Home Hospitality Dying Soul in a Beating Heart?
While the mad rush is well and truly on for the internet-driven entertainment dollar now more than ever, hotels and restaurants are thrashing about wildly in the quicksand of reality. MICHAEL DAVIES in Singapore.
Rising costs of land and labour is not news. What is news is the rapidly drying pool of talent in an industry that is expected to sell warmth, kindness, understanding and comfort.
Technology was once thought to be the knight in shining armour did arrive but not to save the industry. The knight came bearing news of alternative entertainment (uber eats, etc), better paying and more comfortable jobs and of course, more price-and-quality competitive value for the guest's entertainment dollar. The slow slip for over-head-ridden hotels into the abyss of history has long since begun (see their slant toward serviced apartments?) and for restaurants, albeit with lower over-head, it is a question of redefining quality. Over the next 5 years only the smartest will survive.
F*** Off. Don't Think for Me!
"The Queen of England may be your fan! Good for her! I'm secure enough not to want to bathe in the reflected glory of a monarch grown rich(er) on pillaging the weak," said Dwight Arnolds, British frequent flyer and ardent all round impresario.
Well into his spiritual journey, Arnolds is a wild-life photographer and fashion brand consultant.
"I think the Internet has opened up the possibilities and I'd much rather spend on what I'm getting. It's the same thing with the Shangri-La brand too. You drive half a million miles to get to most of their large hotels most of which I don't use at all. I'm tired of their cunning pricing and the quality chefs they used to have are long gone. Now, its just run-off-the-mill cooks selling range rather than quality.
"Greedy owners demand more profit. They wouldn't know what the 'spirit of hospitality' was if it was the Eiffel Tower that fell on them. They threaten General Managers (GMs) when not stoking their already inflated egos. GMs in turn stay loyal to their #1 priority – building their own resume. Get photographed with as many celebrities as possible, hog the press at every opportunity, ensure your staff likes or fears you, retain as much control while giving the opportunity of staff empowerment and use the property to your personal advantage in every way with every discretion. Pay staff as little as possible and squeeze as much as you can from them in exchange for a photo opportunity with you, empty (and insincere) praise and little else – that's what makes a successful GM," says Thomas Mier, a retired veteran Swiss hotelier who has worked in Asia, Europe and the Middle East over 35 years.
But, Business is Booming…for now!
As an overview, here are some major market trends in the Asia Pacific hospitality sector with the recent flourish of tourism inflow in the region. The major reasons include the increase in household income and the rise of the middle class. Also, this trend is mainly lead by the increment in the Chinese outbound tourists. However, Chinese tourists spent less on accommodation while the overall occupancy for traditional hotels has been decreasing and unconventional and budget accommodation such as Airb&B is on the rise.
The compound average growth rate (CAGR) of tourist arrivals for the Asia pacific region from 2008 to 2015 was 5.3% which is much higher than the global average of 3.1%.
As per United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) statistics, 279.2 million tourists arrived to the Asia Pacific region. Among the region, Japan experienced the strongest growth with 47% on y-o-y, due to the low cost carriers, easier visa processes and depreciation of Yen during 2015.
Australia and New Zealand also benefited with increased tourist arrivals with currency depreciation. Yet, the author also noted that the weakening of several currencies in the Asia Pacific against US dollar has caused a disproportionate increment in the tourism receipts totaling $418.3 billion in 2015. However, still a 4% y-o-y growth rate was recorded after adjusting to the currency exchange fluctuations.
Accept for Hong Kong, most Asia Pacific markets experienced a rise in tourist arrival growth with increased visitors from China in 2016. Although, the overall tourist spending in Japan declined due to the appreciation of Yen in H1 2016 despite the continued inflow of tourists from Greater China and South Korea.
The UNWTO forecasts positive long term trends for Asia Pacific tourism market, and as per Tourism Towards 2030, the region is expected to experience the strongest growth with 5.7% in the next five years. Tourist arrivals are estimated to grow up to 355 million by 2020.
The boost in the Asia Pacific tourism is mainly the result of expanding middle class and increase in household income encouraging people to take overseas vacations. The middle class with a daily discretionary expenditure of $10 to $100 is expected to reach 1.7 billion by 2020 in the region, research shows.
With an estimated growth of 286.3 million trips by 2020, intra-regional tourism will be the main demand driver as most people will travel within the region for their first overseas trip.
Research also highlights the decrease in hotel performance despite the upsurge in tourist arrival. As per CBRE research, the average occupancy for hotels got stagnant and remained at 68% since 2011, while the Average Daily Room Rate (ADR) got flattened.
Most notable weak markets during 2015 were listed as Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Singapore which were also impacted by lower visitor arrivals and currency depreciation against USD. Unlike these markets, Osaka, Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland, recorded positive ADR growth with constant tourist arrival growth. Despite the bomb in 2015, Bangkok also recorded strong growth in H1 2016.
Full Service Hotels Losing It?
The traditional full service hotel segment has been facing challenges in terms of higher fixed costs and premium pricing strategies making it one of the reasons for the disproportionate hotel performance in spite of the robust tourist arrival growth.
Moreover, the weaker demand for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events (MICE) tourism from multinationals which are more cost concerned poses negative impact on revenues of hotels in that category. Meanwhile, boutique hotels has been gaining popularity.
However, the overall hotel performance in the region will grow at a slower pace. According the STR Global and CBRE research, the number of hotel rooms will improve by only 2.6% in the region during the next five years which will be much lower than the expected annual tourist arrival growth rate of 5.7% for the Asia Pacific.
Tourism in the Asia Pacific will continuously flourish with the growth in outbound tourism from China. Chinese outbound tourism grew by 10% y-o-y reaching 128 million in 2015, while tourist expenditure rose by 26% which accounts for US$292 billion.
Factors behind this boom in outbound tourism from China includes increasing household incomes, appreciation of RMB, relaxation of visa policies and the enhancement in the international air connectivity.
A large majority of intra-regional travel still comes from Chinese outbound tourism, as China was among the top three source markets for 10 out of 12 key countries in the region in 2015. With weakening of Yen and relaxed visa processes, Japan experienced doubling on y-o-y of Chinese arrivals in 2015. Notably, still being the top destination for Chinese travelers, Thailand accounted an increment of 71.7% y-o-y in Chinese tourists for 2015. The author expects the trend to continue as 134 million trips within the region is expected to be taken by tourists from Mainland China in 2020.
Moving further on the spending patterns of the Chinese tourists, research indicates that shopping accounts for the largest portion of their budget while accommodation only accounts for a smaller portion.
As per the statistics of the Singapore Tourism Board, tourists from China ranked as the lowest spending market on accommodation (18%) which is far behind the Australians (28%), Indians (35%), Japanese(35%), and South Koreans (36%). Although, a survey undertaken in 2013 indicated that only 10% of the respondents noted price is the most important factor when selecting accommodation in an overseas trip meaning that Chinese tourist are less concerned about price. Rather, the survey revealed that star rating and facilities offered are most important, followed by reputation of the hotel, suggestions by friends, family, or travel sites.
Thus, as word-of-mouth has continuously been one of the most effective tools in the service industry, there are several online websites and forums for rating and commenting. A survey carried out in 2015 by TripAdvisor affirmed that 83% of the site users always or usually check reviews prior to a hotel booking. Also, the study found that about half of the hoteliers are planning to invest in online reputation management in 2016.
The survey also indicated that cultural and language barrier are key concerns for tourists from China as "Mandarin speaking staff, signs and literature" was ranked as the third most important factor. Chinese travelers are increasingly seeking hotel services that are tailored to their culture while assisting them to overcome the language barrier. Hence, it is widely suggested that hoteliers provide such services to Chinese tourists including Chinese speaking front line staff, Chinese television, newspapers and cuisine.
The top most services required by travelers from China on international trips according to the study were free Wi-Fi and China Union Pay/Alipay. This is because free Wi-Fi enables travelers to connect with their family and friends, while the most popular two electronic payment methods in China are very convenient for them.
Though, in overall, even if the spending by tourists from China on accommodation are comparatively less, the industry is hopeful that given the huge number of Chinese outbound tourists, there is room for growth. Also, that the consumption pattern of Chinese tourists will be sophisticated in the future resulting in a higher spending on accommodation.
While the influx of Chinese outbound tourists will drive the demand for accommodation, the rising shared accommodation facilities will create major challenges to the traditional hotel segment.
Technology advancement has created online platforms for hosts to easily offer rooms and apartments on short-term rentals. Airbnb is the market leader in this category currently covering 191 countries renting over 2 million rooms and apartments. Other notable players in the segment include HomeAway, FlipKey, Rommorama, and operators within the nation such as Tujia in China and Homie in Singapore.
These short terms rentals often act as substitutes for hotel rooms and interestingly, a survey in 2015 by AlphaWise and Morgan Stanley Research, 12% of the business travelers chose Airbnb over the past year. Also, among those, 40% opted to use Airbnb over traditional hotel accommodations.
The CBRE Research analyzed the data provided by STR Global and AirDNA (a company providing data on Airbnb) to find out the impact of shared accommodation on Asia Pacific hotel sector.
There were more than 130,000 active listings (used within the last 30 days) in 25 major Asia Pacific cities listed on Airbnb as of August 2016. Australia was the leader on Airbnb with 28,000 active listings, followed by 20,493 by japan, 16,295 by Indonesia while China is far behind with 9,890 as Airbnb is new to this market and many domestic alternatives are available.
With around 60% of the active rentals on Airbnb for entire apartments, this is equivalent to approximately 2% of hotel room supply in the Asia Pacific. It was identified that the ratio is highest in Manila where Airbnb supply is equivalent to 70% of the hotel room supply in the city, which is 8000 rooms.
The lower prices are the key competitive advantage for Airbnb, and in most of the Asia Pacific markets, the prices offered by Airbnb is much lower than traditional hotels. The price gap was more than 200% in 6 markers when ADR for hotels and 1-bedroom entire apartment type of accommodation was compared. And, in addition to the lower prices offered, accommodation facilities on Airbnb often comes with amenities such as washing machine and kitchen, etc., which are not usually provided by traditional hotels.
One of the weak angles of Airbnb is that only a small percentage of the listings are available for rental throughout the year. Yet, owners have the flexibility to list their properties on Airbnb whenever they prefer and this way, they will be able to manage the seasonality of demand. This seems to be reflected as the number of listings on Airbnb increased by 19% in the three preceding weeks of a 31 particular events that were specified by Airbnb. Hence, during high demand seasons and when there are specific events that drive tourists to a particular city or location, the rise of such alternative accommodation could reduce the potential hotel revenue and profitability. Airbnb also offers tourists unique experiences and unconventional accommodation in local neighborhoods that are far from traditional tourist zones. And sometimes even tourists can stay in places such as tree houses or yurts which are not usually offered by traditional hotel chains.
Nonetheless, there were some concerns and doubts with shared accommodation among tourists. Safety and security issues are a major concern for users of these types of accommodation facilities as identified by a survey from CWT Travel Management Institute in 2015, while the users are also concerned about the product and service quality.
Shared accommodation are often managed by inexperienced people and might not comply with the government regulations on property use, safety and hygiene. As there are no centralized service management, users of such facilities are forced to rely on user reviews and hosts' reputation on quality of product and services. Due to such reasons, some shared accommodation platforms in China now offer strict security checks on hosts backgrounds and quality of the product offered.
Based on the findings, some insightful recommendations to hoteliers in designing their services is called for. Even though, with the continued increment in outbound Chinese tourists, and the Chinese tourists being not willing to spend much on accommodation, there were signs that they have started to be more keen in hotel quality and services. Therefore, hoteliers are suggested to make sure that the services offered to this important demographic segment to be as per their requirements.
The potential long term threat by shared accommodation especially on peak seasons to traditional hotels is clear and present. This trend had impelled hotel operators to review their operational models. Several multi-brand hotels have been already addressing the issue by portfolio expansions to more affordable segments targeted at young travelers. Some popular examples include the Moxy Hotels by Marriott introduced in 2015 and Tru by Hilton. Offering a lower price, these hotels offered innovative services to tourists such as mobile check-in and more open spaces and common areas for guests to gather and socialize. Hoteliers have included more homely elements in their hotel designs taking note from the "live-like-a-local" and "feel-at-home" preference by users of shared accommodations. An example of this is the Hyatt Houses by Hyatt Group which are apartment style suites that have full kitchens and separate living areas.
It remains to be understood that the main tool for gaining market share is the quality and consistency of the services provided. Loyalty programs are crucial too as a survey by TripAdvisor showed 42% of respondents said that they consider such programs when booking accommodation. Hence, it is proven that successful loyalty programs can be a motivator for tourists to visit again. And, in a recent study by PwC, it was identified that tourists are willing to pay a premium to stay in their preferred hotel brand.
Bringing Fun Through Taste | URC HONG KONG CO. LTD.


