The late '60s and early '70s will be remembered for plenty of things. It was the era of Afghan coats, stacked boots, keep on trucking badges and hair that was long at the back and short on top.
Weeding the garden meant something totally different to what it means now, and when you travelled abroad you always knew the weight of your luggage right down to your last ounce.
The world of biking was different, too. With the chopper fad on a roll and the Japanese coming in relentless numbers, the death knell was sounding clearer than ever for the British motorcycle industry.
The bikes being produced were, it needs to be said, not of startlingly high quality. Nevertheless, a few much loved icons of that age remain. The BSA Goldstar, the Triumph Bonneville, and the Norton Commando.
Japan gave us the Honda CB750 and the now fashionably cool Kawasaki Z900. And Italy, not to be outdone, produced the gorgeous MV Agustas.
Forget about wearing dayglo T-shirts or open-face lids on this thing, though. When you're riding the Magni 1200S you want to be looking good.
So what is this retro beast?
It's a Magni. Basically, a 1200 Bandit engine in a Magni frame with classic MV styling. But to really understand what this bike is all about you need a quick history lesson that starts back in 1947 with Italian Arturo Magni.
Magni started his career in the racing department of Gilera and stayed until 1950, when he joined the newly-formed MV Augusta racing department. He was there until MV pulled out of racing in 1977. With riders including Giacomo Agostini, Mike Hailwood and John Surtees, the firm won 75 world championships and over 3000 races in all.
Now out of work, Magni set up a shop to build special versions of production bikes, starting with MV. The first street versions used new frames, seats and tanks to turn road-going MVs into virtual race bikes.
But the numbers of MV road bikes weren't available, so he turned to BMWs, Honda 900 Bol D'or replicas and Guzzis.
These bikes continued throughout the '80s and '90s with the Guzzi-powered Sfida 1000, 1100 and another version powered by the Guzzi four-valve engine called the Australia in honour of its antipodean importer.
So much for the history lesson. The latest bike from the Magni plant in Gallarate, around 10 miles from Varese and right in the heart of Italian motorcycle country, is the 1200S Como. It's being imported by Middlesex Triumph dealer Jack Lilley, and is available strictly to order.
The first thing that grabs you is the way the thing looks. It really is a 1200 Bandit under there. The switchgear, swingarm, headlight, clocks and the engine are all straight off the donor bike.
But then there are other, more individual; touches, such as the black-painted, 1970s-look exhaust pipes, the chrome mudguards, the rear light and that long and low tank sprayed up in the bright blue, white and red or the classic MV Augustas.
There are also modern Brembo four-piston calipers and twin discs at the front, with the Suzuki master cylinder and span-adjustable front brake lever.
The classic feel doesn't go too far, so there's no kickstart just the usual button.
But the first time I straddled it I found myself reaching down near the carbs for a choke lever before I suddenly remembered that it's really a modern bike with modern conveniences, such as a choke on the handlebars.
Although the frame looks like the standard Bandit, it's actually Magni's own chrome-moly, tig-welded frame sprayed up in red to match the bike's seat and paintscheme.
The twin shocks are Showa and, with a four-way click adjuster that actually doesn't do very much, look suspiciously like the ones from Honda's discontinued CB1000.
But somehow that doesn't seem to matter because you feel like you're riding a very quick classic bike with a bit more civility.
For one thing, you literally almost lie down on the bike with your bum pushed up against the soft seat-stop, and you can hear the chrome front mudguard and side panels vibrating but only barely so because the noise from the pipes takes so much of your hearing away from any other sound.
It rasps rather than screams, and though it wouldn't pass contemporary noise limits, it's not as load as a true open-corked '70s superbike. And though the bike will rev all the way round until the needle stops, and pull the front wheel in the air in the process it feels nicer and more suitable to change up at about 6000rpm.
That's where the meat of the torque is, and you can still benefit from the aural experience from the four pipes when you short-shift.
An ideal, laid-on-the-tank-with-Woodstock-on-your-mind speed to cruise at is 80mph, though it will pull up to about 140mph.
However, if you can hang on to it at that speed, you really must have been a child of the '70s.
Go too quickly and the limits of the suspension soon lets you know. The front dives and uses up its travel with a mild stroke of the front brake lever/ the rear shocks are so firm that in a corner you have to work it to stop the bike running wide and find yourself hanging off to stop the flip-up sidestand grounding.
It's the kind of bike you want to ride for 30 miles until the seat has done wonders for your bum, pull up and then do it again.
At £11000 it sounds like a lot of money, but to me it's a bargain and you're buying a piece of history that will touch your life through any flared trouser fad.


Creating a name for a startup company is a daunting task for entrepreneurs. With such a decision comes countless hours of research, efforts to incorporate the business entity, and securing intellectual property rights to ensure that others will not use the same name. For the entrepreneur, trademark registration of a company name symbolizes a weight lifted from their shoulders, as it officially signals that the name is theirs. What they do not realize, however, is that the name will not remain theirs if trademark trolls have the final say.
To anyone with a basic understanding of intellectual property law, the idea of trademark trolling is absurd, largely because in the eyes of the law, there is no merit to many claims that the simple use of a word in a completely unrelated market infringes the rights of another holder of rights in that word. The right to sue for trademark infringement exists to protect owners' rights and to protect the public from unfair competition. However, for startup companies, the threat of such frivolous litigation can be catastrophic. Startups often do not have the funds or legal resources necessary to combat the litigation, and are forced to allow the large company trademark trolls to bully them into cessation of using the name.
In a recent study, the United States Patent and Trademark Office's Report to Congress on Trademark Litigation Tactics defined a trademark troll or bully as a trademark owner who uses its rights to harass or intimidate other businesses beyond the scope of what the law is reasonably interpreted to permit.  In this study, the USPTO acknowledged from data gathered by attorneys, professors, and businesses of all sizes that aggressive litigation and pre-litigation tactics by trademark bullies are often targeted at small businesses.  Such aggressive tactics include threatening cease and desist letters alleging that use of a name infringes the accuser's trademark, as well as the filing of lawsuits. In many instances, these tactics scare the smaller businesses away from continuing to use the name in fear of retaliation by the larger trademark owner. This fear largely stems from the lack of resources available to fight back against the accusing party.
From the perspective of a lawyer who can comprehend what is necessary to establish and fight a trademark infringement case, trademark trolls do not pose a major legal threat simply because their allegations often do not hold much strength. Under the Lanham Act, in order to prove trademark infringement, a trademark holder must show (1) that they have a valid trademark; (2) that someone else used their mark in commerce; and (3) that such use is likely to cause confusion to consumers as to the source of the goods or services of the mark.  Factors relevant to whether a trademark is likely to cause confusion include the strength of the mark being infringed, how similar the two marks are, evidence of confusion, etc. The element of confusion is where trademark trolls will often fall short. Many trademark trolls sue or threaten to sue anyone who simply uses a singular word present in their trademarks. In instances where they sue companies completely outside of their relevant industry or market, it seems highly unlikely that confusion could be possible.
On the surface, receiving a cease and desist letter to stop use of a trademark because it could potentially infringe on someone else's mark may not be concerning to most, especially if the infringement allegation has no merit. Additionally, larger, deep-pocketed companies with access to legal resources can afford to fight back against such claims. However, it is not the merit of the case that poses problems for entrepreneurs and startup companies; it is the cost involved in proving that such accusations are meritless. The legal fees associated with doing so can start as high as hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the profile and duration of a case. The American Intellectual Property Law Association estimates that such litigation can cost a company up to $25 million to dispute.  For a startup company just getting off the ground, legal fees this high are enough to put them out of business before the business even takes off.
There is unfortunately no concrete answer as to how to ease the entrepreneurial concern of being retaliated against by a trademark troll. With this in mind, the best advice to give to an entrepreneur starting a business is to trademark a name and logo that is as unique as possible, and try as hard as possible to ensure that nobody has ever used it before. Obviously, this is easier said than done.
CREATIVITY IN COMPENSATION SCHEMES: DO ENTREPRENEURS' COMMON STRATEGIES RUN AFOUL OF WAGE & HOUR LAWS?


