If your business isn't looking for ways to be more competitive, it may be losing ground. Markets and customer preferences are changing fast. So the key is to look at your competitors, your business and your industry and always be thinking about the next step. While you're thinking, here are some tips for a more competitive business in this week's Small Business Trends Community Roundup.
Still a popular content management system with many small businesses, WordPress remains a good option for developing your Web presence. But watch out for little known problems like malicious code on your site, says designer and site manager David Baxter. Read more on Baxter's site.
Success in business as in anything comes from hard work and a thoughtful approach to improving one's performance. Nicoli Sauerman gives some simple advice about structuring professional and team priorities for the best possible outcome.
If your company is still using Microsoft 7 — or, worse yet, Alta Vista — beware. Getting behind on the business systems you need to drive efficiency ad productivity costs you in ways you may not realize. Holly Chaffin gives an overview of the new Microsoft 10. Have you upgraded your business system — whatever it is?
You don't need to be a graphic designer to improve the visual appeal of your company website. Or if you are in the graphic design business, you may be looking for tools to improve your productivity and effectiveness. Carol Amato gives an overview of one such graphic tool with comments from the BizSugar community.
You may not have any small packages in need of short range aerial delivery. But brainstorm to figure out whether the latest development of drone technology is something applicable to your business. Small Business Trends CEO Anita Campbell reviews the challenges, but the message is clear. Be open to new technology in your company.
In the old days you might have sent out press releases to the local paper. Today, however, small businesses have more powerful tools at their disposal. SEO and social media expert Zohaib Akhlaq gives advice on creating a media friendly website with some comments from the BizSugar community.
Today, perhaps more than ever, successful businesses in any industry rely on finding the right mix of marketing channels. Consider Mike Garee's review of the latest tips for promoting a campground business. You don't need to be a Silicon Valley CEO to understand this.
Automating your social media campaign is hardly cutting edge. But marketing consultant Laura Nunemaker has a few tips for automating one of the hottest new channels: Instagram. Warning: some of Nunemaker's suggestions here are controversial given Instagram's terms of service. But her post is a reminder of the need to constantly boost efficiency and drew some BizSugar discussion too.
No, this does not necessarily mean hiring more people. Even solopreneurs can sometimes benefit from a helping hand. For example, you might reach out to a virtual assistant. This can be either an individual or a service. And they can handle everything from schedule management to planning your next business trip.
Learning to communicate effectively with your audience is crucial for your company's success. And a large part of that effectiveness comes down to you tell your company's story. Inbound marketer Zhi Yuan has some simple suggestions for adding a conversational tone to your business communications. See some additional discussion in the BizSugar community.
I know that drones are good and all but I just cannot help myself from thinking about its drawbacks. Not to be negative though. I am just being realistic.


MaBaSoft (http://www.mabasoft.net/) has updated World Clock Deluxe to version 4.8. The app lets you display multiple clocks in a configurable horizontal or vertical palette, in the menu bar, and in the Dock, show Coordinated Universal Time and Internet Time, assign labels and colors to clocks, calculate date and time conversions across different time zones, and show the current weather all over the world. In version 4.8, 73 cities belonging to 36 different countries have been added to the World Clock Deluxe database, which now contains over 1,500 cities.
Neatberry (http://neatberry.com) has announced Fumy 2.2 for Mac OS X. Fumy is a bitmap editor focused on special effects; version 2.2 adds a Lightning tool.


This was ice fishing derby weekend on the lake where I live. Last night the people who belong to this particular ice fishing shanty--and who clearly have a sense of humor--were possibly up all night, bright lights ablaze (still shining when I went to sleep past midnight), presumably attempting to hook the prize winning catch. … Continue reading Ice fishing, anyone?