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Could this be the year of the Ram?
Rio Rancho High School's varsity girls soccer team edged La Cueva 2-1 Friday evening at the APS soccer complex to win the APS Metro Championships title. The last "Year of the Ram" was in 2007, when the Rams won the Class 5A title.
Lexi Nutter scored twice, both on long free kicks in the first half, and the Rams (7-0), off to their best start in school history, held on for the win. Cassie Boren tallied the Bears' goal, which came with less than 18 minutes to play against sophomore 'keeper Sara Wilmot, who'd also allowed a late goal to Cleveland in the Rams' 2-1 semifinal win Wednesday.
La Cueva got to the championship game out of pool play and beat its District 2-5A rival and last year's 5A champ, Eldorado, 2-1. The Rams also beat one of their district foes (in 1-6A), the Storm, to get to the showdown with the Bears.
La Cueva (4-1), featured in a video on YouTube ("Hell Week"), gets a chance to avenge that rare loss Thursday when it meets the Rams again at the APS complex at 4:30 p.m
Question of Ethics
BY: SUMIKO CORLEY PHOTOS: CARLOS MONTOYA A vicious attack on the field during the La Cueva/Highland varsity soccer game at the APS Soccer Complex August 30th has the Bears' Chris Manning recovering from head and back injuries, reprising the very serious issue of conduct and consequence. Here's what we know: In a game described by La Cueva head varsity coach Kevin Driggs, players and several spectators, the game was fast-paced - not too rough or dirty - both teams playing hard. Then, during the 2nd half, La Cueva's number 6, Chris Manning, and a Highland player both went for the ball. "They both went down to the ground after a tackle had been made," says Driggs. "They got tangled up in a challenge, on the way down Chris Manning grabbed the Highland player. While on the ground the Highland player punched Chris, connected on the side of the head. After hitting Chris, he stood up for 3-4 seconds and then kicked Chris while Chris was on the ground." Read more in the September issue of ABQ Sports Magazine. Click on the issue on the front page.
UFC Fight Night - SANCHEZ vs PEARSON
in Slider
Photo by Carlos Montoya

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I'm still not too worried about killer robots quite yet, but as a Business Technologist, it puts me in an interesting position.
Look, I might wait and see how quantum computing works out before I recommend it to my clients, but upgraded operating systems, better networking tools, and new server platforms are not radically new technologies. You should always be ready to upgrade, get the newest version, and be as up-to-date as possible.


I'm looking forward to starting an exciting summer season! I will be singing 4 roles (3 being role debuts for me), in 3 countries, in 3 months. Tomorrow I leave for the coast of Bulgaria where I will begin rehearsals for my first Lauretta in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. They are putting me up in the beautiful Mimosa resort right next to the Black Sea.