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Laser drilling is a proven processing method which is based around a focused beam of light to accurately and selectively vaporise a material. Unlike conventional drilling processes such as mechanical drilling, punching or electric discharge machining (EDM), with laser drilling the hole size drilled remains accurate and constant as there has been no tool wearing in the process.
There are a number of benefits to using a laser for drilling and cutting materials: -
Zero tool wear
Low thermal effect
Reduced surface contamination
Burr free edges when drilling metals
Both organic and inorganic materials can be drilled by the use of laser, to drill organic materials you would need to use a CO 2 laser with a wavelength of 10µm, where as for drilling inorganic materials you would need to use a fibre laser with a wavelength of 1µm. Ultimately the wavelength of the laser and the choice of beam delivery optics will limit the size of hole that can be drilled. With the correct choice of optics, you can achieve holes as small as 30µm (with a CO 2 laser) and as small as 10µm (with a fibre laser).
Laser Lines offers a wide range of Synrad CO 2 pulsed lasers, these are capable of producing high peak pulses needed for drilling from relatively low powered sources. The Pulstar range is available from 100 Watts to 400 Watts, the P100 will produce high peak power pulses of up to 400 Watts from the 100 Watt source, the p400 will produce high peak power pulses in excess of 1000W from a 400 Watt source. Synrad lasers offer the widest choice in terms of power and performance, the Pulstar range of CO 2 lasers are the ultimate tool when it comes to drilling organic materials. More
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Laser Lines offers a wide range of nLight fiber Lasers ranging in power from 500 Watts to 8000 Watts, these lasers are designed for use in multiple applications including drilling of metals, such as Copper, Brass, Stainless Steels, Aluminium and Alloys as well as other materials including rubber and plastics. Whether you need to drill thin sheet materials through to thicker plate, nLight has a suitable power laser to meet your requirements on drilling. More

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Teen Employees Affected by COVID-19
By Megan Landvatter, Current Staff
A year ago, Chris Meyers spent his Friday nights seating customers at Texas Roadhouse. Now, he spends his Friday nights wiping down menus.
As the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 lockdown approaches, area high school students continue to put their lives on the line. For these students, the pandemic has affected their work life as well as their school life. After the virus outbreak last March, some businesses were forced to shut down and put in safety precautions to help prevent the spread of the virus.
"When it first started, we completely shut down for about two months," said Meyers, a senior at West Bend West High School. "And then we went to completely curbside, nobody allowed in, only bringing food out to the cars. There was a very big reduction in hours because I wasn't trained in taking to-go orders, so for a while I was not working at all."
By the time restaurants were able to reopen, Texas Roadhouse had created a new position called Sanitizing Manager, where the assigned employee wipes down all of the menus and any other items that customers might touch, including ketchup bottles and salt and pepper shakers.
"It is very boring doing that job," Meyers said. "The only thing is that the table that you sanitize at is kind of in the bar area so the TVs are around, but if you're not interested in what's on, then it's pretty boring standing there because you don't really get any customer interaction or any interaction with any other employees."
However, the pandemic has prompted some customers to take out their anger and frustration on some of the employees. Although not very often, Meyers has experienced some of the aggression first hand.
"We've had a lot of customers be very angry with us," Meyers said. "I've personally been insulted. The entire restaurant's been insulted. There was one time where the sign that we have up that says masks are here if you'd like one, we told a customer that he needed to put on a mask, and he just hit the sign and it was just held up by an upside down cup because the weight that was in it before got lost and then the cup shattered on the floor so we had to clean that up and he stormed out while yelling profanities."
Unlike Meyers, West senior Matthew Rolf quit his job at Silver Lake Country Inn, a restaurant in West Bend, and applied at Stein's Garden & Home in West Bend shortly after Wisconsin's stay-at-home order went into effect.
"The restaurant shut down and I could have waited a few months and then kept working but I wanted to work so I quit and got a new job," Rolf said. "At first at Stein's all we had for precautions were distancing with customers when they were checking out and just staying six feet apart in general. We didn't enforce masks on employees or customers till late July or so."
"We've had a lot of customers be very angry with us."
Chris Meyers, West senior
West senior Alex Stewart, a produce clerk at the West Bend South Pick 'n Save, has tried to enforce the mask policy on those that he believes will listen, whether they are fellow employees or customers.
"One notable employee was really taken aback that I had the audacity to speak to her and tell her that she should be wearing a mask, and now that employee has COVID," Stewart said. "Some other customers are very rude and indignant about it, but most of them are just willing to help and take this basic safety precaution to try to help other people."
As an essential business, Pick 'n Save stayed open while other businesses shut down last March. The store gave its employees a hero bonus of an extra two dollars per hour for working during the pandemic as well as the occasional $100 of in-store credit in order to incentivize employees while enforcing new regulations. Along with mandatory masks, employees were also required to have a temperature check done by a manager at the start of their shift.
"The other thing was a temperature check that was mandated for a while," Stewart said. "But that quickly stopped happening because people didn't care enough to do it and the managers weren't too particular about wanting to enforce it either."
For Stewart, the biggest change was not even in his own department. Through the Clicklist department, customers can have employees do their shopping for them and pick up their groceries outside of the store.
"The store's Clicklist people, they've been really ramping up lately because people don't want to walk into the store too much," Stewart said.
Unlike most other workers, West Bend East High School junior Maren McDonnell, a lifeguard at the WBHS pool, does not have to wear a mask due to the nature of her job.
"Lifeguards are exempt from wearing masks because it would take too much time for us to take them off in case we had to save somebody," McDonnell said. "But I know that coaches and even the swimmers have to wear masks when they're out of the water."
Since she is on the swim team, McDonnell is already exposed to most of the West Bend swimmers. However, the small precaution of wearing masks has helped her feel safer when exposed to those from other schools.
"Because I lifeguard during meets, I do have to come in contact with people from other schools, so the entire Hartford boys swim team, for example," McDonnell said.
East senior Emily Huesemann worked as a stocker at the BP gas station, an essential business, at the start of the pandemic. However, for her, not much changed after the lockdown.
"In the beginning they did nothing at all," Huesemann said. "They did not implement any precautions until it was necessary. My work still served food after being told it was not allowed. Many people did not wear masks and it was concerning."
Due to the lack of safety and other concerns, Huesemann decided to quit her job. She says she put her life on the line by being there.
"I would not consider myself an essential worker, but I did still go in every day," Huesemann said.
(Top image: West Bend East High School junior Maren McDonnell works as a lifeguard at a swim meet at the WBHS pool. Photo courtesy of McDonnell.)
Tagged as Alex Stewart, Chris Meyers, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Emily Huesemann, Maren McDonnell, Matthew Wolf, Megan Landvatter
One response to "Teen Employees Affected by COVID-19"
Today is the funeral for a dear friend who's son wasn't required to wear a mask at a the grocery store. We are all saddened


