text:
> ttygif converts a ttyrec file into gif files.
> It's a stripped down version of ttyplay which calls `import` on every frame.

## Setup

### Debian/Ubuntu
``` sh
$ sudo apt-get install imagemagick ttyrec gcc
$ git clone https://github.com/icholy/ttygif.git
$ cd ttygif
$ make
```

### Fedora/Redhat
``` sh
$ sudo yum install ImageMagick gcc
$ # install ttyrec from source ~> https://github.com/mjording/ttyrec
$ git clone https://github.com/icholy/ttygif.git
$ cd ttygif
$ make
```

### OSX
``` sh
$ brew install imagemagick ttyrec
$ brew install https://raw.githubusercontent.com/icholy/ttygif/master/ttygif.rb
```

## Usage:

**1. Create ttyrec recording**

``` sh
$ ttyrec myrecording
```

* Hit CTRL-D or type `exit` when done recording.

**2. Create gif frames**

``` sh
$ ./ttygif myrecording
```

* Dumps a bunch of gif images into the current directory.
* File names have this pattern: `<zero_padded_index>_<delay_in_milliseconds>.gif`

On OSX optionally you can set a -f flag which will bypass cropping which is needed for terminal apps which aren't full screen.
Both standard Terminal and iTerm apps are supported.

``` sh
$ ./ttygif myrecording -f
```

**3. Create animated gif**

``` sh
$ ./concat.sh terminal.gif
```

* Concatenates all the images in the current directory

On OSX use concat_osx.sh since in OSX version bunch of PNGs are dumped into a folder and used as source (for better image quality).

``` sh
$ ./concat_osx.sh terminal.gif
```

## Demo:

![gif](http://i.imgur.com/kS18GFq.gif)

## Credits

The idea and approach was adapted from [tty2gif](https://bitbucket.org/antocuni/tty2gif)

![](http://i.imgur.com/9et8daN.jpg)


text:
According to him, the bodies of a total of 1,238 fallen service
The coronavirus death toll reached 2998 (+6), deaths among Covid-19 patients from other illnesses reached 729 (+0).
EU should act swiftly and if he is not released, we need to consider imposition of restrictive measures in response to this blatant act.
"The detainment of Alexey Navalny upon arrival in Moscow is unacceptable. I call on Russian authorities to immediately release him," Michel wrote on Twitter.
Drivers are recommended to drive exclusively on winter tires.
More than 1,000 Honduran migrants moved into Guatemala on Friday without registering.
The air temperature on January 19-22 will gradually go down by 17-20 degrees.
The number of casualties of the 6.2-magnitude earthquake which hit Indonesia's West Sulawesi province on Friday, rose to 56, Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency said on Sunday.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


旵ombine egg yolks, grated zest, juice, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Place over gently simmering water, and whisk until thickened. Remove from heat. Beat with whip on medium speed until cold and thick.
旵ombine gelatin and rum in a small heatproof bowl and allow to soak 5 minutes. Place bowl over a pan of simmering water until melted. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
昗hip cream on medium speed until it just holds its shape. Whisk the gelatin into the yolk mixture. Fold in the whipped cream. Pour the mousse into a bowl or individual glasses. Garnish with whipped cream and berries.


This was my first wedding at this beautiful venue - Middelvlei. Morné & Danielle, I wish you guys all the blessings in the world! Hope you have an amazing marriage! Thank you for trusting me to photograph your very special day! You were great sports!


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Ok so all 4 tires on my travel trailer are showing severe cupping wear. The tires themselves are probably 5-6 years old but have maybe 1500 miles on them at most.
When I first noticed wear I thought it was loose wheel bearings to I tightened them up a bit early last year. We just got back from camping a couple hours ago and several of the tires is now worn down so bad it will have to be replaced before our next outing.
But, I am NOT going to put on another set of tires until I am confident we've isolated this issue, and fixed it. I cant afford to replace a full set of tires with so few of miles.
I've heard balance can be cause this, but it still looks like loose bearings to me, or posssibly both? This cupping wear isn't even around the diameter of the tire, one side is much worse than 180 degrees around the tire.
I yanked the tire, didnt feel any give in the bearings. But this shows a better angle of the extreme wear.
I'm taking it in to a trailer shop and see what they say, I'm sure they've seen similar issues countless times.
Anywho, here's some picts. Thoughts?
I'll be waiting for the answer too. I had some problems with the tires on my kayak trailer and found that I had under-inflated them. The problem with that trailer is that it is so light that it wants to bounce.
they look way over inflated to me...far too rounded they should be much more level. Ive seen it in truck tyres where the internal bands have let go causing tyre to bulge in parts of tread.
look forward to seeing what tyre guys have to say.
Elvis may very well have hit the nail squarely on the head. Also, as Elvis said, those tyres look to be running higher than acceptable pressure in them. I run 32 psi max in my trailer tyres, maybe 34 psi with upwards of 750kg loaded.
From my experience, the "cupping effect" is generally caused by the trailer axle being slightly out of alignment...the wheels aren't running square to the towing vehicle. You are running radial tyres as well which may exacerbate the problem. I was always told to run cross ply tyres on my Coleman Campervan for this very reason.
You could try checking the alignment yourself by taking measurements, but the trailer shop should be able to pick up any misalignment of the axle because it may only be millimetres or a few degrees out. However, it will be enough over time to cause abnormal tyre wear like you are experiencing...even more so with a load in the trailer.
I've seen a similar thing happen to motorcycle front wheels when retro fitted with a single disc brake (strange as it may seem, it slows down one side of the tyre before the other resulting in this type of tyre wear).
I agree...Check wheel alignment. Including alignment between both axles. Check your spring hangers for wear or damage. Make sure that the axles haven't shifted on the springs.
They are set to 40lbs. Max range for the tire is 50. Maybe I'm running on the soft side which allows for too much deflection in the tire..
So a couple tire experts took a look at it and said without trying to be rude, we were running the cheapest trailer tire there is. They discounted alignment issues as those typically manifest as uniform feathering along the inner or outer edge depending on toe.
They said they've seen countless similar tires, and wear like this is very common on this type of Carlisle tire as the tire ages and begins to break down. He said it was a marginal tire for the trailer anyway and suggested stepping up to a heavier radial tire with more plys.
Soooo as this set is shot anyway, I'm going to take their advice and step up to a heavier radial. I'll keep a very close eye on wear and the first sign of anything abnormal I'll get it into the shop.
Dallan, looks like their advice is worth following. Cheap tires on trailers or vehicles leads to problems. I had a friend with a trailer that we took on a Boy Scout Outing. Every time he sustained over 70 mph in the dessert heat he blew a tire. Blew 3 (he had lots of spares). We had to stop in a little town and get one replace so we at least had one left. Suggested that he not go over 60 to see if we could get home without having to stop to change another tire. He slowed down and we made it home without another blown tire. If you going long distance, you can't afford cheap tires.
Yea. Ironically I have this set because we blew two tires in 4 miles on a trip once. We limped into the nearest tire store (Discount) and got the only set of tires they had (Carlisle).
Never gave cheap tyres a thought. Oh well, a maybe expensive fix, but things should last for years now.
check out the local tyre guys as a set off a 4wd that are worn down and being replaced will be fine on trailer for ages yet...you dont need full 1/2-3/4" tread for a trailer only 1/4" sort of thing. we blew out a rear tyre on the terrano on Saturday same size as you running or plurry close to it. prices run from 160-400 each new but can pick up worn down 2nd hand set for $40 each so it might be worth a look for your trailer....ralley type tyres are even better as they have really strong sidewalls.
Says the man with the economical alternative to new tires!?!?
This guy must be the top tire salesman Down-under to get you to spend that much. At least you had enough change left over for a cold one to celebrate your purchase.
...This guy must be the top tire salesman Down-under to get you to spend that much.
That's not a bad price for a 4WD tyre for this part of the world Slim...$$248.50 per tyre fitted and balanced. Everyday Bridgestone radials for my old 960 Volvo used to cost me $140 each. I'm dreading the day the Coopers on my XC60 wear out...I reckon it will be close to $300 each for them.


