text:
Coalition Applauds $38 Million Investment in Conservation and Recreation Projects
December 6, 2013 // by Paul Doerwald
For Immediate Release: December 6, 2013
Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition Applauds
$38 Million Investment in Conservation and Recreation Projects Statewide
Coalition Highlights Importance of Maintaining and Expanding Funding for Future Projects
(HARRISBURG, PA) The Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition, the largest coalition of conservation, recreation and preservation organizations in the Commonwealth, today applauded the investment of $38 million in grants to support conservation and recreation projects statewide, and highlighted the importance of maintaining and expanding funding for future projects.
"The Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition applauds the state's approval of $38 million in grants that will be used to support critical conservation and recreation projects in nearly every county throughout the Commonwealth," said Andrew Heath, executive director of the Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition. "These grants remind us of the importance of maintaining and expanding funding to protect vital natural resources that provide numerous economic and quality of life benefits."
The grants were awarded through the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, which is
supported with funds from a variety of sources that include The Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund, Growing Greener Environmental Stewardship Fund and the Pennsylvania Heritage Areas Program.
The following are examples of projects that have received grant funding:
Natural Lands Trust will receive a grant of $834,500 to acquire and preserve a 234-acre stretch along Ridgeway Road within the Schuylkill Highlands in Berks County. The preserved forestland, which provides habitat and recreational opportunities, will eventually be transferred to the PA Bureau of Forestry.
The Nature Conservancy will receive more than $306,000 to acquire approximately 110 acres within the Tannersville Cranberry Bog in Monroe County, for habitat and wetland bog protection.
Pennsylvania Recreation & Park Society will receive $185,000 to provide recreation and park outreach and education.
Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry & Tourism was awarded a grant of $183,500 to provide technical assistance to partner organizations on the development of trails and greenways in Venango and Crawford Counties, to facilitate the construction of the Oil Creek Memorial Landing and to install signage along a segment of the Erie-to-Pittsburgh Trail.
Allegheny Ridge Corporation will receive $200,000 to implement the Kiski Valley Outdoor Connections Plan, which include coordination of two trail acquisitions, installation of signage on regional trail systems and construction of boating accesses in Huntingdon County.
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy will receive a grant of $110,000 to acquire approximately 48 acres along River Road in Confluence Borough to be used for forest protection and recreational opportunities.
"Investments in conservation contribute to the long-term economic success of Pennsylvania and to the health and well-being of its residents," said Molly Morrison, president of Natural Lands Trust. "These grants will allow Natural Lands Trust to preserve hundreds of acres of land—from rural Berks County to the Mt. Airy neighborhood in Philadelphia—that will protect important wildlife habitat and provide ecreational opportunities now and for years to come."
According to a recent survey from the Center for Survey Research at Penn State Harrisburg, 92 percent of 608 Pennsylvanians surveyed think that state funds dedicated to preserving farmland and
open space, providing parks and trails and protecting rivers and streams should continue to be used for these purposes.
In addition, the survey found that nearly 78 percent of respondents support increasing state funds to conserve and protect open space, clean water, natural areas, wildlife habitats, parks, historic sites, forests and farms even if would cost the average household $10 more annually. These high levels of support are constant throughout every geographic region and every gender, ethnic, educational and economic demographic throughout the state.
Regional Coalition Releases:
* Southeast Pennsylvania
* Northeast Pennsylvania
* Central Pennsylvania
* Southwest Pennsylvania
* Northwest Pennsylvania
Governor's Release
List of Projects Funded by County
Category: 2013 ReleasesTag: homepage_feature
100,000 Acres Preserved
The Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition congratulates the Lancaster County Agricultural Preserve Board and the Lancaster Farmland Trust in their ability to preserve 100,000 of agricultural lands in Lancaster County.
County's Farmland Preservation Movement Celebrates a Milestone: 100,000 Acres Saved
Coalition Celebrates Marcellus Shale Legacy Grants
November 27, 2013 // by Paul Doerwald
For Immediate Release: November 26, 2013
Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition Celebrates Approval of Marcellus Legacy Fund Grants for Recreation and Critical Land and Water Conservation Projects
(HARRISBURG, PA) The Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition, the largest coalition of conservation, recreation and preservation organizations in the Commonwealth, today celebrated the approval of more than $28 million in Marcellus Legacy Fund grants to support recreation and critical land and water protection efforts throughout the state.
"These grants will have a lasting impact on the Commonwealth by supporting vital projects that will protect watersheds, preserve open space, mitigate flooding, build and improve recreational trails and treat contaminated water at former mining sites, said Andrew Heath, executive director of the Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition.
Impact fees on natural gas drilling have generated more than $400 million to date. Forty percent of the fees collected is allocated to the Marcellus Shale Legacy Fund and a portion of that is distributed in the form of grants from the Commonwealth Financing Authority [CFA] to support statewide conservation and recreation efforts. This initial round of grants distributed more than $28 million in grants.
The Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition was instrumental in ensuring that funds collected through the Marcellus Legacy Fund be made available for statewide conservation and recreation projects.
A breakdown of the grants distributed by the CFA is as follows:
$5.6 million to restore streams impaired by polluted runoff in 18 counties.
$16 million to support 116 greenway, trail and recreation projects throughout the state.
$5.2 million to support 12 abandoned mine drainage abatement and treatment projects statewide.
$700,000 to support flood mitigation projects in Blair, Bucks, Lackawanna and Northumberland counties.
$225,000 to plug orphaned and abandoned wells in Allegheny and Washington counties.
"The Marcellus Legacy Fund was created to help support important environmental protection efforts statewide and in local communities, and we're glad to see that its impact is starting to be felt," Heath said. "This first round of grant awards will go a long way to improving environmental outcomes and upholding Pennsylvania's status as a great place to live and work."
Cindy Dunn Named President/CEO of PennFuture
November 4, 2013 // by Paul Doerwald
For Immediate Release: November 4, 2013
Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition Congratulates Cindy Adams Dunn on Appointment as President and CEO of PennFuture
(HARRISBURG, PA) The Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition, the largest coalition of conservation, recreation and preservation organizations in the Commonwealth, today issued the following statement from Executive Director Andrew Heath congratulating Cindy Adams Dunn on her appointment as President and CEO of PennFuture:
"Cindy Dunn is an excellent choice as the chief executive of PennFuture and the Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition congratulates her on this prestigious appointment.
"Cindy has decades of experience in outdoor recreation, conservation of natural resources, environmental protection and will be a strong leader for PennFuture, an organization that has a track record of success in enforcing environmental laws and advocating for strong environmental and public health policies.
"Since 2008, the Growing Greener Coalition has been working with groups like PennFuture to protect land, water, wildlife and historic sites. We look forward to working with Cindy and her colleagues at PennFuture to enhance the health and economic well-being of communities throughout the state by advocating for funding to support the protection of land, water, wildlife and air quality."
About the Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition
The mission of the Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition is to enhance the health and economic well-being of communities across the Commonwealth by advocating for funding to conserve, protect and restore land, water and wildlife, to preserve farms and historic places, and to provide well-managed parks and recreational areas throughout the state. Established in 2008, the Coalition comprises local, regional and statewide conservation, recreation and preservation groups. For more information, visit www.PaGrowingGreener.org.
25th Anniversary of Farmland Preservation
October 10, 2013 // by Paul Doerwald
For Immediate Release: October 10, 2013
Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition Congratulates Department of Agriculture
on 25th Anniversary of Farmland Preservation Program
(HARRISBURG, PA) The Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition, the largest coalition of conservation, recreation and preservation organizations in the Commonwealth, today congratulated the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture on the 25th anniversary of the state's Farmland Preservation Program.
"The Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition congratulates the Department of Agriculture on the anniversary of the Farmland Preservation Program, which continues to boost the state's agriculture industry and give residents access to fresh, local food," said Andrew Heath, executive director of the Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition. "As the number one industry in Pennsylvania, agriculture has a major impact on the state, providing $67 billion in economic benefits and 1 in 7 jobs. Continued investment in farmland preservation is critical to the economic success of our state and to the health and well-being of residents."
Created in 1988 in response to a growing trend of developing farmland for non-agricultural uses, the program gives state, county and local governments the option to purchase from farmers conservation easements that protect against development.
Pennsylvania is the nationwide leader in farmland preservation, having protected over 478,000 acres on 4,471 farms in 57 counties throughout the Commonwealth.
"Pennsylvania residents and government officials have long understood that beautiful, productive farmland supports our economy, nurtures our health and enhances quality of life," said Executive Director of the Lancaster Farmland Trust Karen Martynick. "The success of this program says a lot about who we are as Pennsylvanians and has given us the opportunity to shape the future for our children and grandchildren in a real and positive way."
The program is funded through an annual allotment of cigarette tax revenue in addition to Growing Greener Environmental Stewardship funds.
According to a survey from the Center for Survey Research at Penn State Harrisburg, 92 percent of 608 Pennsylvanians surveyed think that state funds dedicated to preserving farmland and open space, providing parks and trails and protecting rivers and streams should continue to be used for these purposes.
PA Borough News: Statewide Investment
July 8, 2013 // by Paul Doerwald
Pennsylvania Borough News article on Statewide Investment by Andrew Heath (click here for .pdf of article)
Critical Funding Restored in State Budget
Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition Praises Corbett Administration and General Assembly for Restoring Critical Funding Programs in State Budget
Budget Restores $2.25 Million for Heritage Areas Program
(HARRISBURG, PA) The Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition, the largest coalition of conservation, recreation and preservation organizations in the Commonwealth, today praised the Corbett Administration and the House and Senate for including critical conservation programs in the 2013-2014 state budget.
Specifically, the general fund budget includes $2.25 million for the state's Heritage Areas Program and $3.3 million in restored funding for conservation districts, which is in addition to the $5 million the districts will receive from the Act 13 Impact Fee. The budget also includes increased support for the Department of Environmental Protection.
"The Growing Greener Coalition applauds Governor Corbett and members of the General Assembly for showing strong support for critical protection of land, water and heritage conservation programs that are essential to the health of the state's economy and quality of life for Pennsylvania residents," said Andrew Heath, executive director of the Growing Greener Coalition. "The Coalition thanks the leaders of the House and Senate for restoring funding to the Heritage Areas Program, a program that had been zeroed out for many years. We cannot emphasize enough that this restoration is a victory for Pennsylvania's communities and the special places throughout the state that attract hundreds of tourists each year."
Heritage areas create jobs and bring businesses to the region, which generates hundreds of millions of dollars of added value in personal income, profits, community revitalization and government taxes. For every $1 of state funding received, Pennsylvania Heritage Areas leveraged an average of $5 of federal, local and private investment.
"Pennsylvania's Heritage Areas Program has successfully conserved and enhanced the state's natural and recreational resources and promoted tourism development for nearly 25 years," said Jane Sheffield, executive director of the Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area. "Legislators were right to support this important program which creates jobs and bring businesses to the region, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in added revenue to the state."
Newly Announced Growing Greener Grants
June 21, 2013 // by Paul Doerwald
Growing Greener Coalition Encourages Submission of Applications for Newly Announced Grant Funding
(HARRISBURG, PA) Pennsylvania's Growing Greener Coalition encouraged eligible applicants today to apply for $23 million in grant funding that the Corbett Administration and the Department of Environmental Protection announced would be made available for environmental protection efforts.
"The Growing Greener Coalition applauds the Commonwealth for recognizing the critical need to protect Pennsylvania's water and land resources and natural environment," said Andrew Heath, executive director of the Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition. "These funds will be put to good use restoring watersheds and removing hazardous materials from ground soil, ensuring clean, safe drinking water and an improved quality of life for Commonwealth residents."
The funds will be made available through the Department of Environmental Protection to be distributed to local agencies through a competitive grant process. According to the Administration, funds will support watershed restoration, acid mine drainage and water quality improvement projects throughout the state.
For more information about the grants, and to download a copy of the application, visit the Department of Environmental Protection's website (www.dep.state.pa.us) and select "Growing Greener." The grant application period will run through August 16th.
Support for the program will come from a combination of Act 13 impact fee revenues, Growing Greener Environmental Stewardship Funds and Growing Greener II bonds.
Growing Greener Environmental Stewardship Fund (ESF) receives its revenue through a 1999 increase in the state's tipping fee, along with revenue transfers from the Oil & Gas Lease Fund made possible through the enactment of Act 13.
The Coalition was instrumental in ensuring that the state dedicated a portion of the impact fees from natural gas drilling to conservation, recreation and preservation projects. This dedicated revenue is now being distributed across the Commonwealth via the Growing Greener Environmental Stewardship Fund, the Commonwealth Financing Authority and the County Conservation and Recreation Initiative all established under Act 13.
According to a recent survey from the Center for Survey Research at Penn State Harrisburg, 92 percent of Pennsylvanians surveyed think that state funds dedicated to preserving farmland and open space, providing parks and trails and protecting rivers and streams should continue to be used for these purposes.
The Penn State Harrisburg survey also found that nearly 78 percent of respondents support increasing state funds to conserve and protect open space, clean water, natural areas, wildlife habitats, parks, historic sites, forests and farms even if that would cost the average household $10 more annually. These high levels of support are consistent across every geographic region, gender, ethnic, educational and economic demographic throughout the state.
Coalition Opposes Diverting Keystone Funds
Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition Opposes Reported
Suggestion of Diverting Keystone Funds
(HARRISBURG, PA) The Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition, the largest coalition of conservation, recreation and preservation organizations in the Commonwealth, today issued the following statement from Executive Director Andrew Heath in response to a June 16, 2013, Associated Press article in which Budget Secretary Charles Zogby suggested diverting dedicated funding for open space and parks projects under the Keystone Fund to balance the budget:
"While we do not know the full context of Budget Secretary Zogby's conversation with the reporter from the Associated Press, the Coalition is concerned that the Keystone Fund may once again be targeted for diversion of funds to plug budget holes.
"Cutting the Keystone Program, that has a 20-year proven track record of success, would be counterproductive to what our state leaders have been trying to achieve by focusing on programs that provide economic growth.
"The Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition opposes any raid on conservation, recreation and preservation funds and urges the Administration and legislators to keep funding for Keystone and other similar programs intact."
For more than two decades, the Keystone Fund has been helping communities protect open space, develop community parks and recreation areas, support libraries, preserve historic sites, and protect and improve state game, forest, and park lands.
Investments in programs such as Keystone generate billions of dollars in economic benefits. A recent study conducted by The Trust of Public Land found that every $1 invested by the Keystone Fund in land and water conservation returns $7 in economic value of natural goods and services.
Moreover, in addition to creating jobs and generating revenue, these programs increase the value of nearby properties, boost spending at local businesses, make communities more attractive places to live, influence business location and relocation decisions, reduce medical costs by encouraging exercise and other healthy outdoor activities, provide low or no-cost recreation to families, stabilize local taxes in the communities in which they are located and help revitalize depressed areas.
About Keystone: The Keystone Recreation, Park & Conservation Fund is a critical dedicated funding source for recreation and conservation projects, libraries, historic preservation initiatives and higher education. Established in 1993 with an overwhelmingly approved voter referendum, a 48-0 vote in the Pennsylvania Senate and a 196-3 vote in the House, the Keystone Fund automatically receives 15 percent of the state's realty transfer tax. Since its establishment, the fund has helped conserve more than 130,000 acres of green space, supported more than 1,900 park projects, and funded 570 historic preservation projects and more than 200 library projects.
About the Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition The mission of the Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition is to enhance the health and economic well-being of communities across the Commonwealth by advocating for funding to conserve, protect and restore land, water and wildlife, to preserve farms and historic places, and to provide well-managed parks and recreational areas throughout the state.
For more information on the Coalition, visit www.PaGrowingGreener.org.
GGC Praises House for Restoring Critical Funding Programs
Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition Praises House for
Restoring Critical Funding Programs
Urges Senate to Increase and Protect Funding for Heritage Areas Program
(HARRISBURG, PA) The Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition, the largest coalition of conservation, recreation and preservation organizations in the Commonwealth, today praised the House for passing its version of the 2013-2014 state budget which restores funding for critical conservation programs.
Specifically, the House budget includes $3.8 million in restored funding for conservation districts and $2 million for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' Heritage Areas Program. The budget also includes increased support for the Department of Environmental Protection.
"The Growing Greener Coalition praises House members for passing a budget that supports conservation and stewardship of critical open space, farmland, water resources and historic sites throughout Pennsylvania," said Andrew Heath, executive director of the Pennsylvania Growing Greener Coalition. "We are especially grateful to House Leadership, with special recognition to Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Adolph for his role in drafting this legislation. The Leadership's support for Conservation Districts and the Heritage Areas Program is greatly appreciated."
Heritage Areas create jobs and bring small businesses to the region, which generates hundreds of millions of dollars of added value in personal income, profits, community revitalization and government taxes. For every $1 of state funding received, Pennsylvania's Heritage Areas leveraged an average of $5 of federal, local and private investment.
"Pennsylvania has some of the most significant historic, cultural and recreational sites in the country, making it a must-see destination for travelers from all over the world," said Jane Sheffield, executive director of the Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area. "Although restoring funding for these programs is significant, it falls short of the need currently facing the Commonwealth and we are calling on Senate leaders to increase support for the Heritage Areas Program to $3 million, the bare minimum needed to operate."
"Pennsylvanians understand that conserving and protecting open space, farmland and waterways is key to improving not only the overall quality of life but also economic vitality throughout the Commonwealth," said Robert Maiden, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts. "With this vote, House leaders demonstrated that they too understand the need for critical conservation and preservation efforts across the state."
In addition, the survey found that nearly 78 percent of respondents support increasing state funds to conserve and protect open space, clean water, natural areas, wildlife habitats, parks, historic sites, forests and farms even if that would cost the average household $10 more annually. These high levels of support are consistent across every geographic region, gender, ethnic, educational and economic demographic throughout the state.