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Small Businesses Wish Santa Would Bring Them…
The GrunionGrunion News
Small Businesses Wish Santa Would Bring Them Shoppers
SHINING BRIGHT. The Christmas tree in Bixby Knolls is a mark of the season for area residents.
By Ashleigh Ruhl | ashleighruhl@gmail.com |
PUBLISHED: November 22, 2017 at 6:45 a.m. | UPDATED: May 24, 2021 at 11:58 p.m.
As big box stores and shopping malls pull out all the stops with post-Thanksgiving Day sales, local businesses throughout the region will be kicking off the holiday season their own way with Shop Small Saturday.
The nationwide movement of celebrating and supporting independent businesses on the Saturday following Thanksgiving got its start in 2010 with an American Express credit card incentive, but the movement has grown to become so much more.
Long Beach's independent shopkeepers and business districts – as well as others throughout the country – have made Shop Small Saturday theirs. They're hosting special events, discounting merchandise and bringing in entertainment to get locals buying gifts close to home.
In Belmont Heights, for example, a cluster of neighborhood businesses are hosting their second annual Holiday Block Party from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 25. There will be sales, giveaways, pop-up shops, snacks, drinks, children's activities, photo booths, tarot readings, hair painting, henna tattooing and other entertainment, including a visit from Santa Claus.
"As a small business owner … it's a fabulous way for us to meet our neighbors, have fun and get in the holiday spirit, all while supporting independent vendors and artisans," Dayna Mance, owner of Prism Boutique, said.
Independent shops participating in the block party include Prism, The Family Store, Runwaytrash, Twig & Willow, Ambiance Skin Care Salon and Sean Arthur Salon, according to a release.
Long Beach's different business improvement districts, from Zaferia to Downtown to Uptown, and everything in between, aren't stopping there – going beyond Shop Small Saturday, the push for residents to shop local is something area businesses are hoping happens throughout the holidays and year-round.
In Belmont Shore, where the Dec. 2 Belmont Shore Christmas Parade is a highlight of the season, Business Association Executive Director Dede Rossi has lined up a variety of activities to entice holiday shoppers, from Shop Small Saturday promotions and beyond.
Belmont Shore will host carolers and live music on most Friday and Saturday nights in December. And Santa Claus will visit, too, some Sunday afternoons.
Rossi said an open house, Holiday Shop and Sip, is tentatively scheduled from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15, with more details to be announced.
On Fourth Street's Retro Row, a vintage-focused shopping and dining district between Temple and Hermosa avenues, the Fourth Friday of every month offers shoppers extended store hours, specials and entertainment, as well as a bike valet service.
"We really want to show our neighbors that they can find everything they need for the holidays right here, in their own backyard," Fourth Street Co-President Chris Giaco said. He's also the owner of a vintage shop called inretrospect [sic].
November's Fourth Fridays event, which happens to fall on Black Friday, will offer Fourth Street's shoppers some holiday-themed entertainment and window displays. Specially designed shop local bags will be given away at participating businesses.
In Bixby Knolls, a #BoughtItInBixby social media campaign is fully underway, challenging locals to make moves toward purchasing food and retail items within the community where they live. The district also is known for its annual tree lighting ceremony, which typically occurs on the First Friday of December, as part of Bixby Knolls's longstanding First Fridays monthly event series.
Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association Executive Director Blair Cohn has long been a proponent of the shop local movement, and he and his team explain it like this: "By supporting the businesses in Bixby Knolls, you are continuing to support positive change in the community. The neighborhood continues to be vibrant, your property values rise, and the ultimate sense of community pride continues to strive to be the highest in the city."
They are challenging everyone to change one thing, to buy just one more thing locally that might otherwise come from outside of town.
"Challenge yourself to instead find a Bixby Knolls merchant to meet your needs," they said. "There are goods and services to discover right here and we encourage you to do so… Your support makes Bixby Knolls reach its full potential."
Grunion Shops Small Too
We at the Grunion like to think we've helped play a part in the effort for the past six years, featuring articles about some of the uniquely-Long Beach mom and pop shops in this city, and keeping our holiday event calendar packed with details about the happenings at different local shopping areas.
Starting on Thanksgiving, and running through Christmas, we'll be continuing our Shop Small-focused series, featuring gift ideas from four local businesses in each edition of The Grunion.
"Our goal has been to help our readers understand that what they're looking for during gift season might be right in their own backyard," Publisher Simon Grieve said. "Don't underestimate the value of your favorite shop on the corner – it's what makes this our hometown."
Ashleigh Ruhl is a contributor for The Grunion. Reach her at ashleighruhl@gmail.com.
Grunion Business
Ashleigh Ruhl | Correspondent
Ashleigh is a freelance journalist with more than a decade of experience writing and editing articles for various newspapers and wire services in California and Colorado. A graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder, she has been honored with multiple awards for her journalism and community involvement.
ashleighruhl@gmail.com
More in The Grunion
COVID surge creates challenge for LBUSD
Long Beach saw 8% increase in violent crime in 2021, police say
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia says city recovery strong in State of the City address
LBUSD COVID-19 testing opens for students, employees only; Long Beach expands city testing


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La Sonate pour piano  en si bémol majeur, , de Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart a été composée à l'occasion de son voyage à Munich pour faire représenter son opéra La finta giardiniera. La date de composition se situe au début de 1775 alors que Mozart avait dix-huit ans. C'est la troisième d'une série de six sonates écrites lors de ce voyage. C'est une des sonates les plus virtuoses de la série. Dans cette œuvre, on note qu'en dépit de la grande influence de Haydn, la personnalité de Mozart s'affirme peu à peu. Dans l'Andante et le Rondo, on remarque l'émancipation de l'artiste. Le style instrumental tend de plus en plus vers le piano, et s'éloigne de l'écriture pour clavecin.

Le manuscrit se trouve à la Bibliothèque Jagellonne. La sonate a été publiée par Breitkopf & Härtel en 1799.

Analyse
La sonate se compose de trois mouvements:
 Allegro, en si bémol majeur, à , , deux sections répétées deux fois (mesures 1 à 40, mesures 41 à 109) - partition
 Andante amoroso, en mi bémol majeur, à , , deux sections répétées deux fois (mesures 1 à 46, mesures 47 à 105) - partition
 Rondeau : Allegro, en si bémol majeur, à ,  - partition

La durée de l'interprétation est d'environ .

Introduction de l'Allegro:

Introduction de l'Andante amoroso:

Introduction du Rondeau : Allegro:

Notes et références

Liens externes
  Partition, discographie et deux enregistrements et appareil critique dans la Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
 Autographes des Sonates K. V. 279-284 à la Bibliothèque Jagellonne.

Bibliographie

 02
Œuvre en si bémol majeur

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Erin and Ben Napier love their small Mississippi hometown, especially the old historical houses. Using found materials and old textiles, they're keeping the character of these classic homes but giving them modern and affordable updates. Erin and Ben are making sure their small town's future is as bright as its past.


I'm all about the pivotal moments.
And that most-often brings to mind the "big" moments.
But our success (or otherwise!) has an awful lot to do with the "small" things we consistently do.
When it comes to securing promotion, there are ways for us to identify, embrace and capitalise on those big career moments.
But no amount of coaching is going to help us secure that promotion if our day-to-day behaviour has been slowly but surely undermining our career prospects.
When was the last time you proactively thought about your longer-term career, reached-out to your networking contacts or committed to personal development that wasn't thrust upon you? When was the last time you took a long hard look at your current performance and asked: is this good enough? Could this be better? Complacency, in all its forms, can really stifle a career. Challenge yourself: what else could I be doing?
In surveys of successful employees, the ability to adapt to a changing workplace – whether that change is local, global, technical, political or otherwise – is repeatedly quoted as a crucial characteristic. Change is a constant part of our lives, not just our work. We need to decide whether to drown beneath the wave; or surf it. Again, challenge yourself: where have I become overly-comfortable (even complacent) with the status quo? What more could I do to embrace and lead change, rather than shrink from and resist it?
It's tempting to promise the moon. But even when it's come from a place of honesty and commitment, consistent under-delivery will harm your career. Because the only person who's interested in the reasons you let someone down is you. The rest of us remember the outcome. So, from the very beginning: know your capacities; focus on the desired outcomes; and set realistic expectations.
Our ego is concerned with two things: looking good; and being right. And I'm not going to harp on about this one too much – because we all know when our egos are in charge! So simply take a moment to reflect on your decisions, courses of action, behaviour and beliefs that have been ego-led. Which of those are benefitting your career? Which are not? And with that in mind, what changes might you want to make in support of your longer-term career?
With the consistently high demands on our time, it's easy to become heads-down busy with no time or thought for the big picture. But individuals with successful careers are characterised by that bigger-picture thinking: able to relate the day-to-day with their overarching goals; their overarching goals with the business; and the business with its place in the world. To keep sight of the wider context, schedule some time in your calendar for strategic thinking (whatever level of the business you're at). And keep coming back to the big picture.
As human beings, we're all deeply-attuned to one another. And our moods (especially our negative moods) can leak out and affect those around us, whether we intend that or not. Simply put: our negativity complicates (when we should be simplifying!) things for everyone around us and gets in the way of a quality delivery. So catch your negative thoughts and park them for your offline time. And if you notice a pattern of persistent negativity – look deeper.
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is about self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. And it's crucial to your success: in your current role; and in your longer-term career. Whatever industry you're in, whatever role you hold, it can be tempting to focus only on the "technical" aspects of our jobs. But for the influence and impact that determines your career success, we need to work on our EQ.
There is a political dimension to any group, including the organisations in which we work. And in my opinion, its somewhat naïve not to consider the office politics at play. That doesn't mean to say the politics at play need automatically be negative. Understanding the make-up of the organisation, knowing where the key people of influence reside and working hard to build strong relationships built on authenticity and trust is a positive expression of being politically aware. And its crucial for career success. An opposite expression of "playing politics" that might include undermining colleagues, choosing sides, instigating conflict, will also have a strong bearing on your career. No prizes for guessing what kind of bearing.
For me, so much of our success is defined, created, shaped and made to happen in those few-but crucial pivotal moments. But when it comes to our career, it's as much about what we consistently do between those moments.
Set a positive foundation for your next pivotal career moment by eliminating those career- limiting behaviours.


