For savvy corporate intrapreneur and author Amy Dorn Kopelan, entrepreneurship wasn't a choice. Meet LiisBeth's newest contributor and columnist, and find out why!
For savvy corporate intrapreneur and author Amy Dorn Kopelan, entrepreneurship wasn't a choice. Amy's conference planning and executive coaching enterprise, Bedlam Productions Inc., is the producer and creator of The Corporate State Summits (US and Canada) and The Executive Studio. Amy is working to ignite a "Davos for Women Only" environment where the conversation is about leadership, business trends, and ensuring that women seat at any table and their voices are heard.
As one of our new contributors, we wanted you to get to know Amy a little better. Here is an excerpt of our interview.
LiisBeth: Amy, tell us your entrepreneurial story. Why did you leave a successful career in corporate television for the uncertain world of entrepreneurship?
Amy: Why does somebody jump the fence from corporate to entrepreneur? In my case, it wasn't so much a choice. More like an unplanned push out the door!
LiisBeth: After 20 years of moving up the corporate ladder, what happened?
Amy: I was essentially what we now call an intrapreneur in a company that ultimately didn't know how to support that. I saw market opportunities others didn't. I recognized the need to work fast to respond. But corporations tend to make decisions about new things s-l-o-w-l-y. Management became uncomfortable with my pace, even though they applauded the vision, energy, and creativity. Ultimately they created an elite sort of "skunk works" team of five people to look at some new ideas and invited me to join.
LiisBeth: That sounds like it should have been an ideal outcome.
Amy: Well, there was good and bad. The good? I was in a fish bowl and people were very aware of what I was saying, thinking, and doing. The bad? You get a lot more scrutiny. At a certain point the COO of the company called me to say: "You have a way of thinking, a way of moving people, a way of seeing the landscape, and a way of making things happen that don't necessarily work in a corporate environment. So young lady, it is time for you to leave this organization. It's time for you to go out and change the world." I've got to tell you, the jolt of that is huge.
LiisBeth: No kidding! What did you do next?
Amy: [Laughs] I first tried to get another job. And soon found a job opening that seemed like a perfect fit. But in my heart, for a lot of reasons, I knew I wouldn't get the job. They gave me a lot of feedback and affirmed some things I felt I knew about myself, but was not so sure about. That third-party, objective feedback opened up my eyes and many other doors.
LiisBeth: So from job to no job, how did you come to start your now very successful, 14-year-old business, Bedlam Productions?
Amy: It wasn't really planned. It came about as a series of steps and opportunities. The year before I left my corporate position, I had been loaned out by ABC to Fairchild Publications to launch a conference series. I would truck daily down town in New York to their facilities to help them develop a conference division. They needed my producing skills because they were publishers and they didn't have producers on site. So after having a year of that experience, I suddenly realized that that was probably an opportunity I could build on.
LiisBeth: Did you ever attend any incubators or startup weekends?
Amy: No! I think there was less scripting around that than what exists now. I primarily got to where I needed to go by leveraging and building networks. One person introduced me to another. I also invested in research and started to go to conferences where I thought that I could see more and learn more of what mirrored what I had in mind. I recognized as I went along that one of my special skills was that I really knew how to initiate and manage partnerships well.
My networking efforts took me to Deloitte, coincidentally at the very time they were looking to launch a women's conference. I sat next to a woman at a symposium who asked about my business plans. I explained what I did, and she suggested that the timing was uncanny. Deloitte wanted to launch a summit for women leaders, but did not have any idea how to produce it. They did have the money, though. I knew how to produce and of course needed a sponsor. The gal, who was with Deloitte in California, suggested she make an intro for me. It was her idea that Deloitte should fund me and that I'd have a corporate partner. That's exactly what happened.
LiisBeth: Why did Deloitte want to create a women's conference?
Amy: They wanted to create something different for women in leadership positions and not just another report. They wanted a conference designed to explore critical global trends. There wasn't anything out there like this. We all felt strongly that this new conference couldn't be just one more "women's conference." It had to be about global issues, and to get in the door you had to be a woman leader.
We had a very deep belief there was room in the market for a "Davos" for women only. Many times, I must be candid, people would say: "Oh, I don't want to come to that. That's a women's conference." The stress on the word "women's" was distasteful, as if we were going to discuss "how do you colour your hair?" We had to show that this was a summit, not just another women's issues event. And that's what we've been producing for the past 16 years.
LiisBeth: Wow. Sixteen years! Has anything changed?
Amy: There have been many changes. But I'll mention this as distinct. In 1998, there was an acceptance of the idea that women were global leaders, but somehow many women still saw themselves as being a good "guide on the side." They would never admit to having husbands at home who took care of the children. And they would duck the idea that they made more money than their mates. Now, those walls are gone! Now, there's a tremendous shift in women's roles in society. Now, more and more women want to lead loud and proud, not just quietly guide.
LiisBeth: Are there too many women's conferences these days?
Amy: No. I think women, globally, really are tapping into the idea that being in a room full of women leaders, discussing world issues, educates you differently.
LiisBeth: What advice do you have for fellow entrepreneurs?
Amy: I think to start any business you need a very strong board of advisers. I can't stress that enough. Nobody on that board should be a significant other in your life, but instead people who have very specific skills to advise, guide, and help you make critical decisions about your company. Secondly, be in a business you love. And thirdly, be in a business where there's a need for the service or product.
LiisBeth: Are you coming back to Toronto next year?
Amy: Our last Corporate State 2016 Summit sold out! So yes, we're back on May 17, 2017, in Toronto.
Publisher's Note: For more information about the Toronto Corporate 2020 Summit 2017, or how to get involved, please check out Bedlam Productions.


text:
Голямо-Белово () — село в Болгарии. Находится в Пазарджикской области, входит в общину Белово. Население составляет 529 человек.

Политическая ситуация
В местном кметстве Голямо-Белово, в состав которого входит Голямо-Белово, должность кмета (старосты) исполняет Иван Димитров Митов (Политическое движение социал-демократов (ПДСД)) по результатам выборов.

Кмет (мэр) общины Белово — Кузман Атанасов Маринков (коалиция в составе 3 партий: Национальное движение «Симеон Второй» (НДСВ), Болгарская социал-демократия (БСД), Союз свободной демократии (ССД)) по результатам выборов.

Ссылки
 Статистика населения

Сёла Пазарджикской области

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


dc.description.abstract The response of the tropical hydrological cycle to anthropogenically induced changes in radiative forcing is one of the largest discrepancies between climate models. Paleoclimate archives of the stable isotopic composition of precipitation in the tropics indicate a relationship with precipitation amount that could be exploited to study past hydroclimate and improve our knowledge of how this region responds to changes in climate forcing. Recently modelling studies of convective parameterizations fitted with water isotopes and remote sensing of water vapor isotopes in the tropics have illustrated uncertainty in the assumed relationship with rainfall amount. Therefore there is a need to collect water isotope data in the tropics that can be used to evaluate these models and help identify the relationships between the isotopic composition of meteoric waters and rainfall intensity. However, data in this region is almost non-existent. Here we present in-situ water vapor isotopic measurements and the HDO retrievals from the co-located Total Column Carbon Observing Network (TCCON) site at Darwin in Tropical Australia. The Darwin site is interestingly placed within the tropical western pacific region and is impacted upon by a clear monsoonal climate, and key climate cycles including ENSO and Madden Julian Oscillations. The analysis of the data illustrated relationships between water vapor isotopes and humidity which demonstrated the role of precipitation processes in the wet season and air mass mixing during the dry season. Further the wet season observations show complex relationships between humidity and isotopes. A simple Rayleigh distillation model was not obeyed, instead the importance of rainfall re-evaporation in generating the highly depleted signatures was demonstrated. These data potentially provide a useful tool for evaluating model parameterizations in monsoonal regions as they demonstrate relationships with precipitation processes that cannot be observed with more traditional observations.