Arsenal are eyeing Miguel Almiron as they plan for life with Aaron Ramsey.
The Wales international looks destined to leave the Emirates this summer after contract talks broke down.
Manchester United and Liverpool are serious suitors for his signature and the Gunners desperately need to source a replacement.
Unai Emery isn't wasting any time though.
The Evening Standard claim Almiron - who is currently strutting his stuff at MLS outfit Atlanta United - has been earmarked.
Almiron isn't a household name in England, but he's been a standout performer Stateside.
Borussia Dortmund centre-back Manuel Akanji has revealed that he would love to play for Manchester United in the future.
Akanji, 23, joined Dortmund from Basel for £15million in January and has quickly established himself as a regular under boss Lucien Favre.
The defender was included in Switzerland's World Cup squad earlier this summer and played every minute as the side qualified from a tricky group containing Brazil, Serbia and Costa Rica.
And during a recent interview, Akanji revealed that he's a boyhood Manchester United supporter and thinks it would 'be nice' to one day represent the Old Trafford club.
Real Madrid are in a difficult situation when it comes to signing Eden Hazard - because they may not be able to afford to sign the Chelsea star, says ESPN FC pundit Gabriele Marcotti.
Real Madrid have been linked with a move for Hazard in recent windows but will they be able to afford him next summer?
Marcotti says the La Liga giants' priority is to sign a new centre-forward, with only Karim Benzema and Mariano Diaz the recognised strikers on their books.
And Marcotti claims a new signing in that position could leave them without enough funds to prise Hazard away from Chelsea.
"The difficulty for Real Madrid, Hazard has a ton of appeal for Real Madrid because obviously they're having scoring goals, he's not just a creator he's a goalscorer too, but he's not a centre-forward," Marcotti said. "Real Madrid do not have an unlimited budget.
Arsenal are interested in signing Porto captain Hector Herrera to replace Aaron Ramsey.
That's according to the Evening Standard, who claim the 28-year-old midfielder could be targeted in the January transfer window.
Earlier this month, Ramsey's representatives confirmed the Welsh international would likely depart as a free agent at the end of the season after the club chose not to continue discussions over a new contract.
Recent reports suggest Manchester United and Liverpool are eyeing a cut-price move for Ramsey in January.
And with just 82 days until the transfer window opens - Arsenal are looking for replacements.
Herrera, who played every minute of Mexico's World Cup campaign, could be snapped up on a free with his contract expiring in June 2019.
Romelu Lukaku has been tipped to leave Old Trafford if Jose Mourinho leaves - and the bookies have Chelsea as frontrunners for his signature.
Lukaku was signed by Mourinho two years ago but, despite impressing at Old Trafford, has been tipped to leave.
And Coral have now made Chelsea the favourites at 3-1 to sign Lukaku. PSG are available at 9/2 with Inter Milan then 6-1.
AC Milan, Atletico Madrid and former club Everton are at 8-1, 10-1 and 12-1 respectively.
"Chelsea missed out on Romelu Lukaku when he left Everton, however, the betting suggests if the Belgium international does leave Manchester United, he will make the move to Stamford Bridge," said Coral's John Hill.
Eden Hazard did little to douse speculation over a move to Real Madrid today, although the forward appeared to rule out a January transfer.
It was put to Hazard that to win the Ballon d'Or - as the world's best player - he would have to play in Spain.
"That's why I want to go, maybe," said Hazard, who was smiling.
Asked if that move might happen in January, Hazard said: "No."
"Real Madrid is the best club in the world. It is my dream since I was a kid. Sometimes in my head, I wake up in the morning and think I want to go. Sometimes I think I want to stay. It is a hard decision. It is my future."
Manchester United are monitoring Sporting Lisbon defender Merih Demiral, Turkish reports claim.
Demiral, a centre-back, has never made a senior appearance for Sporting Lisbon but has attracted plenty of attention since joining Alanyaspor on a season-long loan.
Turkish publication Aksam claimed Manchester United scouted the 20-year-old during his spell with Sporting Lisbon's reserve side last year.
Turkish Football also report that "a source close to Alanyaspor" say United along with several other clubs have been to watch the player in the Turkish Super Lig this season.
Marcos Alonso has revealed he's in advanced talks to sign a new contract with Chelsea.
Alonso, who has scored 15 goals and provided 11 assist in 91 appearances for Chelsea, has started the season in impressive fashion under Maurizio Sarri.
And it looks like the Spanish international will be rewarded with a new deal - perhaps in the coming days.
"What I can say is that I am very calm and very happy at Chelsea, and that the club must also be with me because, although I still have two years left on the contract, they have offered me an extension," Alonso told Spanish newspaper AS.
"We are talking about it and the talks to renew are already advanced. If everything goes well, I think I will renew before the end of this month. In the coming days.
Smith, a lifelong Villa fan, leaves Brentford, while Terry moves into coaching having just announced his retirement as a player. Jesus Garcia Pitarch has also been appointed as sporting director.
Manchester United and Liverpool are interested in signing PSV winger Steven Bergwijn, reports claim.
Bergwijn, 20, has enjoyed a profitable start to the season with five goals and four assists in 13 appearances.
His displays earned him an inclusion to Ronaldo Koeman's UEFA Nations League tie and plenty of attention from Europe's elite.
Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf claim United and Liverpool sent scouts to watch him in action against Inter Milan in the Champions League last week.
Bayer Leverkusen, Real Sociedad, Sevilla, CSKA Moscow and Inter are also credited with interest.
Liverpool look to have missed out on the chance to sign Brazilian starlet Lucas Paqueta.
The Reds have been consistently linked with the 21-year-old who currently plays for Flamengo.
Paqueta has been with the Brazilian side since the age of 10 and made his first-team debut as a teenager in 2016.
The attacking midfielder has been compared to Roberto Firmino for his awareness and willingness to press.
But now it appears Liverpool have missed out on the starlet after reports have emerged that he will join AC Milan.
Sky Italy's Fabrizio Romano is reporting that Paqueta will join AC Milan in a deal worth around €30m (£26.2m).
He will complete his medicals soon before arriving in Italy in January.
Romano tweeted: "Confirmed and here we go! Lucas Paquetá from Flamengo to AC Milan, done deal for €30M. Medicals soon, he'll arrive in Italy on next January."
Barcelona have made Matthijs de Ligt a key transfer target for next season.
Barcelona are keen to snap up two of the hottest properties in European football from Ajax.
Frankie De Jong emerged as a target for the Catalans after they had a bid turned down by the Dutch club in the summer for the midfielder.
Now the club are eyeing another one of Ajax's stars Matthijs de Ligt, who has been made a key target.
De Ligt is an 18-year-old central defender who already looks at home in the Dutch national side.
Ajax general director Edwin van der Sar has revealed that the defender has the qualities to suit Barcelona's style of football.
Frenkie de Jong says he's tired of answering questions about a potential move to Barcelona and could stay with Ajax for another three years.
De Jong, 21, was heavily linked with a move to the Nou Camp during the summer transfer window but Ajax swiftly rejected the idea.
"In the beginning it was fun and I felt very flattered by the stories around Barcelona, but after a while the questions about it got annoying," he told Elf Voetbal.
David De Gea will stay put at Old Trafford because of Thibaut Courtois' move to Real Madrid from Chelsea, says former England and Arsenal striker Paul Mariner.
De Gea's contract at United expires in two summers time and there have been question marks over his future.
But Mariner was asked if he could see De Gea leaving United anytime soon and was unequivocal with his response.
"For me, if he was ever going to leave, it would be the last summer gone," he told ESPN FC. "I just don't understand this. Courtois is at Real Madrid sitting on his backside.


This command can be used to change the intel level of the space you currently have discovered - 0 for low, 1 for high.
Low / High The intel level you wish to set: '0' for low, '1' for high.
The above command sets your intel level for currently discovered space to low.
This command sets your intel level to high for all currently discovered space.


Alecto has been fighting false rumors of an oversupply of doctors for months now through press releases, articles and through communication with stakeholders within the industry.
Finally, the issue has brought media attention with National Nine News discussing the undersupply of GPs.
Negative messages being circulated about the earning capacity of GPs versus other Specialists.
Australian Medical Graduates choosing specialist and hospital roles rather than General Practice.
A perception that other Specialist roles carry more status.
Miscommunication that there is an oversupply of GPs creating a belief that there won't be jobs.
GP workforce ageing along with Australia's population. Older GPs are reducing their hours and preparing to retire.
The population of Australia continues to grow and the GP workforce needs to grow with it. The cost of medical care will continue to rise if GPs are not available because Australians will go straight to specialists for conditions a GP could manage.


