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Colombia-based Alliance Enterprise is an official SWIFT Regional partner for Latin America and will offer SmartStream's SaaS solution, TLM OnDemand, to its clients in the region. The reconciliations service is a natural extension to the firm's established SWIFT-based solutions and offers its clients additional strategies to control risk and cost in their business.
SmartStream's TLM OnDemand service was designed to provide small to medium-sized firms with affordable and rapid access to the same technology that is already deployed at many of the world's leading institutions. Alliance Enterprise has built a strong reputation for supporting Latin American financial services firms of all sizes, offering both service-based and on-premise solutions.


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Language Testing for Provincial Nominee Applicants
Each province and territory is responsible for the design and management of its own PNP, which must be consistent with federal immigration policy, legislation and the terms of bilateral agreements. However, it was announced on April 11, 2012 Minister Jason Kenney changes to the Provincial Nominee Program which will require all semi-skilled or low skilled applicants must undergo mandatory Canadian language testing in listening, speaking, reading and writing abilities and must meet the minimum requirements effective July 1, 2012.
The goal of the provincial nominee program is to better support the economic and labour shortage needs across Canada by selecting individuals who will benefit the Canadian economy while being able to adapt, settle and playing a significant role in building and maintaining the highest quality of life across the country. Currently, most provinces have established a Province Nominee Program guideline which outlines a language practice however no testing or supporting documents are required. Eastern provinces who are using the point system have established a language requirement assessing applicants on the two official languages of Canada as part of the PNP application. An applicant must choose one official language and will be assessed against their first choice.
In my opinion to fill the labour shortage issue throughout Canada should not only be measured on an individual being able to perform a task or completing a job for an employer routinely rather understanding what is required to complete the job, understanding and assessing the risks safely within the occupational safety guidelines and regulations of each province. Being able to communicate basic needs, the ability to read simple instructions and job requirements will protect the applicant/employee as well as the employer from potential safety risks. The new language requirement will help make Canada stronger economically and a key player globally. Not only will the employer benefit from the new language requirements but the applicant benefits by better establishing oneself personally and financially.
Another benefit of having the PNP language requirements will eliminate the immigration of individuals into a Province only to seek entry into Canada for permanent residency. This has been an on-going issue and investigation in Prince Edward Island as many individual have used the PNP stream to gain access and Canadian permanent residency status however individuals have not participated in the day to day activities rather have moved away after obtaining permanent residency status.
Applicants have used the PNP process to reunite with family members in Canada which is not the purpose of this program nor should it be used for it.
The Provincial Nominee Program is now Canada's second largest economic immigration program, with admissions having grown from 8000 immigrants in 2005 to admissions of 42000 people this year.
Monica Kaura
Immigration Program Student at Ashton College
under the tutelage of Jose Godoy Toku
Federal immigration minister calls for probe of PNP
Backgrounder — New minimum language requirements for immigrants under the Provincial Nominee Program
Canada immigration system
Canadian family sponsorship
Canadian immigration consultants
Canadian Provincial Nominee Programs
Canadian supervisa for parents or grand parents sponsorship
Refugees and persons in need of protection
Skilled workers and professionals
Work permit for temporary foreign workers in Canada
applytocanada all rights reserved

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Schooling for sustainable development in Europe : concepts, policies and educational experiences at the end of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development / Rolf Jucker, Reiner Mathar, editors.
Cham [Switzerland] : Springer, .
The philosophy of mathematics education today / Paul Ernest editor.


text:
Q: How can I read the manifest of an Android apk file using C# .Net? I have a .net webservice that should be aware of the version of an apk file that is in one of its folders. I know apktool but I need to read the manifest of the apk by my .net webserice.
How can I do that? do you know any sample code in c# for decoding and reading the manifest of the apk file?
Unziping apk and deciding the manifest file is my main problem

A: I have created a .NET library that parses/reads the androidManifest.xml file data and cross references the Resources.arsc for reference Id values (so you don't have to).
Parse APK Manifest with C# .NET with Iteedee.ApkReader

The primary goal of this library is to parse Android Application package meta-data. There are many scenarios where you might need to glean information about your android package, specifically in continuous integration setups.

After decompressing the file, all that is required is passing the needed byte array objects into the library's method:
ApkReader apkReader = new ApkReader();
ApkInfo info = apkReader.extractInfo(manifestData, resourcesData);

The APKInfo object supplies:

*

*Package Name

*Version Name

*Version Code

*App Has Icon Check

*All (dpi types) of the App Icons Found

*Permissions

*Screen Density Support Configuration

A: I used SharpZipLib and this answer and created a .Net version.
string apkPath = "C:\\app.apk";
ICSharpCode.SharpZipLib.Zip.ZipInputStream zip = new ICSharpCode.SharpZipLib.Zip.ZipInputStream(File.OpenRead(apkPath));
var filestream = new FileStream(apkPath, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);
ICSharpCode.SharpZipLib.Zip.ZipFile zipfile = new ICSharpCode.SharpZipLib.Zip.ZipFile(filestream);
ICSharpCode.SharpZipLib.Zip.ZipEntry item;

 while ((item = zip.GetNextEntry()) != null)
 {
    if (item.Name == "AndroidManifest.xml")
    {
        byte[] bytes = new byte[50 * 1024];

        Stream strm = zipfile.GetInputStream(item);
        int size = strm.Read(bytes, 0, bytes.Length);

        using (BinaryReader s = new BinaryReader(strm))
        {
            byte[] bytes2 = new byte[size];
            Array.Copy(bytes, bytes2, size);
            AndroidDecompress decompress = new AndroidDecompress();
            content = decompress.decompressXML(bytes);
        }
     }
  }

and
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;

///
/// Summary description for AndroidDecompress
///
public class AndroidDecompress
{
    private string result = "";
    // decompressXML -- Parse the 'compressed' binary form of Android XML docs
    // such as for AndroidManifest.xml in .apk files
    public static int endDocTag = 0x00100101;
    public static int startTag = 0x00100102;
    public static int endTag = 0x00100103;
    public string decompressXML(byte[] xml)
    {
        // Compressed XML file/bytes starts with 24x bytes of data,
        // 9 32 bit words in little endian order (LSB first):
        //   0th word is 03 00 08 00
        //   3rd word SEEMS TO BE:  Offset at then of StringTable
        //   4th word is: Number of strings in string table
        // WARNING: Sometime I indiscriminently display or refer to word in
        //   little endian storage format, or in integer format (ie MSB first).
        int numbStrings = LEW(xml, 4 * 4);

        // StringIndexTable starts at offset 24x, an array of 32 bit LE offsets
        // of the length/string data in the StringTable.
        int sitOff = 0x24;  // Offset of start of StringIndexTable

        // StringTable, each string is represented with a 16 bit little endian
        // character count, followed by that number of 16 bit (LE) (Unicode) chars.
        int stOff = sitOff + numbStrings * 4;  // StringTable follows StrIndexTable

        // XMLTags, The XML tag tree starts after some unknown content after the
        // StringTable.  There is some unknown data after the StringTable, scan
        // forward from this point to the flag for the start of an XML start tag.
        int xmlTagOff = LEW(xml, 3 * 4);  // Start from the offset in the 3rd word.
        // Scan forward until we find the bytes: 0x02011000(x00100102 in normal int)
        for (int ii = xmlTagOff; ii < xml.Length - 4; ii += 4)
        {
            if (LEW(xml, ii) == startTag)
            {
                xmlTagOff = ii; break;
            }
        } // end of hack, scanning for start of first start tag

        // XML tags and attributes:
        // Every XML start and end tag consists of 6 32 bit words:
        //   0th word: 02011000 for startTag and 03011000 for endTag
        //   1st word: a flag?, like 38000000
        //   2nd word: Line of where this tag appeared in the original source file
        //   3rd word: FFFFFFFF ??
        //   4th word: StringIndex of NameSpace name, or FFFFFFFF for default NS
        //   5th word: StringIndex of Element Name
        //   (Note: 01011000 in 0th word means end of XML document, endDocTag)

        // Start tags (not end tags) contain 3 more words:
        //   6th word: 14001400 meaning??
        //   7th word: Number of Attributes that follow this tag(follow word 8th)
        //   8th word: 00000000 meaning??