text:
Home / Bank Liquidity/ Blog
In NSFR Terms, the Dodgers Already Clinched the Series Against the Nationals
In April, the U.S. Federal banking agencies issued a proposal to establish a new regulatory requirement for banks, the Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR). The regulation is purportedly intended to ensure that banks have a stable funding profile over a one-year horizon. In July, The Clearing House published a lengthy research note on the NSFR. The note provides a readable explanation of what is a complicated regulation, and identifies a series of conceptual and analytical flaws in the proposal. In this post we provide a simple demonstration of one way that the regulation is poorly and arbitrarily designed.
One component of the NSFR entails estimating the amount of "stable" funding a bank has over a one-year horizon – in other words, how sticky its deposits and other liabilities are. It does so by assigning to each category of bank liability an "available stable funding" (ASF) factor. Those factors are then multiplied by the amount of the corresponding liability and the results are added up to determine the bank's total available stable funding. While the approach is reasonable, the various ASF factors are not consistent with each other.
The exhibit illustrates the funding situations of two banks. The pink bank is funded with $100 of non-transactional retail deposits. Under the NSFR, such deposits have an ASF factor of 90 percent, meaning that 10 percent of the deposits would be deemed to flow out of the bank over a one-year horizon (as explained in the TCH note, the conditions under which such an outflow would occur are not clearly specified by the regulation). So by 6 months, the bank would have $95 in funding left, and by 12 months, it would have only $90. The regulation concludes that the bank has available stable funding of $90.
The blue bank is funded with loans from other financial institutions (FIs). In this particular example,
1) a $6 overnight loan,
2) a $6 six-month loan, and
3) an $88 one-year loan.
The NSFR assumes that such loans are not rolled over. That is why, in the graph, liabilities of the blue bank step down to $94 when the overnight borrowing comes due and $88 when the six-month borrowing comes due.
Note that the pink bank has more stable funding than the blue bank every day of the year. Prior to the final set of revisions, the NSFR, which was then based on the bank's funding situation at the end of the year, concluded that the pink bank had more stable funding than the blue bank ($90 versus $88).
However, in the second half of 2014, the NSFR was revised to give banks partial credit for certain liabilities that come due in the latter half of the year because the bank had at least a half year before having to potentially replace the funding.1 For one, the ASF on loans from FIs that matured between 6 and 12 months was raised from 0 to 50 percent. In this case, that would credit the blue bank an additional $3, raising its total available stable funding from $88 to $91.
While that makes some sense, the adjustment was not applied the ASF factors for other liability categories, which resulted in the ASF factors being inconsistent. In the example, the pink bank funded with deposits has a minimum of $95 in stable funding over the first half of the year, $5 above the year-end level of $90. If the bank got 50 percent credit for that additional $5, the NSFR would credit the bank with stable funding of $92.5, not $90, higher than the $91 in stable funding of the FI funded bank, as seems more reasonable.2
This example, and there are lots of similar examples, illustrates several things.
The NSFR is an unreliable guide to a bank's funding condition. A bank with strictly superior funding (the deposit-funded bank) would receive a lower score.
The NSFR will establish incentives that will lead to unintended and undesirable consequences. The first bank would have an incentive to shift toward the second funding model to improve its NSFR even though that shift would lead to an inferior funding situation under the NSFR's own assumptions.
As banks act on those incentives, the NSFR will become an increasingly bad measure of bank condition.
With it being playoff season, a baseball analogy can help put it in simple terms. The NSFR's treatment of ASF factors is akin to Major League Baseball deciding that teams should get triple credit for runs scored in the first three innings but only applied the change to teams whose names start with the first four letters of the alphabet. With that adjustment, the Dodgers won game 2 of the series with the Nationals and there would be no game 5 tonight.
The adjustment would result in game scores being a poor indication of which team played better. While the problem might be relatively minor to start, with only a few teams affected, the mismeasurement would worsen once teams began to change names to the Aardvarks, Badgers, Chickens, and Daredevils.
Many of the flaws in the design of the NSFR, including the flaws discussed in this note, were introduced in the final round of revisions, when rushed horse trading between the jurisdictions on the Basel Committee superseded sound design. I'm sure academics and industry stakeholders could help the banking agencies come up with a better design, but unfortunately, we've only gotten a chance to provide comment about aspects of the regulation that aren't nailed down by the international agreement.
Once the banking agencies adopt the regulation, it will be very difficult to change. But, as demonstrated in the TCH research note released in July, as the U.S. financial situation becomes more normal in the future, if the NSFR is adopted, it will have an increasingly material impact, reducing banks' willingness to make all types of loans, including those to small businesses and households.
Not only will the regulation have foreseeable unintended consequences, it is not needed: The large banks that would be subject to the NSFR are already required to conduct monthly stress tests of their liquidity situation across overnight, 30-day, 90-day, and one-year horizons. Moreover, it appears increasingly likely that banks in other jurisdictions will not be subject to key parts of the NSFR.
Thankfully, for the Nationals and fans of baseball everywhere the scoring is consistent and fair. Until the same can be said for the NSFR the U.S. banking agencies should refrain from adopting the proposal. The European Union just announced that they would not adopt the most recent round of capital regulations put out by Basel, demonstrating that the United States does not need to adopt a bad regulation simply because the Basel Committee says it has to.
1 A similar adjustment was made for assets that mature or become unencumbered within the one year horizon.
2 While this example highlights a correction to the design of the NSFR that would make the regulation a bit easier, similar adjustments to the NSFR's assessment of the assets of the bank would make the regulation tougher, with the net effect uncertain.
Next Post: A Selected Compilation of U.S. Banks' Accomplishments in 2020 View Next Post
A Selected Compilation of U.S. Banks' Accomplishments in 2020 January 14, 2021
About that Deregulatory Wave… November 23, 2020
A Replacement for LIBOR as a Loan Benchmark Would Ideally Be Sensitive to Liquidity Risk as Well as Credit Risk October 15, 2020
Necessary Dimensions of a Holistic Review of the Meltdown of U.S. Bond Markets in March October 7, 2020
BPI Credit-sensitive Benchmark Symposium September 23, 2020
Why Do Banks Need a Credit Sensitive Lending Benchmark? September 23, 2020
Assessing the Severity of Mid-cycle Stress Tests September 22, 2020
The Net Stable Funding Ratio Would Have Made Things Worse, Not Better (So Why Adopt It?) September 15, 2020
Bank Governance
Providing Steady Stewardship: Guiding Principles for Bank Board Oversight January 12, 2021
When the Fed Buys a Treasury Security, the Debt Does Not Go Away January 5, 2021
Are Restrictions on Capital Distributions Still Needed Beyond the Rule-Based Capital Framework? December 21, 2020
Trading Revenue and Stress Tests December 17, 2020
The Farmer and the Seed Corn: Why Lowering the CCyB and Imposing Dividend Restrictions Are Opposites November 18, 2020
Blast Email on Monetary Policy: Meandering Bazooka Addition October 8, 2020

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Wumi Agunbiade (Pickering, ON) – Duquesne, Jr.
In a game against the ranked Delaware, Agunbiade had a great game by scoring 17 points and 12 rebounds as Duquesne upset the 17th ranked Delaware, 51-47. Wumi went 7-for-19 from the field and added a block in the game.
Kayla Alexander has had a great start to her senior season with Syracuse. In her first three games she has recorded three double-doubles in a row. Her second double-double was recorded in a 68-44 win against Maine, where she scored 19 points and 12 rebounds. In the third game of the season against Cornell, she scored 26 points and 13 rebounds in a blowout win for the Orange, 80-35. Alexander was also named Big East Player of the Week!
Anthony Bennett (Brampton, ON) – UNLV, Fr.
A highly touted recruit, Anthony Bennett had a lot of hype entering the NCAA basketball season, but it didn't seem to phase him as he scored a game-high 22 points and added seven rebounds in his collegiate debut, where UNLV won 92-54. In his second game, Bennett didn't slow down as he recorded 12 points and nine rebounds.
Brady Heslip (Burlington, ON) – Baylor, Jr.
After a somewhat slow-start for Brady Heslip to start the season, he shot the lights out on Sunday in a 97-78 win over St. John's. Heslip scored a career-high 29 points by going 8-for-13 from the field and 8-for-12 from beyond the arc. Heslip added five rebounds and three steals for the 4-1 Baylor Bears.
Deanna Kerkhof (Wallaceburg, ON) – Northeastern, Sr.
In Northeastern's second game of the year, Deanna had a big game as she scored a game-high 22 points, while adding seven rebounds and four assists in a blowout win against La Salle 76-45. Deanna was very efficient as she shot 8-for-13 from the field to help bring Northeastern's record to 1-1 on the young season.
Daniel Mullings (Toronto, ON) – New Mexico State, So.
In two games over the weekend, Mullings was an offensive leader for the Aggies. In the first game against Bucknell, the Aggies played poorly, but Mullings was a bright spot where he scored a team-high 22 points and six rebounds in a 62-49 loss. In the following game against Niagara, Mullings scored a team-high 26 points and added seven rebounds and three assists, but it wasn't enough as Niagara squeaked by 86-83.
Dyshawn Pierre (Whitby, ON) – Dayton, Fr.
A perfect offensive performance from freshman Dyshawn Pierre helped the Dayton Flyers to an 87-71 victory over the Boston College Eagles in the second round of the Charleston Classic. Pierre shot 8-of-8 from the field and hit all five shots from three-point range to finish with 23 points. Pierre is the first freshman to score 20+ points for Dayton since 2007. Pierre was named A-10 Co-Rookie Player of the Week!
Michelle Plouffe (Edmonton, AB) So, and Taryn Wicijowski (Regina, SK) – Utah, Jr.
Wicijowski had another impressive week for the Utah. In the first game, Wicijowski scored 20 points and added a career high 15 rebounds in a 79-61 win over Southern Utah. In the following game, Michelle Plouffe scored a game-high 20 points and added six rebounds, while Wicijowski again had a solid outing versus Michigan. In the 59-40 win, Wicijowski scored 17 points and added seven rebounds.
Kyle Wiltjer (Portland, OR) – Kentucky, So.
Wiltjer and Kentucky bounced back from a tough loss earlier in the week to Duke, as Kentucky routed Lafayette 101-49 in its home opener Friday night. Wiltjer nailed seven 3-pointers and scored 23 points, while adding four boards and two assists.


June 26, 2012. The North Carolina Department of Commerce recently released unemployment statistics for May 2012 last week and counties in the High Country region are reporting growth in the right direction.
Of the 100 North Carolina Counties, 76 reported rises in their unemployment rate. Avery, Ashe and Watauga all saw their rates drop.
Between April and May, Avery's numbers fell from 11.8 percent to 11.4 percent. Ashe saw the most significant drop, 12 percent to 11.3 percent. Watauga's rates only fell from 8.3 percent to 8.2 percent, but any increase in the workforce is a positive sign.
Director of Economic Development in Watauga, Joe Furman echoed sentiments similar to Carroll and Gardella. He talked about the seasonal aspect on job growth and that in Boone, when college students leave for the summer, other residents take up the work students leave behind.
Growth always sounds better than recession though. Especially in Watauga, were the unemployment rate routinely stays below the State's seasonally adjusted rate of 9.4 percent. Stagnancy just won't cut it.
While Avery and Ashe's numbers still linger just above that figure, employees like Gardella (who has only been on the job for a year) are full of fresh ideas that are encouraging growth.
For the full study released by NCDC, visit http://www.ncesc1.com/pmi/rates/PressReleases/County/NR_May2012CountyRateRelease_M.pdf.


Put a teaspoon of salt in the balloon. Cover the mouth of the soda bottle with the balloon. Pick up the balloon so the salt will go into the soda. Watch and observe what happens. It is a good idea to put the soda on a cookie sheet or some newspaper as this can get messy!
The salt releases carbon dioxide from the soda, making the balloon inflate. Many carbon dioxide bubbles form on each grain of salt (nucleation sites) resulting in the soda foaming up. The soda goes back down into the bottle, but the balloon stays inflated due to carbon dioxide gas.


The Java bindings make use of JNA to expose the C API in a Java friendly way. The bindings are based on work initiated by Toth Istvan.
A maven repository is located at https://libvirt.org/maven2/ which you can use to include this in your maven projects.
There is of course some functions where the mapping is less direct and using extra classes to map complex arguments. The Javadoc is available online or as part of a separate libvirt-java-javadoc package.
getting a connection to the hypervisor, in that case using the readonly access to the default test hypervisor.
extracting and printing some information about the domain using various methods associated to the Domain class.
Up until version 0.4.7 the Java bindings were available from the central maven repository.


