In an announcement that comes as a shock to most, Cable and Wireless is replacing its Jamaica CEO, Rodney Davis.
The new CEO, an Australian, has once again emphasized that customer service is going to be the major point of focus.
After so many tries, and so many failures at improving customer service in the company, I wonder what he thinks he'll do differently?
It's easy to overlook, but at the top left hand corner there is a search box that allows this blog to be searched using any chosen word.
A visitor to the site who is interested in a certain topic can just enter it in the box, hit return and up comes every article in which the word appears.
Perhaps there is a way to place it in the right column? If anyone knows, do let me know.
One of the advantages I have of living in Jamaica is that it has helped me to see what is often accepted as a normal business practice in North America from a very different perspective.
One simple example is a question that we used to ask each other in the U.S. workplace -- "Are you keeping busy?"
Now, from a Jamaican perspective, this question looks like a strange one. Why should someone's goal be to keep busy? What is the purpose?
Will we all be happier when we are busy all the time?
Is the whole point of work... to find more stuff to work on?
There is a temptation in business to try to build the company around whatever seems to be hot at the moment.
The logic seems to make sense, and it has created a generation of what one might call "profit chasers." People start companies in order to make as much money as they can as quickly as they can, and they are particularly susceptible to the latest offers that come along.
I have become a firm believer in this new approach to business, which I will call Business 2.0. I started a company in the Business 1.0 model that didn't work -- a t-shirt company that just seemed like a good idea that would make money. Instead, it lost it (even while teaching me some stern lessons about running a company).
Living in the Business 1.0 world is cold and hard. People take jobs for companies they don't like, doing things they don't care for, earning enough to pay their bills at the end of the month. This is as good as it gets. In Business 1.0, people give as little as they can, while trying to get as much as they can in return -- what economists call "maximizing their utility." In this particular world, it always makes sense to pursue to highest paying job, no matter what.
In the Business 2.0 world, however, the single-minded pursuit of profit and tangible gain is set aside to some degree for other commitments, such as personal fulfillment and making a difference. There is a commitment to learn, expand and grow, while taking care of one's psychological and emotional needs along the way.
I observed an interesting contrast between these two models recently in two web sites that focus on methods of making profits through blogging.
Business 2.0 is more likely to lead to a fulfilled life -- it passes the deathbed test because it is asking the question "what is my life for" at each step of the way.
Business 2.0 is more likely to produce well-managed companies that are strong on innovation simply because one is likely to find more innovation by people who love what they are doing, than by people who are "paid to do a job" and are focused on "doing what they need to do."
I guess that my point here is that each of us has a choice in life, regardless of what we might argue to ourselves and others. I do know what many people complain that they have no choice, and they are more likely to bake what Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet, calls "a bitter bread."
This month's issue of FirstCuts looks at how the annual strategic planning exercise can be rescued from the doldrums of same-old, same-old.
Any questions or comments related to the issue can be posted here.
Recently, I checked out Facebook (and also Myspace) to find out what the fuss was all about.
Something about the whole social networking thing left me feeling like it was too close to match.com, and too far from something that had a serious business application.
Well, my initial suspicions were terribly wrong.
Here in the Caribbean, Facebook is a excellent way to maintain business contacts, given the geographic distance that we have to overcome, Ironically, in recent speeches I have been giving on the power of using the internet for networking, I never imagined that these tools would have a regional use, but they sure do.
As I experiment some more I'll probably be writing about how users are able to get to know someone on all sorts of levels at the same time. Knowing someone in business terms is only a part of the overall picture that one can have, and the truth is that we in the Caribbean rely as much on social connections as we do on those related to family and business.
I am sure to get into this topic more in the future, especially as I am writing an ebook on the very topic of regional networking. More on this to come.
In an interesting conversation with an expat manager yesterday, I realized a few things that might be of use not only to expats, but also to other managers.
A successful manager is not necessarily the best teacher, partly because their success may have come in ways that they are unable to clearly distinguish. This is why some of the most most accomplished sportsmen and women make terrible coaches. Their achievements came from their abundant talents, rather than from their ability to break their actions down into small elements that they then could practice diligently.
In this sense, someone who has less talent could well be a better teacher.
An expat coming to manage Jamaicans has a possible advantage.
Because they are entering a new culture, they often migrate with open minds, and they often are willing to take nothing for granted. They know that the environment they learned to manage in is very different. They know that there are some things that they learned when they were young that managers in Jamaica do not learn as readily.
The distinction "being on-time" can mean something very different to expat managers, and is often a source of irritation. This distinction can be introduced by a savvy manager who wants to create an immediate change in the way people are managed.
has tried everything they can think of.
It occurred to me today that many vision statements leave people unmoved.
At the same time, we all know of visions statements that were inspiring when they were said -- such as "A man on the moon by the end of the decade."
What was it that made this statement so very inspiring? Was it the clarity? Was it the fact that JFK said it? Was it the fact that it was measurable? Or is it because it was time-based?
I think these are all important, but I also think that there is a reason why a company's goal of "being number one in it's industry by 2010"leaves most who are listening stone cold.
It has nothing to do with the words, and everything to do with those who are listening.
Behind JFK's goal, or Bill Gates' (a micro-computer on every desktop) is an implicit understanding that the vision would not be realised in the normal course of events.
In other words, it was understood that a man had never walked on the moon before, and that there was not a micro-computer sitting on anyone's desk at the moment those visions were spoken.
This tension between today's reality and the vision being stated made it inspiring. If there were no tension between the statement and today's reality, it would be useless.
Or, if the gap between today's reality and the vision were not well understood, it would be toothless.
The management of this tension is essentially what management and leadership are all about. Executives do their companies a great disservice when they slip into "how great we already are" talk and start to claim that the vision is already being accomplished, or has already been accomplished. In effect, they destroy what little tension might exist in the listening of their employees.
Keeping this tension alive takes great discipline, and is the key to provoking excellence and extraordinary effort. Without it, employees are unconsciously being encouraged to merely seek the path of least resistance. Mediocre results are the guaranteed outcome.
Now that we are ten days away from election day, I am remembering an article (http://urlcut.com/dchuck) that Delroy Chuck wrote about creating an environment in Jamaica that is business-friendly.
Beyond the politics of what he has to say, there is a truthful point. I recently opened a business here in Jamaica, and I finally received the legal papers in August 2007 after waiting from December, 2006.
In an earlier post entitled "The Thwarting of the Creative Class", I shared some research that showed that Jamaica's ranking among countries in terms of how easy it is to do business is terribly low, even after years of efforts to make things easier.
I have written before about the low level of trust between employees in companies, and especially between managers and workers.
I thought that this article (http://urlcut.com/trustinja) from the Feb 4th, 2007 Jamaica Observer was not only useful for Jamaicans, but all of us in the Caribbean. It makes me wonder what the cost of broken promises is in regional corporations.
It also ties in with Michael Carter's "Why Worker's Won't Work." More on this later.
Jeff Thull's book "Exceptional Selling" on the art of conducting High Stakes Sales continues to provide superior value. He has written several articles for management consultants that I have found particularly useful.
In a prior post, I mentioned that I have been doing some work to customize my own approach, based in part on this book.
He makes the point that a high quality sales approach is basically a high quality decision process, just mis-named.
He also advocates the production of a Cost of Problem Analysis (COPA) that describes the cost of the problem that exists. Once that is done, he describes a Solutions Report that is used to defines the Gains to be made from the solution, as well as the Solution Cost. The difference is the Solution's Financial Impact. All these computations are described in a Solutions Report.
As I am learning more about this approach I am seeing that it takes some skill to devise these reports for the kind of work that I do -- after all I am selling interventions, not machines.
This is where my industrial engineering background has been helping.
What types of mistakes do clients tend to make regarding this kind of decision?
What do clients most frequently overlook or not consider?
Make sure the decision process brings these elements into consideration.
What are the most difficult things for a client to understand?
Determine ways to communicate these elements precisely.
What must a client understand to reach a fully informed decision?
Make sure the decision process brings these to the client in an orderly fashion.
What level of professional education or experience is required to understand each specialty area of the decision?
Make sure you engage people in the decision process that have the required experience or professional background.
In the article I read, he talks about helping the client to improve the way they make complex decisions, and preventing them from making mistakes. The same also applies to the sales professional.
Phew... this is going to take some thought!
In the study, we interviewed over 30 Trinidadian executives on their experience working in and leading companies in Jamaica, and the report distills the best practices that we found.
A new Trinidadian manager to Jamaica needs to keep in mind certain Guiding Principles, and also to learn some new habits.
Above all, a manager must be respectful towards each and every employee. A manager is conferred with greater hierarchical power than they would normally receive in Trinidad, and when they come to Jamaica this power may not be well understood.
Practice #1: Be deferential and humble, until it starts to almost feel silly. Use Mr. and Mrs. wherever possible. Start conversations in formal language, and in a very formal manner, as if one were meeting the Queen of England. Say Good Morning, Good Evening and Good Night in a way that connects with people. Look for the moment when the formality is broken, and seize it, because at that moment the real conversation is about to start.
The manager is expected to be the most formal person in the room, until the environment becomes relaxed.
Practice #2: Don't tell jokes in public at other people's expense. Pecong has no place in the Jamaican workplace. It is a dangerous practice in this environment, to be used only in private, and only with the closest of friends. Never use humour to pull people down, or to give any kind of feedback, even jokingly. A Trinidadian manager is better off practicing jokes at their own expense.
Jamaicans will expect a manager to always be the manager -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They don't expect them to behave, dress, socialize or drink differently after hours, on weekends, on holidays or at parties. It is better to play ignorant, and ask for help about how to interact with people in a new social environment.
Practice #1: Dress the part of manager, even on weekends, until it becomes abundantly clear that the culture will accept any deviation from the expected.
Practice #2: Drive a clean, modern car.
If there were ever a "History of Jamaican Workplaces" book written, the dominant themes would be force and exploitation. The idea that a company exists primarily to enrich its shareholders is one that is simply unacceptable. A Trinidadian manager must learn that a Jamaican company exists for everyone in society and in the community.
Practice #1: Seek to give back to the community outside the company in tangible and visible ways.
Practice #2: Give gifts to employees at Christmas and Easter time, and create programmes to assist employees' families that are well publicized.
Coming to fully appreciate Jamaican culture is a process, and the Trinidadian manager needs to understand the phases that they will go through as they adjust to the new environment. Read the section on Phases of Adjustment for Executives from the report.
Practice #1: Get help. Cultivate a network of other Trinidadian executives outside the company. Get outside help if the transition is proving to be difficult.
While Jamaican workers appreciate being included in decision-making, executives need to be seen as the decider of important decisions (until sufficient trust is built). Workers will quickly criticise a manager who delays making decisions by trying to be too participative.
This is not to say that the hierarchy should be maintained forever. Instead, it should be abandoned only slowly, and carefully, as the manager transforms his relationship with the workers. It often takes longer than the Trinidadian manager thinks it should, but once the foundation is built, he/she will frequently find that the depth of loyalty that's generated is deeper than they found in Trinidad.
Practice #1: Ask for input to decisions, but stand ready to make a command decision.
Practice #2: Break instructions down into the simplest details, and be ready to follow-up intensely. The average workers education level in Trinidad is much higher, and it shows.
One manager's habits and style may not work for another. Each manager must develop their own style, and experiment with different approaches until they find one that works for them. This takes some willingness to feel uncomfortable as they adapt practices that might be laughed at in Trinidad.
Many of these practices will feel unnatural at first, and would fail miserably if attempted in Trinidad. The point is that they work here in Jamaica, and they are exaggerated somewhat in order to provoke a Trinidadian manager into a different mode of action. The mistake that many Trinis make is to assume "all a we is one" when in fact the workplaces in both countries are very different.
Many of the ideas in this article were developed from the Caribbean Acquisition Project and the book "Why Workers Won't Work" by Michael Carter. They are available as downloads from the Framework website (http://www.fwconsulting.com).
Web Designers: We are looking for someone to edit and update the Framework blogs and website. The edits involved on the website are minor, while those on the blog are likely to be more substantial, and probably involve monetizing one or more sites.
Preferably living in Jamaica, the Web Designer must have a working knowledge of html and php and display a high standard of work, plus a healthy regard for due dates.
eBook- Designer: We are looking for someone to be either a co-author (unpaid) or designer of an ebook on the topic of Caribbean Networking.
Blog Editor (Volunteer): An editor who can read through the Framework blog and make corrections in spelling, missing words, shockingly poor grammar, etc. The Editor will also apply a relevant label to each entry.
This position was filled on 8/6/07.
Time Management Content Contributor (Volunteer): We are in the process of rolling out a new time management course with the flexibility to be useful to any professional in the Caribbean.
The ideas for the course are still being fleshed out, but this 3-6 month project will involve looking at the ideas that have been developed to date, and working to improve them.
This position requires a willingness to learn how to use a wiki, a knowledge of how to access a blog and a bonafide interest in coming up with practical ideas to include in this open source effort.
This is the latest submission in the JobSmart series.
As I wrote the last post, it occurred to me that it was connected to a prior post I made on the Opposable Mind.
In that post, I made reference to another article that made the point that breakthrough thinking came from an ability to hold two opposite concepts in the mind at the same time.
Now, I wonder if success as an entrepreneur has something to do with an ability to hold multiple accountabilities within a single human being -- a little bit like the opposable mind, except there are more than two opposing concepts at play, and more like 5-10 different accountabilities.
This idea seemed to resonate with me, and may explain why so few are cut out to run their own business. One of the most difficult disciplines to learn as a new business owner is that one may move from one accountability and skill-set to another in a matter of moments.
Also, a good business owner knows that their company is only as strong as its weakest accountability. If, in the case of a solo professional, their accounting is in poor shape then that is the weakest link, and the link most likely to cause the company to fail. If the company is not run in a systematic way, then that in turn is the weakest link that will cause things to fall apart.
Recently, a relative breakdown in a key result -- following up on sales leads -- had me ponder where I have not been managing myself properly even as a sole operator (which is the role I play most of the time in the central affairs of Framework).
It occurred to me that I had failed to manage a relationship between one part of myself and another.
In a prior post, I wrote about how the ideas of Michael Gerber transformed the way I think about running a small business. It lead me to think about the roles I play as actually divided into eight positions or accountabilities: Leadership, Management, Financial, Marketing, Lead Generation, Lead Conversion, R&D and Client Delivery.
In other words, how does "Financial" relate to "Managerial"? How does one hold the other to account, when in fact behind the scenes there is only one person... me?
To start out, I began to wonder what it might be like to have a "Managerial" meeting each week to look at the different accountabilities, as if they were held by other people.
And this seemed to provide the key: to manage myself as if I were only the Manager, for at least a few minutes, and the ask the questions that a Manager would ask, with the concerns that a Manager has -- without immediately flipping into one of the other roles and enter into instant "problem solving mode".
I was shocked to find that this was different from anything I had ever done before.
I could immediately see that there were several things I had not been doing effectively in several accountabilities. For example, I could see that as the Manager I was not doing a good job apportioning time between accountabilities. I needed to put more time in Lead Generation and less time in R&D. I happen to have a natural affinity for the latter, so I was not surprised to find that I was spending more time there than I would if I could see the entire picture.
In essence, the Manager was not doing his job of directing time away from one accountability to another. That was happening because there were no regular meetings to do the kind of thinking that only the Manager could do. Also, I was not spending enough time as the Manager to clarify the questions I needed to get answers to. I started to develop the discipline of presenting the question, without immediately trying to get an answer.
When I discovered the imbalance, I saw that the Manager needed some different kind of information each week in order to manage each accountability, and in particular the ones that were not performing up to snuff. The result was a series of requests that would be directed towards each accountability for some new reports, and for a couple of new plans of action.
Manager -- "I need a report that shows me how well the Lead Generation activities are working. I need this weekly, and it also needs to show me how the conversations to enter a new company are going, and which companies we are targeting. I need this in our Monday morning meetings."
Lead Generation Manager -- "OK Boss, I'll have a prototype next week."
Manager -- "Thanks. Mr. Financial Manager, I need a weekly report showing our projected cash-flow for the next 12 months. The same applies -- it's for our Monday morning meetings."
Financial Manager -- "Yes Boss, will do. That will help me to give you the information you need, no more and no less."
Then things got interesting, because then I discovered that I was essentially making myself promises that I needed to keep, from one accountability to another.
It struck me that I could use his programme to manage myself in different accountabilities, as if I were different people. As I started to use it last week, I found it to be a good start, as I start to develop a certain "firewall" between the thinking I do in each accountability. The software helped me to stay in one accountability, without drifting into another. As I used the software, I found that I was more demanding of results, and more focused than when I bounced around.
Something similar happened when I had my first meeting in one of the accountabilities. In Promisystem, I responded to the request from the Manager, and started to come up with some new ideas. I could see that my old way of thinking -- mixing up accountabilities -- had become routine.
Now, the truth is that Promisystem is not made for this purpose. It really is built for the executive who is managing promises from different people. It really is not made for the individual business owner who is managing him or herself, but with a few tweaks it could easily be adapted by Scott and his team.
I hope he makes these changes at some point, because I could expand the way I am using Promisystem.
I also discovered that my company, like any other, is as strong as the weakest accountability. The one that I am least proficient in is the place where the company tends to experience problems. In the case of the sales breakdown, I saw it as a Managerial problem more than anything else.
Within each accountability, I discovered that there happens to be a mix of routine, maintenance items and others that are strategic and novel. Of course, the new and novel tend to be more exciting, while the routine items are more likely to fall to the side.
What I am asking myself is how do I turn routine, maintenance-driven items into must-do's? Also, how do I teach myself new habits and what kinds of supports can I use to keep the habits going?
This is a question I am also asking with respect to the 2Time Management System I am developing, as it requires the self-teaching and learning of new habits over a protracted period of time.
One new one I am looking at is Joe's Goals, and other one is a plain sheet that I picked up from Productivity 501.
I am open to new ideas on this.
To ask a question or comment on the recently published JobSmart article on the 10 Working Basics, click on Comments below.
Click here to read the first article.
Click here to read the second article.