On the easternmost edge of the state where Goa meets Karnataka, lies the famous Dudhsagar Falls, the second highest waterfall in India measuring an impressive 603m. A jeep ride up to the falls is a truly unforgettable experience during a Goa holiday, taking you into the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary, before a short uneven hike up to the base of the falls sees you climb over rocks and pass the local monkey troops before having the chance to swim in the deep green waterfall pool - truly one of the best things to do in Goa.
Goa is blessed with 105km of coastline and some of the most picturesque sandy beaches you could hope to find anywhere in Asia, and visiting these beaches is one of the best things to do in Goa. Many of the beaches are lively and backed by colourful beach shacks, proving great places to kick off your shoes and grab a kingfisher beer as the sun sets. Others, however, are much quieter and secluded - tranquil havens where the only sound is the lapping of the waves and the rustling of the coconut palms swaying in the sea breeze.
Visiting a spice plantation will be one of the most culturally-interesting things to do in Goa during your holiday. Ponda is famous for its fragrant spice plantation tours where you can see peppercorns, cardamom, cloves, cumin, saffron, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and vanilla pods in their natural environment. Whilst there you can also enjoy the spices in a traditional Goan meal with a glass of Feni, the local spirit made from cashew nuts, providing a unique flavour to your stay in Goa.
Known as 'the Rome of the East', in the 16th century, Old Goa was the largest, richest and most splendid city in the whole of Asia. Many of the churches and buildings have been beautifully preserved, giving Old Goa some of the best Renaissance architecture in the world. Goa holidays aren't complete without a tour of the imposing Basilica of Bom Jesus and the Sé Cathedral, the largest church in India.
Sampling the food is one of the most rewarding things to do in Goa. Each ingredient is carefully chosen and meticulously prepared to create delicious and flavoursome dishes that invigorate and enliven the senses. A fusion of Hindu and Portuguese flavours, Goan cuisine is unique to this small inviting state - rich creamy coconut milk is infused with aromatic herbs and spices and often served with locally caught fish and fluffy white rice.
There are many colourful Hindu festivals throughout the year offering an excellent opportunity to immerse yourself in the local culture. Holi and Diwali are possibly the most well-known and are celebrated throughout India. Both festivals are visually incredible, and one of the top things to do in Goa is to make the most of the colour and light for a vibrant and memorable Indian experience.
The bustling, lively Saturday Night Market near Arpora, is one one of the top Goa attractions. Live music and the exotic aromas of street food fill the air, as you wander past row after row of souvenir stalls. From beautiful costume jewellery to semi-precious stones, brassware to wooden handicrafts, colourful knotted hammocks to soft silks scarves, you are sure to find many souvenirs to take home.
Christmas in Goa is a magical time, celebrated by both Hindus and Christians alike. The day is commemorated with feasting, fireworks and many festivities all over the state which, much like for Diwali, is lit up with Christmas stars and lights. Market stalls are decorated with tinsel and bunting and Christmas trees are found everywhere.
Cruise the Siolim River on the Houseboat 'Laid Back Waters', giving guests a true insight into life on the Goan backwaters. Some of the sights you will encounter include glimpses of village life, riverbank farming, cockle fishing, an amazing array of bird life and the sun setting behind the coconut palms.
One of Southern India's most stunning archaeological sites, Hampi is located round 330km east of Goa in the state of Karnataka and is one of the top attractions near to Goa. Once the imperial capital of Vijayanagar, one of the largest Hindu empires in Indian history, the city was destroyed in 1565 when an alliance of Deccani sultans razed the city to the ground. Today, the striking ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