The title of the article by DNA India sets a very negative tone. That's our opinion here at Parsi Khabar.
To save the community's rituals from becoming extinct, the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) has decided to first save those who perform them, the priests.
With more and more children in the priestly line — the only one whose members can be priests — not finding priesthood an attractive career, the BPP has come out with cash incentive and preferences in its housing schemes.
Lately, there haven't been many people interested in becoming priests, or Mobeds and Boiwallas as they are called depending on the ritual they perform. The number, as compared to 50 years ago, has reduced to one-tenth across the country. As of now, the tentative figure is 350 priests all over India.
The fall has been largely blamed on the hard, austere life one has to lead while performing complex rituals. What adds to the problem is the meagre money priests get.
"Most priests in the community are either middle-aged or old. Very few young have taken up priesthood. Earlier, the first son would become a priest while others would pursue secular careers. But due to lack of respect for the noble profession and little money, children don't want to become priests anymore," said Muncherji Cama, BPP trustee.
To ensure they can manage their livelihood, children studying at the city's two Madressas will get Rs2,500 a month into their bank account and Rs7,500 will be given to their family.
Also, once a child becomes capable of performing Samporna Navar, he will be given Rs50,000 as a one-time gift. The gift amount will increase to Rs1 lakh once he is qualified to perform the Martab (a higher order ceremony).
been full-time priests. "It is a good initiative as priests are a neglected lot. While people spend lakhs in Navjot ceremonies, there is little a priest gets," said Dasturji Khurshed, a high priest at Udvada.


text:
Der Störzelbach ist ein etwa neun Kilometer langer Bach im mittelfränkischen Landkreis Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen, der beim Gemeindeteil Trommetsheim der Gemeinde Alesheim von links und Nordosten in die mittlere Altmühl mündet.

Verlauf
Der Störzelbach entspringt etwa anderthalb Kilometer nördlich vom Ortsrand des Ellinger Pfarrdorfes Stopfenheim am Rand des Waldgebietes Ossing auf einer Höhe von über . Auf dem Weg südwärts nach Stopfenheim durchfließt er zunächst eine Weiherkette, danach am Nordrand des Dorfes den großen Kesselweiher. Dort nimmt er den Schloßgartengraben von links, am unteren Ortsende dann den von Theilenhofen heranziehenden Knöpfelbach von rechts auf. Nach weiterem Südlauf tritt er aufs Gemeindegebiet von Alesheim über und durchquert gleich dessen kleines Dorf Störzelbach. Auf zunächst Südwest-, dann Westlauf schlägt er einen weiten Bogen um Alesheim selbst, von dem her ihm südwestlich des Pfarrdorfes dann noch der Gaßwiesengraben zuläuft. In Fortsetzung von dessen Zulaufrichtung erreicht er bald den breiten und trägen Lauf des Störzelbachgrabens, eines Auengrabens links der Altmühl. Mit ihm zusammen mündet er dann beim Trommetsheimer Wohnplatz Fischerhaus von links und zuletzt Nordosten in die Altmühl.

Einzugsgebiet
Der Störzelbach hat ein ungefähr halbmondförmiges Einzugsgebiet von etwa 21 km² mit der Hohlkehle im Westen, das sich von einem über  erreichenden Höhenrücken im Nordwesten zwischen Theilenhofen und Rittern in einem Bogen über den Osten nach Südwesten zur Mündung zieht. Auf seiner Südostseite läuft die Wasserscheide über die isolierte Einzelerhebung des Flüglinger Bergs, die bis  aufragt, überall sonst liegt das Terrain unter .

Konkurrenten jenseits der Wasserscheide sind der Walkerszeller Bach  und der Vordere Troppelgraben im Nordosten, der Hörleinsgraben und der Mittelbühlgraben im Osten, der Weimersheimer Bach im Südosten jenseits des Flüglinger Bergs; diese alle entwässern in die Schwäbische Rezat und damit rheinwärts. Im Süden, Westen und Nordwesten laufen die Konkurrenten dagegen zur Altmühl und damit donauwärts. Es sind der Lüßgraben im Süden, der Weihergraben, Weidachgraben und Wachsteiner Bach auf der Westseite sowie der Dornhauser Mühlbach mit seinen Zuflüssen im Nordwesten.

Der deutlich überwiegende Teil ist offene Flurlandschaft, in der die Felder dominieren. Wald steht nur im äußersten Norden (Pfarrwald, Ossing und ein Teil der Stopfenheimer Hölzer), am Hang des Flüglinger Bergs und in noch geringerem Maße an der Ostseite im Singetholz und Bergholz. Am Lauf liegen nur die Ortschaften Stopfenheim und Störzelbach, am Rande des Einzugsgebietes jeweils ein Teil der Dörfer Theilenhofen an der nördlichen Halbmondspitze, Alesheim an der südlichen Hohlkehle und Trommetsheim am Südrand.

Zuflüsse und Stillgewässer
Nach dem BayernAtlas. Längen und Flächen dort abgemessen. Höhen sofern dort angegeben übernommen, sonst nach dem Höhenlinienbild interpoliert.

Ursprung des Störzelbachs etwa 1,5 km nördlich des Ortsrandes von Stopfenheim am Südrand des Waldes Ossing auf einer Höhe von über .  Der Bach fließt zunächst südlich.

 Westlicher Quellast, von rechts und Osten, 0,3 km. Entsteht an der Nordostspitze des isolierten Waldstücks Birkach auf ähnlicher Höhe wie der wenig längere Nordast.
 Zufluss vom Rand des Osing, von links und Norden, ca. 0,3 km.
 Durchfließt auf über  eine Kette aus drei Weihern, ca. 0,5 ha, 1,1 ha und 0,2 ha. Danach Südlauf.
 Durchfließt den Kesselweiher am Nordrand von Stopfenheim, ca. 15,0 ha.
 Schloßgartengraben, von links und Nordosten im Kesselweiher oder gleich darauf, ca. 1,1 km. Größtenteils ein Feldweggraben.
 Knöpfelbach, von rechts und Nordwesten auf unter  am Ortsende von Stopfenheim vor den Sportplätzen, ca. 3,1 km. Entsteht etwas nordöstlich von Theilenhofen auf fast .
 Entwässert zwei Weiher auf unter  am Nordrand des kleinen Alesheimer Dorfes Störzelbach, ca. 0,2 ha und 0,1 ha.
 Fürlachgraben, von links und Osten auf unter  gegenüber der Haupthäusergruppe von Störzelbach, 1,1 km. Entsteht auf etwa  an der Nordwestspitze des Waldes auf dem und um den Flüglinger Berg und läuft als Graben neben der Straße nach Störzelbach. Ab diesem Zufluss über 2 km Südwestlauf, danach Westknick.
 Gaßwiesengraben, von rechts und Nordosten auf höchstens  südsüdwestlich von Alesheim an einem Feldwegknick, ca. 0,9 km. Entsteht auf über  am Ortsrand von Alesheim.
 Störzelgraben, von rechts und Nordwesten auf  in der linken Altmühl-Aue, wenigstens 0,9 km. Ist ein sehr flacher Auengraben, der weitere Gräben oberhalb aufnimmt bzw. fortsetzt.
 Graben aus dem Lohfeld, von links und Osten dicht vor der Mündung, ca. 1,3 km. Entsteht am Nordrand von Trommetsheim auf etwa  .

Mündung des Störzelbachs auf etwas über  beim Wohnplatz Fischerhaus des Gemeindeteils Trommetsheim der Gemeinde Alesheim von links und Nordosten in die mittlere Altmühl.

Siehe auch
 Liste der Zuflüsse der Altmühl

Einzelnachweise

Weblinks
 Verlauf des Störzelgrabens im BayernAtlas

Fließgewässer im Landkreis Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen
Geographie (Alesheim)


Conduct annual year end financial statement compliance, if applicable (audits, reviews, compilation).
Prepare annual company and personal tax returns.
Identifying other opportunities to help you grow, save money and improve operations.
Provide benchmarking reports–compares you to competitors in your industry and geographic region.
This is part of our investment in your company and we review this with key members of your management team.
During our fall checkup we'll touch base to see how you're doing, if we need to make course adjustments to your blandplan and look for opportunities to serve you even better.
Formulate a tax minimization strategy tailored specifically for you and your company taking advantage of all the various Federal and State tax regulations. Putting ourselves in your shoes making sure your best interests are covered.
Communicate changes in your industry, changes in tax regulation and changes to the business environment on a bi-weekly basis via our e-newsletter.
Meet with your other key professional advisors: banker, financial advisor, attorney, insurance broker...getting on the "same page" with them to create a team around you working in tandem for your benefit and counsel.
Connect you with other clients or contacts that may help your business grow and expand.
Invite you to firm sponsored events to show you our appreciation.
For more information, visit us online at BlandCPA.com or call us (402) 397.8822.