text:
The Borden Yacht Club – Who knew?
Crossing the Confederation Bridge one can still catch a glimpse of the extensive breakwaters which once sheltered the steamers and the rail and vehicle transfer ramps for the Port Borden – Cape Tormentine ferry service linking Prince Edward Island with the mainland. Today the site is occupied by a fish processing plant and access to the dock is closed. Nearby is a fishing dock used by the seasonal lobster fishers. One rarely spots a sailing boat (or any other type of pleasure boat) except in the rare case where one comes in to seek shelter from the storm.
However 75 years ago it was a different vista. The impressive steam-powered ramps towered over the wharf and the S.S. Charlottetown stood ready for its schedule of regular voyages to the mainland with the S.S. Prince Edward Island tied up in reserve. More surprisingly was the collection of yachts which made up the fleet of the Borden Yacht Club.
A number of races involving Borden boats had been held in 1935 and at the end of the season it was reported that yachtsmen in that location would be forming a club in the following year. In 1936 yachts from Borden participated in the Shediac Regatta and the club was mentioned with the Summerside races. In May of 1937 the launch of the 30-foot Juanita built by Mayor Leard for J. Leroy Sherry brought the fleet up to 5 boats as the Juanita joined Capt. McGuire's yawl Maple Leaf, J. Athol Woodside's Noreen, Mayor Leard's North Wind and Lady Sybil owned by Thos. Paquet.
The Club was a participant in the formation of the Northumberland Strait Yacht Racing Association in 1937 and prior to the first regatta of the Association to be held in Pictou, Borden Commodore A.P. Cerretti announced the creation of the first trophy for inter-port racing on the Strait. The Terraplane Cup was to be awarded as a challenge trophy to be raced for from Borden to the port holding the NSYRA annual regatta. until won by the same owner three times. For 1937 the race would be from Borden to Pictou beginning on 3 July. In 1938 the race course was from Borden to Charlottetown and in 1939 from Borden to Shediac. Terraplane was the name of a car built by the Hudson Motor Car Company. The name was also used by the Borden baseball team of the same era and may have been linked to a car dealer who provided sponsorship for both the team and the yacht race.
The annual meeting of the Borden Club early in 1938 proclaimed a successful year. Borden alternated with the Summerside Yacht Club in the hosting of races and the success of the NSYRA for regattas and long distance races to Shediac and Pictou were noted as triumphs for the new organization. The 1937 Terraplane Cup had been won by Zephyr, designed and built by Borden Mayor Willard Leard. It appears from the meeting notes that most of the officers of the Club were associated with the Canadian National Railway Ferry operations at Borden.
On the eve of the 1938 Terraplane Cup race more than fifty visiting yachtsmen sat down to a banquet and dance at Borden's Abegweit Hotel. The dinner followed a race under the auspices of the Borden Yacht Club which was won by the Goldfinch of the Summerside Yacht Club under the helm of Capt. Stright. Early the next morning 20 yachts departed for the NSYRA Regatta in Charlottetown.
Boats from Charlottetown. Summerside, Shediac and Borden were present at the 1939 Borden Annual Regatta. Two races were held, one for Classes 4, 5, and 6 boats and a race for the smaller Class 3 boats which were the standard boats for the Northumberland Strait Yacht Racing Association. The meet was followed by a banquet at the Abegweit Hotel where the yachtsmen were treated to speeches from Commodore Cerretti from Borden. Commodore Morris of Charlottetown, Commodore Campbell from Summerside and Commodore Storey from Shediac as well as Captain John Read of the S.S. Charlottetown and Captain Basil Kelly of the Canadian Government Steamer Brant.
The documentary record of the Borden Yacht Club seems to come to an end after the 1939 season. Certainly yachting activities were suspended in many ports for the duration of the war but there is no evidence that they were resumed in Borden after 1945.
I would be glad to have any other information about the Borden Club including photos of any of the boats mentioned. The Terraplane Cup appears to have joined the large fleet of missing yachting trophies.
This entry was posted in Northumberland Strait Yachting Association and tagged Borden Yacht Club, Charlottetown Yacht Club, history, Northumberland Strait, Summerside Yacht Club, Terraplane Cup, yacht racing on 14/07/2014 by sailstrait.
← The first Dominion Government Steamer Brant History is what happens when you're not looking →
6 thoughts on "The Borden Yacht Club – Who knew?"
Kathy Kennedy 14/07/2014 at 20:07
Commodore Storey from the Shediac Club is likely the grandfather of my sister in law, think there is great history in the old family homestead in Petiete Rivere, NS
Pingback: Mac Irwin and the origins of Northumberland Strait yacht racing | Sailstrait
James Leard 08/08/2015 at 07:30
I have some sailing pictures available from Willard Leard's old collection.
sailstrait Post author 08/08/2015 at 08:49
I'd love to see them.
Pingback: Northumberland Strait Yacht Racing Continued into Wartime | Sailstrait
Pingback: "The Prettiest Boat on the Straits" | Sailstrait

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


It's the last few weeks of tomato season here. You know what's also about to end? The mushroom invasion of our back yard. We have this big, shaded back yard, and we picked this house hoping Thunder would run around and, you know, potty-train herself out there with little input from us.
Fail. The back yard, it turns out, grows mushrooms. On a dynastic level. We discovered this a few weeks ago, after Scott went to work and I took my coffee and the dog out there. I did what I was instructed to do by the dog trainer lady, which is psyche Thunder up by yelling "poop! yay!" in an encouraging tone of voice for about 20 minutes. This totally weirds the dog out and will eventually complicate our nice neighbors' attempt to potty-train their child.
My next thought was they could be poisonous. So I called poison control of Alabama, which, it turns out, is a bunch of super bored, poison-savvy guys who actually live in Virginia and will talk to you about mushrooms until forever. But they did offer to analyze my mushroom samples, which is awesome because I am really looking forward to the look on the FedEx lady's face when I check "refrigerate" and why yes, this box does contain both agricultural products and possibly noxious chemical substances. In the end I called Scott and said "the vet says you need to come home and drive Thunder around in your car until she pukes," which was partly true and went over really well.
When Scott started talking to me again a few days later, he brought home the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Mushrooms.
I think he did this as a joke, which is typical because I don't see any boy scout merit badges for wilderness survival around here, do I now, Scott? But based on pages 525-545, I have decided that our eight (eight?!) varies of mushroom are all poisonous and need to be killed before they kill us. That is, as soon as I figure out whether we need some kind of E.P.A. permit to buy several hundred gallons of industrial-strength bleach, and how close our back yard is to any sort of stream. In the meantime, I am considering calling the local boy scouts and offering them the use of our back yard for training purposes.
Suffice it to say, I am boycotting mushroom recipes for now because they just stress me out. Instead, I made this really great pasta sauce the other day as an homage to fresh, local tomatoes, which are totally safe and will be gone pretty soon.
Red peppers are still available, so I puréed some of those, too. It would probably be just as good without peppers, though, if you added a few more tomatoes. Also, this is the first time I have added red wine into the mix, so I know that you don't need it to have a good sauce.
Like any great tomato sauce, this one should simmer for a couple of hours. It's the kind of thing you want to make on a day you don't mind popping into the kitchen every now and then.
In the meantime, cut the 2 red peppers into quarters and remove the seeds. Place red peppers in a glug (2-3 tbsp.) of olive oil in the pot you will be using for the tomato sauce. Sautée the red peppers over medium heat until the flesh has softened and the skins are brown and crinkley, about 30 minutes. Remove red peppers from the pot and place on a cutting board.
Purée the skinned red peppers in a food processor. Return red pepper purée to the pot with the garlic. Simmer over low heat while you skin the tomatoes. To do this, reduce the heat on the pot of boiling water, jab a fork into the top of a tomato and submerge it in the hot water for about 30 seconds. On the cutting board, pierce the skin of the tomato slightly with the fork or a knife, and you should be able to peel the skin off with your fingers.
Dice the skinned tomatoes and add them to the pot with the garlic and red pepper puree. Season with salt and pepper. Add the can of tomato paste, two cans-worth of water, the 1/8 c. red wine, and the 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar. Stir until ingredients are mixed.
Simmer the sauce over low heat (I used 3 or 4 out of 10 on an electric stove top) with the lid partly on for at least an hour, stirring occasionally. We cooked ours for at least two hours. The sauce will thicken and become richer the longer you cook it. If it gets too thick (i.e., you can see big bubbles building up in the sauce before they pop loudly at the surface), add water. If you add too much water by accident, don't worry about it: If the lid is partly off, the water will evaporate and the sauce will thicken again.
About 20 minutes before you want to serve the pasta, throw the basil (whole or ripped into two pieces) into the pot.
Serve the sauce over whatever pasta you like, with parmesan or ricotta to taste.
Note: After I drain pasta, I put it in the serving bowl with a bit of parmesan. The parmesan melts onto the pasta and creates textures that the sauce can "grab on to"– kind of the way certain lettuces, like frisée, hold salad dressing better. Then I spoon the sauce over the pasta. Tossing with parmesan before adding the sauce is especially helpful in binding the sauce to thin pastas that sauce can just slip off of, like angel hair, spaghetti, and fettuccine.
Not sure about you, but I definitely need some red wine for my sauce. Bahahaha!
wait you have a french bulldog??
Hey there! I got her in April after my mom located her in Virginia. She's actually a cross between a French and English (mom was English). She's 25 lbs and 7 months old. The mix factor is awesome– she's super athletic. She is a total alpha at the dog park and likes enormous dogs– like French Mastiff enormous. My life is at least 30% funnier since I got her. How's your little one?
I LOVE the photo of the tomatoes in the Ball jar! It would be gorgeous blown up big and framed. In any kitchen.