text:
Thinking small in china
ARIC CHEN
White the West frets about the "new normal," with its paralytic combination of panicked urgency and concomitant complacency, the feeding frenzy continues in China. Zaha Hadid is building a contemporary art center in Chengdu that will be twice as big as the opera house she just completed in Guangzhou. Norman Foster is competing for another mammoth Beijing airport that would make the one he finished only four years ago look like a skid mark on the tarmac. A number of the usual suspects, including Hadid and Herzog & de Meuron, are angling for the job to design a new National Art Museum of China building in Beijing that, at 60,000 square meters (or is it 160,000-it really doesn't matter), is meant to outdo the National Stadium (aka, the Bird's Nest), which will be next door. While it is probably true that the choicest jobs are still going to Western designers, there is no shortage of work for their Chinese counterparts. Indeed, a common critique of and by young Chinese architects is that they're so busy building that they hardly have time to think. In China, research and experimentation are not so much abstract exercises as on-the-job training. But while the exigencies of contemporary China call for broad strokes-in the next twenty years, Chinese cities are expected to add more than the current population of the United States-the actual conditions are more nuanced.
Running parallel to the superlatives and one-upmanship, not just across the Chinese landscape but also within individual bodies of work, is an architecture of soft interventions that responds to the harder realities on the ground. For example, though his ambitions extend to a massive urban scale, Zhang Ke of Standard Architecture is perhaps best known for the projects he's recently completed in the remote Yalu Tsangpo River region of Tibet. Forming a sort of scenic tourism trail aimed at economic development, they include a boat terminal, visitor center, wharf, and art gallery.
These small-scale facilities, with their winding ramps and austere, polygonal geometries, appear in dialogue with the surrounding craggy mountains and meandering rivers. Like the Apple Elementary School, also in Tibet but designed by Wang Hui of Limited Design, all are built by area craftsmen of locally gathered stones-a feature perhaps less interestingly seen in terms of Western notions of sustainability and back-to-the-land nostalgia than those of Chinese pragmatism. While Zhang has skillfully incorporated indigenous Tibetan construction into his elegant forms, with their bundled roof beams and Aga clay waterproofing, more striking is the meta-narrative: the extent to which improvisation and rigorous examination are working together within local constraints in counterpoint to China's broader predilection for imported razzle-dazzle.
This can be seen in the work of the esteemed architect Wang Shu, who tellingly calls his firm Amateur Architecture Studio. Or with artist-dissident Ai Weiwei, who has designed dozens of art studio and gallery buildings in Beijing's Caochangdi district that translate rudimentary frame and infill construction techniques into minimalist musings. Ai happens also to be a master at commemorative politics, with his oft-cited art pieces memorializing the deaths, blamed on shoddy school construction and government corruption, of more than 19,000 children killed during the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan province. But just as poignant is architect Liu Jiakun's Hu Huishan Memorial, named for a fifteen-year-old girl who died in that disaster.
Situated within a wooded, private museum complex in Sichuan's Dayi county, Liu's dollhouse-like building is a gray 19-square-meter structure with a pitched roof, penetrated by a single oculus, evoking the emergency shelters erected in the earthquake's aftermath. Its solemn exterior gives way to a vibrant interior that's painted pink-Hu's favorite color-but sparely decorated with her personal belongings, including photographs, an MP3 player, and a backpack. While Liu, who is better known for his museum buildings, claims apolitical intentions, the memorial was nevertheless closed to the public by scandal-wary local authorities. At around the same time, the Sichuan-based architect was developing his "Rebirth Bricks," masonry blocks made of earthquake rubble mixed with wheat, as if defining a new vernacular.
In another vein, Ma Yansong and Dang Qun of MAD responded to the existing, and endangered, typology of Beijing's historic hutong alleyway districts with their Hutong Bubble proposal, first presented during the 2006 Venice Architecture Biennale. The original concept called for globule-like insertions throughout the city's historic areas that would help reinvigorate those neighborhoods while providing facilities, such as toilets, that they currently tack.
Two years ago, one of those "bubbles" appeared in a traditional courtyard house that was renovated into an office and bar for a wine distributor. Oozing from the corner of the courtyard, the alien blob houses a bathroom and stair leading up to a roof terrace, its polished-metal surface creating distorted reflections of its ancient surroundings. While MAD's projects tend toward the grandiose-for example, gigantic buildings shaped like mountains-this single Hutong Bubble, though built for an upscale client, offers a mesmerizing and compelling argument for the firm's initial, populist vision of historic districts dotted with them. In China, even small gestures sometimes demand thinking on a big scale.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Below are excerpts from testimonial letters I've received from conference organizers and sponsors who have used my work in delivering keynote speeches, seminars, or workshops. Groups or companies wishing to know more should contact me directly at futurist@futuresearch.com or by phone 1-416-489-4511.
If you would like to look through a more complete list of testimonials, click here.


For that special engagement when casual just won't cut it, the Soirée stands eager for the spotlight- ready to shine. A faded gold and copper floral entwines the scintillating amethyst velvet on this remarkably elegant garment. Designed in our timeless tunic shape and embellished with antiqued sea beads along the neckline. Generous side slits.


The $350,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G2) will once again prove to be a pivotal stop on the Road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park, where the Triple Crown potential of many starters will hinge on how they handle the two-turns of the 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-olds.
Trainer Robert "Butch" Reid Jr. will saddle Maximus Mischief for the Holy Bull with the confidence the son of Into Mischief won't be sidetracked on the Triple Crown trail by distance limitations. While others in the field will be stretching out around two turns for the first time in the Holy Bull, Maximus Mischief will actually be cutting back in distance for his 2019 debut.
3 Epic Dreamer 10-1 Irad Ortiz, Jr.
122 Lbs Robert Reid, Jr.
116 Lbs Robert Hess, Jr.
"He's already been a mile and an eighth, which I think is a pretty good advantage. It puts us a little bit ahead of the curve with the other 3-year-olds around," Reid said. "We have an opportunity to run him a mile and a sixteenth, a distance we know he can handle, and the timing was just perfect for us."
Maximus Mischief, who romped to commanding victories at sprint distances at Parx in his first two starts, successfully stretched out around two turns in his most recent start, scoring a 2 1/4-length triumph in the 1 1/8-mile Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Dec. 1.
Owned by Chuck Zacney's Cash is King LLC and Glenn Bennett's LC Racing, Maximus Mischief was purchased for $340,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds-in-training sale. The Kentucky-bred colt paid immediate dividends with a dazzlingly 8 3/4-length triumph in his Sept. 29 debut and a six-length victory in a seven-furlong first-level allowance Oct. 20. His two Parx showings earned him a trip to Aqueduct for his stakes debut in the Remsen, in which he set the pace and drew off in the stretch.
"It's really great. The owners, Chuck Zacney and Glenn Bennett, stepped up at the sales and gave me an opportunity like this and I'm really appreciative of that," Reid said. "We're looking forward to the Holy Bull. We'll have to see what the competition looks like and go from there, but no excuses for him right now. He's doing very well."
Maximus Mischief is scheduled to face nine rivals in the Holy Bull on Saturday's 12-race program that will also feature the $150,000 Swale (G3) and $150,000 Forward Gal (G3).
The undefeated colt has worked three time since arriving from Parx to Gulfstream Park, including a sharp 58.02-second five-furlong breeze, the fastest of 57 clockings at the distance. Jan. 19.
"He's been training very well here. He has a big, strong gallop every day and his [first] two breezes here were maybe a little faster than we wanted him to go, but he's really handled it well," said Reid, whose trainee produced a 50.06-second half-mile maintenance breeze Monday. "He's held his weight well and he's eating everything in sight, so we couldn't be any happier with him."
Jose Ortiz will ride Maximus Mischief for the first time Saturday.
Centennial Farms' Mihos is set for his two-turn debut in the Holy Bull after making a victorious stakes debut in the Dec. 6 Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream. The James Jerkens-trained colt made a five-wide move from off the pace to capture the one-turn mile by a neck over pacesetter Trophy Chaser.
"The one-turn races are funny. They slowed up the last part because they went so fast early. That's why we want to get this two-turn race into him early on to give him some experience at it, instead of waiting a month," Jerkens said. "As long as he is doing well, I didn't see any reason not to run."
In his Sept. 23 debut at Belmont, Mihos closed to finish third at six furlongs behind Vekoma, who went on to capture the Nashua (G3) at Aqueduct in his next start. Mihos went on to break his maiden at six furlongs in his next start at Aqueduct before shipping to South Florida. The son of Cairo Prince has given his trainer confidence that he will successfully handle to Saturday's stretch-out.
"He seems to handle everything. He hasn't been difficult to rate. I think he should be OK," Jerkens said. "He's got good endurance, good wind. It's something you have to build up to, that's why I like to get him going earlier than later.
"He's got nice length to him. He has a nice top line, nice balance," Jerkens added. "He's got a great attitude."
John Velazquez is set to ride Mihos for the first time Saturday.
Better Farm's Garter and Tie, who finished a troubled third in the Mucho Macho Man, is set for a return in the Holy Bull. The Ralph Nicks-trained colt hit the gate while leaving his rail post position in the Mucho Macho Man before recovering to finish a commendable third, 2 1/2 lengths behind Mihos. The homebred son of Brooks 'n Down previously won the one-turn mile Smooth Air at Gulfstream. Garter and Tie finished a distant second to Well Defined in the $400,000 Florida Sire Stakes In Reality at 1 1/.16 miles after capturing the $200,000 FSS Affirmed at seven furlongs.
Tyler Gaffalione has the return mount.
Robert and Lawana Low's Federal Case, like Mihos, will enter the Holy Bull off a victory in a one-turn mile at Gulfstream. The Todd Pletcher-trained colt pressed the pace before capturing a first-level optional claiming allowance Dec. 23, finishing a neck ahead of Frosted Grace.
"I thought he closed well and ran down a nice horse late, and he's trained well since then," Pletcher said. "We're looking forward to stretching him out further."
Federal Case was purchased by the Lows following the son of Gemologist's seven-furlong debut victory at Keeneland Oct. 19.
"We were pleased that he was able to win first time we started him stretching him out to a mile," Pletcher said. "He gives us the impression, watching him train, that he's looking to go around two turns, and we felt like in light of how well he's been training we're going to give the Holy Bull a shot."
Javier Castellano has the mount.
Rounding out the field will be Epic Dreamer, who finished ahead of Mihos while finishing second behind Vekoma in his debut; Harvey Wallbanger, who broke his maiden at Churchill Downs in his 2018 finale; Gladiator King, the winner of the Inaugural at Tampa Bay Downs three starts back; Going for Gold, who has finished second in both career starts; and the Dale Romans-trained duo of Come on Gerry, a sharp front-running maiden winner at 1 1/16 miles at Gulfstream in his second career start, and Everfast.
The Holy Bull Stakes is the first Florida prep race for 3-year-olds on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. The race gives points to the top four finishers that will help them earn a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate. The Holy Bull Stakes is named for Hall of Fame racehorse Holy Bull and run at Gulfstream Park over a distance of 1 1/16 miles.
Grade 2 winner Maximus Mischief, undefeated in three starts as a 2-year-old, tops 24 horses nominated to the $350,000 Fasig-Tipton Holy Bull Stakes (G2) Saturday, February 2 at Gulfstream Park.
Following the one-mile Mucho Macho Man Stakes Jan. 5, the 30th running of the 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull for 3-year-olds is the next step on Gulfstream's road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) March 30, and headlines a program of five graded-stakes for sophomores worth $850,000 in purses.
Maximus Mischief romped in his first two starts of 2018, winning by a combined 14 ¾ lengths at Parx, where trainer Robert E. `Butch' Reid is based. He stepped up and stretched out to 1 1/8 miles in the Remsen (G2) December 1 at Aqueduct, beating his six rivals by 2 ¼ lengths.
Since the Remsen, Maximus Mischief has had two works this month over Gulfstream's main track, the most recent a five-furlong breeze in 58.02 seconds Jan. 19, fastest of 57 horses. The son of Grade 1 winner Into Mischief will have one more work prior to his 3-year-old debut in the Holy Bull.
"He'll have one more breeze over the weekend, and he should be all set up for next week's race," Reid said between races Wednesday. "I know it's going to be crazy, but I think I want to get it in Saturday because it looks like rain on Sunday. We're kind of flexible toward the weekend but if we can fit it in on Saturday, we're going to try to do that."
Also prominent among Holy Bull nominees are Mucho Macho Man winner Mihos; Mike Maker-trained stakes winners Dunph and Henley's Joy, the latter Grade 3-placed on turf; 2018 Tremont Stakes winner Our Braintrust, recently purchased by Gary Barber and moved to trainer Mark Casse; Federal Case, unbeaten in two starts for trainer Todd Pletcher; stakes winners Five Star General, Garter and Tie, Gladiator King and Well Defined; and recent Gulfstream maiden winners Come On Gerry, Fed Fever, Global Campaign and High Crime.


