Back in March last year Ziaja launched their new Atopic Dermatitis range. ZIAJA Ltd. is a Polish producer of pharmaceuticals and high-quality cosmetics based on natural ingredients for face, body and hair care. It is a family-owned company, established in 1989 in Gdansk by pharmacists Alexandra and Zenon Ziaja. Ziaja cosmetics combine highly regarded traditional components, such as herbal extracts and vitamins with modern technology. The formulas are based on pharmaceutical expertise. Ziaja's goal is to provide the most innovative, high-quality and advanced products at an competitive price for women, men, and children of all ages. Our products received many awards and honors. Ziaja Ltd. specializes in facial care products (creams, toners, cleansers), body preparations (balms and micro emulsions), hair conditioners and shampoos, feminine hygiene washes and toothpastes.
Ziajamed Atopic Dermatitis is a range of products for the dermatological treatment of atopic dermatitis. Atopic Dermatitis is the most common type of eczema, a disorder of the skin which tends to run in families and can be set of by stress, sweating, allergens and often linked to asthma and hay fever. It can affect people of all ages, but most common in early childhood. It is estimated that one in five kids under the age of six and one in twelve adults have eczema. Atopic dermatitis (eczema) is a condition that makes your skin red and itchy. It's common in children but can occur at any age. Atopic dermatitis is long lasting (chronic) and tends to flare periodically and then subside. Atopic Dermatitis cannot be cured but can be managed and treated with a diligent moisturising routine(emolient therapy) that keeps skin hydrated to maintain a healthy skin barrier to prevent the skin from cracking.
Ziajamed Atopic Dermatitis is a new range of dermo cosmetic products that care and treat the symptoms of Atopic Dermatitis quickly and effectively to reduce the number of flare ups. This range is recommended for babies(3 months and older), children and adults with various stages and flare ups of Atopic Dermatitis, and those suffering with very dry skin conditions. The range contains a special ceramide complex that imitates the natural composition of the skin barrier to effectively hydrate skin and rebuild the natural skin barrier. People who have atopic dermatitis have shown that their skin is unlikely to produce ceramides which are the naturally occurring fats essentials to healthy skin, so therefore they are less able to retain moisture in the skin due to the weakened epidermis and barrier. Other key ingredients include allantoin and vitamin E to soothe irritations and redness, corn syrup to effectively reduce itchiness, urea, a fast acting and highly effective hydrating ingredient and fatty acid triglycerides which are lubricating and softening moisturisers.
About 12 weeks ago Peter from Ziaja, sent me the range of Ziaja Atopic Dermatitis for my friend to use on her 7 year old daughter who suffers badly with eczema. She has been using steroids and creams for the past 5 years and nothing seems to control the flare ups or clear it up. She and her mam have been using the products for the past 12 weeks and the results below speak for themselves. The difference is unbelievable, it is such a relief for the child to be able to not worry about her skin. She uses the shower oil in the shower, then moisturises using the lotion. This combination enhances the lubrication in the skin and keeps it hydrated. The use of these creams will reduce the itching, burning and redness which she suffers with due to the eczema.
Intensely hydrates the skin and prevents moisture loss. Formulated with a special ceramide complex clinically proven to restore the natural hydrolipidic barrier. The gentle formula instantly soothes skin irritation, reduces burning sensation and redness and delivers long lasting itch relief. Containing only the necessary active ingredients in a neutral base, the gentle fragrance-free formula is great for applying on very young children's skin as it won't sting sensitive, chapped and irritated skin.
Gently cleanses very dry, eczema-prone skin while protecting against moisture loss and increasing skin hydration. For everyday mild cleaning of face and body this advanced lubricating bath oil also reduces itching, redness, roughness and excessive flaking. Containing only the essential active ingredients in a neutral base, the cleansing oil is suitable for babies and children and is completely free from parabens, SLES, mineral oils, soap and colourants.
Soothes irritated skin, softens dry skin and relieves excessive itching. Builds up the skin's natural bacterial flora to help skin become healthier and less likely to react to irritants. Formulated with essential ceramides to infuse lasting moisture stimulating regeneration of the natural hydrolipidic barrier. Contains only the essential components of the formula. Fragrance and parabens free.
So how did she get on? Well have a look below at the amazing before and after results!
The pictures themselves speak a thousand words. This range has helped significantly. In places where creams never had an effect Ziaja has not failed. The Ziaja Atopic Dermatitis range has delivered everything it promised. This range can provide relief for sufferers of eczema. If you know anyone out there with this condition i urge you to share this post with them and make them aware of the fab results from the Ziaja Atopic Dermatitis range.
Ziaja can be bought locally in Waterford in Waterford Health Park Pharmacy, Kilmeaden Pharmacy, Gallaghers Chemist, Carrolls Ballybricken and Shaws Waterford to name a few. You can also purchase online from www.originalbeauty.ie .


12:00 Leganes – Betis | Tip: Over 1.5 Goals | Odds: [email protected] | Result: 3:0 WIN!!!
12:30 Bologna – Genoa | Tip: Over 1.5 Goals | Odds: [email protected] | Result: 1:1 WIN!!!
15:00 Montpellier – Monaco | Tip: Over 1.5 Goals | Odds: [email protected] | Result: 2:2 WIN!!!
17:00 Guingamp – Lille | Tip: Over 1.5 Goals | Odds: [email protected] | Result: 0:2 WIN!!!


Hafþór 'Thor' Björnsson, strongman and Game of Thrones actor was recently crowned Europe's Strongest Man 2014.
Actor and Icelandic strongman Hafthor 'The Mountain' Bjornsson recently posted a video of how he gained 6 pack abs in just a few seconds.
A photo of Icelandic strongman and actor Hafþór 'The Mountain' Björnsson has gone viral on social media after it was published on 9gag.com. The photo has been shared tens of thousands of times.


The ground is covered by a spotted blanket of leaves of various shades of red and yellow.
There are certain, obvious signs that the autumn is in full swing.
The ground is covered by a spotted blanket of leaves of various shades of red and yellow. Warm, sunny evenings have given way to chilly, dark ones that seem to begin earlier as each day goes by.
Yet this time of the year brings with it many traditional feasts and foods. One of my favorite parts of the fall is waiting for beautiful, big pumpkins.
Ever since my childhood, the sight of these sturdy edibles always fascinated me. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors. They are fun to carve and in English-speaking North America it is quite common to see such pumpkins adorning the outside of homes as the end of October approaches. Pumpkins can also be made into beautiful seasonal decorations. Surely my most favorite use for them is in the kitchen. Regardless of where life has taken me over the years, I have always discovered interesting ways to enjoy them as part of a fall meal.
When I lived in Austria, it was not very usual to eat the pumpkins. Back then they were mostly harvested as animal food and perhaps for country folk or those with modest incomes to enjoy. It was sometimes found in country soups but was rare. Nobody would have ever thought of using it as an ingredient in a pastry or bread.
The one part of the pumpkin that was extremely popular where I lived was in the middle. Styria, the part of Austria bordering what is now Slovenia, is famous in the German-speaking world for its Kürbiskernöl, or pumpkin seed oil. It is a dark green color and adds a lovely nutty flavor to all types of salads. I remember the farmers splitting the pumpkins in half and scooping out the seeds inside. It isn't a cheap product since it takes the seeds of about 35 pumpkins to produce a liter of pumpkin seed oil. But it is delicious and in the United States can usually be found at health food store. The reason is simple - the oil is reputed to be a good source of zinc and vitamin E.
I also lived in Paris and the French certainly are great when it comes to preparing vegetables. They are also very creative. During the time I was there, I remember seeing pumpkins and squash available in outdoor markets as the fall months arrived. When in doubt as to the best way to prepare pumpkin, I would often ask the merchants for ideas. Some suggested 'soupe de potiron' or pumpkin soup while another one suggested a 'gratin de potiron' or pumpkin au gratin.
An Italian merchant once pointed out that his favorite part of the pumpkin plant was the flower. He fried the delicate flowers and served them as appetizers. Perhaps one of the most interesting ideas I was given was for a 'pain au potiron' or pumpkin bread. It was delicious and moist and ended up being very useful to have around during a Parisian bakers' strike that lasted several days.
During the many years my wife, Susanne, and I lived in Toronto, we both enjoyed pumpkins prepared in a multitude of ways. The Canadian metropolis is home to a large number of ethnic groups and many have their own markets and specialty shops. We enjoyed Trinidadian pumpkin stuffed with a mixture of ground pork and beef. The Chilean sopaipillas, a type of sweet fried bread made of pumpkin was also delicious. Since muffins and scones are very popular in Canada, as they are here, Susanne and I would often enjoy a break with friends over a cup of coffee and enjoy a pumpkin muffin or scone or perhaps a thick slice of freshly baked pumpkin bread.
The hearty pumpkin is truly a treat of the fall. I always figure you have to try to enjoy the season and what comes with it. I know it's getting colder and the days are shorter. But what a better time to enjoy a nice, warm cup of herbal tea and make something special for family or friends. It's a true taste of the season!


text:
Q: Is there an array equivalent to vlookup in vba? My vba code for a bunch of large ranges uses worksheetfunction.vlookup to find needed values. Ranges can be upwards of 25,000 cells, however, so this takes forever. Is there an equivalent function for arrays?
I've seen lots of SO answers that seem to address returning true/false in there is an exact string match. I need the string's location.