text:
Dow logs worst day in over a year as fears over new Covid-19 variant grip global markets
By Anneken Tappe
Wall Street was in a frenzy on Black Friday as stocks around the world tumbled in the face of a new Covid-19 variant.
US equities took a dive at the open and continued their downward path, resulting in a terrible day for the stock market and the worst day for the Dow in over a year. Oil prices were also badly hit.
The new variant has been detected in South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong and Israel, prompting some countries to put flight bans in place.
Over the summer, the Delta variant spooked consumers and weighed on sectors like leisure and hospitality. Now investors and economists worry this new variant could do the same.
The Dow logged its worst performance since October 2020, falling 905 points, or 2.5%. The S&P 500 had its worst day since February, closing down 2.3%. For the Nasdaq Composite it was the worst day since September. The index finished down 2.2%.
It was a shortened trading session that ended at 1pm ET after the markets were closed Thursday for Thanksgiving. Traditionally, this half-day session is lower in trading volume, which can exacerbate the swings in the market.
"The pandemic and COVID variants remain one of the biggest risks to markets, and are likely to continue to inject volatility over the next year" or even beyond, said Keith Lerner, co-chief investment officer and chief market strategist at Truist Advisory Services, in a note to clients.
"It's hard to say at this point how lasting or impactful this latest variant will be for markets," he added.
It might take days or weeks to assess the severity of the new variant, so Friday's sell-off might not be an immediate opportunity to pick stocks up on the cheap, said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.
But not all stocks took a beating. Within the S&P 500, healthcare stocks climbed, led by Covid vaccine manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer. Moderna shares closed up more than 20%, while Pfizer stock rose more than 6%.
Outside of equities, other asset classes also struggled Friday.
Oil prices tumbled, for example. US oil futures fell more than 12%, or almost $10, to $68.82 per barrel around the time of the stock market close. The global benchmark Brent dropped more than 10% to $73.66 per barrel.
The US dollar, measured by the ICE US Dollar Index, which pegs it against its main rivals, was down 0.6% when stocks closed.
Cryptocurrencies also felt the heat, dropping across the board. Bitcoin was down more than 8% in the early afternoon, according to CoinDesk data.
Meanwhile, investors are pushing into safe haven investments. The 10-year US Treasury bond got more expensive and yields fell by more than 0.1 percentage points to 1.51% around the stock market close. Gold prices also jumped.
FLABBERGASTED SNOW SHOVELER GOES VIRAL
WA: BELLEVUE HOME SLIDES OFF FOUNDATION


He used to be a member of Commission for the Civil Law of the Government Legislative Council of Czech Republic and a member of a Committee of the Minister of Environment. Jindřich Vítek is also an arbitrator of the Arbitration Court attached to the Czech Chamber of Commerce and the Agricultural Chamber of the Czech Republic and a member of the Committee of the President of the Office for Protection of Competition for the area of public tenders. Actively participates in the legislative process through preparation of bill draft laws for branches of state administration or amendment proposals for individual deputies of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. Jindřich Vítek also gives lectures especially for bodies of municipal and state administration.
Mgr. Ondřej Dlouhý In 2006 he graduated from the Law Faculty of Charles University. He has been active in the legal profession since the studies. Ondřej Dlouhý is a partner of the law firm ERHARTOVÁ VÍTEK & PARTNERS and a leading lawyer mainly responsible for the operational management of the office and for a branch office in the fastest growing city in the Czech Republic Milovice. On a long-term basis he specializes in law information technologies, real estate law and development, contract law, family law and support of start-ups.
Jindřich Vítek graduated from West Bohemian University in Plzeň (1998). Since his graduation, he is a lecturer at Commercial Law Department of this university. In 2008 he defended a rigorous work in the field of Commercial Law and in 2012 he defended a dissertation work in a doctor´s study program Theoretical Legal Sciences in the same field of study. From 2002 to 2004 he externally lectured at Faculty of Humanities UK in Prague. He is the author of monographs Odpovědnost statutárních orgánů obchodních společností Praha – Wolters Kluwer ČR, a.s. and Neplatnost usnesení valné hromady s.r.o. Praha – Wolters Kluwer ČR, a.s. He is the co-author of Právo cenných papírů. 1. vydání. Praha : C.H. Beck, 2014, Občanský zákoník I. Obecná část (§ 1 -654). Komentář. 1. vydání. Praha : C. H. Beck, 2014, MERITUM Commercial law, Praha – Wolters Kluwer ČR, a.s., Kurs obchodního práva. 1 – 4 part, C.H. Beck, Praha (The part – Právnické osoby (Legal persons), The third part – Obchodní závazky (Commercial obligations) and The Fourth Part – Cenné papíry (Securities)); Obchodní zákoník – poznámkové vydání, Linde, Praha; Das tschechische Privat- und Wirtschaftsrecht unter dem Einfluss des europäischen Fechte, LIT Verlag Berlin-Hamburg-Münster and Sbírka příkladů z obchodního práva, C.H. Beck. He mainly publishes in Právník journal and from 2000 to 2002 he led a regular supplement "Legislativa do kapsy" of the economic weekly Profit.


text:
Home OTT For indie musicians, OTT has been an exciting phase
For indie musicians, OTT has been an exciting phase
While he is most known for his indie music, musician-writer Ankur Tewari has also worked on major films such as Gully Boy (2019) and a few OTT ventures. Tewari refuses to say if he loves independent or mainstream music when asked: "I don't think of myself as an independent or popular artist. I appreciate composing music as much as I enjoy listening to it."
When pressed to point out the main difference between the two, he is eager to do so. "There's no brief with independent music; you simply follow your intuition and what you feel," the Dil Beparvah singer says, adding, "In popular music, you're trying to improve someone else's vision." Both have a fascinating role to play."
Tewari's most recent endeavour was a collaboration with Snafu, an AI-enabled record company that helps obscure musicians get recognition based on quality. "I was worried at first since I approach my music spontaneously. But then I realised it's incredible. It allows artists to reach a larger audience, individuals who may not have heard of Ankur Tewari before," adds the singer, who recently released Shehzaada Shehzaadi, a new love song.
Tewari is also recognised for writing music for websites like RejctX 2 and Yeh Ballet. "The rise of OTT has been a fascinating new chapter for independent musicians," he says, adding that OTT has been a blessing for emerging musicians. There is a lot of music being licenced for movies and television, and many independent artists are benefiting from it."
He has authored a few of TV series in addition to being a musician. Is OTT the next step for him? "In India, OTT channels have given narrative a new lease of life. "I'm quite enthusiastic about the medium," he concludes.
Filyzilla
OTT releases
Previous articleHollywood Park is now open to high-tech companies
Next articleGum disease puts you at a roughly 40% higher chance of acquiring mental health issues