        // Attributes consist of 5 words:
        //   0th word: StringIndex of Attribute Name's Namespace, or FFFFFFFF
        //   1st word: StringIndex of Attribute Name
        //   2nd word: StringIndex of Attribute Value, or FFFFFFF if ResourceId used
        //   3rd word: Flags?
        //   4th word: str ind of attr value again, or ResourceId of value

        // TMP, dump string table to tr for debugging
        //tr.addSelect("strings", null);
        //for (int ii=0; ii<numbStrings; ii++) {
        //  // Length of string starts at StringTable plus offset in StrIndTable
        //  String str = compXmlString(xml, sitOff, stOff, ii);
        //  tr.add(String.valueOf(ii), str);
        //}
        //tr.parent();

        // Step through the XML tree element tags and attributes
        int off = xmlTagOff;
        int indent = 0;
        int startTagLineNo = -2;
        while (off < xml.Length)
        {
            int tag0 = LEW(xml, off);
            //int tag1 = LEW(xml, off+1*4);
            int lineNo = LEW(xml, off + 2 * 4);
            //int tag3 = LEW(xml, off+3*4);
            int nameNsSi = LEW(xml, off + 4 * 4);
            int nameSi = LEW(xml, off + 5 * 4);

            if (tag0 == startTag)
            { // XML START TAG
                int tag6 = LEW(xml, off + 6 * 4);  // Expected to be 14001400
                int numbAttrs = LEW(xml, off + 7 * 4);  // Number of Attributes to follow
                //int tag8 = LEW(xml, off+8*4);  // Expected to be 00000000
                off += 9 * 4;  // Skip over 6+3 words of startTag data
                String name = compXmlString(xml, sitOff, stOff, nameSi);
                //tr.addSelect(name, null);
                startTagLineNo = lineNo;

                // Look for the Attributes

                string sb = "";
                for (int ii = 0; ii < numbAttrs; ii++)
                {
                    int attrNameNsSi = LEW(xml, off);  // AttrName Namespace Str Ind, or FFFFFFFF
                    int attrNameSi = LEW(xml, off + 1 * 4);  // AttrName String Index
                    int attrValueSi = LEW(xml, off + 2 * 4); // AttrValue Str Ind, or FFFFFFFF
                    int attrFlags = LEW(xml, off + 3 * 4);
                    int attrResId = LEW(xml, off + 4 * 4);  // AttrValue ResourceId or dup AttrValue StrInd
                    off += 5 * 4;  // Skip over the 5 words of an attribute

                    String attrName = compXmlString(xml, sitOff, stOff, attrNameSi);
                    String attrValue = attrValueSi != -1
                      ? compXmlString(xml, sitOff, stOff, attrValueSi)
                      : /*"resourceID 0x" + */attrResId.ToString();
                    sb += " " + attrName + "=\"" + attrValue + "\"";
                    //tr.add(attrName, attrValue);
                }
                prtIndent(indent, "<" + name + sb + ">");
                indent++;

            }
            else if (tag0 == endTag)
            { // XML END TAG
                indent--;
                off += 6 * 4;  // Skip over 6 words of endTag data
                String name = compXmlString(xml, sitOff, stOff, nameSi);
                prtIndent(indent, "</" + name + ">  \r\n"/*+"(line " + startTagLineNo + "-" + lineNo + ")"*/);
                //tr.parent();  // Step back up the NobTree

            }
            else if (tag0 == endDocTag)
            {  // END OF XML DOC TAG
                break;

            }
            else
            {
                prt("  Unrecognized tag code '" + tag0.ToString("X")
                  + "' at offset " + off);
                break;
            }
        } // end of while loop scanning tags and attributes of XML tree
        //prt("    end at offset " + off);

        return result;
    } // end of decompressXML

    public String compXmlString(byte[] xml, int sitOff, int stOff, int strInd)
    {
        if (strInd < 0) return null;
        int strOff = stOff + LEW(xml, sitOff + strInd * 4);
        return compXmlStringAt(xml, strOff);
    }

    public static String spaces = "                                             ";
    public void prtIndent(int indent, String str)
    {
        prt(spaces.Substring(0, Math.Min(indent * 2, spaces.Length)) + str);
    }

    private void prt(string p)
    {
        result += p;
    }

    // compXmlStringAt -- Return the string stored in StringTable format at
    // offset strOff.  This offset points to the 16 bit string length, which
    // is followed by that number of 16 bit (Unicode) chars.
    public String compXmlStringAt(byte[] arr, int strOff)
    {
        int strLen = arr[strOff + 1] << 8 & 0xff00 | arr[strOff] & 0xff;
        byte[] chars = new byte[strLen];
        for (int ii = 0; ii < strLen; ii++)
        {
            chars[ii] = arr[strOff + 2 + ii * 2];
        }

        return System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(chars);  // Hack, just use 8 byte chars
    } // end of compXmlStringAt

    // LEW -- Return value of a Little Endian 32 bit word from the byte array
    //   at offset off.
    public int LEW(byte[] arr, int off)
    {
        return (int)(arr[off + 3] << 24 & 0xff000000 | arr[off + 2] << 16 & 0xff0000 | arr[off + 1] << 8 & 0xff00 | arr[off] & 0xFF);
    } // end of LEW

}

A: This answer is not going to add any particular feature to the existing ones.
But I was unsatisfied by the readability and idiomaticity of the ported Java code.
So I started from the code published by @Bobs and refactored it until I was satisfied from the result. But, aside from my OCD, it is basically the same thing:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using System.Xml.Linq;

// ReSharper disable CommentTypo

namespace Utils
{
    ///  Unpacks and reads data from a compressed apk manifest file.
    /// <remarks>
    /// Code coming from:
    /// https://stackoverflow.com/questions/18997163/how-can-i-read-the-manifest-of-an-android-apk-file-using-c-sharp-net/22314629
    /// </remarks>
    public class AndroidManifestReader
    {
        // Parses the 'compressed' binary form of Android XML docs
        // such as for AndroidManifest.binaryXml in .apk files
        private const int END_DOC_TAG = 0x00100101;
        private const int START_TAG = 0x00100102;
        private const int END_TAG = 0x00100103;

        // StringIndexTable starts at offset 24x, an array of 32 bit LE offsets
        // of the length/string data in the StringTable.
        private const int STRING_INDEX_TABLE_OFFSET = 0x24;

        private readonly byte[] _xml;

        private XDocument _manifest;

        /// Reads and returns the uncompressed Xml Manifest
        public XDocument Manifest => _manifest ?? (_manifest = ReadManifest());

        public AndroidManifestReader(byte[] xml)
        {
            _xml = xml ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(xml));
        }

        private XDocument ReadManifest()
        {
            var result = new XDocument();
            result.Add(new XElement("root"));

            var tagStack = new Stack<XElement>();
            tagStack.Push(result.Root);

            var tagOffset = FindStartOfTags();
            while (tagOffset < _xml.Length)
            {
                var tagCode = BitConverter.ToInt32(_xml, tagOffset);
                switch (tagCode)
                {
                    case START_TAG:
                        tagOffset += ReadStartTag(tagOffset, out var startTag);
                        tagStack.Peek().Add(startTag);
                        tagStack.Push(startTag);
                        break;
                    case END_TAG:
                        var expectedTagName = tagStack.Peek().Name.LocalName;
                        tagOffset += ReadEndTag(tagOffset, expectedTagName);
                        tagStack.Pop();
                        break;
                    case END_DOC_TAG:
                        goto manifest_read;
                    default:
                        goto manifest_read;
                }
            }

            manifest_read:
            return result;
        }

        /// Reads a start tag and returns the number of consumed bytes.
        /// <param name="offset"></param>
        /// <param name="element"></param>
        /// <remarks>
        /// XML tags and attributes:
        /// Every XML start and end tag consists of 6 32 bit words:
        ///   0th word: 02011000 for startTag, 03011000 for endTag, 01011000 for end of document
        ///   1st word: a flag?, like 38000000
        ///   2nd word: Line of where this tag appeared in the original source file
        ///   3rd word: FFFFFFFF ??
        ///   4th word: StringIndex of NameSpace name, or FFFFFFFF for default NS
        ///   5th word: StringIndex of Element Name
        ///
        /// Start tags (not end tags) contain 3 more words:
        ///   6th word: 14001400 meaning??
        ///   7th word: Number of Attributes that follow this tag(follow word 8th)
        ///   8th word: 00000000 meaning??
        /// </remarks>
        /// <returns>The number of bytes consumed by the tag.</returns>
        private int ReadStartTag(int offset, out XElement element)
        {
            const int startTagDataSize = 9 * 4;
            element = new XElement(ReadTagName(offset));
            var bytesConsumed = startTagDataSize;

            var attributesCount = BitConverter.ToInt32(_xml, offset + 7 * 4);

            for (var attrIdx = 0; attrIdx < attributesCount; attrIdx++)
            {
                bytesConsumed += ReadAttribute(offset + bytesConsumed, out var attr);
                element.Add(attr);
            }

            return bytesConsumed;
        }

        /// Reads an attribute starting at the specified offset,
        /// and returns the consumed bytes count.
        /// <remarks>
        /// Attributes consist of 5 words:
        ///   0th word: StringIndex of Attribute Name's Namespace, or FFFFFFFF
        ///   1st word: StringIndex of Attribute Name
        ///   2nd word: StringIndex of Attribute Value, or FFFFFFF if ResourceId used
        ///   3rd word: Flags?
        ///   4th word: str ind of attr value again, or ResourceId of value
        /// </remarks>
        private int ReadAttribute(int offset, out XAttribute attribute)
        {
            var attributeNameStringIndex = BitConverter.ToInt32(_xml, offset + 1 * 4);
            var attrName = RetrieveFromStringTable(attributeNameStringIndex);

            var attributeValueStringIndex = BitConverter.ToInt32(_xml, offset + 2 * 4);
            // AttrValue ResourceId or dup AttrValue StrInd
            var attributeResourceId = BitConverter.ToInt32(_xml, offset + 4 * 4);

            var attrValue = attributeValueStringIndex >= 0
                ? RetrieveFromStringTable(attributeValueStringIndex)
                : attributeResourceId.ToString();

            attribute = new XAttribute(attrName, attrValue);
            return 20;
        }

        private int ReadEndTag(int tagOffset, string expectedTagName)
        {
            var tagName = ReadTagName(tagOffset);
            // Skip over 6 words of endTag data
            return tagName == expectedTagName
                ? 6 * 4
                : throw new InvalidOperationException(
                    $"Malformed XML: expecting {expectedTagName} but found {tagName}");
        }

        private string ReadTagName(int tagOffset)
        {
            var nameIndexOffset = tagOffset + 5 * 4;
            var nameStringIndex = BitConverter.ToInt32(_xml, nameIndexOffset);
            return RetrieveFromStringTable(nameStringIndex);
        }

        private int GetStringTableOffset()
        {
            // Compressed XML file/bytes starts with 24x bytes of data,
            // 9 32 bit words in little endian order (LSB first):
            //   0th word is 03 00 08 00
            //   3rd word SEEMS TO BE:  Offset at then of StringTable
            //   4th word is: Number of strings in string table
            var stringsCount = BitConverter.ToInt32(_xml, 4 * 4);
            return STRING_INDEX_TABLE_OFFSET + stringsCount * 4;
        }