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CD360 (IL-21R) antibodies, human
Clone: REA233 | Dilution: 1:11
Clone REA233 recognizes CD360, which is also known as interleukin 21 (IL-21) receptor. CD360 forms a heterodimer with the common γ subunit, which is shared by other receptors such as IL-2 and IL-15 receptor and serves as the receptor for IL-21. CD360 is a single-pass type I membrane protein and belongs to the type I cytokine receptor family. Expression of CD360 is found on variety of cells including B cells, NK cells subsets, T cells, NKT cells, dendritic cells, macrophages, and non-hematopoietic cells such as keratinocytes and fibroblasts. CD360 is composed of the cytokine-binding domain, a transmembrane domain and a large intracellular domain that contains conserved structural motifs, including the commonly described box 1 and box 2 elements, which are important for signal transduction. IL-21 mediated signaling plays vital role in mediating immune response and is involved in enhancement of adaptive T cell–immunity, antibody production, activation of natural killer cell subtypes, and opposing the suppressive effects mediated by regulatory T cells.
Additional information: Clone REA233 displays negligible binding to Fc receptors.
IL21R, NILR
Antigen: CD360 (IL-21R)
Clone: REA233
Isotype: recombinant human IgG1
Isotype control: REA Control (S) antibodies
Alternative names of antigen: IL21R, NILR
Distribution of antigen: B cells, dendritic cells, T cells, NK cells
Product format: Reagents are supplied in buffer containing stabilizer and 0.05% sodium azide.
Fixation: The antibody is suited for staining of formaldehyde-fixed cells.
Storage: Store protected from light at 2–8 °C. Do not freeze.
Available conjugates: PE, APC, PE-Vio770, Biotin
Untouched B cells were isolated from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using the B Cell Isolation Kit II, human. Isolated B cells were then stimulated with IL-4 and multimeric human CD40L for 48 hours, stained with CD360 (IL-21R) antibodies, and analyzed by flow cytometry using the MACSQuant
Analyzer. CD20
cells are represented in the histograms. The specificity of the conjugated antibodies was confirmed by blocking the binding to the ligand, using pure unconjugated antibodies (left peak). Cell debris and dead cells were excluded from the analysis based on scatter signals and propidium iodide fluorescence. The Tandem Signal Enhancer has been used to increase binding specificity of tandem-dye–conjugated antibodies and or 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) fluorescence, as in the case of tandem conjugates.
Lowe, L. et al. (2011) IL-21R is critical for the development of memory responses. J. Immunol. 186: 150
Hamming, O. J. et al. (2012) Crystal structure of interleukin-21 receptor (IL-21R) bound to IL-21 reveals that sugar chain interacting with WSXWS motif is integral part of IL-21R. J. Biol. Chem. 287: 9454-9460
CD360 (IL-21R)-PE, human
for 30
One test corresponds to labeling of up to 10
cells in a total volume of 100 µL.
for 100
CD360 (IL-21R)-APC, human
CD360 (IL-21R)-PE-Vio770, human
CD360 (IL-21R)-Biotin, human
Tandem Signal Enhancer, human
The Tandem Signal Enhancer, human increases binding specificity of tandem dye–conjugated antibodies ...
B Cell Isolation Kit II, human
The B Cell Isolation Kit II was developed for the fast and efficient isolation of untouched B cells ...
MACS Comp Bead Kit, anti-REA
The MACS® Comp Bead Kits have been developed for optimal compensation of the fluorescence spillover ...
Stay at selected version (DE)


