant Story, there is also a New Game+ option, allowing you to breeze through the game a second time (and as many further times as you'd like) and discover secrets you've previously missed while retaining the stats and equipment that you beat the game with.
GREAT ATMOSPHERE, VISUALS AND SOUNDTRACK
The first thing that strikes you as the game starts is that the cutscenes use the in-game character models, despite the game being on the system that made FMV cutscenes big. It's not a new approach for the Ivalice team, as Final Fantasy Tactics only had a couple of FMV movies in the beginning and at the end of the game. In Vagrant Story, the only FMV is the intro that plays after the game boots. The approach works quite well, it keeps the consistency between gameplay and cutscenes, a feeling that's always nice to have. The character models are detailed, and it's also impressive how well their emotions are depicted on their faces, given the limitations of the PlayStation hardware. Another rather notable thing is the comic book-like balloons that characters' lines appear in.
It's very important for a dungeon crawler to have good atmosphere, and Vagrant Story does relatively well in that aspect. The environments are just a bit repetitive, but the setting justifies that. You wander dark corridors, catacombs, undercity passages… It's expected that there's not that much variety in the way they look. On the other hand, the few outdoor places are pretty enough. It feels like a refreshment to finally come out in the open after a long period inside. I would highlight the forest area.
The sounds of the game are pretty well done, weapon clashing with armour, dragons attacking, magic… The soundtrack is by Hitoshi Sakimoto, known for his Final Fantasy Tactics work. While I wouldn't say it's a top-tier game soundtrack, there are several awesome themes, very atmospheric. The one I'll share with you is "Abandoned Mine Second Level":
ONE OF THE FINEST PLAYSTATION GEMS
PlayStation has always been known for its great JRPGs. It was home to some of Square's finest works. Yet, even being an RPG by Square could not bring Vagrant Story that much fame (even Xenogears is much better known). Aside from it simply not being a Final Fantasy, I guess it being so different from the traditional games in the genre also contributed to that. But it has a dedicated following that strongly desires a sequel. Vagrant Story is well worth a playthrough. It's really fun once you get the hang of the gameplay, chaining hits is a thrill, the story is very good, with fascinating twists, and the game does not require a big time investment.
Ashley, Sydney and the rest make for a strong cast that you will remember. The unique style and the level of detail in the character models will also keep you hooked, and there's so much to play around with if you get into weapon crafting and development. The New Game+ option will allow you to visit areas you've previously missed and try to 100% the map. Vagrant Story is a solid package that I can't help recommending to anyone looking to play a PlayStation RPG. Now that it's also available on the PlayStation Network, you can access it easily.
FINAL SCORE: 8.5/10
Tagged: 2000, ashley, ashley riot, duke bardorba, guildenstern, hardin, joshua, jrpg, merlose, playstation, playstation network, ps1, ps3-review, psn, psx, review, rosencrantz, rpg, square, squaresoft, sydney, vagrant story
hugegremlins	June 13, 2012 12:38 am Reply
it's a great game, kept up with early ps2 visuals; looks amazing through epsxe
wordlyChimp	June 13, 2012 5:20 pm Reply
Definitely one of my favorite games when it came out. It deserves a sequel (certainly moreso than FF7, at least to me). I just wish the game was fully voiced like the amazing Metal Gear Solid and Soul Reaver.
Vlado	June 13, 2012 10:49 pm Reply
I agree with both points. I loved the level of detail in the character graphics (even if the environments were generally lacklustre, but, as I said in the review, that has a viable explanation). And a sequel could be very interesting, even if I'm not sure how it would work story-wise. But gamers certainly deserve another game with this unique gameplay.


text:
Q: Using JavaFX in Nashorn with embbeded scripting (no -fx) I have a Java 8 application that runs JavaScripts.  I see that I can run JavaFX applications by running jjs -fx.  However, my environment is a pure Java 8 JSE app and is launched as a standard Java app.
Is it possible to use JavaFX in scripts that are started with a Nashorn eval()?
So far, all the examples and study I have found seem to show JavaFX being run from jjs as opposed to being embedded in a Java App.

