text:
Literature Review: Outsourcing
Effects of Outsourcing Information Technology Jobs in Australia
Outsourcing has been defined as the idea of contracting of part of an organization's business processes to an outside service provider with an aim of increasing the shareholding value. Others have considered outsourcing as the contracting of a company's nonessential, nonrevenue producing activities to specialized providers. This practice differs from contracting because outsourcing is a strategic management tool that entails the restructuring of an organization to focus on its core competencies as what it does best. Analysis of different definitions of outsourcing reveals the features of an essential aspects of outsourcing which include; size and duration, transfer of assets, and the extent of the responsibilities. Outsourcing is the concept of specialization. In economics terms, outsourcing is considered as a utilitarian concept that is applicable in business and accounting. From an accounting perspective, outsourcing is considered as a transfer of an internal service functionality to an outside party.
IT outsourcing has been a common trend that was first introduced through timesharing in the 1950s. Development of IT outsourcing happened around 1980s with the development of the remote management services such as IBM. The services that were outsourced include customer's systems, networks, and application which were monitored and managed remotely from a Network Operations Center. This was later followed by business process outsourcing that provided customers with an opportunity to managing their operational business processes. The concept of IT sourcing became more prominent around 1960s.
Outsourcing has evolved to take a different form. Earlier versions of outsourcing involved the use of different computer platforms and systems that were incompatible. There was need have a platform that would place the client and the customers operating on the same platform to continue carrying out the business. The computer industry was characterized by a mainframe, and with low quality and expensive networking infrastructure. These factors contributed the development of outsourcing sector. This saw organizations engage in contract where service provide would be engaged with the firm, under the same environment as the firm and offer and offer service. The current conditions on the business world, there have been a connection of computer platforms and open architecture which have made it possible to outsource for IT functionality to allow the provider offering the service while being located in a different part of the world (Saini, Yen & Chou, 2014, p 402). This evolution can be attributed to the networking quality and speed has allowed fast transfer of data between the firm and the service provider.
Globalization and Outsourcing
Globalization and outsourcing have been considered as playing a critical element in making the world become a high-tech global village. Globalization refers to the process through which regional economies and communities become integrated by means of communication, transportation, and trade. It has been noted there are different reasons propelling organizations to outsourcing include cost savings. Globalization has been known to create opportunities for outsourcing due to low wages, corporate tax advantage, and enhanced global market competition there seeking to acquire the service from the favorable places (Bulajic & Domazet, 2012, p 1323).
Effect of Information Technology Outsourcing on Profitability
It has been indicated that organizations in most cases outsource for IT services with an aim of reducing the administrative and coordination costs, or avoid the common management issues related with IT. This highlights one of the reasons that enhanced the growing popularity of outsourcing. This was pegged on the financial variable including the profit margin, return on equity and return on assets. South Australia's government was noted to have saved more than $100 million through the outsourcing of every information processes in all seventy departments 10).
The service providers need to see the economic sense of this engagement. To achieve this, the service providers seeks to exploit the economies of scale. This is achieved through bringing together different knowledge, skills, and expertise from different client. This arrangement allows for the services provider to achieve economies of scale and economies of scope. These allows the service providers to improve their profit levels (Whiten, Ellis, & Casey, 2002, p. 10).
It has been revealed that some companies outsource with an aim of cost reduction, attain economies, or solve staffing issues, and offer an opportunity to concentrate on their core competencies. Outsourcing offers an organization of achieving strategic objectives. Through outsourcing of the non-core IT functions, the management of organizations are able to concentrate on their core competences. The profitability of these organizations is affected in case the organization disposes the IT assets. This has a positive effect on the cash flow of these organizations (Whiten, Ellis, & Casey, 2002, p. 11).
IT Outsourcing in Australia
Organizations are known to categorize IT functionality regards these services as overhead cost. IT outsourcing is regarded as a classic make-or-buy decision. Economists indicated that offshore outsourcing of IT services matches the description of international trade in services. Outsourcing has been noted to be part of globalized Australian economy. The Australian Bureaus of Statistics highlighted that the total expenditure on information technology and telecommunication by the different government departments and organization was about AU$4.3 billion which was equivalent to 5% of total government operating expenditure. The information technology and telecommunication outsourcing expenses for 1999-2000 amounted to AU$1.168 which is equivalent to 27% of the total expenditure on IT by the government organizations. In 2006, the Australian IT outsourcing industry was approximately AU$17.4.
The need to enhance efficiency and effectiveness has been highlighted as the main driving forces for the investment in IT outsourcing services. Factors favoring the adoption of offshore outsourcing include; decreasing cost, enhance excellence, globalization of the world economy, liberalization of the international trading system, technological advancements, and economies of 3.
An effect of IT outsourcing is on risks. Risks refers to the probabilities that an event will occur and adversely affect an organization. The risks associated with IT outsourcing include possibility of weak management, inexperienced staff, business uncertainty, outdated technology skills, endemic uncertainty, hidden cost, lack of organizational learning, loss of innovative capacity, dangers of an eternal triangle, technological indivisibility, and fuzzy focus (Lacity, Khan, Willcocks, 2009, p.135).
Determinants of IT Outsourcing
The determinants seeks to establish the type of firms are likely to engage in outsourcing of IT services. The firm's attributes that are mainly considered in this case are financial attributes, size attributes, and industry attributes. The financial attributes that determine the firm engaging in outsourcing include firm profitability, return on assets, earning per share, operating expenses, and financial risks (Lacity, Khan, Willcocks, 2009, p.132). The attributes related to size of the firm include total revenues, size of the workforce, and nature of internal IT department. The industry attributes consider aspects such as private and public organizations and categories of industries such as manufacturing, finance, and healthcare industries (Lacity, Khan, Willcocks, 2009, p.132).
Bulajic, A. and Domazet, D., 2012. Globalization and outsourcing and off shoring. Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Science. 3 (9).
Lacity, M.C., Khan, S.A. and Willcocks, L.P., 2009. A review of the IT outsourcing literature: Insights for practice. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 18(3), pp.130-146.
Saini, V., Yen, D.C. and Chou, D.C., 2005. Information Technology Outsourcing: Issues and Future Analyses.
Whitten, G.D., Ellis, T.S. and Casey, K.M., 2002. The impact of information technology outsourcing on firm profitability measures. Journal of International Information Management, 11(2), p.2.


Pair Antique 19th Century Dog Tiles by George Cartlidge.
A super pair of original antique glazed tiles featuring dogs, designed by the artist, George Cartlidge and made by Sherwin & Cotton of Hanley, Staffordshire in the late 19th century. Both are in excellent condition and are still mounted in the original frames.


text:
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis;
using System.Reflection;
using System.ServiceProcess;
using System.Threading;

namespace SimpleNet.ServiceHost.Helpers
{
    public static class ServiceRunner
    {
        [ExcludeFromCodeCoverage]
        public static void RunInteractive(ServiceBase[] servicesToRun)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(@"Services running in interactive mode.");
            Console.WriteLine();

            MethodInfo onStartMethod = typeof(ServiceBase).GetMethod("OnStart",
                BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.NonPublic);
            foreach (ServiceBase service in servicesToRun)
            {
                try
                {
                    Trace.TraceInformation(@"Starting {0}...", service.ServiceName);
                    onStartMethod.Invoke(service, new object[] { new string[] { } });
                    Trace.TraceInformation(@"Starting {0}...... Started", service.ServiceName);
                }
                catch (Exception ex)
                {
                    Trace.TraceError(@"Starting {0}...... FAILED!!{1}{1}{2}{1}", service.ServiceName, Environment.NewLine, ex);
                }
            }

            Console.WriteLine();
            Console.WriteLine();
            Console.WriteLine(@"Press any key to stop the services and end the process...");
            Console.Read();
            Console.WriteLine();

            MethodInfo onStopMethod = typeof(ServiceBase).GetMethod("OnStop", BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.NonPublic);
            foreach (ServiceBase service in servicesToRun)
            {
                Trace.Write( String.Format( @"Stopping {0}...", service.ServiceName ) );
                onStopMethod.Invoke(service, null);
                Trace.WriteLine(@"Stopped");
            }