text:
Spiking the Camera
A specific form of Breaking the Fourth Wall accomplished merely by looking directly at the camera. Usually done by accident, by amateur actors who happen to notice a camera is pointed at them. The trouble here is that the editor didn't catch it, allowing the character to make eye contact with the audience. Typically a film or live TV trope, especially in dramas.
Intentional occurrences fall under Aside Glance or Fourth Wall Observer.
Contrast with No Fourth Wall (thus including documentaries and reality TV), where the cast is aware of the audience, which—in turn—is aware of the production crew.
Examples of Spiking the Camera include:
Hot Fuzz: Timothy Dalton looks into the camera for a second in a bar scene. Instead of using a different take, the director actually put a cash register ring on it, to draw even more attention to it.
In the opening scene of A Night At The Opera there's a woman in the background who is framed precisely in the center between between Sig Ruman and Margaret Dumont, who stares into the camera the entire time. (Here starting around 5:00)
In Love Actually, Keira Knightley's character looks at the camera as the boat she's on is pulling out of the dock. Of course, it's a film taken by an in-story amateur on her wedding day, so the slip is more forgivable. The director commented on it, because the character filming is in love with Kiera, and so by looking at the camera, it's like she's looking straight at him.
Averted in Pan's Labyrinth. It is pointed out in the DVD commentary, where one of the actors looked at the camera as he was exiting the scene, that they covered it up by digitally replacing his head in the relevant frames with his head from the last frame before he looked. It's all over in less than a second, so you don't notice it unless it's pointed out.
In Surf's Up, Nani brings an injured Cody to his uncle the Geek , really Big Z in hiding, who is shocked at seeing the documentary crew following them, staring at the camera with suspicion and indignation.
Happens a few times in Dazed and Confused, a consequence of using some very fresh actors and random locals as extras.
An in-universe version occurs in Captain America: The First Avenger, as a film director specifically tells Steve not to look at the camera during filming of a Captain America propaganda film.
In the 1956 The Ten Commandments, Sephrah warns Moses of an intruder nearby; Moses tells Sephrah "Your eyes are sharp as they are beautiful". Yvonne DeCarlo responds by staring straight into the camera, away from where she's just said the danger was.
Obi-Wan appears to do this in Star Wars just after scaring the Tusken Raiders off and ensuring that Luke is alive. He turns to the camera, doffs his hood and says "Hello there!" The very next shot shows that we have been looking through R2-D2's eyes.
One of the earliest known examples comes from the 1903 film The Great Train Robbery. The final shot of the film is of the leader of the outlaw band (played by Justus D. Barnes) looking directly into the camera and firing a gun at the audience.
Parodied in a Green Acres episode where a documentarian comes to Hooterville to shoot a film. Mr. Haney opens up a film acting class and the first thing he teaches is to not look at the camera. The others interpret this as covering their eyes or turning their back to the camera.
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/w/index.php?title=Spiking_the_Camera&oldid=1614460"
Live Action TV Tropes
Film Tropes


The way in which prescriptions are ordered online has changed to a much improved system, called 'Systmonline'. To use this new service, if you haven't already done so you will need to print and complete this form and return it to the Health Centre, who will provide you with a username and password. The link to access SystmOnline, whether you already have your login details or whether you need to register, is here. This new system will also allow you to book routine appointments with your named GP. To register for online services, you will need to attend your usual Health Centre with photo identification (if you do not have photo ID, you can discuss with a member of staff any alternative options available to you).


text:
Q: Permanently hide caret in CRichEditCtrl I'm using a CRichEditCtrl to display and interact with rich text, but want it to not show a caret at all.
I could possibly intercept every message and use HideCaret() to always hide the caret, but this seems like a hack at best, and am hoping there is a general solution that gets rid of the caret entirely.
Thanks.

A: The appropriate way to do this is to create a subclass of CRichEditCtrl that overrides OnSetFocus to call HideCaret().

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasised the importance of speeding up land reform as a means of restoring the dignity of those dispossessed.
Ramaphosa was speaking at an event at Matzikama Municipality, in the northernmost part of the Western Cape yesterday, flanked by Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and Premier Helen Zille.
He handed out title deeds for 3990 hectares of 178 Vanrhynsdorp Beeswater commercial farmlands to the direct descendants of the Griqua Community that had settled on the farm since 1926.
Ramaphosa said 392 of 422 claims had been settled in the West Coast Municipality by last month.
In his speech, Ramaphosa described the event as a historic occasion, because it included the first settled land claim in the Western Cape to descendants of the Griqua people.
"The slow pace of reform has caused impatience among our people, and justifiably so," he said.
"Having land returned to its rightful owners is just the first step towards sustainable and enduring land reform.
"It is a priority of this government to ensure that we provide the necessary support to communities who have had their land returned to them in order for it to be utilised productively and effectively, and to support our broader goals of agricultural growth and economic transformation.
Ramaphosa said land reform was not just important for social justice but also a drive to grow the economy and create jobs.
"We have a vibrant and diverse agricultural sector and it is ripe for investment.
"As more land is made available for agriculture and its associated activities, and more historically disadvantaged communities are brought into the mainstream, we will be better able to ensure our nation's food security," he added.
"The story of farmworkers and labour tenants in the Western Cape, like the story of farmworkers elsewhere, is a story of rootlessness, of dispossession, and of being denied one of the most fundamental securities as a human being, knowing that the roof you have over your head today, will still be yours tomorrow.
"For decades the communities represented here have waited for justice. Despite the length of time it has taken, they have been patient," Ramaphosa said.


I am often asked if I offer discounts on services. I get asked both by potential clients and fellow entrepreneurs. So, I'd like to offer some of my thoughts on the pros and cons of offering discounts in both service and product based industries.
We all love a bargain. But we also want quality. So, by offering your products or services at a reduced cost, you are enticing potential customers that might have been on the fence about purchasing. In addition, discounts are generally for a limited time, so they create a sense of urgency that may be need in order for some customer to take action.
Discount offer you the opportunity to highlight your products or service for additional marketing exposure. Sharing your exciting new offer via advertisements, joint ventures, social media, and other avenues will help increase your visibility. Again, the 'limited time' factor helps increase the effectiveness of this marketing.
If you are already offering your products or services at a price that is barely profitable, then it could be detrimental to offer discounts. It's never smart to take a loss of what you are offering. There are obvious financial pitfalls to selling your product or service for less than you can afford, but there are also psychological pitfalls.
If you know that you are making less money, or even losing money on a transaction, then you are not likely to give it the attention that it deserves. You will often underperform and may even disappoint a new client. If the discount is a long-term offer, then you may even begin to resent the client because you feel that they are not paying you what you are worth.
Offering your product or service at a lower price point can set preconceived notions about the value that you are providing. After being introduced at a lower price, there are many people that will then feel that you standard price is too high and choose not to become long term clients.
As a virtual entrepreneur that has both long-term and short term clients, I do utilize the power of discounts when appropriate.
As a service provider, I do not usually find it beneficial to offer monetary discounts. Because the value of our work is found in our expertise and experience, and expressed via our time time, it's far too important that we get paid for what we do. With that said, there is an enormous benefit to offering a monetary discount for referrals, current clients that recommend our work to friends or colleagues. I also find it appropriate to offer another type of 'discount', in the form of a first month termination clause for new clients. This helps reassure them that I have confidence in the work of me and my team.
And for new entrepreneurs that feel the need to not only offer discounts, but go as far as 'free samples', I address this in another post. Thinking of Giving Away Services to Win New Clients?
For physical products, I do feel that a different approach can be taken. With a product, you are making a one-time investment and then attempting to recoup that investment with long-terms sales. Because the ultimate goal is sales, and lots of them, you can often benefit from offering limited time discounts or special offers. This is especially true if you offer unique products, consumable products, or have a large product line. You can also use the art of 'bundling' to increase sales and move merchandise, without decreasing the perceived value of a single item.
What do you think? What is your experience with offering discounts? Have you tried services such as Groupon or Living Social?