A: You can use System property nashorn.args to pass options to script engine instances created programmatically. See also: "setting options for Nashorn script engine" section at https://wiki.openjdk.java.net/display/Nashorn/Nashorn+jsr223+engine+notes


text:
Q: Most important feature in Visual Studio 2010 What is the most important or awaited feature in Visual Studio 2010??

A: Support for parallel development.

A: It is running on top of WPF.

A: F#  :)

A: The new text editor written in WPF is very interesting. There is also a new extensibility framework that will make writing add-on for VS much easier (in my opinion the most important new feature). The tools for SharePoint development are nice additions. There is a new debugger that records the debugging process and has greater support for parallel programming.

A: The Historical Debugger.   This records what happens during a run, and lets you step backwards and forwards through time in the debugger.

A: Usable SharePoint integration...bring it on!

A: As far as the IDE goes, proper, well-thought-out multi-monitor support is a big one..

A: The dynamic language runtime will lead to much more readable code when dealing with COM application and will be interesting to see where it takes staticaly typed languages.

A: Afair, they promised to include WiX 3.0. Although not perfect tool (built on top of ugly MSI plus some xml hell) but we don't have alternatives (at least from Microsoft), do we (tried their Setup projects)?

A: Architectural View(Designer) of the Application
This enables the new developers to understand the application flow more quickly.

A: Improvment of the TDD Good Channel 9 example. It way simpler now with an awesome intelli-sense.


Many short dresses have been ruined by these thread-like clusters. Caused by injury, genetics, pregnancy, or simply aging, what we call spider veins are actually broken blood vessels. Injections (sclerotherapy) can help reduce there appearance, but if you're needle-shy, consider laser treatment. One laser in particular (a V-beam) sends a strong burst of light through the skin, breaking up spider veins nonsurgically. They are then reabsorbed, and the treated cluster is gone for good. Call your dermatologist to set up an appointment today.


Grace is amazing! When we can fully grasp the depth of God's grace, it will tear down fear, anger, shame, addictions, and those things that hold us back in life.
Modern bibles today group the Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants into the Old Testament, and the New covenant into the New Testament. Under the Old convenant, the Law was a two-party agreement between God and humanity. There were blessings for obedience (Deuteronomy 28:1-14) and curses for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15-68). If you did what was right in God's eyes, you were blessed. If you did what was wrong, you were cursed.
The New covenant is a very different two-party agreement. It is not between God and people–it is between God and Jesus. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life and thereby fulfilled all the requirements of the law (Matthew 5:17). Then, he laid down his life has a sin offering (Hebrews 10:12-14). God accepted it and declared that those who are in Christ are now children of God (John 1:12).
Most believers today believe that the New covenant is between God and us. But, it's not. It's between God and Christ. Our only requirement for salvation is to "confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead" (Romans 10:9). There is no law when we are "in Christ." Jesus "takes away the first that He may establish the second" (Hebrews 10:9).
The burden to live a perfect life has been fulfilled in Christ. It's no longer about us.
The shame of our sin and mistakes is gone. Christ took it all upon himself.
Instead of trying harder to live the Christian life, we can now just enjoy life in Christ.
Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. Nothing.
Since it's no longer about us, we are holy, perfect, blameless and righteous in Christ.
There is so much more available to us when we believe this truth about what Christ has accomplished for us. When we can fully grasp that this New covenant is between God and Christ and not us, then the pressure to perform is wiped away. Then, we can finally stop living as slaves and start living as children of God.
Prayer: Father, open my eyes to this truth of grace. Show me that in Christ, you are pleased with me in every way.