            Console.WriteLine(@"All services stopped.");
            // Keep the console alive for a second to allow the user to see the message.
            Thread.Sleep(1000);
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Join us for Rally for Medical Cannabis in Anne Arundel County Tonight at 5:30pm
Activist will be holding a rally for medical cannabis before the Anne Arundel County Council hearing tonight at 5:30pm. We need all the support we can get. If you are a medical cannabis patient in Anne Arundel County, please come out and testify this evening at the hearing. In order to testify you must sign up at 6:00PM at the County Council Chambers.
Rally Date/Time:October 19th at 5:30pm to 6pm
Hearing Time: October 19th - Sign up at 6pm, Hearing at 7pm
Place: 44 Calvert Street, Annapolis, MD 21401
This rally is very critical to patients in Anne Arundel County. There are currently two bills that need our attention. We ask that patients and activist support Bill 97-15, which would better serve and protect patients in the County and continue to rally against Bill 96-15.
Why no on 96-15? County Executive Steve Schuh attempted to ban medical cannabis from the county by submitting bill 96-15. This would have essentially banned all dispensaries and cultivation centers from the county and devastated patients who relay on safe access. However, after public pressure from both officials and citizens, Schuh was forced to amended the bill. But this is not enough. Even with the amendments the bill is still too restrictive to implement or be effective for patients.
Schuh has amended Bill 96-15 to do the following:
Medical marijuana growing and processing facilities would not be permitted within of 1000 feet of dwellings and schools.
Medical marijuana dispensaries would not be permitted within of 1000 feet of dwellings and schools north of Route 50 and east of the South River.
Special exception zoning, which requires a public hearing, will be required for facilities.
Marijuana dispensaries will not be allowed in mixed use zoned areas in the County.
Marijuana dispensaries may not be located closer than one mile apart.
Growing operations must be on at least 10 acres.
Growing operations may not emanate light at night.
Growing facilities must have on-site armed security.
Processors must be co-located with growers.
Window and counter displays of marijuana will not be allowed.
On-site physician prescribing and dispensing will not be allowed.
Please come out at 5:30PM TONIGHT to support medical cannabis in Anne Arundel County. We need your help to stop bill 96-15 and approve 97-15! If you are an AA County medical patient resident, please testify at the hearing and bring your friends!
For more information, visit the Maryland NORML Facebook Event Page.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Toys and other baby stuff are of course made especially safe for babies, and that they have undergone specific factory and industry standards such as BPA and chemical screening tests before they went out to the market and into your shopping bag. Toys, however, can be a probable hazard to your child and some parents just shrug this fact off thinking that these baby items are absolutely safe to their child just like what the ads are claiming. Most often, parents do not realize that toys which have the tendency to be smashed, torn, pulled and broken into pieces can be swallowed by accident or fall upon by their child. Toy bicycles for example, have accessories and features like buttons, chains, and built-in rattles. if these parts fall off, there is a tendency that the child might put them their mouths or have their tiny hands stuck into. The best way to prevent these kinds of accidents to happen is to throw broken or damaged toys immediately-- do not ever think that it's a waste of money. Your expenses can never par up to your child's safety. It is highly-advisable for those who have kids bellow 14 months not to give their child toys that are prone to swallowing and choking. Examples of these toys are puzzle parts, legos, as well toys that are assembled such as trains and cars. Go for soft toys that are not segmented and cannot be torn easily and broken by your child's strong hands.
It is unknown to many that most cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) are found to have occured while the baby sleeps. Babies who are below 12 months are considered high-risk to infant death. Researchers conducting studies on SIDS have not been able to identify any single, specific cause of SIDS up to date and with each varied situations from asphyxiation, to suffocation and very odd cases when the baby just stops breathing. Most parents, especially moms tend to worry about SIDS and just can't get their heads off from it. How can parents face these fears and prevent the unlikely from happening? First, one should acknowledge that accidents happen even in intentionally-safe areas of the house such as the nursery room or your baby's crib. Make sure that bolster pillows and beddings are carefully set up or tucked, preventing it from covering the baby's face leading to suffocation. Baby essentials such as feeding bottles and pacifiers should not be left with a sleeping baby nor left hidden under the beddings as it might cause damage to the sensitive backs and necks of infants. Also make sure that bed rails are safe for your baby. Sure, bed rails prevent babies from falling off but they might also bump their wobbly heads and cause injuries to them. Choose sturdy wooden or plastic bed rails that have rubber paddings.
Dry, painted walls might appear harmless, but most parents are unaware that paint, even when dry, can cause allergies and asthma among children who might be sensitive to its chemical components. If you have small children at home, always see to it that materials and furnishings in your house are not hazardous to your family's health. There are paints and finishes that are safe for children and are environment friendly.
Babies and toddlers like to tug and pull things. Sometimes it includes mommy's hair and daddy's key chains. Your little one's curiousity might urge them to pull a dangling phone charger or wire from the desk. These wires are highly-hazardous and might cause strangulation and injury to babies. Make sure to tie your wires with velcro or cable ties and store them in a storage box with covers to prevent little children from reaching out and playing with them.
It is amazing how little children acquire their motor skills in such a surprising pace. Parents would be in shock seeing their kid climbing up on a chair or glass table in the living room, but that is not the hazard we are trying to stress. While you may easily spot your kid and prevent him or her from falling off the ground, how about your kid running towards a pointed corner? You cannot easily catch that when a toddler is in swift motion. Pointed corners on chairs, tables, and desks can cause serious injuries to children. Your child's safety is your priority but of course, you cannot simply live without furniture at home! However, you may choose furnitures that do not have or have less pointed edges, or with foam or rubber paddings on the edges. You can also visit your nearby hardware or home store to get rubber pads or strips with adhesive and stick it to table edges and corners so that if ever your highly-energetic kid runs into it, any potential injury is reduced.
At times, you cannot simply say or be confident enough for your child to stay in one area of the house. Babies become more curious as they grow and would always want to seek and try anything new. They are very curious little beings that can outwit you when you are not looking. They might climb out of their playpens and even crawl their way into the living room or your bedroom, and when they catch something that pleases their eyes, they would grab it and put it in their mouths to taste them. If you have babies and small children at home, make sure that you don't have any clutter left on the floor or on top of your dresser or table. Small items like AA batteries , coins, jewelries, and other items that can cause choking found in your bedroom or living room should be secured in a place that is not accessible to curious little children.
Bookshelves add character to a bare wall but can also mean danger to your kid. As aesthetically appealing as they can be, bookshelves can be main hazards to your child. Kids might climb on it and books can fall on their head. Worse still, the whole bookshelf may topple over. Try to keep your kids away from them or better yet, do not put them on areas where your child frequents.
There are stories published in newspapers or in TV wherein children mistake containers filled with cleansing agent or chemicals as a drink. Yes, it can be a parent's nightmare when that happens to one's own child. Some of us are guilty of using water containers and bottles when storing liquids and chemicals used for cleaning such as bleach, liquid soza, etc. If you have small children in your home, and even if you don't, just simply do not store any hazardous chemicals in water containers or other containers which can be mistaken as a beverage. Just simply don't. Also, secure those items and store them in a place far from the reach of children.
Glass and mirrors are among the most common items in the house-- glass windows, glass table tops, glass shelves, mirror decals, and among others. These items can pose a danger to your little ones when not taken well into consideration. Small children can climb on top of glass tabletops in the living room or run into wardrobes and hanged mirrors. Place a rubberised table runner on your glass table tops to lessen pressure and impact in case your kids climb on them. Make sure hung mirrors on wardrobes and in the bedroom are screwed tightly and secured in its place. Also, avoid placing glass items and breakables for display such as figurines on shelves.
When a toddler starts walking, they feel amazed on how they are able to reach their milestones, especially on motor skills. They feel challenged and thrilled to try their newly-acquired skills. That's why they tend to be literally all over the place; running back and forth, jumping and crawling and skipping around, and parents cannot simply stop these little balls of energy from bouncing back and forth! One of the things parents often overlook is the floor of the house. Whether your flooring might be tiled or made of wood, newly polished floors can be a main hazard to your little one. They can slip and fall on their faces and backs. Worse still, if they have something in their mouths like a pacifier or feeding bottle which they might fall upon . Keep children away from floors which are newly- polished or better yet, place a carpet or rubber mat on areas where your child frequently plays around.
Baby-proofing a home is not an easy job for every parent-- either they tend to overlook things like those points mentioned above or overthink things to the point of intervening in the child's areas of development because of being too scared on compromising the safety of their precious one. The safety of your children shall not simply rely on your own efforts of keeping the house safe and free from hazards but also on proper guidance and instilling discipline within them.


