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Universe B - The Unpublished Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison's official site
Grant Morrison: All Star blog (en Italia)
Andrew Hickey's Sci-Ence, Justice Leak! blog
Kangarat Murder Society
David Uzumeri's Batmannotations
A Moment of Morrison
DC's Source blog
Grant Morrison's Wikipedia page
Big Clix Energy - Grant Morrison HeroClix - Part 1
posted 5 Mar 2019, 05:35 by Ben Hansom
(Invariably I always think these gallery posts will take no time at all and be a nice quick distraction for y'all on your lunch hour or whatever. Also invariably, they always unexpectedly take *AGES* to do. Ah well, such is life...)
Here's a gallery of DC HeroClix figures - plastic figures on bases, an inch or so in height, much like the wargaming metal minatures that were common when I were a lad but pre-painted, much cheaper and *much* easier to break - based on characters created (or re-created) by Grant Morrison and his artistic collaborators over the years. I've tried to stick to figures that are really obviously based on Morrison comics. Just as a fr'isnstance on the kind of thing I've left out, there are a bunch of HeroClix Zatannas and Mister Miracles but none of them look like they were *directly* inspired by the Seven Soldiers book, so I've left them out.
There is some sort of game you can play with these but I know absolutely zip about it, I just like looking at these weird little tchotchkes. If you're some kind of an expert, please let me know about the ones I have invariably missed. There is another part to come though, so hold your horses about it, yeah? :)
Click the big ugly pic of Solaris to go to the gallery
The Green Lantern #3 and #4 Annotations
posted 7 Feb 2019, 01:19 by Ben Hansom
Annotations for issues #3 and #4 of Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp's The Green Lantern are here! The annotations for #3 have actually been here for a month but I forgot to link them from the front page! Any corrections, comments, condemnations, celebrations, send 'em my way either here or via Twitter!
This time around, Sun-Eaters! Starbreakers! Space Dolphins?!
Click on the pictures for the annotations for each issue, or here to go straight through to the newest ones.
Hey! You've Got To Clyde Your Love Away - The Annotated Captain Clyde Part Two
posted 26 Jan 2019, 18:05 by Ben Hansom [ updated 26 Jan 2019, 18:06 ]
Continuing with the second part of the annotations for Grant Morrison's long-lost Captain Clyde comic strip, now up *in its entirety* at globalvariables.net. What a time to be alive!
This time around, the Deros move to centre stage as Captain Clyde uncovers an insidious plot by a four thousand year old amorphous blob from Atlantis to rule the world, and has his first encounter with the brain-baffling Belphegor. All this and the destruction of one of Scottish football's most beloved landmarks awaits...
The link to the relevant Global Variables page is at the top of the annotations and the strips are numbered as per the pics on that site. Thanks once again to the man behind the mask for sharing this with the rest of us.
Click here for hot annotation action!
Clyde and Seek - The Annotated Captain Clyde Part One
Incredible scenes over the past couple of days, as the heretofore unknown (to me at least) website globalvariables.net started posting huge chunks of Grant Morrison's long-lost Captain Clyde comic strip, originally printed in Glasgow local newspaper The Govan Press from 1979 to 1982. As of this writing, we're at strip 66, so just over a third of the way through the 150 page run, with plans - it seems - to put the lot up.
Morrison was 19 and, like his hero Chris Melville, terminally unemployed when the strip began. The Govan Press paid Morrison £4 a strip initially (about £20 or $26 in today's money), rising to £6 (basically the exact same amount of money, accounting for inflation) by the time the run ended. When that end came - 3 years almost to the day since the strip began - it was in the middle of an epic saga of Captain Clyde versus Satan, truncated to just 11 installments from the original 30, and cruelly replaced by a syndicated Tom & Jerry strip, with extreme prejudice.
It struck me reading through the first few chapters that there's a lot of Scotland-centric and/or extremely dated contemporary references in there, so as someone who was barely born when the strip started, isn't Scottish and has literally never been to Glasgow I thought I'd be the best person to walk you through it... Yeah, actually, feel free to help me out with that as much as possible please.
Click through for the Part One of the annotations
The Green Lantern #2 Annotations
posted 10 Dec 2018, 05:52 by Ben Hansom
Who are the Blackstars? Why does that guy have an exploding volcano for a face? The annotations for The Green Lantern #2 by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp are here, all dressed-up and ready to go.
As ever, please do get in touch if you've any comments or corrections.
Click here for the annotations.
posted 7 Nov 2018, 15:16 by Ben Hansom
The annotations for The Green Lantern #1 by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp are here, large and in charge,and - holy shit! - done on the same day the comic came out rather than, err two and a half years later or whatever. Aim is to keep up the schedule so you keep coming back to read 3,000+ words of my witterings rather than three or four tweets by Liam Sharp that give you basically the same info. Here's hoping!
Such a great comic, even better than I hoped it would be to be honest, am super psyched for what's to come.
Get in touch if you've any comments or corrections, or hell, if you just fancy shooting the shit about this stuff.
Is This A Page From Grant Morrison's 'Hypercrisis' pitch?
posted 22 Oct 2018, 15:34 by Ben Hansom [ updated 22 Oct 2018, 15:37 ]
At various points over the past twenty years, Grant Morrison has teased snippets of what might have happened in his proposed (and ultimately rejected) Hypercrisis crossover, a slam-bang DC universe-wide sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths that was initially pitched in the late 90's - possibly with Mark Waid onboard as co-conspirator - back when Morrison was still writing JLA. From a 2002 interview with Sequential Tart -
"My one regret about my brief falling out with DC after the 'Superman Incident' is that I didn't get to do my Hypercrisis series at DC to explain all this stuff and set up a whole new playground. It's the one thing I could still be arsed doing with classical superheroes. If I ever go back, I'll explain the whole Hypertime thing and recreate the Challengers of the Unknown as Challengers: Beyond the Unknown.
It's one thing I still want to do. It had a monster eating the first few years of the 21st century and Superman building a bridge across this gaping hole in time. A bridge made of events. The Guardians of The Multiverse and a new Green Lantern Corps made up of parallel reality Green Lanterns, the Superman Squad and the mystery of the Unknown Superman of 2150 etc, etc. There's a huge synopsis filled with outrageous stuff."
One thing we do know for sure is that when Morrison re-signed with DC in 2003, one of the first things he pitched was a rejigged version of Hypercrisis, now titled Crisis in Hypertime. Though newly installed executive editor Dan Didio was sold on the idea, president and publisher Paul Levitz ultimately rejected the series once again, believing that the Hypercrisis concept was not strong enough to hang a company-wide crossover on. The big event slot for 2004 was ultimately filled by the moribund Identity Crisis, while the plan for a direct sequel to the original Crisis was picked up with Geoff Johns' Infinite Crisis the following year.
As you might imagine, despite the rejection, a bunch of this stuff ended up getting used elsewhere - the Unknown Superman and the Superman Squad appeared in All-Star Superman, a bastardized version of the Challengers Beyond the Unknown appeared in Countdown (ughhh), and the whole 'Guardians of the Multiverse' thing fits pretty neatly with Operation: Justice Incarnate from The Multiversity. Other elements from Hypercrisis that Morrison has mentioned elsewhere also got put to good use - the series was intended to open with a major character's shocking death, originally Captain Marvel but changed to J'onn J'onzz for the later Final Crisis; and, to goose the sales figures, every issue was going to be a #1, a tactic later employed with The Multiversity.