text:
Auckland Transport is responsible for all of the region's transport services (excluding state highways), from roads and footpaths, to cycling, parking and public transport.
Auckland Transport's day-to-day activities keep Auckland's transport systems moving; including planning and funding of public transport, promoting alternative ways to get around and operating the local roading network.
Contact us or fill in feedback form
See latest news, events & service updates
Call 09 355 3553 for Auckland Transport contact centre operating 24 hours, seven days a week.
Help us make better decisions on projects, plans and strategies.
Find out all about us: what we do, who we work with and how we do it.
Auckland Transport is working together with the community to deliver safe, innovative, and sustainable transport for Auckland.
Strategies, plans and programmes for transport in Auckland over the next 30 years.
Find out about our Harbourmaster's office, and information or rules that apply to all vessels on the water.
All work on the road, berm and footpath, road closures, and traffic or parking restrictions must be approved by AT.
Suppliers, operators, contractors and partners find out about working with AT.
Careers with AT - join the team that works to deliver a world-class transport system, helping to make Auckland the best place to live, work and play.
Find out about our procurement process, current tenders, contracts awarded and upcoming work.
Guidelines for contractors needing to do work in the road, traffic management and design of streets and paths.
Auckland Transport's public documents, including annual reports, traffic counts, patronage reports, research reports and assessments.
Learn about what we do to maintain our streets, including our roads, footpaths, berms, street lights, road signs and bus shelters.
Find out about bylaws that deal with parking, traffic, speed limits and more.
Read about the detailed policies that apply to Auckland Transport.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