It's been a roller coaster for the dollar exchange the last couple of months, reaching a high of ¢631.30 on November 7, then dropping back down to ¢600 and staying there the past couple of weeks.
However, the exchange rate began climbing again the last couple of days, quickly gaining almost ¢10 colones, closing the year at ¢611.75, an appreciation of 7% over the close in 2017, driven mostly by a strong demand for the US dollar by the public sector, especially the government, to pay interest on the debt and maturity of securities.
The Banco Central (Central Bank) had to sell US$3 billion of its reserves during the year, while in 2017 it was US$1.88 billion.
"The main reason (of the appreciation) was the Government's need to obtain liquidity in dollars to pay obligations, which caused the exchange rate to begin to rise. The Treasury is usually a bidder of dollars, but in the last semester of this year it was, on the contrary, a forex trader," said William Porras, an economist at Ecoanálisis.
Even the Central Bank attributed the rise in the dollar to the deterioration of public finances.
"The seen (with the dollar) reflects the uncertainty of the fiscal situation, on the direction of public finances and the bill of strengthening public finances (Plan Fiscal). This has generated uncertainty in the market and in the public and a direct pressure on the exchange rate," explained Rodrigo Cubero, president of the issuing body, on October 31.
Cubero acknowledged that on that day (October 31) most of the dollars sold went to the Government.
During the year 2017, the exchange rate rose slightly, opening the year at ¢561.10 and closing it at ¢572.56.
The rate began climbing quickly in September (2018), closing the month at ¢585.80.
A month later, the dollar exchange had broken the "600" barrier, closing the month at ¢610.74 (October 31) to quickly hit its highest point a week later (¢631.30 on November 7), then to drop just as quick closing the month (November) at ¢603.10 where it remained for most of this month (December). Until a few days ago.


text:
Vague Visages Writers' Room: Favorite New Wave Films
By Vague Visages Writers' Room on April 13, 2018 • ( Leave a comment )
In the Vague Visages Writers' Room on Slack, freelancers were asked to comment about their favorite new wave films from any international movement.
Kate Blair (Selective_Kate), The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)
Rainer Werner Fassbinder's The Marriage of Maria Braun documents the tumultuous life of its titular character from the end of World War II into the post-war years. As its title implies, this is a film about a marriage, but — from the opening frames — one can see that marriage is doomed. Maria and Hermann's wedding ceremony is interrupted by an air raid, and the guests flee, leaving the bride and groom cowering on the ground as they sign the paperwork. Like many films in the New German Cinema, the film grapples directly with the country's dark 20th-century history, and the ill-fated marriage operates as a potent metaphor for the country's deep wounds. The ever-luminous Hanna Schygulla plays Braun, a woman who does what she needs to do to survive in an inhospitable landscape without a man to support her. Like many of Fassbinder's films, this one borrows from the structures of Hollywood women's films, utilizing the sumptuous colors of Sirkian melodrama and echoing the tragic arc of films like Mildred Pierce. Maria's stoic veneer hides a deep and growing sorrow. Through the film, she is fuelled and guided by her love for her Hermann, who floats in an out of her life like a ghost: first lost at war, then imprisoned. She becomes hopelessly fragmented as she hardens to the outside world, and the small flame of her love grows frailer inside her. The film is a harrowing portrait of Germany's history and collective memory, but also documents the singular tragedy of two people separated by circumstances that are ultimately insurmountable.
Kimberly Pierce (@kpierce624), Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)
Picking a favorite among the many strong films made during the post-WWII new wave of British cinema is a difficult task. When considering the handful of insightful and challenging movies which emerged during this period, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning stands out as a cornerstone of the movement. The movie features screen legend Albert Finney in his breakout role. While the character of Arthur is challenging and problematic, Finney and director Karel Reisz work together to craft a powerful example of British cinema's "Angry Young Man." Furthermore, the film crafts a searing critique of not only British class structure, but also the rigid gender roles of the period. As such, the characters of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (as well as the British New Wave in general) are deeply representative of not only their generation, but British cinema as a whole.
Walter Neto (@wfcneto), Eros + Massacre (1969)
In the aftermath of World War II, nationalism and thoughts of race supremacy left the world in unimaginable chaos. And it was in this time of change and social unrest that Japanese filmmakers started to question art and its place inside a bourgeois society. They began to question film studios that didn't approach themes such as prostitution, homosexuality, youth culture, communism, violence, the women's place in society and so on. This was the beginning of what would be called the Japanese New Wave (Nūberu bāgu), and Yoshishige Yoshida quickly became one of the most important names of this movement. His 1969 film Eros + Massacre is a classic of Japanese cinema.
The film tells two stories: the first one is a biopic of the notorious anarchist Sakae Ōsugi, and the second examines students researching about anarchism and other political ideas. Tradition and modernity clash, and Yoshida uses the human body and time to emphasize societal instability. The body is filmed without any taboo because it carries the marks of daily violence, and time is how one can perceive change itself: nothing it is set in stone and everything follows a chronological order since everything has a beginning, middle and end. Thus, everything could and should be questioned. Eros + Massacre isn't an easy ride at more than three hours long, but it's quite the experience and undoubtedly a relevant new wave film.
Alasdair Bayman (@alasdairbayman), Ossessione (1943)
Long before Luchino Visconti released decadent films like Senso (1954) and Death in Venice (1971), the Italian icon of luxurious elegance operated more practically. His first feature film Ossessione (1943) created a foundation for the cinematic and narrative language of the Italian Neorealist movement, later benefitted by Vittoria De Sica's seminal Bicycle Thieves (1948) and Federico Fellini's La Strada (1954). With its profound and impactful illustrations of human love, hatred and guilt, the film deserves to be remembered as one of Visconti's most vivid films.
Bullish, dashing and alone on the road, Massimo Girotti's Gino drifts through rural Italy in search of little jobs to sustain a fragile existence. At a small roadhouse, he is greeted by the graceful Giovanna (Clara Calamai). Instantly striking a connection, the two begin an affair. The central romance naturally drives the narrative, and the austere ambience created by Visconti feels fully realised, without any clichés or theatricality. Ossessione shows the director finding his voice in a world shifting under perilous social change, away from the menacing grasps of Benito Mussolini's fascist regime. In the face of adversity, art may help clarify one's thoughts on human compassion and love. Based on this concept alone, Ossessione is a pillar of the Italian Neorealist movement, and a piece of filmmaking to be cherished.
Q.V. Hough (@QVHough), Mean Streets (1973)
During college, Martin Scorsese broadened my horizons with his 1999 documentary My Voyage to Italy. After learning about Italian Neorealism, I studied other cinematic movements and began thinking more outside the box. During this time in my life, I often watched Scorsese's 1973 film Mean Streets, an American New Wave production that incorporates various aesthetics which ultimately inspired Vague Visages: film noir grit, La Nouvelle Vague ideals and strong visual contrasts ala Caravaggio, whether it's the chiaroscuro lighting or the character framing. Whenever I return to Mean Streets, I'll usually double-down with another New Wave film, probably something from Roberto Rossellini or François Truffaut.
Categories: Featured, Vague Visages Writers' Room
Tagged as: 042118, Albert Finney, American Cinema, American New Wave, British Cinema, British New Wave, Caravaggio, Cinema, Die Ehe der Maria Braun, Eros + Massacre, Erosu purasu gyakusatsu, François Truffaut, German Cinema, German New Wave, Hanna Schygulla, Hannah Schygulla, Italian Cinema, Italian New Wave, Japanese Cinema, Japanese New Wave, Karel Reisz, Kate Blair, Luchino Visconti, Martin Scorsese, Mean Streets, Mildred Pierce, My Voyage to Italy, New German Cinema, New Wave, Obsessione, Ossessione, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Roberto Rossellini, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, The Marriage of Maria Braun, Vague Visages, World Cinema, Writers' Room, Yoshishige Yoshida
Las Palmas Film Festival Review: Guy Maddin's 'The Green Fog'
Album Review: A Place to Bury Strangers 'Pinned'