text:
Crisis on the frontline
By sa | October 11, 2016 | 0
The health service in Ireland is no longer internationally competitive in attracting the number of highly trained specialists needed to treat a growing number of patients and to develop the services required. This is due to the State's blatant and repeated breach of contract terms and discrimination against new entrant consultants. Combined with frontline under-resourcing, these fundamental breaches of trust continue to undermine the attractiveness of the Irish health service to highly trained internationally mobile specialists.
In 2015, one-in-four advertised consultant posts received no applicants and a similar number received only one applicant per post. The filling of hundreds of vacant permanent consultant posts requires the restoration of trust through the State and employers, ending the discrimination against new entrant consultants, honouring the 2008 Consultant Contract, reversing salary cuts imposed in 2010 and 2013, and other actions to improve Ireland's international competitiveness in recruiting and retaining consultants.
If the State and health service management do not honour the 2008 consultant contract terms entered into with consultants, these matters will be determined in the courts. In December 2015, the Employment Appeals Tribunal issued a positive determination in cases taken by two IHCA members, awarding them the salary underpayments plus compensation. These cases have been appealed by the HSE to the High Court with hearings scheduled in January 2017. In addition, hundreds of IHCA members have issued proceedings against their employers for breach of contract and it is expected that the first of these will come before the courts in the near future.
Critical capacity constraints
International and other comparisons confirm that Ireland's health service has one of the lowest number of practising doctors, a relatively low number of acute hospital beds, and significant theatre, ICU, and other critical capacity deficits.
These constraints are resulting in unacceptable numbers on waiting lists, a growing number of patients being treated on trolleys, cancellation of surgical appointments, and an excessively high bed occupancy rate. In addition, far too many clinically discharged patients are needlessly occupying acute beds due to a failure to provide step-down, home care, and other supports. There are also problems with outdated, malfunctioning, and obsolete equipment. These constraints and problems have deteriorated over the last decade, further undermining the delivery of care to patients.
Cumulative cuts in annual health capital budgets in the last eight years totalled €1.7 billion, including a €530 million cut imposed on the acute hospitals. Consequently, the acute hospital infrastructure is now crumbling, with many hospitals attempting to treat patients with inadequate facilities and equipment that is increasingly obsolete.
The effectiveness of our acute hospital services depends on immediate increases in the number of acute, ICU, and rehabilitation beds, in addition to increases in operating theatre, diagnostic imaging, and outpatient clinic capacities.
Future resourcing and 10 year strategy
The future resourcing of acute hospitals and mental health services must take full account of existing unfunded and unmet patient care needs, together with future demographic and other pressures, which will increase the demand for care further. This requires realistic and verifiable projections, which take account of the increased number of patients awaiting care, the rising prevalence of chronic disease, an ageing population, and other demographic pressures.
The 10 year strategy, which is being developed by the Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare, must provide a blueprint outlining the increased capacities which will be put in place each year in acute hospitals, mental health, and other services, to ensure that care can be provided to the growing number of patients presenting for care.
Waiting list targets for inpatient and day-case procedures include reference to an outer limit of 18 months, which is unacceptable and represents an excessive delay for patients. The health service must be resourced to provide care with minimum delays in order to reduce the number of patients on waiting lists. Furthermore, hospitals must have sufficient capacity and flexibility to adapt to, and cope with, fluctuating demand at different stages of the year based on seasonality and other factors.
Unsustainable clinical indemnity costs
Current clinical indemnity costs are unsustainable. They are driving up the cost of providing care in public and private hospitals. In addition, they are jeopardising private practice in surgical and other specialties and forcing consultants to cease practice and emigrate. The cost of clinical indemnity more than doubled for most specialties in the two year period commencing 2013 and in addition further steep increases were imposed on some specialties and sub-specialties in 2015 and 2016.
There is a pressing need for the State to urgently implement regulations and rules of court to give effect to the newly enacted legislation on pre-action protocols. This is essential to ensure that cases are dealt with more quickly and within defined time periods, with significant penalties where these are exceeded, to reduce delays and costs. There is also an urgent need for the Cabinet to reduce the indemnity caps as recommended in the Oireachtas Health Committee report in June 2015.
Strengthening governance
The existing governance arrangements in public hospitals and mental health services have undermined the trust of patients, consultants, and other healthcare staff. Clinical governance in the majority of hospitals and CHOs is constrained, due to the limitations being placed on the authority of clinical directors and executive clinical directors. Combined with the failure to facilitate the required clinical governance input at organisational board levels, this is undermining the prioritisation of issues that need to be addressed on an ongoing basis to deliver safe, high-quality care to patients on a timely and consistent basis. It is essential that the current focus of governance is re-balanced to facilitate increased clinical governance input at organisational board levels to ensure the appropriate prioritisation. In addition, Hospital Group and CHO geographical coverage must be aligned without delay.
In conclusion, frontline acute services need to be urgently resourced to address inadequate capacity and to enable consultants to provide care to patients without the existing unacceptable delays. In this respect, it is critically important that the 2017 health budget and the 10 year strategy address the root causes of the capacity constraints and frontline staffing shortages.


July 15, 2015- Hurco acquired Milltronics Manufacturing in the U.S. and Takumi Machinery in Taiwan.
Founded in 1973, Milltronics designs and manufactures CNC knee mills, toolroom bed mills, vertical machining centers, combination lathes, slant-bed lathes, horizontal machining centers, and bed mills in Minnesota.
Takumi Machinery is a Taiwanese company founded in 1988 that designs and manufactures CNC vertical machining centers, double column machining centers, high speed bridge machines and other machine tools, with sales primarily in Taiwan, China and Europe.
Gregory Volovic, President of Hurco, said, "We believe these strategic acquisitions will significantly benefit global customers and Hurco. The Milltronics and Takumi machine tool brands are strong global brands for expansive machine tool product lines. Milltronics and Takumi have a combined customer base exceeding 18,000 installed machines throughout 30 countries. Hurco plans to continue to market the Hurco, Milltronics and Takumi branded machine tool products separately, given the distinguishing, unique values of each product line and brand. The Hurco, Milltronics and Takumi machine tool product lines should benefit from development of product enhancements, technologies and models due to the ability to leverage shared resources and cross-utilization of proven engineering designs. We believe these acquisitions will assist in our efforts to expand our global platform, particularly in strategic markets such as China and Latin America, and to achieve manufacturing cost reductions from economies of scale and manufacturing efficiencies."
Germany, India, Italy, Poland, Singapore, South Africa and the United States of America.