BMB BASIC TRAINING with CombatCounselor focuses on mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy and the "100% natural" things you can do to eliminate anxiety and depression from your life.
Chris Sorrentino earned his B.A. in Psychology (1980) and an M.S. in Clinical Psychology (1982) at Cal State Los Angeles, becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and National Certified Counselor (NCC) in 1991 while an Associate Professor of Psychology at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Chris is a highly decorated veteran of four combat operations, having retired from the United States Air Force as a lieutenant colonel after 20 years of dedicated service to his country. Leading over 2,000 airmen during his career, Chris was highly respected by the men and women that worked for and with him as well as others he had the honor of serving with.
All 12 videos in the series, 3 hours and 15 minutes in total, will be published on this blog AT NO CHARGE. There are no gimmicks because I have nothing sell. I am offering my 34 years of education and experience totally free in order to help you live an anxiety and depression-free life.


After two years of telling us that a carbon tax would not affect Canada's competitiveness and hurt our economy, the federal government has finally admitted that it will.
The Trudeau government recently announced that they will now reduce the amount of tax companies are required to pay on their greenhouse gas emissions.
This new, watered-down carbon tax scheme is still a carbon tax that does nothing for the environment, reduces jobs, and takes money from families.
In March of 2016, the Prime Minister said he would be willing to work on climate change with Canada's premiers "in the spirit of co-operation and collaboration". A few months later, his government announced that they would be imposing a carbon tax on every province in Canada.
Today, two or perhaps three provinces are actually in compliance with the federal carbon-pricing plan; Ontario has now joined Saskatchewan in challenging Trudeau's carbon tax in court; and a number of the remaining provinces and territories will not be in compliance.
We accept that climate change is happening, and humans are contributing to the warming of our planet. We're fighting the carbon tax because a carbon tax doesn't work. No jurisdiction in the world has imposed a carbon tax and seen a reduction in greenhouse gases because of that tax.
A made-in-Ottawa carbon tax will impact Saskatchewan's economy to the tune of $1.8 billion annually while only marginally reducing carbon emissions. It is our intent to fight this tax with every means at our disposal.
Our court challenge has moved forward with the filing of our constitutional argument. It is our position that under the Canadian constitution, provinces are sovereign in their assigned areas of jurisdiction. Therefore, the federal carbon tax is constitutionally illegitimate because it applies only in provinces that have not exercised their own jurisdiction in a way that the federal government thinks they should.
It is our position that the federal government has no constitutional authority to second guess provincial decisions with respect to matters within provincial jurisdiction, yet that is exactly what the federal government is attempting to do by imposing a carbon tax only in certain provinces, like Saskatchewan, based on their evaluation of provincial climate change and carbon pricing policies.
A new poll by The Angus Reid Institute shows overwhelming support for Saskatchewan's court challenge of the Trudeau carbon tax. 88% of Saskatchewan people – and 72% of all Canadians – support our government taking the federal carbon tax issue to court. Unsurprisingly, the move to challenge federal jurisdiction receives near unanimous support here in Saskatchewan.
Meanwhile, Ryan Meili and the Saskatchewan NDP remain completely out of touch and out of step with the people of our province. Content to wave the white flag and let Justin Trudeau force his ineffective tax on Saskatchewan, the NDP are actually calling our court challenge a "pointless crusade".
We have always said that the provinces should decide for themselves what works best when it comes to addressing climate change. The federal government would be well advised to take a step back, reassess, and reconsider its one-size-fits-all carbon tax. It's time to give the provinces the freedom to develop climate change policies that actually work, without a federal carbon tax.


anything impure or unclean'" - Acts 10:13-14.
Up to this point in time, Peter had maintained a kosher diet according to Old Testament Law. Then a voice from heaven told him to change his diet and he said, "No!" Even though it was a heavenly directive, he was being asked to change a lifelong pattern and it represented not an opportunity but a loss in his eyes. When leaders announce well-thought-out change initiatives, people can often respond in the same manner. The leaders can then be offended or perceive the followers as negative or uncooperative.
LEADERSHIP STEP: If you are leading change, you must provide support services for those most directly affected, whether it's a move for your family or a new product for your company. Your Step today is to sit down and listen to those being impacted by any change and better understand what kind of support you can provide for them. Perhaps you need to change your attitude toward those who are resisting the change so you can find out and understand why.


text:
'use strict';

var _       = require('lodash');
var XMLDOMParser = require('xmldom').DOMParser;
var SvgPath = require('svgpath');

/*
  Tags that can be safely skipped
**/
var safeNodes = _.transform([
  'desc',
  'metadata',
  'title',
/*
  TODO: tags below need to be checked
**/
  'altGlyphDef',
  'cursor',
  'filter',
  'switch'
], function(result, key) { result[key]=true; });