The Thrifty Mommy: Moon Sand......My 2 Cents!
Moon Sand...Have you heard of it? If you have a little guy or girl around age 4....I am sure you have! It is sort of like Play-Doh, but different. It's sorta like sand but thicker...Does that even make sense?? Well, it stinks!! That is a way easier way to explain it!!
My little guy received it for Christmas this past year, a little Moon Sand Farm Play Set. Looked kinda cool from the box. But, from my experience with Play-Doh I knew Moon Sand would be an outside toy as well! So we finally broke it out this weekend. It was nice enough out...and my little guy had been waiting long enough, don't you think?
So, we took everything out of the box, it came with Moon Sand, a truck, a play mat, a few cut-outs, and a tool. The first thing I noticed was the play mat was way too small!! Not a big deal, I just took out a plastic table cloth for him to use. The sand itself was also very hard to mold together....you would pack it all in the mold to try to take it out and it would just fall apart. Kid of aggravating for a little one! He played with it for a bit, then got board...there is not nearly enough tools, or cut-outs...so he got board in about 20 minutes, with Play-Doh he keeps busy for about an hour or so if he plays by himself.
Then it was clean-up time. The fun part of the whole Moon Sand experience!! lol lol It was everywhere...on the ground, stuck in the truck, all over him...a Moon Sand mess, really!! So we salvaged what we could of the leftover Moon Sand....whatever was on the ground you could not salvage...as it sticks to the concrete and very hard to get up! They also should of given you containers to place the Moon Sand in(for the little bit we salvaged) so it stays fresh for next time we Moon Sand again.
It was definitely an experience...for the both of us. All I have to say is....... he did not have nearly as much fun as they do on the TV commercial I saw!! Maybe he needed a few more containers of Moon Sand, a few friends to mold with , and perhaps a few more tools and molds??
I think we will just stick to Play-Doh!!


text:
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namespace SZ\EZCash\Key;

use SplFileObject;

abstract class Key extends SplFileObject
{
    public function getContent()
    {
        $content = '';
        while (!$this->eof()) {
            $content .= $this->fgets();
        }

        return $content;
    }

    public function __toString()
    {
        return $this->getFormattedKey();
    }
}