Getting a Masters degree is not an easy task like an under-graduate degree. Most masters students often do other things at the same time apart from their studies like trying to balance work, a side business, school and social life all at once. Added to this, Masters degree papers can be difficult and time consuming, calling for heavily researched topics that take hours and days to compile.
This is where our services are highly utilized. Our professional writers have over 5 years of experience writing and editing highly researched papers in various subjects.
Our Masters and PhD graduated writers will help you write your best Master Thesis. All of our writers are experts in their field, thus we can help you with whatever subject you are studying.
All our papers are 100% wrote from scratch with no plagiarism. Each word is written according to your detailed instructions which you fill out when ordering for your paper.Contact our friendly, professional Quick Essay Writers and see how good we really are.


text:
Q: Create a link to folder with python and tkinter I am making an app in Python 3 (for Windows) for creating some docx files, using data from csv's, using tkinter of course for GUI.
The files are saved on C:\Folder1\Folder2
Is there a way to insert a link (to a specific folder) in a message box?
I mean something like a box with a message: "You can find the file here" and when the user clicks on 'here', destination folder will be opened by Windows Explorer.
Or, as an alternative, the docx file itself will be opened by MS Word!

A: You can try following this process:
from tkinter import *
import os

root = Tk()
# path = 'C:\Folder Name'
path = 'C:\Folder Name\File Name.docx'

def open():
    os.startfile(path, 'open')

button = Button(root, text="Open File Direction or File", command=open)
button.pack()

root.mainloop()

Or this:
from tkinter import *
import os

def open():
    os.system("start C:/")

root = Tk()
button = Button(root, text="Open File Direction", command=open)
button.pack()
root.mainloop()

A: Windows has a command start to do this. You can use it like this to get same behavior as when you double-click a folder/file in Windows Explorer.
Create a button to open folder and then assign command like this:
fold_btn.config(command=lambda: os.system('start "" "{}"'.format("C:\Folder1\Folder2")))

Or Create a button to open file(docx or other) and then assign command like this:
file_btn.config(command=lambda: os.system('start "" "{}"'.format("C:\Folder1\Folder2\file.docx")))

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Position Opening: Lectureship in Islamic Studies and Arabic
The University of Edinburgh is seeking to appoint a Lecturer in Islamic Studies and Arabic in the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies beginning in September 2009.
The successful candidate is expected to have the ability to engage in teaching in core areas of Islamic studies (such as the Qur¹an, Sufism, hadith, fiqh, or philosophy). Fluency in Arabic is essential, and the successful candidate will be expected to teach courses using Arabic texts as well as courses using texts in translation. A degree of fluency in another related language  especially Persian and/or Turkish  is an added advantage. In addition, this candidate will show promise in or have an established record of achieving excellence in research and publication.
This candidate will contribute to a new undergraduate degree in Islamic Studies, as well as supervising postgraduates in a wide range of topics relating to the study of Islam. Additional desirable areas of academic interest may include: Islamic science, modern Islamic movements, kalam, gender studies, Islamic finance, regional interests outside of the Arab world, or comparative approaches to the study of Islam.
The successful candidate will join a dynamic department committed to excellence in teaching and research, with a long history of prominence in Islamic studies.
In the 2008 UK Research Assessment Exercise, IMES achieved the second-highest national result, confirming the department's continuing role as a leading programme for research and study of Islam, the Middle East, and other related subjects; in the assessment over 70% of research activity in IMES was classified as being Œworld-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour'.
At the University of Edinburgh, IMES operates in partnership with two other major centres of research and teaching relating to the Arab and Islamic worlds, the Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World (http://www.casaw.ac.uk), and the new Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World.
For those who wish to apply on-line, please follow the on-line application procedure at www.jobs.ed.ac.uk Applications should include the names and addresses of two referees. These should be asked to send their references at the time of application directly
Islamic Studies Search
19 George Square Edinburgh, UK EH8 9LD
Phone: +44 (0) 131 650 4182; Fax: +44 (0) 131 650 6804
Email: islamic.studies@ed.ac.uk
Website: www.imes.ed.ac.uk
Applicants should ensure that their references the address above by the posted deadline. Failure to do so may result in the application not being considered for short-listing. It is anticipated that interviews will be held in Edinburgh beginning the week of 11 May or as soon as possible thereafter.
Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World University of Edinburgh
16-19 George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LD
Web: www.casaw.ac.uk
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
Tagged: Islam, Muslims, work
Posted in: Careers, Islam, Workforce Issues
← Some Qur'anic Verses To Recall During Tough Times At Work
Assistant or Associate Professor Muslim Societies →


text:
Mick Cochrane
By jcd August 12, 2006
Gifted and versatile back, Mick Cochrane was one of the outstanding Irish League players at the turn of the twentieth century…
Name: Michael Cochrane
Born: c. 1875, Belfast
Position: Left-Back / Left-Half
Died: 11 or 13 April 1912
Representative Honours: Ireland: 8 Full Caps (1898-1901); Irish League: 4 Caps (1898-1900).
Club Honours: (with Glentoran) Irish League Champion 1896/97; (with Distillery) Irish League Champion 1898/99; Co. Antrim Shield Winner 1899/1900; Belfast Charities Cup Winner 1899/00.
* 8/0
Belfast Celtic
Leicester Fosse
# 99/2
* all games; # all games, all spells.
Mick Cochrane began his career with former Irish League club Milltown FC, before arriving at Distillery at the tail-end of the 1895/96 season with the club wrapping up a three trophy winning campaign. After just two appearances for the Whites, Cochrane signed for Glentoran for the 1896/97 season. His stay at the Oval was also brief, encompassing just eight appearances, enough for an Irish League winner's medal, before he moved across the city to join Belfast Celtic.
After his year away, Cochrane returned to Distillery for the 1897/98 season, and quickly flourished. Slotting in as full-back or wing-half, on either side as required, he helped Distillery to Irish League, Co. Antrim Shield and Belfast Charities Cup successes. His time at Grosvenor also brought Cochrane representative honours, with four Inter-League appearances and seven international caps; he was also given the Ireland captaincy.
In 1900 Mick Cochrane left for England, and Second Division Leicester Fosse. Whilst at Filbert Street, Cochrane had the honour of becoming Leicester's first international when he took to the field for a game against Scotland in February 1901 – the 11-0 defeat was to be his last international appearance. A brief move to Middlesbrough at the tail end of the 1900/01 season brought to an end Cochrane's Football League career, and he returned to Ireland were he played out his days with spells back at both Distillery and Belfast Celtic.
18-02-1898 Wales... A W 1- 0 BC
05-03-1898 England. H L 2- 3 BC
26-03-1898 Scotland H L 0- 3 BC
18-02-1899 England. A L 2-13 BC
24-02-1900 Wales... A L 0- 2 BC
23-02-1901 Scotland A L 0-11 BC
Additional club details by Martin O'Connor.
Captain Irish League Rep Player - C
Labels: Captain Irish League Rep Player - C