        ///  Return the string stored in StringTable format at
        /// offset strOff.  This offset points to the 16 bit string length, which
        /// is followed by that number of 16 bit (Unicode) chars.
        /// <returns></returns>
        private string RetrieveFromStringTable(int strInd)
        {
            if (strInd < 0) return null;

            // StringTable, each string is represented with a 16 bit little endian
            // character count, followed by that number of 16 bit (LE) (Unicode) chars.
            // StringTable follows StrIndexTable
            var stringOffset = GetStringTableOffset() +
                               BitConverter.ToInt32(_xml, STRING_INDEX_TABLE_OFFSET + strInd * 4);
            var stringLength = BitConverter.ToInt16(_xml, stringOffset);
            return Encoding.Unicode.GetString(_xml, stringOffset + 2, stringLength * 2);
        }

        ///  The XML tag tree starts after some unknown content after the StringTable.
        /// There is some unknown data after the StringTable, scan forward from this point
        /// to the flag for the start of an XML start tag.
        /// <returns></returns>
        internal int FindStartOfTags()
        {
            // 12 is the index of the word containing the base offset of the xml tree.
            var xmlTagOffset = BitConverter.ToInt32(_xml, 12);

            for (var offset = xmlTagOffset; offset < _xml.Length - 4; offset += 4)
            {
                if (BitConverter.ToInt32(_xml, offset) == START_TAG) return offset;
            }

            return xmlTagOffset;
        }
    }
}

var manifest = new AndroidManifestReader(bytes).Manifest;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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text:
Texas Sports Nation // Texans
Texans' Jordan Akins has no plans to walk out of games
Aaron Wilson Aug. 29, 2020 Updated: Aug. 29, 2020 5:55 p.m.
Houston Texans tight end Jordan Akins (88) turns upfield after making a catch during an NFL training camp football practice Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, in Houston.
Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff photographer
Texans tight end Jordan Akins emphasized Saturday he separates football from politics. The third-year NFL player and former Rangers minor league baseball player has no plans to sit out of games.
"I'm here to play ball," Akins said. "I think my political views are totally different. I mean, I try to separate my game from politics. While I'm in the building, I'm a Texan."
The Texans huddled together after their scrimmage Thursday night to discuss social justice issues and their next course of action with the conversation including Michael Thomas, Kenny Stills, J.J. Watt and Deshaun Watson.
"We're still working through a lot of stuff," Thomas said. "I know you respect that. We probably don't want to air it out as we continue to work and decide, 'Hey, what exactly do we want to do?' It's kind of why we hadn't put anything out just yet because we want to make sure it's direct, it's intentional and that it can actually bring about real change. When we met after the scrimmage, it was a raw conversation, it was passionate and it was real."
Texans coach and general manager Bill O'Brien isn't forecasting what will happen as far as whether players will walk out of games in protest, but it's not something he has ruled out.
More Texans Coverage from TXSN
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John McClain's 2020 Week 1 NFL power rankings
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Trio of vets brings newness to Texans' offense
Texans' Bill O'Brien not ruling out possibility of NFL players...
Playoff meltdown fuels Texans' defense in 2020
Westfield grad Cordel Iwuagwu off to good start with Texans
Texans make donation to Orange County residents affected by...
By Aaron Wilson, Staff writer
Brandon Dunn ready to be Texans' man in the middle
Solomon: Texans' Deshaun Watson craves a title trifecta
"I would say anything is possible," O'Brien said. "Just speaking for the Houston Texans, I'm really proud of these guys. Our players are really thoughtful. They want to think about things. They don't want to rush to make any decisions on anything. It's been really enlightening to me."
Follow Aaron on:
aaronwilson_nfl
Aaron Wilson is a Texans beat writer for the Houston Chronicle, joining the paper in August 2015. He was a Baltimore Ravens beat writer from 2001 to 2015, working for The Baltimore Sun, including coverage of Super Bowl XLVII, the Ray Rice domestic violence case and the careers of Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Jonathan Ogden, and previously covered the team for the Carroll County Times and the Annapolis Capital.
This marks the second time the Washington, D.C. native has covered the AFC South, previously covering the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Texans to interview Ravens assistant head coach David Culley on Monday
Texans candidate Leslie Frazier lauded for strategy, people skills
Brandon Staley hired by Chargers after interviewing with Texans
McClain: Texans coaching candidates might have questions of their own
Texans' Anthony Weaver to interview with Jaguars' Urban Meyer


text:
Rapid Fire Round: Amanda Kate
2019 Concert of the Year: Tanya Tucker
PHIL VASSAR'S SONGS FROM THE CELLAR LAUNCHES ON CIRCLE NETWORK
RISING STAR, PERFORMING ARTIST AND SONGWRITER, TAYLON HOPE, ANNOUNCES CHRISTMAS RELEASE, "TOO WRAPPED UP IN YOU"
Bellamy Brothers Release Video for "Over the Moon"
The heart and soul of country music
Legend's Corner
Tomato Tuesday
Belmont Sessions
Home > Artists > Introducing: Reverie Lane
Introducing: Reverie Lane
by Morgan Pynn - October 22, 2018 November 29, 2018
Reverie, a state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts; a daydream. Spencer Bartoletti and Presley Tucker of Reverie Lane's dreamlike harmonies are like a breath of fresh air to country music. Though Reverie Lane isn't a household name just yet, they're bound to be. With influences like Stevie Nicks, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, and Tanya Tucker, both women are undeniably country as individual artists, but they come together with unique and traditional harmonies to form Reverie Lane, defining themselves as "Nouveau Traditional Country."
Like many of the great bands that came before them, Reverie Lane's story began on a barstool in what is now known as the George Jones Museum. "We ended up getting on stage that night singing a Pistol Annies song and literally said, "Let's be in a band." So, we did. A month later, we met Ginny Johnson (Presley knew her previously from working with her mother in the past) and she introduced us to Bill Ham, former manager of ZZ Topp, and owner of Hamstein Publishing in Nashville for years. He signed us to our first management/publishing/development deal. Unfortunately, Bill passed away in 2016. We are now signed at Dan Hodges Music Publishing and working with Keith Stegall's company Dreamlined Entertainment." Working with Dan Hodges Music, they've been writing with some of Nashville's most renowned songwriters including, Matraca Berg, Leslie Satcher, Rob Crosby, Brad Crisler, Lance Carpenter, Keesy Timmer and many, many more.
Bartoletti had always had a deeper, raspier voice that kept her from being able to sing a lot of the melodies of songs when she was younger. "I naturally started singing things that "matched" in my head to what other people were singing; later to find that they are referred to as harmonies. In highschool I was in musicals, and didn't begin writing music until college. I was in another duo band called Harmon Creek and auditioned for Can You Duet in 2009. That was the beginning of my love for Nashville. I moved here in 2013, and in 2014 we formed Reverie Lane after my old band broke up." Bartoletti explained when asked about her background as an artist.
On the flip side, being the eldest daughter of country music's wild child, Tanya Tucker, has left Presley Tucker with some mighty big shoes to fill now that's she's following in her footsteps. "I wasn't always sure I wanted to pursue music, [because of that] but there was this magnetic pull that kept drawing me back. I guess when I moved back to Nashville from California, I had a bigger appreciation for where I grew up and a desire to take on this thing they call music." Tucker, having toured with and done backups for her mother in years past, was joined by Bartoletti on stage behind the legend last fall.
Backing for Tucker has provided the girls with some incredible experiences and milestones including performing on both The Grand Ole Opry and The Ryman Auditorium stages. "It's quite surreal. There is so much history, and so many idols that have stepped on that stage. It's an absolute honor to be even a part of it and an incredible feeling like no other." When asked about their defining moment, they explained with humbled remembrance that it was Bill Ham's faith in them. "He believed in us and put us on the right track with Ginny Johnson right there beside him. They're our cheerleaders, our rocks, and they became our family."
Reverie Lane certainly have their personal favourite songs off their upcoming debut album. Set to be released in early 2019 following a debut single which is set to drop sometime in the next couple of months through Dreamlined Entertainment. Keep an ear out! Lula will be sure to keep you up to date on all things Reverie Lane! We cannot wait to pick a favourite song of our own.
You can catch up on Reverie Lane's latest adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and if you happen to be in Nashville on November 6th, they've got a show at 7:45 at The Back Corner courtesy of Young Music City!
Morgan Pynn
http://lula1892.com
Olivia Bandy – Martha
DELTA RAE GET THEIR "HANDS DIRTY" + CALLS ON FANS TO GET OUT THE VOTE
It is our Mission here at Lula 1892 to highlight and promote country musicians in Nashville and across the country, and to celebrate the history of country music and of Lula C. Naff.
EP Review: Joe Nichols – Never Gets Old: Traditional Country Series
There's Still a Little Country Left: Remembering Daryle Singletary
Hotels & Highways: Terry McBride on His Life in the Business
© 2020 Lula 1892