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text:
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Full Podcast Listings
Podcast Transcript Available
Episode 046: Transit Unplugged Podcast - Steve Butcher
"We don't build railways just for the sake of building a railway. We do it because we are going to transform people's lives."
Steve Butcher started his career 38 years ago with British Rail by sweeping platforms. Now, he is the Executive General Manager at John Holland. In this episode, Butcher discusses the design, build, operate, and maintain model, and what it's like to be part of billion-dollar projects within the rail space.
He also goes into how important detail is for these massive projects. These projects are setting the agenda for generations to come, and what they look like from day one will be different from year seven. And as Butcher says, it's about making "railways as easy as going to the pub or the chip shop… [it's making] public transport so easy that people don't even think of any other mode of transport."
If you want to know more about John Holland, check out their website.
Remember to check out transitunplugged.com to learn from top transit professionals and stay up to date to catch all the latest episodes.
Paul Comfort : I'm Paul Comfort. Welcome to a special edition of Transit Unplugged. On today's edition, we continue our seven-part series on transit in Australia, the land Down Under, and we have as our special guest Steve Butcher, who is the executive general manager for rail for the massive P3 company called John Holland. John Holland does these big design, build, operate, finance, and maintain projects for transportation and infrastructure throughout Australia, Asia, and around the world.
Steve heads up the rail division there in Sydney, Australia and today we talk to him about what it takes to build a massive transit project, how you motivate people to get projects done on time and under budget, what it means to really deliver on these massive projects, which really alter the landscape of a whole city and region.
I think you'll find this a fascinating look inside the mind of Steve Butcher, but also inside the psyche of what it takes to run a massive organization that is responsible for building multi-billion-dollar projects.
Intro : What does it mean to be a successful public transit agency? What are you doing to lead the way? It's time to learn from the top transit professionals in North America. This is Transit Unplugged with your host, Paul Comfort.
Paul Comfort : I'm Paul Comfort. Welcome to another edition of Transit Unplugged, and this is part of our special Australia series, Transit Down Under, and today I'm excited to be with Steve Butcher, who's the executive general manager, or in American parlance, the CEO of John Holland, which is one of the world's largest transportation, construction and operation entities.
And he'll tell us all about that in just a minute. Happy to be in his office here in Sydney, Australia. Steve, thanks for being with us on the show.
Steve Butcher : A pleasure. Absolutely.
Paul Comfort : I guess as we get started, you play your unique role, not only here in Australia, but around the world, your company does. Tell us a little bit about what you do and how you work in concert with transit agencies to make their dreams come true?
Steve Butcher : Okay. John Holland primarily started as a construction business, and I guess in the early days we were about building railways and building railways throughout Australia. As we've moved forward, clearly working with the transit agencies and the authorities, because actually in recent years, it's moved from just the separation of design and build and operations and maintenance into having a fully integrated model that's a full end-to-end service.
John Holland in the rail division currently, what we will do, we design and we build the railway. We overlay with the track and the signals, and the signal integration, the testing and commissioning, but also the conduit then is that we would put skin in the game that actually then goes, we are then going to be responsible for operating and maintaining it for however long the concession is. Sometimes that maybe five years. Sometimes the longest might be even 30 years. What it does is it gives our clients, and it gives the transit agencies, and reacting to their feedback, it gives them security that they've got a continuum all the way from designing a railway through to you're going to you're going to build it in the best possible way because, to be honest, you're going to then have the responsibility of then going forward and operating and maintaining it.
Whereas. in the past. there have been some elements of somebody going and designing and building the railway, and then the operators come along towards the end of the process, and then there is a doubt then as to whether that railway would perform or improve under continuous improvement on the performance mechanisms for that design. A lot of clients throughout the world now, and the model is growing, is that on a greenfield site, where they then get somebody to design and build the railway. They will then get you to do all the way through to the end, and that is to then go and operate and maintain it in the consortium that you're in.
Paul Comfort : Very good. You're not just here in Australia, your company has a big footprint throughout Asia, right?
Steve Butcher : Absolutely. Primarily most of our business is in Australia and New Zealand. We have an office in Singapore. I'm one of the divisions in John Holland, so John Holland has an infrastructure division and that is around, we build roads, and we build lots of other infrastructure. It has a building division as well, so some of the buildings both in Sydney and Melbourne we've built, and we maintain those as well. The one that is clearly close to all our hearts is the rail division, and that's the one I lead.
I guess, from that point of view, primarily, it's been probably the leading rail provider in Australia. We have an international strategy, and we're exercising that international strategy. We're currently working on a project in Toronto, Canada to bid for the RER, the Regional Express Rail. That's in Toronto. That's a 30-year concession, a 30-year ... we're in partnership on that. We're in a partnership with a DNC partner because there's an element of line extensions and some rebuild of a number of stations. But there's also a concession to then go and operate and maintain that. We're in a consortium in Toronto.
We're also looking at our international strategy about where else in the world we can add value because we don't just want to be in locations just for global spread, we only want to do projects where we actually add the value, and we can live by the true values that we have. That is how can we not only add value for money for the clients, how can we serve the communities, and how can we then transform people's lives.
Paul Comfort : I love your personal story and how you came from as an operator, right? A rail operator in England to now heading up this big consortium here. Tell us a little about your personal story and how you ended up as the CEO of this company?
Steve Butcher : Oh, well, I joined British Rail 38 years ago, back in the UK, and I think most people know from my accent where I'm from. I joined British Rail pretty much straight from school, not quite but pretty much straight from school. Being in a construction business was not even in my mindset, not only then, but probably even five years ago because most of my career has either been in the train crew, i.e., guards, drivers, control center. I then was an operation's director. I've then been a chief operating officer and managing director of a railway.
Prior to joining John Holland, I was the managing director of global transport in Serco, which is a global international services business. So actually, I have probably come from a less conventional or conventional route is that I actually did start right at the bottom. I started my career sweeping the platforms and cleaning the toilets. Rail has constantly been in my blood. That's all I've ever really wanted to do. It's actually all I've, I could say, all I've ever been good at really. And then I've been very fortunate in my life. I've worked for some very, very good bosses, some very good businesses.
I've had some good opportunities that I've lived and worked around the world. I've lived in America, in Reston in Virginia when I was with Serco. I've lived in Dubai. I've lived in India, clearly now living in Australia and what a fantastic time it's to be. I genuinely feel that there is no better time to ever be in the rail industry than now, whether it be anywhere in the world and certainly Australia with new mega projects coming up such as Sydney Metro West, projects in the Middle East, projects in North America and in Canada. But certainly, over here in Australia inland rail.
If I look at the new airport lines, projects that we're currently on in terms of Melbourne, the Melbourne Metro Project. We're partners in two big consortiums there in terms of tunnel boring machines and stations, and doing work with Melbourne trains. That's a good relationship because we are in a partnership that is operating and maintaining Melbourne trains. But we're also doing some of the hardcore D and C type work, design and construction on Melbourne Metro in a number of packages there. I guess, if somebody had said to me 38 years ago, you'd be sat in this boardroom in the middle of Sydney leading a two and a half billion-dollar business and certainly sweeping platforms, I would have laughed at you to be quite frank.
Paul Comfort : But it's a great example of ... I've got a chapter in my book called Full Throttle called Do Not Despise the Day of Small Beginnings, because when you start at the bottom, you learn it, right? And then when you're at the top you have integrity, you have authenticity that other people who maybe didn't come that way don't have.
Steve Butcher : I think so, I don't think he's just about that. I think you've got to be very conscious of ... last week I've put this on LinkedIn recently, but last week I was out in the middle of the Pilbara with 30 guys that were building a railway and installing signals. Next week I'm out on Canberra Metro with a group of brand-new train drivers that we've taken on. I think the one thing I would say is by being in the rail industry all your life, and I guess starting where I started, it makes me really realize and really understand what it takes to work in a rail environment. And not only what it takes to work in around environment, the work is not done around this room, the work is done at three in the morning on a train depot or in a control center, etc.
I've always been very conscious, I've always had in my own mind, whatever you do in life, you've just gotta be very grounded and you've got to be very honest with yourself and you've not got to start letting things take over, thinking that you are something that you're not. I think that's always been good.
The other part is as well, and I genuinely believe this, I still get out of bed with as much energy about this industry 38 years ago as when I did it on my first day starting at Nottingham Station, 38 years ago. I think if you don't, the energy and drive, and we owe it, not only to our clients (i.e., the transport authorities), we owe it to the people that are getting on the trains every single day, or we owe it to the people that we're building the railway for. And most importantly, we owe it to the communities that we serve, because we don't build railways just for the sake of building a railway. We do it because we are going to transform people's lives, and by transforming people's lives, that's not the business community just per se. And yes, it has a massive impact on the economic growth of cities around the world. But it's also about Mrs. Smith going to see her grandchildren every day.
I think we have to keep a real big perspective on what we do in the transit industry. We have to keep a perspective that it's, yes, okay, it's ground-breaking for major cities, but it's also transforming people's lives, allowing people to go and see grandparents and grandchildren, moms, dads, aunties, uncles, of where their lives would be much more difficult to live if that railway or transit system wasn't there. And I think that's important. I think the one area that we do have to be more innovative on is this fully first-mile, last-mile complete transport mechanism that makes life very simple.
I used to have a saying when I was the chief operating officer in Northern Rail, "I want to make railways as easy as it is to go to the pub or the chip shop." You just don't have to think about it. It's what you do. It's how you live your life. I think that's really important to me. And that's important in my moral set as well. Whether we're sticking a piling machine into the ground, or we've put in a tunnel boring machine through Sydney Harbour Bridge, or whether we are a customer host or customer operator on Canberra Metro or any other railway, that those principles about what we are on this earth to do are still first and foremost in our values.
Paul Comfort : That's wonderful. It reminds me of the book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Stephen Covey says, "Start with the end in mind."
Steve Butcher : Absolutely.
Paul Comfort : Tell us about that, because you are overseeing the construction of some of the biggest public works projects in Australia right now and around the world. You have to begin with the end in mind, and you've got the end customer in mind, and you know what you're going to be doing, what it's supposed to look like at the end.
Tell us about the process of accomplishing that. How do you motivate the men and women who are on the job to get the job done on time? How do you make this project come in on time, under budget, those kinds of things? That's why you're sitting in the boss' seat because you know how to do that, so tell the rest of the people how to make that happen.
Steve Butcher : Wow. What a question. I think you're right. Some of these are generation changing, life-changing projects. Now, if I look at the growth of Melbourne, the growth of Sydney, or the growth of any major city around the world, we are doing things that are going to be still in place and applicable in 20, 30, 40 years time. The growth of population in these cities without some of these mega projects, being very blunt with you, some of the major cities around the world would be struggling on mobility. And I guess of course it would also struggle in terms of economic reasoning because of that struggle to get people around etc.
But I think it's a really interesting point because most of our megaprojects, we do anything from projects that are going to last five to 10 years, all the way through to some that are going to last six months. But if I then talk about what you've been talking about is some of the major projects and some of the biggest projects in the world or in Australia. We're very fortunate in John Holland, is that we're part of them and we're right in the center of them. I can't tell you how privileged I am to be part of that. In the center and driving, and actually not just, working with a team that is very visionary - and so our clients, because if I take Melbourne, and I take Sydney, transport for New South Wales, if I look at Transport Victoria and projects in Victoria, the vision of driving that innovation, the vision of driving investment going forward. These are projects that vary between six and $10 billion, Australian dollars, over five to seven years. Now you name anywhere that's got that vision or any other industry that's got that type of vision.
But to answer your question about how do we motivate people, I think the first thing is we have to make people realize what they're part of. When I say what they're part of, I was out at Northwest Rail Link, not so long back and I actually went on a station where two of the guys that I work with, they were doing some work on platform slab leveling. I've used this before, I actually said to them, "Do you actually understand what you're doing?" And they said, "Yeah, yeah, of course, Steve." What you are actually doing is setting the agenda for generations to come, and your children, your grandchildren, and their children and their grandchildren. This is going to be a legacy that you're leaving behind, and I think that's really important.
Paul Comfort : You're imparting vision to them.
Steve Butcher : Absolutely. I think that's really important, and not only imparting vision, but I think these projects, I think the beauty of some of these is what the project looks like on day one is very different to what it looks like in year seven. I think to answer your question, how do you keep on budget on time and motivation? You've got to be in the level of detail, you've got to sweat the detail, you've got to sweat the detail with your stakeholders and your partners.