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Rooms, Hotels
Minor Hotels Seeks Scale to Capture More of the Chinese Travel Market
Natnicha Chuwiruch, Bloomberg
- Oct 10, 2018 12:00 pm
In the current business environment, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single hotelier in possession of a healthy bank account must be in want of more hotels, and more brands.
— Deanna Ting
Billionaire William Heinecke is on the lookout for further takeovers after more than tripling the number of hotels his Minor International Pcl controls through the acquisition of Spain's NH Hotel Group.
Heinecke, a U.S.-born turned Thai citizen, says it's all about size when it comes to fighting off competition and capturing the surge in Chinese tourists.
"What allows you to fight and be competitive today is scale," Heinecke, the chief executive officer of Minor, said in an interview in Bangkok. "If you're not growing and you're not large, it's very hard."
The number of Chinese outbound tourists climbed 6 percent to 135 million in 2016, and they spent $261 billion, or a fifth of the world market, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. That's set to continue surging, with the number of Chinese with a passport expected to double in the next two years to 240 million.
"I've watched travel for all my life and I've never seen it decline," Heinecke said. "I think it's going to get on a more rapid path and the Chinese are just fueling that."
Minor's brands include the luxury Anantara resorts and upmarket AVANI hotels, mostly located in Thailand. A JW Marriott in Phuket and some domestic Four Seasons hotels are also part of its portfolio.
Through acquisitions it has added the Elewana Collection in Africa, Oaks Hotels & Resorts across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, and four-to-five star Tivoli hotels and resorts in Portugal. The mid-market NH Hotel Group will give Minor 385 more hotels.
Once Minor and NH Hotel are consolidated, the group will have more than 80,000 rooms, making it the world's 14th largest hotel operator, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Minor's stake in NH Hotel is on course to exceed 50 percent, and the firm aims to take it up to as much as 55 percent, while leaving the company listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange.
Heinecke isn't looking to stop there. Minor has signed at least two hotel management contracts in Japan, and is looking for acquisitions because Japan is the top destination for Thai travelers. He says he is "opportunistic" if the right U.S. deal comes along.
Minor aims to have between 800 to 1,000 hotels in the next five years even without further acquisitions, and "much more" if deals are reached, Heinecke said.
"The hotel industry is still very fragmented and even with Minor's aggressive plans to expand, it will still be difficult to grow to the size of its peers," said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Margaret Huang. Minor will have to focus on its loyalty programs and technology in order to compete with the big global brands, she said.
Heinecke and his family have a 35 percent stake in Minor worth about $1.9 billion as of Tuesday's close in Bangkok.
"To compete in this market, you have to be world class, and to be successful and smart, you've got to be super-world class," said Heinecke.
©2018 Bloomberg L.P. This article was written by Natnicha Chuwiruch from Bloomberg and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.
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Tags: minor hotels, minor international, nh hotel group, nh hotels
Photo Credit: Billionaire William Heinecke is on the lookout for further takeovers after more than tripling the number of hotels his Minor International Pcl controls through the acquisition of Spain's NH Hotel Group. Bloomberg
Minor Out of Race for India's Leela Luxury Hotels as Brookfield Closes In
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Minor Hotels CEO: Why Hyatt's Interest Was an Embarrassment
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Thailand-Based Hotel and Restaurant Giant Minor to Take Over NH Hotels


text:
Choices UK suffers as pirates take toll
By Nick Goodway for MailOnline
Updated: 07:17 EST, 24 January 2006
HOME Entertainment, operator of the Choices UK video and DVD rental chain, today warned that it would make its first annual loss for 15 years as more people buy pirate DVDs, rent movies by post or download films from the internet.
Chairman and chief executive Ian Muspratt, who retires in April, said the Choices UK stores had an operating loss of £1.54m in the six months to 17 December after a 10% drop in like-for-like rentals and a 3% fall in DVD and video sales.
He added that the stores had been 'restored to modest profitability' since the half-year end after major reorganisation. Cost savings of £500,000 should kick in during the second half, and these will reach £1m next year despite a £500,000 increase in the group's electricity and gas bills.
The costs of revamping the shops to allow them to sell more products such as music, posters and magazines drove the group to pre-tax losses of £3.1m against profits of £3.6m in the first half of last year. Turnover dropped from £79.2m to £74.2m.
Besides the shop problems, the group failed to relaunch its online sales site ChoicesUK.com in time for the key Christmas selling season. The relaunch had been due at the end of September but will not now take place until the end of February.
Piracy still accounts for about 30% of the DVD and video market, according to Muspratt, who said that at last there are signs that the Government and enforcement authorities are beginning to take action over the problem.
The bad news for investors is that the interim dividend, which was 2.3p last year, has been scrapped. However, Muspratt said the group still planned to make a full-year payout.
Muspratt, who founded Home Entertainment in 1985, has reached retirement but has been asked to stay on as non-executive chairman while managing director Anthony Skitt becomes chief executive.
Muspratt said: 'There remains much to be done but the foundations are successfully laid. It is disappointing that we face our first full-year loss since 1991 but the nettles have been grasped and we face the second half and the future in very good shape to take the advantages of the opportunities that face us.'