Today, whilst trawling the ancient comics internet #content mines for nuggets just like those, I found this 2015 Facebook post from Dan Didio, reminiscing on the road to Infinite Crisis and accompanied by a single page from "The Land of Busted Pitches" showing "the first serious attempt at pulling the continuity together during my tenure" -
Is this a page from the 2004 version of the Hypercrisis pitch, renamed as "CRISIS II or CRISIS IN INFINITE FUTURES"?
A chronovore (the 'Hyper Time Drive'-powered Infinite Man, from Paul Levitz's Legion of Super-Heroes run) is devouring time, necessitating a bridge made of events be built to reconnect the future and the past? Hell yeah, that *really* sounds like Morrison's pitch from his interview quote up top there, eh? But, whilst the idea itself is a dead on match, some of the details - trying to make Kingdom Come villain Gog happen yet again as some sort of major threat; including extremely obscure early 80's Superman backup strip 'Superman 2020' as one of the headline possible futures of the DC Universe - sound waaay more like a Mark Waid joint, while some of the other stuff sounds suspiciously like what Geoff Johns would go on to do in his post-Infinite Crisis JSA run (Gog, again), Flashpoint and Doomsday Clock.
Indulging Didio's irrational hatred of Dick Grayson is something I reckon DC writers of that period (and beyond) just had to get on board with tbh, and it seems fairly obvious that by 2004 the higher-ups had long since decided that Clark and Lois's marriage was a mistake - undoing it is also a major story beat in Morrison/Waid/Millar and Peyer's Superman 2000 pitch from 1999. Could Crisis II / Crisis In Infinite Futures have been pitched as an editorially driven group effort, much like 52 which followed maybe a year or less after this?
Maybe, who knows?..
Not me, that's for sure. But I'll bet Chris Roberson does...
Panel from 2011's Superman #708 by Chris Roberson, art by Eddy Barrows
DC Publishes Grant Morrison's Pitch For 'The Green Lantern'
posted 1 Aug 2018, 11:48 by Ben Hansom
Headline kind of speaks for itself really doesn't it? From this week's DC Nation #3, the (heavily redacted) original pitch for Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp's upcoming The Green Lantern, launching this November.
Green Lantern as a cosmic police procedural sounds... kind of a boring and obvious take to be honest, but I'm sure Morrison and Sharp will absolutely kill it in the execution. And of course the prospect of a bunch of cosmic callbacks to DC's past is, as you might imagine, right up my alley. I absolutely will be doing annotations for it, and if you're very good, I might even get them done on time/finish them. A tantalising prospect, no doubt...
The Unseen Grant Morrison - How To Become A Werewolf
posted 12 Jul 2018, 10:59 by Ben Hansom
A rarely seen cut-up comic from the back page of Bombs Away Batman!!!, a fanzine put together by Grant Morrison and his bandmates in The Mixers back in 1983. The panels that make up the bulk of the strip were most likely cut from various Marvel UK reprint titles from the mid to late 1970's, and give a good idea of what teenage Morrison might've been reading around then (lots of Starlin Captain Marvel, clearly). It's mildly amusing to me that all of these are almost certainly taken from flimsy British reprint books - take a pair of scissors to a *proper* comic?? Never!!
A full list of what comes from where follows after the strip itself, Strictly For The Heads.
Title - "HOW TO BECOME A WEREWOLF!" from WORLDS OF FEAR #10 (Fawcett, 1953). UK reprint in SPELLBOUND #63, published by L. Miller & Son, ~1965 - Panel 1 – "IT BEGAN WITH ATOMIC WAR!" from 'Machine Age!' in JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #17 (Marvel, August 1954) by Stan Lee (probably) and Sid Check. UK reprint in PLANET OF THE APES #23 (March 28th 1975) - Panel 2 – "NOW ALL THAT REMAINS IS THE… RAVAGERS!" From CAPTAIN MARVEL #29 (November 1973) by Jim Starlin. UK reprint in MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL #227 (January 26th 1977) - Panel 3 – "ONCE AGAIN THE DEAD VOID OF SPACE LIES ALONE AND QUIET…", from CAPTAIN MARVEL #29 (November 1973) by Jim Starlin. UK reprint in MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL #227 (January 26th 1977) - Panel 4 – "…A LAND OF DARKNESS… AND DEEP NIGHT!" from CONAN THE BARBARIAN #23 (February 1973) by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor Smith. UK reprint in AVENGERS #102 (August 8th 1975) - Panel 5 – "…AND PERHAPS THAT WAS ALL I NEEDED!" from CAPTAIN MARVEL #29 (November 1973) by Jim Starlin. UK reprint in MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL #227 (January 26th 1977) - Panel 6 – "END" from CAPTAIN MARVEL #29 (November 1973) by Jim Starlin. UK reprint in MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL #227 (January 26th 1977) - Panel 7 – Electro at the Pyramids, Electro figure by Steve Ditko. Panel from a Marvel UK recycling competition, appears in AVENGERS #102 (August 8th 1975) - Panel 8 – "KONG! HE SAID HIS NAME WAS KONG! I KNEW THEY'D DO A REMAKE OF THAT FLICK SOMEDAY – BUT THIS IS TOO MUCH!!" art from CONAN THE BARBARIAN #23 (February 1973), by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor Smith. UK reprint in AVENGERS #102 (August 8th 1975), "KONG!" dialogue from AVENGERS #70 (November 1969) by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema. UK reprint in AVENGERS #104 (September 13th 1975) - Panel 9 – "THE TRUTH WILL DISPEL ALL CONFUSION. THE TRUTH WILL SHOW THE ENEMY" from CAPTAIN MARVEL #29 (November 1973) by Jim Starlin. UK reprint in MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL #226 (January 26th 1977) - Panel 10 – "WITH THE WISH COMES THE REALITY!" from CAPTAIN MARVEL #29 (November 1973) by Jim Starlin. UK reprint in MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL #227 (January 26th 1977) - Panel 11 – "THE MENTAL CHANGE HAS TO COME FROM WITHIN!" from CAPTAIN MARVEL #29 (November 1973) by Jim Starlin. UK reprint in MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL #227 (January 26th 1977) - Panel 12 – "THE APES -- THEY'RE HERE!" from AMAZING ADVENTURES #18 (May 1973) by Gerry Conway, Neal Adams and Howard Chaykin. UK reprint (with Killraven renamed Apeslayer and dialogue altered from 'Martians' to 'Apes') in PLANET OF THE APES #23 (March 28th 1975) - Panel 13/14 - "DEATH TO DOCTOR DEATH!" "BUT IS IT DEATH TO THIS ARCH CRIMINAL?" from DETECTIVE COMICS #29 (July 1939), reprinted in BATMAN: FROM THE 30'S TO THE 70'S (UK version published by Spring Books, 1972) - Panel 15 – "FAREWELL!" from CAPTAIN MARVEL #29 (November 1973) by Jim Starlin. UK reprint in MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL #227 (January 26th 1977)
The Best Grant Morrison Comic of 2018, 'Nuff Said
posted 11 Jul 2018, 04:58 by Ben Hansom [ updated 22 Oct 2018, 15:45 ]
WildCATS #2 by JP Gluteaux, adapted from Grant Morrison's original script in the Wildstorm: A Celebration of 25 Years hardcover. Available now from all good Dark Web retailers, where all them drugs and guns are sold, Verwirrung! 