A: How about this ...
Function MyVLook(Arg As Range, Target As Range, ColIdx As Integer) As Range
Dim Idx As Integer

    If Arg = "" Then
        Set MyVLook = [ParamNothing]
    Else
        For Idx = 1 To Target.Rows.Count

            If Target(Idx, 1) = Arg Then
                If ColIdx < 0 Then
                    Set MyVLook = Target(Idx, 1).Offset(0, ColIdx)
                Else
                    Set MyVLook = Target(Idx, ColIdx)
                End If
                Exit For
            End If

        Next Idx
    End If
End Function

[ParamNothing] is a single cell range in a worksheet containing some application-specific text; otherwise this works almost like a normal VLOOKUP ... you can specify negative column offsets though (something I often miss in regular VLOOKUP), and I didn't built in a flag for range searches.

A: If you're only looking for the first occurrence try this:
Public Sub FindInRange()

    Dim sValueToFind As String
    Dim rRangeToSearch As Range
    Dim rFoundRange As Range

    sValueToFind = "The value I'm searching for"

    With ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Sheet1")
        Set rRangeToSearch = .Range("A1:A1193")

        Set rFoundRange = rRangeToSearch.Find( _
            What:=sValueToFind, _
            After:=rRangeToSearch.Cells(1, 1), _
            LookIn:=xlValues, _
            LookAt:=xlWhole, _
            SearchDirection:=xlNext, _
            MatchCase:=False)

        If Not rFoundRange Is Nothing Then
            MsgBox sValueToFind & " found in cell " & rFoundRange.Address & _
             " and the value two cells to the right is " & rFoundRange.Offset(, 2), vbInformation + vbOKOnly
        Else
            MsgBox sValueToFind & " not found.", vbInformation + vbOKOnly
        End If

    End With

End Sub

This will find an exact match due to LookAt:=xlWhole and will not match the case due to MatchCase:=False.  If you want to find the last occurrence use SearchDirection:=xlPrevious.
This mimics using Ctrl + F on the worksheet.
For more info on VBA FIND see:  https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/ff839746.aspx

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Campbell Town is a town in Tasmania, Australia, on the Midland Highway. At the 2006 census, the town had a population of 772.
Campbell Town was originally one of the four garrison towns linking Hobart and Launceston. Campbell Town Post Office opened on 1 June 1832. Today, it acts as the only major rest area on the Midland Highway, with toilets, a park, a large car park and a range of food outlets. Campbell Town is also the retail centre for much of the southern part of the Municipality. Midlands area.
One of Campbell Town's features is the convict-built Red Bridge, the oldest bridge on the National Highway. It was named by Governor Macquarie after his wife, Elizabeth Campbell, as was the river passing through the town, the Elizabeth River. The bridge and causeway, were built as a part of the original main road, it was to be a part of Bell's line of Road, but this road never got past Oatlands. Construction was commenced in 1836 and completed in 1838. It consists of drystone abutments and timber top, although the top has been replaced, the stone abutments are original, making this a rare example of early Australian stone work.
Campbell Town is also home to The Foxhunters Return, a colonial Georgian coaching inn, which retains all its original outbuildings and continues to function as an inn for travellers along the highway. Built by convicts around 1833, with the main building constructed under the direction of stonemason Hugh Keane, Foxhunters Return is described by the National Trust as "the finest and most substantial hotel building of the late colonial period in Australia." During the construction of the Red Bridge, convicts were reputed to be housed overnight in the extensive cellars beneath Foxhunters Return, which is situated on the banks of the Elizabeth River and adjacent to the Red Bridge. These cellars featuring sandstone and convict-made red brick arches and freestone walls are now home to The Book Cellar, and so open to the public daily.
Content on this page is licensed under CC-BY-SA from the authors of the following Wikipedia pages: List of twin towns and sister cities in Oceania, Campbell Town, Tasmania. Note that the data on Wikipedia is highly unreliable. In many cases, sister cities are missing or wrongly listed. Some cities also have different levels of partnership. If you find an error, please make a correction on the relevant Wikipedia pages and cite your sources.


;The higher similiarity is between two competitors' products, the more competitive and alternative is between these products. Therefore, companies should utilize customer relationship management to create an effective segmentation and increase their profits. But, what are the key influence factors that really play an important role upon customer relationship management? This research is focusing on a specific local public company's stock price decline during a 36-month period from Jan. 2005 to Dec. 2007 and trying to provide a related explanation why this subject company was suffering such a poor performance from the viewpoint of a customer relationship management segmentation.


Phenylpiracetam is a nootropic drug derived from piracetam, and is more potent (i.e. lower dosage is used). It belongs to the racetam family of nootropics.
Phenylpiracetam is used as Pharmaceutical Raw Material.
Storage: Stored in a cool and dry well-closed container.
For high value products, please select air shipping and DHL express for safe.


On August 3rd, officers from the Garden Grove Police Department responded to a report of burglars fleeing the scene of a residential break-in. Upon arriving at the scene, the officers learned that two burglars were being held at gunpoint by neighbors who were alerted to the robbery when they heard a security alarm go off. The thieves apparently knew no one was at home when they chose to enter. They attempted to flee after being surprised by the alarm.
When the owner of the aforementioned home was located and notified, she was pleased to learn her neighbors had reacted to the alarm. After all, she's an elderly woman who spends many days by herself. Although this was a residential incident, the security experts at Security Consulting Group want to share a few important things California business owners can learn about the necessity of having security alarm systems.
Companies that can only afford to post security guards during business hours should strongly consider protecting their equipment, inventory, and supplies with alarm systems. In the incident mentioned above, the thieves ran away empty-handed before running into the neighbors.
In California, some commercial districts are considered riskier than others, which gives insurance companies a reason to charge higher monthly policy premiums. One way to reduce business insurance premiums is by installing alarm systems that offer remote monitoring.
Employees will feel safer knowing their workplace is protected with an alarm system, particularly when they can activate it in case of emergencies. To this effect, retail stores that stay open until late at night and factories that operate third shifts stand to benefit significantly.
Sophisticated burglary crews are known to operate across California. These criminal groups take pride in never using violence and never getting caught, and one of the secrets of their trade is that they do not bother with security alarms. Unless they can be 100 percent certain they can deactivate a system without triggering a secondary alarm, they won't attempt to break into a building.
Modern security systems offer more than just alarms. They often feature surveillance cameras and recording devices that can be used to gather evidence in situations such as slip-and-fall accidents, shoplifting, confrontations between customers and employees, and other incidents that may result in costly liability claims.
When equipped with cameras and motion detectors, security systems can be programmed to sound a warning tone when graffiti artists or activists who intend to vandalize a business approach commercial structures. These intruder alert features are not the same as the alarms that go off when the structure has been breached. However, they tend to be very effective when combined with floodlights and recorded warnings.
If you are looking for corporate security services in Chatsworth, reach out to Security Consulting Group. We provide surveillance services as well as armed and unarmed guards who can protect a wide array of businesses. Give us a call at 818-462-3080 for a free quote.