text:
Hidden camera's hugging tiger wins wildlife photo award
Sergey Gorshkov's winning WPY image is called The Embrace
To photograph one of rarest creatures on Earth you have to be incredibly skilled and remarkably lucky.
But Sergey Gorshkov is clearly both – as demonstrated by his stunning picture of a Siberian, or Amur, tiger deep in the forests of Russia's Far East.
The image has just won him the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
The female tiger is seen embracing a tree, rubbing herself up against the bark to leave her scent and mark territory in Leopard National Park.
"The lighting, the colours, the texture – it's like an oil painting," says WPY chair of judges Roz Kidman-Cox.
"It's almost as if the tiger is part of the forest. Her tail blends with the roots of the tree. The two are one," she told BBC News.
All the more extraordinary is that this is a camera-trap image. The equipment was set up in the forest and left for months, waiting to trigger automatically when a tiger came by.
Of course, Sergey had to know where he'd be most likely to frame the animal – and that's where the skill of an experienced wildlife photographer comes into play.
Eastern Russia's tigers were hunted to near-extinction and probably now number only a few hundred individuals. And with their prey – mostly deer and wild boar – also diminished, it means the Amurs must range over vast distances to find food.
It all adds to the difficulty of securing any sort of picture, never mind one that looks as impressive as this. But consider this: the camera-trap that took the winning picture was left in the field for 10 months before its memory card with its precious image file was recovered.
Sergey's grand prize award was announced by Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge and TV presenters Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin during an online event organised by London's Natural History Museum.
The NHM runs the WPY competition, which is now in its 56th year.
The fox that got the goose by Liina Heikkinen, Finland
This image of a young fox consuming a barnacle goose earned Finnish teenager Liina not only a win in the category for 15-17 yearolds, but the overall grand prize for junior photographers. The fox had forced itself into a crevice to try to stop its siblings getting at the meal.
"The judges particularly liked it because only a really keen young naturalist would have been able to get such a picture," explained Roz Kidmand-Cox. "The composition is wonderful. Liina must have been lying on the ground because she's eye to eye with that young fox."
The pose by Mogens Trolle, Denmark
A young male proboscis monkey in profile. It is the WPY Animal Portraits winner this year. The picture was taken at the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary in Sabah, Borneo. That splendid nose will get even bigger as the young primate matures. It'll give his calls a bigger sound, and it will probably come to signal his status in the group.
Etna's river of fire by Luciano Gaudenzio, Italy
WPY isn't only about animals. This image taken on the north side of Europe's most active volcano won the Earth's Environments category. Luciano Gaudenzio had to brave heat and stinking steam to get close to his subject. He described the scene as hypnotic, the vent resembling "an open wound on the rough and wrinkled skin of a huge dinosaur".
Life in the balance by Jaime Culebras, Spain
This glass frog snacking on a spider is the winner in the WPY category for Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles. Jaime took this picture in Ecuador's Manduriacu Reserve – during a torrential downpour. He had to hold an umbrella and flash in one hand while operating the camera in the other.
A tale of two wasps by Frank Deschandol, France
A specially built, superfast shutter system was needed to frame and freeze these two wasps in Normandy, northern France. The red-banded sand wasp (left) and the cuckoo wasp are about to enter next-door nest holes. Frank Deschandol wins the Behaviour: Invertebrates category.
The golden moment by Songda Cai, China
The Under Water category winner for 2020. This is a tiny diamondback squid. It's a paralarva – meaning it's beyond a hatchling but not quite a subadult. Songda took this on a night dive off the coast of Anilao, in the Philippines. The animal is about 6-7cm in length.
When mother says run by Shanyuan Li, China
These are young Pallas's cats, or manuls, which are found on the remote steppes of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in northwest China. Shanyuan captured this image of the playful kittens after six years of tracking and studying the animals. The picture wins the Behaviour: Mammals category.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards are normally presented during a gala dinner at the NHM in South Kensington. But, as with so many events in the era of Covid, organisers had no choice but to go virtual this time. The highly popular exhibition will proceed as normal, however. It opens on Friday, but is ticket only. Booking is essential.
Entries for next year's awards start being accepted on Monday.
Sergey Gorshkov preparing his camera traps ready to deploy in Leopard National Park
The territory is huge and the tigers will travel hundreds of km to find prey
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text:
Мико́ла Васи́льович Палійчу́к ( 17 серпня 1971, смт. Ворохта, Івано-Франківська область) — український політик, Голова Івано-Франківської обласної державної адміністрації у 2007—2010 рр.

Біографія
У 1991—1995 роках навчався в Тернопільській академії народного господарства на факультеті економіки та управління; отримав диплом бакалавра. У 1999—2004 роках навчався на юридичному факультеті Прикарпатського університету ім. В. Стефаника. Також у 2002—2005 роках навчався в Національній академії управління при Президентові України на факультеті вищих керівних кадрів, де отримав диплом магістра державного управління.

З серпня 1990 року по вересень 1991 року працював головним механіком при навчально-спортивному центрі «Авангард» у смт. Ворохта. Після закінчення Тернопільської академії народного господарства був приватним підприємцем у м. Яремче Івано-Франківської області. За даними довідника «Ділова Яремчанщина», займався бізнесом у галузі парфюмерно-косметичних товарів.

У грудні 2002 року склав присягу державного службовця.

Родина
Батько Василь Миколайович (1936—2004); мати Марія Юліанівна (1942) — пенсіонерка. Одружений, має трьох дітей. Дружина Наталія Дмитрівна (1978) — підприємець; дочки Вікторія (2002), Юліана (2003); син Віталій (2005).

Політична діяльність
З березня 1998 року по березень 2002 року Палійчук Микола Васильович був депутатом Яремчанської міської ради. У квітні 2002 року його було обрано міським головою м. Яремче; на цій посаді він перебував до жовтня 2007 року.

З жовтня 2007 по березень 2010 — голова обласної державної адміністрації; м. Івано-Франківськ. Державний службовець 1-го рангу.

Член партії "Народний союз «Наша Україна» (НСНУ). Голова Яремчанської міської організації, заступник голови Івано-Франківської обласної організації НСНУ (з березня 2005). У березні 2006 року був кандидатом у народні депутати України від Блоку «Наша Україна» (№ 341 в списку). У місцевих виборах 31 жовтня 2010 року пройшов по Яремчанському виборчому округу як депутат-мажоритарник в Івано-Франківську облраду від партії «Наша Україна».

Член правління Асоціації міст України та громад (з грудня 2002). Член Ради міських голів при Президентові України (з грудня 2006).

Нагороди
Орден «За заслуги» III ст. (22 червня 2007 р.)

Примітки

Посилання
 Центр політичної інформації «Дата»
 Сайт Івано-Франківської обласної державної адміністрації

Кавалери ордена «За заслуги» III ступеня
Уродженці Ворохти
Випускники факультету економіки та управління Тернопільського національного економічного університету
Випускники Прикарпатського університету
Випускники Національної академії державного управління при Президентові України
Міські голови Яремче
Депутати Івано-Франківської обласної ради
Депутати міських рад України
Члени «Нашої України»


text:
Here's why Richard Madden felt isolated and broken at the end of Bodyguard
Bodyguard star Richard Madden said playing the role of a war veteran with post traumatic stress disorder in the hit BBC series took a toll on him.
Richard Madden said playing the role of a war veteran with post traumatic stress disorder
The 32-year-old portrayed David Budd who is assigned to protect controversial politician-home secretary Right Honourable Julia Montague MP (Keeley Hawes), dealing with PTSD at the same time.
Madden said there was a point when he thought he needed to "stop doing this" for a while.
"It weighed very heavy on me. You spend more time in someone else's clothes, saying someone else's words, thinking someone else's thoughts. You do lose a bit of yourself.
"I'm not a method actor in any way, but you get a huge hangover from this. At the end of this, I felt very isolated and broken, much like the character was," he said at The Hollywood Reporter's Drama Actor Rountable.
The actor, who shot to global fame with "Game of Thrones", said he spoke to some soldiers to research for the role, adding it was "tough" to get them to open up.
"... They really don't want to talk about it. People don't want to discuss this at all. (PTSD) is something that people live with everyday. It can be a really trickling level of anxiety you constantly live with, or paranoia, or panic attacks."
Madden added his goal was "to humanise (PTSD) within someone who is in complete denial about it".
The actor was joined by Hugh Grant, Diego Luna, Sam Rockwell, Stephan James and Billy Porter at the roundtable.
Posted byManpreet Kaur
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My Take: Any legislator who defects must be denied a ministerial berth