We have a fantastic way that we want to partner. We want to partner in a very open, transparent ... the success of our partners is John Holland's success, success at John Holland is our partner's success. I think really, to answer your question, you've got to, one, stick to the program. You've got to keep to the vision. You've got to really drive the individuals and make it known how these projects are going to change the cities and change the lives of people. I've got to be honest; I can't think of anyone that wouldn't want to be part of that. If somebody said to you, "The opportunity is there to change the face of Melbourne, or change the face of Sydney, or change the face of Toronto, or anywhere in the world and I'm going to be part of the biggest gig in town," you're going to want to be part of that.
Paul Comfort : Absolutely. I think that's wonderful. To me, what you're talking about is something that's lacking in the public transit industry. I was with a group of enterprise asset managers yesterday, where you were there to, and I talked about the key to doing a big project is communication, communication, communication. I said, normally people are communicating to their stakeholders. They're also communicating to the public. What they fail to do a lot of times is communicate with their employees.
Paul Comfort : So that their employees are bought into what's happening. What you're saying is as a CEO of this large corporation that is transforming the face of Australia, is that you personally are going out and instilling the vision, so they get the bigger picture. They're not just a mechanic turning the screw. They understand how it fits into the big picture. Is that what you're saying?
Steve Butcher : I guess, as the exec general manager or rail CEO, you've got to live and breathe it. Okay. So generally, you've got to be well connected to the business. You can't run a business, in my experience and bearing in mind I've come from both a train operations background and now a full end-to-end opportunity that I do now, you've actually got to live and breathe it, but you've also got to be connected to the business.
That vision and that drive, that's why it's important when you go to the site, you spend time with the people. When you go to the projects, you spend time with the people, and you understand what they're going through. Because that's the only way you can keep, one, yourself motivated, and I would recommend to anyone that when they're sat in an office the best motivator of anything is to get out and go and see where it happens.
Paul Comfort : That's right, yeah.
Steve Butcher : I used to do that in the train operations world. You know I used to go and travel with the drivers. If ever you want to see how a railway performs, go and travel with a train driver and see it firsthand.
It's the best office in the world. And, certainly, in this job if ever I want to see how a project or a railway is being built, you can show me videos, you can go through the diagrams all you like. The best way is to get on the site talk to the guys, live what they're living in, and you will get a true picture then.
Paul Comfort : You can't manage and motivate through emails.
Steve Butcher : No.
Paul Comfort : Emails are for the details afterwards, right? You've got to be there in person with them, face-to-face, at least on the phone.
Steve Butcher : Yeah. I think one of the things in society, it's not just an industry thing, I think we are all a slave to the email. But I am still, call it old fashioned, I'm still getting out there, still having breakfasts with the guys and girls on the ground, still doing whatever you need to do is important to me, and it's an important personal moral set, mainly because that's where I've come from.
But how can you keep control of your business, and how can you understand your business unless you're actually out there living and breathing it every day? It's great. I know that it all sounds very textbook, but you've got to do it.
Paul Comfort : That's good. Well, that's good. That was a nice deep dive into your motivation and what it takes to run a large company like this.
Let's pull back up a little bit and get the macro view. Tell us about a few of the big projects you're working on now in Australia, the scope of them and what it is you're doing?
Steve Butcher : Okay. I guess we've got the full end-to-end really. We've got anything from, I guess, the work that we're doing currently on Sydney Metro.
Paul Comfort : Okay. What are you doing there?
Steve Butcher : We're doing a whole range of works on Sydney Metro with our partners. We've got tunnel boring machines going on the Sydney Harbour Bridge at this moment in time for City & Southwest. We're working with our partners, MTR and UGL, we're out, live testing on Sydney Metro. That project, even in phase one, was $8.3 billion. I think the government has just committed to Sydney, the augmentation in terms of driving City & Southwest, take that further out into the suburbs of Sydney. These are the size and scale of projects that we deal, and we tend to deal with not only the construction but in many ways we're part of a consortium or part of the conduit all the way through.
Melbourne, as you know, as we've talked about, we're in Cross Yarra Partnerships, we're a principal partner in that. That is for Melbourne Metro in terms of some of the portals coming together. We've got a lot of work going off there, a lot of work that we're personally involved in, not only in building that but also my team are integrally involved in some of the systems and systems integration. We've got the Rail Infrastructure Alliance, the RIA project.
These are in the billions. These are not small by any stretch. We're doing quite a lot of work on the rail infrastructure. And that's anything from new rail lines to structuring some of the portals, to getting infrastructure in place (looking at the future of Melbourne) all the way through to some of the smaller but just as important roles in terms of Mount Victoria. We're doing some work on behalf of Sydney Trains in terms of doing quite a lot of signaling reconfiguration.
Paul Comfort : For Howard?
Steve Butcher : For Howard, yeah, absolutely. I know you spoke to Howard. Howard is a fantastic person. His organization is great to work with.
Paul Comfort : What about in Canberra? We met with the CEO of the capital city's transit system yesterday, and you told me you're doing that light rail project?
Steve Butcher : Yeah, absolutely. Emma Thomas, who is the director-general, I speak to Emma virtually weekly. John Holland is both in the DNC, in terms of design and construction, with our partners who built the Canberra Metro.
But we're also in, and I'm a board member of the Canberra Metro Operations Ltd. We've got the concession to certainly operate and maintain, and that was a really exciting project, but one that is very new. Canberra has never had a railway before.
Paul Comfort : Right. She said it was all bus until now.
Steve Butcher : Absolutely, absolutely.
Paul Comfort : It's going live in the next few months, right?
Steve Butcher : Absolutely. It's going live certainly in the next few months. We're out testing at this minute in time. We've got, on a regular basis, ten light-rail vehicles going up and down the alignment. We're doing operational tests into-
Paul Comfort : Who built your light-rail vehicles? Who'd you get?
Steve Butcher : CAF. We were in partnership with CAF.
Paul Comfort : That's who we're using at the Purple Line too, CAF.
Steve Butcher : Oh, absolutely, yeah. There will be quite a lot of similarities. What we've tried to do there, and this is where, we are doing a lot of work, we've tried to employ local, so people I'm sure that working in some of the local industry, or their local environment in Canberra never expected to either be driving these trams or being a customer service host on these trams.
We always try wherever we are, and that is to be, one, local. I guess two, we try and involve the community in everything we do there. We're very, very respectful of that local community and the traditions that are within the local community. I think Canberra is really exciting. It's so exciting that of course, I guess we saw it from machines going into the ground that absolutely look spectacular now when you're at the depot, and you're in the control center, and you go and ride out.
Paul Comfort : I've got to go see that sometime.
Steve Butcher : Absolutely, absolutely. And then you ride the vehicles. I think Emma and the ACT and the transport team out there have been absolutely a dream to do business with, with a shared vision of how we change the face of Canberra and the transport within Canberra.
Paul Comfort : I love how you keep the vision in mind, even though you're in the weeds of making it happen. You always have at the end mind what you're shooting for.
Let's talk about now, as we wrap this up, what is the future of public transportation and rail look like for you? You've been in this for 38 years, one of the top industry leaders in the world. Put yourself out ten years from now. What's it going to look like? Is the Hyperloop going to be the new thing? Are there electric vehicles, autonomous shuttle, the first- and last-mile solution?
From your personal vision, not necessarily speaking for your company, but from someone who's at the top of the pile, so to speak, what do you see over the mountain top? What do you see coming for public transport? Because this is such an exciting time with technology affecting things more than I think almost any other industry other than medicine. We are at the cutting edge.
Steve Butcher : I'm really interested to see. I certainly think automation is ... if I look at many years ago when I started, if somebody had said I could be stood on a train, that a computer acted in milliseconds of what the human brain can do etc., and of course I was fortunate in Serco to be part of the start-up of Dubai Metro.
Paul Comfort : Oh, wow.
Steve Butcher : You ride on that and of course-
Paul Comfort : And the precision.
Steve Butcher : Absolutely precision. We did some tests, and the way the computer and the systems on the trains work now is quicker than me and you can even think about. That's got to be the future, but not also just of the trains of the processes. I look at some of my crews that go out doing sleeper resurfacing or relaying, doing signal integration. I look at what the future holds, and a lot of that mechanism will be autonomous, and even increase the precision.
I don't think we should ever be afraid of that. I think we should never be afraid of the change. But, I think where we're really moving to, and I think we have got a lot more work to do on this, full end-to-end transport plan and integration. Because, I still feel as though we, as transport leaders, whatever mode you are in, as the transport community around the world, I still think we give some of the complete end-to-end journey and the process that people use to get from one end to the other, I still don't think we're joined up enough. I still don't think we're visionary enough. Of course, if we talk ten years, Hyperloop, we've got lots of other mechanisms, high-speed rail, where will that go? But we shouldn't also forget not just high-speed rail, but higher speed rail and how we increase the speeds and journey times, etc.
But I think where it will come to is it's just this ease of walking out your front door, getting back into your front door and making it seamless, making it easier, making it automated in some ways, not all, but making it easy. That's what the crux of this is to me, is how do we make transport so easy that people don't even think of any other mode of transport?
Paul Comfort : What role do you think John Holland and companies like yours will play in making that happen?
Steve Butcher : Oh well, I think to some extent we have to take some of the lead on it. We are, certainly in Australia when I look at, as we said, John Holland is fairly unique for me that we're not the only ones, but we're certainly, in this part of the world, one of the leaders in the full end-to end-offer. I think from when you start to think about designing something, to when you then start to think about operating, you've got to take the lead on it because we are the ones in the box seat from designing it, to then operating and maintaining it. If we don't start to think about that innovation, and we don't start to think about what we can do to change that, and of course with the end game of making a real difference to people, then I think no one else is.
I think our part in John Holland is probably being that center pinion because we are involved in each of the parts. Now if I look at a train operating company, they're probably involved in just the train and the running of the trains. If I look at a typical construction company, they're involved in the construction. If I look at a typical railway provider of systems and track, they're just looking at the middle part. Whereas I think the unique bit and the really exciting bit for me is that John Holland is involved in all of that. I think by John Holland being involved in all of that, we have to play a much bigger part in how we then look at that going forward as a collective, not as individual components.
Paul Comfort : Well, thank you so much for sharing with us today about, not only your company but about how major construction projects actually get done.
So many transportation agencies around the world, especially here in Australia where there are tens of billions of dollars being invested, we have to make sure that money is spent wisely, and the end of the project gets done on time, under budget and safely, right?
Steve Butcher : Absolutely. There is nothing more important to me than, customers are entrusting us to spend theirs and taxpayers' money. We have an ultimate responsibility in my mind to make sure that that money is, one, spent wisely but adds real value to the business case on what that means to them.
I think that is an ultimate responsibility that I think of every day I get out of bed, is that I am actually, and John Holland, not just me, but everyone in John Holland, every single person in John Holland, whatever they do, we are entrusted with people's money day in, day out. We have to act and be responsible, and we have to act and be good citizens to go, "We are going to protect that money and get the best value for the customer concerned."
Paul Comfort : Very good. Thanks so much for being our guest today.
Steve Butcher : No worries. Thank you.
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With my baby sister, Rosemary about to graduate we are keeping ourselves busy with the big events that have been happening in her life lately. This past weekend we went over to my parents for the high school play she was in. They did Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. (I have ALWAYS loved this version). Rosemary was Cinderella. She did a Fabulous job!
Not a great picture, but here we all our with the Prince and the director, Mrs. Brant. Stephen and Sean's shirts said, "Cinderella's Bodyguards" Holly and I were "The REAL sisters", my mom was the "Fairygod mother" and my dad was "The Clock that struck midnight".
Here are the five grandkids in their t-shirts. All the shirts said "Team Cinderella" on the back. The boys shirts said "Prince in Training" and the girls said, "Princess in Training"
On Saturday they had a matinee performance that we took our kids too. My older sister, Holly and her family was there too. My mom made us shirts that were fun. The kids really enjoyed it. Afterwards they we were invited to have ice cream and meet the cast. My boys had no interest in meeting the cast. Tanner was very tired and emotional and I didn't even get a picture of him and Rose like I wanted. Oh well. He did LOVE the play. In the evening Holly and I went back with my parents and left our hubby's to tend to the children. We needed to see it without kids crawling all over our laps.
I was feeling sentimental since it was Rosemary's last play and she is the last in my family of the five kids to do theater in high school. I have posted about that more here and here.
The sisters. Eric came last week and saw the play and Glen is on his mission so this is as close as we got to being all together.
I also have to brag about my mom too because she sewed several costumes for Rose. She and Rose worked really hard on getting the transformation from her scrubs to her ball gown and it was awesome so I am showing a little clip of it here.
The Stepmother ripping her first ball gown.
They had three stepsisters. I will quote Tanner afterr they finished their main song, "Those three girls are awesome!"
Have to get a picture with the prince in there too. Rose used my mom's real veil from when she got married.
Rosemary, Vance, and the Prince.