text:
Song Lyrics Quizzes
Take me down to the paradise city where the grass is green and the _____ ___ ______. Test your knowledge of song lyrics with these 500 different quizzes and games on JetPunk.com
Take a Random Song Lyrics Quiz
Here are our most popular Song Lyrics quizzes. Click here to see them all.
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Lyrics Quiz
No matter how old I get, I'll always remember the lyrics!
Don't Stop Believin' Lyrics Quiz
Seriously, though, passenger trains are not very common in America.
Bohemian Rhapsody Lyrics
Fill in the missing lyrics to "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen.
Star-Spangled Banner Quiz
Guess all the lyrics to the first verse of the American national anthem.
Title in the Lyrics Quiz #1
You ain't nothin' but a _____ ___ / Cryin' all the time.
First Lines of Christmas Songs
Fill the blanks in the first lines of these Christmas songs.
Twelve Days of Christmas Quiz
What gifts were given on the 12 days of Christmas?
Title in the Lyrics - Disney Songs
_____-__ _____-__, it's home from work we go!
Livin' on a Prayer Lyrics Quiz
Guess the missing words from these lyrics to "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi.
______ ____ is not my lover / She's just a girl who claims that I am the one.
Clowns to the left of me / Jokers to the right, here I am ...
First Lines of Songs #1
Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world.
Title in the Lyrics #2 - The Beatles
I don't care too much for money / Money ___'_ ___ __ ____.
They tried to make me go to _____ but I said no, no, no.
It's nine o'clock on a Saturday / The regular crowd shuffles in.
__ _____ / My lovely lady lumps
"A Whole New World" Lyrics
Guess the lyrics to 'A Whole New World' from Aladdin.
____ _ ______ / Touched for the very first time?
I just met you, and this is crazy / but here's my number, so ...
Wonderwall Lyrics
Guess the missing lyrics to "Wonderwall" by Oasis.
Sound of Music Do-Re-Mi
Guess the lyrics that go with each note in the scale.
Title NOT in the Lyrics Quiz
Guess these songs where the titles don't appear anywhere in the lyrics.
_ ______ _ ____ and I liked it / The taste of her cherry chapstick.
Christmas Song Lyrics
Get in the holiday spirit by guessing the Christmas songs that these lyrics appear in.
Piano Man Lyrics Quiz
Guess the missing lyrics to the song "Piano Man" by Billy Joel.
Do you know all the words to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"?
Look at the stars / See how they shine for you.
Title in the Lyrics - Musicals
The hills are alive, with ___ _____ __ _____.
Countries by National Anthem Quiz
Based on the national anthem lyric, name the country.
O Canada Lyrics Quiz
Guess the lyrics to the English version of the Canadian national anthem.
Title in the Lyrics
All Song Lyrics Quizzes
Ice Ice Baby Lyrics Quiz
The most important quiz on JetPunk!
Hotel California Lyrics
You can _____ ___ anytime you like, but you can _____ _____
Title in the Lyrics - Names
_______ / You don't have to put on the red light.
First Lines of Beatles Songs
Flew in from Miami Beach BOAC.
I Will Survive Lyrics
Guess the missing lyrics to "I Will Survive."
Imagine Lyrics
Guess the missing lyrics to "Imagine" by John Lennon.
Baby Got Back Lyrics Quiz
Can you guess these missing lyrics to the song "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot?
Mulan - "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" Lyrics
Fill in the blanks to the lyrics of this song from Disney's 1998 classic "Mulan".
Beatles Songs by Synopsis
Mother Mary has three words of wisdom?
We Didn't Start the Fire Lyrics
Guess all the historical events referenced in the lyrics.
Songs by Synopsis
Man kills a law enforcement officer but not his assistant?
Title in the Lyrics - Hair Band Songs
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty.
Title in the Lyrics Quiz #10
I wear your granddad's clothes.
Bob Dylan Lyrics Quiz
Fill the blanks in these lyrics from the songs of Nobel laureate Bob Dylan.
America the Beautiful Lyrics
Guess all the words in the first verse of "America the Beautiful".
Lyrics to What Makes You Beautiful
5 Seconds of Summer Lyrics Quiz
Fictional Places in Songs
Can you guess these fictional places that appear in the lyrics of well-known songs?
2012 Song Lyrics
Songs by Synopsis #2
Precipitation can't prevent a man from making music?
Viva la Vida Lyrics
Name the missing lyrics to Coldplay's Vida la Vida.
Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen Lyrics
Things that Alanis Morissette Finds "Ironic"
Complete the missing lyrics to the song "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette.
American Pie Lyrics Quiz
Guess the missing lyrics to "American Pie" by Don McLean.
One Direction Songs by First Line
Taylor Swift Lyrics: Love Story
Ultimate Song Lyrics Quiz
48 song lyrics. Can you name the song or artist?
Girls of Mambo Number 5
Fill in these missing girls' names from the lyrics to Mambo Number 5.
Lyrics to One Thing by One Direction
Lyrics To Little Things By One Direction
Places Mentioned in the Song "Kokomo"
Name the tropical destinations mentioned in the Beach Boys song "Kokomo".
When I'm 64 Lyrics Quiz
Top Jobs Mentioned in Song Lyrics
Guess the top 20 jobs most frequently mentioned in song lyrics.
Story Songs by Plot
Name the song based on the "story" from the lyrics.
Guess the missing lyrics to these well-known Christmas songs.
Lose Yourself - Eminem lyrics
Fix You - Coldplay (Lyrics)
Mr. Brightside by The Killers - Lyrics
Lyrics to We Are Young by Fun.
Lyrics to Story Of My Life by One Direction
Traditional American Folk Song Lyrics
Guess the missing words in these song lyrics.
Somebody I Used To Know Lyrics
All Star-Smash Mouth Lyrics
The Hunger Games - The Hanging Tree Lyrics
Boyfriend by Justin Bieber Lyrics
Yesterday by The Beatles - Lyrics
Boulevard of Broken Dreams Lyrics
Don't Stop Me Now by Queen Lyrics
Taylor Swift - Shake It Off (lyrics)
2013 Pop Songs Lyrics
One Direction- Lyrics to Rock Me
Ed Sheeran- Lyrics to Thinking Out Loud
Umbrella Lyrics
Eminem Lyrics
Disney's Frozen 2 - Into the Unknown Lyrics
Enter the missing words to "Into the Unknown" from the movie "Frozen 2".
Hello - Adele (song lyrics)
Ed Sheeran - Perfect lyrics
Coldplay Songs By First Line
Frozen - Do you want to build a snowman lyrics
The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" Lyrics Quiz
Car Radio Lyrics - Twenty One Pilots
VICTORiOUS Theme Song Lyrics Quiz (First Verse)
"Hey Jude" Lyrics Quiz
Michael Jackson Songs by First Lyrics
Metallica Lyrics
New and Popular de en es fi fr it nl pl pt
Countries of Africa
Countries of Asia Quiz
12 x 12 Multiplication Table in 2 Minutes
Biggest Countries by Population Quiz
Letters of the Greek Alphabet Quiz
100 Most Common English Words Quiz