text:
Who's Backing China in Hong Kong
In mid-November, the chief executive of a prominent Hong Kong hedge fund rented an office across the border in Shenzhen. Two of his mainland Chinese staff had suffered abuse on their commute and felt unsafe. The new premises were a "panic room".
A day later, when three of his local staff were tear-gassed on their way out of a client meeting, the fund looked into registering an office in Singapore.
"There's a whole ideology for a lot of people of pretending that it's business as usual for Hong Kong and the financial industry. That's insane," he said. "Not only is it not normal, [that attitude] is preventing us working out how we need to change."
Outwardly, though, international banks such as HSBC and Goldman Sachs, leading UK and US law firms and the Big Four accountants are sticking firmly to the message that nothing has changed in the face of continued demonstrations and confrontations between police and protesters.
"What's interesting is that while I think shops and local trade has dropped off quite a lot, on the legal side it really is business as usual," said Charlie Jacobs, a senior partner at Linklaters, which has 182 lawyers in Hong Kong and has been in the territory for 40 years.
Others admit privately they fall back on the mantra to avoid causing offence and to disguise their inability to move from such a uniquely lucrative place.
Hong Kong's status is fiercely protected by four factors: its ease of doing business; its unique role as nexus between China and the outside world; the rule of law; and the lack of truly viable alternatives.
As David Gaud, chief investment officer for Asia at private bank Pictet, put it: "HK as a hub to invest in Chinese assets is still very much OK."
Hong Kong's status as the pre-eminent Asian financial hub is secure, said Angel Ng, Citigroup's Hong Kong and Macau chief executive, as long as the "one country, two systems" model remains intact. This framework, which allows the territory a high degree of legal autonomy from mainland China for 50 years after the handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997, is a cornerstone for business.
Yet in the heat of recent months, many — including Charles Li, chief executive of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange — have warned that model was flawed from the outset.
As protests enter their seventh month — and the city slips further into recession — the "business as usual" spiel sounds ever more hollow and doubts over Hong Kong's future as a global financial centre are at their most acute in a generation.
For a city whose stock market is worth 12 times its gross domestic product, threats to the territory's primacy as a financial hub over local rivals such as Singapore, Tokyo and Shanghai have always been taken seriously. The difference now, said the head of one large Hong Kong investment group, is it is no longer clear China is unreservedly rooting for the city's success.
Beyond the plumes of flames that have burnt on the doorsteps of leading Chinese bank branches and the riot police on the streets, the protests have left a mark on the day-to-day functioning of Hong Kong.
Conferences and other important annual fixtures in the global financial calendar have been cancelled; many events that have gone ahead have been sparsely attended and companies have quietly begun placing limits on travel to Hong Kong. Professional services firm EY, for example, has cancelled all trips to the city that are not for essential client meetings. Commercial rents have been pummelled and deals have been put on hold.
Perceptions of personal risk have also shifted. A Citigroup banker was arrested; an employee at BNP Paribas left the company after posting messages in support of protesters on social media; a mainland Chinese JPMorgan banker was assaulted by a demonstrator outside the company's offices.
Recruiters for investment banks and asset managers attending the big recruitment fairs in Tokyo and Boston report that the frontline candidates will not consider jobs in Hong Kong.
Although large parts of the city have been relatively untouched by the protests, the disruption to transport and schools and the starkness of the violence against the city's once peaceful image have prompted a surge in inquiries to relocation companies by individuals — though not actual companies yet — wanting to quit Hong Kong altogether.
But those leaving will be turning their backs on a city that continues to be a rich source of revenues. Having suffered from a lack of activity during the summer, Hong Kong's stock exchange has been given a boost by a string of listings in recent months, culminating in Alibaba's $11bn equity raising — the biggest offering this year.
The economic importance of Hong Kong to the world's largest financial institutions — locked into the city's role as a gateway to and from mainland China — is vast. At HSBC, which counts the city as one of its biggest markets globally, about 25 per cent of local revenues are "immediately at risk from the protests", according to one person with direct knowledge of the matter. Most of that income comes from wealth management assets.
It is also the largest single market for Standard Chartered, accounting for about a quarter of the London-headquartered bank's $15bn operating income last year. Even for US-based Citigroup, Hong Kong is the fourth-largest market after the US, UK and Mexico.
Behind the scenes, global banks, funds and financial services companies are making sotto voce preparations. For now, they envisage an uncomfortable thrum of violence that, while bad by historic Hong Kong standards, is manageable. The tipping point, said one, would be "a horror story scenario" in which they simply cannot trade or perform other businesses because of the danger or disruption.
At one US investment bank, managers considered dispatching staff to a back-up office a few miles north, connected to a separate power grid and intended as a sanctuary should a crisis hit headquarters. "You think that'll be enough, then something like this happens and you have to rethink. Pop-up riots all over town was not something anyone planned for," said an employee of the bank. Hedge funds are being discreetly induced to relocate from Hong Kong by the governments of Tokyo and Singapore. A substantial number say they are considering the latter option, though one added that the disruption would have to be "a factor worse" to actually make the move. Senior bankers face different issues. They acknowledge that prolonged street violence will affect their ability to retain and recruit people but are painfully aware that the alternative Asian centres are not yet ready. "In the region, I don't see any other choices," said the head of equity capital markets at one major European bank.
Added to that, many argue that any big signal of withdrawal from Hong Kong could deal catastrophic damage to their all-important relationship with the Chinese government.
Some senior bankers at global banks say they feel trapped by the instability. Moving people out of Hong Kong is more than a financial or economic decision, they say, it is also a strong political message to Beijing.
"There are no lack of challenges," said Citi's Ms Ng. But Hong Kong's strategic position as a gateway for Chinese companies to access the capital markets and as a renminbi clearing house was secure, she added, echoing similar comments from other top bankers. "Yes, there will probably be some changes in daily life, but [Hong Kong's importance] fundamentally won't change. And in the financial industry that is the most important anchor for confidence."
George Hammond and Leo Lewis in Hong Kong and Don Weinland in Beijing NOVEMBER 28 2019
Additional reporting from David Crow, Caroline Binham, Laura Noonan, Hudson Lockett and Tabby Kinder
Arrest, Bail, Bean bag bullets ,Boycott, Civil Disobedience,
Civil Human Rights Front, Doxxing , Emergency Law, Extradition ,
Five demands ,Gear , Illegal Assembly,
Injunction , Leaderless Movement, Leaderless Movement ,
Letter of no objection , LIHKG , Martial Law, Pepper balls/pepper spray ,
Police General Orders, Public gathering/Public procession,
Public Order Ordinance , Rioting/rioter/riot ,Rubber Bullets ,
San Uk Ling Holding Centre , Sponge grenades ,
Tear gas , Telegram , Triad , Warrant card,

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Our beloved black Bagira delighted us on the 4-th of March with her first litter of four beautiful babies, three boys and one girl .
She delivered her babies into the same litter-box where two weeks before Afina brought her three babies. Since then they both take care of their "common" babies without dividing them on "yours" and "mine".
Bagira's babies resemble their parents with the coat colouring combination of black-grey-white.
And one boy is totally black, like his mom.
To demonstrate our sympathy and solidarity to Ukraine due to the sad event of the Krym annexation which is the motherland of Afina and Bagira, all her babies are named with different Crimea's places.
So, the black boy has a name Kara-dag what in Crimean-Tatar language means "black mountain"; this is the name of the ancient volcanic mountain in Krym.
The boy with many grey and white stripes and the black along the spine is named Koktebel. This is the name of the valley and the bay at the foot of the Vulcan Kara-dag; in Crimean-Tatar it means "Land of blue hills".
The third boy got a name Krymchak - the meaning is clear and doesn't need any additional explanation. He has very interesting spots of dark and white on his coat, similar to the dark and white spots of the Krym's history.
And the sweet girl has a wonderful name Kerchana by analogy to the ancient city Kerch, which is located on the coast at the Kerch Strait.
The white line between her two eyes resembles the strait between the Azov and Black Seas.


text:
Media Queer
www.mediaqueer.ca
Hope Thompson
CFMDC
Set in 1949 Toronto, this film tells the story of Isabelle, a telephone operator who is leading a double life. She is having a clandestine affair with another operator, Alice, while her boyfriend Ricky is secretly making plans to elope with her to Niagara Falls.This short film is a camp forties-style thriller in which the desires of a lusty femme fatale lead to double-crossing, broken hearts and murder.(CFMDC)
Major prizes
The goal of the Queer Media Database Canada-Québec Project is to establish and maintain a dynamic and interactive online catalogue of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) Canadian film, video and digital works, their makers, and related institutions.
The Queer Media Database Canada/Quebec is made up of a cross-Canada network of researchers, creators, institutions and distributors who share a common goal of promoting access to exhibition opportunities and knowledge exchange for new and historic film and video works, makers, and institutions.
mediaqueer@concordia.ca
514-848-2424 extension 5756
c/o Thomas Waugh
1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd W, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8
Facebook: Mediaqueerca
Twitter: @mediaqueer
Queer Media Database Canada-Quebec by MEDIAQUEER.CA is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Based on a work at http://www.mediaqueer.ca/. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.mediaqueer.ca/.
Site developed in solidarity by Bees on a Bike ❤


text:
Q: Retrieve data from API using Java How to retrieve data from API and store it in a mobile database? Java is preferred. I just started into this, and consider me a beginner.

A: you can use retrofit and ensure you had created API client server to retrieve and read your data :)

A: Use this to get data from API
OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient();

            MediaType mediaType = MediaType.parse("application/x-www-form-urlencoded");
            RequestBody body = RequestBody.create(mediaType, "app_key=whatever");
            Request request = new Request.Builder()
                    .url("https://app.inyek.com/app_api/api_extra/all_order.php")
                    .post(body)
                    .addHeader("Content-Type", "application/x-www-form-urlencoded")
                    .addHeader("key", "whatever")
                    .addHeader("cache-control", "no-cache")
                    .addHeader("Postman-Token", "whatever")
                    .build();

            Response response = client.newCall(request).execute();

And use the below activity to store api data into sqlite
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.Toast;

import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

    // creating variables for our edittext, button and dbhandler
    private EditText courseNameEdt, courseTracksEdt, courseDurationEdt, courseDescriptionEdt;
    private Button addCourseBtn;
    private DBHandler dbHandler;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        // initializing all our variables.
        courseNameEdt = findViewById(R.id.idEdtCourseName);
        courseTracksEdt = findViewById(R.id.idEdtCourseTracks);
        courseDurationEdt = findViewById(R.id.idEdtCourseDuration);
        courseDescriptionEdt = findViewById(R.id.idEdtCourseDescription);
        addCourseBtn = findViewById(R.id.idBtnAddCourse);

        // creating a new dbhandler class
        // and passing our context to it.
        dbHandler = new DBHandler(MainActivity.this);

        // below line is to add on click listener for our add course button.
        addCourseBtn.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {

                // below line is to get data from all edit text fields.
                String courseName = courseNameEdt.getText().toString();
                String courseTracks = courseTracksEdt.getText().toString();
                String courseDuration = courseDurationEdt.getText().toString();
                String courseDescription = courseDescriptionEdt.getText().toString();

                // validating if the text fields are empty or not.
                if (courseName.isEmpty() && courseTracks.isEmpty() && courseDuration.isEmpty() && courseDescription.isEmpty()) {
                    Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, "Please enter all the data..", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
                    return;
                }

                // on below line we are calling a method to add new
                // course to sqlite data and pass all our values to it.
                dbHandler.addNewCourse(courseName, courseDuration, courseDescription, courseTracks);

                // after adding the data we are displaying a toast message.
                Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, "Course has been added.", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
                courseNameEdt.setText("");
                courseDurationEdt.setText("");
                courseTracksEdt.setText("");
                courseDescriptionEdt.setText("");
            }
        });
    }
}


text:
Q: retrieving string from LPVOID Can someone explain and help me out here please.
Lets say i have function like this where lpData holds a pointer to the data i want.
void foo(LPVOID lpData) {

}

What is the proper way to retreive this. This works but i get weird characters at the end
void foo(LPVOID lpData) {
    LPVOID *lpDataP = (LPVOID *)lpData;
char *charData = (char*)lpDataP;
    //i log charData....
}

I would prefer to use strings but I don't understand how to retrieve the data, i just get null pointer error when i try to use string. lpData holds a pointer right? (But my function is lpData not *lpData) so it isn't working? Am i doing this all wrong?
string *datastring = reinterpret_cast<std::string *>(lpData);

is what im trying.