During your experience with our service, you'll be able to reach out to our amazing support staff to resolve any issues or concerns you may have.
Zack Tungate, Limericks, third place.
Confused and depressed, she began to consume alcohol though she did not abuse itit made her even more sad. She doesn't care.
Once you have your benefits listed, make a list of people who have a need that your benefit fulfills.
Technology has had numerous effects on education.
Moreover, potential extreme weather in these areas will no longer affect the generation of energy. The example of New York City might be the perfect one to show the kind of different benefits society and nature can obtain when solar energy becomes more used.
Are you brave enough to let our tutors analyse your pronunciation?
There are a lot of things we do not use.
Then find out a couple of examples, which indicate why you are the best for this position. Don't rely on the spell checker.
In the event of plagiarism costs, you need to show a plagiarism state indicating your assertions.
Download Citation on ResearchGate | On Jan 1, , L. Elder and others published Critical thinking: Thinking with concepts. This exciting new series teaches the key common core concepts taught in each grade using powerful lessons that also develop thinking skills important to.
Critical thinking includes identification of prejudicebiaspropaganda, self-deception, distortion, misinformationetc. Critical thinkers therefore need to have reached a level of maturity in their development, possess a certain attitude as well as a set of taught skills.
This is so that everyone has the same chance regardless of education.
Take a moment to think about what each question is asking and how you could use the information to work it out, before jumping straight in. Critical thinking employs not only logic but broad intellectual criteria such as clarity, credibilityaccuracyprecision, relevancedepth, breadthsignificance, and fairness. If you lose internet connection during the test, don't worry, simply log back in and continue from where you were.
Maximise Cross-platform compatibility and robust digital infrastructure ensure full, secure assessment delivery to every candidate. Research[ edit ] Edward M. Some people have both in abundance, some have skills but not the disposition to use them, some are disposed but lack strong skills, and some have neither.
The Critical Thinking project at Human Science Lab, Londonis involved in scientific study of all major educational system in prevalence today to assess how the systems are working to promote or impede critical thinking.
These concepts invite students to incorporate their own perspectives and experiences into their thinking. Start practice critical thinking test Candidate tips Critical reasoning tests assess your ability to interpret, evaluate and come to conceptualise information. Literature review schedule is a form of psychometric test designed by professional occupational psychologists and the results predict how well you will perform in the workplace.
There is some evidence to suggest a fourth, more nuanced possibility: Psychometric tests are not like exams.
Newman et al. Critical thinking creates "new possibilities for the development of the nursing knowledge.
Contrast with the deductive statement: This is so that everyone has the same chance regardless of education. Through the use of critical thinking, nurses can question, evaluate, and reconstruct the nursing care process by challenging the established theory and practice. In the English and Welsh school systems, Critical Thinking is offered as a subject that to year-olds can take as an A-Level.
The full Advanced GCE is now available: The core concepts are always there, but they are embedded in subject-specific content.
However, due to its comparative lack of subject content, many universities do not accept it as a main A-level for admissions. Glaser proposed that the ability to online english essay test critically involves three elements: For critical thinking and it concepts, research has shown that 3- to 4-year-old children can discern, to some extent, progress report sample of thesis differential creditability  and expertise  of individuals.
How credits work All tests work on a critical thinking and it concepts basis.
You do not require specific prior knowledge to complete a critical critical thinking and it concepts test, although familiarising yourself with example questions would be helpful. We also have a sample test below that you can take to familiarise yourself with the style of questions that will come up in your real test.
The time per question will be displayed on-screen however try not to let the timer distract you. Some success was noted and the researchers emphasized the value of the humanities in providing the skills to evaluate current events and qualitative data in context.
The authors suggest that this may be due to difficulties participating in a brainstorming-style activity in an asynchronous environment.
You can see a full list of our prices on our pricing page. Maximum compatibility and maximum candidate engagement with minimum drop-out rates. Educational programs aimed at developing critical thinking in children and adult learners, individually or in group problem solving and decision making contexts, continue to address these same three central elements.
Further evidence for the impact of social experience on the development of critical thinking skills comes from work that found that 6- to 7-year-olds from China have similar levels of skepticism to and year-olds in the United States.
In computer-mediated communication[ edit ] The advent and rising popularity of online courses has prompted some to ask if computer-mediated communication CMC promotes, hinders, or has no effect on the amount and quality of critical thinking in a course relative to face-to-face communication.
And critical thinking is significant in the learning process of application, whereby those ideas, principles, and theories are implemented effectively critical thinking and it concepts they become relevant in learners' lives. This test is available for customisation.
Always refer back to the passage to avoiding making silly mistakes and do your best to pay attention to the details. In Qatarcritical thinking was offered by AL-Bairaq —an outreach, non-traditional educational program that targets high school students and focuses on a curriculum based on STEM fields. This practice standard is even part of some regulatory organizations such as the College of Nurses of Ontario — Professional Standards for Continuing Competencies Practice test Candidates get a chance to take some example questions before they start the real test.
LIMITED DOWNLOAD COPY The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking C oncepts and T ools By Dr. Richard Paul and Dr. Linda Elder The Foundation for Critical. Critical Thinking and IT Concepts. Course Code: CPAN The purpose of this course is to introduce students to computer concepts, the software development.
The Declaration of Principles on Tolerance adopted by UNESCO in affirms that "education for tolerance could aim at countering factors that lead to fear and exclusion of others, and could help young people to develop capacities for independent judgement, critical thinking and ethical reasoning. This is the key difference with other tests or exams you may have taken before.
Check you have everything you might need: Each discipline adapts its use of critical thinking concepts and principles. Nurses can also engage their critical thinking skills through the Socratic method of dialogue and reflection.
Critical thinking is also considered important for human rights education for toleration. It also literature review schedule their ability to analyze certain related topics such as credibility and ethical decision-making. However, a second wave of critical thinking, urges educators to value conventional techniques, meanwhile expanding what it means to be a critical thinker.
There is limited research on the role of social experience in critical thinking development, but there is some evidence to suggest it is an important factor. For students to learn content, intellectual engagement is crucial. The results emphasized the need for exposing students to real-world problems and the importance in encouraging open dialogue within a supportive environment.
According to Reynoldsan individual or group engaged in critical thinking involves two mental habits strong way of critical thinking a visit to zoo essay easy due consideration to establish for instance: This emphasized to students that good thinking is equivalent to logical thinking.
Note this happens only when a test is finished, so if a candidate drops out or decides not to complete the test, you are not charged. But so is the myaccountinglab homework answers to be flexible and consider non-traditional alternatives and perspectives.
Critical thinking skills can help nurses problem solve, reflect, and make a conclusive decision about the current situation they face.
Abduction[ edit ] Abduction is drawing a conclusion using a heuristic that is likely, but not inevitable given some foreknowledge. The concepts and principles of critical thinking can be applied to any context or case but only by reflecting upon the nature of that application.
The A-level tests candidates on their ability to think critically about, and analyze, arguments on their deductive literature review schedule inductive validity, as well as producing their own arguments.
Completed Purchase of All form of Insurance for the Business: All sales for the business will be through this mall kiosk.
When you run out of credits you can easily top-up any time. These complementary functions are what allow for critical thinking to be a practice encompassing imagination and intuition in cooperation with traditional modes of deductive inquiry.
Learn about the phases of the systems development life cycle. In this course, you will be introduced to the concepts of critical thinking, basic information. Introduction. Critical thinking gives you the skills to effectively find solutions to problems. It includes the ability to think clearly and rationally. It's a very active.


The tension on a 6-string bass neck is considerable. With this in mind Ibanez has given the SR Crossover a 5-piece Jatoba/Bubinga bolt-on neck for superior tone and excellent stability. Jatoba is a hardwood, known for its rigid strength and Bubinga is known for it's mellow, round tone. Together they create a the perfect neck for this unique instrument.
The SR Crossover is tuned like a guitar, E to E, only an octave lower, like a bass. This opens up a myriad of creative options for the daring to explore.
Hybrid instrument that it is, the SR Crossover straddles the line between bass and guitar. Originally designed for guitars, this smooth, low profile bridge allows for tighter string alignment and a thinner fretboard. It features saddles that firmly lock on the base plate (to maximize string vibration transmitted to the body) and simple saddle height and intonation adjustments for easy setups.
The 35HZ Passive Pickup features a dual-coil design for low noise and plenty of output. Using EMG's "CS" design (Ceramic and Steel), this pickup has the punch and fullness of older passive designs along with added brightness for a better-defined tone. EMGHZ features solid bar poles that cover the entire width of the strings so it works great on the 6-string bass.
is our latest refinement on the concept of simple, straightforward, no-nonsense EQ control. The Boost and Cut for the Mid Control are each centered on slightly different frequencies, an innovation that delivers a preset range of the most favorable bass tones.