text:
The BCC Quarterly International Trade Outlook sets out the opportunities and risks facing British companies as they trade the world - with a particular focus on timely information on dynamic new markets.
Quarterly International Trade Outlook – Quarter 3 2019
The Quarterly International Trade Outlook for Q3 2019, released by British Chambers of Commerce and DHL today, reveals that indicators for exporting manufacturers in Q3 2019 have undergone large declines, with several key indicators for orders and cashflow now in negative territory.
The percentage balance of exporting manufacturers reporting an increase in export orders fell to –1 per cent, down from +9 in the previous quarter. The balance of those reporting increased domestic orders fell to -4 per cent in Q3, down from +8 per cent in Q2.
The balance of exporting manufacturers reporting improved cash flow stood at -5 per cent in Q3, down from +6 per cent in Q2. In Q3 2018, one year ago, the balance stood at +13.
While exporting manufacturers saw large declines across the QITO indicators, the exporting services sector also saw indicators well below historical levels. In Q3 +8 per cent of exporting service sector firms reported an increase in domestic orders, down from +12 per cent in Q2. A balance of zero per cent reported an increase in export orders, down from +5.
BCC Director General Adam Marshall said:
"A strong and balanced economy needs healthy exporters at its core. But while there are some companies bucking the trend, future sales and orders are now well into negative territory, after a steady downward trend in export performance this year.
"On top of Brexit uncertainty and global trade tensions, election turbulence won't be helping. The next administration will need to most fast to restore confidence, with action to upgrade infrastructure, boost skills and cut business costs.
"Without urgent clarity around our future trading relationship with the EU, firms across the UK will increasingly struggle to fill order books, and jobs and prosperity in many of our communities could be at risk."
Vice President of Marketing at DHL Express, Shannon Diett said:
"This quarter's report shows clearly that it continues to be a challenging environment for UK exporters. However, despite these headwinds, efforts made by businesses to maintain focus on expansion have translated into an encouraging rise in the Trade Confidence Index.
"Whether expanding to new markets within the EU or elsewhere in the world, diversifying the portfolio of countries in which you operate will help stabilise your business in the coming months and provide a future engine for growth. In this regard a number of non-traditional markets, such as Sweden and Japan present a significant opportunity for UK exporters.
"Working with logistics providers to ensure the transition to any new trade arrangement is as smooth as possible will be vital for exporters looking to mitigate the uncertainty and thrive into the future.
"Along with broadening exposure to more markets, taking simple actions like ensuring you are electronically transmitting your customs documentation or sharing your EORI number with your shipper is advisable regardless the ultimate outcome."
67 per cent of exporting manufacturers cite exchange rates as a factor of concern to their business, up from 63 per cent in Q2. This remains the top factor of concern for exporting manufacturers.
Many UK exporters are treading water at a time of deep uncertainty, according to the latest Quarterly International Trade Outlook from the British Chambers of Commerce, in partnership with DHL.
The survey of 3,400 exporters found nearly two-thirds (63%) of manufacturers report exchange rates as a concern to their business, indicating the pressure from sterling volatility.
The results reflect the negative impact that slowing global trade, currency fluctuation and Brexit uncertainty is having, with export sales and orders weakening. In Q2 2019, the balance of manufacturers reporting export sales increased stood at +14, down from +24 in the same quarter last year. In the services sector the corresponding balance fell to +8, from +17.
The balance of exporting manufacturers that have increased orders also fell to +9, down from +21 in the same quarter last year. In services it fell to +5 from +14, indicating that the ongoing uncertainty is hitting orders books and creating difficult trading conditions for many UK exporters.
At the same time, the volume of trade documents issued by Accredited Chambers of Commerce for goods shipments outside the EU fell 2.1% in the second quarter of the year and stands 3.0% lower than the same quarter in 2018.
In the event of no deal, businesses will face an immediate and abrupt change in trading conditions, for which many remain unprepared. Business has been clear about wanting to avoid a messy and disorderly Brexit but given that no deal remains the default position on October 31st, the new government must urgently ramp up its preparation.
Business is calling on the new government to ensure the conditions and logistical preparations are in place to protect continuity of trade after the UK's departure from the EU. Firms that currently trade with the EU will need an EORI number to continue in the event of no deal, yet the number of firms that have registered remains worryingly low. The British Chambers of Commerce is urging the government to automatically register all VAT-registered firms to minimise the disruption and administrative burdens facing traders.
The Department for International Trade must also make every effort, working with governments in third countries and the EU-27 to grandfather existing EU Free Trade Agreements, which so many firms rely on to be competitive in key markets around the world. Many businesses report the lack of clarity around future terms of trade, including tariffs and customs procedures, is adding to the feeling of uncertainty and lack of confidence.
Hannah Essex, Co -Executive director at the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
"There is real frustration among business communities across the UK at the lack of clarity about trading conditions after the UK leaves the EU, and we're already seeing the impact of that uncertainty.
"While the majority of firms want the government to avoid a messy and disorderly Brexit, we're calling on the government to put practicalities first and implement measures to ensure firms are as prepared as possible for the whatever scenario they face. A crucial first step would be to automatically issue all necessary companies with an EORI number to minimise the hoops that firms need to jump through to be ready for day one.
"There are many fundamental outstanding questions relating to the rules and processes of trade in the event of no deal. While the Department for International Trade has been working with third countries to ensure the rollover of existing FTAs, many of these critical arrangements have not yet been formally agreed, and firms can't plan for the future based on warm words. Maintaining preferential access to countries where the EU has trade agreements is critical to maintaining competitiveness in key markets."
Shannon Diett, VP of Marketing at DHL Express, said:
"The 2.1% fall in the Trade Confidence Index compared to Q1 2019 is a strong indication that UK firms, despite a solid export performance, are feeling the impact of the uncertain and challenging market conditions prevailing at this time. Manufacturing and services firms are still reporting an increase in export orders, however, this is at a reduced level in comparison to this time last year.
"For businesses trading internationally in particular, preparing for a potential Brexit, including a no-deal scenario in March, then April and now October has absorbed considerable business resource. This diversion of focus and delay of investment represents a substantial opportunity cost for British business trading internationally. It is however essential that a renewed focus is placed on preparing for Brexit again in advance of the 31 October deadline. There are a number of practical steps that can be taken, despite the lack of clarity on future trading relations with Europe.
"Actions such as implementing digital customs paperwork solutions with your logistics provider, or obtaining an EORI number will help make the transition to new trade arrangements, regardless of the ultimate Brexit scenario, as seamless as possible for exporting businesses. Additionally, increasing the number of markets a business trades with reduces risk and increases growth possibilities in the long term."
Read the Quarterly International Trade Outlook Q2 2019 HERE
More UK exporters are reporting a decrease in orders in the opening quarter of the year, with cashflow and confidence dipping too according to the latest Quarterly International Trade Outlook from the British Chambers of Commerce, in partnership with DHL.
The report based on the responses of over 3,400 exporters shows that one in five manufacturers (23%) and service firms (20%) saw their export order books decline in the first three months of the year – the highest for both since Q2 2017 when records began.
Two-thirds of exporting manufacturers said exchange rates were of greater concern to them than in the previous three months, reflecting sterling volatility ahead of the original Brexit deadline. Exporters continue to report considerable price pressures, which for manufacturers is mainly driven by the cost of raw materials.
According to the findings, exporters are reporting muted confidence in turnover in the coming year. Nearly a quarter of exporters reported a decrease in cashflow, a key indicator of the financial health of a business – also at its highest level since Q2 2017.
The BCC/DHL Trade Confidence Index, which measures the volume of trade documents issued by Accredited Chambers of Commerce for goods shipments outside the EU stood at 124.04, representing a fall of 1% on the quarter and 2.3% lower than the same quarter in 2018.
The results of the report paint a picture of tough trading conditions, and while the prospect of immediate changes to conditions due to Brexit have been postponed, fundamental questions about the future business environment remain unanswered. Clarity is also needed about the terms of trade exporters will face in many key markets around the world after the UK leaves the EU.
Hannah Essex, Co-executive director at the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
"It's been a trying time for many exporters with uncertainty in the run up to the Brexit deadlines and continued trade tensions combining to flatten orders and confidence.
"The future relationship with Europe remains unresolved, but so too do the future terms of trade with many other important trading partners. Until the status of free trade agreements with third countries are clarified, UK firms don't know how their operations in all corners of the world will be affected when the UK leaves the EU in any transition period and beyond.
"Businesses are resilient, but they urgently need parliament to overcome the current impasse and end the uncertainty. Leaving firms in limbo and allowing the political dramas to play out again at the last minute in October will only serve to diminish sales and confidence further."
"This quarter's report shows a small decline in the Trade Confidence Index of 1.02% on the previous quarter and 2.03% on Q1 2018, alongside a decline in export orders, cash flow and a fall in confidence regarding future exports. This paints a fairly bleak picture when the results are taken in isolation, however we're all aware that uncertainty surrounding the Brexit negotiations was at its peak in Q1 2019.
"These results highlight how critical it is for businesses trading internationally to have information and clarity in advance of the 31 October deadline.
"Every day we witness the drive and creativity of UK businesses who prevail whatever the circumstances, and more than this, seize every opportunity for growth and global expansion. Exporting internationally can be challenging, but the rewards are clear, with those businesses exporting to a high number of countries outperforming the market. The UK has so many strong and inspirational companies that are succeeding and we must ensure that their growth is supported."
Key findings from the report:
23% of exporting manufacturers and 20% of exporting service firms saw a decrease in exports orders in the first three months of the year, up from 18% and 16% respectively in the previous quarter
Nearly a quarter of exporters reported a decrease in cashflow, 24% in manufacturing and 23% in services say it had decreased in the previous three months
Confidence in turnover also dipped, with 22% of exporting manufacturers expecting it to worsen in the coming year (up from 14% in the previous quarter) and 18% in services (up from 13%)
Two-thirds of exporting manufacturers (66%) and nearly a half (47%) of exporting service firms are more concerned about exchange rates than in the previous quarter
Half (49%) of exporting manufacturers expect to increase prices, unchanged from the previous quarter, and 42% of service firms (up from 39%). The cost of raw materials remains the primary cause of cost pressure (79%) for manufacturing firms
The percentage of exporters attempting to recruit fell in both sectors, from 68% to 63% in manufacturing and from 57% to 51% in services. The percentage reporting recruitment difficulties remained very high: 79% in manufacturing and 72% in services
The BCC/DHL Trade Confidence Index, a measure of the volume of trade documentation issued nationally, fell by 1.02% on the quarter and 2.03% compared to Q1 2018.
International Trade Events