A: There are at least two ways:
void foo(LPVOID lpData)
{
    char *charData = (char*)lpData;
    //i log charData....
}

or
void foo(LPVOID lpData)
{
    char *charData = static_cast<char*>lpData;
    //i log charData....
}

A:
This works but i get weird characters at the end

That means that your string isn't null-terminated—that is, it doesn't have a NUL byte (0) marking the end of the string.
C strings have to be null-terminated.* When you log a C string (char *), it keeps logging characters until it finds a NUL. If there wasn't one on the end of the string, it'll keep going through random memory until it finds one (or until you hit a page fault and crash). This is bad. And there's no way to fix it; once you lose the length, there's no way to get it back.
However, an unterminated string along with its length can be useful. Many functions can take the length alongside the char *, as an extra argument (e.g., the string constructor) or otherwise (e.g., width specifiers in printf format strings).
So, if you take the length, and only call functions that also take the length—or just make a null-terminated copy and use that—you're fine. So:
void foo(LPVOID lpData, int cchData) {
    string sData(static_cast<const char *>(lpData), cchData);
    // now do stuff with sData
}

Meanwhile, casting from LPVOID (aka void *, aka pointer-to-anything) to LPVOID * (aka void **, aka pointer to pointer-to-anything) to then cast to char * (pointer-to-characters) is wrong (and should be giving you a compiler warning in the second cast; if you're getting warnings and ignoring them, don't do that!). Also, it's generally better to use modern casts instead of C-style casts, and it's always better to be const-correct when there's no down side; it just makes things more explicit to the reader and safer in the face of future maintenance.
Finally:
string *datastring = reinterpret_cast<std::string *>(lpData);

This is almost certainly wrong.** The LPVOID is just pointing at a bunch of characters. You're saying you want to interpret those characters as if they were a string object. But a string object is some header information (maybe a length and capacity, etc.) plus a pointer to a bunch of characters. Treating one as the other is going to lead to garbage or crashes.***

* Yes, you're using C++, not C, but a char * is a "C string".
** If you actually have a string object that you've kept alive somewhere, and you stashed a pointer to that object in an LPVOID and have now retrieved it (e.g., with SetWindowLongPtr/GetWindowLongPtr), then a cast from LPVOID to string * would make sense. But I doubt that's what you're doing. (If you are, then you don't need the reinterpret_cast. The whole point of void * is that it's not interpreted, so there's nothing to reinterpret from. Just use static_cast.)
*** Or, worst of all, it may appear to work, but then lead to hard-to-follow crashes or corruption. Some standard C++ libraries use a special allocator to put the header right before the characters and return a pointer to the first character, so that a string can be used anywhere a char * can. Inside the string class, every method has to fudge the this pointer backward; for example, instead of just saying m_length it has to do something like static_cast<_string_header *>(this)[-1]->m_length. But the other way around doesn't work—if you just have a bunch of characters, not a string object, that fudge is going to read whatever bytes happened to be allocated right before the characters and try to interpret them as an integer, so you may end up thinking you have a string of length 0, or 182423742341241243.


Four Paws Magic Coat Protein Tearless is made solely with your pet's comfort in mind. It's made with mild and tearless ingredients that gently clean your pet's coat leaving a soft and fluffy finish. It is a non-irritating formula which also contains protein and lanolin to enhance your dog's natural shine.


text:
Q: Using ng-repeat or ngFor to display each object in a JSON object as individual list items I recieve an object that looks like this:

I'm trying to use ng-repeat to display the "Message", "Priority" and "DateTime" properties of each object as li items in a ul.
I've tried a couple of approaches including ng-repeat and ngFor, where all have been wrapped in divs like the first option:

*

*This seems like the proper way to do it, but returns exactly nothing:

{{Notification}}

*This option returns the specific object as expected:

Notification: {{ allNotifications.Notifications['0'].Message['0'] }}

*Doesnt compile:

Notification: {{ subItem }}

My TS looks like this:
export class EventLogComponent implements OnInit {

  constructor(private _dashdata: DashdataService) { }

  NotificationName: string;
  alertText: string;
  allNotifications: JSON;

  ngOnInit() {
    this.NotificationName = 'NoNameAvailable';
    this.alertText = 'Black'; //TODO: set color according to threatlevel

    setInterval(() => {
      this._dashdata.getAllNotifications()
        .subscribe(res => {
          this.allNotifications = res['notificationdata'];
          console.log(this.allNotifications);
        });
    }, 5000); // Data Update interval in MS
  }
}

A: ng-repeat is directive of framework AngularJS.
You are using Angular so in your case you should use ngFor:

{{notification}}

A: Using angular you should forget ng-repeat that is apart of AngularJS (version <= 1.6)
I think you have a double problem, the first one, as said, is ng-repeat, the second one is that you are not well targeting your data.
Try this
template

{{not}}


text:
[sspmis] Bihar Old Age Pension Scheme 2022 – मुख्यमंत्री वृद्धजन पेंशन योजना
मुख्यमंत्री वृद्धजन पेंशन योजना बिहार 2022 | Mukhhyamantri Vradhjan Pension Yojana List 2021 22 | मुख्यमंत्री वृद्धजन पेंशन योजना बिहार आवेदन फॉर्म | SSPMIS Payment Status | Bihar Mukhyamantri Vridhajan Pension Yojana (MVPY) | Social Security Pension Management Information System | मुख्यमंत्री वृद्धा पेंशन योजना Status
Bihar Old Age Pension Scheme, a monthly pension is provided to all elderly people over 60 years old by the state government. This pension for them until their death. So that they do not depend financially on anyone else during their last lives.
With this pension, the elderly will be able to make a living on their own. We provide you with all the information related to the CM Older Pension Plan – SSPMIS Payment Status. Such as eligibility for this scheme, application/registration form, pension amount, etc.
[Handicapped] Bihar CM Disabled Empowerment Scheme
Mukhya Mantri Vridhjan Pension Yojana Bihar – Old Age Pension Scheme
Main Points of Old Age Pension Scheme Bihar
Key Points in Mukhyamantri Vridhjan Pension Yojana
Eligibility Criteria for Mukhya Mantri Vridhjan Pension Yojana Bihar
Required Documents for Mukhyamantri Vridhjan Pension Yojana
How to apply for Bihar's old-age pension scheme – बिहार वृद्धावस्था पेंशन योजना के लिए आवेदन कैसे करें
FAQ – Questions and Answers
The Bihar state government has launched the Chief Minister old-age pension scheme for all persons aged 60 years in the state. The scheme was announced by the CM of Bihar Nitish Kumar in February 2019-2020. The old-age pension scheme will be applied to the entire state of Bihar from April 1, 2019. Under the old-age pension scheme in Bihar, the old man will receive a monthly pension of 400 rupees per month.
Latest update – The Bihar state government recently invites online forms for the old-age pension scheme. If you also want to take advantage of registration with this pension scheme, apply online today.
Name of Scheme Chief Minister old age pension scheme
Initiated By Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
An Objective Financial assistance for the maintenance of old people
Beneficiary State Elders
Scheme category Bihar Government Scheme
Chief Minister old-age pension scheme to empower the elderly. Even in the last stage of his life, he could live without any financial problems.
The global pension will be provided to the beneficiaries under the scheme, 400 rupees each month.
Under the old-age pension scheme, the beneficiary will continue to receive the pension until his death.
This scheme is intended for the elderly over 60.
The government announced, announcing the scheme, that as of April 1, 2019, beneficiaries will start receiving a pension.
In order to apply under this scheme, the candidate must follow the following eligibility criteria.
The benefits of the old-age pension scheme will be available only to seniors residing in Bihar.
Bihar Vriddhajan Yojana is mainly for the age of 60 years and over.
No retired government employee will benefit from this scheme. If a person was in a government job 60 years ago, he will be considered ineligible for this scheme.
Read More: [Labharthi Yojana] Bihar Anganwadi Beneficiary Scheme: Benefits, Online Application
Only BPL and APL cardholders were the beneficiaries of this scheme. But the government has now announced that the benefits of this old-age pension scheme will be granted to all departments.
People of any religion, category, or caste can benefit from this scheme.
Identity Document
Bank Account Book
You can easily apply for an old-age pension online by following these steps:
First of all, go to the official website of the Social Welfare Department – https://www.sspmis.in/HomePage.
On the main page of the official website, you must click on the link "Application Form"
Now a new page will open in front of you, here you must choose your region and ban and enter the Aadhaar number and the EPIC ID voter number.
Next, you can click on the Aharhar validation link, if you are eligible to apply for an age chart, an application form will open in front of you.
You will have to provide all the necessary details such as personal information, residential details, and bank account information.
After verifying all the information you entered, click the "Submit" button.
Then completing the Old Age Pension Scheme Bihar application form.
If you encounter any problem while applying online, you can get a solution to your problem by calling the toll-free number.
Helpline No. – 18003456262
Can retired government employees benefit from the old-age pension scheme in Bihar?
No, for retired government employees.
How long will the MVPY be used for?
In accordance with the provisions of the scheme, the beneficiary elderly will be able to receive benefits under the scheme until the last time.
Have you accomplished what the Veterans Pension Scheme can get in Bihar?
All elderly people over 60 years of age are entitled to the old-age pension scheme.
Older Pension Scheme Less Than Beneficiary How do retirement funds define this?
Older people over 60 will be able to earn 400 rupees per month, and people over 80 can get 500 rupees per month.
[UP] Chief Minister Bal Shramik Vidya Yojana 2022: Benefits, Online Application
[Registration] UP Old Age Pension Scheme | Online Application
Here we have provided all the information about the "Bihar Old Age Pension Scheme". If you like this, you should definitely share it with people you know.
Tags: Bihar Government SchemesHow to Check Old Age Pensionold age pension amount in biharOld Age Pension Form Online ApplicationOld Age Pension Schemessspmis.insspy Bihar gov in Pensionमुख्यमंत्री वृद्धजन पेंशन योजना
November 14, 2022 by admin Bihar Pension Schemes Sarkari Yojana 2023 0