/*
  List of inappropriated attributes that cannot be used
*/
var disallowedSvgAttributes = _.transform([
  'requiredFeatures',
  'requiredExtensions',
  'systemLanguage',
  'onfocusin',
  'onfocusout',
  'onactivate',
  'onclick',
  'onmousedown',
  'onmouseup',
  'onmouseover',
  'onmousemove',
  'onmouseout',
  'onload',
  'alignment-baseline',
  'baseline-shift',
  'clip',
  'clip-path',
  'clip-rule',
  'color',
  'color-interpolation',
  'color-interpolation-filters',
  'color-profile',
  'color-rendering',
  'cursor',
  'direction',
  'display',
  'dominant-baseline',
  'enable-background',
  'fill',
  'fill-opacity',
  'fill-rule',
  'filter',
  'flood-color',
  'flood-opacity',
  'font-family',
  'font-size',
  'font-size-adjust',
  'font-stretch',
  'font-style',
  'font-variant',
  'font-weight',
  'image-rendering',
  'kerning',
  'letter-spacing',
  'lighting-color',
  'marker-end',
  'marker-mid',
  'marker-start',
  'mask',
  'opacity',
  'overflow',
  'pointer-events',
  'shape-rendering',
  'stop-color',
  'stop-opacity',
  'stroke',
  'stroke-dasharray',
  'stroke-dashoffset',
  'stroke-linecap',
  'stroke-linejoin',
  'stroke-miterlimit',
  'stroke-opacity',
  'stroke-width',
  'text-anchor',
  'text-decoration',
  'text-rendering',
  'unicode-bidi',
  'visibility',
  'word-spacing',
  'writing-mode'
/*
  TODO: i'm not sure about these tags
  'glyph-orientation-horizontal',
  'glyph-orientation-vertical'
*/
], function(result, key) { result[key]=true; });

/*
  Recursive exploring XML DOM tree & translate to path sequence
**/
function translateToPath(targetNode) {
  var path = '';
  var skippedAttributes = {};
  var skippedTags = {};

  var explore = function(target, transform) {
    var p;
    for (var node = target.firstChild; node; node = node.nextSibling) {
      if (node.data || safeNodes[node.nodeName]) {
        /* Safe skip */
        continue;
      }

      if (node.hasAttribute('transform')) {
        transform = node.getAttribute('transform') + ' ' + transform;
      }

      p=null;
      switch(node.nodeName) {
        case 'path':
          p = node.getAttribute('d');
          break;
        /*
          TODO: Here may be implemented the code for translation other tags
        **/
      };

      if (p) {
        if (transform) {
          p = new SvgPath(p).transform(transform).toString();
        }

        path += p;
      }

      /* Looking for disallowed attributes & tags */
      if (p || _.contains(['g', 'defs'], node.nodeName)) {
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module.exports.svgFontify = svgFontify;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


ProcessWire is the content management system that connects it all. Regardless of scale, it is simple, powerful, consistent, predictable, capable and just plain fun to use.
From its API to its admin interface, ProcessWire is designed to have an approachable simplicity that is retained at any scale. Simplicity often implies reduced capability, but this is not the case with ProcessWire. From the surface, there is very little complexity and the application requires no training. But open the hood, and you have a lot of horsepower at your disposal for just about any content management need. It's truly a simple interface to powerful engineering. Whether your application is big or small, the inherent simplicity and joy in using the interface and API remains consistent, predictable, and capable.
Everything about the core is designed to scale. ProcessWire is like a power tool for your website, able to deliver any output, at any scale, to any number of people, while remaining incredibly fast and flexible. Whether you have a 1-page site, or a site with millions of pages, ProcessWire works the same way and remains stable, fast and easy-to-use. Here are a few examples of sites running ProcessWire.
ProcessWire gives you the tools to get at your data, but you decide how to handle the output. In fact, ProcessWire dictates nothing about the output or format. Meaning, the sky is the limit and anything a designer can dream up is possible, down to the pixel. You never have to design a site for ProcessWire, and the system won't impose any limitations upon your site design or the designer. There is no "theming system" to learn and work around, as there is nothing to "theme" because all output comes from your own markup. ProcessWire isn't limited to just HTML either. It can output JSON, XML or any other format you desire, and can serve as an excellent platform for building web services.
Something we hear over and over is how much fun it is to develop websites in ProcessWire. It makes previously difficult projects easy, enjoyable and just plain fun. ProcessWire's API takes its inspiration from jQuery, providing a simple and enjoyable programming interface to working with your content. Regardless of scale, it behaves as if all content in your site or application is already present, at your fingertips, ready for you to deliver. The API is based on simple PHP, so you don't have another tag-scripting language to learn. While some background in PHP helps with more complex tasks, it is not required to develop your sites with ProcessWire. Learn more or see our API reference.
If you've ever used any web application before, ProcessWire will be easy and familiar. The admin interface is straightforward and no-nonsense. Based on a page-tree, the structure in the admin mirrors the structure on your front-end. For clients concerned about having to learn something new, ProcessWire is always a breath of fresh air, because they already know and understand it from the get-go. ProcessWire's user interface is always focused on the task at hand. For instance, if you are editing a page, then the tools present on the screen are all specific to that purpose, with no distractions. In addition, ProcessWire also supports front-end editing, making it possible for clients to edit their content directly on the front-end of their site, where designated. ProcessWire is a system that web developers always feel good about handing the keys over to the client precisely because it's so easy for them to use. Once a client uses ProcessWire, they don't want to use anything else.
ProcessWire works the way you do, seamlessly integrating into your existing development tools and processes. There's no new template system to learn either, it's pure API goodness. Your design and development process won't be interrupted by ProcessWire because it's built to adapt to your way of doing things, not the other way around. Whatever your development tools are, you'll find them at home with ProcessWire.
One of the problems with many CMS platforms is that they are full of holes and needing constant updates in order to work around various security issues. This is not the case with ProcessWire. Unlike other platforms, you can launch a ProcessWire site and then leave it for years without maintenance or updates (should that be the need). It's that reliable and secure, and has been since the beginning. When you update ProcessWire, it's because you want to take advantage of some new feature, not because you are trying to avoid getting hacked.
While it's rarely necessary to upgrade your version of ProcessWire, often you will want to in order to take advantage of new features. It's incredibly simple to upgrade the ProcessWire core. Simply replace the /wire/ directory of your existing installation with the /wire/ directory from the new installation. 99% of the time, that's all there is to it! Should you prefer it, you can also install the ProcessWire Upgrade module, which can make it even simpler by upgrading the core and 3rd party modules for you automatically.
ProcessWire and its predecessor (Dictator CMS) have been powering websites since 2003 (ProcessWire since 2006). The system has been in constant development and continuous improvement for more than 15 years, and this is our lifetime work, we're here to stay. There have been no major incidents or outages related to ProcessWire and it has become established as one of the most stable and secure platforms that you can choose for powering website and applications. During this time, ProcessWire has always remained consistent and true to the original concept and API, always staying up-to-date while ensuring timeless familiarity and reliability to web developers and clients alike.
The community is the best part of ProcessWire. You can always count on the enthusiasm and friendliness in the ProcessWire forums, where our support community is located. We are passionate about developing websites and applications with ProcessWire, and this comes through in the way we communicate and help. In the ProcessWire forums, you'll find a diverse group of the most experienced and skilled web developers and designers in the world. If you are interested in web development with ProcessWire, this is the place to be. Have a question about how to do anything in ProcessWire? Post a question anytime and we're happy to help.
There is no bloat in ProcessWire. We know how important it is for websites to respond quickly, so ProcessWire has always emphasized optimization for performance and speed. ProcessWire is also incredibly powerful, which means some might also use it for heavy lifting tasks or managing delivery of content to huge amounts of traffic. ProcessWire comes with built-in caching features that can handle instant cached delivery of the entire request, or just individual pieces of it.
For even larger scale needs, an optional commercial module called ProCache enables your site to be delivered from static HTML files, without any overhead of PHP or MySQL. ProCache also enables you to merge, compile and minify assets, and optimize their delivery to a content delivery network (CDN), such as AWS CloudFront. ProCache is a 1st party module developed by the author of ProcessWire to support the development of the ProcessWire core.
ProcessWire is a dream to work with for search engine optimization (SEO). Because it gives you full control and doesn't dictate anything about the output, that means that markup can be perfectly optimized for search accessibility rather than some theming system. It allows for a perfect implementation of content output for the title tag, meta description, semantic headlines and markup, to meta data such as schema.org and opengraph, etc., to simple implementation of link "canonical", "hreflang" (for multi-language) and "next/prev" (for pagination) tags. Basically, its ideal for anything you can dream of to optimize your on-site search accessibility and SEO. In addition to the quality of content and markup, a big factor is also the speed at which it can be delivered. ProcessWire really shines here too. It is optimized for performance, delivers with low time-to-first-byte times and also comes with a variety of optional caching and performance options, both in the core and in modules.
Any given pages may cross reference each other in a one-to-one or one-to-many relationship. This gives ProcessWire the ability to function like a relational database on top of a CMS. The client (or developer of the web site), rather than the software, defines what these relationships are. This opens up an incredible amount of flexibility.
While there is an awesome ecosystem of optional add-on modules available for ProcessWire, the core product already comes with everything you need to build anything you can dream of. And ProcessWire does this without the bloat of other systems. It has everything you could need and nothing that you won't ever want. It comes native with custom repeatable fields, the ability to resize/rotate/crop images, and everything needed to create a full multi-language site, just as examples. While ProcessWire's core is comprehensive and complete, both free and commercially supported add-on modules are always available too, and they can be excellent time saving optimizations for specific needs.
ProcessWire comes with a quality rich text editing tool (CKEditor-based) that makes editing content easy and familiar for editors. ProcessWire's implementation is particularly comprehensive and configurable to cover just about any custom editing need. It also comes with custom built dialogs for managing links and inserting images. ProcessWire supports both inline and normal rich text editing modes and loads the editors on-demand, enabling you to have potentially hundreds of rich text edited fields on a single page, should the need call for it.
ProcessWire comes with image fields that can be fully edited in the admin environment (and the API too of course). You can resize, crop, rotate, and flip any image, convert it to black and white or sepia, or generate any number of variations. In addition, you can define a custom focus area for any image, ensuring that any auto-generated crops never lose the intended subject of a photo, regardless of crop dimension/proportion. ProcessWire comes with support for both ImageMagick and GD libraries, and even supports animated GIFs.
Uploading files or images in ProcessWire is exceptionally simple. You can drag-and-drop files from your computer into any file/image field in ProcessWire's page editor and they will immediately upload into the page. If the administrator has specified a maximum allowed dimension for images, they will automatically resize at the client-side before uploading. Meaning, that 20 megapixel photo off your client's DSLR camera will automatically resize to something more appropriate for a website before actually uploading. You can also drag-and-drop images directly into rich text fields, and the photo will automatically place in the location you dragged it to in your text. From there, you can double-click the image to customize it further as needed (resize/crop). ProcessWire's file and image upload and management tools are a delight for editors.
ProcessWire has been in active development since 2003 (since 2006 under the name ProcessWire).
ProcessWire was completely rewritten as an open source project with its first open source release in October 2010.
ProcessWire was originally called Dictator CMS, named after Thomas Edison's Dictator machine. The name changed to ProcessWire in 2006.