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#LearnwithKim .com
Posted on June 29, 2012 by Peter
The Dotcom saga took two dramatic new twists this week with the emergence of the Megaupload founder as the latest (and strangest?) New Zealand folk hero, and the judgement by Chief High Court judge Helen Winkelmann that search warrants used in the raid on his home were invalid and that the raid was therefore improper.
I said back in May, following one of his initial court appearances, that whoever was handling the big man's media was working wonders.
Having heard little from him until that stage, we got tears in court and then this:
"It's just remembering what happened to us which I think was unfair and over the top. It just got to me. I'm just a human being, you know?"
For all I know he may be working his profile all on his lonesome ownsome. Which would be impressive. Or there may indeed be no 'work' involved – it may all be the result of a totally unplanned and instinctive display of empathy and talent. Which would make the results even more remarkable.
As a starter for ten, here are my observations about some of the PR aces he's played since the "Osama Bin-Laden-style" raid on his home by New Zealand Police and FBI agents. What are your thoughts? What else do you think he's done really well?
1) Bided his time
Apart from a single interview with the New Zealand Herald really early on in the piece, we didn't hear much from Kim from the time of his arrest in January until his pool party on 24 June. Whether deliberately or instinctively, he cannily built on his previously non-existent public profile to create a scarcity value for himself within the media.
2) Chosen his moment
Was it a coincidence that Kim's Twitter-fuelled 'coming out' party with Gracewood, Barbosa, Davies and the boys (see #4 below) happened immediately before Justice Winkelmann's bombshell?
Or did Kim know instinctively that his charm offensive needed to wait until he had a couple of favourable court verdicts under his belt? Because until then, in the minds of most Kiwis, he was just an obscenely wealthy immigrant with a 'colourful' past and questions around the propriety of his residence visa?
He would probably have known that our predilection for felling tall poppies is rivalled only by our national sense of fair play and a sensitivity to any perception that some other nation is exerting undue influence in Wellington or meddling with our internal processes.
It's only a short leap from there to the realisation that any resentment of Kim's flashy lifestyle and obnoxious behaviour would be well and truly neutralised by his status as a victim of unbridled bureaucracy and foreign meddling in our judicial system. And it wouldn't hurt that he comes across as a naturally cheerful chappie who just loves living the good life. After all, we voted one of those into office as Prime Minister, didn't we?
3) Switched persona
Our dislike of tall poppies can be subverted and tamed for only so long, however. Once we tire of supporting the victim of injustice we're swift to pick up the pruning shears once again. So it was essential that we got to see 'the other Kim'.
Right on cue, again either instinctively or as the result of a plan, out came pictures of the loving husband, devoted father and sensitive soul:
Image: @KimDotcom
Tantalising insights to the private life of this warm-hearted softie provided balance and context to offset images we've been fed until now of the fast-living, hard-driving boorish playboy and his multi-million dollar lifestyle.
These complemented the other snippets of personal information we'd managed to glean through a very limited range of favoured media outlets (there's that scarcity value at work again), such as his ambition to record his own music.
And all of a sudden, hey presto! Our boy became a Kiwi folk-hero:
We've had way less of this:
And way more of this:
Understandably, I guess, given the nature of the charges against him. But the 'sober' alter-ego has been noticeable by its prominence, retiring to the background only briefly for the duration of that pool party…
4) Made useful friends
If I had to pick three media and technology cognoscenti best placed to help spread the message that Kim's a jolly good fellow, I really could not have bettered his list of bathing buddies for his impromptu but highly publicised pool party last Sunday.
Even I'm not sufficiently cynical to believe the liaison was planned (one look at the Twitter exchange between Kim and his three new-found mates would scotch any such thoughts) but it is remarkable how Kim, who opened a Twitter account only five days before the swim-a-long, has harnessed the power of social media to garner support from a wide cross-section of NZ society.
And remarkable that this wave of popular support should be generated just days before the emergence of the Winkelmann judgement. Again, whether this was instinctive or planned is a moot point – it's PR genius.
5) Selected his battlefield
It's remarkable, too, how the media circus generated by the boys in bathers has created a springboard for a veritable smorgasbord of Kim. A charm blitzkrieg the likes of which I've not seen before. Ever. In a career spanning two and a half decades and four continents.
Kim here. Kim there. Kim everywhere. Attending television show recordings, on Campbell Live, at a meeting of the Coatesville Ratepayers and Residents' Association, supporting the launch of an Auckland IT business, even at the ultimate of lost (but popular with influential media types) causes – a rally to 'save' TVNZ7…
Hell, even his lawyer's got in on the act:
The global internet entrepreneur with the flashy globe-trotting lifestyle but a near-zero public profile in New Zealand is now everywhere, it seems.
Regardless of its provenance, Dotcom's positioning has been pure poetry. He has, so far, delivered a masterclass in relationship development and reputation management. I effuse admiration and respect – hats off to you, mein Herr.
If it's instinctive, we have here raw and true PR talent. If it's planned, it's been planned impeccably and facilitated, or even enabled, almost exclusively by Kim's undoubtedly genuine empathy and the power of his personality.
I wish him well. I think he's a decent bloke who loves life and lives it to its fullest (who can blame him?) He's personable and there's no doubt that he's smart and astute. And I suspect he may have copped a very raw deal.
Like thousands of others I'm intrigued to see what happens next. Not least because I want to see how he prepares for the backlash, and how he avoids leaving us with the feeling that somehow – ever so gently and ever so nicely – we're being manipulated.
This entry was posted in celebrity, citizen journalism, issues management, journalism, PRos and PRats, reputation, social media, spin and tagged Ben Gracewood, Campbell Live, communication, Helen Winkelmann, Jose Barbosa, Kim Dotcom, Megaupload, pool party, public relations, reputation, Twitter, Vaughn Davies. Bookmark the permalink.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


It's a comma, it takes its name from the white comma that you have photographed on the underside of its wing.
It's a Comma. It'll hibernate the winter through and emerge in the Spring to lay eggs before dying.
Thanks...I love it when I learn new things.
Nope, all the same butterfly Ann. I really liked it and it was perfectly happy being in my company!!


Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge says plans released last week to protect the nation's cyberspace and infrastructure would 'serve as road maps to help government and business' work together.
The White House beefed up its demands on agencies in the final version of the cybersecurity protection strategy it released this month.
The original draft of the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace unveiled last fall was more sweeping and included few specific orders to agencies. The first requirement is for the Homeland Security Department to set up a 24-hour, seven-day contact point for federal interactions with industry and other partners.
Secondly, the plan calls for agencies to conduct exercises to evaluate the effects of cyberattacks and pinpoint areas that need fixing.
'We have had a number of exercises across the Pentagon and in civilian agencies,' Howard Schmidt, acting director of the White House's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, said at a briefing. He said agencies have begun to simulate cyberattacks with state and local governments as well.
The plan put the Justice Department and a team of other agencies in charge of improving information sharing, investigative tools and cybercrime research. It said the General Services Administration and HSD will continue to cooperate on a federal software patch clearinghouse and work with the private sector on a similar clearinghouse.
The plan instructs agencies to tighten security measures, expand their use of security assessment tools and install applications to check continuously for unauthorized network connections. It said the government will review the National Information Assurance Partnership to assess whether it is properly dealing with security flaws in commercial software.
Develop a cybersecurity approach for intelligence agencies and international issues.
Seeded throughout the plan are dozens of recommendations to the private sector to raise its awareness of threats, train systems employees, evaluate the security of applications and form ties with the government for joint action.