text:
Carter Page Sues DNC, Fusion-Linked Law Firm Over Bogus Steele Dossier
Former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page on Thursday filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Democratic National Committee, the law firm Perkins Coie, declaring "This is only the first salvo."
Lawyers for Page filed the suit in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois' Eastern Division, saying it is the "first of multiple actions in the wake of historic" Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) abuse. The suit involves funding of bogus Steele dossier, which Obama administration officials and the FBI used in order to secure surveillance warrants from the FISA court.
"This is a first step to ensure that the full extent of the FISA abuse that has occurred during the last few years is exposed and remedied," attorney John Pierce said Thursday, Fox News reported. "Defendants and those they worked with inside the federal government did not and will not succeed in making America a surveillance state."
He added: "This is only the first salvo. We will follow the evidence wherever it leads, no matter how high. … The rule of law will prevail."
Said Fox:
Page first filed a defamation suit on his own against the parties in October 2018 in federal court in Oklahoma, but that suit was dismissed in January 2019 after the judge ruled the court lacked jurisdiction over the case because neither Page nor the DNC had strong enough ties to the state.
Page is now represented by Pierce, the global managing partner of Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP. They filed in Illinois because they allege the relationship with the firm behind the dossier, Fusion GPS, was "orchestrated" through law firm Perkins Coie's Chicago office. The suit also claims the DNC "has a historical pattern" of making Chicago its principal place of business. …
The suit alleges that the DNC, Perkins Coie and partners Marc Elias and Michael Sussman "used false information, misrepresentations and other misconduct to direct the power of the international intelligence apparatus and the media industry against" Page "to further their political agenda."
The dossier in question was filled with salacious claims about Trump and his associates and has been the subject of fierce controversy ever since its public emergence around the time of President Trump's inauguration. The document was authored by ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, commissioned by opposition research firm Fusion GPS, and funded by the DNC and Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign through law firm Perkins Coie.
The Justice Department last week declared two of the four surveillance warrants against former Page invalid, the FISA court said.
That move followed fallout from December's brutal inspector general report, which found the FBI at fault for a series of misstatements and omissions in FISA court applications to secure secret court warrants to eavesdrop on Page.
"The Justice Department's concession to the court means the department now believes, at a minimum, the surveillance of Page should have ended after the second warrant expired in early 2017," CNN reported.
The post Carter Page Sues DNC, Fusion-Linked Law Firm Over Bogus Steele Dossier appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
What a Clown Show: Nancy Pelosi Tries to Take Credit for USMCA Trade Deal That She Sat on for 14 months (VIDEO)
GOOD NEWS! Trump's Drug Policies Have Resulted in US Life Expectancy Increasing for FIRST TIME Since 2014


Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the garnishes and shake very well. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with the coffee beans and lemon verbena leaf.


There are hundreds of universities in Germany that have free or very low-fee tuition programs available for international students. Whether you want to study Engineering, Medicine, Architecture, or Business, Germany is the place to be.
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The guide also includes a list of top universities to study in and and a list of resources to find scholarships. You can buy it today for 50% OFF the regular price.
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The fireball glowed 30 times brighter than the sun.
NASA says that each year, an asteroid the size of a car pummels into Earth's atmosphere, blazes into a fireball, and burns up before it can crash into the surface. We got a taste of this terrifying phenomenon this January, when a space rock burned over Detroit, leaving just six fragmented meteorites scattered in its wake. But sometimes the situation can be considerably larger — and much more dangerous. Case in point: the Chelyabinsk asteroid that blasted over Russia five years ago, glowing 30 times brighter than the sun.
According to an analysis published in Nature in 2013, the 20-meter-wide asteroid struck Earth's atmosphere at 40,000 miles per hour, vaporized into a meteor, and broke apart into smaller pieces about 18 to 27 miles above the planet's surface. The energy of the blast was equivalent to 500 kilotons of blown-up TNT, and the resulting shockwave left a field of damage 55 miles on either side of its trajectory. This was the largest impact on Earth by an asteroid recorded in modern times since 1908, when an asteroid some 50 to 100 meters wide burned up over Siberia.
The Chelyabinsk meteorite explodes over Russia.
The 2013 shockwave left considerable damage in its wake: As it hurled over Russia's Chelyabinsk region, the shockwave knocked people off their feet, shattered more than 3,600 apartment windows, and forced the collapse of a factory roof. These damages resulted in the injury of at least 950 people, including 204 children.
Shattered windows at the Chelyabinsk Drama Theater after the shockwave.
As the asteroid burned in the atmosphere, traveling at 12 miles per second, it began to fall apart. An estimated four to six tons — just 0.05 percent of the asteroid — made it to the ground as meteorites. The largest chunk, weighing 1,250 pounds, was found eight months later at the bottom of Lake Chebarkul. An examination of the other meteorites showed that some pieces were formed sometime within the first 4 million years of the solar system's existence.
A 112.2 gram fragment of the Chelyabinsk meteroite, found between the villages of Deputatsky and Emanzhelinsk.
The Chelyabinsk asteroid came in with a blast stronger than a nuclear explosion, but its effects were still relatively tame in comparison to what massive asteroids can do — and have done — to the planet. Just as NASA predicts that an asteroid will hit Earth's atmosphere every year, it also says that every 2,000 years, a space rock the size of a football field pummels Earth, causing "significant damage to the area." Things get even dicier when we consider longer timescales. Every few million years, the ultimate galactic bad boys — like the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs — are predicted to make their fiery way through the atmosphere.
Because NASA knows this, the scientists there are also thinking of ways to protect civilization from the inevitable. As of now, we have three major strategies to prevent a Armageddon-type situation: A gravity tractor, a kinetic impactor, and nuclear detonation.


text:
Q: Use paintComponent & paintIcon to create a single image from multiple images on a JPanel - Java I have been given an assignment to create a GUI that allows a user to change parts of an image by selecting checkboxes(for different parts of an image) and clicking a button. However, I am having trouble figuring out exactly how I am supposed to get multiple images to lay on top of one another in a JPanel to create a single image. The instructions I have been given regarding this part are as follows:
A picture panel, that is implemented as a separate class that extends JPanel. It draws the picture (in my case the face) with the three features, and each of those features is a separate image.
Your picture can be anything you want as long as it is not a face. However, it needs to include three exchangeable features and those features need to be placed appropriately to fit the context (e.g. the mouth needs to be below the eyes and it needs to fit inside the face).
FYI: One way to create a picture based on multiple images is by overriding the method paintComponent and by calling paintIcon (a method from the interface Icon) on the ImageIcon object. There is no need to pass a Component object. You can pass null instead.

I have tried to do some research regarding paintComponent and paintIcon, but I still can't seem to figure it out. This is nothing we have ever covered and class, and now with the Coronavirus(campus being closed) it is super difficult to get any actual help from professors. Anyways, here is the code I have so far. If you can help point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated!
public class PicturePanel extends JPanel {

private Image TShirt;

public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
    super.paintComponent(g);
    ImageIcon tShirt = new ImageIcon("TShirt.png");
    TShirt = tShirt.getImage();
    tShirt.paintIcon(this, g, 0, 0);
}
/**
 * Create the panel.
 */
public PicturePanel() {

    JPanel panel = new JPanel();
    panel.setVisible(true);

}

All in all I have a person I drew where I can change their top, bottom, and shoes, but I have no idea how to implement this.