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Home/Politics/Here's What Those Mass Event Trials Found About Covid Risk
Here's What Those Mass Event Trials Found About Covid Risk
Large events could be one step closer to coming back, as trials to see how they might run with extra Covid-safe measures have reportedly had positive results.
Since April, the government's Events Research Programme (ERP) has analysed the Covid risk of various large-scale indoor and outdoor events, including the Brit Awards (4,000 indoor attendees), the FA Cup Final (21,000 seated outdoor spectators) and a Liverpool club night (3,000 people dancing inside).
Anthony Devlin via Getty Images
Circus nightclub hosted the first dance event on April 30 2021 in Liverpool as part of the pilot scheme.
The pilot events have tested a range of non-pharmaceutical mitigating interventions – such as the layout of the venue, face coverings and ventilation – and all attendees took Covid tests before and after the event.
"We are still waiting for the final bits of data, but the results so far have been very encouraging," a source told The Times.
"It will help make the case that these large events are not inherently more risky than other parts of the hospitality sector. It shows that there are things you can do to make these settings as safe as other daily activities. It is true that they are not going to be 100% safe but you can lower the risk to a reasonable level."
The research team, who are working in partnership with local and national health authorities, will also analyse transport to and from events, duration of events, and catering and alcohol.
A full report is due to be published by the end of May.
Marc Atkins via Getty Images
The Emirates FA Cup Final match between Chelsea and Leicester City at Wembley Stadium on May 15, 2021.
The full reopening of nightclubs and theatres, as well as removal of limits on weddings and other major celebrations, will be subject to the final outcomes of these trials – so a lot hangs in the balance.
"It has been enormously tough for the events sector over the past year, but these pilots are a real beacon of hope as we cautiously emerge from the pandemic," Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng previously said.
"This programme will not only provide valuable scientific evidence, but also offer confidence to the industry so we can make the most of the Great British summer and host large-scale events in a way that's safe for everybody."
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Sex, Sponsie, and Other Sunday Brunch Topics
Today's Sunday Brunch features dead monkeys and dead celebrities, all accompanied by the song "Chopsticks" being played on the piano.
SEX ED, CIRCA 1874
I recently stumbled across a set of five volumes titled SAMMY TUBBS, THE BOY DOCTOR, AND SPONSIE, THE TROUBLESOME MONKEY. Written by "E.B. Foote, M.D.," the books were part of a series called "Science in Story."
It is one of the strangest series I've ever seen -- surprisingly progressive for its era, even while being old-fashioned and downright racist.
The stories concern an African-American boy, Sammy Tubbs, who comes north after being freed from slavery. Finding work as a "door-boy" at the home of a physician, he soon begins following the career path of his employer, learning about the various parts of the human body and how to prevent and fight illness. Each volume in the series is concerned with a different system of the body -- "brain and nerves," "digestive, nutritive, respiratory, and vegetative nervous," "arteries, lymphatics, veins, lacteal, capillaries, radicles, villi," and "bones, cartilidges, and muscles." This information is presented throughout the stories, which also feature a pair of amusing monkeys, whose hijinks lighten up the narratives. Or at least they do until the monkeys -- named Sponsie No. 1 and Sponsie No. 2 -- get ahold of a pair of guns and Sponsie No. 2 shoots and kills Sponsie No. 1 as well as Sammy's beloved dog. The book includes a drawing of the dead animals laid out on a table, as the tearful Sammy decides to "lay open the skull of Sponsie" and remove the cerebro-spinal system of the dog for an upcoming scientific lecture. That evening the young scientist, so emotionally overwhelmed that he must at times "bury his face in his handkerchief," presents a medical lecture using the brain and spine of his pets as props!
I told you these books were weird.
The covers of all the Sammy Tubbs books are identical, except for one:
Let's come in closer to read that subtitle:
This, the last volume in the series, is the one that really shocked me. I always thought of the nineteenth century as being quite Puritanical and never expected that a popular series would feature a volume "for private reading" about the "elimination and reproductive system"!
The book is rather coy in some regards. It tries to scare off some readers by stating that this volume "is dryer than any preceding volume," which of course is not true at all. However, the preface acknowledges that "this volume will, in many instances, be detached from the regular series of five consecutive volumes to which it belongs by those who mistakenly, as the publishers believe, adjudge it unsuited to children."
The information about the reproductive organs and their functions are frankly described in this volume. The book also includes these rather graphic illustrations:
But if you look closely at the top of these pages, you will note their odd pagination and a special warning to parents:
Yep, the publisher conspires with parents ("This leaf can be cut out if thought advisable") by labeling the pages 180 1/2 and 18 3/4. If a parent were to carefully remove this page from the volume, the kid would be none the wiser, since the pages before and after these are 180 and 181!
From today's perspective, these illustrations are the least shocking part of the book. Much more controversial is the incorrect info the book provides on several fronts. For example, the concept that a child may grow up to be a murderer if his mother visits a slaughterhouse while pregnant. And speaking of slaughter, Sponsie No. 2 bites the big one in this volume, getting his tail entangled in knife-grinder and becoming "completely disemboweled." Naturally, Sammy dissects the body.
Even if the series had not included this "book for private reading," it's still unusual for a novel from this era to feature an accomplished, intellectually curious African American protagonist. However, while Sammy Tubbs gives lectures on scientific topics and hopes to attend medical school, some of the other black characters speak in dialect and behave like knaves. For example, when Sponsie has his fatal accident, Sammy's friend Diggles cries, "Dat dere monkey am all torn to strings! He am dun gone forever! Oh mi! Oh mi!" We're later told that while he "still knows how to chew twine and crack his knuckles," Diggles never shared Sammy's interest in science. Why? "Among colored people, as well as among those of lighter complexion, under the present system of hap-hazard reprodution, some are born with and some without brains."
Still, Sammy himself remains a trailblazer in many areas. For example, one of his girlfriends is caucasian. Surely, this must be one of the first books for young people -- if not the first to feature an illustration depicting an interracial kiss:
By turns progressive, dated, frank, and often ridiculously wrong in its facts, the Sammy Tubbs stories are among the strangest children's books of their era...or any era.
SEX EDUCATION, CIRCA 1988
The subject of the Sammy Tubbs "Book for Private Reading" reminded me of an old favorite of mine published over twenty years ago:
Does anyone else remember this novel?
I'm sure that many readers were drawn to the book by its attention-grabbing title. Some may have been disappointed when the narrative wasn't nearly as explicit as expected. On the other hand, the book was so well-written and intriguing that most probably didn't mind.
The story concerns classmates Livvie and David who, as part of a high school "sex ed" class are told to find someone and "care" about them. They choose a pregnant teenage girl married to a violent young man -- a choice that ends up having tragic consequences.
Jenny Davis burst onto the young-adult field with her 1987 novel GOODBYE AND KEEP COLD. The next year she published SEX EDUCATION, with CHECKING ON THE MOON following in 1990. At the time, all three books were highly praised and their author, a teacher, was seen as an important new voice in young adult fiction.
Unfortunately, CHECKING ON THE MOON was the last book she published. Her novels continued to be read for some years, but now they are all out of print. I keep hoping that, one of these days, she'll turn up with a great new book and that her three early novels -- still quite readable -- will return to print.
Does anyone remember Jenny Davis or know why she disappeared so suddenly and completley from the field of young adult fiction?
HOW NOT TO SHELVE BOOKS!
Blog friend Susan B. provided a link to the following video -- "How to Beautify Your Bookshelves" -- on her Facebook page and I was so horrified that I had to share it here:
As Susan commented, "Remove the dust jackets? Arrange by color? Put a container of water near hardcover books? NOOOOOO....."
Also the woman in the video shelves at least one of the books upside down!
It reminded me of the time I was watching TRADING SPACES and a designer looked at a room full of books and decided to take off all the dustjackets. If someone had done that to my book collection, I would probably end up in jail for causing them grievous bodily harm!
(P.S. If you'd like to be Facebook friends with me, feel free to "friend" me at Peter D. Sieruta.)
If you're interested in old and collectable books the way I am, you always try to keep an eye out for current books that are offbeat and intriguing; they are the books we'll be collecting tomorrow.
Is CHOPSTICKS one of those books?
I'm not sure. But it's definitely a "different" type of young-adult novel and may pave the way for an entirely new genre.
Created by writer Jessica Anthony and illustrator Rodrigo Corral, and available as both a book and app, this is a graphic novel for the computer age. A minimal text and abundant photographs, collages, video stills, and other well-designed art pieces tell the story of Glory Fleming, a piano prodigy trained by her ambitious father. Glory has performed at concert halls around the world and is known for interpolating classical music with pop songs. When Argentinian teenager Frank Mendoza moves in next door, their ensuing romantic relationship is depicted in posed photos, Instant Message texts, poetry, and samples of Frank's artwork. A European concert tour separates the teens and Glory suffers a breakdown, interrupting her performances to play the beginners' song "Chopsticks." Ultimately, she is admitted to the "Golden Hands Rest Facility, an instition for musical progedies." A rest home for musical progedies? Right there is your first clue that something about this entire narrative is off-base. (It may also be the only YA novel in which Lawrence Welk's ragtime piano gal, Jo Ann Castle, appears as a recurring motif.) CHOPSTICKS has been receiving a lot of attention due to the way it bridges the gap between a standard bound book and a computer app. Those who read this story in the latter format will probably have a very different experience -- clicking on links to view Youtube videos and hear music excerpts -- than those of us who simply turned the pages of the novel. Is one format better than the other? I don't know. But whatever format is chosen, readers will be disturbed and mystified by this tantalizingly inconclusive tale that demands to be be read (or played on the computer) again and again. Each subsequent reading will likely lead to different theories on what is real and what is unreal in the lives of Frank and Glory.
If you work in a public or school library, I'm curious if there has been much demand for books such as these this past week:
One wonders how soon she'll be immortalized in one of those quickie volumes for morbid kids like these:
One thing I've noticed about children's books is how the smaller presses fill a need for pop culture biographies. While these books don't generally hold up as "literature," and only stay in print for a couple years, they do achieve their purpose: serving as biographies that kids can use in writing book reports and papers for school. Although there is only one Tim Tebow book available for kids at the moment -- a "young reader's edition" of the athlete's autobiography THROUGH MY EYES -- I can pretty much guarantee that there will be three or four quickie children's biographies of Tebow on the shelves by the time the next football season rolls aroung. And I bet that, even as you read this, some publisher is contacting an author about writing a Jeremy Lin book STAT!
SCEGG WELL!
Last weekend I wrote about the new "50th Anniversary Commemorative Edition" of A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L'Engle. This week I laid my hands on a copy and I'd recommend that all fans of the novel do the same. It's full of all kinds of treats, including photographs from Ms. L'Engle's life and a chapter from the original manuscript as edited by the author.
Here are some of my favorite things in this new edition:
* Last week I mentioned the newly-designed dust jacket illustration. What I didn't know at the time was that, beneath the dustjacket, the original, well-remembered cover art by Ellen Raskin is printed directly on the front panel of the book.
* Katherine Paterson's introduction includes this fascinating tidbit:
Last March I went to see the documentary CHEKHOV FOR CHILDREN. And there on the screen was a sixth-grader named Rebecca Stead. For me it was sort of a wrinkle in time, for I was seeing the author at just about the time that Madeleine L'Engle made a magical visit to Rebecca's New York City public school. I'm guessing it was about then that young Rebecca fell in love with A WRINKLE IN TIME. Her own Newbery Award book, WHEN YOU REACH ME, is a stunning homage to the book she cherished as a child.
* In an Afterword written by Madeleine's granddaughter Charlotte Jones Voiklis, we learn that there was some concern that the word "tesseract" was not in the public domain, in which case the author considered substituting "sceortweg" for "tesseract" and "scegging" for "tessering." It's hard to imagine that, isn't it? Ms. L'Engle was known for signing books, "Tesser well!" "Scegg well!" just wouldn't be the same, would it?
* The Afterword also provides a tantalizing hint about the "unfinished first draft" of a novel called THE EYE BEGINS TO SEE in which the adult Meg "adjusts to her children's growing up and moving out." Think this book will ever be published? If WRINKLE IN TIME had remained a stand-alone volume, I think the author's literary executors might have said no -- why mess with a classic? BUT, since L'Engle herself continued to write about the Meg and the Murray/O'Keefe family in several more volumes of varying quality, I expect THE EYE BEGINS TO SEE will be considered fair game and that it will be published eventually. That's just my guess. Someday we'll SEE if I'm right.
Thanks for visiting Collecting Children's Books. Hope you'll return!
Lisa Jenn Bigelow said...
And speaking of slaughter, Sponsie No. 2 bites the big one in this volume, getting his tail entangled in knife-grinder and becoming "completely disemboweled." Naturally, Sammy dissects the body.
Wow. Just, wow.
Bookshelf Lady: Barbarian! Books are not for decorating purposes! Books are to read and to love and to care for!
Here's the "book for private reading" online:
http://books.google.com/books?id=tLkXAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
This looks like Volume 4:
And Volume 3:
http://www.archive.org/details/scienceinstorysa03foot
One of Foote's books for adults:
http://www.archive.org/details/medicalcommonse00footgoog
I DO remember SEX EDUCATION and Jenny Davis. I loved it when I read it and still have my copy, I hope. Did you read GOODBYE AND KEEP COLD, also by her, which I also loved? Really, I should reread both. Somebody, somewhere, recently told me she has another book due out soon. Let's hope this is true!
Karla said...
I am a Barefoot Books Ambassador and love their new book, Grandpa's Garden, for spring.
Hope you have a chance to check it out!
hschinske said...
I remember cataloging that E.B. Foote set when I was working for the American Antiquarian Society. Good times.
Helen Schinske
Brunch delayed
February 12 Sunday Brunch


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Q: What is the optimal amount of data for a table? How much data should be in a table so that reading is optimal? Assuming that I have 3 fields varchar(25). This is in MySQL.

A: I would suggest that you consider the following in optimizing your database design:

*

*Consider what you want to accomplish with the database. Will you be performing a lot of inserts to a single table at very high rates? Or will you be performing reporting and analytical functions with the data?

*Once you've determined the purpose of the database, define what data you need to store to perform whatever functions are necessary.

*Normalize till it hurts. If you're performing transaction processing (the most common function for a database) then you'll want a highly normalized database structure. If you're performing analytical functions, then you'll want a more denormalized structure that doesn't have to rely on joins to generate report results.

*Typically, if you've really normalized the structure till it hurts then you need to take your normalization back a step or two to have a data structure that will be both normalized and functional.