Get them royal vibes with the Metallic Heel Velvet Booties! Features a faux smooth velvet upper, almond toe, and a side zipper. Finished with a textured 3.25' chunky heel. Complete the look with a moto jacket and a simple mock neck top!


text:
Leobardo "Leo" Rodriguez
La Parrita, Texas: Leobardo "Leo" Rodriguez, age 88 of La Parrita passed away on Saturday September 16, 2017 at his home with his wife Connie by his side. He was born July 24, 1929 at the Shaeffer Ranch near La Parrita to Benino and Tomasa Rodriguez. Leo was as a rancher, farmer, and oilfield worker. He worked as a tool pusher for Murlynson Drilling Company for 29 years. He was a loving father, husband, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather. Leo was known for teaching his oilfield knowledge and skills to his brothers, nephews and friends. He worked in West Texas and New Mexico for many years. He loved traveling with his wife and family. Leo's pride and joy were his family, his ranch, his cattle and his dog Patrick. He moved to Dallas residing there for 20 years returning home 3 years ago after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's He will forever be remembered as the hard working man that he was. He was known for wheeling and dealing, selling something before he even paid for it and always making a profit. His legacy will be Leo's Country Store, his famous burgers and the many memories he left behind. Leo is preceded in death by his parents Benino and Tomasa Rodriguez, his first wife Audelia Perez Rodriguez, his brothers Ismael Rodriguez, Isnael Rodriguez, Ruben Rodriguez, and Benino Rodriguez Jr., his sisters Ofelia Torres, Hortencia Garcia, and his step-son John Edward Gutierrez. He is survived by his wife Consuelo "Connie" Rodriguez of La Parrita, four sons, Carlos (Julia) Cruz of Beeville, Leobardo (Herminia) Rodriguez Jr, Roland (Dena) Gutierrez, and Thomas Susil all of Alice, four daughters Juanita (George) Cantu of Tecolote, Anna (Larry) Pena and Vilma Cardona (Johnny) both of Alice, Yvonne Gonzalez of San Antonio, one brother Israel Rodriguez of Alice, two sisters Teresa Mendoza and Elma Rodriguez both of Alice, 23 grandchildren, 62 great-grandchildren,32 great-great-grandchildren , numerous nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 from 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at Mauro P. Garcia Funeral Home in Alice, Texas with a Rosary to begin at 7:00 p.m. the same evening. Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Alice, Texas. Burial will follow at the Rodriguez Cemetery in La Parrita, Texas. Mauro P. Garcia Funeral Homes, Inc. in charge of arrangements.
Mr & Mrs Nene Cadena
Our Condolances to the family may he RIP
debbie larson
My deepest condolences to the family. May peace be around you during this time.
sorry for his passing,may the family fine comfort thru our prayers,all his memories will help,may jehovah shower you all with his holy sprit,please read in your bible in the book of john:5:28.what a beautiful promesa.
Mr & mrs Pete Hornsby
Our most heart felt condolences to Connie and family . May the good lord heal your hearts . Leo was a true gentleman.
Laura Key-Davis
My deepest condolences to the family.
He will be missed dearly.
Yogi Palacios Cruz
My deepest condolences to Connie and the family. May he Rest in Peace🙏🏻
Juan M. Perez
Our deepest condolences Tio Leo will be missed for he is a good man he always kept me and Carlos in line and put us to work in the ranch chapariando the fence line we had some good times I will never forget tio Leo Love you cousin Carlos
W. J.
Our condolence to the Family:
God well knows the pain we suffer and he cares. Exodus 3:7; 1Peter 5:7
Look forward to the future with confidence, Acts 24:15 says, ..."there is going to be a resurrection...". For more comfort please visit our website: jw.org and view the faith strengthening video: Is There Hope for the Dead? 💐
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Then click this link to view them. - Click Here!


Regular readers will recall that I found some graphite "blacklead" and used it to improve the appearance of the Squirrel. Before we'd had occasion to light it, we had the chimney collar replaced and I used a bit more to cover the area which had got messed up.
The night before last, it got cold enough to justify lighting the stove in mid evening. All was well at first, until a fine smoke began to fill the saloon. It wasn't leakage from the stove but the new coating conditioning and eventually was thick enough to trigger the smoke alarm in the study bedroom. We opened up doors and hatches and closed down the fire, but there was still quite a bit about when we wanted to go to bed.
In the end, I closed the intervening doors and put the alarm in a sealed map case in a desk drawer. In the morning, all was well and still quite chilly. So I relit the stove and a bit more smoke formed once it had warmed up.
By the time we came back from Derby, it had cleared completely. So the moral of the story is, having applied Hotspot Stove Blacking to your Squirrel, take care to the light the stove at a time when you can let it burn up with plenty of ventilation.
Our main event today was a meeting with Dominic, who is writing a book on retiring early and the virtues of alternative lifestyles when you do so. That went very well; he's a nice guy and we had three hours of nattering information exchange. We look forward to seeing the final result and we'd be very happy to help in any other way.
Thanks for the bottle of wine, too! That's a man who understands boaters.
Before he came, I had a go at the isolation transformer. Unfortunately, the lead John told me about on Waimaru was the wrong way round, a 13 amp plug to a 16 amp socket, so I'd bought a 13 amp trailing socket in Wilko yesterday and made up a lead this morning.
I plugged the shoreline into the transformer, the new lead into the output and the circuit tester into the socket. All was well, three lights meaning that power was there and at the right pins. So I plugged the transformer output into the connector on the boat.
Those with any experience of engineering will know what happened.
Yup, it all worked as if there had never been a problem. Usual story, take everything to bits, find nothing wrong, put it back together, test it step by step and it's as if nothing had ever been wrong.
I'm not complaining, far from it, but isn't it weird how often that happens?
This afternoon saw a long phone conversation with Des about the new website (he's working wonders) and a gentle stroll round the marina, stopping for several useful conversations en route.


text:
School & University Fees – How a Pension Fund Could Help
· Paying education fees reduces the ability to fund for pensions.
· There are strategies to pay for education fees and fund a pension scheme using the same money,at reduced costs.
Paying school fees – reduced pension fund
The average costs of funding a private education and paying school fees will be about £250,000 and university fees a further £60,000 for a three year degree course (i.e. accommodation and living costs plus tuition fees) in today's terms. Paying for education fees can be more than you will pay for your mortgage, and leave you with a reduced pension.
Paying from after-tax income
Those who have not saved for school fees pay from after tax income, in the main. For a 40% taxpayer, to pay school fees of £15,000 requires pre-tax earnings of £25,000.
Using loans and repaying from pension fund tax-free cash
With a tax rate of (say) 40% and re-mortgage borrowing costs at (say) 3-4%, many will take out loans and use home equity to fund school fees. A useful strategy would be to increase pension contributions to create a larger pension fund, from pre-tax earnings. From age 55, the tax-free cash available from the pension fund can repay the loans taken earlier. This strategy also reduces the cost of school fees, and targets increased pension funding.
Tax treatment of personal pension fund contributions
Marginal rate of tax
Taxable earnings 2013-14
Action of pension contribution
Plus tax savings
20% - basic rate
No tax effect
Adds 20% of gross contribution to the pension fund
40% - higher rate
+£32,010
Expands the basic rate band by the amount of the contribution so that tax is paid at 20%
45% - additional rate
+£150,000
Personal allowance of £9,440+
Lost progressively with earnings over £100,000 - £118,880
Can restore personal allowance (and expand basic rate band)
In the 2013-14 tax year, the maximum annual pension contribution allowance is £50,000, and this drops to £40,000 in 2014-15. You are also limited to 100% of salary or taxable income, with a maximum of £50,000.
Practical Tip :
1.HMRC can pay your school fees bill if you take out a pension plan. You can borrow money at cheap rates now to cover the school fees, and repay the loan from pension fund tax-free cash from age 55.
2.With pension contribution carry forward rules, up to £200,000 can be contributed in this tax year.
Example – Funding school fees
John earns £100,000pa, is age 40 now and takes out a loan, with interest payments at 4%, for £100,000, repayable in 15 years' time, to cover school fees. If he had paid the school fees out of after-tax income, the marginal cost would be 35.6%, after tax. (He has to pay £25,000 a year for the next 4 years in school fees, and does not have a pension fund). The cost from after-tax income is £33,900pa, which totals £135,600).
Pension fund required in 15 years' time:£400,000
25% tax free cash£100,000
Monthly contribution£1,505 per month gross
(invested at 5% pa compound for 15 years)
Contribution made net (as HMRC adds 20%)£1,204 per month net
Plus 20% tax savings£301 per month
Total cost£903 per month
+ monthly mortgage loan payment at 4%£333 per month
· Pension Fund after tax free cash: £300,000
· School fees and loan paid £100,000
· Significant easing of cash flow
· More net disposable income available
· Tax savings of up to 40%
· If John earned more than £100,000, pension contributions can save his personal allowance
In the example above, the HMRC effectively pays your school fees bill, through its contributions and tax savings. However, as always with pensions and other investments, you should seek independent financial advice in advance.
Tony Granger