Five Generations of Jewelry Excellence.
Kate Bresser, left, with daughter Maggie Shell, right, at the storefront of the Gysbers Jewelry located in downtown Green Lake, Wisconsin.
In 1874 Kate Bresser's Great Grandfather started in the jewelry business in Waterloo, Wisconsin. 144 years and 5 generations later, Gysbers Jewelry is an American classic, time tested jewelry store.
Originally called Doering Jewelry, Kate's Grandmother, Olga ran the jewelry store at the age of 16. When she married Myron Gysbers in the early 1920's the store's name was then changed to Gysbers Jewelry.
Kate's father, John, started in the family business in the early 1950's. An accomplished musician and music teacher, John also gave piano and organ lessons right in the store. Kate joined the family business at the age of 19, working alongside her father, and in 1992 she decided to purchase it from him. For 20 of those years, Kate also worked on the bench as the store goldsmith.
Customers in Waupun are greeted by sights of an old fashion Jewelry store with beautiful 8 foot tall, beveled glass wall cases and ornate floor cases. Staying current with jewelry designs and trends, Kate hand picks every piece of jewelry and loose diamond that is sold in the store.
In May 2016, Gysbers Jewelry added a second location in the heart of downtown Green Lake that is managed by one of Kate's daughters, Maggie Shell. The Green Lake location offers the same excellent customer service along with a full line of unique and one of a kind jewelry designs.
While raising her 6 children, Kate often found herself waiting at the ice rink. Carrying a sketch pad, she started sketching jewelry designs. From those sketches came the EverLink Collection. Each design contains links symbolizing the strength of a bond of family and friendship.
These unique pendants and rings are available in Sterling Silver and 14 karat yellow or white gold. Diamonds or birthstones can be added to make your pieces truly unique to you.


It's hardly an overstatement to recognize Strictly Rhythm for what it was in the '90s: a juggernaut that comprehensively shaped NYC's house-music sound. Now safely tucked under the wing of U.K. imprint Defected (where several ex-Strictly artists have already migrated), Yoruba Records founder Osunlade's elegant new full-length elevates the recently re-launched Strictly profile once more. Elements delivers a satisfying taste of all things house: from its soaring melodic opener ("A Cloud Mist") to downtempo spoken-word poems ("Cream"), to trance-steeped synths ("139th Street") and stripped-down, old-school dancefloor anthems that ooze classic Strictly style ("Queens Battle"). Elements resonates with something joyous and celebratory, fittingly echoing what SR chief Mark Finkelstein must have felt when he managed to wrestle his original catalog back from ex-partner Warner Music Group after four years in court-you can hear indie labels everywhere giving a collective cheer.


text:
Reel Quick: What We Do in the Shadows
By Brian @ Hard Ticket to Home Video September 28, 2015 Jemaine Clement Jonny Brugh New Zealand Taika Waititi What We Do in the Shadows
Starring: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonny Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stu Rutherford, Jackie van Beek
Directed by: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi (Eagle vs Shark; Boy)
Synopsis: A mock documentary (a mockumentary, if you will, I just made that up) about centuries-old vampires living as flatmates in modern-day Wellington, New Zealand.
The characters are so rich and fleshed out you actually care about them and what happens to them, which is extraordinarily rare for a movie associated with the horror genre made in the 2010s. These guys are immortal but vulnerable, and while they're incredibly powerful they don't really fit in anymore.
The actors are all basically perfect in their roles, even though you likely have never heard of any of them aside from maybe Jemaine Clement, and only because he was the villain in Men In Black III.
While it's not really a guffaw-fest per se, it is consistently funny throughout, and intelligent in its humor, another rarity for a spoof these days.
There are some surprisingly good special effects in this on what I assume was a tiny budget that really add to the scenes, like the guys turning into bats, Vlad's face on a cat, and fighting on the walls and ceiling that was just as effective as Inception.
This is just a little nitpicking, but for a thinking man such as myself, I couldn't help but wonder about things like how they didn't know about computers and television, since they do go out and integrate with society at night, surely they would have seen cell phones and TVs before. And they don't want to attract attention to the fact that they're vampires, but wear garb like they're in George Washington's marching band. Obviously the costumes help establish their characters, but it made my head itch a bit.
This may be slightly spoilery, but the vampires take their human friend, Stu, to an undead ball, and try to hide the fact that he's human from the other vampires and zombies there, but the cameramen are human too, and they don't seem to really take any notice of them. It is slightly addressed by Vlad, but it seems like they would notice them first before Stu. Again, not that important.
Deacon: "I think we drink virgin blood because it sounds cool."
Vladislav: "I think of it like this. If you are going to eat a sandwich, you would just enjoy it more if you knew no one had fucked it."
Overall: I really enjoyed this picture, and you will too goofy-but-smart (goofart? needs work.) comedy that is actually made for adults. Even if you're not a fan of vampires or New Zealanders, there's no reason you shouldn't like this. I highly recommend it especially for the Halloween season, which will be my last movie recommendation for the next month… (Schlocktoberfest 5 coming Thursday!)
Score: 8 virgin sandwiches (out of 10)
7 thoughts on "Reel Quick: What We Do in the Shadows"
I love Stu. He is my favourite character.
Stu was awesome. I think I liked Viago the best, he was kind of the glue that held everything together. Plus his weird love story was actually pretty touching.
Goofart! I love the sound of this. I've been wanting to see this damn thing for ages. Now I want to see it even more because you usually have good taste. Well, sometimes. 🙂
If I know you, and I don't, really, I think you'll find this to be a hoot.
Ah, I loved this movie! Great write up!
It is so quotable – from the sandwich through to dark internet bidding, it was highly entertaining.
I do agree about the cameramen though, it was something I also wondered about.
I still can't get over Petyr's untimely death…
Pingback: HTTHV's Top 10 and Bottom 5 of 2015! | Hard Ticket to Home Video


text:
Adults, Community, Justice, News, U.S.	 July 23, 2015
LAPD Officer Mary O'Callaghan Gets 36 Months in Jail for Assault Caught on Video
LAPD officer Mary O'Callaghan was sentenced to 36 months in jail Thursday for assaulting a South L.A. woman in an incident that was caught on video by a police cruiser camera. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
A Los Angeles police officer was sentenced to 36 months in jail Thursday for assaulting a South L.A. woman, who later died in police custody, in an incident that was caught on video by a police cruiser camera.
Mary O'Callaghan's sentencing comes amid intense scrutiny and criticism nationwide of police use of force. The last 20 months of her sentence were suspended, meaning she'll likely spend a little more than a year in county jail.
A video released by the Los Angeles County Superior Court shows the arrest of Alesia Thomas on July 22, 2012. Los Angeles Police Officer Mary O'Callaghan was convicted June 5 of assault under color of authority. (latimes.com)
A downtown L.A. jury last month convicted O'Callaghan, 50, of assault under color of authority after a prosecutor argued that the video recording showed the officer used unnecessary force during the 2012 arrest of Alesia Thomas.
In the video, which can be seen by clicking here, O'Callaghan jabbed at Thomas' throat with an open hand and threatened to kick her in the crotch. O'Callaghan then raised her boot and struck Thomas, whose body shook in response.
The recording captured Thomas — who asked officers for an ambulance more than 30 minutes before one was called — breathing heavily and repeatedly saying, "I can't."
A few minutes later, Thomas, a 35-year-old mother, lost consciousness. She later died.
A video from a dashboard camera in a different patrol car — also played during the trial — showed O'Callaghan smoking a cigarette as she peeked inside the car at Thomas, whose legs were tied with a nylon hobble restraint.
"That ain't a good sign," O'Callaghan said out loud in the video.
During O'Callaghan's trial, Assistant Head Deputy Dist. Atty. Shannon Presby told jurors that the video clearly shows the officer kicking Thomas hard in the groin. But O'Callaghan's attorney, Robert Rico, disagreed, telling jurors that the recording instead showed his client pushing Thomas with her boot.
Rico told jurors that although the footage shows an "ugly" scene, his client's use of force was "reasonable, justified and necessary." Thomas wasn't complying with the officers' orders, he said.
Immediately after the verdict, Rico told reporters that he planned to file a motion for a new trial, saying he believed jurors had based their decision on emotions — and his client's profanity captured on camera — not on evidence. At the time, Rico described O'Callaghan as far from callous, saying she often bought Halloween costumes and Christmas presents for children in local housing projects.
"Mary O'Callaghan is today — and was — the type of officer that goes above and beyond, not only for her fellow officers but also for the community," Rico told reporters last month.
Thomas was pronounced dead at a hospital after her July 22, 2012, arrest, which came after officers arrived at her home to investigate claims that she had abandoned her two children by dropping them off at a police station.
O'Callaghan, who did not testify in the trial, was not charged in connection with Thomas' death.
An autopsy by the Los Angeles County coroner determined that cocaine intoxication was likely "a major factor" in Thomas' death. It wasn't possible to determine what role, if any, the struggle with the officers played in her death. The official cause of death was listed as "undetermined."
article by Javier Panzar and Marisa Gerber via latimes.com
Filed under: Alesia Thomas, LAPD, Los Angeles, Mary O'Callaghan, police assault on video, police brutality, police cameras
Omar Epps' "Daddy Don't Go" Documentary Tackles Absentee Fathers Stigma
Don Cheadle's Directorial Debut "Miles Ahead" to Close New York Film Festival
8 thoughts on "LAPD Officer Mary O'Callaghan Gets 36 Months in Jail for Assault Caught on Video"
wiseoldsnail says:
Reblogged this on wiseoldsnail.
Bob Gardiner says:
A black woman dies in custody and a police officer serves time for "assault under color of authority," simply does not fit my definition of news.Instead it exacerbates the gap between minority and authority. So far as I can tell the actions of the all the people involved contributed to that widening gap.Shouldn't any good news at least support and encourage the views that "black lives matter and all lives matter" are mutually complementary, not mutually exclusive?.
*How is this good news?
goodblacknews says:
Because so many law enforcement officers abuse their power, especially against people of color, but in this case, there is a modicum of justice involved. The officer was convicted and has to serve time for her criminal action.
Modicum is a good word to use. But less than a year in jail for murder? I see your points but it's kind of a slap in the face.
And we understand your frustration, but in this case (unlike Freddie Gray's,) they were unable to prove that the assault perpetrated directly caused or contributed to Ms. Thomas' death.
How is good news?
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Prince Omar to reward winner of 'Bajikweka' challenge with $135
by Josh Ruby July 27, 2020 July 27, 2020
Prince Omar's new song titled "Bajikweka" (released last week) now has a challenge in which his fans and followers can participate on social media with the winner standing a chance to win UGX 500k (USD 135).
The new song contains lyrics in which Prince Omar talks about the betrayals happening in the world of politics locally. He points out the public figures who have unexpectedly flipped their political affiliations.
There have been several mixed reaction coming from the public regarding the highly-politicized song and music video. Most relate with the lyrics which condemn "political prostitution".
Upon hearing people's reactions, Prince Omar has launched the "Bajikweka" challenge which is set to focus on people's life-changing stories and the person with the most inspiring story will be awarded.
"This campaign is to be used to tell people's stories and awake those doing them bad and betraying them, more like the message in the song itself," Prince Omar revealed.
To be part of the challenge, one needs to pick up their smartphones, record a short video while narrating their most heartbreaking situations of betrayal.
The video should then be uploaded on their personal social media accounts/pages after tagging Prince Omar. Another alternative is to send the recorded video to +256704976784.
After submissions have been made, a grand event will be held where the winner will be awarded with Shs500k cash.
According to his management, the winner will also become part of the singer's movement to cause change in the society.
Read Also: Prince Omar returns in highly-politicized song dubbed 'Bajikweka'
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Tagged: Bajikweka, Challenge, Prince Omar, Social Media