Happy Wednesday to you all! If you are on the west coast you get to see my card a little earlier!
I am up late tonight waiting for my dear friend to get here! I am so super excited to see her!
Week after week The Paper Craft Crew continues to have amazing sketches! It took me almost 5 hours to collect my thoughts to get my card together but I hope you like what I have come up with!
This lovely card started with a base of Beemuda Bay with a coordinating matte using the Serene Scenery DSP. The Crumb Cake layer was embossed with the Softly Falling embossing folder. However, I flipped it over so it looked like sand. My great little "window" to the beach was created using Gina Marie's Dies. The beach paper also came from the Serene Scenery DSP. I wanted my shaker to look like sand and shells. I used some of the snow like shaker bits and some sand colored sequins... The Missing You sentiment came from the set Thoughtful Banners. The Burlap ribbon, And Bermuda Bay Sequins were stapled on. It wasn't quite enough so I found a Bermuda Bay button and did a quick linen thread bow!!
What a beautiful card Andrea! The ocean is my favorite place to be and when I look at this card, I can almost feel the sand between my toes.


Pretty blonde bride Asia at Waimanalo Beach.
This bride is looking so cute in these pictures. Her wedding dress looks very pretty. I too love beachside ceremonies and would love to have an intimated wedding party at some local beachside NYC wedding venues in coming winter season.


text:
LiFTED LiSTS: Best Videos of 2022
2022 was a banner year for Asian Hip Hop videos
LiFTED | LiFTED StAFF | 8 Dec 2022
LiFTED's focus from the jump has been to shine the spotlight on MCs, DJs, B-Girls and B-Boys, designers, artists, clubs, groups, and anyone who is doing dope Hip Hop related things in the Pan-Asian region. After a year and nine months, LiFTED is well on the way to achieving the goal of 'Elevating Asian Hip Hop' by publishing 15 stories per week to inform, entertain, and educate. This December, we are doing our annual wrap-up of the year with LiFTED LiSTS - our picks of the good, the exceptional, and even the downright awful of 2022. Here is Asia's Hip Hop culture through LiFTED's lens.
LiFTED LiSTS: Worst of 2022
2022 was a great year for Asian Hip Hop videos so it was hard to chop things down to only 10. Also, in 2021, VannDa's 'Time to Rise' was an easy call for the top video as it blasted to over 100 million views. In 2022, the quality overall of Asian Hip Hop videos was up, but it took a while for the LiFTED crew to figure out what exactly number one would be as well as the order of the top 10.
Mrs M 'Daughter of Khan'
The best video of 2022 according to LiFTED is Mrs M's 'Daughter of Khan.' With each new thing she puts out, Mrs M raises her level as well as the level of all of Asian Hip Hop. She's already known as someone who doesn't take any sh*t, but with 'Daughter of Khan' she really represents Mongolian culture, as well as the women that have come before her and the ones that stand with her.
Not only is 'Daughter of Khan' asiatic.wav's first single, but Harry Fraud, the dusty New York City beatmaker who only gets better by the day, is on the beat. He and Mrs M have a globalized synergy that stretches from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to Brooklyn in their hits 'M for tha Money' and 'Sugar Daddy.'
In 'Daughter of Khan,' M uses that streetwise vibe to big up Mongolia's own Genghis Khan, and how his general badassery has helped her and other Mongolian women rise above the fray. With real-life female icons like a S.W.A.T officer, a Taekwondo champion 10 times over, and an Olympic weightlifter, Mrs M shows that her crew is the cream of the crop when she raps, "I'm the daughter of Khan, Pops told me how to live like a Don."
BIBI 'Animal Farm'/'BIBI Vengeance'
Last year, we predicted that women would be running this joint. Now they are, and we love it. While BIBI may not be Hip Hop in its purest form busting out cyphers and intricate triple entendres left and right, she's Hip Hop through and through in "Animal Farm' and 'BIBI Vengeance.'
Once 'Animal Farm' was released, we knew BIBI was on something else. Instead of releasing Pop tracks with famous female friends, BIBI changed up her point of attack and she was the dinner [with an apple in her mouth] for a group of faceless men who looked at her as an easy conquer. Within the first few seconds, BIBI went one-half Squid Game and one-half Kill Bill on her dinner guests, singing her words while blood rained down on her from a decapitated head.
While 'Animal Farm' threw down the gauntlet, 'BIBI Vengeance' went for a wild ride. In the video, she's embarrassed by a politician when she doesn't give in to his disgusting come-ons, so he pours a bottle of Sake on her head. With this in mind, BIBI grabs her girls and gets her revenge by putting him in a cage and burning him alive, all while busting out the choreography in high heels.
RAMENGVRL/Yung Raja 'Ming Ling'
What happens when you take the two biggest Rap stars from their respective countries and make a tongue-in-cheek video? An immediate banger with laughs all the way through. RAMENGVRL and Yung Raja took the region by storm when they dropped 'Ming Ling,' an infectious heater that features the duo's distinct crossover flavors.
In the music video, you'd catch odes to the iconic Pulp Fiction with their outfits as well as Hong Kong movies of the 1990s by using cheesy camera angles. The duo seems to be having a really good time being around each other and giving each other tips. Maybe it's time for a collab album or EP?
Jackson Wang 'Blow'
There's no one who put in as much work as Jackson Wang in 2022. He blew up everywhere, including Coachella, a football match in Bangkok, as well as on his world tour. The reason for this was all planned. He knew he was going to release the Magic Man album, so he needed something that would give him the hearts, minds, and ears of the kids in 2022.
It was a resounding success and it all started with 'Blow.' After spending much of 2021 doing PANTHEPACK, Wang went back to his solo roots and showed people what being a combination of K-Pop, Pop, and Asian Hip Hop really is. 'Blow' showcases his vision and musicianship, as well as his dance moves. Jackson Wang was really 'Blow'-ing up in 2022.
Namewee '809000'
Over the past two years, Namewee has transformed from a thorn in the side of Malaysia's government to one of the biggest YouTubers in Asia. He's got an understanding of what people enjoy watching, how to create an amazing product, and the marketing ability to get people's eyeballs on it.
Since he's based in Taipei, Namewee grabbed Taiwanese rappers Machi Didi and Frog and rapped three styles in '809000.' The concept is very cool as he moves from the 80s to the 90s to the 2000s with each of the rappers in their rooms. The decorations, clothing, and beats change, but the one thing that stays the same is Hip Hop.
Divine 'Gunehgar'
Divine's 'Gunehgar' is the best statement track 2022 has had as far as statement tracks go. The song and video marked Divine's return after a two-year hiatus, and if anyone thought he would fall off or slow down, 'Gunehgar' shows them otherwise. Stacked with cars and decked out in his best outfits, Divine is out here brutally spitting his truths and he's making sure no one is going to catch up to him.
¥ellow Bucks and JP THE WAVY 'GIOTF'
¥ellow Bucks and JP The Wavy make such a good team that maybe they should be a group. But who would be Run and who would be DMC? In 'GIOTF,' ¥ellow takes the lead as the duo goes 2000s on 'em and has scenes in an elevator, a bank, and a jewelry store. Both MCs flex hard with a Human Made jacket on JP and a Gucci jacket for ¥ellow as he makes it rain for the twerkers with a bunch of….¥ellow Bucks.
Rich Brian Warren Hue 'Getcho Mans'
Indonesian rap icons and labelmates Rich Brian and Warren Hue started off 2022 with an absolute bang. 'Getcho Mans' was released in January of this year, and it's everything you'd want in a fast-paced heater – 808s, a catchy hook, and endless rhymes.
The synergy between this duo is also something that we don't take for granted, it isn't easy to feed off the energy from one another, and they make it look effortless. All of that is evident in its stellar music video, with the duo going back to back in the most unconventional of places along with flashing lights and dope transitions. What more could you ask for?
Prabh Deep 'Rishte'
No one sounds like Prabh Deep. In 'Rishte,' the MC from Delhi gets his sing on during the chorus and the spiritual jam about relationships almost feels otherworldly. Prabh shows that he's got some new skills up his sleeves as directed and edited the masterpiece of a video.
Chanmina 'Bijin'
To be honest, the LiFTED crew has some discussion about having a category just for live videos. There's so much good stuff out right now with cyphers, Dingo Freestyle, and more, but we decided to pass for 2022. BUT Chanmina was so incredible on THE FIRST TAKE with 'Bijin' that it needed to be included. For one minute and 30 seconds, we get to see an artist get ready to spit. When it's time for her to Rap, she goes absolutely bonkers. For the next two minutes plus, viewers see a skilled MC getting down. After her final scream, she goes right back to being herself again and it's spectacular.
Mrs M
Ramengvrl
Yung Raja
chanmina
Rich Brian
Warren Hue
prahb deep
Namewee
Jeremy Lin & others look back at the Linsanity of 38 At The Garden
The 38-minute documentary focuses on what one night against the Lakers meant to Asians around the wo
Syameer Azmi moves into Hip Hop with 'Alah Kantoi'
The rising star's single also features SHEE
Gluestick returns with a Wet & Wild Hip Hop show on December 3
The Indie festival features many of Hong Kong's underground Hip Hop artists