Today we have been "flooded" by opinion polls which, while not showing any overall deterioration in the Turnbull Coalition's polling, confirm its continued inability to effect any significant improvement in that polling. The state by state Newspoll for the February-March quarter also suggests there is a continued problem in Queensland, where the One Nation vote is much higher than in other states and has increased significantly since the 2016 election result (from 5.5 to 13 percent in the February- March quarter).
Because this state by state Newspoll only covers to the end of March it needs to treated with more than the usual reservation about polling. However, while it shows a slight increase on the previous quarter's 46/54, the Coalition's polling of 47/53 for the February-March on a TPP basis does not let the Coalition off the need to radically change its leadership and policies (the Australian's political editor, Simon Benson, mistakenly had the Coalition at 48/52).The poll remains well below its 2016 election result of 50.4/49.6 and suggests that there will not be an early election. The slight improvement in Turnbull's net satisfaction rate (to minus 20) may help but no change was recorded in his better PM rate of 40 (Shorten on 34).
Although the Coalition polling improved significantly in Queensland (from 45/55 to 49/51), that was way down on its election result of 54/46 and suggests an increased threat of seat loss in that state. But it has reportedly reached an agreement on preferences with One Nation, which should help but may require some agreement on energy policy and a difficulty with implementing the NEG. My recollection is that then LNP leader in Queensland did not have a preference deal with One Nation in his (lost) State election.
A separate Fairfax/Ipso poll for the first quarter of 2018 suggests that at 53/47 Labor is also ahead on the same basis as Newspoll. But by contrast with Newspoll, it shows Labor ahead in Queensland by 52/48. This has led the AFR's left political editor to suggest Labor could win up to 16 seats from the Coalition, including the seat of Home Affairs minister Dutton. But the AFR has become so left-wing that this opinion needs to be questioned.
Another separate poll in Victoria, where there is a State election in November, also shows Coalition problems with Labor which could carry over to the Federal election. The poll shows Labor ahead on a 51/49 TPP basis. However, low primary votes of 35.4 for Labor compared with 39.4 for the Coalition suggest uncertainty at this stage about exactly how preferences will be allocated. In that regard, it is the first time One Nation will participate in Victoria since 1999 and it got a 3.6 per cent primary vote in the poll. Also, the Coalition is well ahead (55.8% compared with 44.2%) on which party is judged best to maintain law and order. Against that, the Victorian media is pro Labor.
There is no doubt that a major cause of the poor Coalition polling outlined above reflects the failure of Turnbull and Energy minister Frydenberg to explain the causes of the increase in electricity prices and how the new proposal to supposedly handle energy policy will work in practice to get prices down. The address by Tony Abbott drew attention to the latter issue, which is increasingly concerning voters particularly those on lower incomes.
Turnbull is now close to a panic situation and his latest response is not only to claim that prices have already started to come down but that he has in effect commissioned the ACCC to publish on what has happened and what will happen. Today he is reported as stating that "an "illuminating" Australian Competition and Consumer Commission report on the electricity sector will be released this week and the same (but separate) report suggests that a Royal Commission might be established on whether prices are determined in a competitive framework (see Possible RC on Electricity Prices).
The attached report has Turnbull claiming "We've turned the corner on electricity prices," Mr Turnbull told reporters at Avebury Mine, in the north-west Tasmanian seat of Braddon on Monday. "You've seen price reductions across the east coast as a result of the policies of my government." Mr Turnbull pointed to measures to push down gas prices by moving to restrict exports and its own National Energy Guarantee as proof of action. "The NEG will provide a level playing-field, technology agnostic, certain environment for people to invest and deliver lower cost for generation over time," he said.
I am hoping to publish an analysis on prices but there is no doubt that it has become a major policy issue which Turnbull had tried to hide by claiming that "experts" will solve the problem by constructing a NEG. As I and others have already suggested, this is not the case (and the forced reduction in gas prices is not relevant to NEG). The fact that Turnbull felt is necessary today to say something about it, rather than his No2 Frydenberg, suggests he has at least realized that this is a problem which cannot easily be hidden away in a NEG which is likely to involve higher prices.
It seems unlikely that his colleagues have realized that it may be necessary to abandon the NEG approach in order to improve the Coalition's polling. Turnbull himself has a reputation for wanting to split the Liberal Party and may not be too concerned if he presides over a Coalition loss. Time to go now rather than at an election.


Beam Bugs are manufactured to order, so one has the advantages of colour and accessory choices. More importantly though, the buyer can monitor the progress of the Beam Bug during manufacture and see that we really do build the vehicle the way we say we do.
The fibreglass body parts are manufactured by us and we are very proud of the fact that we make the strongest fibreglass car parts on the market.
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We are often asked why we've always made only short wheel base buggies. The reason is simply that, in its standard form, the Beetle has the reinforced steel body to give the chassis rigidity. If the metal body is replaced with a fibreglass body, the long chassis loses rigidity, chassis flex occurs and the result is greatly reduced road holding ability. Shortening the chassis by 30 to 40cms, corrects the road holding.
Certificates Registration certificate (RC1) to show the buggy has been registered on the ENATIS (National Traffic Information System) and complies with roadworthy & police engine / chassis clearance requirements.
A number of optional extras are available as detailed below. Many of these are simply alternatives which replace features of the Standard Model. For example, the high back seat replaces the Standard Model low back seat.


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Peep Show at 15: how the cult British comedy broke the mould
Putting us directly in the heads of its leads, Channel 4's show jettisoned the conventions of the sitcom
By Mark Butler
The odd couple: Robert Webb and David Mitchell in their Peep Show days (Photo: Channel 4)
Peep Show seems, on the face of it, to offer a pretty standard sitcom premise.
Two flatmates – David Mitchell's stuffy, repressed Mark, and Robert Webb's immature, promiscuous Jez – live together in London, and we follow their mishaps, pratfalls and assorted adventures in love, work and friendship.
i's TV newsletter: what you should watch next
In its style, emphasis and execution however, Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong's acclaimed cult comedy, which began 15 years ago in 2003 and drew to a close in 2015, is far more distinctive.
In short, Peep Show truly breaks the mould.
A POV comedy, with uniquely intimate gags
The concept of Peep Show is simple yet inspired, as it takes us directly inside the vision and internal musings of its central odd-couple.
With the action almost entirely shot from the perspective of either protagonist, literally capturing their point-of-view with tight over-the-shoulder angles (and, for at least some of the show's running time, head-mounted cameras), the logistical challenges involved in creating and editing the comedy this way more than pay off.
Peep Show becomes a uniquely intimate experience that puts us directly in the heads of Mark and Jez – and jettisons the typical conventions of the sitcom.
This is something compounded and reinforced by the fact that we constantly hear the two main characters' thoughts and feelings, as their inner monologues comment directly over the action.
This persistent narration allows for some inspired and distinct humour, as Mark's neurotic worrying and Jez's childish, often bizarre day-dreaming tangents take hold. After all, what other TV show so frequently lets us know what its central characters are really thinking? What TV show captures the weirdest, deepest, darkest and most nonsensical mental-babble we all experience – rather than just what someone claims is on their mind?
It's hard to forget the time Jeremy (briefly) considered sexually assaulting Mark after drugging him with cough medicine, or – that very same episode – mused on forming a religious cult with the carpenter he hired to fix their bathroom door.
Another great thing about this steam-of-consciousness comedy is the way in which the two leads' thoughts so often contradict what they are doing or saying at the same time. A gag that runs right the way through until the very final episode's closing line.
An exploration of twenty and thirty-something angst
It also underlines just how afraid of opening up about their own honest feelings Mark and Jez are. And their hapless status as eternally frustrated, emotionally doomed late-Generation X-ers forms the crux of nine seasons of chaos.
They may share a flat, and get embroiled in hi-jinks, but Peep Show is a million miles away from the cosy chuckles of Friends, or the jocular likes of Men Behaving Badly.
Peep Show has been at the forefront of uncomfortable modern comedy dwelling on failure, missed opportunities and unfulfilled dreams; and through its principle characters it really hammers that home.
Not your average comedy leads (Photo: Channel 4)
Spanning a significant time period in the El Dude Brothers' lives, we're with them through their many trials, tribulations, humiliations and cock-ups. We're quite literally carried in their heads through some of the lowest, most spectacularly mis-judged times in their lives. Even when they're not burning and eating a dead dog, it's fair to say things rarely run smooth.
A recurring theme is their angst. Mark, talked out of pursuing a love of history by his bullying, overbearing father, is trapped in a tedious, unsatisfying corporate 'drone' job at a nondescript credit firm, with only his World War II books and video games offering occasional solace. (Later, Mark's career-path only gets more degrading and dispiriting, with a dream vocation dangled then promptly snatched away). In terms of love, he longs endlessly to encounter "the one", but is so emotionally crippled by his own hang-ups, pettiness and mistakes that his romantic endeavours form a string of relationship self-destruction.
Jez may initially seem carefree and unflustered by his slacker approach to life. Perennially under-employed, playing bongos in an aimless band with an ever-changing name ('Executioner's Bong' being one brief moniker), and sleeping with pretty much anyone in sight.
But as the seasons progress he gradually begins to realise life is leaving him behind. And while Peep Show never stops being funny, it's shot through with a genuine pathos that's rare for a sitcom.
Other comedies outstay their welcome when they become long-running. But Peep Show used that nine-season arc to do and say something about its central characters, and their messed-up lives.
Sensational supporting characters
Of course, Mark and Jez aren't in this mess alone. As well as the later likes of Dobby, some ever-present side characters make their appearances more than felt. And do so in fascinating ways.
Paterson Joseph's slick, motor-mouthed businessman Johnson – king of corporate bullsh** – is a compelling fixture of Mark's working life. Initially a sort of surrogate father-figure, occasionally a friend (the scene where he 'saves' Mark from imprisonment in his own bedroom is wonderful), sometimes a nemesis, he comes across as a vain and shallow blow-hard. The kind of guy who thinks integrating sales and marketing should be dubbed 'Project Zeus', and delegates all the real responsibility to his underlings.
And yet, over time, we get insights into personal issues (his past alcoholism, for example). All-round, he's far from your standard sitcom boss.
Olivia Colman's Sophie, meanwhile, offers a complete skewering of the love interest stereotype. In the hands of Colman, who has also proven herself to be a tremendous dramatic actress of course, Mark's long-time crush and eventual partner (for a time) proves a far from straight-forward girlfriend-in-waiting.
Sophie is often sweet, funny, bubbly and sensitive – an ideal antidote to Captain Corrigan's stuffiness – but there are also times when she is intensely selfish and irresponsible. Her relationship with Mark subverts the usual will-they-won't-they cliche of sitcoms. Here, they most definitely do – but both seem to prefer the idea of being in a relationship with the other rather than actually living it, resulting in a gradually unfolding disaster as Mark endeavours to marry her "out of embarrassment", and his eventual despicable actions lead her into a staggering downward spiral that Colman seizes on with drunken, toilet-hugging enthusiasm.
Then, of course, there's Super Hans, the wild-eyed, drug-addled pal of Jez whose finest hour arguably comes when he acquires a taste for hard narcotics ("that crack is really moreish") and threatens a man in his flat by messing with his cereal ("packet of Golden Crunchy Nut – rather expensive as I recall…").
Matt King's dry, matter-of-fact delivery contrasts so beautifully with the outrageous utterances that emit from his character's mouth. Such as the time Hans wanted to name a pub 'Free The Paedos' in order to make a "statement".
He's an interesting play on the 'cool/reckless best friend' trope. There's at once a seediness, edge and vulnerability to him, which sometimes laces his memorable outbursts with more sombre or unpleasant implications.
Worth catching up
Peep Show remained very much a cult proposition throughout its time on Channel 4; consistently netting around a million viewers for much of that time.
Despite and indeed perhaps because of its break from convention, it never quite made it through to mainstream heights.
Uncomfortable, surprising and most of all consistently hilarious, the show quite literally gave us a whole new perspective on comedy – as well as two unforgettable points-of-view.
All nine seasons of Peep Show are available to watch on All4 and Netflix UK.
• Have your say on the latest TV and film with Screen Babble, our discussion group on Facebook
Read more on Peep Show:
Peep Show's most outrageous episode, remembered
Peep Show to Silicon Valley: why we love the comedy of failure
50 of Peep Show's greatest quotes