text:
Canadian Company Swept Up in Suspected Plot to Smuggle a Qaddafi
The Canadian company SNC-Lavalin had paid more than $100,000 to a consultant charged in what the authorities call a plot to smuggle one of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's sons into Mexico.
OTTAWA — It began as a seemingly implausible tale of a consultant from small-town Canada charged in what the authorities call a plot to smuggle Saadi el-Qaddafi, a son of the former Libyan dictator, intoMexico.
Tim Wimborne/Reuters
There are charges of a plot to take Saadi el-Qaddafi to Mexico.
DOCUMENT: Cynthia Vanier's Background and Activities in Libya
Follow@nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines.
Twitter List: Reporters and Editors
But in the backdrop, questions have loomed about the role of a multibillion-dollar Canadian company that had extensive business dealings with the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi and paid the consultant more than $100,000 to travel to Libya, despite her evident inexperience in the region.
The lingering questions jumped to the forefront on Thursday when the company, SNC-Lavalin, announced that it had fired two senior executives connected to the accused consultant, suggesting that they had run afoul of its "code of ethics and business conduct."
SNC-Lavalin, a Canadian engineering and construction giant, had significant business connections with the Qaddafi government, and with Saadi el-Qaddafi in particular. During last year's turmoil in Libya, about 1,000 foreigners were working for SNC-Lavalin inside the country. Leslie Quinton, a spokeswoman for the company, confirmed that its projects included the construction of the "Judicial City" prison in collaboration with the Libyan Engineering Corps led by Mr. Qaddafi.
Last year, SNC-Lavalin also agreed to pay the jailed consultant, Cynthia Vanier, more than $100,000 to travel to Libya, Ms. Quinton said, in order to act "as a third-party adviser, to counsel on how to resume our operations in Libya, especially on issues regarding the safety and security of our personnel."
While the company has consistently denied any involvement in "an attempt at an extraction mission," exactly how or why it became involved with Ms. Vanier, who was charged last week by the Mexican authorities in connection with the supposed plot, remains unclear. Little in Ms. Vanier's background made her an obvious candidate for assessing the situation in Libya on behalf of a corporation with long experience of its own in that region.
Through a small consulting firm she ran with her husband, Pierre, and one employee in Mount Forest, Ontario, Ms. Vanier mainly acted as a mediator in disputes involving indigenous groups in Canada. Her résumé does not indicate that she has any experience in Libya or an educational background related to the region.
Nor did the company specifically explain in a brief statement released on Thursday night why it had fired the two executives, Riadh Ben Aïssa, a Tunisian-born Canadian who was executive vice president of the construction and infrastructure division, and Stéphane Roy, the vice president of finance for that unit.
Adding to the mystery, Mr. Ben Aïssa said in a statement that he would sue the company for suggesting that he was fired for ethical violations, but his spokesman would not explain why he left the company, although he said that the departure was voluntary.
Within SNC-Lavalin, documents show that Mr. Roy was Ms. Vanier's contact. After traveling to Libya by private jet, Ms. Vanier produced a five-page report highly critical of the NATO-led bombing campaign in support of Libyan rebels.
Mr. Roy praised the report as "eye-opening" in a letter to her dated Aug. 4, 2011. He added: "Hopefully, as a neutral third party, your findings will be able to shed the truth on the real events happening on the ground."
Last December, Ms. Quinton, the SNC-Lavalin spokeswoman, said in an e-mail that the report marked the end of the company's involvement with Ms. Vanier. Last week, she changed the story, indicating that Mr. Roy continued to work with Ms. Vanier until her arrest in November.
Gary P. Peters, who provided security for Ms. Vanier's trip to Libya, said that the company sent him to Tunis at its expense in September. While there, he said, he joined Mr. Ben Aïssa and Mr. Roy, the two executives, at an SNC-Lavalin office for a teleconference call with Mr. Qaddafi. The company acknowledged that a meeting with Mr. Peters took place, yet refused to say who attended, arguing that it "did not result in any contract or business arrangement."
But after that meeting, Mr. Peters said, he then traveled to Libya and led a group that escorted Mr. Qaddafi to the border with Niger, where he remains.
Paul Copeland, Ms. Vanier's Canadian lawyer, said that border officials twice conducted unusually comprehensive searches of jets that Ms. Vanier used to travel to and from Mexico, where she and her husband own a home.
On Nov. 10, the Mexican police swept in and arrested Ms. Vanier in Mexico City. The next day, Mr. Roy arrived in Mexico expecting to meet Ms. Vanier to "discuss potential water treatment projects," SNC-Lavalin later said in an e-mail. The company said that Mr. Roy was present when an associate of Ms. Vanier's was arrested. It declined to explain why Mr. Roy would be conducting such a trip. It said last week that he was not detained by the Mexican authorities and, to its knowledge, is not the subject of any investigation.
Mexican officials claim that Ms. Vanier was carrying forged documents at the time of her arrest and had negotiated a property purchase that was being made on Mr. Qaddafi's behalf.
Ms. Vanier and Gabriela Dávila Huerta, a friend and associate of Ms. Vanier, have been charged with organized crime, attempted human trafficking and falsifying documents. A Danish citizen, Pierre Christian Flensborg, and a Mexican, José Luis Kennedy, had received the same charges, but a judge dismissed the organized crime and document falsification ones this week. Mr. Flensborg was arrested with Ms. Davila as they left a hotel in Mexico City with Mr. Roy on Nov. 11.
Ms. Vanier's parents said that the fake documents were planted in a wallet that she received as a gift, and that the real estate dealings were nothing more than an attempt by Ms. Vanier and her husband to trade up to a better vacation home.
But John MacDonald, her father, acknowledged that they, too, were confused by the chain of events that have left their daughter in a Mexican jail for months.
Ian Austen reported from Ottawa, and Elisabeth Malkin from Mexico City.


Dental health for kids should be thetop priority of every parent. A regular cleaning in the office and reinforcing oral hygiene habits at home, helps your child have a beautiful, healthy smile. Prophylaxis is a great way to make sure that food deposits and plaque buildup on your child's teeth are removed efficiently.
A Dental prophylaxis is basically a professional teeth brushing procedure performed using an electric prophy brush and a special gritty toothpaste-like material. In case of older children an ultrasonic scaler is used to remove the calculus. This prophylactic teeth cleaning should be done twice a year as a preventative measure.
In children with rampant caries, prophylaxis is recommended 3 to 4 times a year. Buildup of tartar and plaque, stains and bad breath are the other signs that your child needs a professional teeth cleaning.
Ideal candidates for prophylactic teeth cleaning are those children with microbial plaque, calculus and extrinsic stains. It is also ideal for younger children who are still learning how to brush.
Dental Prophylaxis is preventative treatment and a wonderful way for children to get accustomed to the dental equipment and the noises. It is part of oral hygiene and involves removal of dental plaque and instructing the child on correct oral hygiene techniques. Hence, it is absolutely risk-free.
Besides ensuring a healthy mouth a Prophylaxis session takes care of your child's teeth by providing oral hygiene instructions and dental hygiene training and motivation.
Prophylaxis is an excellent procedure to help keep your child's oral cavity in good health.


Kids Kare School Inc is a family owned company that owns and operates a chain of child care centers. Kids Kare School was established in the year 1960 starting with just one centre which served 14 children only. The company has grown tremendously since then to become one of the leading institutions offering child care with 11 centers which serve the residents of Clovis, Madera and Fresno areas. Child Kare Schools offers child care to kids aged from 18 months to 12 years. Kids Kare Schools Inc is located In Fresno, California, USA.
There are currently 0 consumer reviews about Kids Kare Schools Inc. available. Share your review.
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text:
Senior YPG members 'fleeing' Syria's Afrin, sources say
by Anadolu Agency
AFRIN, Syria Mar 10, 2018 - 12:00 am GMT+3
| IHA File Photo
by Anadolu Agency Mar 10, 2018 12:00 am
Senior members of the PKK-linked People's Protection Units (YPG) terror organization are fleeing Syria's Afrin, where Turkey's Operation Olive Branch is ongoing, local sources said Saturday.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency on the condition of anonymity, the reliable local sources said one of them is Said Ismet Gubar, who serves as the so-called justice minister in the province which the YPG/PKK group occupied.
Gubar fled to Nubl, a small city in northern Syria, which appears to be under the control of Assad regime but is actually occupied by Iran-backed armed groups.
The terrorist organization continues to negotiate with Iran-backed groups to get Gubar back, the sources said.
According to the same sources, another senior member, who tried to escape from Afrin, was the group's so-called Interior Minister Hasan Bayram.
Bayram, who tried to leave the city through al-Zeyara village which links Afrin to the regime-held area, was apprehended by YPG/PKK members.
Bayram, whose attempt to escape failed, was also said to be carrying a large amount of money with him.
Moreover, scores of other ringleaders from the cadres of Qandil Mountain -- the main base of the PKK near the Iranian border -- have left Afrin's city center, the sources added.
On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to clear YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin, northwestern Syria.
According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkey's borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from the oppression and cruelty of terrorists.
The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey's rights based on international law, U.N. Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the U.N. Charter, and respect for Syria's territorial integrity, it said.
The military also said only terror targets are being destroyed and that "utmost care" is being taken to avoid harming civilians.
Last Update: Mar 10, 2018 11:12 pm
Best trekking routes in Turkey


text:
Q: Use of 'Until' and 'Not' in a Sentence Is the use of "not" in this sentence correct or not?
Don't communicate until the phone line is not fully secured.
Kindly advise.