Await Further Instructions selection to win international competition for the best Science Fiction film.
Trieste Science & Fiction 2018: Jam-Packed Lineup Includes OVERLORD, FREAKS, THE DARK, a Healthy Focus on Italian Cinema and Much More, In international competition for the best science fiction film directed by emerging directors includes Johnny Kevorkian's Await Further Instructions.
PreviousRed Rock Entertainment Advises on how to Control a Film Budget.


text:
Coatbridge Sunnyside railway station serves the town of Coatbridge in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The railway station is managed by ScotRail and is located on the North Clyde Line,  east of Glasgow Queen Street.

History
It was opened by the North British Railway in February 1871, as the terminus of their Coatbridge Branch from Glasgow and was linked from the outset to both the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway lines to  and Gartsherrie Junction and also the Bathgate and Coatbridge Railway line to , Bathgate and Edinburgh Waverley.  All of these other than the northern portion of the M&KR to Gunnie yard and Gartsherrie remain in use today, though the Whifflet line has no timetabled passenger service and the route east of Airdrie was disused for more than 30 years prior to re-opening to passenger traffic in 2010.

Accidents and incidents
On 30 September 1907, a passenger train collided with a light engin at the station. One person was killed and 43 were injured.
On 6 May 2022, an empty coaching stock train was derailed at the station. No one was injured in the accident.

Facilities

The station has a car park with 120 spaces and a cafe located on the covered platform.

Services
Monday to Saturday daytimes:
 2 Half-hourly services towards Edinburgh Waverley (both services are limited stops)
 Half-hourly service towards Airdrie
 Half-hourly service towards Balloch via Glasgow Queen Street Low Level
 Half-hourly service towards Helensburgh Central via Glasgow Queen Street Low Level
 Half-hourly service towards Milngavie via Glasgow Queen Street Low Level

Evening services are as follows:
 Half-hourly service towards Airdrie
 Half-hourly service towards Edinburgh Waverley
 Half-hourly service towards Balloch via Glasgow Queen Street Low Level
 Half-hourly service towards Helensburgh Central via Glasgow Queen Street Low Level

Sunday services are as follows:
 Half-hourly service towards Edinburgh Waverley
 Half-hourly service towards Helensburgh Central

References

Railway stations in North Lanarkshire
Former North British Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1871
Railway stations served by ScotRail
SPT railway stations
Listed railway stations in Scotland
Category B listed buildings in North Lanarkshire
Coatbridge