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Cheirocratus bassi is een vlokreeftensoort uit de familie van de Cheirocratidae. De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort is voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 1982 door Barnard & Drummond.

Cheirocratidae

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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vip in the city
Tag: Sasquatch
Through the Cascades
Monday, May 26th, 2008 | All Things, Music, Travel
After last night's marathon Cure set – MT joked over breakfast coffee that Robert Smith was still on stage – there was an executive decision to be made. Although the Memorial Day lineup looked promising — including Jamie Lidell, Ghostland Observatory, The Hives, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Flight of the Conchords (of the HBO show), The Mars Volta and The Flaming Lips — ultimately we decided that for this, my first visit to the Pacific Northwest, it would be a pity to miss Seattle entirely.
Josh Bis (Science vs Romance) dutifully recaps Day 3 of Sasquatch on the KEXP blog. (More photo highlights of the festival here.) The talk of the final day was The Flaming Lips finale — a jolting spectacle which featured five fully nude women, U.F.O.s, Teletubbies, flashing lights, smoke machines, balloons, confetti and streamers. (Um, fully nude women. Link NSFW, obviously.)
So with most of the day left before I had to board the redeye home, we headed into the city. From Ellensburg, it was to be a two-hour drive east on Interstate 90, over Snoqualmie Pass (population: 201) and through the snow-crusted Cascade Mountains.
Emerald City, here we come!
Tags: Cascades, I-90, mountains, Sasquatch, Washington
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Sasquatch Festival: Day 2
Sunday, May 25th, 2008 | All Things, Music, Travel
Read more from Josh Bis on Sasquatch: Day 2 — same lineup, better pictures.
I arrived at the Gorge to catch the second half of Rogue Wave's set on the Wookie! stage. Later, we would see Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel, a.k.a., Mates of State here — that cute couple from Connecticut that was profiled in the issue of New York magazine I had in my backpack that afternoon.
We caught most of their set while waiting on line at the gear concessions stand. $40 for The Cure concert tee was deemed exorbitant — why, Bob? The millions you've made fetishing alienation and depression not enough for you? — but $25 for the limited edition festival t-shirt more reasonable. Or so we told ourselves.
As the sun shone brightly overhead, I dug into a Philly cheesesteak at the picnic area as The Blakes wrapped up their set on the Yeti! stage. (Why is it so difficult to eat healthily at these things? In my defense, it was at least not deep fried.) Afterwards, we could hear the sounds of The Presidents of the United States of America — truncated to "The Presidents" on the program — wafting over from the Sasquatch! stage. Now, I probably haven't thought about that particular band in about a decade, so their prominence here was a bit baffling to me. Sure, "Lump" and "Peaches" were catchy in a post-grunge novelty act sort of way, but that was 1995. Chalk it up to hometown nostalgia, I suppose. (In addition to playing the main stage, PUSA were featured glowingly — twice! — at the Experience Music Project rock museum in Seattle. But more on that later.)
I was pleasantly surprised by Michael Franti & Spearhead who brought the crowd to its feet with an extremely energetic set, sending both concert-goers and colorful beach balls bouncing up and down the hill.
Local favorites Death Cab for Cutie followed as the sun set, and the hordes really descended then, many no doubt looking to stake out prime floor spots for The Cure's closeout show. The boys opened with new material — we approve that DCFC "avoid[ed] the post-blowup letdown with a strong new album" — before settling into more familiar tunes from Transatlanticism and Plans. Frontman Ben Gibbard, clad in black, gave shoutouts to The Cure and to The Smiths, explaining his black-wearing "because black is what I feel on the inside," and because he was "so goddamn excited to see The Cure." (Join the club, Ben!) He dedicated "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" to them.
[DCFC will be playing McCarren Park Pool — with Rogue Wave — on June 10.]
Sasquatch-induced ADD dictated that I slip out about halfway through the set to catch singer/songwriter/guitarist Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks… if for no other reason than that Malkmus was once the lead singer of Pavement, whose Slanted and Enchanted (1992) was perhaps the Greatest Indie-Rock Album Ever. (Their 1994 follow-up Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (1994) fares well on that assessment as well.) Pavement, which went on hiatus in 1999, is "credited with leading the lo-fi indie-rock movement of the early '90s" and still serve as the inspiration for many modern rock bands hoping to succeed without the support of a major label.
Can't say I'm as big a fan of the post-Pavement oeuvre. The classic rock influences are more straightforward — extended guitar riffs and such — but every once in a while, in more reflective sections, you can still hear the hints of Malkmus' former sound.
Their set was late in getting started — lead-in The Kooks set them back by almost an hour — so by the time Malkmus and Co. took the stage, the excitement was palpable. No mystery over what many wanted to hear: I regularly heard shouts for Pavement songs, but most were satisfied with "Dragonfly Pie" and "Gardenia." Malkmus wasn't above teasing the audience either, remarking on how we were experiencing the nicest weather he'd ever seen at Sasquatch, although, "I heard that yesterday it was raining sideways… like, crooked rain." Boo!
It seems that rumors of a Pavement reunion tour have been greatly exaggerated — much like the Morrissey and Marr rematch, I suppose. We can still dream… though I do hope it happens before it's time to cash in my IRA.
After cutting out early again — really, I can count on one hand the number of full sets I caught this weekend — I found the main stage bathed in blue and violet lights for headliners The Cure, who finally emerged out of a rolling cloud of fog. Their September 2007 concert at MSG was rescheduled for my birthday in June when I'll be out of town, so I was particularly excited about this set.
Robert Smith did not disappoint: the setlist mined the band's extensive catalog, opening with new song "Underneath The Stars," followed by Disintegration's "Prayers For Rain" and Head on the Door's "A Night Like This," and continuing with a liberal sprinkling of the classics: "Lovesong," "To Wish Impossible Things," "Lullaby," "Fascination Street," "Hot Hot Hot!", "Inbetween Days"…. Predictably, "Just Like Heaven" had just about everyone in the still-thick crowd on their feet dancing. Just straightforward playing, though — no banter: unlike other performers who bounded giddily around the stage, Smith spent the entire time draped over the mic, letting his distinctive voice do all the work… and it did, holding up surprisingly well after all these many years. (In body, though, 49-year old Smith is noticeably heftier, and the thick Goth make-up did his face no favors, which may explain the paucity of close-ups on the large screens flanking the stage.)
As I gazed up into the almost clear night sky, through which a few stars managed to twinkle through, The Cure broke out the moody, sentimental combination of "Pictures Of You," "A Letter to Elise" and "From The Edge Of A Deep Green Sea" which nearly had me weeping, despite how many times I've heard those songs over the years.
I wish I could just stop
I know another moment will break my heart
I was probably — no, almost definitely — the biggest Cure devotee among our small group, and well into the band's third(!) hour of playing, my friends were getting restless. By the time the second encore of old-school tunes launched — a run of "Boys Don't Cry," "Jumping Someone Else's Train," and "Grinding Halt" — The Cure had been on stage for nearly two and a half hours. At one point, Smith promised (threatened?) to play until dawn, and though I probably could have stayed on to see him take up that challenge, enough was enough. We made our way to the parking field to the strains of "10:15 Saturday Night" missing only the 31st song: "Killing An Arab."
Going into this weekend, I hadn't known what to expect from Sasquatch — the "circus of grossness" had been a distinct possibility — but this experience far exceeded my expectations. It was even worth missing the Brooklyn Bridge's 125th birthday celebrations back at home. Aside from the occasional errant whiff (fully anticipated), the crowd was remarkably respectful. Or maybe just happily baked — who's to say? A big plus was that by carefully monitoring my liquid intake, I managed to avoid the dreaded Honey Buckets altogether… perhaps the festival accomplishment of which I am most (dubiously) proud. That and squeezing my way to the front of The Breeders show on Day 1.