Federal officials also will consider licensing or certifying private security service providers for government work. Schmidt said such providers need to be shown as trustworthy.
It called for building North America into a 'cyber safe zone' with the cooperation of Canada and Mexico.
Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge introduced the plan, along with the National Strategy for the Physical Protection of Critical Infrastructures and Key Assets, at a press conference at the department's headquarters in Washington.
Ridge said the strategies would 'serve as road maps to help government and business' work together.
The cybersecurity plan's emphasis on public-private partnership echoed the theme of the draft plan. But the plan has been reorganized along functional lines rather than categories applying to different economic sectors, which was the approach used in the draft.
Federal officials said they might use regulations as well as incentives to boost security among private organizations.
Bill Stephan, special assistant for infrastructure analysis and protection at HSD, said the department might use grants and changes in insurance rates to encourage businesses to secure their facilities, for example.


The main focus of this compact X-ray cabinet for manual real-time inspection are sample parts. The goal is to achieve the same brilliant image quality for a budget price by reducing the comfort items and advanced features of the XRH111. This leads to the best cost-benefit ratio for our customers on the market.
X-ray inspection is a necessary requirement to meet modern day production standards. For many companies in cost-sensitive markets the investment into a cabinet or inspection services is a major cost factor. VisiConsult developed the XRH111 ECO as a budget system that still offers cutting edge image enhancement. The basic idea is to have a cabinet without unnecessary comfort features to reduce investment costs without setbacks at the image quality. Why paying for something that is not needed? In case advanced inspection tools like ADR or CT are needed, the normal XRH111 is the perfect upgrade.
The XRH111 ECO is a X-ray cabinet to test all kinds of parts up to a diameter of 400mm and a height of 600 mm that do not exceed 25kg. Depending on the job-requirements the system is available with 160kV, 225kV and even micro-focus. The cabinet has a footprint of 1650 mm x 1450 mm x 2300 mm and is certified by the German TÜV, which ensures absolute safety, no X-ray leakage, fulfillment of all standards and an ergonomic operator position. All comfort items, like pneumatic door openers, can be added on demand.


Don't you think that your dog merits everything best? And if you want to get best results in training your dog, it is better to use high quality training equipment. We would like to introduce you our Strong Jute Bite Tug for training young and grown up dogs.
This tug is designed to develop young dog's skills to follow different commands. It is used in games that develop young dog's biting abilities. The tug is not a chew toy. Use it correctly, don't leave it with dog unattended and it will serve you for a long time.
The tug is well crafted of jute. Our craftsmen use this material to make the item a durable one and to assure you of its safety for dog's health.
Two comfortable loops at both edges serve as handles for you to carry the tug firmly when your dog bites.
Just received the order this afternoon.The quality of these tugs is unbelievable.
They are so well crafted and just beautiful… This is not at all what I expected they are GREAT!
From your email it sounds like you actually make these yourself? How did you get started?
Also, once the puppy is grown, we want to get a leather collar.
Are these crafted by you also/ in the same facility that the tugs are from?


The NZ Transport Agency has awarded an Ashburton intersection construction and traffic signals installation contract to Christchurch-based City Care Ltd.
The work at South Street and East Street/State Highway 1 involves the construction of the traffic-signal controlled intersection to service the new Progressive Enterprises Ltd supermarket, about to be built.
The highway project, worth around $1 million, is being funded by Progressive Enterprises with works programmed to be completed before Christmas this year.
Opus consultants have designed the intersection in accordance with Transport Agency and Ashburton District Council standards and consent conditions, including landscaping features.
The pavement at the intersection is being completely rebuilt with new surfacing so there will be minor traffic delays during construction in coming weeks.


This scale measures resilience-A person's ability to understand, cope, adapt and strive for a positive balance between gains and losses in health and function across their lifespan.
A Blended Residential/Telehealth Lifestyle Intervention to Improve Cardiovascular Health and Manage Pain in Adults With Spinal Cord Injury.
The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of onsite and telehealth programs for individuals with spinal cord injury. The primary aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of a blended 5-day onsite health promotion program followed by a 12-month telehealth package composed of exercise, nutrition, and mindfulness, to a 12-month telehealth-only package in individuals with spinal cord injury. The investigators hypothesize that the blended onsite and telehealth program will achieve better gains in fitness, dietary control, body composition, and pain management scores across a one-year period in comparison to the telehealth-only group. The secondary objective of this study is to examine changes in psychosocial mediators between the two groups to determine if key social cognitive theory constructs were significantly different between the two groups. The investigators hypothesize that the blended onsite and telehealth program will achieve better improvements in these outcomes compared to the telehealth only group.
Participants will live on campus for one week and complete the MENTOR program, which is a course about resilience and how nutrition, exercise and mindfulness help with resilience for individuals with a spinal cord injury. Different experts will cover the three main topics with lectures and application of knowledge through related activities. Participants will then begin a one-year telehealth program at home. The telehealth program will consist of readily available information focusing on nutrition, exercise and mindfulness for individuals with a spinal cord injury and a telehealth coach who will interact on the phone with the participants once every two weeks. This will continue for a total of 26 phone calls until the participant returns for 1-year follow-up testing.
Participants will complete a one-year telehealth program at home. The telehealth program will consist of readily available information focusing on nutrition, exercise and mindfulness for individuals with a spinal cord injury and a telehealth coach who will interact on the phone with the participants once every two weeks. This will continue for a total of 26 phone calls until the participant returns for 1-year follow-up testing.
This group will complete baseline testing, the MENTOR (Mindfulness, Exercise, and Nutrition To Optimize Resilience) program, and 5-days post baseline testing before beginning a one-year telehealth program.
This group will complete baseline and 5-days post baseline testing before beginning a one-year telehealth program.


We're bombarded with dozens, if not hundreds of messages every single day. Yet many of my clients and students still want to try to deliver a single message aimed at multiple targets. Entrepreneurs, especially, are not comfortable narrowing their target because they worry that's akin to leaving money on the table.
But here's the thing about our brains: making decisions requires energy. We go through life trying to conserve our brain energy and one of the easiest ways to do so is by ignoring things that are not relevant to us. The more energy we waste on paying attention to irrelevant communications, the less energy we have for big things like deciding how to go to market, making good hiring decisions and solving business problems. Brain researchers call this Decision Fatigue.
Here is a great New York Times article by John Tierny that explains, in language we can all understand, how Decision Fatigue works.
Decision Fatigue happens every time we're overwhelmed with choices. Because of this, marketing messages must be crafted with Decision Fatigue in mind. You need to take extra special care to identify and speak to a specific, focused target in order to avoid triggering a "not for me" response.


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Donald Trump branded a 'buffoon, demagogue and wazzock' by MPs - but Republican ignores UK ban debate
The Home Office has said Donald Trump must live up to his promise of investing in Britain, after three-hour debate this afternoon
By Laura Hughes 18 January 2016 • 20:00 pm
• 'Trump lambasted as a 'fool' by MPs in debate
• Home Office says Trump must honour plans for investing in UK
• Trump says Syrian refugees are part of 'sinister plot'
• He also claimed police were scared to go into parts of London
• More than 570,000 people have backed calls to bar Trump
Summary of Today's Events
Government responds to debate
Trump's comments don't warrant a ban
Keir Starmer, a Labour MP, says "we are uniting in condemning the comments of Donald Trump on Muslims and women."
He said: "I want to send a message that we value our Muslim communities".