We hear a lot about cyberbullying these days. We're led to believe that cyberbullying is fundamentally different from regular bullying, as in the classical example of the school playground bully. But how different is it?
The premise that cyberbullying is fundamentally different from regular bullying is that its victim cannot escape it. It's as if there are no technological or psychological means for defending against it. But is that really true?
Bullying, when it's truly bullying, is not a good thing. I won't minimize its impact. At the same time, if your child or teen gets cyberbullied, it's an opportunity to learn or reinforce a couple of things. One, look at what would motivate a person to bully — particularly to "cyberbully" online, where the anonymity or lack of physical presence involved makes it the ultimate of cowardly acts.
Two, look at the counter-technology available to block or otherwise prevent undesired parties from entering your social media or Internet space. For the most part, you can be done with them. And it's a liberating thing. If you have to still deal with them at school or work, that might be a significant matter, but cyberbullies are often too cowardly and sneaky to take their tactics out of the Internet realm where they feel powerful.
I am a psychotherapist by profession. If someone came to me to talk about the cyberbullying they experience, I'd give them the greatest and most sympathetic listening ear in the world. At the same time, I would not let them leave their sessions without consideration of the fact they are free to kick cyberbullies out of their Internet space, along with an understanding that cyberbullies are some of the weakest, saddest, sickest and most vulnerable people on the planet.
Rationally speaking, it does not make sense to be afraid of people who cannot and most likely will never hurt you. Hurt feelings are not the same as broken limbs. If someone threatens violence against you over the Internet, that's a whole different story, especially if the threats are viable and credible. But cyberbullying as we generally understand it involves primarily, if not exclusively, psychological warfare. The way you fight in psychological warfare is in letting your enemy know that he or she has no power. You lessen that power by building your own emotional muscle.
Let's face it. Bullies are attracted to people who seem weaker than themselves. They prey on people who are vulnerable. While bullying is in no way justified or excusable, there's probably something about you that the bully sees as vulnerable and, because of the bully's sick nature, needs to prey upon. If you really want a new way of looking at the bully, think of the behavior as doing you a favor, and providing you with an opportunity to grow and strengthen your own self-respect.
Let's face another fact. A lot of time, adults have their own agendas. Whether right or wrong, they have felt pushed around or put upon by others in society. If they see something similar happening to their own kid, or groups of kids in society, then they feel an urge to defend these kids as a means of righting the injustices they feel they have experienced in their lives. This may be fine, so far as it goes. But if it involves turning the victim of cyberbullying into a young person who goes through life seeing everything through the lens of defensive, petulant and thin-skinned victimhood, then you're actually engaging in your own form of abuse by contributing to the creation of such a weakened soul. Sometimes the protectors are just as damaging as the forces from which they seek to protect the young and the vulnerable. Let's be careful!


text:
Home > Reloading > 5 Best Reloading Kit For (Both Beginners And Pros) in 2022
5 Best Reloading Kit For (Both Beginners And Pros) in 2023
Written by Cameron Porter Reviewed by Editorial Team
If you've never done any reloading before, and don't really know much about it, let me start with this: beginners need to do a lot of homework before they start reloading, even if they've been a gun owner for a long time, and even if they are familiar with the equipment. This article will not prep you to reload ammo for your rifle or pistol calibers.
This article is to help you find the best reloading kit for you. There are other reloading kits out there that can help with reloading ammo besides these, but if you're just trying to go from shooting to being a reloader and save money, these are a great place to start. There are some reloading kits for beginners and some for more experienced reloaders.
Reloading ammunition, pistol rounds, and shotgun shells can be greatly rewarding. Components like bullets are a lot cheaper than buying completed rounds, especially when you're blazing through rounds at the range. The features you can design your rounds with are also a great advantage here.
BEST FOR STABILITY
Hornady Lock N' Load Classic
Material: Solid Steel
Check Price at OpticsPlanet
BEST FOR QUALITY
Lee Precision Classic Turret Press
BEST FOR STRENGTH
RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master Reloading Kit
BEST FOR HEAVY DUTY
RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme
BEST FOR SMOOTHNESS
Hornady 3-in-1 Lock N' Load
Basics Of Reloading
Again, this section is just a basic overview to help you make a decision on which of the best reloading kits to buy. Most beginners who are picking up this new hobby need to go through a steep learning curve to figure all this out. It's critical that you are precise and accurate when loading your own rifle or pistol rounds, because it can be dangerous to shoot improperly loaded ammunition.
To start reloading, just about everyone recommends starting with a basic single stage press so you can get a strong grasp of the process and what all the steps are to loading your own ammunition.
What Is Caliber Specific and What Is Not
This is a key thing to know when you're looking for a reloading kit for beginners. Most of the equipment you buy will work for most different calibers, but there are a few components and accessories that won't. Each die you buy will be not only for a specific caliber, but also for a specific cartridge and a specific purpose like seating the bullets.
For each cartridge you'll need at least three different die. Each die will perform a different function.
The press, the powder measure, trickler, and most other things won't be specific to a certain size.
The Equipment You'll Need To Get Started
The best reloading kit will come with everything you need to go through the reloading process. Along with the reloading kit, you will also need a reloading manual to get the load information you need for specific rounds. Depending on what the kit includes, you may need to purchase other accessories along with it like a hex key set, primer catcher, or digital scale.
You'll want to pay close attention to the materials that are used to make the press kit and other components. Solid steel is an excellent choice for most things. Very few high quality reloading kits are made of anything besides steel.
Different Press Options
If you've done reloading already and are looking to up your game, you can go ahead and skip this section because you most likely already know everything I'm about to say. For beginners, there are three basic types of press, and they're easy enough to understand.
The most basic kind, called a single stage press, is a press that performs one function each time you pull the handle. The function that is performed depends on the die that is inserted. The three basic tasks that a press performs are to remove a spent primer, reshape the brass to correct proportions, and to insert a bullet into the brass.
A fairly common fourth function is called factory crimping, and increases the consistency of each round. I am not an expert reloader, but my understanding is that the factory crimping step is not required, but if you're reloading for the purpose of anything besides plinking, it's probably worth the time and effort.
A Turret Press
These are like a single stage press, except you can insert all the reloading dies into different turrets at the same time, which saves you a lot of time messing with your reloading equipment. All you have to do is move the casing from one turret to the next after each pull, and you can even have a casing in all the turrets at the same time, which greatly speeds things up.
A Progressive Reloading Press
A progress press is like a turret press, but it actually moves the casings from station to station for you as well. It can be a fantastic tool for getting accurate reloads that are exactly what you're looking for but getting 3-4 done in the same amount of time that it took to get 1 with a single stage reloading machine.
Upfront Investment
There is a not-insignificant upfront investment when it comes to making your own cartridges. The most affordable option on this list to get everything you need is going to come in north of $500, and that's without even buying the consumables like powder and projectiles to do your first rounds.
Depending on what you're reloading, you can buy anywhere between 200-800 rounds of factory ammunition for the price of just getting started with a basic setup that will then take you hours of your time to actually go through the process of reloading the bullets and casings. A practiced hand with a single stage press can get through a maximum of 100 rounds per hour.
For a beginner, you may not get a single round done properly in your first hour, and even after a bit of tinkering and practice, it still takes a long time.
I'm not trying to talk you out of getting into this, just trying to manage your expectations that this might only make sense in a handful of situations.
When Reloading Makes The Most Sense
There are four basic situations when reloading bullets and casings can make the most sense. First, when you really like to shoot, you shoot a lot, and you want to save money. Using the numbers above, you'd have to burn through between 1000-2000 rounds of reloaded ammo to break even. A lot of casual shooters go through less than 200 rounds of each cartridge per year.
If you go to the range a lot, then this starts to make a lot of sense. Shooting at the range is when most folks use up a lot, so this can help a lot to ease the burden on your checkbook.
Second, when you get enough into precision shooting that you begin to notice things that bother you about factory ammunition. At this point, you only have two choices: match-grade ammo, or load your own to make it exactly the way you want it. If you're not shooting out beyond 600 yards or competing in more than one or two matches per year, this probably doesn't describe you.
And third, when you live in a place where it can take just as long to drive out to a gun shop to purchase your ammo as it would to just walk out to your workshop and load them yourself. This has become more common in the last few years as ammo shortages have made it so that each trip to the gun store only nets you a box or two.
And fourth, when you're worried about the government in some way, whether that they'll be restricting access to ammunition in the future or that they'll track you down using your bullets if they're factory loaded.
Alrighty, with that let's get into the best reloading kits out there now.
5 Best Reloading Kits
1. Hornady Lock N' Load Classic
2. Lee Precision Classic Turret Press
3. RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master Reloading Kit
4. RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme
5. Hornady 3-in-1 Lock N' Load
Hornady has a lot of products in the reloading industry, and is generally very supportive of reloaders. The Classic kit comes with their classic single stage press, a powder measure, three die bushings, their Positive Priming system, a universal reloading block, a powder trickler, some case lube, a reloading handbook, digital scale, primer catcher, handheld priming tool, a deburr tool, and a powder funnel.
As you can see, it comes with just about everything you need besides consumables. You'll also need calipers, a micrometer, or something similar to measure the width of the brass and height of the final cartridge when you're calibrating the press for a specific cartridge.
You can buy just the press by itself, but then you'll have to find everything else a la carte as well, so our recommendation is just to get the whole kit. The price on the kit is the lowest on this list so if you're looking to get in at the budget level, here's your best choice.
The price of Hornady Lock N' Load Classic varies, so check the latest price at
The Lee Precision presses are a great option if you're looking for a turret press. The press kit itself is only one part of a full reloading kit, so you can grab this and combine it with a lot of the tools from the Lock-N-Load or RCBS kits. The Lee Precision has solid steel linkage and heavy duty construction.
If you like the simplicity of a kit but want a turret press, you can pick up a full kit and then use the single stage press for cartridges that you don't do as frequently and keep the Lee Precision turret press with the dies set for the most common load that you have need of.
Considering that this turret press from Lee is about the same price as the RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme single stage, it can be a great way to go. It's not a progressive press, but it's going to be faster than the Hornady Lock N' Load single stage for reloading ammunition.
Lee also sells the Lee resizing case lube, which is great for making sure your casings don't get stuck in the dies.
The price of Lee Precision Classic Turret Press varies, so check the latest price at
This kit is comparable to the Hornady one we discussed earlier, but the press kit portion is a bit of a different style, and it comes with some measurement tools that the Hornady kit does not come with. It comes with the reloading press (of course), but it also comes with a debur tool to fit everything from .17 to .60, an accessory handle with 2 case neck brushes, and more.
It has a mechanical scale, a powder measure, a hand priming tool, a universal case loading block, a hex key set, a case lube kit, powder funnel, and a Speer reloading manual. If you happen to want to reload Speer ammunition, you'll be saved the trouble of getting the optimal load information and other instructions.
The RCBS kit here is the one I've seen used the most frequently by hobbyists and people who reload regularly for personal reasons like those I discussed above.
RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master
The price of RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master varies, so check the latest price at
This is the press that comes in the kit above, but it's worth including on its own because it's such a good press kit that a lot of reloaders will get this press and combine it with other pieces from other manufacturers. It's fast, straightforward, and reliable.
The warranty on RCBS products is also top-of-the-line. With a purely mechanical beast like this, for the most part you shouldn't run into too many issues, but there is absolutely the possibility of a defect or a part getting worn out, and that warranty is a great thing to have in place.
The price of RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme varies, so check the latest price at
Now, you can get some very expensive reloading equipment, and a lot of it is far more expensive and advanced than this one from Hornady, but I wanted to include this because it's a great way to get going with something a bit more involved than the other options on the list. If you're prepared to drop more money, you can get a much faster and more easily repeated process.
It's got a lot of features including a priming system and a case activated powder drop, along with a lot of the accessories you need to get started, but it's not a complete kit like the Lock N' Load Classic kit or the RCBS kit options. You'll need to get a powder measure and other pieces that come with a full reloading press kit in order to begin reloading.
You can think of this option as a Lee precision turret press on steroids, since it does even more of the process for you. It's an excellent reloading press among presses to get precision rounds loaded for your rifle no matter the caliber.
The price of Hornady 3-in-1 Lock N' Load varies, so check the latest price at
Why Do You Need a Reloading Kit?
Most people get reloading kits because if you shoot a lot it's a lot cheaper to load or reload your own ammunition than it is to buy them at market prices. The other side of this though, is that by making your own ammo you can actually get more accurate ammunition of the highest quality because you can control every variable of the loading process.
Factory ammunition can be high quality ammunition, and typically match-grade ammo is subject to some serious quality control, but by hand loading you can get consistent to the exact grain of gun powder and the position of the bullet in the brass to a thousandth of an inch.
What To Consider When Buying A Reloading Kit
You really need to ask yourself how much you're going to reload. Reloading and hand loading in general is an entire world of manufacturing that you need to familiarize yourself with, so don't be afraid to buy novice equipment if you're a novice. A lot of folks are reluctant to buy a press that they'll just outgrow and have to replace later, but Rome wasn't built in a day.
Reloading is like any other hobby or activity - unless it's a necessity then you can't know for sure that you're really going to stick with it. So, if you're wanting to get into it, give yourself a chance to prove that you're going to keep going beyond the first few hundred rounds. At least you're not out too much cash if you only end up making half the rounds you need to break even.
In the reloading world, it's best to try and match brands with pieces that work together like the shell holders you use with your press. For example, there may be a slight difference between a Lee single stage press and an RCBS shell holder. Also, make sure to get the details on the turret presses or other presses you're looking at because you may need a caliber conversion kit.
Keep in mind you'll need space for a reloading station. As a beginning reloader, it's easy to make the mistake of thinking you don't have to mount the classic turret press or other press securely to reload. This isn't true - if you want the cartridges that go through your reloader to be quality after they've been reloaded, you need to expect to have some space set aside.
You're going to use a lot of consumables during this process that you'll need to purchase whenever you run out. These include bullets, powder, and primers. If you're handloading new rounds, then in addition to bullets, powder, and primers, you'll also need brass. You can get these components from a lot of different companies, and bullets come in a lot of flavors.
How Does a Reloading Press Work?
Reloading presses work because many of the tasks that need to be done when reloading ammo require squeezing to get done. One of the first thing you need to do when reloading ammo is remove the old primer, which can be squeezed out using reloading dies. Then you use a hand priming tool to put a new primer in.
The order of operations depends on your workflow, but you also need to reshape the brass because it will be too wide for a bullet to slide in with tension after being shot. The reloading dies you buy should include one for reshaping the brass. You may also need to cut the brass, after which you'll need a deburring tool to smooth out the edge.
You use a powder measure to get the exact amount of powder to put into the casing, and use a powder funnel like the Uniflow Powder Measure to get it all in there without spilling. The process is the same whether you're using a progressive press or something more basic, and even if you're making shotgun shells. A powder scale can help you be even more precise.
Final Thoughts On The Best Reloading Kit
Reloading presses are broken up into three categories: a single stage, turret press, and progressive press. The progressive ones are the best reloading kit presses, but they are also the most expensive.
The best reloading kit for you will depend on how much money you are willing to spend, the precision and quality you require from your reloader, the features and accessories you want included in the kit, and what specific calibers you want a reloader for.
I would consider myself a beginning reloader, so if you've got a higher skill level in this area, feel free to let us know what features people should look for, how much money they should spend (and can save), and any other information you can think of that would be useful.
Cameron Porter
I've been around firearms my entire life. My Mom was a police officer, Dad in the Reserves. Deer camp was an annual tradition, and my older brother joined the Air Force right out of high school.
While I enjoy hunting and shooting, I have always loved writing and producing content. I am in my natural element when I'm in the mountains with pen & paper or a laptop with a full battery.
In my career, I've had the pleasure of acting as showrunner and host for a gun channel on Facebook and YouTube, which has given me opportunities to learn about things that I would not have otherwise.
Writing for Hunting Mark has allowed me to dive deeper into topics that I only know so much about, and given me insight beyond my personal experience. I consider it a privilege to be a part of such a great endeavor.