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The EPA's Clean Power Plan, issued in August 2015, is designed to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal fired electric power plants. Through a series of pollution reduction measures, the EPA aims to lower carbon dioxide emission from the power sector 32 percent by 2030. For West Virginia, that means reducing emission rates as a percentage from its 2012 levels. The EPA has given states until September 2018 to develop plans for achieving the required reductions. Emissions reductions must commence in 2022.
WVU Law's Center for Energy and Sustainable Development (CESD), in partnership with Downstream Strategies, a Morgantown-based environmental consulting firm, has been analyzing the new rules.
Their conclusion is that the EPA's emissions standards are attainable but will have a disproportionate impact on coal-dependent regions of the country, such as West Virginia. CESD is now working with Downstream Strategies to update their analysis to reflect the impact of the final rules on West Virginia.
In March 2015, Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) chaired a U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Field Hearing on the EPA Clean Power Plan in Beckley, West Virginia. Testifying at the hearing were Jamie Van Nostrand, CESD director, and Gene Trisko, attorney for the United Mine Workers of America AFL-CIO. The following are excerpts from Van Nostrand's and Trisko's testimony.
Regional Impacts of EPA Carbon Regulations: The Case for West Virginia
by James M. Van Nostrand
Achieving compliance with the EPA Clean Power Plan would present significant challenges for West Virginia. Given the state's heavy reliance on coal-fired electric generation and the portion of the state's economy that depends on the coal extraction industry, West Virginia may bear a heavy burden associated with implementation of the Clean Power Plan, depending upon the extent to which the flexibility allowed under the Clean Power Plan is exercised.
In order to minimize the impact of the proposed rule on the state, policymakers will need to take advantage of that flexibility to shape a strategy for West Virginia that reflects its unique circumstances and leverages its strengths. West Virginia is fortunate in that it has tremendous energy resources in addition to coal, and these other resources — including natural gas, renewable energy (wind, solar, hydropower) and energy efficiency — are relatively untapped.
Developing a compliance strategy for the Clean Power Plan will require tapping into these other energy resources and crafting a comprehensive energy plan that will build upon the state's coal resources — through co-firing natural gas with coal, for example — while stimulating investments in energy efficiency that will help West Virginians manage their energy costs in addition to reducing CO2 emissions.
Climate Change and the Regulation of Greenhouse Gases under the Clean Air Act
Climate change, largely attributable to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere,is the most serious threat facing the planet. The National Climate Assessment, for example, presents compelling evidence of long-term climate trends, and the likely future for the remainder of the 21st century, if we fail to take action to reduce GHG emissions. Within the state of West Virginia, we are already seeing some of the impacts of climate change.
At the same time, the Clean Air Act is a blunt instrument with which to regulate GHG emissions from power plants. The tools available to the EPA under the Clean Air Act to regulate GHGs do not provide a great fit for dealing with climate change;the regulation of GHGs would be better addressed through comprehensive energy and climate legislation, given the broad and disparate impacts on the economy and the ability through the legislative process to craft a solution that addresses the disparate impacts.
Coal producing states like West Virginia will be especially hard hit, and the EPA lacks the statutory authority and financial resources to help the disproportionately impacted regions to attract new investments, or diversify their economy to minimize the economic and social impacts of the decline in demand for coal.
There is no question that the EPA has the legal authority to regulate GHGs as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act, following the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Massachusetts v. EPA(2007) and the subsequent endangerment finding by the EPA in 2009. The EPA has moved beyond its endangerment finding to issue final rules under 111(b) of the Clean Air Act to regulate GHGs from new power plants and under 111(d) for existing power plants.
The practical effect of the proposed rules under 111(b) was to preclude the construction of a new coal plant in the U.S.,given that the target emission rates for coal-fired plants could be achieved only with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS),which is a very costly process.
[NOTE: In the final rule issued in August, the EPA eased the target emission rate for new power plants considerably, and the new standard can be met with a highly efficient, supercritical pulverized coal plant with partial CCS.]
The unlikelihood of new coal plant construction in the future has serious implications for the coal-producing regions of the country, including West Virginia. [NOTE: The final rule no longer requires CCS technology and does not necessarily preclude construction of a new coal plant.]
The future domestic demand for coal, simply stated, is being curtailed, thereby leading to the push for new coal export terminals on the coasts to serve foreign markets for U.S. coal. There is a legitimate question as to whether CCS technology is commercially available, and whether it is lawful for the EPA to effectively preclude a particular electric generation technology (i.e., coal) on the basis of an assumed remedy that does not exist (or, alternatively, that is so expensive as to render coal uncompetitive with other fuels).
At the same time, it is not clear that the EPA proposed rule under 111(b) is the major deterrent for new coal plants in the U.S. If the EPA estimates of the regulatory impact of the proposed rule are true, no new coal-fired plants would have been built anyway, given the significant cost advantage that natural gas has over coal, both currently and based on longterm projections.
Impact on Energy Production
Coal fired power plants generated 39 percent of U.S. electricity in 2013, down from over 50 percent in 2005. West Virginia generated approximately 96 percent of its electricity from 16 major coal fired power plants in 2012, with the remaining four percent coming(largely) from hydropower and wind.
Across the U.S., over 60 gigawatts of coal fired power plant capacity is scheduled to retire by 2016. In West Virginia, six of the 16 coal plants operating in 2012, representing approximately 17 percent of the state's generating capacity, have either deactivated or are scheduled to deactivate by 2015. At the time of deactivation, those plants will be on average over 60 years old.
The national trend away from coal fired generation, and production declines in the Appalachian coal mining industry over the long-term, suggest that the broader socio-economic challenge for coal producing states is to prepare for a future that is less dependent upon coal — irrespective of the impact of more stringent environmental regulation. And while coal mining will continue to be an important part of West Virginia's economy for the foreseeable future, the state must look for additional drivers of economic development to mitigate the impacts of the decades long decline in the coal industry.
West Virginia is a leading energy state that is uniquely positioned to mitigate the impacts flowing from the proposed Clean Power Plan and stimulate new economic opportunity throughout the state.
In addition to its coal resources, West Virginia sits atop abundant natural gas resources in the Marcellus Shale, has significant renewable energy and biomass potential, and virtually untapped energy efficiency resources.
Despite the significant challenges facing West Virginia, the Clean Power Plan provides a framework through which West Virginia can align its energy policies to meet the carbon emission reductions required under the proposed rule. Doing so will stimulate new economic activity in regions of the state hit hard by declining coal production and ensure that its utilities are making investments that provide consumers clean, reliable and reasonably priced electricity.
Developing a compliance strategy for the Clean Power Plan will require drawing upon all of West Virginia's energy resources,including natural gas, renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Impact on Electricity Generation and Cost
With the passage of a statute in the 2013 West Virginia legislative session requiring integrated resource planning, the utilities in the state will soon be undertaking a more thorough energy planning process. In the short-term, however, the state is not well-positioned to cope with the consequences of the Clean Power Plan.
West Virginia's rate-regulated utilities have increased their dependence on coal-fired generation, by acquiring coal-fired generating facilities from affiliated companies during the past few years.
As a result of these investments, West Virginia ratepayers will likely bear higher compliance costs under the proposed Clean Power Plan, given the inability to avoid the costs of owning these plants while at the same time bearing the increased costs of pursuing opportunities under the third and fourth building blocks of the proposed Clean Power Plan (i.e., renewable energy and energy efficiency).
The Clean Power Plan recognizes the emission benefits of natural gas relative to coal. West Virginia has significant natural gas resources in the Marcellus Shale. Developing West Virginia's natural gas resources and investing in natural gas-based electricity generation will help the state comply with the Clean Power plan and grow the state's energy economy.
Pennsylvania and West Virginia are the largest producers of Marcellus Shale natural gas, and West Virginia has enormous opportunity to capitalize on expanded use of its natural gas resources.
The construction of new natural gas combined cycle plants,co-firing existing coal plants with natural gas and building new CHP facilities would stimulate demand for West Virginia-produced natural gas, deliver consumers low-cost natural gas-fired electric generation and provide emission-reduction benefits under the Clean Power Plan.
In the EPA's calculation of Best System of Emissions Reduction for West Virginia under the proposed rule, it estimated that non-hydro renewable energy can produce 14 percent of West Virginia's total generation by 2030, contributing over 60 percent of the state's emission reduction goal.
West Virginia generated approximately 4 percent of total electricity produced in the state from wind and hydropower in 2012, but has significant potential for new wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and hydropower development. Developing West Virginia's renewable energy resources will contribute to the state's ability to comply with the Clean Power Plan, diversify the state's energy portfolio, grow the state economy,and create new jobs.
Coal has long been the state's near-exclusive source of electricity and historically, West Virginia's coal plants have provided West Virginia consumers some of the lowest electricity rates in the country.
While our rates may be low, however, West Virginia is among the top 10 states in the country with the highest residential electricity expenditures as a percent of median income; and it has the highest residential energy consumption per household among the 13 Appalachian states.
The energy efficiency programs currently offered by the First Energy and American Electric Power subsidiaries operating in West Virginia, however, are minimal, compared to the programs offered by these same companies' subsidiaries in surrounding states.
Impacts of the U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan
by Eugene M. Trisko
The Clean Power Plan (CPP) is a neutron bomb aimed directly at the heart of West Virginia's economy and the coal miners,communities, electric generators and allied industries that depend on coal for their livelihoods.
EPA's final carbon rule issued on August 3 calls for a CO2 reduction equivalent to a 32 percent cut from 2005 emissions,with reductions measured against each state's 2012 emission rate in pounds of CO2 per Megawatt-hour (MWh) of fossil-based electric generation. EPA's rule also provides for mass-based CO2 reduction targets measured in tons of CO2 emitted.
In its initial proposal, EPA assigned West Virginia a 20 percent reduction target by 2030. The final rule raised West Virginia's rate-based reduction target to 29 percent. Compared to its 2020 projected base case emissions, West Virginia must achieve a 37 percent reduction of CO2 tons emitted by 2030, or a 35 percent reduction of its emissions in pounds of CO2 per MWh.
U.S. EPA data indicate that West Virginia's electric utilities and independent power producers achieved a 20 percent reduction of CO2 tons emitted between 2005 and 2012. EPA's final rule gives no credit for these reductions because it uses a 2012 baseline for determining required emissions reductions.
EPA's Regulatory Impact Analysis for the final CPP shows total U.S. coal-generating capacity declining from 336 GW in 2012 to 174 GW in 2030, an overall reduction of 162 GW. Of this total, EPA projects that 34 GW of coal capacity will retire due to the CPP. The balance of retirements are due to compliance with the 2011 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule, lower natural gas prices and other factors.
EPA projects that the CPP would reduce U.S. coal production for electric generation by 123 million tons in 2025 relative to the base case in 2025, to a level of 606 million tons. Production for the overall Appalachian region, stretching from Pennsylvania to Alabama, is projected to decline to 69 million tons in 2025. West Virginia alone traditionally produces more than 100 million tons of coal annually.
The fundamental problems that the EPA carbon rule poses for West Virginia are two-fold: first, the majority of West Virginia's coal production is shipped to other states that have even larger emission reduction requirements than West Virginia; and second, the majority of the coal-based electricity generated in West Virginia is exported to other states affected by the rule.
In 2013, West Virginia produced 116 million tons of coal. West Virginia's electric utilities and independent power producers consumed 30 million tons of coal from all sources in 2013, equivalent to just 26 percent of total production (DOE/EIA Annual Coal Report 2013).
In 2014, West Virginia power plants generated 88,047 GWh of electricity, with total in-state retail electricity sales of 28,919 GWh, equivalent to one-third of total generation (DOE/EIA,Electric Power Monthly, March 2015).
In short, there is no compliance option for West Virginia — including potential interstate agreements or emissions "cap-and-trade" programs — that can effectively mitigate the adverse impacts of the EPA rule attributable to the compliance actions of other states.
The UMWA has long advocated increased investment in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies as a means to reduce carbon emissions while preserving coal as a mainstay of U.S. electric generation. Unfortunately, government funding and regulatory support for CCS projects have been disappointing, leaving natural gas as the principal option for future electric generation.
The stakes for West Virginia's economy and jobs are very high. Coal mining in West Virginia generates more than $15 billion of gross state output, nearly $4 billion of house hold income and 75,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Our estimates of the national job impacts of the Clean Power rule, as initially proposed, indicated the potential loss of 52,000 permanent direct jobs by 2020 in the utility, rail and coal sectors due to power plant retirements, and the loss of 167,000 total direct and indirect jobs. The impacts of the final rule are likely to be similar.
These direct jobs are all high-paying jobs, typically in rural communities such as those in West Virginia, without opportunities for comparable employment. These impacts do not consider any of the plant closures and job losses expected over the next few years due to the MATS rule and other factors, or the impacts of higher electricity and natural gas prices on other industries.
EPA's proposals for major expansions of state renewable energy programs interfere with traditional state authority in energy planning and appear to be well beyond the agency's authority under the Clean Air Act. West Virginia recently repealed its state renewable energy standard legislation.
In UMWA's meetings with EPA prior to the August 2015 final rule, we urged EPA to focus the rule on options for reducing emissions within the plant fence line, such as heat rate efficiency improvements. This is consistent with our legal understanding of the scope of Section 111(d).
The agency has taken a much broader view of its authority. We are mindful in this regard of the cautions recently raised by the Supreme Court in UARG v. EPA (2014) of an overly expansive interpretation of the authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.
UMWA does not oppose efforts to reduce carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act. Our concerns are about the overall design and job impacts of the Clean Power Plan and its expansive reach into regulatory and policy arenas that traditionally are the province of state legislatures and regulators.
Finally, we do not know the extent to which other nations,particularly large developing countries, will be willing to commit to a truly global program of greenhouse gas reductions. Our actions will have negligible climate impacts in a world economy that is using more coal and other fossil fuels every day.
All indications from the UN climate negotiation process point to extreme difficulty in reaching an agreement in Paris in December 2015 that would lead to meaningful — or enforceable — emission reduction commitments by the developing countries that are now the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases.
James M. Van Nostrand
Associate Professor of Law
Director, Center for Energy and Sustainable Development
Eugene M. Trisko
Energy Economist
United Mine Workers of America