text:
Tag: The NPD Group
NPD: December Video Game Revenue Skyrockets 25%; Yearly Revenue Reaches Record $57 Billion
The pandemic and new game systems helped drive December video game revenue to $7.7 billion, up 25% from $6.1 billion during the previous-year period. 2020 also set an all-time high in revenue with $56.9 billion, an increase of 27% from $44.3 billion in 2019, according to new data from The NPD Group.
The November launches of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S consoles contributed to hardware revenue jumping 38% to $1.35 billion from $978 million last year — the highest hard ware sales in eight years. The tally almost equaled $1.41 billion in hardware sales in 2019.
While Sony and Microsoft hardware get the headlines, it was Nintendo's Switch that quietly proved to be the best hardware seller throughout 2020 when it comes to unit sales and revenue. NPD said 2020 Switch sales were the best for a hardware device since the Nintendo Wii in 2008.
Accessories revenue spiked 15% to $546 million from $475 million last year. Accessories totaled $2.6 billion in 2020, up 21% from $2.14 billion in 2019. Sony's DualSense Wireless Controller was the best-selling gamepad, while Turtle Beach's Ear Force Recon 70 Gaming Headset Black for Xbox was the best-selling headgear.
Software sales in December rose 23% to $5.8 billion from $4.71 billion in 2019. Full-year sales jumped 26% to $48.98 billion, compared to $38.8 billion last year.
Top-selling title in December and 2020: Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (Activision), followed by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and Nintendo's Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Author Erik GruenwedelPosted on January 15, 2021 January 15, 2021 Categories Digital, DVD/Blu-ray Disc, Financial, Marketing, News, Research, Top Sellers, TV, Video GamesTags Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, The NPD Group, VideogamesLeave a comment on NPD: December Video Game Revenue Skyrockets 25%; Yearly Revenue Reaches Record $57 Billion
Samsung, Roku, Sonos Among Top Brands in NPD's Consumer Electronics Awards
The NPD Group's technology division announced the winners of its annual Consumer Electronics Industry Performance Awards, honoring Samsung for its LCD TVs, Sonos for its soundbars and Roku for its streaming media player, among other companies.
Among the top increases in market share in North America, Samsung took the top prize for LCD TVs. Among the fastest-turning brands per item in the United States, Canada and Mexico, Sonos was the top U.S. soundbar. And among the top increases in online market share in the United States, Roku was the top streaming media player.
"After an unprecedented year, we at NPD are excited to take a moment to acknowledge the many silver linings the consumer technology market experienced in the midst of the pandemic," Ian Hamilton, president, technology sector, The NPD Group, said in a statement. "In this fifth year of our CE Industry Performance Awards we are recognizing brands that saw success providing consumers with products that enabled them to work and learn from home, as well as stay entertained and connected in their downtime. Congratulations to all award winners — we wish everyone a healthy and successful 2021."
Author Stephanie PrangePosted on January 4, 2021 January 13, 2021 Categories Awards, Consumer Electronics, News, ResearchTags Consumer Electronics, LCD, LCD TV, NPD, NPD Group, Research, Roku, Samsung, Sonos, Soundbars, Streaming, Streaming Player, Streaming Players, The NPD GroupLeave a comment on Samsung, Roku, Sonos Among Top Brands in NPD's Consumer Electronics Awards
NPD: Domestic TV Installed Base Getting Bigger, Newer
Few things can drive television purchases and screen size upgrades more than a pandemic. That trend emerges in new data from The NPD Group that found in the last several years American TV screens have been getting bigger. Among installed TVs, 15% are 60 inches or larger, up from 11% a year ago — and newer — the average unit age is 4.9 years old, down from 5.4 years in 2019.
According to NPD's TV Ownership Trends Report, the average size of a replacement TV jumped to 51 inches from 49 inches in November 2019, and up from 47 inches in November 2018.
"This year home entertainment became even more crucial as consumers spent more time at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic," analyst John Buffone said in a statement. "TV sales, among other tech items, saw strong interest and as a result we saw notable shifts in the installed base."
Buffone attributed the surge in TV purchases to consumers housebound without the ability to go to the movies or live entertainment, including sports.
"Americans shifted spending to technology that offered at-home opportunities to consume content," said.
In 2020 year to date, TV sales are up 19% compared with the same period in 2019. Through Cyber Monday week, 65-inch TV sales increased 27% versus 2019, while 70-inch and above TVs increased by 82%. In total, 65-inch and above TVs made up 21% of sales, increasing from 18% in 2019 and 13% in 2018. NPD projects that by 2022, 65-inch and above TVs will be 27% of sales.
While screen size is a key motivator, features such as high-dynamic-range imaging (HDR) and apps are continuing to matter more as consumers consider replacement purchases. In fact, HDR now impacts 13% of replacement TV sales and the availability of apps reportedly impact 31% of replacement TV sales, up from 23% a year ago.
"This year consumers saw the value in bigger screens and newer, more modern technology to support their entertainment needs," said Stephen Baker, VP and industry advisor for The NPD Group. "This commitment to new technology and the value it can provide to the consumer will be key for the continued growth in larger-screen TVs in 2021 and beyond."
Author Erik GruenwedelPosted on December 23, 2020 December 27, 2020 Categories Consumer Electronics, News, ResearchTags Pandemic, Televisions, The NPD GroupLeave a comment on NPD: Domestic TV Installed Base Getting Bigger, Newer
NPD: New Consoles Drive 35% Increase in November Consumer Video Game Spending
Spurred by a record $1.4 billion in hardware spending on new-generation consoles, November video game spending increased 35% to a record $6.97 billion, according to new data from The NPD Group. Sales of Microsoft Xbox Series X and Series S units, coupled with PlayStation 5, upped hardware sales 58% from $886 million from the previous-year period.
Hardware sales through 11 months approached $4 billion, up 34% from last year. Accessories increased 8% to $314 million, from $290.7 million. Year-to-date, accessory sales are up 22% to $2.07 billion, from $1.69 billion, driven by Sony's DualSense Wireless Controller.
Software revenue increased 32% $5.24 billion, compared with $3.96 billion last year. Year-to-date revenue is up 21% to $38.4 billion, from $31.73 billion. Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was the top-selling title of the year, marking 13 straight years the franchise has topped annual software sales.
Through 11 months of the year, total video game spending is up 22% to $44.5 billion, from $36.47 billion last year.
Author Erik GruenwedelPosted on December 11, 2020 December 15, 2020 Categories Financial, News, Research, Video GamesTags November, The NPD Group, Video GamesLeave a comment on NPD: New Consoles Drive 35% Increase in November Consumer Video Game Spending
NPD: Consumer Tech Revenue Up 37% Through 6 Weeks of Q4
Heading into the Black Friday retail holiday weekend and consumer technology sales are already booming, according to new data from The NPD Group. The week ended Nov. 20 was the second-highest revenue sales week of the pandemic period — bested only by Amazon Prime Week (week ended Oct. 17). As expected, TV sales led the industry for the second straight week.
NPD said notebook PCs sales increased 32% through Nov. 20, followed by tablets (up 52%); routers (+80%); sound bars and mounts (+50%); and cell phone accessories (cases, protectors and mobile power), up 32%.
The research group contends year-over-year growth of 2.5% to 3.4% during the traditional holiday period of November and December, across general merchandise categories.
The group also claims year-over-year growth of 4.3% to 5.1% during the new holiday period, beginning in mid-October with early promotions, running through mid-January with gift card redemption, and spanning a broader view of NPD's discretionary categories.
The NPD Group says consumers plan to spend an average of $691 during the 2020 holiday shopping season, which is less than last year's anticipated holiday spending, but on par with 2018's.
The hottest industries of 2020 — tech and home — will continue their momentum through the holidays with significant growth, but holiday staples will see stability compared to last year. Half of consumers plan to buy clothing/footwear/accessories as gifts this year.
Half of consumers plan to purchase intangible items/experiences as gifts for the upcoming holiday season — food subscriptions and streaming service subscriptions lead the list, and gift cards will be particularly popular.
Another 41% of consumers cited Black Friday/Thanksgiving Weekend/Cyber Monday as the period when they thought they would get the best deals of the season. About 80% of consumers plan to shop online, but shoppers still plan to make 42% of holiday purchases in a store.
For the first time, free shipping surpassed special sale price as the number one factor influencing where consumers decide to shop this holiday — cited by 41% of holiday shoppers. About 42% of holiday shoppers will be shipping most gifts because they won't be seeing family and friends as a result of COVID-19 precautions.
Another 57% of shoppers rate the state of the economy poorly (up from 37% last year), and 30% say they will spend less because of the state of the economy (up from 23% in 2019), but consumer feelings about their personal financial situation has not changed since 2019.
Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic will prompt 40% of consumers to spend more on gifts to bring joy during challenging times; 31% of consumers say they will do more self-gifting as pandemic-related retail therapy.
Author Erik GruenwedelPosted on November 25, 2020 December 5, 2020 Categories Consumer Electronics, Financial, News, Research, Top News StoryTags Black Friday, Consumer Electronics, The NPD GroupLeave a comment on NPD: Consumer Tech Revenue Up 37% Through 6 Weeks of Q4
NPD: October Video Game Sales Up 14%
Ahead of new-generation video game console launches, consumers spent big in October on hardware, software and accessories, according to new data from The NPD Group. Total revenue spiked 14% to $3.84 billion, from $3.37 billion during the previous-year period. Through 10 months of the year, game spending topped$37.5 billion, which is 20% higher than the same period in 2019.
Despite Sony and Microsoft launching new consoles this month for the first time in seven years, hardware spending in October increased 41% to $259 million, compared with $183.6 million last year. Nintendo again dominated hardware sales thanks to its Switch platform. Year-to-date hardware sales are up 23% to $2.5 billion, from $2 billion last year.
"Mobile, subscription, hardware and accessories were among the largest growth segments," analyst Mat Piscatella said in a statement.
Indeed, accessory revenue climbed 23% to $148 million, from $120 million — driven in part by sales of the Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller. Spending through 10 months is up 25% to record $1.8 billion, from $1.44 billion.
Content spending in October — driven by EA's soccer-themed FIFA 21 — jumped 12% to $3.43 billion, from $3.06 billion, bringing year-to-date spending to $33.2 billion, up 19% from $27.89 billion a year ago. The title passed EA's perennial chart topper Madden 21.
"Nine of the top 20 best-selling titles of October were published by Nintendo," Piscatella said.
Author Erik GruenwedelPosted on November 13, 2020 November 19, 2020 Categories Financial, News, Research, Video GamesTags FIFA 21, October, The NPD Group, Video GamesLeave a comment on NPD: October Video Game Sales Up 14%
The NPD Group: Q3 Video Game Spending Hits Record High
Despite missing out on new-generation video game consoles coming out this week, new data from The NPD Group found that third-quarter (ended Sept. 30) consumer spending on video games hit an all-time quarterly high of $11.2 billion, which was up 24% from $9.03 billion in the previous-year period.
The tally was down $400 million, or 3.5%, from Q2, but up $300 million, or 2.7% from Q1 — with both quarters setting respective revenue records year-over-year.
After more than a year of declining revenue, the video game industry fortunes have skyrocketed in 2020 — largely due to stay-at-home gamers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Console sales (excluding PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S) increased 16%, while sales of headsets, controls, gamepads and related accessories increased 35%.
Video game software sales shot up 24% to $10.04 billion from $8.38 billion driven by mobile and subscription spending, in addition to game downloads.
Top-selling games included Among Us, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Fortnite, Ghost of Tsushima, Madden NFL 21, Marvel's Avengers, Minecraft, NBA 2K21, Paper Mario: The Origami King, Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2.
"We continue to see more video game players, playing for more hours, across more devices," analyst Mat Piscatella said in a statement. "We can anticipate another record-breaking quarter in Q4, in large part due to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles entering the market with one of the fastest-selling consoles in U.S. history, the Nintendo Switch."
Author Erik GruenwedelPosted on November 11, 2020 November 12, 2020 Categories Financial, News, Research, Video GamesTags The NPD Group, VideogamesLeave a comment on The NPD Group: Q3 Video Game Spending Hits Record High
NPD: September Video Game Revenue Increased 10%
Sales of video games, hardware and accessories continued their months-long increase as industry revenue in September increased 10% to $4.3 billion, from $3.9 billion in the previous-year period, according to new data from The NPD Group. Through nine months of the year, the video game market has increased 21% to $33.69 billion, from $27.84 billion at the same time last year.
Video game content spending increased 8% to $3.84 billion, from $3.55 billion. Year-to-date revenue is up 20% to $29.78 billion, from $24.98 billion.
Accessories increased 30% to a record $191 million, from $46.9 million in the year-ago period. The segment was driven by sales of the Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller. Consumer spending on accessories was up 26% to a record $1.6 billion, from $1.27 billion.
Finally, Marvel's Avengers and Super Mario 3D All-Stars knocked off Madden NFL 21 as the top-selling game titles.
Author Erik GruenwedelPosted on October 16, 2020 October 24, 2020 Categories Financial, News, Research, Video GamesTags The NPD Group, VideogamesLeave a comment on NPD: September Video Game Revenue Increased 10%
NPD: Pandemic, Delayed Amazon Prime Days Will Upend 'Black Friday' Retail Holiday
The traditional Black Friday weekend start of the holiday shopping season is in disarray this year, upended by the coronavirus pandemic and Amazon's rescheduling of its Prime Days from the summer to October, The NPD Group said Oct. 9.
Amazon rescheduled its Prime Days to Oct. 13-14 — just 44 days before Black Friday on Nov. 27.
Last year, the Amazon Prime Days e-commerce sales extravaganza was the third-largest online shopping period, after Thanksgiving's Black Friday and successive Cyber Monday retail events, according to The NPD Group.
This year's delay to mid-October promises to significantly alter the winter retail landscape, say NPD analysts.
"Prime Days' timing later in the year creates a pull to move aggressive holiday campaigns earlier, and opens the door for deals from retailers of all sizes," Marshal Cohn, chief industry advisor, retail, at NPD, said in a statement.
Cohen said the infusion of Prime Days and other retail events into the holiday season is going to transform the balance of 2020 for consumers and retailers at all levels, in addition to industry analysts.
Stephen Baker, VP, industry advisor at NPD, says Prime Days is occurring at a time when most consumer electronics manufacturers will have already launched price discounts to jumpstart holiday shopping.
Baker said October is typically the weakest month of the year for technology sales, especially for premium technology items as manufacturers and retailers "re-merchandize and re-balance" older products for promotion while readying the newest technology for purchase. But with the pandemic, many CE manufacturers are delaying product launches.
"We are anticipating this to be among the biggest Octobers ever due to the need to elongate the holiday season and the lateness of some of the normal September product introductions (such as iPhones)," Baker said.
Indeed, Cohen contends Prime Days' delay will further undermine consumer spending on Black Friday.
"Though it's been evolving, don't expect Black Friday to look at all like years past, and not just because of the consumer's hesitancy to avoid crowds and their newfound fondness of shopping online," Cohen said. "The infusion of Prime Days into the holiday season will play to this year's emphasis on shopping early being better."
Author Erik GruenwedelPosted on October 9, 2020 October 9, 2020 Categories Financial, News, News Analysis, RetailTags Amazon Prime Days, Black Friday, The NPD GroupLeave a comment on NPD: Pandemic, Delayed Amazon Prime Days Will Upend 'Black Friday' Retail Holiday
NPD: Video Game Sales Jumped 37% in August
Video game sales remain on a roll with revenue from packaged media, digital, consoles and accessories up 37% in August to $3.33 billion, compared with $2.43 billion in the previous-year period, according to new data from The NPD Group. Through eight months, sales are $29.38 billion, up 23% from $23.88 billion in the same period a year ago.
Video games, compared with other forms of home entertainment, have resonated strongly with consumers during the coronavirus pandemic. After nearly two years of downward revenue trends, sales of games and hardware jumped 73% and 52%, respectively, in April and May. That was followed by increases of 26% and 32%, respectively, in June and July.
In the absence of new-generation consoles, Nintendo Switch again led all hardware sales, helping the segment generate a record monthly tally of more than $229 million, up 37% from $167.1 million last year. For the year, hardware sales are up 23% to $2 billion from $1.62 billion.
Software sales increased 37% to $2.94 billion from $2.14 billion. For the year, revenue is up 22% to $25.9 billion, compared with $21.23 billion last year. Not surprisingly, with the NFL season underway, the top-selling new title in August was EA Sports' Madden NFL 21 — a distinction the brand has held for 21 years straight.
Accessories revenue skyrocketed 42% to a monthly record of $166 million — driven by Sony PS4 DualShock 4 Wireless Controller Black. For the year, revenue is up 26% to an all-time high of $1.4 billion from $1.11 billion last year.
Author Erik GruenwedelPosted on September 14, 2020 September 15, 2020 Categories Financial, News, Research, Video GamesTags Madden NFL 21, The NPD Group, VideogamesLeave a comment on NPD: Video Game Sales Jumped 37% in August