To state the obvious, life is really stressful, and many of us (*raises hand*) fall victim to the pressure to "do it all." Our stress drives us to excel at work, seek out volunteer activities in order to give back, and maintain an active social life. It's admirable to have tremendous work ethic, dedicate our free time to helping others, and be a reliable friend—but if we don't take the occasional breather, we're destined to get so stressed out that we get to the point where it's hard to function. And, well, that's pretty counterproductive.
Stress takes a mental toll on us, but it also impacts our bodies, and you might run into some physical side effects that indicate you're way too stressed out. These can serve as good reminders to take a step back, give yourself a mental health day (or two), and assess the primary sources of our stress. In some cases, we simply need to cut back on our activities. However, it might be possible to maintain your schedule as long as you prioritize some "me time" and develop coping techniques to make each day and week a little less stressful. Whatever you choose, you first have to know what you're looking for.
Here are five physical signs that your body is way too stressed out.
Although not all cases of insomnia are caused by stress, there's a link between the two. If you've struggled with insomnia your whole life, it's probably not stress-related, but if you find yourself counting sheep during periods of intense stress, you probably have situational insomnia.
When feeling stressed out is par for the course, it's incredibly difficult to "turn off" your brain and drift off to sleep peacefully. You end up tossing and turning because you're worried about checking off every task on your to-do list or you can't stop thinking about an upsetting situation that happened that day. This is your body's reaction to intense stress.
Stress weakens your immune system, which means you're far more vulnerable to catch any cold, flu, or virus that makes its way around your workplace or social circle. When you're really stressed out, it's also way harder to kick the illness you're fighting, so if you're coughing and feverish for weeks rather than days, it's another sign that you've got too much stress in your life.
Even if you are getting eight to ten hours of sleep, you may feel chronically lethargic or just plain exhausted. Although a healthy level of stress can get us moving and motivated, being too stressed out has the opposite effect. Worry and stress are cited as two common reasons people feel physically drained, and in cases of extreme stress, you may feel as though there's no end in sight to feeling consistently overcommitted and overburdened. That itself can cause despair, which in turn will make you even more exhausted.
If you find yourself saying, "I need a massage" on a daily basis, stress could be the culprit for that chronic muscle pain and tension. Muscle aches are one of the most common symptoms of stress and they can quickly veer from inconvenient and annoying to unbearably painful.
Stress affects your adrenaline and hormone levels, which has a direct effect on your muscles and nerves. There are also other factors at play. For example, sometimes when we're super stressed we slouch more, stop exercising, or sleep poorly. This creates the perfect storm for completely miserable aches and pains.
As if all those side effects weren't enough, stress can cause tension headaches, which are also referred to as (you guessed it!) stress headaches. They can last anywhere from 30 minutes to a few days and are characterized by a dull pain or pressure around your forehead or the back of your head.
Although they're typically not severe enough to prevent you from going about your daily routine, tension headaches are another way your body may be telling you that you're too stressed out. Don't let these headaches go untreated, because piling on daily stress will only lead to chronic tension headaches, which is definitely something you want to avoid.
If any of these symptoms sound painfully familiar, it's time to take stock of what exactly is stressing you out and how you can deal with it effectively. Long term stress is detrimental to your mental and physical health, so it's important to take care of yourself. It may be an unavoidable part of life, but there are ways to minimize stress and its side effects.


The Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) - founded in 1954 - is the Federal Aviation Office located in Braunschweig and directly subordinated to the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI).
Based on the Luftverkehrsgesetz (Air Traffic Law), the LBA has been charged by the "Gesetz über das Luftfahrt-Bundesamt" (Law on the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt) with certain tasks in German civil aviation. For this purpose six Regional Offices have been established at the major German airports.
Among other tasks, the LBA is responsible for the supervision of aviation industry. This supervision is limited to companies designing, manufacturing and maintaining aeronautical products which are subject to approval. For a detailed overview follow this link.
This applies to public transportation by air as well as General Aviation (with business and private aeroplanes, helicopters, powered sailplanes, sailplanes, balloons).
In the case of commercial operators, the LBA is exclusively responsible for those operating aircraft. For this purpose the LBA investigates economic capacity, maintenance, flight operations and security measures relating to unlawful interferences.
With respect to personnel, the LBA is responsible for the licensing of airline transport pilots. It is authorised for the supervision of aviation schools, flight simulator training and medical examination centers, for practical and theoretical examinations and the extension of licenses.
The LBA participates in the elaboration of aviation regulations, which are enacted by the BMVI. Implementation orders (DVO) to the regulations are issued by the LBA.
The Bundesstelle für Flugunfalluntersuchung (BFU) (Accidents Investigation Bureau) is technically subordinated to the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. The BFU is responsible for the investigation of accidents to civil German aircraft in Germany and abroad and to foreign aircraft in Germany.
The BFU is only responsible for the investigation of facts, the question of guilt is being clarified by the public prosecutor. The BFU does not participate in the clarification of insurance issues.