Every organization must have an effective quality management system with activities to control business processes thereby improving performance and efficiency. Productivity and outcome need to be monitored in close proximity to avoid undesired results. BARTSuite Quality Management System (QMS) provides an easy and instant access to all processes that control and improve productivity, increase quality, and reduce costs in the organization. It provides a framework to create processes, and templates. QMS enables your organization to achieve its goals and objectives through a simple and easy-to-use interface. Quality Management System helps you analyze how well you deliver your services and how to improve on it. Itsupportsmodeling of business processes with document templates and artifacts to meet the demands of the expanding global requirements. Having an efficient quality management system in place, you can ensure that all your business goals are met with minimum effort and cost.
Module to manage purchase request to order process, with built-in vendor to ensure optimal cost comparison, as well as integrated inventory management. Purchase Requisition is an internally authorized document that deals with the procurement of goods and items by a company. It comprises of information on the acquisition of essential resources, their quantity, the order in which they need to be obtained and also the authorization to implement the purchase request. BARTSuite Purchase Requisition is an integrated system that includes Vender management, Inventory management and purchase requisition. The document is usually sent from an originating department to the purchase department, which doesn't have the authority to change the requirements without the consent of the original department.Purchase requisition is the internal driving force that ensures an even supply of the goods and services.


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Monday, 29 February 2016 KWPN selection / Subtop Hulten
Successful breeders' weekend for Team GLOCK
For thousands of breeders from all over the world, from February 3rd till the 6th 2016 there was but one destination: the KWPN Stallion Show in 's-Hertogenbosch (NED). Every year, this event in the Brabanthallen represents one of the highlights in the international breeders' calendar, and the GLOCK HORSE PERFORMANCE CENTER Netherlands team was there too. This year there were several reasons for "Den Bosch": presentation of the new GLOCK stallion catalogue with all the information about those highly sought-after breeding stallions GLOCK's Flavio Briatore, GLOCK's Johnson TN N.O.P., GLOCK's Toto Jr., GLOCK's Trafalgar, GLOCK's Zonik, GLOCK's Tango and GLOCK's Romanov, acceptance of distinctions and GLOCK's Toto Jr. proved himself in the Final of the Isah Stallion Competition.
'Keur' predicate for GLOCK's Johnson TN N.O.P. and Exquis Vivaldi
A great honour in the breeding world was conferred on those two impressive stallions, GLOCK's Johnson TN N.O.P. (Jazz x Flemmingh) and Exquis Vivaldi (Krack C x Jazz). Trained by GLOCK rider Hans Peter Minderhoud, these top KWPN sires received the sought-after 'keur' predicate during the KWPN selection event. This special title goes exclusively to licensed stallions whose first crop of offspring are at least seven years old and distinguished by special characteristics. The offspring of 'keur' stallions must stand out not only in appearance but also in terms of their sporting characteristics. "Johnson and Vivaldi came to me at age three and of course I'm very proud that both are getting the 'keur' predicate for their stud performance", said GLOCK rider Hans Peter Minderhoud.
Standing ovations for the 'golden team' and Wim Ernes
For their team gold medal at the FEI European Championships in Aachen in August 2015, the two GLOCK riders Hans Peter Minderhoud and Edward Gal, along with their team colleague Patrick van der Meer, were all honoured. Unfortunately the fourth 'golden boy' in the team, Diederik van Silfhout, had to decline due to illness. But the medal gained soon became incidental and emotions came to the fore as, alongside the riders, the national coach Wim Ernes was also honoured. Popular with one and all, this trainer entered hospital shortly before Christmas with a suspected brain tumour, since sadly confirmed. Wim, accompanied by his wife, appeared in public for the first time since then at 's-Hertogenbosch and received standing ovations for minutes. 'His' riders were moved to tears, with Edward and Hans Peter having to wipe away a tear more than once.
GLOCK's Toto Jr. is the ISAH Stallion Champion 2015/16
In his age class and in the context of the ISAH Stallion Competition, he was unbeatable all season, delighting judges, spectators and experts in equal measure. Now five years old, GLOCK's Toto Jr., son of Totilas and ridden by GHPC trainer-rider Marieke van der Putten took victory by a large margin in the final for dressage horses in class L, and received a score of 91 points from the jury. In the overall rating this took 'Toto' to 361 points, giving him a 26 point advantage over Governor in second place.
First Inter II victory for GHPC trainer-rider Marieke and GLOCK's Federleicht
Outside the KWPN Stallion Show there were other successes to celebrate too. Following her victory with GLOCK's Toto Jr. in the stallion competition, GHPC trainer-rider Marieke van der Putten headed for a national tournament in Hulten. With the twelve-year-old westphalian mare, GLOCK's Federleicht, she started second in the intermediate, taking their first victory together in this class with 73.16 %.
GLOCK trainer Nicole Werner gives GLOCK's Toto Jr. a winner's embrace. © Arnd Bronkhorst
GHPC trainer-rider Marieke van der Putten and GLOCK's Federleicht took their first victory in an Inter II in Hulten. © GHPC
Proud! GLOCK rider Hans Peter Minderhoud with the two 'keur' stallions, Exquis Vivaldi (left) and GLOCK's Johnson TN N.O.P. © Arnd Bronkhorst