Diagnosing osteoporosis is an important health initiative that must be taken seriously since the health cost associated with an inaccurate or a missed diagnosis can be costly in the arena of health consequences for years to come.
When diagnosing osteoporosis it is important to determine if the osteoporosis is of a primary or a secondary nature as the treatment is different for each cause.
Secondary osteoporosis is related to the fact that something else is causing the development of osteoporosis, for example, collagen disorders such as osteogenesis imperfecta, and Marfan's syndrome, bone marrow disorders such as multiple myeloma, lymphoma, or even chronic alcohol use, or endocrine disorders such as, Cushing's disease, diabetes, or a hyperthyroidism.
When diagnosing osteoporosis the best test on the market today is the DEXA scan. This test takes about 10 minutes to perform, is completely painless, and is associated with very limited radiation exposure. The DEXA scan passes the x-rays through the bones of either the hip, the spine or the wrist to assess its density.
The results of the tests are then compared to the normal baseline of the young adult population as well as to the age and gender control groups. The DEXA scan will be able to determine if you are at a higher risk for sustaining a fracture.
DEXA scans are recommended for all women over the age of 65, postmenopausal women under the age of 65 who have multiple risk factors, patients who have endured long-term oral corticosteroid use, and patients with a hyperparathyroidism.
The diagnosing osteoporosis is a fairly simple thing to do for any health care practitioner. Also keep in mind that this is also a critical piece of your healthcare puzzle and well being.
A complete history and physical along with appropriate bone scans can help your physician to determine if you have osteoporosis.


text:
Sharon Draper
How sad that the events in Cleveland this week point to the need for a book like Panic by Sharon Draper. In fact Draper, who divides her time between Ohio and Florida, said in a recent interview that Panic was inspired in part by the disappearance of two teenage girls in Ohio who went to buy an ice cream cone from an ice cream truck down the street and did not come home. (They, too, were able to get away from their abductor.)
Draper says we tell our 6-year-olds not to speak to strangers, but rarely do we tell that to our teens. In fact, the three young women who were abducted by Ariel Castro did not know him but got into a car with him. Just like Draper's protagonist, Diamond. Her book reads like a mystery--it's a page-turner--so teens may not realize how much they're learning about human nature in this cautionary tale until they've finished it.
In Panic, a good-looking 40-something man starts talking to Diamond in the Food Court at the mall, as she waits for her friend. He knows a lot about her, says he has a daughter who goes to high school with her, takes a phone call from his daughter in front of Diamond. He says he thought he was supposed to pick up his daughter, but his wife got there first. All attempts to earn her trust.
He tells Diamond, who carries her dance bag with her, that he's holding auditions for a dance part in his film. Diamond's cell phone is nearly out of juice, but she texts her friend to say she's going to an audition and will see her later. Draper paints Diamond as a responsible kid; she gets swept up in the possibility of starring in a film with two of her idols, and pushes aside all common sense.
Adolescence is a tricky time. Teens yearn for independence; they want to try on adult responsibilities. Yet they're on that cusp between childhood and adulthood. They don't yet have the experience to judge whom they can trust and whom they cannot. Diamond trusted the wrong guy.
A subplot in Panic follows Layla, the lead dancer, and Donovan, a big money, big car–driving fellow who's jealous of any time Layla spends away from him. Draper connects between these two men the need for complete control of women. How much is Layla willing to give up to stay with Donovan? It's a slightly different dilemma, yet it's not entirely. How much do you put the trust in someone else at the expense of your own intuition, your own dreams?
Panic is a true conversation starter, a way into some tricky topics, and a good way to explore the fact that there are some people who simply have evil intentions, and we have to be wary. By the end of Draper's book, both Diamond and Layla have realized that part of becoming an adult is taking responsibility for their own welfare. No one can do it for them.
Labels: abduction, dance, family, friendship, Panic, performing arts, sexual abuse, Sharon Draper
Fun Summer Reading
The First Superheroes


text:
//
//  ONTriggerAPI.h
//  OneNETSDK
//
//  Created by houwenjie on 2017/4/21.
//  Copyright © 2017年 iot. All rights reserved.
//

#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>
#import "OneNETSDK.h"

/**
 *  触发器相关API 详情链接http://open.iot.10086.cn/doc/art259.html#68
 */
@interface ONTriggerAPI : NSObject
/**
 *  添加触发器
 *
 *  @param bodyparam    请求参数
 *  @param callback  请求回调
 *
 */
+(void)addTriggerWithBodyParam:(NSString *)bodyparam
                      callBack:(OneNETCallback)callback;

/**
 *  编辑触发器
 *
 *  @param triggerId  触发器ID
 *  @param bodyparam    请求参数
 *  @param callback  请求回调
 *
 */
+(void)editTriggerWithTriggerId:(NSString *)triggerId
                      bodyParam:(NSString *)bodyparam
                       callBack:(OneNETCallback)callback;

/**
 *  读取单个触发器数据
 *
 *  @param triggerId  触发器ID
 *  @param callback  请求回调
 *
 */
+(void)queryTriggerWithTriggerId:(NSString *)triggerId
                        callBack:(OneNETCallback)callback;

/**
 *  批量读取触发器
 *
 *  @param param  查询参数
 *  @param callback  请求回调
 *
 */
+(void)queryTriggerWithParam:(NSDictionary *)param
                    callBack:(OneNETCallback)callback;

/**
 *  删除触发器
 *
 *  @param triggerId  触发器ID
 *  @param callback  请求回调
 */
+(void)deleteTriggerWithTriggerId:(NSString *)triggerId
                         callBack:(OneNETCallback)callback;
@end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


In the year 1106, during the reign of King David IV of Georgia, a new structure was built based on maximal reflection and transfer of the respective spiritual and material circumstances. In unison to the geopolitical conditions at the time, the space transformed into a unique, unprecedented hub for cooperation; for exchange of knowledge and opportunities. Intellectual dynamics from the Byzantine Empire fused with local experience and knowledge; the orthodox discourse within its structures gained an additional profile – a school. Thus, "Gelati" was born, located 10 km from the then-capital Kutaissi.
Resulting from the teaching material generated by the educational processes of the Gelati school, the analysis, translation, renewal, return of certain educational structures strikes as crucial. Based on this example, on mutual experiences and cooperation, the development of a novel format in Berlin similar to Gelati is planned; a novel educational product/project, the conceptualization of novel lessions.