Someone stopped by my Fiverr hedging gig the other day shopping for a Bitcoin hedging solution. He described himself as a digital currency dealer. After I explained that my exposure to digital currency (or so-called cryptocurrency) was slim to none, I agreed to investigate further to see if I could help him. After all, traditional hedging concepts should apply regardless the currency.
I embarked on a crash course on crtypocurrency. Bitcoin and its cousin rivals such as Ethereum and Litecoin represent a growing trend to implement currencies that work well with today's digital commerce. These digital currencies seek to avoid government interference, precious metal backing, and other traditional currency entanglements. After my jet-ski tour of the subject, I traded thoughts with my potential client. We concluded that the markets and the currencies were not mature enough to allow for a hopeful hedge.
Our "cryptocurrency waltz" was a reminder of some significant considerations when hedging any type of commodity price risk. While bitcoin may have received some bad press due to Internet banditry, trading exchanges gone belly up, and the new currency's "Wild West" feel, that doesn't mean that it is going away anytime soon. To the contrary, CME Group began tracking it in November 2016, a telltale sign that the currency is gaining legitimacy. If it continues to catch on, then an adequate hedging tool for it is as important as having one for the US Dollar, coffee, corn, or gasoline.
To understand why we concluded it was not yet time to hedge Bitcoin price risk, see this separate blog post that explains five hedging issues for thinly traded commodities.
If you own some currency price risk pertaining to a digital currency like Bitcoin and you aren't speculating on favorable price changes, then I suspect you'll conclude, like we did, that it's still early in the game to find an adequate hedging solution. However, one may be coming down the road at the same speed as the growth of these digital currencies. Hang in there. Your patience will be rewarded.
CME Group's tracking of an index for Bitcoin bodes well for the prospect of a futures contract at a later date. US-based CME Group is the largest exchange for hedging instruments in the world, offering contracts in most commodities. It has time-tested measures in place to protect market participants and may provide more comfort than today's Bitcoin hedging alternatives. Regardless, always do your homework on possible trading partners before trading with them.
This entry was posted in Commentary, Tips and tagged Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, currency risk, digital currency on June 30, 2017 by Tim Bishop.
When hedging instruments increase in value, you must be able to collect the proceeds in a timely fashion. What is the financial wherewithal behind the counterparty to your trade, whether it be an exchange or a one-off trading partner? Up-front due diligence can help establish that the entity on the other side of your hedging position has the capacity to honor its commitment.
If you are dealing with an exchange, what procedures and safeguards does the exchange have making it likely that you can receive timely and full payment? If you have a dispute, how will you settle it, especially in an international setting? Note that some Bitcoin trading exchanges have already left investors holding an empty bag.
Futures markets need enough trade liquidity to allow for fair pricing and the ability to trade on short notice. Trade timing must be flexible enough to allow the hedger to trade his hedge positions simultaneous with "physical" deals on the index at risk.
When the hedger takes on risk with Bitcoin, for example, she must simultaneously enter a hedging position to oppose and thus offset the risk. The same holds true when the Bitcoin risk changes or goes away. In the cryptocurrency markets, this trade liquidity appears suspect at present.
Price correlation is a critical aspect of an effective hedge. Sometimes, however, a hedging instrument is a poor proxy for the price of the commodity or index it is designed to protect.
For example, the price of a futures contract factors in both current and anticipated supply and demand imbalances as seen by market participants. A future price of a commodity or index may differ substantially from current pricing for a variety of unpredictable and uncontrollable reasons.
In the case of Bitcoin, the market may still lack sufficient participation to provide pricing that truly reflects the marketplace and is devoid of significant manipulation by deep-pocketed speculators.
As an example, last week I looked at the price of Bitcoin futures on one futures exchange, Deribit. The Bitcoin contracts are quarterly (and three months may be too much time for a reliable price proxy on a hedged index). The price between the June and September contracts differed substantially. Today, when I compared those same contracts, they were close in value. So in the past week, those two contracts had poor price correlation. One of them changed much more than the other. And at least one of them would have been a poor price proxy for spot market Bitcoin.
Many counterparties to hedging transactions will require margin (collateral) to protect their price exposure if their positions go against them. Often, however, they will not afford their trading partner the same treatment.
Understand and negotiate, if possible, the cash flow that may be required to hold your positions if the price of the hedging instruments goes against you. Presumably, that price movement will result in gains in the spot market. When you add this gain to your hedging loss, you are made whole. However, you may be unable to convert the gain to cash fast enough to pay for the loss on your hedging position.
Factor the cost of any trading, exchange, or margining fees into your hedging analysis. Make sure these fees are reasonable and do not leave you wishing that you had self-insured the risk.
For additional explanation of related hedging issues, including the risks associated with hedging, the role of futures exchanges, and how hedge instruments work, check out my e-book on Amazon entitled Hedging Commodity Price Risk. It will help you understand hedging better and guide you through some relevant issues on your hedging program, no matter the commodity.
If I can be of service for any of your hedging needs or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me via the contact form on this website or, if you prefer, through my hedging gig on Fiverr.
This entry was posted in Commentary, Tips and tagged Bitcoin, counterparty credit risk, hedging, liquidity, price correlation on June 28, 2017 by Tim Bishop.
Have you noticed that it costs much less to fill your car with gasoline these days? Crude oil has plummeted in the last six months, bringing energy costs down with it. Hooray! It's about time.
Everyone I know is an energy user. When you're a business, energy is often one of the more significant expenses reducing your profit. Farmers, fishermen, and trucking companies consume substantial amounts of diesel fuel and gasoline to power their equipment. Retail entities must run lights, air conditioning, and heating systems, perhaps even refrigeration units. Manufacturers are powering machinery and equipment every single shift. And real estate companies may incur utility costs, depending upon the lease agreements with their tenants. Any businesses with substantial travel budgets are impacted by the cost of jet fuel to airlines, as well as diesel and gasoline costs to power their own fleets. You might say money AND ENERGY make the world go round.
This entry was posted in Tips and tagged crude oil, energy, user on January 20, 2015 by Tim Bishop.
In the past six months, the cost of crude oil has dropped in half! Such a large price change in such a small timeframe suggests that new risks and opportunities abound for any business affected by energy prices. And who can think of any that aren't impacted to some degree? The implosion in pricing means it is time to reassess your business' energy risk profile.
This entry was posted in Tips and tagged crude oil, energy, inventory, marketer on January 15, 2015 by Tim Bishop.
Unless you've just crawled out from under a rock, you're well aware that the price of oil has declined over the past six months and, with it, the cost of energy. You see it when you fill up your vehicle with gasoline or when you pay your fuel bill to heat your home (unless you're among the unfortunate who locked in a fixed price before the recent price collapse).
If you run a business, you're even more familiar with this price change, including its effects on your bottom line. The change has impacted producers, marketers, and users. However, just because prices have plummeted does not mean that risk–and opportunity–have vanished. That proverbial horse may already have left the barn, but there are more awaiting their own escape. If you have a future interest in a commodity, the uncertainty of its price will always present you with the counterbalancing risk/opportunity dynamic. Rather than simply wallowing in the anguish of lost profits–or basking in the glow of unexpected gains–perhaps it's time to move on, to consider what opportunities this new pricing environment presents for the future.
This entry was posted in Tips and tagged crude oil, energy, producer on January 12, 2015 by Tim Bishop.
I've been bicycle touring across America this summer with my lovely wife, Debbie. As you might imagine, we've cycled through many areas where farming is king. With gargantuan fields all around us, we knew we'd run into a few farmers! In Belgrade, Montana, just outside of Bozeman, we spoke at length with a dairy farmer. In Iowa, we spoke with a farming couple from South Dakota who grow soybeans and corn.
Our contacts with these farmers suggested that they were not hedging their businesses, but would like to better understand how hedging could help them. Our extended conversation with the South Dakota farmer and his wife really convinced us that farmers bear a lot of risk.
There's currently a glut of corn on the market, which has caused a drop in price from $7 to $3 per bushel. They are looking at marketing their crops in China and India, where prices are much richer. However, they have a logistical problem. These markets are serviced by ships sailing from the US Pacific coast, and there's no easy route to ship their grains from South Dakota to the Pacific. Rail cars headed west are hard to come by, thanks in part to this changing marketplace and the oil boom in North Dakota. Meanwhile, the crops can be stored indefinitely only if the weather cooperates.
This entry was posted in Commentary, Tips and tagged farming, weather risk on August 30, 2014 by Tim Bishop.