Revisiting old favorites and discovering new sounds were the primary reasons for attending, but the best moments I found were not the times spent rushing among the Sasquatch!, Wookie! and Yeti! stages, but the stretches spent just laying in the sun, enjoying the natural beauty of the gorge and the company of my friends. Throw in a plate of freshly fried dough and a frozen lemonade slushy, and it just doesn't get any better.
Full Sasquatch Festival 2008 set on flickr.
Tags: festival, Music, Sasquatch, Washington
Saturday, May 24th, 2008 | All Things, Events, Music, Travel
After parking the Cruiser in an open grassy field with a view of the crowded campgrounds in the distance, I strolled up to the entry gate with my new Escalada backpack in tow, stuffed with an ice-filled water bottle, Luna bars, sunglasses, sunscreen, umbrella, sweatshirt, towel, binoculars… all of which I would need over the course of our near-10 hour marathon of music. (Thanks to B who wisely advised that a Kate Spade tote would not do in this situation.)
Filing in among the 22,000 sell-out crowd. A somewhat diverse group, agewise — festival headliners were R.E.M., The Cure, and The Flaming Lips, after all — but ethnically… well, not so very. College students, neo-hippies (the ones who weren't at the Northwest Folklife Festival taking place the same weekend at Seattle Center), hipsters and yuppies seemed to comprise the major cliques, with a few music industry people thrown into the mix.
The weather reports predicted rain on and off this weekend, but by 2PM, the sun was shining brightly, baking the Gorge in a summer-like heat.
Josh Bis (science vs. romance) offers a terrific write-up of the festival's first day on the KEXP blog along with plenty of photos taken from a much better vantage point than mine. As it turned out, he and I had almost identical concert schedules — impressive considering the 50+ acts on three stages over the two (of three) days I attended. In roughly decreasing order of profile, performers played back-to-back on the Sasquatch! Main Stage, set directly in front of a stunning canyon/river backdrop, the Wookie! [sic] Stage in the meadow and the Yeti! Stage in the plaza, adjacent to the picnic tables.
This would be our primary view for the next two days:
We arrived at the main stage just in time for one of CF's festival highlights: Beirut (Zach Condon) playing an Eastern European inflected set of "spooky gypsy music."
Up-and-coming Athens, Georgia trio The Whigs, who rocked it out at SXSW in March, were on tour promoting their second album "Mission Control (released on Dave Matthews' label.) CF and I caught the last couple of songs of their energetic set as we made our rounds through the Gorge grounds, stopping for a pair of frozen lemonade slushies, which were absolute perfection on this bright, warm afternoon.
As we spread out on the grassy knoll during Ozomatli — one of the jammier bands in the lineup — we heard what we thought were speakers blaring Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line" from the third Yeti! stage. NO excitedly informed us that the rich baritone actually… improbably… belonged to Vince Mira — a scrawny Latino teenager from Seattle, who drew an awestruck crowd and became the talk of the festival that day. (Seriously: check out Mira's appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show; this kid will blow your mind.)
We headed over to check it out and caught Canadian songstress Kathleen Edwards — hailed as "one of the most distinctive singer-songwriters to emerge in years" — playing a prettily earnest alt-country set, accompanying herself on violin.
Rainn Wilson (The Office's Dwight Kurt Schrute), who was at the Festival promoting his upcoming film, The Rocker, had the unenviable task of announcing that The National would not be appearing due to a broken-down tour bus. Disappointed murmurs all around. In their stead we had the capable Fleet Foxes, making their second appearance of the day after opening the main stage at noon.
Then more Canadian action: The New Pornographers, who played a set culled heavily from "Challengers" and "Twin Cinema." To our delight, Neko Case was up on stage; likewise Dan Bejar, whose other band Destroyer had just finished playing a Wookie! Stage set. The Pornos' cover of ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down" was one of the best set-closers of the day.
By the time M.I.A. came onto Sasquatch! stage, anticipation was high; Maya had to drop out of last year's line-up due to visa issues, but overall, I was somewhat disappointed by this (very loud) set. All of which made the decision to skip out for a fried dough break all the easier.
Mmm… elephant ears — so devoid of nutritional value, yet so utterly delicious. The flaky pancakes of fried dough, dusted with cinnamon or powdered sugar fresh from the deep fryer, were the culinary hit of the festival, judging by the near-constant line at the concession stands. Though had it not been for that line, we may not have gotten wind of the unannounced appearance by The National, who finally made it on site, and were given over the Yeti! stage to perform. Word of their impromptu concert spread wildly as fan Rainn Wilson good-naturedly roasted the boys from Brooklyn in his introduction, citing diva pique as their reason for failing to perform earlier.
At one point Zach Condon (Beirut) wandered over, and I went into paparazzi mode.
So much music, so little time. Riveted by lead singer Matt Berninger's deep velvet voice, we ended up abandoning our plans to check out Austin's Okkervil River — listen to the NPR piece about them here — before finally making our way to the Wookie! Stage to stake out spaces for The Breeders close-out set. Yes, The Breeders! That set created probably our biggest dilemma of the evening: Modest Mouse was playing simultaneously, and though I had looked forward to catching former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, I could not pass up the rare opportunity to see Pixies bassist Kim Deal. (And in fact, Modest Mouse will be opening for R.E.M with The National at Jones Beach in mid-June — tickets still available, $39.00-$1,098.00.) Truly an unexpected treat to see the Deal twins, whom we know have had their issues in the past, even as the cloud cover (which had been building since late afternoon) finally gave way to intermittent drizzling rain.
"Cannonball" still rocks — 15(!) years later.
We had to tear ourselves away from The Breeders show (where I'd wended my way through a gaggle of under-aged drinkers to within five feet of the stage) to catch the beginning of R.E.M.'s set. By then, the sopping chill had settled in — probably 30 degrees off the peak afternoon temps — and the hardy fans who remained huddled for warmth on the hill as Michael Stipe and Co. took to the rain-slicked stage. Calling out support to Barack Obama, and doffing his socks and shoes, a pinstripe-suited Stipe, backed ably by Peter Buck, proved the case for the band's longevity, playing a tight, hard-driving set that successfully integrated new material with their early and late-era classics. "Drive," "Losing My Religion," and "The One I Love" invited audience sing-alongs as "Orange Crush" and "Man on the Moon" closed out the nearly two-hour set.
Tags: Music, Sasquatch, The Gorge, Washington
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Happy Halloween from Paper Nest Dolls!!
Good morning PaperNest Doll fans! I am starting off my Christmas cards already...or is it finally?!
Either way, the new Elf Emma with Reindeer is the perfect image to get started with. There's also Elf Owen with Reindeer among many other adorable Christmas images.
I colored Elf Emma with Reindeer with Copic markers. The color combinations are listed below.
Today i'm sharing this super sweet creation using NEW Hip Hop Amara !I love all the little dies , they coordinate perfect.
Sharing with you the adorable Friends Forever image. I created this card with a very sweet friend in mind...hope she adores it as much as I do!
Emma with Squirrel by Sean!!
Today i'm sharing this sweet card that Tamara Potocnik made for Hochanda , the UK Craft TV Show. Paper Nest Dolls did a show with them a couple months ago. I love how she combined both rubber animal sets....elephants & hippos.
I forgot to show you this card a few months ago...sorry!
It's that time of year when all the kiddos are back in school! With the school buses passing by the house every morning, I thought it would be fun to create a back to school card for my granddaughter. I instantly knew I would use the super sweet image called School Girl Avery.
NEW Friends Forever ! I love all the girly details on this card..
you can get the digital image here.
Good morning! I am back with another Hippo card! This time I have used Hippo Ballerina.
I am loving these tiny hippos! You can make beautiful card layouts with such little images.
Again, the image is colored with Copic markers.
Hello everyone, Irene here with another Card from Paper Nest Dolls!!
For my Card I use Prismacolor Pencils and some Echo Park Paper Pad.
Thank you for stopping by!!!! Have a creative and inspirational Day!!!!!