In these years, increasingly more people choose Facebook as their communication tool yet less individuals know that this Application has hidden some messages from them- the messages from complete strangers will certainly be filtered by Facebook as well as customers do unknown that somebody has sent out messages to them. Hidden Messages Facebook: After that, just how can you find the hidden messages on Facebook and the best ways to check them? This tutorial will certainly tell you the approaches thoroughly.
What are filtered messages? They are the messages sent out by Facebook users that are not linked to you. Simply puts, if a non-friend sends out a message to you or the obtained message is deemed to be a junk message, Facebook will certainly put it into the filtered folder straight without alerting you. And usually, these messages will be conserved in Message Requests folder which is not really evident. Thus, we call these messages hidden messages.
After that, how can we figure out the Message Requests folder and watch the messages in it? Just continue reading to obtain the method.
Step 1. Log in your Facebook account on the browser that you often utilize, such as Google Chrome, Firefox, Bing, and so on.
Step 3. Next, pick Messages request folder from the list to get the messages sent out from non-friends. If you locate something essential amongst these messages, you could click Accept to relocate them to your normal messages inbox.
Tip 4. If you want to read more messages in this folder, you could click on See filtered request to watch and also accept the messages that are substantial to you.
Notice: If you locate some spam messages in the filtered messages folder, you could check the messages as well as click Delete to remove it as well as you will not see the removed messages anymore.
Besides computer system, you could Log in and use Facebook on Android phone or apple iphone too. Compared with the previous ways, this technique would certainly be easier cause you can carry out the searching for procedure on the Facebook App straight:.
Step 2. After that you have to tap on your profile symbol on the top right edge.
Step 3. Next off, just scroll down the web page to look for People > Messages Requests and choose See filtered Requests under this area to bring out more messages.
Step 4. As well as, if you find any kind of valuable message in this folder, you could tap on the message and also elect Accept to relocate to your inbox. And if the message is worthless, you can touch on Delete to eliminate them from the folder.
This implies is appropriate for apple iphone Facebook as well.
These 2 methods will help you to discover all the hidden messages on Facebook to make sure that you could check, check out and take care of all the Facebook messages without ant headache.


Hilco Brands is a Hilco Global company composed of experienced brand strategists that deliver practical solutions to increase the profitability of iconic brand names and businesses.
Our current portfolio of brands and companies include LeTigre, P448, Haute Hippie, Powerbilt, Sneaker GPS, Under the Canopy, Portico, Street Trend and Altec Lansing. Prior portfolio brands and companies that were successfully grown and sold include The Sharper Image®, sold to Iconix Brand Group (NASDAQ: ICON); Ellen Tracy® and Caribbean Joe®, sold to Sequential Brands Group (OTC:SQBG); Tommy Armour Golf® and RAM Golf®, sold to The Sports Authority; and Bombay Brands, sold to Otto International.
Hilco Brands is a unit of Hilco Global, a privately held Chicago-based diversified financial services company providing valuation, monetization and advisory solutions, including business asset valuations, asset acquisition and disposition services, real estate services, M&A services and retail consulting.


This morning I hugged my daughter. Several times. Before I climbed into the "car service" car to go to JFK. Before I left her standing alone on the sidewalk in front of her hip industrial-style loft in a beginning-to-gentrify neighborhood, where Ridgewood meets Bushwick.
There is still all the old stuff — auto body and parts shops, minimalist (from low-budgets, not in a Zen way) mom & pop bodegas, lots of graffiti and broken bits of old everything. In between all that there's a somewhat upscale Italian restaurant that looks a cross between back lot industrial, hippie, European, and tropical, a few hip cafes, and one open-air "beer garden" with lots of picnic tables painted bright pink, sky blue, or lime green with assorted mix-and-match umbrellas, and a jazz-y metal door with brightly-colored triangles. The energy entirely happy.
My daughter and her fiancé could not afford their apartment were it in most Brooklyn neighborhoods. So I'm happy for them. Also happy for their sense of adventure and youthful energy to explore the new and unfamiliar. In their neighborhood it's pretty easy to tell who the newcomers are. Soon enough there will be displacement of the poor and working middle. Which might eventually be them. I try to hold these contradictions and try not to hold my breath.
At the end of my week in Brooklyn, I was beyond grateful for the good time I'd gotten to share — with my daughter and her fiancé. With his parents. With my cousin Neil and his fabulous wife (artist and jewelry maker Robin Sulkes) and their great kids Hana and Andre. I loved going to 54 Below with Neil, Robin, and Hana and getting to see Anna and her girl group perform. I was particularly happy meeting the wonderfully talented and lovely Melanie Brook, a friend of Anna's and a singer/actress I have admired at a 3,000 mile distance since the two of them started singing mash-ups together a year ago (before a third girl Kerri George joined and they became "The Mashup Project" — now re-incarnated into the band "Shanley").
Even the weather shined its good graces on this little trip, a much needed respite from San Francisco summer cold and grey.
There was however a back story that played like a funeral dirge (and included too many real-life ones) the entire time, reminding me of the greater picture. Reminding me of this present-moment time of crisis and opportunity. Reminding me that we can make choices, that in a sense we are obligated to make choices.
A choice. It takes a lot more energy to untangle knots and find the non-linear complexity of our interconnectedness than to just grab hold of some ancient knotted story of suspicion and hatred, who is us and who is them in the first two sentences and the vanquishing of the other by the end.
It takes energy to remember to keep looking at our own unconscious biases that leak epigenetically and parentally-programmed fear, suspicion, and blame from long-hidden, ancient wells of conditioned thinking.
I was SO happy to be in New York. I was also SO sad to see that two more innocent Black men had been shot by police. The videos of the shootings were beyond upsetting. To fully comprehend #BlackLivesMatter is vital.
I also get why some people feel drawn to the phrase #AllLivesMatter. It's complicated.
I know for sure that #BlackLivesMatter is somehow key, essential, critical to our understanding of the hugeness of racism and its ongoing impact in our country. And separate but connected, the murder of the Dallas police officers is also tragic and wholly unjustifiable. And then there was the compassionate, open-hearted response of the community.
For one thing, for inspiration, check out the Richmond Police Department's official website.
Speaking up can be a rough and bumpy road. It can feel like a big risk, sometimes ill-rewarded. A little like this plane I am writing in, where the "fasten your seat belts" signs keep going on and off. Turbulence happens. Like conflict, we try to avoid it. In a plane we fasten our seat belts. Close our eyes. Pray. Whatever your thing is. On the ground, we keep quiet, hide out, or speak aggressively. It's pure amygdala-based fight or flight. In a highly charged debate, to engage conversationally in a problem-solving fashion (utilizing our pre-frontal cortex) is a skill most of us never got taught.
If you've been listening, but not speaking up, now is a good time to practice speaking up. For those who speak a lot and don't listen well or deeply, try that. We all need to strengthen our abilities with deep listening and wise speech. It's not easy, but it for sure won't happen if we don't practice.
Holding paradox, sadness and happiness at the same time takes some mental and emotional agility. For the most part, we weren't raised with it. So we need to practice.
This week I practiced a lot. I had a great time in New York and I'm sad to be leaving. I'm sad about how our human confusions and delusions too often cause grave harm and I'm happy that so many humans have been sharing a lot of wisdom and kindness.
I'm glad people have been speaking up, recording, videoing and sharing some deep truths and realities and generosity of spirit. We can do this. People speaking up and out gives me hope as I continue to cross the Great Divide, now flying over South Dakota, which surely must hold a deep metaphor for our time and place. Probably Indigenous Peoples' wisdom. Probably about stewardship rather than ownership. Probably about protecting the Earth, Oceans, and Skies, sharing with each other and all species, and expressing gratitude. Probably something like that, radiating out from South Dakota in all directions across the Great Divide.
Really wish we could all feel that the world is peaceful. I always think if everyone was just more respectful of others maybe it could happen.
So glad you had time with Anna and got to meet her future in laws too.
Her family are flying South and taking a cruise so she is with us while they are away as they are having their floors in their home all done.
Thank you, Gayle. I loved it all, especially about holding contradictions without "holding my breath" and about speaking up and listening. . .not necessarily in that order. Reminded me of a friend's FB post and resulting conversation, which at the risk of monopolizing this "reply space", I'm copying below.
"I asked everyone I met today, "How are you doing?" Not just hello. Some said they were fine; some said they weren't okay. Most asked me how I was, in return, and I said things like "I want to talk to everyone I meet today about what's happening on the streets, in our communities." I found that almost everyone is aware of Dallas, Minnesota and Baton Rouge. People want to talk about it.
"I spoke to an African American woman who told me she's worried about her two sons; she said she and her husband have decided not to have another child until they see where all this is going. I asked almost everyone if they were hopeful; it was about a 50-50 response rate. I asked if people felt we were on the brink of a change. I asked if they were aware of the importance of what BLM is calling for. I spoke to a young African-American man who said there needs to be more accountability on all sides, an older white woman who was so upset that the cop in Minnesota shot into a car with a child in the back seat. I spoke about Bernie's suggestion to have every police-related shooting rise to the level of an outside investigation.
I learned from Ed that to cross the great divide, I need to learn not what to say, but what to ask. That's what I need to practice.
Thanks again for this post. I think it's something I can send to people without worrying about which "side" they are on. That says a lot.
Loved all you had to say. If people keep speaking their truth then we can possibly change the dialog. Waking up to a new attack in France and Trump ahead in the polls is disheartening, but the opposite of hope is despair and I refuse to go there if only for the future of our children. Thank you for speaking your truth and sharing. By the way, I love the mash-up. They are seriously good and I am so proud of Anna! How fun to meet the rest of the group. Love you.