text:
Hospitallers
EVF Podcasts
Veterans Lunch
2018 Veterans Conference
Brotherhood of St. Andrew
David W. Peters served as an enlisted Marine and Army Chaplain, deploying to Baghdad, Iraq in 2005. His experiences in Iraq and the founding of the Episcopal Veterans Fellowship is told here by NPR's John Burnett. David is a graduate of Missio Seminary in Philadelphia, PA, (M.Div), Erskine Theological Seminary in Due West, SC (D.Min) and Seminary of the Southwest (MAR). He is a Board Certified Chaplain and is ordained by The Episcopal Church. His books, Death Letter: God, Sex, and War, Post-Traumatic God: How the Church Cares For People Who Have Been to Hell and Back, and Christ Walk Crushed with Anna Courie describe his own path to healing after war, a path he regularly invites his fellow veterans to consider. David blogs for the Huffington Post, Oxford University Press, and hosts two podcasts, the Dear Padre Podcast and a serial story, The Ermenfrid Penitential. David currently serves as the Vicar of the Pflugerville Church Plant in the Diocese of Texas. He is married to Sarah Bancroft and has three sons.
The Rev. David W. Peters
The Rev. Dr. M. Lynn Smith-Henry, a co-founder of the Episcopal Veterans Fellowship, is a native Texan. Born in the Golden Triangle area, he grew up in a rural farming community with German roots in Northeast Houston where he graduated high school and then attended the University of St. Thomas for his first year of undergraduate study in philosophy and religion. He finished his BA at University of Houston where he received a fine arts degree in music composition. Commissioned December 7, 1976 as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, he entered active duty at Ft. Bliss, TX in February 1977 and officially retired from the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant Colonel in June of 2012. During his career in the U.S. Army, he held several Military Occupational Skill identifiers to include Air Defense (AD), Military Intelligence (MI), and Civil Affairs (CA). His command assignments included both company and field grade levels for a total of nine years as a Nuclear Team Commander, a Nuclear Detachment Commander, a Special Operations Detachment Commander (GS), and a Battalion Commander (CBRN). As a senior MI analyst he spent a significant amount of time in real world theaters of operation attached to Special Operations Forces where he provided battle field analysis and assessments while participating in real world operations. He also served as a G2, General Staff, in the Special Operations community. Additionally, he served as the Senior Operations Officer, G3, of a MACOM and has extensive experience in managing Emergency Operations and Battle Field Operations Centers.
In preparation for his transition to ministry, he began graduate studies in religion and ancient Mediterranean cultures in the latter part of his military career. His graduate and post-graduate studies include the following academic credentials: MDiv, MSLS, DMin, PCRP (Humanities), and a DAS. His doctoral dissertation dealt with the Halacha of Flavius Josephus in the context of the Judean/Roman societies. After receiving his MDiv, he was ordained a Lutheran priest. Prior to his ordination, he served as a Lutheran Lay Minister to the soldiers at the Four Chaplains Chapel, Fort Lewis in the absence of an assigned Lutheran Chaplain.
Currently, the Rev. Dr. Smith-Henry worships in an Episcopal parish in the Diocese of Texas where he is a member, engaged in teaching adult formation with an emphasis on scriptural exegesis of the original Greek, Hebrew, and Chaldean texts and volunteering in a number of capacities to include Usher, Eucharistic Minister, Eucharistic Visitor, and Pastoral Assistant to the Clergy. He also serves as the Veteran's Advocate and Chaplain to the Veteran's Guitar Project in Austin, TX, which offers all veterans an alternative therapy venue focused on fellowship and support in a safe, non-threatening environment with the opportunity to engage in making music by receiving instruction in guitar and participating with other veterans in a meaningful context of engagement. In February 2016, he joined seven other veterans and took vows, administered by the Suffragan Bishop to the Armed Forces, as a Novice in the Hospitallers of St. Martin, a veteran's religious community focused on reconciliation and healing from Moral Trauma, which veterans face as a result of serving their country as a member of the military.
The Rev. Dr. M. Lynn Smith-Henry
The Rev. Christian Hawley is a member of the Episcopal Veterans Fellowship where he loves being part of the Pilgrimages, helping out at the VA, and making connections with other veteran groups in Austin. Christian was an active duty engineering officer for the USAF 2001-2005, before leaving the service to pursue a career as a priest. Christian is now the associate rector at St Matthew's Episcopal Church in Austin and can be reached at chawley@stmattsaustin.org.
The Rev. Christian Hawley
Jan Barnes has been a member of the EVF since the beginning at Grace Church Georgetown. She is a member of The Order of St. Luke and is a part of the EVF as a healing presence at most Reconciliation services and serves with joy at the request of Father David Peters.
Jan has a background in marketing with an emphasis in hospital and corporate training. Now, her primary focus is the Christian Healing Ministry and is currently serving with a team at Grace Church to lead the Healing Service there each week. Jan is also currently the coordinator for the EVF Ministry at Grace Georgetown, which meets every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month following the Healing Service.
Richard Spiller was in the Air Force for four years during Viet Nam as a Fire Control Weapon Systems Technician. He was one of the original members of the EVF at Grace Church, Georgetown and continues to meet with the group regularly. Richard graduates this year from the Education for Ministry four year study at Grace Church and he is a cradle to grave Episcopalian. He and Jan have been together for sixteen years after meeting on a commercial flight to Phoenix/LA.
Jan Barnes and Richard Spiller
Hospitaller of St. Martin Brother John Moock served 14 years in the Army & Army Reserves (as a combat engineer, convoy security NCOIC, and Civil Affairs NCO) before repeated TBIs and complex Post Traumatic Stress took their toll. Even while struggling with alcohol, homelessness, and depression, John sought to help his fellow veterans however he could. In 2012, John joined the staff at Hidden Wounds, a nonprofit providing crisis and interim counseling to at-risk service members, veterans, and their families. Currently, he is their Volunteer and Internships Coordinator, as well as a SC Department of Mental Health Certified Peer Support Specialist.
John is pursuing a degree in social work from the University of South Carolina in Columbia. He is a parishioner at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, but still considers Church of the Holy Communion in Charleston his "church home." He is a member of the Hospitallers of Saint Martin, the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, Guild of all Souls, Order of Saint Vincent, and Society of King Charles the Martyr. He is supported in his work by his beloved, Caroline, and their menagerie of rescue animals.
HoSM Br. John Moock
EVF Administrator, DeSha Tolar-Thomas, is Director of Faith Formation for Children and Youth at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Bryan, TX. A native of Louisiana, DeSha is a poet with a BA in English from Rhodes College and an MFA in creative writing from LSU. She and her husband, Mike, a hospice chaplain, are proud parents of two adopted sons and one grandson. DeSha enjoys live music, baseball, brazen stand-up comedy, and being outside.
DeSha's military connections include her husband, U.S. Army Veteran Mike Thomas, grandson of T4 BSM WWII U.S. Army Veteran Earl Dutton, her father, John Tolar, who served in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves, her grandfathers, WWII U.S. Army Veteran Marcus Desha Swayze and Lt. John Tolar, U.S. Army Reserves, Charleston, S.C. and WWII U.S. Army Veteran, her step-grandfathers, WWII U.S. Army Veteran Capt. Henry Bernstein and Korean War U.S. Army Veteran James Hearn, her great-uncle, Korean War U.S. Navy Veteran Bill Tolar, her uncles, Vietnam War U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Byron Davis and USAF Veteran Durwood Kuhn, and her cousin, Iraq War U.S. Army Veteran Travis Davis.
DeSha Tolar-Thomas
"Sometimes it's a long way home: Texas veterans join local pilgrimages to aid the journey."
This is the reason these veterans gathered for this pilgrimage, to come home from war. They come to find reconciliation, a sacrament in the Church. So, before the confession, the veterans write down their confessions on small pieces of paper. They write down the memories they cannot get rid of, no matter how much they drink, or how far they run.
Read the article by David Peters at Episcopal News Service.
"Army chaplain preaches reconciliation on 9/11"
On David Peters' sermon, "Learning War and Reconciliation." Read the article by Nick Conner at Fort Hood Sentinel.
"Texas: Returning vets strike a chord"
Col. Lynn Smith-Henry (ret.) and Kim Perlock established a guitar therapy class for vets. Read the article by Carol E. Barnwell at Episcopal News Service.
"An Army Chaplain, First Tested By War, Finds His Faith Renewed"
"I found that going to war was really pretty easy and it was kind of exciting, and there was a lot of energy around it. But when I came home, I really fell apart emotionally and spiritually." -David Peters
Listen to the story on NPR.
EVF Press Kit
Thank you for spreading the word about EVF! You are welcome to use the blurb, brochure, and images below to promote our organization and help veterans in need.
The Episcopal Veterans Fellowship equips Christians for missional ministry to veterans through prayer, hospitality, and reconciliation. We offer educational workshops, consulting, and coaching so churches can reach out with God's love to veterans who live in the community. Each EVF group is led by The Hospitallers of St. Martin, a New Monastic Christian Community for veterans ministry.
Please contact David Peters at dpeters@stmarksaustin.org or visit our website at www.episcopalveteransfellowship.org if you need additional information.
(Downloadable pdf below)
EVF-Brochures (pdf)
Copyright © 2019 Episcopal Veterans Fellowship - All Rights Reserved.