*A normalized database is mostly pointless if you fail to use keys. Make certain that each table has a primary key defined. Don't use surrogate keys just cause its what you always see. Consider what natural keys might exist in any given table. Once you are certain that you have the right primary key for each table, then you need to define your foreign key references. Establishing explicit foreign key relationships rather than relying on implicit definition will give you a performance boost, provide integrity for your data, and self-document the database structure.

*Look for other indexes that exist within your tables. Do you have a column or set of columns that you will search against frequently like a username and password field? Indexes can be on a single column or multiple columns so think about how you'll be querying for data and create indexes as necessary for values you'll query against.

A: Number of rows should not matter.  Make sure the fields your searching on are indexed properly.  If you only have 3 varchar(25) fields, then you probably need to add a primary key that is not a varchar.

A: Agree that you should ensure that your data is properly indexed.
Apart from that, if you are worried about table size, you can always implement some type of data archival strategy to later down the line.
Don't worry too much about this until you see problems cropping up, and don't optimise prematurely.

A: For optimal reading you should have an index. A table exists to hold the rows it was designed to contain. As the number of rows increases, the value of the index comes into play and reading remains brisk.

A: Phrased as such I don't know how to answer this question.  An idexed table of 100,000 records is faster than an unindexed table of 1,000.
What are your requirements?  How much data do you have?  Once you know the answer to these questions you can make decisions about indexing and/or partitioning.

A: This is a very loose question, so a very loose answer :-)
In general if you do the basics - reasonable normalization, a sensible primary key and run-of-the-mill queries - then on today's hardware you'll get away with most things on a small to medium sized database - i.e. one with the largest table having less than 50,000 records.
However once you get past the 50k - 100k rows, which roughly corresponds to the point when the rdbms is likely to be memory constrained - then unless you have your access paths set up correctly (i.e. indexes) then performance will start to fall off catastrophically.  That is in the mathematical sense - in such scenario's it's not unusual to see performance deteriorate by an order of magnitude or two for a doubling in table size.
Obviously therefore the critical table size at which you need to pay attention will vary depending upon row size, machine memory, activity and other environmental issues, so there is no single answer, but it is well to be aware that performance generally does not degrade gracefully with table size and plan accordingly.

A: I have to disagree with Cruachan about "50k - 100k rows .... roughly correspond(ing) to the point when the rdbms is likely to be memory constrained".  This blanket statement is just misleading without two additional data: approx. size of the row, and available memory.  I'm currently developing a database to find the longest common subsequence (a la bio-informatics) of lines within source code files, and reached millions of rows in one table, even with a VARCHAR field of close to 1000, before it became memory constrained.  So, with proper indexing, and sufficient RAM (a Gig or two), as regards the original question, with rows of 75 bytes at most, there is no reason why the proposed table couldn't hold tens of millions of records.

A: The proper amount of data is a function of your application, not of the database. There are very few cases where a MySQL problem is solved by breaking a table into multiple subtables, if that's the intent of your question.
If you have a particular situation where queries are slow, it would probably be more useful to discuss how to improve that situation by modifying query or the table design.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Police Officers From Across Maryland, US Help Stand Guard At Inauguration 2021County Executive Steuart Pittman said the group left their headquarters at around 1:30 a.m. to travel to Washington, DC.
Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh Defends Ravens Passing Game After Playoff Loss To BillsWhile the Ravens are working on plans for next season, many questions remain about how this season ended.
More Than $160K Raised For Baltimore Restaurants By Jimmy's Famous Seafood In Less Than 48 HoursJimmy's Famous Seafood has started a fund to help struggling restaurants amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and more than $160,000 has been raised in less than 48 hours.
WJZ 13On Air
Prince George's County Schools Deal With Nursing Shortage
Filed Under:Nurses, nursing, Prince George's County, Schools, shortage
(Credit: AP)
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) — Prince George's County school officials are grappling with a shortage of nurses.
The Washington Post reports that there's no permanent, full-time nurse assigned to about 10 percent of the county's schools. The shortage has existed since last year.
Karen Bates, supervisor of the health-services office, says the school system has lost nurses to retirement, attrition and higher-paying jobs. But it's hired about 20 school nurses in the past three months.
The district is considering whether nurse's aides could be hired to staff schools in place of registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. Those aides would be supervised by a registered nurse assigned to a region including several schools. As a temporary fix, the school system might ask nurses at one school to treat a student at another school.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


text:
Joey the Garden Cat Forecasts the Weather at a TV Station
By Angela Lutz
, December 12, 2013
When a cat named Joey arrived at a Little Rock, Arkansas, news station in 2007, a star was born.
No one realized it at the time, though — Joey was just a stray kitten looking for a warm place to sleep, and he found a heated cat house in the weather garden behind the THV 11 studio. The station's resident kitty, Larry, a standoffish tomcat, had warmed up to Joey, much to the surprise of the station's staff. Joey, however, was less eager to warm up to humans.
"It took about a month for us to 'cat-whisper' him," says Theba Lolley, THV 11's community relations director.
Lolley says the original plan was to catch Joey, have him neutered and vaccinated, and adopt him out to a good home. At this point, many of the station's viewers had seen Joey on television, so he had a number of potential suitors. But Joey's friendship with Larry got in the way of those plans.
"Everyone knew about Joey, so there were a lot of people willing to adopt him," Lolley says. "But the relationship between Larry and Joey grew to the point where it was real obvious that Joey had to stay."
Unlike Larry, Joey was gregarious and liked being the center of attention — especially after Larry passed away later that year. Missing his friend, Joey sought love and affection from humans, who were happy to oblige — particularly Lolley, who became his primary caretaker. She also created a Facebook fan page for the cat, where he was a hit with viewers. It was official — Joey was the new resident kitty at THV 11.
"There was no way we could even think about getting rid of him after that," Lolley says.
When Joey befriended meteorologist Tom Brannon, the cat soon found his true calling in showbiz. Joey got to know the schedule of the news crew, and he was ready and waiting every day at 3 a.m. when the cameras were rolled into the garden, where Brannon gave the forecast each morning.
"He loved it when Tom would come out and do the weather," Lolley says. "He'd jump up on the railing, and Tom would give him a treat, and Joey would sit there during the weathercast. A star was born after that."
Joey became so popular that in 2012 he was featured on Animal Planet's Must Love Cats. Unfortunately this professional peak was followed by a grim discovery: Shortly after the show aired, Joey was diagnosed with bone cancer. Lolley believes that Joey was trying to tell her something was wrong in the days preceding his diagnosis.
"Joey would come in my office, and he would sit and hold up his right front paw as if it was injured," she says. "He did not limp while he walked, but he absolutely acted like he could not apply pressure to his front paw while sitting."
The weird part, of course, is that the tumor was not located on Joey's front right leg but his back left leg. Weirder still: The type of cancer Joey had is common and lethal in dogs, often killing them within a month, but it is extremely rare in cats. Without Joey's warning signs, Lolley might not have caught the cancer in time.
"I believe that he was trying to tell us that he had something wrong with him by lifting up his front paw," Lolley says.
Joey's next stop was the vet, Dr. Terry Dew, who specializes in small animal surgery. Dr. Dew believed he could remove the tumor without amputating Joey's leg, as the cancer had not metastasized and appeared to be concentrated in one small area. Dr. Dew ended up removing a moon-shaped piece of Joey's tibia and replacing it with bone grafts and metal plates.
The best part: Dr. Dew performed the procedure free of charge.
"Dr. Dew took it on because he was extremely curious that a cat would get that kind of cancer, and he was so confident in his findings and the other doctors' findings around the nation that he made a bold decision," Lolley says. "This surgery would have cost us a fortune. How do you tell your business manager, 'Uh, you didn't expense for this, but …'"
After an intense two-month recovery period at Lolley's house, Joey is back at the station. He's enjoying his celebrity -ÔÇô according to Lolley, people come by to meet him and are totally starstruck. Joey's fame helps Lolley raise money for area shelters and pets in need, as well as to inspire human and feline cancer survivors alike. A year after his ordeal, Joey is still cancer-free.
"He represents a really sweet, positive, kind heartbeat for people," Lolley says. "Especially when the recession hit, he was something sweet, safe and kind. The most rewarding part for me is sharing him with everybody else."
Read more on Catster:
5 Photos of Cats Who Look Suspiciously Like Other Animals
Tips from a Behaviorist: How to Choose Gifts for Cats
10 Sounds That Cats Make — and What They Mean
Do you know of a rescue hero ÔÇö cat, human, or group ÔÇö we should profile on Catster? Write us at catsterheroes@catster.com.
Tags: Cats On TV, Catster Heroes, Good Causes, Health & Care
Angela Lutz
Angela Lutz is a writer and editor who has been fascinated by felines since childhood. She has more than a decade of experience writing about everything from health care and books to yoga and spicy food. She has written for Catster since 2012. Angela lives near Kansas City, Mo., with her husband, son and three cats.