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Safety… Higher Yields with Lower Risk
As a Debt Fund, not an Equity Fund, our commercial real estate Fund positions investors as the lender. In most other real estate funds, Investors are junior to the Bank Loans.
All debt is secured by Trust Deeds/ Mortgages – very defensive deals, with high yield coupons, short term durations, personal guarantees, etc.
LK Secured Lending is a real estate investment platform that gives investors direct access to quality investment opportunities and real estate operators the ability to raise capital.
From the partnerships we develop with real estate sponsors to the service we deliver to our investors, our mission is to connect capital to opportunity.
We see potential in delivering value and efficiency to real estate investors and operators through our expertise, technology and data.
Seek to achieve attractive, far superior risk-adjusted returns and produce current income by investing in selective commercial real estate loans.
The fund invests in commercial real estate loans through an asset-based lending approach. In the unlikely event of a default, the fund is protected by the significant equity in each property we lend on.
It is our intention to provide investors and borrowers the very best of service, support, advice, and facilitation. This will enable us to provide full transparency in all aspects of our business.
We understand that basic lending principles remain constant, but in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment, we must be ready to accept and embrace change.
BARRY LEVENSON: FOUNDER & CEO
Mr. Levenson is a visionary leader and strategist with deep expertise in financial services and a demonstrated ability to achieve high-growth objectives. He is a proven builder of successful companies with over twenty-five years of hands-on experience in fast-growth organizations.
Most recently, he was the CEO and a founding officer of Strategic Holdings, where Mr. Levenson started and grew a very successful fund worth over $150 million, which raised over $60 million in Investor equity, and purchased over 20 multi-family properties. To date, this fund continues to perform well, and has consistently made payments to its investors. Prior to Strategic Holdings, Mr. Levenson was a Managing Director at PennyMac, which originally purchased large pools of mortgage notes from financial institutions and is now the largest correspondent lender in the country.
Prior to PennyMac, Mr. Levenson co-founded Countrywide Bank (a division of publicly traded Countrywide Financial, later acquired by Bank of America), where Mr. Levenson helped establish the start-up bank as the fastest organically growing depository in the history of U.S. banking, achieving a rank of the eleventh largest national bank in the United States and responsible for a third of Countrywide Financials' pretax income. Among other things, he was responsible for scaling deposit production from zero to over $10 billion annually with an overall annualized efficiency of 4 basis points; while amassing a 750,000 customer deposit and loan portfolio.
Prior to Countrywide Bank, Mr. Levenson has been a Chief Officer of several companies including Move/Realtor/Apartments.com and Stern Marketing Group (acquired by NewGround), where he launched Ameritrade and Telebanc and was a Senior Consultant in the Real Estate Consulting Group at Deloitte Consulting.
Mr. Levenson is a board member of the Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA, has been a board member of BAI (Bank Administration Institute), the Haas Business School at UC Berkeley, and the National Literacy Network; has been a featured speaker at BAI, ABA, and UW Graduate School of Banking; and interviewed by CNN, Bloomberg, USA Today, Fund Marketing Alert, Advertising News, US Banker and others.
He earned an MBA from the Anderson Graduate School of Management, UCLA in Finance, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship and a BS from the Haas Business School at UC Berkeley, in Finance and Real Estate. While at UC Berkeley, he co-founded the Cal Berkeley Federal Credit Union.
PAUL L. KESSLER: FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN
Mr. Kessler is recognized as an active deep value investor, financier, and venture capitalist. He has extensive experience with emerging growth companies, both public and private, which for a variety of factors, trade below their fundamental value.
Mr. Kessler is recognized as an active deep value investor, financier, and venture capitalist. He has extensive experience with emerging growth companies, both public and private, which for a variety of factors, trade below their fundamental value, and, when necessary, will lead activist efforts with both company boards and executives focused on corporate governance and oversight, strategy, and alignment of interests with shareholders. He is well-versed at identifying deep value activist opportunities in a variety of industries including biotechnology, technology, energy, education and consumer products. He has broad experience in operations and finance, actively sourcing and identifying investment opportunities, and negotiating, structuring and re-structuring investment transactions. Mr. Kessler has guided and overseen over 650 investment transactions, whether as lead, co-lead, or syndicate investor, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, venture capital, private equity, re-structuring and other capital market activities. Mr. Kessler's vast networks of relationships have consistently provided the Fund with excellent investment opportunities.
His investments have focused on emerging growth public companies, private companies on the path to becoming public, and a select group of distressed companies (acting as either the Stalking Horse bidder or DIP lender). As an investor he has invested, provided seed capital, and/or founded numerous successful companies including Cheniere Energy, Inc., Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc., Cantango Oil and Gas Company, The Los Angeles Film School, Allis-Chalmers Energy Inc., Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Octa Therapeutics, Genspera, Inc., Research Solutions, Inc., Wizard World, Inc., Energous Corporation, Tellurian Inc., Bristol Luxury Group, Sugarfina, to name a few. Additionally, Mr. Kessler co-founded Start Engine, LLC, which at the time of its founding was the largest technology incubator in Los Angeles, having launched over 50 technology companies, and is now a leading equity-based crowdfunding platform.
Mr. Kessler has been a guest speaker on the subject of financing emerging growth public companies at a variety of forums, including The Pipe's Conference, Los Angeles Venture Association (LAVA), Wall Street Reporter's Pipe Conference, UCLA Anderson School of Management, and Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management. He has attended courses at various colleges and universities, including Harvard Business School's Executive Education Program and UCLA's Extension Program. Mr. Kessler has passed the Series 65 Uniform Investment Advisor Examination.
AMY WANG: COO & GENERAL COUNSEL
Ms. Wang oversees the negotiation, documentation, and closing of investment transactions; monitors compliance with investment terms and securities regulations; supervises portfolio activity and operations; and manages the activity of outside counsel.
Ms. Wang oversees the negotiation, documentation, and closing of investment transactions; monitors compliance with investment terms and securities regulations; supervises portfolio activity and operations; and manages the activity of outside counsel. During her tenure at BCA, Ms. Wang has overseen the negotiation and documentation of over 450 financing transactions utilizing various investment structures and instruments including common stock, preferred stock, convertible debt instruments and warrants. Ms. Wang has also worked on numerous restructurings, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and private equity financings.
Ms. Wang earned her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and her undergraduate degree in Political Science, with a specialization in Business Administration, from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Ms. Wang is a member of the State Bar of California and the American Bar Association (Business Law Division). Ms. Wang has also passed the Series 65 Uniform Investment Advisor Examination.
DIANA DERYCZ-KESSLER: FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR
Ms. Derycz-Kessler is a Founder and Director of LK Secured Investments,INC. Ms. Derycz-Kessler has an extensive background in law, business, finance, and real estate.
Ms. Derycz-Kessler is a Founder and Director of LK Secured Lending, INC. Ms. Derycz-Kessler has an extensive background in law, business, finance, and real estate. She has been investing in private and public companies since 2000, including as a principal of Bristol Capital Advisors, LLC, an investment advisory firm that she co-founded with her husband Paul Kessler.
Her investments span a variety of sectors, including real estate, oil and gas, biotechnology, technology and education. She has assumed active operational roles related to her investments, such as managing commercial property partnerships; Founder and Special Counsel to Bristol Capital Advisors, LLC; and a 17-year tenure building the media arts college Los Angeles Film School as its CEO and President. Ms. Derycz-Kessler is a director of Tellurian, Inc. (NASDAQ:TELL), a natural gas company primed to provide low cost gas globally through production, liquefaction, transport and logistics.
Ms. Derycz-Kessler's early career began as a lawyer in New York. Subsequently she joined Occidental Petroleum Corporation, overseeing legal for its Latin American exploration and production properties. She then served finance and energy clients through her Los Angeles based law practice until founding Bristol Capital Advisors in 2000. Ms. Derycz-Kessler enjoys contributing to global education, and from 2016-2018, Ms. Derycz-Kessler acted as a partner in UNESCO's TeachHer program, a private-public sector partnership bridging the global gender gap in education.
Ms. Derycz-Kessler earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School, and her master's degree from Stanford University. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
MATTHEW KEYWORTH: SVP SALES
Matthew Keyworth earned his degree in Economics from the University of New Hampshire and studied International Finance in Hong Kong.
He has nearly two decades of executive-level experience in the mortgage industry where he has gained recognition for creating, cultivating, and leading large-scale sales teams. Recent positions include Vice President of Retail Sales and Channel Management at PennyMac Loan Services and Managing Director of Consumer Direct Sales for Castle & Cooke Mortgage. He has also held management positions at Countrywide Home Loans and been a licensed Mortgage and Real Estate Broker for ten years. Matthew has overseen teams responsible for the successful funding of billions of dollars in mortgage loans, driving innumerable sales teams to success and exponential growth. A key to his success has been his familiarity working with multiple departments to create and improve business processes and optimize the customer experience.
JASON NGUYEN: ASSOCIATE
From 2006 to the present, Mr. Nguyen has served as an analyst and operations supervisor at Bristol Capital Advisors, LLC. He is responsible for sourcing and analyzing new investment opportunities, performing fund valuations and other portfolio accounting duties, securities trading and portfolio management. Mr. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a Bachelor's Degree in Economics.
JEFFREY WELK: ASSOCIATE
Mr. Welk attended Loyola Marymount University and has an extended background in Real Estate. Mr. Welk is the co-Founder of Champagne Estates, a real estate investment, and virtual wholesale company. As well as starting his own company, Jeffrey is also an active shareholder for Welk Hospitality and Welk Group Inc.
SHEILA MEREDITH: OFFICE MANAGER
Sheila A.R. Meredith supports LK Secured Lending operations by maintaining accounting and administrative systems. She supervises office services which include the preparation of company payroll, personnel records and accounting reports. She implements standards and procedures for offices policies and designs office systems, layouts and equipment procurement and maintenance. Ms. Meredith is also a California Commissioned Notary Public. She received her B.A. degree from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
TAMI MARCIANO: DIRECTOR, SPECIAL ADVISOR
Tami Marciano is the Founder of Family Chateaux, LLC, a Los Angeles based firm focused on providing the Family Office and High Net-Worth Investor Community access to a private peer-to-peer investment network.
Tami Marciano is the Founder of Family Chateaux, LLC, a Los Angeles based firm focused on providing the Family Office and High Net-Worth Investor Community access to a private peer-to-peer investment network. Mrs. Marciano launched the Family Chateaux community in 2012 and serves as its CEO and Managing Partner.
Mrs. Marciano and her husband Armand Marciano act as Co-Managing Principals of Kautzman Alliance, LLC, the Marciano Family's holding company. The holding company owns Family Chateaux and Armand's Cellar, a high-end wine and spirits retailer. They also hold an interest in a number of private companies to include LK Secured Lending, INC., a private REIT; BlockNexus Consulting, and Xcellerate Mobile, LLC, a mobile technology company. Mrs. Marciano serves as a Partner in LK Secured Lending, INC. and BlockNexus, and was acting CEO of Xcellerate Mobile, companies which she owns with her partners.
Mrs. Marciano is an entrepreneur, relationship management, marketing and business development professional with over twenty years of experience working in the financial services community. Throughout her career she has worked with a vast number of affluent entrepreneurs and investors and has developed a very comprehensive network of industry experts, business owners and investors. Mrs. Marciano advises a number of technology, consumer products and retail companies with a focus on the media, influencer, celebrity and branding community.
Prior to starting the Kautzman Alliance and Family Chateaux, she was a Director at Rothstein Kass and for over five years led the firm's national efforts to cultivate and build relationships within the Family Office and High Net-Worth communities. As an entrepreneur, she founded and ultimately sold, Right Move and KautzMorgan, LLC, a financial recruiting firm located in Beverly Hills which she ran for over eight years. The firm concentrated on servicing financial clients in Southern California. Mrs. Marciano's corporate experience includes, Citicorp/Quotron Systems, Merrill Lynch, National Partnership Investment Co. and Oppenheimer.
The Marciano's enjoy time with their family of seven children/step-children, three grandchildren and their two dogs, Sofi and Charlie. Together they share interests in contemporary art, traveling, golf and are active in a number of philanthropic organizations.
Invest@LKSecuredLending.com
Borrow@LKSecuredLending.com
555 Marin St. Suite 140,
*Historical returns are based on LK Secured Lending Fund performance since inception of the Fund.
Copyright © 2021 LK Secured Investments. All Rights Reserved