The former Director of Public Prosecutions said the Home Secretaries' ability to ban people "is a power that should be applied equally to everybody, whatever their wealth and power."
He said: "His comments are shocking, offensive and disturbing but I don't believe it merits a ban at this point in time."
He added that his comments are "not funny" and described them as "repugnant."
MP blasts the 'hypocrisy' of Trump - the son of an immigrant
Anne McLaughlin, the SNP MP, has blasted the hypocrisy of Mr Trump who is himself the son of a Scottish immigrant, which she apologises for.
She said: "The Mexican migrants that Trump so roundly defamed are engaged in the same quest as his forebears".
Adding: "I don't believe appealing to fear and prejudice is the language of common sense, here or in the United States."
Donald Trump speaks in Virginia
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Monday held a rally at Liberty University, a private school in Lynchburg, Virginia and an evangelical bastion.
The visit coincided with a holiday commemorating civil rights leader Martin Luther King as well as a debate in the British House of Commons about whether or not to ban him from the UK.
During the rally Trump defended his high poll ratings, saying that they improved following the Paris attacks on 13 November last year.
He also criticised Germany's response to the migrant crisis, calling it a "disaster".
"You look what's happening all over Europe - Europe is being absolutely swamped and destroyed," he told the audience of supporters.
We take this petition seriously, says Tory MP
Trump ban is 'not gonna happen'
Another Trump supporter Tom Fowler tells Nick Allen: "I don't think the country of Britain is going to ban Trump. There may be a set population that's been offended by what he says so they've taken it upon themselves to create a petition to ban Donald Trump.
"It's not gonna happen."
Banning Trump would be a 'spectacular own goal'
Britain should apologise to America, says Tory MP
Adam Holloway, a Conservative MP, says the "ban Trump" motion "makes Britain look totalitarian" and "we should apologise to the people of the United States".
He says this debate is making Britain look 'totalitarian".
Philip Davies, another Tory MP, adds: "We should celebrate more often politicians who stand up and say things that are unpopular".
He says: "I think in this country we could do with rather less political correctness and more straight talking across the board.
"It's in part because of political correctness that the straight talking of Donald Trump has proved so popular with the electorate out there."
Philip Davies has basically spent the last eight minutes saying "It's PC gone mad" on a loop
— Michael Deacon (@MichaelPDeacon) January 18, 2016
Trump has a 'heart for our country'
More from Nick Allen in Virginia
Outside Mr Trump's event Dr Steve Parson, part of the Black American Ministers Coalition for Trump, confronted a small group of protesters.
He said: "If you want to protest, protest, but this guy has a heart for Christianity. He's a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
"Donald Trump represents the things we have sought all these years. He doesn't need to do this but he's doing it because he has a heart for our country."
'The man seems to out-trump himself - no pun intended'
Corri Wilson, an SNP MP, says: "The man seems to out-trump himself - no pun intended - every time he speaks in his bid to win the Republican nomination."
She doesn't support banning Mr Trump and says one of his golf courses is in her constituency in Scotland.
Ms Wilson says its closure would be "catastrophic for the resort and the local community."
Being banned from UK will be minor irritant for Trump, but catastrophic for local community around Turnberry
— Corri Wilson MP (@CorriWilsonSNP) January 18, 2016
Agree with the sentiment but my role is to speak for my constituency
Banning someone for wanting to ban others is an inappropriate response
Tax payers are paying MPs to focus on more important issues than Trump
Speaking after Mr Trump's event in Virginia supporter Zach Etter, 18, a politics and economics student in a Make America Great Again hat, told The Telegraph: "I don't think British politicians should be focusing on this.
"I believe their taxpayers are paying them to focus on more important things.
"He has a lot of assets in the uk and I think it would be a bad thing for them because he brings a lot of money there."
Britain should 'roast' The Donald
Paul Scully, Tory MP for Sutton, has said: "We British are pretty good at roasting beef. Why don't we roast Trump instead?"
Latest Trump debate zinger: "We British are pretty good at roasting beef. Why don't we roast Trump instead?"
Donald Trump's face as he listens to MP at the #TrumpDebate pic.twitter.com/KPminiQuop
— Asa Bennett (@asabenn) January 18, 2016
Trump is a 'dangerous fool'
Jack Dromey, Labour's shadow Home Affairs minister, is also calling for Mr Trump to be banned from Britain.
He said: "Donald Trump is a fool, but he is not free to be a dangerous fool in Britian.
"In the current febrile climate Isis needs Donald Trump and Donald Trump needs Isis.
"I don't think Donald Trump should be allowed within 1,000 miles of our shore because he would embolden the EDL on the one hand and fuel the flames of terrorism on the other hand."
Freedom of speech in Britain has been eroded
Steve Double, a Conservative MP says: "This country has a long and strong tradition of free speech. I believe that tradition has been eroded."
He doesn't believe Mr Trump has "crossed the line" and asks if we banned Mr Trump "where would we draw the line? There are many people who have equally intolerant views".
Mr Double adds that banning Trump would make him a "martyr".
Trump must be met with the 'classic British response of ridicule'
Alex Chalk, a Conservative MP, said: "This is about bufoonery. And buffoonery must not be met with the blunt instrument of a ban.
"It must be met with the classic British response of ridicule."
'He has attacked me, my family and my children'
Trump labelled 'A Wazzock'
Trump is a 'demagogue'
Naz Shah
Trump ignores MPs debate
It is for America to judge Trump
Tom Tugendhat, a Conservative MP, says that it is right to have this debate, but that Trump shouldn't be banned.
The MP says Trump is "crazy", but that "I will not be the one to silence his voice".
He adds: "Liberty is not something we can take in caution or in part".
He says: "Although I may not like it, and I can be absolutely sure I wouldn't support it, it is no place of me or this House to criticise a man running for elected office in a foreign country.
"I believe it is for the American people to judge him".
Trump is a 'ridiculous xenophobe'
Gavin Robinson, Northern Irish MP, has called Mr Trump is a "ridiculous xenophobe" and calls him a "buffoon".
He wants Trump to come to Britain and be grilled on his views.
He says the Presidential hopeful: "Throws a dead cat on the table and people stop considering what they were considering, stop doing what they were doing, and listen".
Northern Irish MP Gavin Robinson: "Bring @realDonaldTrump here - and let him go home with his tail between his legs!"
Record numbers sign petition to ban Trump from UK
Labour MP Paul Flynn opens the debate on whether US presidential hopeful Donald Trump should be banned from entering the UK by revealing that record numbers support the motion.
Trump 'will not be terribly worried about debate'
Sir Edward Leigh, a Conservative MP, says: "It's no surprise to say I oppose the ban."
He asks: "If we only allow free speech for those we already agree with, is that free speech at all?"
Sir Edward claims this is just an attempt to "shut down an honest debate" on immigration.
He adds that there are many world leaders who are worse than Mr Trump: "They don't just talk about violence, they practice it on an extreme scale. And we welcome them to our country."
Tory MP Sir Edward Leigh, spoiling our fun: "I'm not sure Trump is going to be terribly worried about this debate"
Tory MP Sir Edward Leigh: "Our Muslim friends" must "learn from previous waves of immigration"
Trumps' words are 'poisonous'
MPs given six minutes to speak
Roger Gale, the Conservative MP chairing the debat, has introduced a six-minute limit on speeches becasue so many of them want to speak.
Six minute limit on speeches during Trump debate. A part of me thinks that might start to feel like too long pretty quickly ...