It is essential to note that escape rooms are an adventure game in which players solve a series of puzzles and riddles using hints, clues, and strategy to complete the objectives they have in place. You find that escape game can provide you with all the fun that you wanted as well as offering some educational benefits to students and other learners. By the end of this discussion, you will be in a position to discover more educational benefits of escape rooms.
Teamwork is one of the merits of escape rooms. I can start by saying that you will not have fun playing escape room alone and this requires two or more groups of people. In this case, you will be required to work as a team to solve the puzzles and riddles to win the game. I can also say that there is nothing substantial that you will achieve if the members of the group keep on arguing about who should be the leader of the group. With this you will be in a position to learn that you should put your differences aside to be victorious. With this, you will realize that there will always be solutions to teamwork.
Besides, it will help in boosting your focus. You have to know that escape rooms are played with time. This will strictly give a certain amount of time to solve the puzzle. It is therefore recommended that put all that your focus on solving the puzzle to come up with a win. You find that when your mind is distracted, you will fail the puzzle under the given period.


Supporters of disgraced stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk became violent yesterday while protesting at Seoul National University. About 10 people in front of the school's main administrative building ― mostly women in their 40s and 50s ― pounced upon research department head Roh Jung-hye, spokeswoman for the investigative committee, as she tried to enter the building. Ms. Roh spoke on behalf of the school's investigative committee, which investigated Dr. Hwang's stem cell fraud case.
Some protesters grabbed Ms. Roh by the hair― pulling some of it out ― and threatened her with foul language. "We pulled out your hair in the name of Korea," one woman claimed. Ms. Roh was able to escape with the help of security guards and was taken to the school's clinic, and was reportedly only lightly bruised.
Yesterday was the third day Dr. Hwang's hard-core supporters have demonstrated at the university, since the school's disciplinary committee ordered the scientist to appear before the committee to give his final defense.
Claiming that the results of the university's committee investigation were invalid, the supporters began with a quiet picket on Monday, but cranked up the level on Tuesday, by shouting and throwing eggs at windows.


Our most recent Industry Safety Forum, held in Brisbane on 06 December, was another very successful event – a packed room of just over 200 senior leaders and key workforce representatives from 84 member companies and other invited organisations attended.
The Forum focused on the theme of "Engage and Embed", emphasising the challenge of embedding the Standards and tools developed by Safer Together and engaging the people within our industry to use them to drive improved safety performance.
how do you know your safety messages are not lost or filtered before they reach your frontline?
how do you encourage managers, supervisors and the workforce to speak up and raise their safety concerns?
what process safety concerns do you have and what are you going to do about them?
Delegates then rolled their sleeves up and first did a self-assessment of their company's progress to date in implementing Safer Together Standards and tools, before then sharing ideas for improving workforce engagement. A collective summary of the ideas generated by each table group was then discussed and neatly captured at the same time in a visual cartoon drawing – see below. The conversation concluded with delegates recording 2-3 actions for their company to take forward, as well as suggested actions for Safer Together.
A Panel session, in which frontline representatives and senior executives from the Safety Leaders Group engaged in a frank and personal conversation about workforce engagement.
Thank you to everyone that attended for contributing to a very enjoyable and worthwhile afternoon.
Our next Forum event will be held on Tuesday 13 June 2017. We very much hope to see all member companies represented at the event and we encourage you to block 13 June in your diary now.


LOS ANGELES (AP) – Cargo ships were stacking up Thursday in Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors as a strike shut down most of the terminals at the nation's busiest port complex.
About 70 clerical workers from the local chapter of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union were picketing seven of eight Los Angeles terminals and at least three of six Long Beach terminals, port officials said.
Dock workers from the same union were refusing to cross the picket lines even though an arbitrator ruled the walkout invalid on Tuesday.
By Thursday morning, at least 18 ships docked and inside the adjacent harbors were not being serviced, port spokesmen said.
The clerical workers have been locked in a contract dispute with 14 shippers for 2 and a half years. Talks broke off Monday and the workers struck a single terminal but expanded the picket lines Wednesday afternoon.
No new contract talks were scheduled.
Combined, Los Angeles and Long Beach comprise the nation's busiest port complex, handling 40 percent of the nation's import trade.
There was no immediate word on how much the strike is costing the ports. November generally is a slower time for the ports because most holiday goods already have been shipped ashore.
However, there were concerns that a continuing widespread strike could prompt retaliation from terminal operators. A bitter 10-day lockout at a number of West Coast ports in 2002 caused an estimated $15 billion in losses.
At issue is the union's contention that terminal operators have outsourced local clerical jobs out of state and overseas ? an allegation that the shippers deny.
This entry was posted in Public News on November 30, 2012 by Aaron Poole.