Take a look into the world of Reptiles and Amphibians with their range of colour and obscure shapes. Here our images taken by our leaders and from our workshops range from different parts of the world, Africa, Central and South America. Every movement from these scaly and unpredictable creatures is captured by our photography leaders' keen eye, a skill we teach our clients inspiring protection and conservation.


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Costumer Salary
in Buffalo, New York
/ New York
/ Buffalo
The average pay for a Costumer is $26,626 a year and $13 an hour in Buffalo, New York, United States. The average salary range for a Costumer is between $23,087 and $31,151. On average, a Bachelor's Degree is the highest level of education for a Costumer. This compensation analysis is based on salary survey data collected directly from employers and anonymous employees in Buffalo, New York.
Picks and fits costumes for cast members according to style of historical period and characters to be portrayed.
Reads script or reviews analysis of supervisor, costuming to determine locale of story and number of costumes required for each character.
Examines books, pictures, and examples of costumes to determine styles worn during specified period in history.
Inventories stock to determine types and condition of costuming available and selects costumes based on script analysis and studies.
Examines costume on cast member and sketches or writes notes designating alterations.
Makes minor alterations and repairs to costume by hand, or using sewing machine.
Sends costume to tailor for major alterations or repairs.
May design and construct unusual costumes, applying creative ingenuity.
May press and spot-clean costumes, using electric iron and cleaning fluid.
May purchase or rent costumes and other wardrobe accessories.
Costumer Job Prevalence in Buffalo, New York, United States
Job family: Costume Attendants
Job family population: 6,430
Estimated population of Costumer jobs: 2,793
About Buffalo, New York
Buffalo Cost of Living Score:
Description: Buffalo is the second largest city in the U.S. state of New York and the largest city in Western New York. As of 2018, the population was 256,304. The city is the county seat of Erie County and a major gateway for commerce and travel across the Canada–United States border, forming part of the bi-national Buffalo Niagara Region. The Buffalo area was inhabited before the 17th century by the Native American Iroquois tribe and later by French settlers. The city grew significantly in the 19th and 20th centuries as a result of immigration, the construction of the Erie Canal and rail transportation, and its close proximity...
Costumer Job Listings for Buffalo, New York
Costume Shop Supervisor
Fredonia, NY, USA
SUNY Fredonia
Costume Shop Supervisor Category:Professional Staff Department:Theatre & Dance Locations:Fredonia, NY Posted:Jun 3, 2019 Closes:Open Until Filled Type:Full-time Share About State University of New ...
Costumer
Columbia, SC$25k Vancouver, Canada$34k Omaha, NE$25k
Wardrobe Supervisor$27k