— Kate McCann (@KateEMcCann) January 18, 2016
Paul Scully MP says: "It's appropriate for us to give members of the public a voice in this chamber here. Our debate today is not going to result in a vote.
"It's not for us to decide, that's a matter for the home secretary. But what it does do is allow us to have our say."
MP wants to take Donald Trump on a tour of Brixton
Labour MP Paul Flynn, who's leading the debate, wants to take Trump on a tour of Brixton to show how in Britain different ethnicities and faiths live in harmony, reports our Parliamentary Sketchwriter, Michael Deacon.
He would ask Trump to "show us where these so-called 'no-go areas' are".
Some might say a no-go area is any area with Trump in it. (A quick reminder: no matter what is said during this debate, none of these MPs have the power to ban Trump from entering the UK even if they want to)
Don't give Mr Trump the 'halo of martyrdom'
Paul Flynn is warning MPs against giving Donald the "halo of martyrdom" by banning him from Britain, as he warned there was a danger this debate meant the UK were already granting him "too much attention."
Richard Drax, the Conservative MP, has warned against stifling free speech, but Mr Flynn goes on to list Mr Trumps offensive comments.
Trump debate latest: Tory MP Richard Drax makes a point that basically boils down to, "Honestly, can't say anything nowadays"
Trump debate kicks off in Westminster
Paul Flynn, the Labour MP leading the debate says that more than 570,000 people have signed the petition.
He says this is more than any other petition submitted to this Parliament.
Mr Flynn is prasing America, he says it is "the land of Barak Obama and Martin Luther King."
He adds that America has sacrificed more of its people in the "name of democracy" than any other country in the world.
Westminster Hall, the Siberian salt mine of political journalism, today comes alive for Donald Trump #trumpdebate pic.twitter.com/QoelDaiINQ
— Graeme Demianyk (@GraemeDemianyk) January 18, 2016
Want more Trump?
Click here to watch our Trump rally livestream, although we will continue to give you all the best lines from the US presidential hopeful from Virginia, so don't go away.
Public queue all afternoon to watch debate
Not often you see this for a Westminster Hall debate: a big queue of members of the public who have been waiting half the afternoon just for a chance of a seat, reports our Parliamentary Sketchwriter, Michael Deacon.
They aren't going to see a lot of big names: of the 30-odd MPs here, the most famous is probably Keith Vaz.
Don't want to disappoint any Americans who think this Trump debate is an event of global magnitude, but the most famous MP here is Keith Vaz
Trump proving to the Christian crowd that he can quote the Bible
Donald Trump is on stage in Virginia
Trump is on stage in Lynchburg. He says: "Get rid of those teleprompters, let's have some fun", Nick Allen in Lynchburg reports.
He points out that he's broken the record for a crowd at the venue and dedicates the achievement to Dr Martin Luther King Jr. America is celebrating Martin Luther King Day today.
Jerry Falwell Jr, the Chancellor of Liberty University, is telling thousands of Christian students that Donald Trump lives a life of "loving and helping others".
He reels off a long list of when Mr Trump helped others. On one occasion the billionaire's limousine broke down. A couple stopped to help him. He later paid off their mortgage.
Mr Fallwell said: "By their fruits shall you know them. Donald Trump's life has born fruit in jobs and generosity. He cannot be bought. He is not a puppet on a string like other candidates."
Liberty University was founded by his father, the televangelist Jerry Fallwell, who was instrumental in the Moral Movement and supported To Rinald Reagan.
Trump supporter in favour for muslim ban
Trump debate 'is a good idea'
More from Trump's speech in Virginia
Adam Ellington, 32, who works in law enforcement, said Britain would be "silly" to ban Mr Trump, although he admitted the Muslim ban was a "little extreme", reports Nick Allen in the crowd at Donald Trump's event.
Mr Ellington, who drove three hours to hear Mr Trump speak, said: "I like his personality. America is on the wrong track and he can turn it around. He's just not a normal politicians
"I think it's sort of silly to ban him. I don't know enough to know if there are no go zones in London but I trust his judgement.
"Banning Muslims comes across a little extreme but I think they do need better ways to deal with immigration."
Christian Adams' take on today's debate
Trump speaks in Virginia
Muslims in Donald Trump's boyhood borough of Queens laugh at the idea he 'loves' them
America live blogs British debate on Trump
Lawmakers in Britain debate whether to bar Donald Trump from entering the country. Here is our live blog: https://t.co/DTlYE6GXML
— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) January 18, 2016
British @HouseofCommons debate on Barring Donald Trump from U.K. – LIVE 11:30am ET on C-SPAN https://t.co/7tifAEwreV pic.twitter.com/V4aINzoHzw
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 18, 2016
Lobby journalists giddy at the idea our cool American cousins are live-blogging a Westminster Hall debate (and calling MPs "lawmakers")
'Absurd that parliamentary time is being wasted'
MPs to debate whether to bar Donald Trump from UK
MPs will today debate whether or not to bar US presidential hopeful Donald Trump from visiting the UK, following his call to ban all Muslims from entering America.
The three-hour debate, which will begin at 16:30 and can be watched at parliamentlive.tv, was sparked by a petition which has so far gained 570,000 signatures.
Mr Trump called for a "total and complete shutdown" on Muslims entering America following the Isil-inspired terror attacks in Paris and California last year. He also claimed that British police were scared to go into parts of London because they had become so radicalised.
Should US presidential hopeful Donald Trump be barred from entering the UK?
The issue has divided people across the country and the debate is already heating up on social media.
ppl who are petitioning for Donald Trump being banned in the UK are literally doing EXACTLY what they say they're mad about him doing ??
— paigey (@detlef_schrempf) January 18, 2016
@2TAPU Nothing but an ignorant bigot and sounds like Hitler. The entire world should ban the big mouthed prat.
— Chris. Johnson (@cupoteacoast) January 18, 2016
Its a total embarrassment that we have our Parliament discussing #DonaldTrump today. Absolute idiots signed that bloody petition.
— Andy (@onthecouchagain) January 18, 2016
Where is the petition for those of us who WANT to see Donald Trump in the UK?! #FreeSpeech
— Julia (@JulesSunbeam) January 15, 2016
The petition states "The UK has banned entry to many individuals for hate speech. The same principles should apply to everyone who wishes to enter the UK.
"If the United Kingdom is to continue applying the 'unacceptable behaviour' criteria to those who wish to enter its borders, it must be fairly applied to the rich as well as poor, and the weak as well as powerful."
The Prime Minister has branded Mr Trump's comments "divisive, stupid and wrong" but rejected calls for Mr Trump to be barred from visiting the UK.
However Muslim MP Tulip Siddiq has pledged to fight against allowing Mr Trump into the UK.
Friends of Ms Siddiq said she will be "tearing" Mr Trump to "shreds" during today's debate.
The Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn told the Telegraph: "The law needs to be applied to everyone equally and the Home Office has previous in banning hate preachers engaging in rhetoric similar to that of Trump.
"To argue there is no precedent for banning him does not stand up to decisions taken by this Home Secretary, or indeed previous Labour Home Secretaries.
"The real question is "Why should we make an exception for billionaire politicians?". We should not.
"Those that argue his words are "a joke" or "do not amount to inciting violence", need to take a closer look at the increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes in America since his comments.
"We must confront the reality that his comments have provoked, and consider whether we want to import such hatred to this country."