A theme is essential for a new blog. If people like what they see, they will more than likely keep coming back to see what is new. Whatever subject you choose for your blog, the tips presented here should help you avoid some of the pitfalls. Creating a successful blog takes a willingness to learn.
One easy way to get people to visit your own blog is to comment on other blogs in your niche. Google Reader allows you to organize your blogs by folder. Make a folder for the blogs you most want to follow so that you can find them when you want them. Comment regularly, if you'd like to say something.
Be available for your readers at all times. Make running a blog habitual for both you as well as your readers. Consistent communication with your readers can help establish a strong connection between you and your readers that results from the exchange of ideas with one another. If you feel like ending your blog, think of your regular readers and followers.
Purchase a domain name instead of using a site that is free. It isn't that expensive to do, and will give your blog a more professional appearance. Using your business's name or something related to it will make it easier for viewers to remember it.
Don't forget your life that is not blog related! Not allowing yourself a break now and then can result in burnout and fatigue. It is important that you take occasional breaks. Walk around the block. Meet some friends for coffee. Do whatever pleases you but do something other that set at the computer 24 hours a day! Taking a break like this allows you to return to your blog with a fresh perspective so you can write some outstanding content.
Make your blog unique. Unique and interesting content will help you gain more readers. If the information on your blog is rare, people will come to your blog, and then refer others. Make blog posts about unique experiences and hobbies. Explain how certain popular technologies work. If you can give the reader the motivation to visit your blog, they will visit it when they are looking for information.
Always keep up with the feedback that your blog receives, and respond back when it is appropriate. Never let yourself get overly emotional about this process. Whatever the topic of your post, someone will disagree with it! Improve your blog by taking constructive criticism to heart. Although it may seem counter-intuitive, you should politely respond to flames and trolls, as well, but don't dwell on them. You will appear to be the mature one, and that will only grow the number of readers of your blog.
Allow occasional guest posts on your blog. This builds your relationship with other bloggers, creates backlinks to your website and gives your readers a new point of view to read. Don't ever underestimate the power of networking. Perhaps that blogger will be able to return the favor one day.
Maintain the health of your blog. This means doing all the boring maintenance chores that needs to be done, as well as updating parts of your design from time to time. This will help keep readers from thinking your site is dull and that no one is having any problems accessing the blog.
If you want to attract more readers to your blog, quality content is crucial. Fill your blog with entertaining and informative articles. You will get lots of repeat visitors is your content is interesting, useful and relatable.
If you want to attract more readers to your blog, quality content is crucial. Fill your blog with entertaining and informative articles. Content that demonstrates real quality (and, more importantly, honesty and individuality) will encourage readers to revisit your blog again and again.
Before starting a blog, find a topic to write about that is meaningful to you. When writing content that you take a great interest in, it is much more interesting to read and you come across as being honest. This will translate well to your readers, increasing their commitment to return.
Link to your blog and its articles all across the Iternet. That way, you will attract the most readers you can. It is important that you don't place any limits on the size of your success. You aim should be to do whatever it takes in order to get huge numbers of new readers to your blog. You should exhaust every possible avenue in order to increase your blog's online presence.
Remember to select effective keywords which are unique and less competitive. Choosing the same keywords that are commonly used will make your article hard to find. The more unique and original your blog, the more attention you will get.
As far as blogging goes, it is not wise to use simple approaches. It is smart to always do your research and look at it as your business. Learn from the pros, and see what seasoned bloggers are doing. Improving in all the time while learning how to blog in new ways will help you to move forward.
Link to your blog and its articles all across the Iternet. The more places that people can find your content, the higher your reader numbers will be. Do not limit yourself to just a few outlets to promote your content. You aim should be to do whatever it takes in order to get huge numbers of new readers to your blog. So make the best use of every possibility for exposure.
There are many important factors when it comes to blogging, but you should never forget to have fun. If you find the topic uninteresting, your readers will also. Decide on your favorite topic, and enjoy yourself as you write about it! If you are creative and are enjoying what you're doing, it is only natural that your enjoyment will flow over into your work and that others will find enjoyment in it too!
When possible, italicize or bold keywords that are relevant to your niche. Make bullet lists, too. Search engines like this kind of content and site traffic will increase accordingly. This little tip can make a big difference in the success of your blog.
Take advantage of social media. These sites can help increase traffic to your blog. Don't let your lack of knowledge about social media intimidate you. Social media may be new technology, but it is popular technology, and if you ignore it you will miss giant opportunities to attract readers to your blog. Post your blog articles on Twitter and Facebook to make your blog more successful.
Use social media for blog promotion, but do not overdo it. People will quickly learn to ignore your tweets if they always just link back to your website. Alternate your links with interesting, standalone content to attract more attention.
Before ever starting a blog, decide what you want from it. Are you trying to establish your brand or become an authority figure in a certain niche? Do you plan to make money from your blog someday? Your goals may be varied. You must fully understand your goals and then design your blog around it.
Any blog that wants a close relation with its readers needs a contact form. Your readers can use this page to get in touch with you if they need to. Your readership will likely include many different people, and those varied opinions are an asset. Your readers are the best way to find out what is good and bad about your blog.
Actively encourage your readers to comment on your blog content. This gives readers a sense of investment in what you post on your blog. Always make time to respond to these comments, as well. This will make your readers feel they are part of a community and they will want to continue visiting your blog to keep up with the conversation.
Try to discuss issues that are always going to be relevant. It makes sense to create blogs around concepts that have longevity, because that will help bring in a larger audience.
Every blog MUST have a contact page. That way, readers will have no trouble getting in touch with you when they have a question. You may just get some good feedback if you let your readers contact you.
Blogs are quite social, so treat yours in that way. You should be easy for your readers to contact. Be sure to put yourself out there by talking to other people in the market. You won't achieve success if you sit back and do nothing. Take an active role in your blog's success!
Play around with the design of your blog's homepage. A lot of blog creators go with the standard home page template featuring a list of their most recent blogs. Shake things up by customizing your home page with a unique format. That is helpful, since you will probably be found because of search engine traffic or link traffic.
The choice to include advertising on your blog is one which should not be made without careful consideration. Most people who earn a living from blogging do so through advertisements. This can pose a problem for some bloggers because ads are an obtrusive force that may interfere with the content and personality of a blog. The visitors will know instantly that you are attempting to make money.
Utilize tabbed zones when you recommend articles. Another spot in which to place such content is immediately before your sidebar. You can make a tabbed zone that will contain the articles you feel are important for each category. This helps readers to easily understand what content is on your site, and it encourages them to click on articles too. You will gain an increased click rate when you utilize this method effectively.
The use of tabbed zones to show off your recommended articles can be a big help to your blog. Another spot in which to place such content is immediately before your sidebar. It is possible to created a zone with custom tabs that includes the articles that are most important to your relevant categories. Tabs increase your page's usability and increase the probability of your reader clicking on the tabbed material.
Pick a topic that responds well to search engine optimization methods. This will boost your search engine rank and leave you with a website which is quick to load and easy to use. Today's readers expect instant gratification both in message and in design. They'll go back to the search engine and be at a faster blog before you know it.
Be certain that the most important things on your blog are "above the fold"–right at the top where viewers can see them without scrolling down. Your viewers will find your site more easy to navigate and find content.
Create yourself a good campaign for link building along with your blog. The links you use will generate more traffic for your blog, which means more money for you.
Visuals and graphics are important to catch the eye of your blog visitors. These can be graphs, quotes or other images, but they will boost the interest level that any common person might have concerning your blog. This is one of the best ways to increase the number of people who read your blog.
Add videos to your blog to make it more interesting. Do not rely exclusively on videos, though; you should still have plenty of written content. Put up a description of each video in text, too. By doing this, you get to post keywords that are related to the videos.
Try to build good backlinks for your blog. This helps to make your blog look better in the eyes of the major search engines like Google and Bing. When Google trusts your content, your rank increases. The best way to become an authority is to have the links of other blogs. This is often referred to as back linking. You want to get a lot of different back links from many good sites, not just from one.
Blogs with visuals are typically more successful. Images, graphs and quotes go a long way toward piquing people's interest in your blog. This will make your posts interesting to a broad range of readers.
As you can see by now, everyone has the potential to create a popular blog when content is varied and interesting. Use the information you read about in this article to make your blog a success. Remember to use all the tips in the above article, and you will soon be running a successful blog.
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text:
train of thought.
train services
Long-distance passenger train services resumed on Nov. 27 and the strike ended the following day after it was agreed to cut the working week from 44 to 40 hours as in western Germany.
Eventually, a passenger train sulked off to Leeds.
when the train
In an emergency assistance can be provided more quickly if you operate the red alarm when the train is at a station.
train service
There may be train service alterations at weekends.
Since then the Railway has provided a steam train service EVERY weekend and daily during the summer.
great train robbery
Steam train set for a come-back
next train
"When is the next train arriving from Khartoum?" we asked.
express train
What they did not realize was that the express train had a restaurant car and the slow train did not.


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One of the most versatile dental procedures is a dental crown West Palm Beach. Not only are they used on their own, but they place an important role in many other forms of dental medicine.
Dental crowns are a big part of a lot of different procedures, especially dental implants. While the implant refers to the titanium or ceramic screw that is placed into your jawbone, the crown is actually the part you see. The crown is secured to the implant and provides a level of security that bridges or dentures simply cannot. The implant itself should last a lifetime but the crown will need to be replaced every 10-15 years, depending on how well you take care of it.
Much like dental implants, dental bridges are another way to replace missing teeth. Instead of surgically implanting a screw into your jaw, dental bridges are like getting a crown put on your teeth. The two teeth that are next two the missing tooth are filed down to fit a crown, then a bridge of teeth is placed on. Your smile will be restored and your mouth will be able to function normally again. While it isn't as secure as dental implants, bridges are still very effective and cost-effective.
Dental crowns are a dental procedure in their own right. Crowns are used to repair teeth that are weakened, damaged beyond repair, or suffer from extreme tooth decay and need extra protection that a filling cannot offer. You might be a candidate for a crown post-root canal therapy or if you have a deep crack or harsh chip that cannot be fixed by a filling or filing down.
Looking for More Information About A Dental Crown West Palm Beach?
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Dentures Jupiter | Should I Get Dentures or Dental Implants?