A few weeks ago, we celebrated the launch of our latest issue with Roundtable Presents: It's a Woman's World, an evening of dancing, music and good vibes. Between the beautiful walls of Pichi, Nigerian DJ, The Kemist, provided a sublime mix of tunes from 90s RnB to classic feel good jams. (She'll be sharing her playlist for the event soon so stay tuned!). London singer-songwriter Joy Crookes also gave a fantastic live performance.
There were delicious alcoholic popsicles on deck courtesy of Poptails by Lapp. We also had popcorn in daring experimental flavours ranging from cappuccino to sweet chill by Portlebay Corn. The house cocktails for the night were elderflower gin and tonic and a fruity rum punch created by Stephanie, owner of Pichi.
Thank you to all our readers, supporters, friends and family who came out to celebrate with us!We hope you had as much fun as we did.
New York – we're coming for you next!


text:
Metropolitan (UA)
Scheduled Castes
Scheduled Tribes
House Assets
House Less
Fertility Ratio
State Census 2011
District List
Vadhvan - Vadodara
Vadhvan Population - Vadodara, Gujarat
Vadhvan is a medium size village located in Chhota Udaipur Taluka of Vadodara district, Gujarat with total 88 families residing. The Vadhvan village has population of 494 of which 251 are males while 243 are females as per Population Census 2011.
In Vadhvan village population of children with age 0-6 is 119 which makes up 24.09 % of total population of village. Average Sex Ratio of Vadhvan village is 968 which is higher than Gujarat state average of 919. Child Sex Ratio for the Vadhvan as per census is 1164, higher than Gujarat average of 890.
Vadhvan village has lower literacy rate compared to Gujarat. In 2011, literacy rate of Vadhvan village was 40.80 % compared to 78.03 % of Gujarat. In Vadhvan Male literacy stands at 54.08 % while female literacy rate was 26.26 %.
As per constitution of India and Panchyati Raaj Act, Vadhvan village is administrated by Sarpanch (Head of Village) who is elected representative of village. Our website, don't have information about schools and hospital in Vadhvan village.
Vadhvan Data
Total No. of Houses 88 - -
Population 494 251 243
Child (0-6) 119 55 64
Schedule Caste 0 0 0
Schedule Tribe 493 250 243
Literacy 40.80 % 54.08 % 26.26 %
Total Workers 246 136 110
Main Worker 72 - -
Marginal Worker 174 64 110
Caste Factor
In Vadhvan village, most of the village population is from Schedule Tribe (ST). Schedule Tribe (ST) constitutes 99.80 % of total population in Vadhvan village. There is no population of Schedule Caste (SC) in Vadhvan village of Vadodara.
In Vadhvan village out of total population, 246 were engaged in work activities. 29.27 % of workers describe their work as Main Work (Employment or Earning more than 6 Months) while 70.73 % were involved in Marginal activity providing livelihood for less than 6 months. Of 246 workers engaged in Main Work, 61 were cultivators (owner or co-owner) while 9 were Agricultural labourer.
High Density State
Density / Km2
1 Delhi 11,320
2 Chandigarh 9,258
3 Puducherry 2,547
4 Daman and Diu 2,191
5 Lakshadweep 2,149
India @ Glance
Copyright Census Population 2021 Data


text:
New Award for Craftsmanship
To Exhibit at WSD
Board Meeting Wrapup
Joins USITT Staff
Student PQ
The Last Word - Opera
Commissions:
2013 Costume Sessions
Making Scenic Signs
Culture Trumps Cowboys
Creative Conners, Inc.: Introduces Virtual Simulator
RC4 Wireless/Soundsculpture, Inc.: Opens Branch Office in Missouri
L-ACOUSTICS: The Cowboy Rides Away with Sound System
Alcons Audio: Loudspeaker Systems a Hit at InfoComm 2013
GLP: Seattle Mall Gets Innovative LED Lighting
IATSE: Elected to National Labor College Board of Trustees
Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas: Institute Widens Offerings
Creative Conners, Inc. has introduced the Spikemark 3 Simulator and is encouraging everyone to get the free download, and then experiment with automation on a fully-functional virtual stage.
To see what happens when designs are put in motion, download the simulator here or at www.creativeconners.com.
RC4 Wireless/Soundsculpture, Inc., based in Raleigh, North Carolina, has opened a branch office in Raytown, Missouri.
The new RC4 Wireless/Soundsculpture Incorporated office, headed by Sean Dane, sales director/application specialist is at 6720 Appleton, Raytown, MO, 64133; sdane@theatrewireless.com; 816-510-3812
After 40 studio albums and an unprecedented 60 top country music singles, George Strait, the "King of Country," has wrapped up the first half of his farewell tour, dubbed The Cowboy Rides Away. With the second leg of dates set to take place in early 2014, the final in-the-round performance of his 2013 trek took place June 1 at San Antonio's Alamodome in front of a record-breaking, sold-out crowd of more than 73,000 fans.
Dallas-based Onstage Systems furnished the artist's standard L-ACOUSTICS V-DOSC and KUDO package for most of this year's tour stops. However, given the sheer size of the Alamodome concert in Mr. Strait's hometown, the company chose to deploy its full inventory of K1 enclosures, which it augmented with additional cabinets from fellow rental network provider Clearwing Audio for an impressive total of 120 K1.
For his final The Cowboy Rides Away stop at the Alamodome, which sold out within an astounding six minutes of going on sale, the artist performed a two-hour concert following sets from the tour's special guests, Martina McBride and Miranda Lambert. For more details on the 2013 leg, which kicked off back in mid-January, visit www.georgestrait.com.
Onstage Systems can also be found on the Web at www.onstagesystems.com.
2013 proved to be another highly successful presence for Alcons Audio at the InfoComm trade show, with audio professionals from across the industry able to see and hear the breadth of the company's portfolio of pro-ribbon loudspeaker systems
Major highlights of this year's expo included the North American debut of two new sound system solutions, the QR24 line source column and the RR12 constant curvature point-source array module. In addition, Alcons hosted off-site demonstrations of the LR16 high-output compact line array module.
For more information visit www.alconsaudio.com and www.proribbontechnology.com.
Enhancing the overall shopping mall experience for visitors — by creating a unique atmosphere with low maintenance, color-changing fixtures, which can be activated for selective events — is a challenge facing mall management companies.
The company responsible for the Pacific Place shopping center in Seattle contacted GLP authorized dealer PNTA with that in mind.
With the Christmas season approaching and the annual "Snow Show" looming, something innovative was needed to grab the attention of passers-by and give the 15-year-old retail center a fresh approach. Having worked on other projects at the site, the lighting specialists recommended seven of GLP's pioneering LED fixture, the impression Spot One, to be installed in each of the mall's dominant columns.
National Labor College announced the election of Mathew D. Loeb, International President of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), to its Board of Trustees.
Since he was elected president in 2008, Mr. Loeb has strongly supported providing educational opportunities for IATSE leadership, local unions, and members. The 2014 IATSE Convention theme stresses "Education" as one of the pillars of success for the entertainment union.
Mr. Loeb launched IATSE's Labor Education Assistance Program (LEAP), through which he established a relationship with National Labor College.
The Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas class of 2013 had more classes than it could keep up with, so some weeks were split in two, totaling out to 11 classes in eight weeks. Housing over 70 students this summer from around the world from Mexico City to Israel to Pakistan, Stagecraft Institute had its share of broad collaborations.
SILV has now taught over 600 students from 44 states and 29 different countries. The first offering of the SILV Seal of Qualification covering the integrated steps, content and procedures from the industry, and the two-week SILV Movers and Digital Media class will be announced by August 2.
Watch stagecraftinstitute.com for the 2014 offerings. SILV staff members will be at PlasaFocus Austin and Nashville .


text:
Cameron urges 'big bazooka' to stem eurozone crisis
David Cameron, the Prime Minister, has urged European leaders to adopt a "big bazooka" approach to stem the eurozone debt crisis and stop it infecting the global economy.
David Cameron said the troubles in Europe were having a 'chilling effect' on the global economy. Photo: REUTERS
Telegraph Staff
3:26AM BST 10 Oct 2011
He said member countries of the euro had a ''collective responsibility'' to avert economic disaster and called on France and Germany to put aside their differences about pumping more cash into the region's banks.
France would prefer to recapitalise its banks via the €440bn bailout fund, while Germany says countries should prop up their own banks and only used the fund as a last resort.
Mr Cameron, in a interview with the Financial Times, said he believed the firepower of the rescue fund should increased. He also said countries such as France needed to accept the need for credible stress tests on banks.
The troubles in Europe were having a "chilling effect" on the global economy and that the situation was "very precarious'', Mr Cameron said.
''The eurozone is probably contributing more to that uncertainty and lack of confidence than anything else. You either make the eurozone work properly or you confront its potential failure,'' he said.
For all the talk, we're no nearer to the end of this economic crisis
France and Germany set a date to save Europe
Belgium nationalises Dexia retail bank in rescue deal
John Major: 'Use eurozone crisis to grab back powers'
Debt crisis: live
Mr Cameron is urging a comprehensive plan - comparing it to the "bazooka" approach once advocated by former US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson during the 2008 financial crisis - to get ahead of the markets.
"Time is short, the situation is precarious," he said.
At last week's Conservative Party conference he warned that the world economy was at a ''moment of danger'' and has been pushing for European leaders to take decisive action along with Chancellor George Osborne.
''I think we need to push, but in the end it is their currency, it is their issue - they have to take the decisive steps,'' the Prime Minister said.
''I don't underestimate the difficulties. But if you're in the euro you have accepted some collective responsibility.''
Following a summit in Berlin yesterday, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged to present a plan that resolves the eurozone's debt crisis by the end of the month - ahead of the G20 summit in Cannes.
Both leaders committed to a "comprehensive" response that they suggested would involve a recapitalisation of Europe's banks, accelerating economic co-ordination in the eurozone and dealing with Greece, but gave no details.
EU »
David Cameron »
In Finance»
Best paid jobs in the UK
Warren Buffett: his best quotes
The best way to transfer money overseas
In Financial Crisis
Tables: The cheapest places to buy an Isa
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard comment
Jeremy Warner comment
Europe's bond yields lowest since 15th century Genoa on deflation, Russia risk
HIGHLIGHTED BUSINESS VIDEO
Banks and Finance
Money Deals


text:
<!--- Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one -->
<!--- or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file -->
<!--- distributed with this work for additional information -->
<!--- regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file -->
<!--- to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the -->
<!--- "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance -->
<!--- with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at -->