Hello everyone! I'm Tammy, and I'm excited to have this opportunity to share with you today here at Minds in Bloom! While most of my experience has been in teaching fifth grade, I currently teach third and have been teaching since 2004. Although I teach all subjects, I have a passion for teaching science. I love creating hands-on and engaging lessons and activities.
When I first began my student teaching, I could not wait to get into the classroom and work with those cute little kiddos. It was their passion to learn, their burning curiosity, and their intense imaginations that made teaching exciting. I loved that moment when their faces lit up and they grew excited because they finally understood something. Over the years of teaching, that still gently reminds me that that is why I'm a teacher: Knowing that I can make a difference in at least one child's life; the ability to create a life-long learner with a passion for education.
The overall demands on teachers can sometimes creep in and overshadow that feeling. For me, it wasn't so much the long, never-ending to do list, but more of the pressure of fitting it all in. How could I possibly find time for everything, while (unfortunately) still making sure my students did well on the tests? It seemed that ultimately, something got pushed to the back burner, and it was usually the untested areas, such as science and social studies.
As I mentioned above in my intro, I have a passion in science. I tried only doing science for 25 to 30 minutes a day. I tried teaching science and social studies every other day. I tried alternating every nine weeks between science and social studies so they could get equal and decent time but that was not working. I just wasn't satisfied. I really didn't feel comfortable with how much I was not teaching the students. It felt like a disservice. I felt like I was somehow dishonoring a teacher's code.
I spent my next summer really digging into research trying to figure out just how I could make this work. I read articles online, I bought way more books on Amazon than I should have (I always do!), and I even took a trip over to the local college to read up on some journals. I was a woman on a mission. I wanted to find time to teach science – oh yeah, and social studies too!
After much research I was finally able to implement it! I was not immediately successful. I want to be upfront about this. It took time, but each year it got better and better. Now it works wonders in my classroom. I integrate my content in the classroom. However, I flip it around differently than most others. Let me explain.
Since I was starting slow with it being my first year trying this out, I chose science (are you surprised?). I started first by sitting down with my science and language arts standards. Instead of determining where I can fit my science into my reading and writing, I did it the opposite way. I paced out my year for science and asked myself, "What reading standards would fit into these science standards?" For instance, I could easily teach cause and effect during the earth changes unit. I could teach main idea and summarizing in nearly any of the units. Nearly any of the nonfiction standards could easily be weaved into the science units. This also applied with the informational writing standards. I even saw a place where I could weave in some opinion writing.
I adjusted my times in both reading workshop and in science. I taught science now longer than 30 minutes a day because I was now teaching reading through science. This also made it easier for me to reach that Common Core requirement of 50% nonfiction and 50% fiction (for fourth grade) reading balance. I was teaching students how to read nonfiction texts along with nonfiction strategies, and they had to apply them beyond not only just a book of their choice but also in their science studies. I did slim back my reading block a bit. I still taught reading separately, but the focus was more on fiction studies and providing independent time. This also allowed time for me to meet in small groups or confer. This entire change was actually difficult at first because of the adjustment but extremely powerful in the end! I was so moved by it that I will never teach another way!
*Have project-based learning – These activities tend to weave in reading, writing, and math standards. Depending on the subject, they can even weave in science or social studies.
*Theme-based or inquiry-based learning – Over the summer consider planning an entire unit (like during your college days!) around a theme that covers multiple standards from several subjects.
*Weekly Centers – Have one day a week, such as Friday, where you have a center for each subject area that explores the current topics. Try to integrate a bit that way.
*Literacy Centers – Have a social studies and/or science center that focuses on your content area topic but also focuses on a literary skill.
*Morning Work – Use morning work that focuses on science and reading, such as my Science Picture of the Day activity. Students have to observe and infer the science in photographs. Check out this critical thinking freebie.
*Mentor Texts – Use mentor texts during your reading and math blocks that relate to other content areas as a great connection.
*Use trade books, electronic texts, or paired texts to help teach both reading strategies and skills and the science/social studies concepts.
It is possible to fit all the standards in and still be able to do what you were born to do – teach! You can enjoy your passion and not be burdened down by the day-to-day behind-the-scenes duties of a teacher. With a little slow-stepping and belief in yourself, you can accomplish integrating content to fit all your standards in. Who knows? You may even find you have free time to investigate the children's curiosities further!
What other ways do you like to integrate content to free up some time? Feel free to share your ideas in the comments below! I love collaborating. A special thank you to Ms. Lynette for allowing me to share my ideas on her blog and with her loyal fans!
Tammy is the author of the blog, The Owl Teacher. She enjoys creating curriculum materials that are hands-on and engaging in all subjects for grades 2-5. Her passion is to find creative ways to help students grow while saving time for the teacher. You can visit her Teachers Pay Teachers store to find materials to save you time in the classroom, visit her blog for more great ideas, tips, and freebies, or follow her on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
My co-teacher and I have been working toward this goal. Thank you so much for outlining your strategy. You were much more organized in your approach than we have been! It really does take an enormous amount of pre-planning, but it is totally worth it!
It definitely takes time! Start small but know that it is possible!


Melt away stress and tension while freeing up your pelvis of any constriction. This relaxing practice will use supported bound angle and urdhva paschimottanasana to bring balance to your hormones and level-out mood swings. Props Needed: A strap, a bolster, and four blankets. Props Suggested: A towel to cover your eyes.


Are you up for a unique and challenging experience?
DEME is continuously looking for young professionals. Therefore we offer students the opportunity to do an internship within the DEME Group, on site, on board of our vessels, or within one of our departments.
You can find us every year at various recruitment fairs at engineering and naval schools or universities, as well as professional events and seminaries. Check the updated list of these events on our Facebook page.


MONDAY, Oct. 19, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Women who gain too much weight during and after pregnancy could increase the risk that their child will be overweight or obese in adolescence, a new study from the Netherlands suggests.
The study researchers explained that a mother's excessive weight gain during pregnancy may be tied to changes in her chemistry that make the child more likely to be overweight or obese. The mother's weight gain after giving birth and the child's subsequent weight gain probably reflect the family's lifestyle and health behaviors, the study authors said.
One U.S. doctor noted the importance of both factors.
"There is widespread recognition that environments and so-called 'social determinants of health' have a major influence on weight gain and obesity," said Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center in New Haven, Conn.
The first environment is the womb, and the first social influence is mothers' behaviors, he said. This study highlights the importance of these factors and reaffirms a relationship between excessive weight gain during pregnancy and the likelihood of obesity in the child, said Katz, who wasn't involved in the research.
Katz said the novelty of this study is the separation of the association of weight gain in pregnancy from maternal weight gain after pregnancy, which also is an obesity risk in children. "Essentially, we have evidence here that all environments are important, from the womb to the living room," he said.
However, the study only found an association and not a cause-and-effect relationship between a mom's pregnancy and post-pregnancy weight and her child's weight.
The research included information on more than 3,300 Dutch children and their mothers. Children born to mothers whose pregnancy weight gain was deemed "excessive" had 20 percent greater odds of being overweight. Likewise, kids whose mothers gained too much weight in the year following delivery also faced an increased risk of being overweight themselves, the study found.
And children born to moms who gained too much weight both during and after pregnancy had more than three times higher odds of ending up overweight at age 14 compared to kids with slimmer moms, the research revealed.
Katz thinks these findings can be used to educate women before and during pregnancy about the importance of lifestyle, emphasizing healthy eating, healthy activity and weight management.
"Pregnancy is a teachable moment, and using it can benefit mother and baby alike," Katz said.
Dr. David Mendez, a neonatologist at Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami, said it isn't clear how much of the risk of a child's weight gain is tied to genetics or programming in the womb and how much is linked to the family's lifestyle.
"Trying to sort one from the other continues to be a challenge," Mendez said. "What is clear is that excessive weight gain during pregnancy has immediate consequences to mom and baby at the time of delivery."
Particularly, excessive weight gain exposes the infant to high levels of sugar and causes the infant to produce a lot of insulin in an attempt to balance sugar levels, he said.
"Exposure to high levels of insulin can affect the baby's metabolism during the transition from the womb," Mendez said.
For women of normal weight, an average of 20 to 35 pounds is adequate, he said. For women who are overweight, the range is 15 to 25 pounds. For obese women, the range is 11 to 20 pounds. And for women who are underweight, it's 28 to 40 pounds, he said.
"A healthy lifestyle before and during pregnancy means the best outcome for mom and baby," Mendez said.
For more information on weight gain during pregnancy, visit the March of Dimes.


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For rainy days or weekend fun, wear the New Balance 900 shoe. This women's outdoor shoe features a waterproof, breathable GORE-TEX. upper with ABZORB. cushioning and an injection-molded EVA midsole. The Ndurance. outsole of the New Balance 900 athletic shoe enhances traction and durability.


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Skylark Species Champion
Neil joined forces with a group of seven wildlife organisations to stand up for the skylark as part of the MP Species Champion Project, and is working to bring political support to the protection and promotion of this threatened species. Admired through the ages for their ethereal song, the skylark (Alauda arvensis) appears in the both music and literature. …
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Antarctic Act
British presence in the Antarctic matters and has helped protect the region for two centuries. As a continent without an indigenous population (the first human birth took place in 1978) but, with competing claims of interest from other nations, retaining an unambiguous and significant role is necessary to secure our long-term position. The Antarctic is …
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Woodland Conservation
Neil manages the extensive woodland on his family farm. The Woodland Elsdon, Northumberland National Park
Neil managed and expanded his family farming business, ultimately comprising of almost 2,500 acres holding, 3000 ewes and 400 suckler cows. Neil now lets the farm as Farm Business Tenancies but still directly manage the extensive woodland. Neil helping with the lambing on his farm in Northumberland in the early 1970s. Neil shearing a sheep more recently.
Neil served as a member of the Environmental Audit Committee between 2010 and 2015. The remit of the Environmental Audit Committee is to consider the extent to which the policies and programmes of government departments and non-departmental public bodies contribute to environmental protection and sustainable development, and to audit their performance against sustainable development and …
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