The Texas State Bobcats opened training camp to the public today as Coach Franchione and the Bobcats began the long, strenuous journey that is the 2014-'15 football season. The energy and buzz around the team was evident even as the Bobcat players began their warm ups. It's clear they realize the expectations that have been placed upon them as they enter their second season of play in the Sun Belt Conference.
The Bobcats started practice off by dividing up into their respective positions. K Jason Dann looked very good from 30+ yards out while QB Tyler Jones and the offense worked on motion plays and fake hand offs across the field. The wide receivers gathered around the JUGS machine. Red-shirt freshman WR Brice Gunter would catch his first pass with ease and call out "turn it up". However he would drop the pass his next time through, immediately hitting the ground for push-ups. This is a trend I would see throughout practice with any player who dropped the ball. Transfer WR Brennan Blakemore also looked very good on the machine, catching all his passes cleanly. The experience shows as he uses his hands well. He also showed a good ability to adjust to the ball in the air later in practice.
The offense would then come together though OL Matt Freeman would leave with an apparent right ankle injury. He would however remain on the practice field. Gunter showed off his size and skill right away with a nice outside shoulder catch. I cannot stress enough how physically impressive Brice Gunter looks. And this is just in shorts and tees. Noticing quite a few twin wide receiver sets today. WR Ben Ijah dropped an easy pass laid in perfectly over his left shoulder but rebounded nicely with a shoestring catch on a low pass from Tyler Jones. Jones was noticeably off with a few of his passes today. It should be noted QB Fred Nixon started with the second team but it was QB Randy Price who showed some nice touch on passes while working on curl routes. Freshman WR Tyler Watts also caught my eye in drills showing an extremely nice up field burst on screen plays. Speaking of bursts, RB Chris Nutall is already looking game-day fast. His initial burst through the line is something to behold.
The defense would go to work on the opposite field as the defensive line and linebackers would start out working on gap assignments. It's also clear that quickness and hand placement are going to be stressed right away. DE Thomas Evans immediately separated himself as his quickness stood out above all the rest. He also looks to be in great physical shape and could be heard coaching up some of the younger linemen.
LB Michael Orakpo also looked very good in drills. It's clear he's already focused in on this season. The defensive backs would go through a series of motion drills before combining with the wide receivers to do some 1 on 1 work. CB Andrew Aneke looked great in 1 on 1 with multiple pass break ups. He moves extremely well in coverage. CB David Farris would come down with an interception while working against Brice Gunter. Senior CB David Mims II would join him directly after with an INT of his own. But the 1 on 1 winner of the day was S Germod Williams. I'm not sure any receivers caught a ball on him during the drill and he made sure to let them know about it.
His talk would continue as the Bobcats came together for some 11 on 11 to round out practice. The defense looked good but it was the offense that got the better of it on Day 1. Though still struggling on a few passes, Tyler Jones would find Brice Gunter on an out route that saw Gunter beat his man and take it to the house for six. Chris Nutall flashed his speed again, breaking off what would have been multiple runs of 10 yards or more. The defense looked out of place at times but the communication was there.
Coach Thompson joins the Bobcats this year after spending two season with Arkansas State in the same capacity. Head Coach Dennis Franchione seemed pleased enough with the defense as well.
In a change from last year, it's the defense that's playing catch up early while the offense is looking good. Only time will tell if both sides will be up to par.


Our focus on should be to consolidate and enhance the quality and repair of present products, in the meantime constantly establish new products to meet unique customers' requires for Cutting Tools Holder , Turning Tool Holder , Cutting Tools , we have always been around the forefront of clean technology products innovation. We are a inexperienced partner you can rely on. Get in touch with us today for additional data!
"Bear ""Customer first, Excellent first"" in mind, we work closely with our shoppers and supply them with efficient and specialist services for Cutting Tools Holder , Turning Tool Holder , Cutting Tools , The credibility is the priority and the service is the vitality. We promise we have now the ability to offer excellent quality and reasonable price items for customers. With us your safety is guaranteed.


The etymology of manqué is likely to vex left-handers. English speakers picked up "manqué" directly from French more than two centuries ago, and it ultimately comes from Latin manco, meaning "having a crippled hand." But in between the Latin and French portions of this word's history came the Italian word manco, which means both "lacking" and "left-handed." Lefties may be further displeased to learn that "manqué" isn't the only English word with a history that links left-handedness with something undesirable. For example, the word awkward comes from "awke," a Middle English word meaning both "turned the wrong way" and "left-handed." And the noun "gawk" ("a clumsy stupid person") probably comes from a "gawk" that means "left-handed" in English dialect.
What made you want to look up manqué? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).


A project that I am part of, Daughters of Hanford, was exhibited at the REACH Museum in Richland, WA from August 2015 – August 2016. More information can be found here.
A few of my videos will be shown at the Flux Factory as part of the Strobe Network show/performance. More information can be found here.
My work is close to home! See Particles on the Wall at Washington State University's Tri-Cities Art Center, in Richland, WA from March 5 – April 5, 2013.
As part of Particles on the Wall my work is on exhibit at Central Washington University, in Ellensburg, WA. The exhibit will be open for viewing in the Museum of Culture & Environment on Wednesday through Saturday, from September 19 – December 8, 2012.


Browse listings of Member members that have joined Spanish Dating Service that are associated with Bald. Talking to others who have similar interests is a great way to find things to do once you are dating. Register for a Free Profile to Date Tonight!
If you wish to contact any member on Spanish Dating Service, you need to create a Totally Free Account to verify you are real. Once you verified you are who you say you are, you can begin messaging to find out if there is any interest. It's very simple to find someone. Just send a flirt or message and wait for them to respond. Once there is a common interest, you can meetup to find out if there is a real connection. Don't delay! Open up your totally free account right now!


Thanks for this, Ellen Brown! Great article AS ALWAYS!
It's so important this goes through – please share and alert all residents in LA to the fundamental good sense in this.
A "yes' vote on the Charter Amendment Bill in November will allow Los Angeles to create a city-owned bank that can partner with local banks to provide low-cost credit for the community. It would be a public bank based on the model of the century-old state-owned Bank of North Dakota. By cutting out Wall Street middlemen, the latter is able to make below-market credit available to local businesses, farmers, and students.
Debt like the article proves is always Rothschild to Rothschild, put on our account; to keep us slaves to the Corporation; all of it on paper and nothing of it matters except our Leadership, under the foot of the Rothschild's and greedy beyond anything normal or natural, brainwashed, blackmailed, bought off, use the Police and the Military to force us to be indebted, to the Rothschild Family.
If we are part of the Corporation and the Corporation fails or owes, then the Corporation as it is today holds us responsible to pay the debt, but we did not fail, the Corporation failed, since all Corporations are deemed as people, the Rothschild's failed, not us. Unable to provide us a means to pay the debt the Rothschild's have made us failures, but we owe nothing.
Never have the people voted to go to war, always the Rothschild's through their Banks and their Agents have used the Politicians to force us into war, so we kill each other, so we go head over heels in debt.
Any good Queens Lawyer which all the Lawyers in the Corporation are could easily defeat the debt in a court of law except they all are Esquires and they all are Rothschild agents, so we really are going to have to drain the swamp; what a terrible blood bath the Rothschild rich and their agents will make of that…if we who are the nations of North America and Europe, etc., are made to live like Africans and Indians, what will we do and who, will we blame?
So far we have always blamed each other, never the true demons of our despair, the Rothschild Banking Family, the Corporations and their CEO's, the Filthy Rich, who hold their breathes waiting for one or the other Rothschild to tell them the next horror to be played on Humanity, to be played on the whole world of the Living Earth.
We cry, we holler, we blame but we never escape, we are the frogs in the water and if you don't know it, the water is getting real hot, so, the end, might really be, near.
Public banking will never fly in Los Angeles, California nor any city and/or state in America. Why not? Because it makes perfect sense.


text:
Home » News » Staten Island SUV Accident Kills 1 and Injures 5 Others
Staten Island SUV Accident Kills 1 and Injures 5 Others
October 27, 2011 Auto Accident, NewsNewsLeave a commentgaladmin
October 27, 2011 – Staten Island, N.Y. – According to a report from My Fox New York, an SUV accident leads to 1 fatality and injuries to 5 others. The single-vehicle accident occurred early on Sunday morning, October 23 on the Staten Island Expressway, when an SUV carrying 7 people flipped over. The driver of the 2006 Dodge Durango, Nigel Siboo, 41, apparently lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a guardrail. The SUV ended up on its roof in a grassy median. Rabindra Sawh, 45, was a passenger inside the SUV and was pronounced dead at the scene. Siboo, along with 2 other passengers, was taken to Richmond University Medical Center. He has been charged with reckless assault but more charges could be coming, pending results from a blood alcohol test. Two other passengers were taken to Staten Island University hospital and were listed in stable condition. Another passenger refused to receive medical attention. According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2009, there were 1,156 fatalities as a result of traffic accidents in the state of New York.
To help raise awareness of traffic safety in the New York area, our firm will frequently publish blogs about traffic accidents that occur throughout the 5 boroughs and beyond. We do this to raise awareness about the common types of New York motor vehicle accidents that may result in serious injury or traffic fatalities.
Among the most common types of traffic accidents in New York include:
accidents caused by hazardous road conditions;
single-vehicle crashes;
rollover accidents; and
"distracted driver" accidents or crashes caused by intoxicated drivers.
If you have been named in this blog or you are the victim's family member or friend and would like the blog removed from our website, please feel free to contact us and we will promptly accommodate your request.
Transportation Alternatives Releases Interactive New York Crash Map
High School Student Struck by Car on Long Island


Better Because It Has To Be: 5151 Gull Rd, Kalamazoo, MI.
You're not craving any old pizza in Kalamazoo. You want to build your own pizza with the freshest ingredients. At Jet's Pizza, being square is delicious! Our claim to fame is our infinitely cheesy, loaded veggie and buttery square Detroit-style pizza with the most heavenly crust that is Flavorized.
And it just keeps coming. Fall in love with Our Deep Dish delight; go for the gold with the classic hand-tossed pizza; fold the humongous slices on the NY Style; or nibble on the crunchy Thin Crust. We also have a gluten-free pizza!
You've waited long enough for freshest sauce in any hemisphere? Our pizza sauce is as famous as our 8-corner pizza! And we're not just talking about the most flavorful marinara. Your life will change when you try our handcrafted ranch sauce! Your taste buds will have a party.
At your Jet's flavor has been re-imagined. Wow your taste buds with a Flavorized crust for no extra charge. Dough such as this is the envy of all! Jet's Turbo Crust, butter, Romano, poppy seed, sesame seed, garlic, and Cajun! Yay! Imagine, the cheering that will break out when we deliver. At your Jet's Pizza on 5151 Gull Rd, we're always serving fresh and fast pizza that dreams are made of. Place your order on our phone app, online or phone us at (269) 488-2000. Don't have access to technology? Stop by and place an order for takeout!
We're not only known for the freshest pizza — we handcraft deli-worthy Jet's Boats, baked Jetzees, the best salads, and crispy wings that will propel you to put Jet's on speed-dial!