<!---   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 -->

<!--- Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, -->
<!--- software distributed under the License is distributed on an -->
<!--- "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY -->
<!--- KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the -->
<!--- specific language governing permissions and limitations -->
<!--- under the License. -->

# TVM Runtime Frontend Support

This crate provides an idiomatic Rust API for [TVM](https://github.com/dmlc/tvm) runtime frontend. Currently this requires **Nightly Rust** and tested on `rustc 1.32.0-nightly`

## What Does This Crate Offer?

Here is a major workflow

1. Train your **Deep Learning** model using any major framework such as [PyTorch](https://pytorch.org/), [Apache MXNet](https://mxnet.incubator.apache.org/) or [TensorFlow](https://www.tensorflow.org/)
2. Use **TVM** to build optimized model artifacts on a supported context such as CPU, GPU, OpenCL and specialized accelerators.
3. Deploy your models using **Rust** :heart:

### Example: Deploy Image Classification from Pretrained Resnet18 on ImageNet1k

Please checkout [examples/resnet](examples/resnet) for the complete end-to-end example.

Here's a Python snippet for downloading and building a pretrained Resnet18 via Apache MXNet and TVM

```python
block = get_model('resnet18_v1', pretrained=True)

sym, params = nnvm.frontend.from_mxnet(block)
# add the softmax layer for prediction
net = nnvm.sym.softmax(sym)
# compile the model
with nnvm.compiler.build_config(opt_level=opt_level):
    graph, lib, params = nnvm.compiler.build(
        net, target, shape={"data": data_shape}, params=params)
# same the model artifacts
lib.save(os.path.join(target_dir, "deploy_lib.o"))
cc.create_shared(os.path.join(target_dir, "deploy_lib.so"),
                [os.path.join(target_dir, "deploy_lib.o")])

with open(os.path.join(target_dir, "deploy_graph.json"), "w") as fo:
    fo.write(graph.json())
with open(os.path.join(target_dir,"deploy_param.params"), "wb") as fo:
    fo.write(nnvm.compiler.save_param_dict(params))
```

Now, we need to input the artifacts to create and run the *Graph Runtime* to detect our input cat image

![cat](https://github.com/dmlc/mxnet.js/blob/master/data/cat.png?raw=true)

as demostrated in the following Rust snippet

```rust
    let graph = fs::read_to_string("deploy_graph.json")?;
    // load the built module
    let lib = Module::load(&Path::new("deploy_lib.so"))?;
    // get the global TVM graph runtime function
    let runtime_create_fn = Function::get("tvm.graph_runtime.create", true).unwrap();
    let runtime_create_fn_ret = call_packed!(
        runtime_create_fn,
        &graph,
        &lib,
        &ctx.device_type,
        &ctx.device_id
    )?;
    // get graph runtime module
    let graph_runtime_module: Module = runtime_create_fn_ret.try_into()?;
    // get the registered `load_params` from runtime module
    let ref load_param_fn = graph_runtime_module
        .get_function("load_params", false)
        .unwrap();
    // parse parameters and convert to TVMByteArray
    let params: Vec<u8> = fs::read("deploy_param.params")?;
    let barr = TVMByteArray::from(&params);
    // load the parameters
    call_packed!(load_param_fn, &barr)?;
    // get the set_input function
    let ref set_input_fn = graph_runtime_module
        .get_function("set_input", false)
        .unwrap();

    call_packed!(set_input_fn, "data", &input)?;
    // get `run` function from runtime module
    let ref run_fn = graph_runtime_module.get_function("run", false).unwrap();
    // execute the run function. Note that it has no argument
    call_packed!(run_fn,)?;
    // prepare to get the output
    let output_shape = &mut [1, 1000];
    let output = empty(output_shape, TVMContext::cpu(0), TVMType::from("float32"));
    // get the `get_output` function from runtime module
    let ref get_output_fn = graph_runtime_module
        .get_function("get_output", false)
        .unwrap();
    // execute the get output function
    call_packed!(get_output_fn, &0, &output)?;
    // flatten the output as Vec<f32>
    let output = output.to_vec::<f32>()?;
```

and the model correctly predicts the input image as **tiger cat**.

## Installations

Please follow TVM [installations](https://docs.tvm.ai/install/index.html), `export TVM_HOME=/path/to/tvm` and add `libtvm_runtime` to your `LD_LIBRARY_PATH`.

*Note:* To run the end-to-end examples and tests, `tvm`, `nnvm` and `topi` need to be added to your `PYTHONPATH` or it's automatic via an Anaconda environment when it is installed individually.

## Supported TVM Functionalities

### Use TVM to Generate Shared Library

One can use the following Python snippet to generate `add_gpu.so` which add two vectors on GPU.

```python
import os
import tvm
from tvm.contrib import cc

def test_add(target_dir):
    if not tvm.module.enabled("cuda"):
        print(f"skip {__file__} because cuda is not enabled...")
        return
    n = tvm.var("n")
    A = tvm.placeholder((n,), name='A')
    B = tvm.placeholder((n,), name='B')
    C = tvm.compute(A.shape, lambda i: A[i] + B[i], name="C")
    s = tvm.create_schedule(C.op)
    bx, tx = s[C].split(C.op.axis[0], factor=64)
    s[C].bind(bx, tvm.thread_axis("blockIdx.x"))
    s[C].bind(tx, tvm.thread_axis("threadIdx.x"))
    fadd_cuda = tvm.build(s, [A, B, C], "cuda", target_host="llvm", name="myadd")

    fadd_cuda.save(os.path.join(target_dir, "add_gpu.o"))
    fadd_cuda.imported_modules[0].save(os.path.join(target_dir, "add_gpu.ptx"))
    cc.create_shared(os.path.join(target_dir, "add_gpu.so"),
            [os.path.join(target_dir, "add_gpu.o")])

if __name__ == "__main__":
    import sys
    if len(sys.argv) != 2:
        sys.exit(-1)
    test_add(sys.argv[1])
```

### Run the Generated Shared Library

The following code snippet demonstrates how to load and test the generated shared library (`add_gpu.so`) in Rust.

```rust
extern crate tvm_frontend as tvm;

use tvm::*;

fn main() {
    let shape = &mut [2];
    let mut data = vec![3f32, 4.0];
    let mut arr = empty(shape, TVMContext::gpu(0), TVMType::from("float32"));
    arr.copy_from_buffer(data.as_mut_slice());
    let mut ret = empty(shape, TVMContext::gpu(0), TVMType::from("float32"));
    let mut fadd = Module::load(&Path::new("add_gpu.so")).unwrap();
    let fadd_dep = Module::load(&Path::new("add_gpu.ptx")).unwrap();
    assert!(fadd.enabled("gpu"));
    fadd.import_module(fadd_dep);
    fadd.entry();
    function::Builder::from(&mut fadd)
        .arg(&arr)
        .arg(&arr)
        .set_output(&mut ret)?
        .invoke()
        .unwrap();

    assert_eq!(ret.to_vec::<f32>().unwrap(), vec![6f32, 8.0]);
}
```

**Note:** it is required to instruct the `rustc` to link to the generated `add_gpu.so` in runtime, for example by
`cargo:rustc-link-search=native=add_gpu`.

See the tests and examples custom `build.rs` for more details.

### Convert and Register a Rust Function as a TVM Packed Function

One can use `register_global_func!` macro to convert and register a Rust
function of type `fn(&[TVMArgValue]) -> Result<TVMRetValue>` to a global TVM **packed function** as follows

```rust
#[macro_use]
extern crate tvm_frontend as tvm;
use std::convert::TryInto;
use tvm::*;

fn main() {
    register_global_func! {
        fn sum(args: &[TVMArgValue]) -> Result<TVMRetValue> {
            let mut ret = 0f32;
            let shape = &mut [2];
            for arg in args.iter() {
                let e = empty(shape, TVMContext::cpu(0), TVMType::from("float32"));
                let arg: NDArray = arg.try_into()?;
                let arr = arg.copy_to_ndarray(e).unwrap();
                let rnd: ArrayD<f32> = ArrayD::try_from(&arr).unwrap();
                ret += rnd.scalar_sum();
            }
            let ret_val = TVMRetValue::from(&ret);
            Ok(ret_val)
        }
    }

    let shape = &mut [2];
    let mut data = vec![3f32, 4.0];
    let mut arr = empty(shape, TVMContext::cpu(0), TVMType::from("float32"));
    arr.copy_from_buffer(data.as_mut_slice());
    let mut registered = function::Builder::default();
    let ret: f64 = registered
        .get_function("sum", true)
        .arg(&arr)
        .arg(&arr)
        .invoke()
        .unwrap()
        .try_into()
        .unwrap();

    assert_eq!(ret, 14f64);
}
```

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
New £3m development for disabled adults launched in Barrow
New £3m development for disabled adults launched in Roose Road, Barrow
By Vanessa Sims @MrsVanessaSims Editor
RESIDENTS of a new £3million specialist supported living scheme for disabled adults have been warmly welcomed into their new apartments by developers and community leaders.
Sixteen new apartments and two bungalows incorporating assistive technology have been built at the site of the former church on Roose Road in Barrow exclusively for local people with physical or learning disabilities. .
The scheme, called Church Place, was delivered by specialist supported living developer HBV.
John Woodcock MP for Barrow officially opened the scheme and planted an apple tree with the original engraved spade he used to dig the first sod of earth at the ground-breaking ceremony in 2017.
He said: "This is a remarkable addition to our local community and I'm delighted the apartments and the assistive technology within them creates the opportunity for people with various kinds of disabilities to live a more independent life.
"The development has a real community feel to it."
Alastair Sheehan, business development director at HBV said: "We are delighted that this site in Barrow provides a fine example of the specialist supported living model and provides a modern and safe environment for people to live their lives independently and with the freedom to manage their own homes, in the manner and dignity that they and all of us deserve."
HBV was formed in May 2011.