I always knew Wayne Rooney was good - but playing with him made me realise he was special
Jamie Carragher 15 Jan 2021, 6:03pm
Live Politics latest news: Boris Johnson hints lockdown could be eased by middle of February
By Catherine Neilan 15 Jan 2021, 6:03pm
By Sally Peck 15 Jan 2021, 6:01pm
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Live Travel news latest: All travel corridors suspended indefinitely
By Greg Dickinson 15 Jan 2021, 5:59pm


text:
Denton County Adds Record Single-Day COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations Monday, Along With 4 Deaths
Published November 16, 2020 • Updated on November 16, 2020 at 5:43 pm
Denton County Public Health reported a single-day record of both COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations Monday along with four new deaths.
Of the latest 335 cases being reported in Denton County Monday, 224 are active while the remaining 111 cases have already cleared recovery protocol. The number of active cases is a single-day record for Denton County and increases the countywide total for cases to 19,908. Denton County is also reporting 15,774 estimated recoveries and 3,988 estimated active cases.
County officials added that there were 121 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the county, which represents 13.6% of total patient capacity, and that that number, too, was a record.
COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen to record levels in North Texas with the Texas Department of State Health Services reporting 2,143 hospitalizations on Monday. Statewide, the DSHS said there are more than 7,400 Texans hospitalized with the virus.
Patient Beware: Some States Are Still Pushing Outdated COVID Treatments
coronavirus 5 hours ago
Kids' Covid Hospitalizations Hit Pandemic High, Worrying Doctors and Parents About Long-Term Impact
The DFW Hospital Council's number for Monday is a little higher at 2,219 patients -- that's to be expected with the DSHS reporting generally lagging behind by a day. COVID-19 patients in DFW represent 14.4% of available beds and 35% of ICU patients, according to the council.
The latest four victims in Denton County include a man in his 60s from Carrollton, a man in his 60s from Cross Roads, a man in his 50s from Denton and a woman in her 70s from an unincorporated part of northeast Denton County.
The deaths bring the county's total number of fatalities related to COVID-19 to 146.
"As we report four deaths from COVID-19 today, we hope you will keep their families in your prayers," said Denton County Judge Andy Eads. "We are in a difficult time now when all of us need to do our part to help stop the spread of this virus. We are at the point where we must take the necessary precautions very seriously, both for our own safety as well as the safety of those we love and those with whom we work."
Get the latest news on COVID-19 delivered to you. Click here to sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter.
Denton County Public Health is providing a free drive-thru COVID-19 testing center on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at Westside Baptist Church at 900 Bellaire Boulevard in Lewisville. Eligible community members must reside in Denton County, pre-register by calling 940-349-2585, and have not previously tested positive for COVID-19. Pre-registration is required and appointments are available starting at 8 a.m.
Denton County Public Health is providing a free drive-thru COVID-19 testing center on Friday, Nov. 20 at North Central Texas College Exchange Parking Garage at 319 E. Sycamore Street in Denton. Eligible community members must reside in Denton County, pre-register by calling 940-349-2585, and have not previously tested positive for COVID-19. Pre-registration is required and appointments are available starting at 8 a.m.
Denton County is also providing free testing through the county health department. For times and locations, visit DentonCounty.gov/COVID19testing.
To minimize the spread of COVID-19, DCPH asks all community members to continue to:
Maintain at least six feet of physical distance in public settings and when around individuals outside of the household.
Wear masks or face coverings, which should cover both the nose and mouth, in public settings and when around individuals outside of the household.
Wash and/or sanitize hands frequently.
Stay home if you are symptomatic, have recently had close contact with a person with COVID-19, or have pending COVID-19 lab result.
coronavirusDenton CountyDentonCarrolltonCross Roads


The Royal Veterinary College is the largest and longest-established vet school in the English speaking world and is a college of the University of London. The College offers undergraduate, postgraduate and CPD programmes in veterinary medicine and veterinary nursing and is ranked in the top 10 universities nationally for biosciences.
The Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health Group (VEEPH) is part of the RVC's Department of Production and Population Health. The Group is led by Professor Dirk Pfeiffer and currently consists of over fifty academic staff, contract researchers, PhD students and Senior Clinical Training Scholars. The group's research has a direct impact on shaping policy both at national and international level. Many of the group's experts are at the top of their field internationally and many have the opportunity to collect field data.
The group is involved in around 50 projects across four continents: Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. The research covers livestock and companion animal epidemiology, veterinary public health, animal health surveillance programmes and animal health economics. Many projects are research collaborations with national and international partners, including higher education providers, the Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), the European Commission and the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Project Coordinator. WP 1, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 participant | Leadership of WP1 | | Conceptual surveillance framework development | Development of frameworks and tools for demonstration of freedom from disease | Evaluation of epidemiological and economic effectiveness of surveillance systems| Development of decision making tools for implementing risk-based surveillance| Training, dissemination and exploitation| Management and coordination| Facilitate communication with policy makers and other stakeholders | Development of a case-study on BVD surveillance in England within WP5| Development of e-learning material in WP 7.
Dirk is a Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology, and Head of the Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health Group in the Department of Production and Population Health. He graduated with a Degree in Veterinary Medicine and completed a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. Following this Dirk went on to do a Postgraduate Diploma in Tropical Veterinary Medicine. After his PhD in veterinary epidemiology, he became a Lecturer in Production Medicine and Epidemiology at Massey where he then also appointed as Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Epidemiology. Dirk joined the Royal Veterinary College in 1999 as a Professor in Veterinary Epidemiology. Dirk is also an Honorary Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Membership of various Advisory Committees and Expert Panels. More information here.
Jonathan is a Professor of Animal Health Economics and a member of the Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health Group. His work focuses on improving the wellbeing of people and animals through better resource allocation to animal health, disease and welfare problems. His background is in agricultural economics with a strong specialisation in the economics of animal health and livestock production. He joined the Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health Group at RVC in February 2009 as a Senior Lecturer and from January 2013 as Professor of Animal Health Economics. More information here.
Barbara is a Lecturer in Agrihealth with the Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health (LCIRAH) and the Royal Veterinary College. She has a strong interest in applying One Health or Ecohealth approaches to better understand food systems and how changes in those impact on food safety and food security and to improve the wellbeing of people and animals through better resource allocation. Barbara graduated from the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Bern (Switzerland) in 2002 and she came to the RVC in April 2007 to work as a research assistant in Veterinary Public Health. From 2008 to 2011 she did a PhD on the economics of veterinary surveillance. During the same time, she obtained a Certificate of Higher Education in Economics from Birkbeck College, University of London. More information here.
Betty is a postdoctoral researcher in the Veterinary Epidemiology Economics and Public Health group. She mainly works on the RISKSUR project, within which she is currently doing an economic evaluation of potential surveillance strategies for the control of BVD in England. After graduating with a PhD in Veterinary Epidemiology, on sheep ectoparasitic diseases from Bristol University, she started to work as an epidemiologist for the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA). After completing two postdoctoral projects in Munich she took up a post as a postdoctoral researcher in the economics of surveillance in the VEEPH group at RVC in September 2013. More information here.
Timothée is a post-doctoral researcher particularly interested in animal disease surveillance and transmission of infectious diseases. During his post-doc, he contributes to the understanding of African swine fever transmission in Eastern Europe for identifying efficient control strategies and to the development of an original framework for evaluating disease surveillance systems. Timothée obtained his degree in veterinary medicine in 2008 from the University of Toulouse, France followed by a Masters degree on Animal Health and Epidemiology in Tropical Countries (CIRAD, France). He then did a PHD and in November 2012, he joined the RVC as a post-doctoral researcher. More information here.