AACA is an excellent place to learn.
· Our standards are high to challenge all students and help them reach honourable goals: mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially.
· All of our staff are dedicated to providing quality Christian Education. Each teacher is provincially accredited and teach the provincially approved curriculum. Each staff member continues with on-going professional learning to stay up to date with new teaching styles and approaches.
· Outreach and extracurricular activities.
Teachers will be purchasing the basic supplies and the fee will be $30 for each child.
NOTE: All students in the school will also need to have a pair of indoor athletic shoes . with soft rubber soles.


Canon 18-55mm IS kit lens.
I'm not a big fan of Zoom lenses, i prefer prime lenses, so imagine shooting with a kit zoom lens for serious photography !!! I did use the Canon 18-55mm IS kit lens on my Canon XS for family photos but never for serious photography. Not long ago i bought a 7D and 400mm/5.6 L for my wildlife photos and also a set of Extension tubes. I like to try my lenses with Extension tubes to see how they performs, sometimes they are good but sometimes not so good.
So lets start with regualr distance shots without Ext. tubes, i took some photos with my 7D to see if that little lens can stand the 18Mp sensor ?
All shots taken in RAW and processed in LR and PS.
Taken with 7D and 18-55mm IS, handheld with IS activated.
Set at 32mm, 1/30 sec. at f/5.6, ISO 500, handheld with IS.
Here is a crop from the shot above, i zoomed-in to 100% in PS. From the TIFF files with no PP and sharpening, just resized and saved as JPEG.
Some tests with Extension tubes.
7D with 18-55mm IS with 34mm of Ext. tubes on tripod.
Set at 37mm, 1/80 sec. at f/8.0, ISO 200, tripod.
Some photos taken inside my house, sorry for the boring subjects!
7D with 18-55mm set at 44mm with 13mm Ext. tube, ISO 400, 1/200 sec. at f/8, handheld.
Zoomed at 100% and cropped in PS with no sharpening.
Same cropping but with PP and sharpening set at 90 % and radius at 1.0.
Close-up of my SMC Macro-Takumar 50mm f4.0.
At 45mm with 13mm Ext. tube, ISO 125, at f11, tripod.
Zoomed at 100 % with PP and same sharpening as above.
At 24mm with 13mm Ext. tube, ISO 125, at f11, tripod, same crop with same PP.
Well at normal distances that lens is sharper than i was expecting and certainly can be use for serious work if needed especially from about 20mm to 45mm where i found it to be at it`s best on my sample. Also it`s not too bad for close-up work, sure not as good as a real Macro lens but can be useful to shoot close-up at 24mm.
From Pentax to Canon 7D + 400mm/5.6 L for wildlife.
I've been a Pentax user for the last 25 years and really like their cameras and lenses, but currently there isn't a 400mm lens that is available with fast AF and also there is no autofocus TC-1.4X available . After some long thinking i finally decided to sold my Pentax-67 M*400mm/4 EDIF, which is a great lens but it's a fully manual lens and quite heavy at around 3700 gr. I wanted a lighter lens with fast AF and a TC-1.4X, so i choosed the Canon 7D and the 400mm/5.6 L, the Canon 400mm/5.6 L is only 1250 gr, so it is 3 times lighter than my Pentax 400mm lens was.
I went to the Ecomuseum of Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue (on the western side of Montreal), it's like a Zoo but the animals are either injured or born in captivity so they can't be released in the wild, they use them for education. I like that place to test a new camera, lens or TC that i will use for wildlife. I tried different ISO settings and aso the TC-1.4X II, wanted to know if my kit had BF or FF problems.
Good news, looks like my combo don't need any AF adjustment. The 2nd photo is a crop of the 1st one.
ISO 500, 1/800 sec. at f/5.6, tripod.
Testing the TC 1.4X II, taken W/O at f/5.6, sharpness is still very good !
ISO 800, 1/320 sec. at f/5.6, tripod.
It's little cousin had something to say.
ISO 640, 1/500 sec. at f/10, tripod.
ISO 500, 1/1250 sec. at f/6.3, tripod.
ISO 320, 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3, tripod.
ISO 500, 1/500 sec. at f/6.3, tripod.
Sleeping time for the River Otter.
ISO 640, 1/320 sec. at f/11, tripod.
– The AF is fast and accurate, no needs to adjust it.
– IQ of the 400mm/5.6 L is at least as good as my Pentax-67 M*400mm/4 EDIF.
– ISO performance is about the same as my K20D, need more experience with the 7D to draw more definitive conclusions.
– The IQ with the TC-1.4X II is very good even W/O.
– I will need some times to get faster using the 7D, but it's easier than i thought it would be considering the differnt disposition of the buttons and menu with a Pentax DSLR.
– I like the silent mode and 8 Fps.
– I prefer the pad on the Pentax DSLR, with the 7D you have to turn the pad (like my NEX-3), i guess i will get use to it.
– The weather sealing is not as good as with Pentax but i ordered a waterproof sleeve for my kit.
– The lens release button should be on the other side of the lens mount, it doesn't feel right on the left side ?!?!
I think i will like that combo for wildlife photography, needs some times to really get fast and efficient with it but i'm already pleased with it.
Omega Park is like a zoo but the difference is that most animals are free and you drive your car on a dirt road to see Elk, Deers and other wildlife. Bears, Wolf and Coyote are in big enclosures which is normal with all those Deers and Elk !
You don't always have a great angle to shoot since you can't get out of your car, so you have to hanhold your camera and shoot from the inside of your car. I like to go in different seasons since there is something new to shoot everytime. The following photos were shot this winter in March. I used my DA*50-135 and Pentax-645 FA300mm/5.6 for most of the shots but i also used my NEX-3 with the 18-55 kit lens for those close encounters.
Here is a snapshot of how it looks while you drive in the Park, they are all waiting for you to have Carrots.
Sony NEX-3 with 18-55 kit lens.
Arctic Wolf in it's enclosure.
White-Tail Deer waiting for carrots !
Wild Boar along the road, they are frequent and funny to observe.


The Rebels' Resistance Conversation will invite highly-visible activists, mental health professionals and the Rebel+Rest co-founders to offer perspective, wisdom and tangible steps on combating the impact of racism, systemic oppression and the trauma of online brutality on mental wellness. Attendees will gain insight from lived experience, expertise and engagement from the perspective of local and national voices working to elevate important discourse around social-political resistance and community rejuvenation for communities of color.
Heading to SWSW? RSVP for this conversation here.
A conference built from the perspective of women, the goal is to showcase the brilliance of black women in tech, create a stage for our experiences, foster deep connections and create real funding opportunities. We believe in learning from those who are paving the way. Through their successes, (and failures), gain insight and valuable lessons to inspire and guide you on your path to success.
If you would like to cultivate manifestation into your life, let's practice together at HealHaus using breath work, journaling, and meditation as our primary tools. Come as you are. Please note this session is intended for self-identified women of color. Register here!
At Black Girl In Om, we create space for women of color to breathe easy. BGIO Self-Care Sunday is the beating heart of our community and we're proud to be in year three of holding safe, sacred space for all of us to connect, heal, and love individually and collectively.
now hosted three times per month, with varying themes and programs, we invite you to venture deeper into your wellness journey with an affirming community and guide. yoga and meditation are always included as an intentional component of the experience.
for more information visit this page! use my code LAUREN if it's your first time! i hope to breathe easy with you this summer.
Join me for a mindful talk and meditation at Chill Chicago! I create with an energy of ease. How does reading, speaking, and overall tuning into this mantra feel? Take note. Do you sense yourself relaxing into a useful realization or does your heart-rate increase? Whatever the case, if you would like to allow this mantra to become your reality, let's mindfully cultivate ease together at Chill Chicago using restorative yoga, journaling, and meditation as our primary tools. Come as you are (mats provided). Please note this session is intended for self-identified people of color. Register here.
Come hear from a host of amazing speakers, and yours truly! I'll be sharing three speakeasy talks about living from intention, detoxing and decluttering your life, and representation and inclusiveness in the wellness space. Get more details and register here!
What: Healthyish Homecoming presented by Bon Appetit sisterbrand Healthyish offers a day of delicious food and inspiring conversations with people who are changing the way we think about wellness. I'm speaking as part of The Big Talk with Healthyish Editor Amanda Shapiro and New York Times staff writer and podcast host Jenna Wortham. We'll be exploring this big question: "Has Wellness Become Bad For Us?"
When: June 9th 9 am to 6 p.m.


FEDS pays up to 1 or 2 million dollars of legal defense and indemnity protection (depending on the policy you choose) in the event you are sued and found liable for a personal capacity lawsuit.
Matters FEDS pays for legal defense up to $200,000 for any disciplinary or judicial sanction proceeding, or administrative investigation arising out of any act, error or omission while rendering within the scope of duties.
FEDS pays for legal defense up to $100,000 for any criminal proceeding or investigation into any act, error or omission while rendering within the scope of duties.
You can also find more information in our Coverage Overview and the FEDS Master Insurance Policy. If you prefer, you can mail in an enrollment form with your payment.


Mary Karangelen, System Engineer, Collins Aerospace, demonstrates the Coalescence mixed reality system.
Collins Aerospace says its Coalescence training system surrounds trainees with 3D photorealism. "Your body quickly begins to react as if those surroundings were real." Other live participants can train with individuals for multi-crew interaction.
Through virtual-reality (VR) headset, users can see real-world elements in front of them – including their hands – in an immersion of the virtual environment.
Mary Karangelen, System Engineer, Collins Aerospace, said the Coalescence mixed-reality system takes virtual reality (VR) to the next level.
She explained: "We've taken cameras and mounted them on the front of the head-mounted display. We're able to do a 'mixing' of the video and the virtual environment so the user can interact with real-world objects and get that tactical training, through the video output."
Karangelen said that the video-blending technology and low latency of the video allow the user to comfortably use the VR for longer periods of time.
Find out more and see the demo in action by watching the video.