Here is a very charming set of 5 hanging fish, red and white coastal color. Each piece has been hand carved and hand painted with great attention to details. The garland measures about 20", each fish measures 7" X 2".
* Measurement: garland 20" X 7", fish 7" X 2"


My contribution to this collection was the result of a growing interest in literary networks and cultural value. 'The growth of reading groups as a feminine leisure pursuit: Cultural democracy or dumbing down?' discussed how TV book clubs, like Oprah's and Richard and Judy's, are viewed by the literary establishment and why that might be the case.
Reading is both a social process and a social formation, as this book illustrates across centuries and cultural contexts.


Finished the 2008 Buller Gorge Recreational Walk in 03:18:11 in F3544 class!
She came 74th in class and 393rd overall!
No photos of MARY CRAFTS in 2008 , we may still be uploading/processing, check back later.


text:
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     */
    public function getStatus()
    {
        return $this->status;
    }

    /**
     * Set fkVinculo
     *
     * @param \Core\Entity\Vinculos $fkVinculo
     * @return Debitos
     */
    public function setFkVinculo(\Core\Entity\Vinculos $fkVinculo = null)
    {
        $this->fkVinculo = $fkVinculo;

        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Get fkVinculo
     *
     * @return \Core\Entity\Vinculos
     */
    public function getFkVinculo()
    {
        return $this->fkVinculo;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
The Cavern Club Live Lounge
Your Are Here: Home Events Gary Murphy Presents: Dire States
array(3) { [0]=> string(14) "upcoming_shows" [1]=> string(14) "special_events" [2]=> string(12) "tribute_band" }
Thursday 16 Mar 23
07:30 pm £15 The Cavern Club Live Lounge
Gary Murphy Presents…
The Ultimate Tribute to Mark Knopfler & Dire Straits (Plus Support).
Doors 7:30pm
Gary Murphy and his multi-talented band return to the Cavern Club with the Ultimate Tribute toDire Straits & Mark Knopfler.
The show features all the greatest hits including Money for Nothing, Sultans of Swing, Romeo and Juliet, Walk of Life and So Far Away along with many others!
Featuring Gary Murphy's virtuoso guitar playing, this local legend has been putting on guitar shows across Merseyside, and beyond, for decades.Gary Murphy is regarded as one of the finest guitarists in the UK, a resident artist here at The Cavern Club, Gary has made many appearances at the Mathew Street Festival and International Beatleweek as well as playing with many iconic Mersey Beat legends such as Mike Pender of The Searchers, Gerry Marsden, The Merseybeats and Ray Ennis of the Swinging Blue Jeans.
Gary's Guitar Legends Show has become a regular feature in the city and across the water as well as his tributes to The Police, his Music and Laughter events and this is another show that will be a night to remember and is not to be missed.
The Live Lounge is a standing venue with some unreserved seating. Seating is not guaranteed and may not be available for all shows. If you have a disability and need a seat please get in touch with us in advance to make arrangements!
Most events are 18 yrs and over please see our age policy for more information before booking. If you have any questions please get in touch with us.
Get Tickets View more events here


Rated an average of 4.81 stars across 3086 reviews.
Buying anything online can be as scary as a nocturne ultimate when you're on 10% HP. With so many dodgy websites, insecure payment providers, and literal scams, reviews are one of the few ways for a brand to build trust.
Customer satisfaction is at the heart of everything we do. As huge gamers, we're passionate about providing a quality product in a safe and secure environment. We know that people want to skip the League of Legends leveling process, and we want to help fix that, not exploit it. We are fully transparent in our reviews and use the third-party platform Reviews.io to display them. This means that we don't have control about what's said about us, and for the purposes of transparency all reviews, good and bad, will be here for you to see!


text:
Медаль ASME () — высшая научная награда Американскогo обществa инженеров-механиков за выдающиеся достижения в области инженерии. Награда была учреждена в 1920 году, премия к медали составляет $15,000. Присуждается ежегодно.

Список награждённых
Список награждённых, чьи биографии есть в русской википедии:
 1926 Роберт Эндрюс Милликен
1928 Джулиан Кеннеди
 1934 Уиллис Кэрриер
 1941 Теодор фон Карман
 1945 Уильям Фредерик Дюранд
 1963 Игорь Иванович Сикорский
 1965 Бюргерс, Иоханнес Мартинус
 1972 Вейбулл, Валодди
 1974 Хофф, Николас
 1976 Миндлин, Рэймонд
 1979 Ден-Гартог, Якоб
 1988 Рейснер, Эрик
 1989 Сирс, Уильям Рис
 1992 Друкер, Даниэль
 1997 Будянский, Бернард
 2007 Дин Кеймен
 2012 Ахенбах, Ян

См. также
 Американское общество инженеров-механиков
 Медаль Тимошенко

Ссылки
 Премия на официальном сайте ASME

ASME

Появились в 1920 году в США
Инженерия
Награды, появившиеся в 1920 году
Награды по алфавиту

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


name your own price Archives - Don't Call the Airline!
Tag Archives for name your own price.
Sometimes when you're using Priceline - Name Your Own Price, you play this awful game of "let's try $100... Ok, $101... $102..." It's very long and anxiety inducing. RTC wrote about a trick where you can use a prepaid credit card with a low balance (like $5), and use that for your bidding (you want to keep a small amount of money on it for the preauthorization when you submit your bid).
Yesterday I made a bid for a Priceline 'Name Your Own Price' hotel in San Diego, CA. Unfortunately, I did not get the hotel rate/place that I wanted. I had to figure out a way to get the reservation refunded. Unfortunately, Priceline is pretty darn tough about cancelling Priceline NYOP reservations, and the only (known) exception is death of a family member.


text:
NATO Admits Killing Girl in Afghan Raid
NATO says a combined Afghan and coalition force has killed a young girl and an Afghan policeman during an operation against a Taliban leader in eastern Afghanistan.
The incident took place Wednesday in the Surkh Rod district of Nangarhar province.
NATO issued a statement Thursday saying a man at the Taliban leader's suspected compound threatened security forces with a gun, and was killed. An investigation later found he was employed by the Afghan National Police.
The coalition said that after the combined force secured the building, a person later identified as an unarmed Afghan girl was shot as she ran from the back of the compound, after forces mistakenly thought she had a gun.
Local residents say the girl was 12 years old.
A NATO official apologized, and said the coalition is working with Afghan security officials to understand what happened and take steps to prevent future incidents.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly criticized NATO for civilian casualties caused by coalition forces. In March, he told the commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, U.S. General David Petraeus, that civilian casualties are "no longer acceptable."
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
Categories: MIDDLE EAST
What Closing The Straits Of Hormuz Will Mean In 3 Simple Charts
Libyan Opposition to Meet With US Officials
How To Foil Your Own Terror Plot
Violent Anti-US Muslim Protests Spread As Film Trailer Banned In More Countries
Will Downing Street Memo Recur On Iran?
Obama has OK'd use of drones in Libya, Gates says
Syrian Activists Say Government Tanks Deploying Around Hama
Finally The Truth: Muslim Protests About NATO Drone Strikes, Backing Of Saudi Jihadists