ATHABASKAN's lucky number seems to be three. Built at Davie Shipbuilding in Lauzon Quebec, she was the third of name, the third of her class and the third to complete the TRUMP modernization program. The ship was launched on November 27, 1970 and commissioned on November 30, 1972. Her primary weapons were anti-submarine in nature and these included mortars, homing torpedoes and two CH-125 Sea King helicopters armed with torpedoes. The Sea King is an all-weather aircraft which can operate at speeds up to 150 knots. For defence against air and surface threats, the Tribal was fitted with the Sea Sparrow missile system and a 5"54 calibre gun. Both of these systems were radar controlled. In order to combat any threat she may meet, the Tribal has been designed to operate under the most adverse conditions. She is insulated and air conditioned for the fighting efficiency and comfort of her crew. The ship can be sealed against nucleur, biological or chemical attack with the provision for recirculation of air within the ship through the air conditioning plants.
On 24th August 1990, after being quickly fitted with a Phalanx mount positioned on a platform over the VDS well, ATHABASKAN accompanied by the destroyer TERRA NOVA and the supply ship PROTECTEUR, sailed for the Persian Gulf to support a multi-national naval blocade following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. There, as a flagship of Canada's naval Task Group, she enforced United Nations sanctions and later participated in Operation Desert Storm, the campaign to liberate Kuwait. By March 1991, ATHABASKAN was on her way back to Halifax. On 6th September 1991, she set sail to Davie Shipyard , Lauzon, Quebec to commence her TRUMP conversion.
When the conversion was completed, the ship now had an advanced anti-sumarine capabibility and a supportive area air defence command and control. The latter was achieved through the installation of the vertically launched surface-to air "Standard" missle system. Complementing this are the Oto Melara 76mm super rapid gun mount and the Phalanx 20mm Close-in-Weapon System (CIWS).
The electronic and electrical systems in ATHABASKAN are among the most modern in the world today. A computer driven command and control center gathers data from the ship's sensors and automatically displays this information in the operations room. In order to power all this equipment and the environmental systems, the ship is capable of producing 3,250 kilowatts of power, enough to maintain a community of 32,000 people. Notwithstanding the excellence of the command and control systems, the ship's effectivness still depends upon the Officers and crew who sail her. Modern equipment and tactical development have increased rather than diminshed their role.
Please refer to IROQUIS 280 for additional information regarding weaponry and performance data.
Athabaskan before her TRUMP conversion. The characteristic angle of the port funnel is very apparent in this RCN photo.


VOX editor Ruth Garvey-Williams and her husband Andrew are travelling around Ireland asking, "What is God doing in Ireland today?" Along the way, they meet inspirational people who are living out their faith in real life. This blog brings a round up of each day's journey! There will be much more in the summer edition of the magazine.
After an early start, we enjoyed the straight-forward drive into Cork city, with remarkably little traffic. First stop in the new premises of Grace Church and a chance to catch up with Pastor Tom Burke. Two hours fly by as we tour the wonderful premises, which has been beautifully refitted with great attention to detail and then sit and share our hearts over a cup of coffee.
On Easter Sunday, the church celebrated its first service in the new building with over 1,000 people in attendance. The building has been leased from another church and with 20 years worth of savings, the church was able to complete the refurbishment and move in debt free. "This is only a means to an end." Tom shares. "We've never been about buildings. We're about people! But this space will allow us to do things we could not do before and we've got loads of plans!"
Talking about his own relationship with Jesus, Tom shares, "He calms me down and He inspires me. He gives me a richeness and a depth to everyday life. Even here now, it's like he's sitting right here with us. Who wouldn't want that sense of His presence?"
Watch out for the next issue of VOX for more from our conversation with Tom!
From Cork city, an hour's drive brings us to an entirely different world. The kettle is on in the small bookshop-come-church in the rural town of Millstreet! We enjoy a much-needed cuppa and a slice of wheaten enjoying the lively banter around the table. Laurence Graham, the Methodist minister who has been working in a large stretch of north Cork and Kerry describes how several small new groups of believers have sprung up in different places.
"The Lighthouse" opens up every Thursday morning offering cups of tea and the chance to browse Christian books and a selection of cards and gifts. This morning, Eileen, Mags, Clare and Jasmine have all been helping out and they are eager to chat about their little church and their love for God!
Laurence, Eileen, Mags, Jasmine and Clare from The Lighthouse in Millstreet.
Mags tells us, "From the moment I wake in the morning and open my eyes, I just know Jesus is there. It is like breathing!"
Clare explains, "I've got to know Jesus as my best buddy. I cannot be pessimistic because I have Him there to lead me and comfort me. I just know my life is better and I think other people see a change in me, too."
Another half an hour and we arrive in Killarney, Co Kerry to enjoy a late lunch with Ed and Jean Ritchie. Ed, a retired hospital consultant, is 83 years old and Jean is 78. We are treated to an amazing feast starting off with a wonderful new taste - homemade lovage soup! But the feast is not just the food... it is the breath-taking privilege of listening to two people who have spent a lifetime quietly living what they believe!
"In 2001, we did not know whether I was going to survive," Jean shared. "I remember lying in bed critically ill. I think it makes me appreciate that I'm on extended time - God was so gracious. He must have had some purpose."
For Ed and Jean, that new purpose was to move to Killarney to bring new life to a Methodist church in the centre of town. Working together, with a shared passion and vision, has been one of the great joys of the last years. After seeing Killarney grow to be a thriving congregation, Ed and Jean "retired" again - this time to see another church established in Kenmare. "These years have been very precious," Jean added.
After the final one-and-a-half hour drive of the day, we arrive in Fermoy back in Co Cork where we are to stay at the home of William and Sharon Montgomery from the local Presbyterian church. We are once again welcomed with generous hospitality and after a meal we are joined by others from the small church that has become like a 'family'. "We average around 22 to 25 on a Sunday morning. There is a mini revival if we hit the 30 mark (we call it a blue chair day because we have to put out the blue plastic chairs!)," they explain.
One of the joys of recent years has been running an annual children's summer camp and youth programme. The camp has proved so popular that they had to 'cap' it at 120 children! Another joy has been the good relationship between different churches in the town - a sense of love and respect that has overflowed into joint projects such as the Alpha course.
As many share what God means in their lives, Sue sums it up with a reminder, "It's not about us - all the glory goes to God!"