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Whitney Thompson Super Bowl Commercial Rejected Because Of Anti-Plus Size Bias? (VIDEO)
ByEllie Krupnick
01/20/2012 12:44pm EST | Updated December 7, 2017
Last month Whitney Thompson, winner of "America's Next Top Model" Cycle 10, jumped back onto our radar with a new project: a plus-sized dating website called The Big and the Beautiful.
Whitney, who herself falls into the broad category of "plus-size model," created the site based on her own struggles with dating. Now it seems she's struggling to promote the site to others. Ad Age reports that a proposed Super Bowl commercial for The Big and the Beautiful has been rejected by NBC.
Said the site's reps via a press release:
The ad is for TheBigAndTheBeautiful.com -- a dating site for plus-sized men and women that was founded by Thompson. NBC Universal's rejection email said: "Unfortunately it needs to be completely reworked for our air. S&P [Standards and Practices] wouldn't approve it."
Did NBC reject the ad because of an anti-plus size bias? Thompson thinks so, according to the press release: "She believes they rejected the commercial because it features bigger women and not the skinnier accepted norm."
Take a look at the ad below. We are all for fighting for positive representations of female bodies in the media, but we can't say that The Big and the Beautiful spot actually shows that many plus-size women. Instead, there's a butt shot of a petite blonde girl and a lot of rich-looking men prowling the Internet for sex with inexperienced women.
How that works to improve perceptions of plus-size women, we're not too sure.
We've reached out to NBC for an explanation of why the ad was rejected but are still waiting to hear back. In the meantime, check out the commercial for yourself. Any ideas as to why it wasn't deemed acceptable for the Super Bowl?
UPDATE: We spoke to a representative from NBC Sports, who clarified that the spot was not actually rejected. The Big and the Beautiful did submit an initial inquiry but never filed a formal "order to buy" and therefore could not have its ad formally considered.
For more banned Super Bowl ads, click below:
Banned Super Bowl Commercils(CLONED)
Whitney Thompsonamerica's next top modelVideoStylesuper bowl ads
Ellie Krupnick
Senior Editor of Viral Content and Strategy, The Huffington Post
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Part 2 – Grassroots Healthy Aging Effort in New Brunswick Offers Insight on Success Factors
You are here: Home / Stories We Care About / Part 2 – Grassroots Healthy Aging Effort in New Brunswick Offers...
A grassroots effort to promote healthy aging in New Brunswick offers some lessons learned in its first three years of activity.
Jodi Hall, director of operations for the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes (NBANH), has been actively engaged from the get-go.
She suggests that in addition to an intentionality about how people were engaged (Read Part 1 for more), several factors external to the initial organizing group were integral to success.
New Brunswick is now one of the Canada's oldest provinces. It is also in a time of unprecedented transition demographically as more young people leave for higher-paying employment elsewhere.
An understanding of this shift has created an environmental readiness for an effort of this kind in that residents are ready and willing to get involved, Jodi says.
An illustration by graphic facilitator Avril Orloff from a 2012 summit on healthy aging in New Brunswick. The graphic depicts what New Brunswick residents identified as necessary to creating a new culture of healthy aging.
The healthy aging effort has also gained political support for its various activities, including its public summit, follow-up Maestro conference and a collaborative of about 30 organizations.
Jodi herself has spoken with the premier on several occasions, who in that time has expressed support for the effort.
A key element in generating the political will, Jodi believes, is that the initiative has never been framed as an advocacy attempt or "us-versus-them" scenario in terms of the grassroots versus government.
"It was always framed as how can we work together with government," Jodi says.
Government isn't capable of achieving the degree of change required in the coming years on its own any way. "It has to be a collective effort. That was our messaging, and it was well received."
Public engagement in the summit has also been an external factor enabling success. Jodi says she didn't appreciate how much desire people had to express themselves on this particular subject until the summit, which convened more than 300 participants. In that forum, it was clear people were eager to share their thoughts and ideas.
The initiative has also found it valuable to investigate the experiences of other jurisdictions, such as Denmark, that are leading the way in aging care.
Sustaining the Momentum
To sustain momentum, a backbone organization must exist to keep the effort structured and moving forward, which is the role the NBANH and Jodi in particular have filled to date.
Staying connected with the grassroots will also be absolutely vital to sustaining momentum and achieving the vision, Jodi says.
Connection to the grassroots began with the summit and continued through a Maestro conference where a plan based on summit feedback was presented.
It continues to be a focus as the collaborative takes shape. The social prototyping component of the collaborative provides lots of space for grassroots engagement in particular. With that approach, people can share ideas for action communities can take to become more age-friendly. A first step in realizing those ideas is looking to the community to discover what assets already exist that might be brought together.
A key opportunity linked to New Brunswick's September elections also offers another path for connection between the grassroots and government on the topic of healthy aging.
With the NBANH's board support, a leaders' forum will take place two weeks before the election, with the five provincial party leaders answering five key questions related to aging and seniors' care in the province.
Grassroots Healthy Aging Effort in New Brunswick Offers Insight on Success Factors
Provincial Dialogue on Healthy Aging and Seniors' Care Yields Surprising Outcomes
New Brunswick Village Creates Own Solution to No. 1 Issue for Rural Seniors — Transportation
Editor's Note: Charles Holmes has played an integral role as dialogue facilitator in this healthy aging effort. Click here to read about Axiom News' partnership with Charles Holmes Consulting and the intent of the stories in this series.
Grassroots Healthy Aging Effort in New Brunswick Offers Insight on Success ... Facilitators Seek to Cultivate Story of Aliveness


This seems to be a satire at first, but make no mistake, it's a chilling dystopian tale of our likely future. Just think about pumping gas at a 'nice' gas station: a giant screen greets you and plays TV ads while you pump gas. No mute button; no channel switch. Get to the theatre 'on time' for your next movie. Instead of previews (a type of ad) actual commercials are played, with the previews coming later--after the listed start time.
I'd been thinking about making my own smartcar game, but it was a one-note concept; this takes the idea and extends it, featuring obstacles from ads to a pushy navigational system to problems with charging and filling the battery. It ends with an emotional blow that reveals a deep familiarity with the essential heartlessness of modern, commercialized, technology and design.
The writing throughout is sparse and fun. A well executed twine piece.


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Review: Vicious by V.E. Schwab
Title: Vicious
Author: V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Tor
Publishing Date: September 24, 2013
Pages/Format: 364, Hardcover
A masterful, twisted tale of ambition, jealousy, betrayal, and superpowers, set in a near-future world.
Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?
In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn't automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.
Initial Reaction of Book in One Word: Good.
I'm not a big reader of adult books, but I started to show interest in Vicious when I didn't see ANY bad things about it. Fortunately, the chance to read the book finally arose when it was the book of the month in book club. And while I don't think I loved Vicious, and not like so many other people seem to, it's not a bad book.
I didn't really have any issues with the book itself; it was more external. For one, there's all the hype. If you're like me, then hype can hinder a book for you. You go into said book with high expectations, and so it doesn't always end that way. That's the case here. Also, I didn't devour Vicious. I read a chunk of it in parts so I could spread it out for book club, and with other books inbetween, and that made me lose some focus on the book. And the book may have been slightly slow at times, but I don't think that was a major problem. I just didn't feel wowed by this book, and that's disappointing.
Despite all that, Vicious was actually pretty well done. The writing was fantastic and did a grand job of telling the story. And the story! The way it was done was successful, and the story itself was interesting. It's told from multiple POVs--in a way that pretty much works--as well as in the past and the present. So you see the story as it happened and how it began. And it's really cool to see that, because then you're just waiting for something to happen, but it doesn't always happen how you thought, and it's kind of like a rollercoaster. Also, the story may seem predictable, but it isn't. I had guesses that didn't happen. And something else that's really cool is the concept of heroes and villains. Vicious makes you wonder who's really the hero and who's really the villain. Does the villain wear the mask and the hero the cape? You never really know who's who, and I really liked that. (Spoiler: I just realized that, yes, Eli wears a mask...but couldn't that coat Victor wears be like a cape? AHHH. Revelations! End spoiler.)
I don't want to say too much about the characters, but I will say this: I loved Victor, and even more so, I loved the relationship between him, Sydney, Mitch, and, of course, Dol. It was a friendship and a sense of family, and this quartet was just fantastic. I LOVED them. And for parts I also liked Eli, but that feeling didn't last forever.
Also, quick note: There are several mentions of religion here, but it's not a religious book. (And if you're super religious, I wouldn't say it's offensive.) It's interesting because of how it's mentioned. I watch Criminal Minds, and many murderers on that show firmly believe that what they're doing is right, that the higher beings that be actually want them to do that.. It's just how they think, and they don't see that it's wrong. So I thought that how it was portrayed here was actually pretty accurate, because that truly is how some people think.
I think it may be best to go into Vicious without high expectations, otherwise you might be setting yourself up for disappointment. (Also, did anyone picture slightly comic book-ish style? Like Watchmen? And someone from book club said the movie, if it happens, should be in black and white, with only the blood in color. Wouldn't that look awesome?) And I know my review doesn't make it seem this way, but I really did LIKE this book. It was well executed, but I just didn't/don't feel much about it. But whether this book is ExtraOrdinary or just ordinary, it's definitely worth giving a try. And please tell me there's a sequel. (Spoiler: When EOs die and are brought back to life by Sydney, their powers are not the same. And with how Vicious ended, which I did like, I have to know--what are Victor's powers like?! End spoiler.)
Did I like it? Yes.
Did I love it? No.
Would I reread it? Maybe.
Would I purchase it? Already have it!
Who would I recommend it to? I think this could be for just about anyone, but especially for superhero/villain fans, and those who like comic book style movies.
Labels: Review, Victoria Schwab
UTM_Reviews March 25, 2014 at 9:29 AM
First time I've seen this book! I usually stick almost solidly with YA books but I really need to start branching out some. Hype can really ruin my interest in a book. I've seen Half Bad on basically every blog and my local Waterstones even has a display for it. It's shoved in my face so much I don't really care so much about it, it's odd!
★ Under The Mountain ★
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