text:
Ковачичи () — географический топоним. Он может означать:

 Ковачичи — село в общине Биелина Республики Сербской.
 Ковачичи — село в общине Зеница Федерации Боснии и Герцеговины.
 Ковачичи — село в общине Калиновик Республики Сербской.
 Ковачичи — село в общине Кладань Федерации Боснии и Герцеговины.
 Ковачичи — село в общине Невесине Республики Сербской.
 Ковачичи — село в общине Нови-Травник Федерации Боснии и Герцеговины.
 Ковачичи — село в общине Олово Федерации Боснии и Герцеговины.

См. также
 Ковачич — южнославянская фамилия.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Automated identification of plants and animals have improved considerably in the last few years, in particular thanks to the recent advances in deep learning. The next big question is how far such automated systems are from the human expertise. Indeed, even the best experts are sometimes confused and/or disagree between each others when validating visual or audio observations of living organism. A picture or a sound actually contains only a partial information that is usually not sufficient to determine the right species with certainty. Quantifying this uncertainty and comparing it to the performance of automated systems is of high interest for both computer scientists and expert naturalists. This chapter reports an experimental study following this idea in the plant domain. In total, nine deeplearning systems implemented by three different research teams were evaluated with regard to nine expert botanists of the French flora. Therefore, we created a small set of plant observations that were identified in the field and revised by experts in order to have a near-perfect golden standard. The main outcome of this work is that the performance of state-of-the-art deep learning models is now close to the most advanced human expertise. This shows that automated plant identification systems are now mature enough for several routine tasks, and can offer very promising tools for autonomous ecological surveillance systems.


text:
Scholarships For Girls
In 1995, a scholarship program founded by Bhante Wimala successfully assisted fifty boys and girls in furthering their education. In a recent phone conversation, Bhante revealed what compelled him to start a scholarship project specifically for girls. "I quite often come across girls working as servants or gardeners, many times working for nothing or perhaps for food. From personal experience I know girls do not get the same opportunities as boys for education." full story...
On my November 2003 trip to Africa, one of the employees of the Sri Lankan Embassy approached me with a concern. She told me that she had visited an orphanage on the outskirts of Nairobi, which housed about 100 orphans. These children come from urban slum areas in and around Nairobi. full story...
Simple Deeds That Can Changes Lives
According to the Joint United Nations Program on AIDS, by the beginning of 2003 there will be 42 million people in the world living with HIV or AIDS. Within approximately 10 years we can expect another 45 million people to get infected. In Africa alone, about 55 million people could die over the next two decades if they don't get treatment. Asia, which contains over half of the world's population, is on the verge of becoming the world's largest AIDS epidemic. full story...
Gift of Sight - Gift of Light
Of the many projects completed in 2002, one of the most satisfying was the Cataract Eye Operations Project in East Africa. While in Nairobi over a year ago, I spoke with several physicians and learned of the seriousness of the eye problems in Africa. In fact, blindness in Africa increases at the rate of two million persons per year. Doctors believe that 75% of these cases are avoidable and easily treatable. Unfortunately, there is less than one eye doctor available per million African people. So most people in need will never receive treatment. full story...
Donating a Fundus Camera
As part of our ongoing contributions to the eye care specialists at the Lions Sightfirst Hospital in Nairobi, we were able to donate a fundus camera this Fall. Prior to our donation, there were only three of these specialized machines in all of Kenya. full story...
Malaria Prevention Project
Malaria is a life-threatening illness transmitted from one person to another through the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito. It is one of the greatest public health challenges preventing economic development in the poorest countries of the world. Although more than one million malaria-related deaths occur worldwide each year, 90% of these are in Africa. full story...
Wheelchairs for the Disabled
In 2002 we were able to distribute 50 wheelchairs to disabled people in several remote regions of Kenya. The inspiration for the wheelchair project came as I was visiting the Spinal Cord Injuries Hospital in Nairobi some time ago. This hospital provides medical care and rehabilitation services for people who have sustained paralyzing spinal cord injuries. full story...