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senaya » Pop Rock » Supersuckers - Motherfuckers Be Trippin'
Supersuckers - Motherfuckers Be Trippin' mp3 download
Performer: Supersuckers
Title: Motherfuckers Be Trippin'
Style: Alternative/Indie Rock,Garage Punk,Indie Rock
Location: Studio Litho, Seattle, WA
Date of recording: 2002
Format: MP4 RA TTA ADX AU AHX
Supersuckers Alternative/Indie Rock Garage Punk Indie Rock
Motherfuckers Be Trippin'. Redeye Distribution (от лица компании "Mid Fi Recordings"); Digital Sound - Mazzika, BMI - Broadcast Music In. UMPG Publishing" и другие авторские общества (10).
The Supersuckers : Motherfuckers Be Trippin',альбом, рецезия, трек-лист, mp3, тексты песен.
Motherfuckers Be Trippin' is the sixth studio album by the American rock and roll band Supersuckers. It was released on April 22, 2003, on the band's own label, Mid-Fi Recordings. The album's title comes from the name jokingly announced by the New Bomb Turks as the title of their upcoming album while on tour with Supersuckers. When the Supersuckers went into the studio to record their next album, they put it down as a working title as an inside joke.
Motherfuckers Be Trippin' (LP, Album, Ltd, Red). Motherfuckers Be Trippin' (CD, Album, Enh, Dig). Motherfuckers Be Trippin' (CD, Album, Enh, Jew). Motherfuckers Be Trippin' (CD, Album, Promo).
Shortly after the album's release, Supersuckers regrouped and began touring with Thin Lizzy in Europe. This was followed by a tour of bars and clubs throughout North America with co-headliners Nashville Pussy. In 2014, the band released a new album, Get the Hell. Supersuckers have recorded with many artists including Willie Nelson, Steve Earle, Kelley Deal of The Breeders, and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. They have appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno backing Willie Nelson. Motherfuckers Be Trippin' - 2003, Mid-Fi. Get It Together - 2008. Get the Hell; 2014, Acetate Records. Holdin' The Bag; 2015, Acetate Records. Suck It; 2018, Acetate Records.
Motherfuckers Be Trippin'. By: Supersuckers (2003, Rock). Wrong audio? Try another! More albums from Supersuckers
Album by Supersuckers. Rock-N-Roll Records (Ain't Selling This Year). Rock Your Ass. Pretty Fucked Up. The Fight Song. Bruises to Prove It. Bubblegum and Beer. A Good Night for My Drinkin'. Someday I Will Kill You. The Nowhere Special. MusicBrainz: Motherfuckers Be Trippin'.
Features Song Lyrics for Supersuckers's Motherfuckers Be Trippin' album. Supersuckers - Motherfuckers Be Trippin' Album Lyrics. 1. Rock-n-Roll Records (Ain't Selling This Year) Lyrics.
After 10 years of unabashed supercharged ck-'n'-roll, the 'Suckers have taken that rule to its most vulgar conclusion: Their new album, Motherfuckers Be Trippin' features liner notes that contain 78 instances of the word "motherfuckin'" (and variations thereof). The Supersuckers (lead singer/bassist Eddie Spaghetti, guitarist Dan "Thunder" Bolton, guitarist Rontrose Heathman, and drummer Dancing Eagle) have positioned themselves as the unlikely love child of insane pop metaller Andrew . and alt-country bar band mainstays the Bottlerockets on Motherfuckers Be Trippin'. Intentional or not, Motherfuckers Be Trippin''s greatest contribution may be that it dissolves the line between cock rock homage and parody. Thanks to the Supersuckers, listeners can now enjoy both simultaneously.
1 Rock-N-Roll Records (Ain't Selling This Year) Supersuckers Supersuckers 2:26
2 Rock Your Ass Supersuckers Supersuckers 2:40
3 Pretty Fucked Up Supersuckers Supersuckers 2:52
4 The Fight Song Supersuckers Supersuckers 3:40
5 Bruises to Prove It Supersuckers Supersuckers 3:27
6 Bubblegum and Beer Supersuckers Supersuckers 3:18
7 Sleepy Vampire Supersuckers Supersuckers 3:37
8 A Good Night for My Drinkin' Supersuckers Supersuckers 2:35
9 Damn My Soul Supersuckers Supersuckers 2:29
10 Someday I Will Kill You Supersuckers Supersuckers 2:35
11 The Nowhere Special Supersuckers Supersuckers 2:44
12 Goodbye Supersuckers Supersuckers 1:36
Dan Bolton - Guitar, Screams
Ed Brooks - Mastering
Peter Crocker - Handclapping, Vocals (Background)
Dancing Eagle - Cymbals, Drums
James Erdman - Vocals (Background)
Dave Fisher - Engineer, Mixing, Producer
Rontrose Heathman - Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Mike Musburger - Drum Technician
Quattro - Screams, Yells
Eddie Spaghetti - Guitar (Bass), Mixing, Producer, Yells
Jessika Spaghetti - Handclapping, Vocals (Background)
Jason Staczek - Organ, Piano
Supersuckers - Composer, Primary Artist
Albums related to Supersuckers - Motherfuckers Be Trippin':
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Supersuckers - Get the Hell album mp3
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Supersuckers - From the Audio and Video Dept.: Live in Anaheim [DVD & CD] album mp3
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Scientists from the University of Exeter and the RSPB have captured incredible footage of what it's like to fly with the UK's largest seabird.
Researchers working on the island nature reserve of RSPB Grassholm in Pembrokeshire, Wales, attached miniature cameras to some of the gannets that nest there with fascinating results.
The 'gannet cam' footage shows a bird flying high above the stunning Pembrokeshire coastline while ships pass below. The footage also shows the bird landing in the bustling colony, skimming low over the water and spectacularly plunging into the sea at incredible speed during a feeding dive.
The footage was taken by a team led by Dr Stephen Votier from the University of Exeter's Environment and Sustainability Institute and Dr Mark Bolton from the RSPB, with support from Natural Resources Wales. Dr Votier has been carrying out research on the gannets on the tiny island of Grassholm off the Pembrokeshire coast for the last 8 years. The island, just 9ha in size is home to the fourth largest northern gannet colony in the world, with just under 40,000 breeding pairs.
Dr Votier pointed out that the unique footage (below) was obtained using a state of the art miniature camera developed by the RSPB Conservation Science team: "Seabirds spend most of their time at sea away from their nesting sites making them difficult to study. This camera really helps shed light on their behaviour away from the colony, for example it allows us to more accurately investigate their reliance on discards from trawlers and how they interact with other birds while far from land."
This technique has already shed new light on ways that gannets make use of waste from fishing boats. It was found that male gannets tended to feed more at trawlers than females and this difference may have conservation implications when a ban on discarding is implemented under reforms to the EU Common Fisheries Policy.
Greg Morgan, Ramsey Island and Grassholm site manager commented: "This is a great example of partnership working between the RSPB and the University of Exeter. Dr Votier's research has contributed greatly to our knowledge of our Grassholm gannets over the years and this is hopefully the first step in the next exciting chapter.
To learn more about the project visit the RSPB website.