Grosbois V, Häsler B, Peyre M, Hiep DT, Vergne T. A rationale to unify measurements of effectiveness for animal health surveillance. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 2015-1.
Rodríguez-Prieto V, Vicente-Rubiano M, Sánchez-Matamoros A, Rubio-Guerri C, Melero M, Martínez-López B, Martínez-Avilés M, Hoinville L, Vergne T, Comin A, Schauer B, Dórea F, Pfeiffer DU, Sánchez-Vizcaíno JM. Systematic review of surveillance systems and methods for early detection of exotic, new and re-emerging diseases in animal populations. Epidemiol Infect., 2014 Sep 12:1-25.


text:
Dragons join the animals at the Houston Zoo
Animatronic versions of the mythical creatures help lend understanding of our very real world.
Jef Rouner	March 10, 2020Updated: March 10, 2020, 11:52 pm
Part of the dragon display at the Houston Zoo
Photo: Stephanie Andrews
Dragons rocketed back into vogue thanks to the explosive popularity of "Game of Thrones," with a slight assist from the very underrated "How to Train Your Dragon" series. As CGI and other Hollywood magic advances we get ever closer to seeing fairy tales comes to life.
The Houston Zoo is dedicated to taking that dream to the next level with their dragons exhibit, presented with TXU Energy. The showcase will be in the same vein as their previous fantastic giants series of animatronic creations, which included both giant bugs and dinosaurs. This, however, will be the first time a zoo is showing off dragons.
"We're bringing dragons because it's never been done before," says public-relations manager Lauren Wappler, who is affectionately being referred to as the dragon chief around the zoo for helming this project. "Everyone knows them. It also let's us talk about some of the real-life dragons like the Komodo dragon that live at the zoo and how we are helping them in the wild. A lot of them you'll recognize the traits of reptiles, how they slither or move. We have feathered dragons. You'll see how they relate to real-life animals."
The dragons are life-sized… or rather, they are the size we would imagine them to have been if they had actually existed. One dragon has already been stationed near the entrance to the zoo since the year started, a small but fierce specimen perched on a wishing well and breathing smoke at the watchers over at the sea lion pen as it menacingly whips its tale back and forth.
Dragons at the Houston Zoo
When: Through September 7
Where: Houston Zoo, 6200 Hermann Park
Details: $24.95 - $27.95. 713-533-6500. HoustonZoo.org
The artistry on the dragons is stunning. They are produced by "Dino" Don Lessem, who worked as a consultant on "Jurassic Park." His creations have a dedication to science that makes an audience able to suspend belief long enough to imagine themselves fighting monsters in the age of heroes.
Though the exhibit is dedicated to dragons, a few other fantastic beasts will be on hand. The manticore is one, a Greek monster with the head of a human and the body of a lion who shoots poisoned barbs from its tail. Another is the basilisk, which Wappler promised would "not be a 'Harry Potter' thing." Contrary to its depiction in those films, the basilisk is a rooster/snake (sometimes lizard) hybrid that is so venomous it leaves a trail of acidic bile as it travels, scorching the grass. It would be nice to see the legendary figure of myth and heraldry done right for a change.
"It's all about bringing imagination to life," says Wappler.
Like the bugs and dinosaurs exhibit, the dragons will be in their own walled off section of the zoo rather than scattered around the campus. One good thing is that a value pass for the exhibit will also include general admission to the zoo and unlimited carousel rides. Though it might seem strange to include mythical creatures among the hard-science realities of the zoo, seeing these beings also helps us remember just how far we have come in understanding the natural world. We have cataloged things the ancient myth-makers could never have dreamed, and many of them will be right beside the monster of legend.


HERO Workouts Of the Day's are meant to be tough, and test your physical and technical ability.
Brett loved running, reflected in the 400m sprints. Brett loved standard lifts and repetitions, which you'll discover in SDHP, and thrusters.
When it comes to the burpee box jumps, well, this is a lung and leg buster, and that is something Commandos and Soldiers alike endure in training and on operations.
The rest is for consolidation, reflecting on what has been and what is about to happen.
I have the shirt from the first workout in 2011. Is it possible to get another one, i've been wearing it for almost 3 years. It is in bad shape.
Hi Jesse, we have new stock at the comp. Come down and say hi..or buy one online https://australianherogames.com/shop/ thanks.
Not the same shirt unfortunately. I guess the original Brett Wood shirt isn't available anymore.
I have recently had confirmation that we will be unveiling a memorial for Brett in Ferntree Gully, Vic on 01 November.
Please contact me if you would like further details as they come.
Good luck to everyone doing the workout tomorrow!
Margarita Aljabary do you want to cry just reading this WOD?
Poutawera Ratana Wiremu Ratana Are you guys interested in this?
Melissa, Marty thoughts? I was in AFG and at work the day SGT wood passed away so it has a significant consideration for me. If the box is keen that would be rad!
Karl, can we run something for this at 2010?
Darren Tahu should do this before the Christmas party??
Brad Spencer, Adrian Lamond are you guys doing this?
Susie Cole last bootcamp idea?????


AC changes from front vents to defrost?
351 engines-Windsor, Cleveland, Modified, what are the differences?
93 SC electrical system help.
Ignition problem.........This will make your head hurt!
"Computer fans" on IC or radiator???
Water to air IC in the intake???
Specific lowering spring question. Any problems using this mixed setup? Should I buy?
Need help with my motor mounts.
Engine sounds like a damn steam engine!
FPM Fuel pump monitor ?
JBL Audio Mess - Can Anybody Help?
Q's about Fiberglass hood, pros and cons?
Goodbye SC, hello Turbo... Yep, it is finally going to actually happen.
Underdrive Pulleys. 2 piece or 3 piece set?
Rack and Pinion going bad?
How smooth should the blower bores be?
Anyone have a stuck SC bypass valve?
Can You Use a 90MM MAF on a SC?
1/4 mile times slow why???
Anyone familiar with the "Miller cycle" or "5 stroke"
heater hoses - did I goof up?
I'm thinking I need a better fuel pump.
Who knows their FE blocks and their manual trannys???
Flywheel H/P numbers for 3.8SC?
What pulley Do I have????
Any cheap way to fix massive wheel hop?
Proverbial Power Steering Leak Strikes!
Frame help for my beloved 92 SC!
Not Happy With The Gears in the 5 Speed conversion!
Aircon Condensor good for 134A?
where to buy door pin kits?
Can I use this to seal the silence ports??????
*sarcasm* Great News! my torque converter is going...going...gone.
Former GTP owner interested in Tbird SC's!!
Tremec 3650 into a '95???
is the cam sensor same on all SCs?
Really need help! What is going on with this car?
Going to be ordering a Lentech Street Terminator Plus, anything I should know???
yellow vacuum hose for a/c ?
Ebay intercoolers - are they really that bad?
245 50 r16 Nitto drag radials???
Nasty crud on polished rims won't come off!
Transmission question... What the hell is this and where does it go?
exhaust manifold studs-metric or US?
Anyone replace A/C Pulley Bearing?
oil pressure drop on acceleration!!
how much HP do i have?
Any problems with kooks headers?
Multi-Function Switch, All the same?
How long to change Strut Rod bushings?
Cooling Issue - Driving me Nuts !
are true dule pipes on an SC good for exhaust flow?