A: Well, you have a double negation in your sentence, so you're basically saying "wait for the phone line to be unsecure/unsafe, and then start communicating". From a grammatical standpoint, that sentence is 100% correct; there's nothing wrong with it. But, that's probably not what you meant to say (who would want to communicate over a dangerous, unsecure phone connection?). What you probably meant was, "wait for the phone line to be secure, and then start communicating". In that case, you would write:

Don't communicate until the phone line is fully secured.

EDIT: changed "insecure" to "unsecure"

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


We ran into the @wdwtoday folks at the half marathon expo where they were handing out these buttons - which I'm not totally sure I understand. Didn't stop me from grabbing one, though.
Is this a button that *they* wear? Or...am I supposed to wear it in the parks to tell people that I'm tweeting things?


If you are charged with reckless driving, you want a lawyer who does two things well. 1. Conveys confidence. 2. Knows the state prosecuting attorneys and witness officer well. Relationships are everything in traffic court. David does both of these things very well. I spoke with a handful of lawyers before deciding on David. He is responsible for my current clean criminal record. Pick David. It is truly a no-brainer.


text:
Awards celebrate Public Health Week
PUBLISHED: April 18, 2017 at 6:15 pm | UPDATED: May 16, 2019 at 6:21 am
Terry Curtis from Little Folks preschool received a Public Health Shining Star award. In the photo with her is Deputy Director Trish McClain and Community Health Navigator Ann Clouse, Ann nominated Terry for the award.
By Jessa Hatch
NCHD public information officer
The Northeast Colorado Health Department celebrated National Public Health Week by recognizing public health champions in the communities it serves.
Public Health Week is an annual celebration of the American Public Health Association, held during the first full week of April each year. It is a time to recognize the contributions of public health and highlight issues that are critical to improving our nation.
As part of its activities, NCHD presented Public Health Shining Stars and Excellence in Food Safety Awards. "We are always excited to recognize individuals within our communities that have a positive impact on public health," said Dr. Tony Cappello, public health director for the Northeast Colorado Health Department. "Both awards are very significant as they honor those who's hard work and dedication lead to the betterment of our communities and go above and beyond in protecting the public's health."
Northeast Colorado Health Department Deputy Director Trish McClain, left, and Environmental Health Manager Melvin Bustos, right, present the Excellence in Food Safety Award for Sodexo — NJC to executive chef Andre Anderson and Billie Feather.
The Shining Star awards are presented each year to members of northeast Colorado communities who have shown outstanding commitment to public health over the last 12 months. Shining Star Award recipients are nominated by NCHD employees for going above the call of duty to protect the health of their community.
This year Terry Curtis, owner of Little Folks Preschool, was nominated by Community Health Navigator Ann Clouse, who said, "Over the years Terry has been a part of NCHD programs like child passenger safety, immunizations, and more. In 2016 Little Folks became one of NCHD's Breastfeeding Friendly Employers and it was through Terry's referral that Steve's Auto and Wisdom's Rides joined the program also."
Jennifer Travis (center) accepts the Excellence in Food Safety Award for Peetz School. She is pictured with Northeast Colorado Health Department Deputy Director Trish McClain, left, and Environmental Health Manager Melvin Bustos.
The Excellence in Food Safety Awards go to those establishments in the six-county district that maintain the highest standard of food safety in northeast Colorado. These individuals put in the time and top notch efforts to keep the cleanest facilities and ensure the health and safety of their communities. In Logan County, award recipients include Sterling Livestock Cafe, Peetz School, and Sodexo – NJC Cafeteria. Excellence in Food Safety Awards are not easy to receive; these establishments are the best of the best in our community and they work hard to ensure food safety.
The health department congratulates all of the award recipients and thanks them for their efforts to ensure the health of the community.
Although we use National Public Health Week to recognize those who help us with public health throughout the year, we appreciate them year round. Public health would not be possible without organized efforts of organizations, public and private, communities and individuals working together to promote and protect health and inspire prevention.