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New York, Workers Compensation
Defining "Similar Worker" In New York.
July 22, 2016 Lois LLC
As per NY Workers' Compensation Law § 14(1), a "claimant's average daily wage is used in determining his or her annual average wage only when such claimant has worked in the same job for substantially all of the year preceding his or her injury."
So what happens when the employee has worked for less than 52 weeks or if it is a brand new company? Let's explore.
In today's economy it is very rare to find employees working in the same company, or even in the same industry for prolonged periods of time. There is a lot of mobility, where employees are constantly jumping from company to company in search of different working conditions and better career opportunities. So when your new employee is injured, how do you find an appropriate payroll substitute for purposes of submitting similar worker payroll the Board?
The "Similar Worker."
Let's start by defining "similar worker."
NY Workers' Compensation Law § 14 (2) provides some insight:
If the injured employee shall not have worked in such employment during substantially the whole of such year, his average annual earnings, if a six-day worker, shall consist of three hundred times the average daily wage or salary, and, if a five-day worker, two hundred and sixty times the average daily wage or salary, which an employee of the same class working substantially the whole of such immediately preceding year in the same or in a similar employment in the same or a neighboring place shall have earned in such employment during the days when so employed;(emphasis supplied)
As, such, it appears the similar worker must be of the same "class", working in the same or similar employment, in the same geographical location, and working the same number of days.
As an example, your only full-time janitor, whom you hired a week ago, is injured. The employer will need to provide the payroll of another full time employee working in similar job, perhaps in the maintenance, labor and repair department, working in the same geographical vicinity as your injured worker.
It should be noted that New York Workers' Compensation Law § 14 (2) is not intended for employees whose salary is based almost exclusively on earned commissions, since the income from commissions of one employee does not reasonably represent the annual earning capacity of an injured employee earning commissions. As such, a similar worker payroll cannot be found to be representative of the earning capacity of an injured employee whose earnings were based on commissions, and the injured employees wages cannot be based on the "similar worker" payroll in these circumstances. See Matter of Sacco v Mast Adv./Publ., 71 AD3d 1304, 1307 [3rd Dept. 2010].
What do you do if you are a new company and do not have any employees who have worked for a full 52 weeks prior to the date of accident of your injured employee?
Workers' Compensation Law § 14 (3) directs that, where neither of the methods set forth in subdivisions (1) and (2) can "reasonably and fairly be applied," a claimant's average weekly wage must be computed based on "such sum as … shall reasonably represent the annual earning capacity of the injured employee in the employment in which he [or she] was working at the time of [his or her] accident." Matter of Sacco v Mast Adv./Publ., 71 AD3d 1304, 1307 [3rd Dept. 2010].
Under this subdivision, the Board has discretion to interpret what represents the reasonable annual earning capacity of the injured employee. The Board may use claimant's own limited wages to determine earning capacity by applying a multiplier. Case law suggests that in some instances the Board combined claimant's wages for the year prior to the accident with an amount earned by another in similar employment during the time the claimant did not have earnings. See Hall v Nell Bros. & Kern, 246 A.D. 875, 284 N.Y.S. 900, 1936 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 9941 (N.Y. App. Div.), aff'd, 272 N.Y. 540, 4 N.E.2d 726, 272 N.Y. (N.Y.S.) 540, 1936 N.Y. LEXIS 1034 (N.Y. 1936).
Practical Advice.
It is important to note that the Board has previously held the employer responsible for submitting a similar worker payroll when the injured employee has worked for less than 52 weeks. The Court
has applied the standard of "known or should have known" to the employer when discussing employer's responsibility of providing a similar worker's payroll. In Matter of Holloway v. West St. Trucking, , where the claimant did not seek modification of his average weekly wage for nearly 15 years, the Court held that the delay did not prejudice the employer (who has since destroyed the records of employee payroll from 15 years prior), since the employer knew or should have known at the outset of the claim that the claimant had worked for less than 52 weeks prior to the date of the accident. Also, see Matter of Sacco v Mast Adv./Publ., 71 AD3d 1304, 1307 [3rd Dept. 2010] citing the Holloway v. West St. Trucking 14 AD3d at 817).
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Bio fuel, Eco Obsolete Technology (EOT) and Regenerative braking are the top emerging environmental technologies to look out for.
There will definitely be oil in the ground in 150 years' time, but whether humans will be able access it or not is an entirely different matter. That's bad news when you consider that in 2014 the US alone consumed 19.1 million barrels of oil per day. Unsurprisingly, alternatives are being tested all the time. Ingredients range from sugarcane to bacteria and even turkey entrails.
One alternative to fossil fuels is bio-hydrocarbon fuel. These are a biomass of plants with high fatty acid content, mixed with hydrogen using a catalyst, such as cobalt.
In 2009, Japan Airlines became the first commercial airline to complete a flight using a biofuel mix. The biofuel used was made from a plant called Camelina sativa, commonly referred to as wild flax, and used in a 50/50 mix with regular jet engine fuel - kerosene.
With diverse research into the field of biofuels and pressure from governments for automotive and aerospace manufacturers to start incorporating the potential of biofuels into designs, it won't be too long until we see more movement on this front.
In addition, it's likely that biofuels will start to penetrate a more diverse range of industries. For example, diesel generators were traditionally used as backup and standby power supplies, but we are now seeing the more economical natural gas generators being used in their place. It's only a matter of time before biofuels usurp these as well.
EOT refers to obsolete industrial automation that still meets current energy efficiency standards, despite not being produced or supported by the manufacturer anymore. Eco obsolete technology is playing a major role keeping industry compliant with energy regulations.
International standards, such as ISO 50001 and programmes like the European Ecodesign Directive and the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS), have meant more and more dated technology has fallen by the wayside because it doesn't match up to efficiency standards.
However, the phenomenon of planned obsolescence - a pre-designed lifespan of a product by a manufacturer – also means useful technology is becoming obsolete faster than ever before.
The word obsolete tends to conjure up wrong assumptions. Contrary to popular belief, it does not mean defective, broken or archaic. The term obsolete simply means no longer produced or supported by the manufacturer - who probably has a new product they'd like you to upgrade to.
Using eco obsolete technology has many green benefits for companies. As well as meeting energy efficiency guidelines, the technology ensures less obsolete inverters, human machine interfaces (HMIs) and motors end up in landfills.
One energy efficient technology that has actually been around for a while, but is yet to fully catch on, is regenerative braking. The technology converts kinetic energy that would have been wasted in a traditional braking system, into electric energy that can be used immediately or stored for later.
Regenerative braking applications are common in heavy engineering, mining, transport, elevators and other applications required to do a lot of braking and restarting. The mechanism is extremely prevalent in electric and hybrid vehicles where the energy is stored in the batteries and there are even plans to introduce it into aircraft landing gear.
A lesser-known fact is that regenerative braking can also be used in industry to save energy and money. For example, by using a regenerative unit in applications that employ continuous braking, such as engine test stands, transmissions and power plants, you can regenerate the braking energy of the driven system, and feed it back into the network.
The units use a feed-in tariff similar to the ones found on domestic and semi-commercial wind turbines, to allow companies to charge the electricity supplier for the excess returned power, should the building not use the energy locally.
When energy efficiency regulations become more stringent - and they will - we believe more and more companies in industry will turn to regenerative units instead of braking resistors. As demand increases, so too will competition, which should result in cheaper regenerative braking units for all.
The end goal is for industry to become as energy efficient as possible. Nobody likes waste, especially when it can be avoided and so it's a positive step forward to know efficient technologies and ideologies are emerging all the time. In truth, we could have mentioned 20 eco technologies in this article, but thought it best to keep it efficient.
European Automation stocks and sells new, used, refurbished and obsolete industrial automation spares. Its global network of preferred partner warehouses, and wholly owned distribution centers, enables it to offer a unique service within the automation industry, spanning the entire globe. It provides worldwide express delivery on all products meaning it can supply any part, to any destination, at very short notice.


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Q: Creating an euclidean distance matrix of tensors I have 10000 of matrixes with the shape (32, 32, 3). I want to create an euclidean distance matrix between all the matrixes. At the end, it is going to be like,
[0, d2, d3, d4, ...]
[d1, 0, d3, d4, ...]
[d1, d2, 0, d4, ...]
[d1, d2, d3, 0, ...]

How I can make it in the fastest way? I have tried the following, but it takes ages to finish.
import numpy as np
dists = []
for a in range(len(X_test)):
    dists.append([])
    for b in range(len(X_test)):
        dists[a].append(np.linalg.norm(X_test[a] - X_test[b]))
print dists

A: You can cut the time in half by exploiting the fact that the distance matrix is symmetrical and only compute the upper triangular portion by using using
for b in range(a+1, len(X_test)):

on line 5.
I don't see any other obvious optimizations while keeping the problem exactly the same, but it also seems that you're working with 32x32 images in a three channel format. That's 3072 dimensions! Why not first down-sample to 4x4, convert to HSL color space, and keep only Hue and Lightness to get a (4,4,2) "signature" for each image. If your problem is mostly about shape, you can throw away Hue too and basically work with black-and-white images.
(4,4,2) has only 32 dimensions, for a savings of 100 compared to (32,32,3). And if you did want to do the full comparison in the (32,32,3) space, you could do that only on images that are already very similar in the (4,4,2) space.

A: I have read Divakar comment.
Rather than asking "Show me Divakar" I asked myself "What is this pdist/cdist stuff?" — I read about pdist and norm and I came out with the following code
Import stuff:
In [1]: import numpy as np
In [2]: from scipy.spatial.distance import pdist

Generate a random sample, not necessarily as large as the OP's one, and reshape it as suggested by Divakar
In [3]: a = np.random.random((100,32,32,3))
In [4]: b = a.reshape((100,32*32*3))

Using the magic of IPython, let's benchmark the two approaches
In [5]: %%timeit
   ...: dists = []
   ...: for i in range(len(a)):
   ...:     dists.append([])
   ...:     for j in range(len(a)):
   ...:         dists[i].append(np.linalg.norm(a[i] - a[j]))
128 ms ± 337 µs per loop (mean ± std. dev. of 7 runs, 10 loops each)
In [6]: %timeit pdist(b)
12.3 ms ± 252 µs per loop (mean ± std. dev. of 7 runs, 100 loops each)

Divakar's was 1 order of magnitude faster — but what about the accuracy?
Let's repeat the computations...
In [7]: dists1 = []
   ...: for i in range(len(a)):
   ...:     dists1.append([])
   ...:     for j in range(len(a)):
   ...:         dists1[i].append(np.linalg.norm(a[i] - a[j]))
In [8]: dists2 = pdist(b)

To compare the results, we must be aware that pdist computes only the upper triangle of the square matrix of distances (because the matrix is symmetric and the principal diagonal is identically equal to zero) so we must be careful in checking our results: hence I check the off diagonal part of the first row of dists1 with the first 99 elements of dists2 using allclose
In [9]: np.allclose(dists1[0][1:], dists2[:99])
Out[9]: True

The result is the same, nice.
What about an estimate of the time required for 10,000 elements? The feeling is that's quadratic, but let's experiment doubling the number of elements
In [10]: b = np.random.random((200,32*32*3))
In [11]: %timeit pdist(b)
48 ms ± 97.7 µs per loop (mean ± std. dev. of 7 runs, 10 loops each)
In [12]:

the new timing is 4 times the initial one, so my estimate for your computation, on my feeble pc and using Divakar's proposal, is 12ms x 100 x 100 = 120,000ms = 120s.  You should read carefully the excellent answer by olooney and decide what you really want to do.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Uniqueness of Laplace equation by energy method. Is there any energy method to show the uniqueness of the Laplace equation(2D)?
I can show easily the uniqueness of the Laplace equation with the Dirichlet conditions by using Green's identity. But I want to know that, Do we have any energy method? (Like we have an energy method to prove the uniqueness of heat and wave equations.) If it is then please specify!