Thinking about upgrading the storage in your computer? Choosing the right type of long term storage for your device can prove a difficult task given the large variety of drives available on the market. Here are some of the top reasons why you might wish to consider a solid state drive (SSD) rather than sticking with a traditional hard disk drive (HDD) during your next upgrade.
Unlike traditional hard disk drives which are made of spinning disks, solid state drives are made from silicon memory chips and contain no moving parts. Not only does this allow for faster processing times, but the lack of moving parts means a lower chance of mechanical failure.
Additionally, SSDs are able to continue functioning in environments that would be detrimental to traditional HDDs. Because they have no moving parts, solid state drives are able to continue performing in extreme temperatures, as well as high vibration and shock environments where traditional hard drive disks might fail. The increased durability of a solid state means fewer worries about your drive getting damaged during travel or when you are operating in less than ideal conditions. Computers operating on a traditional hard disk drive risk irreparable damage to data if the drive is damaged in the event of a drop or rough shaking. Because solid state drives lack a myriad of moving parts, they are more resilient in such conditions.
Speaking of travel and portability, the absence of moving parts also makes solid state drives considerably lighter than traditional hard disk drives. As a result, not only are they harder to damage, they're easier to carry. And because they any moving parts, solid state drives produce far less heat than hard disk drives, and are considerably quieter than their predecessors.
Because there is no need for the solid state drive to spin a drive platter or move the heads of the drive, the processing speed increases significantly. And because there is no physical read head, the chance of fragmentation of large files is minimized significantly. Without these mechanical delays, the read and write rates of the processor can skyrocket. This boost in speed can lead to dramatic increases in overall productivity for the user. Faster read/write rates mean faster boot-up and shutdown times, faster loading of applications, and an overall more responsive system.
Traditional hard disk drives require large amounts of energy to operate the motor responsible for moving all of the various parts of the drive. Since there is no motor, and no moving parts to power, users operating on a solid state drive can save significant amounts of energy. Using less power means more battery life to use on more important tasks!
Upon their release there were arguments against solid state drives because of the considerably higher cost when compared to its alternative the hard disk drive. However, times have changed and solid state drives are now widely affordable. Allowing customers to have access to faster processing and more reliable storage without having to take out a second mortgage on their home to afford it. And many users are finding the cost pays off, as the solid state drives are outlasting traditional hard disk drives while delivering a superior performance.
Although it can seem tempting to stick with the same technology you have used for years, the time has come to consider upgrading to a more dependable and resilient form of long term storage for your computer. Gone are the days of tiny moving parts that are threatened by too much movement or changes in temperature. It's time to make room for a more rugged drive; a drive that won't only withstand when the going gets tough, but a drive that will boost your PC's performance and save power in the process. It doesn't get much better than that!