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Q: Finding a vector representation for a data where we only know the inner products I am an engineer working on speech signal processing and I have a problem that I have encountered while trying to model speech signals. The mathematical formulation is not entirely pure and I try to explain this verbatim wherever I find difficult to put in the form of equations or proper mathematical abstraction.
I have a random variable $R$ which takes values from an infinite dimensional Hilbert space. The exact probability distribution of $R$ is unknown, but known to be supported on an  open ball. There is a large collection $S$ of size $N$, of the outcomes of the random variable $R$, but don't have access to them. All i have access to, is the inner products between each one of them. I mean I only know $\langle \phi_i,\phi_j \rangle$ $\forall i,j \in \{1,2,3...N\}$ where $\phi_i \in S$. Now I need to find a vector representation, that is a map $\alpha : S\to\mathbb{R}^d$, such that the correlation coefficient $\rho$ of the data  $(\langle \phi_i,\phi_j \rangle,\langle \alpha(\phi_i),\alpha(\phi_j) \rangle)$ is maximum. I 'd like to know any algorithm to do this. Right now, the choice of $d$ can be taken as desired.

A: Strictly speaking it doesn't make much sense to talk about defining a function on $S$ when you've explicitly said you don't know any of the elements of $S$.  I'll assume rather that you have a sequence $\phi_1,\ldots, \phi_N$ of vectors which you don't know, but whose inner products you do know, such that you would like to find a sequence $\alpha_1,\ldots,\alpha_N$ of vectors of length $d$ which have the same inner products.  That is, I'll talk about $\alpha_i$ instead of $\alpha(\phi_i)$.
Let $M\in\mathbb{R}^{N\times N}$ (here I'm assuming you're working over the reals, but the situation works out the same for complex coefficients) be the "Gram matrix" defined by $M_{ij} = \langle\phi_i,\phi_j\rangle$.  For any column vector $x$, $x^TMx = \lVert\sum_k x_k\phi_k\rVert^2\geq 0$, so $M$ is positive semidefinite.  Therefore there exists a "square root" $F\in\mathbb{R}^{N\times N}$, a matrix which satisfies $M = F^T F$.
Define $\alpha_i$ to be column number $i$ of $F$.  Then $\langle\phi_i,\phi_j\rangle = \langle\alpha_i,\alpha_j\rangle$ holds exactly, so the correlation is $1$.  But we have used the relatively large $d = N$.  If you only care about the inner products being approximately equal, you can apply the Johnson-Lindenstrauss lemma and randomly project the $\alpha(\phi_i)$ to get as good an approximate version as you'd like with $d = O(\log n)$.
Do you really care about maximizing the given correlation of those two inner products, or is making them nearly equal good enough?


text:
Q: Monitor and/or log the performance of a specific application (not all system) in Windows 7 I need to keep track of peak memory usage, and average memory usage, CPU time of a specific application. I know there is Windows' perfmon tool, but it keeps record of all the system, but I need to keep record of just one specific application. I also tried kiwimonitor app, it does not provide precise result.
Do you know how to filter perform tool to just keep record of single application's performance statistics? Or is there a useful tool I can use for that purpose?

A: You can create a user defined data set (under Data Collector Sets) and limit your performance counters for a specific process. Once you select a process object, choose what process you want to monitor and the counters for that specific process.


This Reuben Sandwich featuring Foster Farms Turkey Pastrami was dressed up with an extraordinary Thousand Island sauce that had folks coming back for more. The sandwich was so good it was one of three finalists during our contest at the 2018 Northwest Food Show. Learn more about the contest.
Judges loved the Dijon mustard-based dressing that added some extra zing!


text:
Home >> Daily News >> Vietnam News >> Politics >> Vietnamese Prime Minister highlights Asean
NEWS UPDATES 9 August 2010
Vietnamese Prime Minister highlights Asean
Vietnam rural reconstruction initiative
Vietnam rejects human trafficking report
Vietnam PM explores business opportunities in Myanmar
Yudhoyono's possible landslide buoys Indonesian markets
Donors ask Vietnam to crack down on corruption
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung attended a ceremony to mark the 43rd anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN and the 15th anniversary of Viet Nam's accession to the bloc in Hanoi on Saturday.
"ASEAN is the most important element that is responsible for maintaining peace, security and co-operation for development in the region," he said in his opening speech. The PM added that the bloc was the driving force that promoted co-operation and relations in East Asia, particularly in economics and trade.
With its strategic geographical position in the region as well as its open policies, ASEAN had become an indispensable partner to major countries and centres around the world, he stressed. In his speech, Dung recalled the association's unceasing developments during the past 43 years and affirmed the bloc's important role in contributing to peace, stability, mutual understanding and trust in the region.
To further enhance regional co-operation in the future, the PM said ASEAN needed to continue to maintain regional peace and security, while appropriately dealing with latent risks that might cause unrest.
Regarding economic integration, Dung said the effective implementation of existing agreements were crucial to the future success of the organisation. Therefore, relevant countries needed to be committed to liberalising their markets and continue to remove projectionist barriers that would impede the region's economic integration.
At the occasion, ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan spoke highly of Viet Nam's contributions to ASEAN.
Viet Nam had shown that ASEAN was an important element to the country's foreign policy, and the nation had illustrated its dedication to raising the bloc's prestige and position on the international arena this year, the ASEAN chief said.
Founded in 1967, ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has 10 member countries, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.
A sports exchange among ASEAN countries was organised on Saturday in Ha Noi to celebrate the 43rd anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN and the 15th year of Viet Nam's ASEAN membership. Officials and staff from the embassies of ASEAN countries and Vietnamese ministries and departments competed in tennis, badminton, table tennis and football in a friendly atmosphere, which illustrated the solidarity among the organisation's members.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dao Viet Trung said the event was also a chance for Viet Nam to strengthen its relations and learn from ASEAN nations.