text:
Oratiw (; ) ist eine Siedlung städtischen Typs in der Ukraine mit etwa 2800 Einwohnern (2019) und das administrative Zentrum des gleichnamigen Rajons.

Oratiw liegt im Osten der Oblast Winnyzja am Schywoij (), einem Nebenfluss der Roska () an der Territorialstraße T–02–35 und der Regionalstraße P–17, 90 km östlich vom Oblastzentrum Winnyzja und etwa 190 km südwestlich von Kiew.

Geschichte
Die 1488 erstmals schriftlich erwähnte Ortschaft hatte zwischen 1811 und 1923 den Status einer Stadt.
Vom 27. Juli 1941 bis zum 11. März 1944 war die Ortschaft von der Wehrmacht besetzt.
Seit 1984 besitzt Oratiw den Status einer Siedlung städtischen Typs.

Rajon
 Oratiw ist Verwaltungssitz des Rajon Oratiw. Der Rajon hat eine Fläche von 874 km² und etwa 22.000 Einwohner. Die Bevölkerungsdichte beträgt 26 Einwohner pro km².

Persönlichkeiten
 Levi Eschkol (1895–1969), Ministerpräsident Israels

Weblinks
 Geschichte der Siedlung auf der offiziellen Ortswebseite (ukrainisch)

Einzelnachweise

Ort in der Oblast Winnyzja
Ersterwähnung 1488
Rajon Oratiw