This fall will mark five years since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, AIG, and global stock markets, events which unofficially kicked off the "Great Recession." For many A/E executives, it's been an exhausting, unrelenting stretch, and a large number of organizations have still not fully recovered from the halcyon days of the mid-2000s.
Let's stroll down memory lane. Broadly speaking, the early years of this tumultuous period, 2009 and 2010, were generally characterized by pure survivability. Design firms shrunk dramatically as they desperately reduced staff counts, slashed salaries and benefits, and shuttered offices and divisions. Once considered "automatic," backlogs started to slowly evaporate and timely cash flow and collections became more elusive. Hunker down. Live to fight another day.
Years 2011 and 2012 saw incremental improvements for many as executives learned to do "more with less," adjust expectations to a fickle client and a tougher fee climate, and get aggressive on business development in a 1% growth world. Hiring picked up for those "right people" with the golden mix of technical and sales capabilities. Organizations focused on energy, power, industrial, mining or other niche markets came away unscathed as did others not directly tied to building or land development busts. We made it but where's the recovery?
Alas, here we are in 2013. As the dust has settled, A/E owners have adjusted to this new, nebulous climate. Many will privately admit the last few years have made their organizations tougher and more resilient to future challenges as staffs hung together despite tough headwinds. Time for a victory lap.
More leaders are incorporating ownership transition elements in their strategic planning engagements.
This time of year typically kicks off annual strategic planning and budget/forecast activities. A/E organizations spend a significant amount of time and resources developing strategic plans to help guide them and as yardsticks for performance. These plans typically address items such as which geographic markets or service lines to penetrate, expected client needs, and competitor moves and maneuvers. Traditionally, the strategic and ownership transition planning orbits rarely intersected as leaders compartmentalized them into discrete exercises. Not today. Clients are sharing with us that with more retirements on the horizon, there is a pressing need to address the strategy execution from a leadership void perspective. That means making sure their "bench" is growing with younger, motivated talent and effectively moving blocks of stock to that next generation so they're not a flight risk. In addition, more strategic planning exercises are also incorporating detailed financial forecasts. This is to ensure that not only do A/E firms have the cash flow and capitalization to meet their overarching strategic objectives but also are prepared for looming stock redemption obligations in a coordinated manner.
Slow growth rates and low profit margins equate to less cash flow to fund ownership transitions. Today's owners may have to prepare for a future environment of lower value and greater liquidity risk.
For a majority of A/E firms, dampened profitability and tepid growth remain realities. Shareholder returns haven't reached similar levels to that of the mid-2000s, and this lack of buoyancy has been a double whammy for many owners. On one hand, both dividends (distributions) and capital appreciation have been stymied, and with profit levels down, firms have less ability to pay large bonuses to fund stock transactions. And on the other, liquidity risk has increased rapidly, with younger employees either incapable, or downright skittish, to buy-in due to their own challenged personal financial picture.
Demographic trends today mean more sellers, less buyers.
To no one's surprise, the 65-year-old+ demographic is expected to grow by nearly 50% by 2030, with broad societal and financial ramifications for our country. For many professional service businesses there are simply fewer individuals in Generation X ready and willing to buy out the larger pool of Baby Boomer shareholders ahead of them. You just can't make the math work. And in some cases apathetic and disinterested younger staff members are compounding the problem. Unfortunately, the lack of organizational clarity can become downright paralyzing, and "kicking the can down the road" can seem more convenient and less threatening than tackling the problem early on.
Some A/E owners are attempting to address this by inviting certain "rising stars" from younger Generation Y to increase the buyer pool. Others realize they may receive less in value/proceeds from their organization than they planned or have to extend their note payment over additional years in order to be fully redeemed. For countless owners, they are simply delaying retirement.
Many firms are already burdened with obligations to separated shareholders.
Call this the A/E "sandwich generation." There are many multi-generational firms in between buyouts that have significant former shareholder debts on the books that ultimately have to be met. For some of these retired owners, their timing was sublime in that they sold out right before the industry (and their firm's stock price) took a turn for the worse. In fact, the recession caused a number of distressed firms to go back to their retirees to significantly alter their payout terms (value and/or payment duration) for pure survivability!
Unfortunately, in a plodding industry environment, burdensome debt levels result in less cash available for raises, benefits, and bonuses; equipment and software investments; hiring, training and development; and funding future shareholders and ownership programs.
Many firms that were staunchly opposed to ESOPs in the past are now giving them a second look.
The popularity of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) waxes and wanes with economic cycles and tax laws, and we have found that some leaders love them and others don't. Readers of our perspectives know we have addressed the pros and cons of ESOPs in the past. Basically, the plan needs to be melded with the right leadership team, firm size, growth prospects, and open book management philosophy to gain full benefits.
However, recent interactions with A/E executives, as well as industry tax and legal advisors, have indicated a renewed interest in this tool. Primarily because ESOPs create a much larger (and easier to manage) pool of potential owners than does a traditional direct buy-sell arrangement, thus enhancing liquidity for current owners. Others have observed that mid-sized firms which have been unable to sell to strategic buyers have reconsidered the ESOP. That being said, ESOPs can be cost prohibitive, and don't fit with every firm culture, but we've noticed a marked increase for ESOP-related assessments and consulting.
More A/E firms are using advisors with ownership planning skills to act as a mediator, help diffuse emotions, and provide a range of alternatives and options to various constituencies.
The hands-on, solutions-focused mentality of A/E firms leads many executives to adopt a "do it yourself" approach to activities such as strategic planning, recruiting, marketing, and, even business valuation (much to our chagrin). The internal transition process however, is often a delicate negotiation exercise, with design professionals who work cohesively together all week, finding themselves thrust into separate, antagonistic corners over terms and conditions. And as is true in cases of buyer vs. seller, these teams have similar, but essentially incompatible goals and objectives.
As a result, increasingly, A/E firms are relying on outside, expert advisors to either represent the interests of the firm as a whole with impartiality or advocate the goals and positions of respective buyer or seller groups. Advisors can often assist with creative solutions to entrenched positions, model and run future "what if" scenarios, and simply serve as a communication conduit while reducing the stress and tension that goes along with the process.
Developing the right plan for your firm can be a daunting task. The team at ROG+ Partners has more than four decades of combined experience working with companies in the A/E and environmental consulting industry to develop comprehensive ownership plans. Our approach to transition planning takes into consideration the needs of all the key constituents – current (selling) shareholders, future (buying) shareholders, and most importantly, the company itself. We consider all available tools and options with the goal of ensuring the long-term success of your company.
Register now! Join the leading industry experts and also leverage the experience of other A/E Leaders from all over the United States and Canada – and learn how they are handling these challenges.
Jonathan Voelkel joined ROG in 2011. With over eight years of corporate financial advisory experience, he has worked with more than one-hundred architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting firms across the U.S. and abroad, in all facets of mergers & acquisitions, valuation, ownership transition planning, equity incentive compensation, and ESOP advisory. Jonathan received his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Economics from Johns Hopkins University.


What's better than an ArmedAngels skirt?
I first heard about this ethical company in Germany when my daughter Jean and I were in Berlin. In the meantime, she has opened her own eco boutique in Seattle and carries ArmedAngels clothing: a brand known for their sustainable materials and fair working conditions.
While I was in Seattle I bought two skirts in the same style but different colours and patterns, both made with organic cotton.
and the other is black with tiny polkadots.
I've worn them with black bamboo tights (also from Jean's store Drizzle & Shine) and can wear them with bare legs when the weather warms up.
I'll tell you about my wrap top in another post (I bought two, my other one is black).
This entry was posted in eco fashion, Fair trade, Fashion, Jeanofalltrades, Seattle, Shopping, Spring and tagged Armed Angels, Drizzle and Shine, eco boutique, eco fashion, Jean of all Trades, skirts. Bookmark the permalink.
Avec beaucoup d'élégance ! Bonne semaine Carmen !
Merci beaucoup! Bonne semaine mon ami!
The skirts look great on you!
Thank you Ute! It's not warm enough here yet to put away winter clothes. Our weather tends to be very changeable from day to day in springtime: one day you need a winter coat and the next a tank top and shorts. This picture explains Canadian spring.
These skirts are very cute Carmen! I love the pattern on the first one and the contrasting colours . It looks good with the tights. The black with the subtle polka dots can be used for any occasion , the wrap top looks great with it. Happy Friday, Terri xo.
Thanks so much Terri! They are both very different, that's why I bought two. The colourful skirt is bold and bright. However, I also like the black one because of the subtle tiny polkadots and I can wear it with any colour top. I'm going to wear it with dusty rose next. Have a great weekend dear!
Both skirts are beautiful and the fact that they are fair trade and sustainable production makes them even more beautiful. If we add to all this that you are the one who wears them, they become jewels. Both prints are beautiful and you can prepare beautiful outfits with them. I love your shoes and both looks, and, of course, in all the photos you look super beautiful.
Oh my! Thank you for your lovely comment. We both know the reality of poor working conditions for garment workers. We will never forget the horror at the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh. I always remember your post about this tragedy, and the images of the people crying for their loved ones haunt me. I'm so glad we care about people and our environment, and therefore do not promote fast fashion.
I adore that geo squares skirt…it's so colorful!!
Of course, I have a ton like that since it's what I gravitate towards…ha ha!!
Happy Spring! I like the bold one better. And I love bamboo socks, so I'm sure the tights would feel great too. And of course your pretty red booties!!
SPRING!!! I love the sound of that! Winter seemed a bit shorter this year because we spent 5 weeks of it in Seattle. 🙂 Isn't bamboo so soft and it's eco friendly! Thanks so much for your comment!
My pleasure. Yes, it is!


Workfast is looking for a MR Driver and Furniture Removalist to join their team in and around Warriewood , on Sydney's north shore. The rate of pay is $35ph + overtime.
The work involves MR truck driving, loading and unloading the truck and also strapping and packing the furniture with protective material. There won't be any white goods, nor pianos.
The job requires applicants to be physically fit and strong, with no pre-existing injuries, furniture removal experience and also a NSW MR license with truck driving experience.
If you are interested in applying for the MR Driver and Furniture Removalist job in Warriewood, please contact Nomonita on 0447 314 412 or click "Apply" below.


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Britain lacks computer experts to fight online attacks
Hayden SmithTuesday 12 Feb 2013 12:02 am
Britain is being left vulnerable to the threat of internet attacks (Picture: Getty)
A shortage of computer experts is leaving Britain vulnerable to the threat of internet attacks, research shows.
The fight against cyber crime – which already costs the country hundreds of millions of pounds every year – is being affected by a skills shortage, the public spending watchdog said.
The country's critical infrastructure that underpins government, emergency services, utilities and transport is at risk of online attacks, the National Audit Office warned.
'These services are essential to daily life… and their protection from cyber attacks is crucial,' the report said.
More psychologists, law enforcers and technical staff are needed but the shortage crisis could last for two decades. The current pipeline of graduates and practitioners would not meet demand, figures in the government, academia and business claimed.
'This shortage of ICT skills hampers the UK's ability to protect itself in cyberspace and promote the use of the internet both now and in the future,' the NAO report found.
Several government departments reported a worrying reliance on a small number of highly skilled people to participate in developing 'international technical standards'.
The report comes after a raft of stark warnings about the threat posed by cyber crime, currently estimated to cost Britain up to £27billion a year.
Cabinet office minister Francis Maude said that attacks on government departments 'continue to increase', while foreign secretary William Hague has revealed that computer systems supporting the London Olympics were attacked every day during the Games.


The Community Forum for discussing and posting questions about the modifications made by IronKeep Studios.
G1 mod that removes the brown shirt?
Team recruitment. Chosen of Gods Mod.
Are there any posibilities for enlish subtitles in polish mods?
[G3] about adding sound to a dialogue , and giving the NH a new mesh.
[G1] The Gothic NPC script generator Plus!
Where did the icons go (_compiledImage.pak\__gui_items)?
[G3] Can't add a new fully working quest.
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