text:
Map Of Provence Region France
Map of France March 05, 2020 21:05
Map Of Provence Region France Provence Wikipedia
France (French: [fs] (About this soundlisten)), officially the French Republic (French: Rpublique franaise, pronounced [epyblik fsz] (About this soundlisten)), is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories.[XIII] The metropolitan place of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories combine French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions (five of which are situated overseas) span a collect area of 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and a sum population of 67.02 million (as of July 2019). France is a unitary semi-presidential republic in imitation of its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and public notice centre. further major urban areas intensify Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice.
During the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. Rome annexed the area in 51 BC, holding it until the coming on of Germanic Franks in 476, who formed the Kingdom of Francia. The concurrence of Verdun of 843 partitioned Francia into East Francia, center Francia and West Francia. West Francia, which became the Kingdom of France in 987, emerged as a major European facility in the tardy center Ages, once its victory in the Hundred Years' suit (13371453). During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a global colonial empire was established, which by the 20th century would become the second largest in the world. The 16th century was dominated by religious civil wars in the middle of Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots). France became Europe's dominant cultural, political, and military faculty in the 17th century under Louis XIV. In the late 18th century, the French revolution overthrew the perfect monarchy, establishing one of forward looking history's antediluvian republics and drafting the confirmation of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which expresses the nation's ideals to this day.
In the 19th century, Napoleon took aptitude and conventional the First French Empire. His subsequent Napoleonic Wars (180315) shaped the course of continental Europe. next the collapse of the Empire, France endured a tumultuous attainment of governments culminating gone the inauguration of the French Third Republic in 1870. France was a major participant in World engagement I, from which it emerged victorious, and was one of the Allies in World skirmish II, but came under bustle by the Axis powers in 1940. taking into consideration liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was traditional and difficult dissolved in the course of the Algerian War. The Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains today. Algeria and approximately every the supplementary colonies became independent in the 1960s, following most retaining near economic and military friends subsequent to France.
France has long been a global centre of art, science, and philosophy. It hosts the world's fourth-largest number of UNESCO World stock Sites and is the leading tourist destination, receiving as regards 83 million foreign visitors annually. France is a developed country gone the world's sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP, and tenth-largest by purchasing facility parity. In terms of aggregate household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs capably in international rankings of education, health care, excitement expectancy, and human development. France is considered a great gift in global affairs, monster one of the five enduring members of the associated Nations Security Council taking into consideration the facility to veto and an credited nuclear-weapon state. It is a leading enthusiast disclose of the European hold and the Eurozone, and a believer of the work of 7, North Atlantic unity meting out (NATO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and expand (OECD), the World Trade management (WTO), and La Francophonie.
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7 tips for promoting your music on Instagram
Every musician will probably agree that the most challenging part about being one doesn't involve creating new music, but reaching your audience and promoting your music effectively.
Before the early 2000s, the road towards success, while not easy, was relatively straightforward. A label signed you and then they would handle everything else. With that infrastructure no longer in place, save for multi-platinum artists, an emerging and/or independent artist needs to be a jack-of-all-trades. Alongside creating new material, you have to oversee everything from designing posters, booking gigs, creating your own official website, and maintaining an active social media presence.
This brings us to Instagram and its value for budding musicians. Now, to figure out whether Instagram is a helpful platform for you, you'll need to take a look at the target market of this platform. 71% of Instagram users world wide are 35 or younger. It's a pretty wide margin, yes, but such a huge percentage means that Instagram can likely work for you and your music, regardless of the genre - as long as the younger audience is digging your sound.
Further illustrating the point is the fact that there is almost an equal split between males and females on the platform. Apart from popularity, Instagram offers plenty of features that allow you to build a loyal following and engage your audience, such as Instagram Stories or IGTV.
With that in mind, here are seven tips that will help you find your way to your fans and promote your music in the process.
1. Use Your Music in Instagram Stories and IGTV
One of the most popular features on Instagram right now are Instagram Stories, especially if you are trying to address a millennial audience. The platform holds incredible marketing potential, with as many as 500 million users creating and viewing Stories daily. You are probably one of those people, so why not use them to promote your art, too?
Because their format is relatively short, using Stories to promote music may seem counterintuitive at first. However, throwing in the right 15-second clip of one of your songs can do wonders for engagement. Everyone likes a good teaser! So, what can you promote using IG Stories?
Well, pretty much anything, and that includes:
The release of your new single, EP, or album
Songs from your back catalog
Your official merchandise
Anything else you can think of
What's good about Instagram Stories is that they offer plenty of room to experiment and tweak your approach, since they disappear after 24 hours. That way, you don't have to stress about not doing it right every single time, or at least until you get a feel for it. As for how you can use them, here are some examples:
Pick a song first, then create a video
Create a video first, then pick a song
Add a static image or a GIF to a song
One of the best elements about Stories is that they put you at the top of users' Instagram feeds. However, you will still have to fight your way to the front, which is why it's so important to create strong visuals to go along with your music. You can use hashtags in your Stories as well, and you should definitely use location tags, which you can post by using the Instagram sticker (you can only add one location tag per image or video). Apart from music and visuals, you can engage your audience by running polls, hosting Q&A sessions, creating quizzes and more all which can help you gather valuable feedback from your audience.
Now is also a great time to dive into IGTV, which allows you to upload longer video content on Instagram. Apart from being able to play videos that are up to 10 minutes long (or up to 60 minutes if uploaded from a computer using a verified account), IGTV is also unique because it's designed with vertical video in mind. With this kind of setup, the app creators leverage the fact that you're holding your phone vertically, thus contributing to an improved user experience.
The feature is only a year old but in theory, it could give YouTube a run for its money. Now you have more room to connect with your audience by uploading entire music videos, Q&A sessions, album progress vlogs, as well as more detailed behind-the-scenes videos.
2. Create a Compelling Instagram Bio
A lot of musicians don't spend too much time on their bios, which is a shame, because these introductory snippets can be very useful if you optimize them. Here are some suggestions!
While it's true that you are not given a lot of room in your bio, you can still tell your story. Instead of going the generic route and speaking just about what kind of music you play (because you are not the only one), try and infuse your bio with a personal story that is unique to you and you only. It's the thing that will set you apart from other fellow musicians.
Also, when writing your bio, don't be afraid to use language and jargon that is familiar to your fans. You want people to instantly realize what kind of profile they are looking at, and you want to express your genuine voice.
Promote a link
Optimizing your bio is also crucial because you get to use a single link. You can choose to link to:
Your official website
Your other social media profiles
One of your landing pages where your fans can purchase your music or merchandise
Streaming platforms where your music is hosted
A page where they can get some of your music for free in exchange for their email (if you want to create an email list to promote your stuff)
The only downside is that you only get one link, so you will have to change it from time to time, depending on your priorities. For instance, you can use the link to send your followers to a page where they can download your new single or album, take part in a contest, or see the latest products added to your merch page. You would also link to the most recent interview, a blog post you've just written, or your latest music video on YouTube. Whether it's new merch or a freshly dropped album, use the bio link for what you're most committed to promoting at the moment.
Pay attention to the profile picture
As for your profile picture, it should represent who you are and reflect the kind of music you play. For instance, if you are playing grunge, going with grainy and/or black and white images would be a complementary idea. And they don't have to be professional photos, although it would help.
Let's take Blink 182's IG account as an example. Obviously, these pop-punk legends need no introduction, so their bio text contains only "Crappy Punk Rock since 1992,", which puts their trademark humor on display. And then they link to Ticketmaster's website where you can buy tickets for their shows – plain, simple and effective.
3. Craft Outstanding Visual Content
This one should go without saying because Instagram was conceived as a visual-first platform. While it used to be a platform for stills only, Instagram can now host a variety of media, including videos and GIFs. Your Instagram posts allow you to get really creative and showcase your work as well as to provide your audience with a behind-the-scenes look. And we're not just talking about backstage photos, but also images that will show your fans how you spend your time outside of music.
This means you should include images from the tour bus, places you played on tour, interactions with fans or other musicians, as well as your time inside the studio, perhaps recording a new song or album. This will make your fans feel engaged and included - as if they are part of your journey.
One of the better examples of how you should approach building an engaged Instagram following and your visuals, is Alter Bridge's IG account. Alter Bridge is a hard rock juggernaut from Orlando, Florida, yet they are pretty down to earth and open when it comes to their visual content.
Alter Bridge uploads high-quality stills from concerts, festivals and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, in addition to your usual selfies and tour photos. But for their last couple of albums, they've shared a detailed visual account of their entire recording process, and they have done so in an appealing way. For instance, the image below shows the tracking progress for their latest album, planned for release this fall:
It's simple yet effective because it keeps the fans hyped for new songs that are coming soon and offers to get an early glimpse into tentative song titles.
Alter Bridge is not huge on Instagram, but their social media activity has allowed them to build an extremely loyal and active fan base. As a result, the solo for their song "Blackbird" has been chosen as the greatest guitar solo of all time. Apart from the quality of their music, it was their active fan base which enabled them to beat the likes of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Van Halen, and Guns N' Roses.
4. Use Hashtags to Your Advantage
Instagram influencers and models know that the platform is all about the hashtags, so why not follow their example as a musician?
Hashtags remain the most popular tool for discovering new content and artists. Instagram's algorithm will recommend tags that your audience may be interested in based on the posts they've liked in the past. If it remains like that, hashtags are only going to be increasingly more relevant.
As for hashtag limits, you get 30 per posts, and that includes hashtags you add inside the comments. This means you should aim for at least 20 with each post. This will allow you to target not just the most popular ones like #music, #rock, or #pop, but also those which are specific to your niche and to your own body of work.
So which hashtags can help you get the ball rolling?
We suggest using the likes of #InstaMusic and #InstaVideo, because they were used on over 33 million posts combined and they're unique to Instagram, as well as #InstaMusicVideo, #MusicMonday, #LiveMusic, and #InstaArtist. You can also piggyback off the #tbt hashtag, as long as you can connect it to your music in some relevant way. Also, you always need to include general hashtags like #music, #video, #band, #musician, and #song. In addition to that, you should add genre-specific tags like #rock, #guitar, #grunge, #aesthetic, #dj, #beat, #hiphop, and so on. You can find more detailed lists here. As for Instagram Stories, you get 10 hashtags per story.
So how do you find even more hashtags you should use? Apart from using common sense, there are some hashtag tools that you may want to dive deeper into, such as Display Purposes and Sprout Social. Display Purposes functions in a pretty straightforward manner. All you need to do is enter a relevant keyword or phrase, and it will come up with a list of corresponding hashtags you can use.
However, you will also need to identify which relevant hashtags people frequently search, and that's where Sprout Social comes in. If you are using Instagram to find hashtags, it will primarily suggest those that get used the most, which may not work for you since you need to get discovered. Another option would be to look at similar artists who have been able to generate organic engagement and see which hashtags they are using.
5. Use Instagram Ads
The trickiest part about creating an Instagram ad is getting people to stop scrolling and take a look at it. You have eight seconds or less to capture their attention. Granted, this will be very hard to achieve if you're simply using music videos as Instagram ads, especially when most people are watching videos with the sound turned off.
The solution would be to do some hardcore editing, after which you should have a short clip of your original video. Then you add logos and captions to the snippet to get potential followers to pay attention. One of the things which may work like a charm is to mention similar, more famous artists in the genre inside the caption, along the lines of "for fans of…", and target an audience which listens to that particular artist. It will spark their curiosity and they will be more likely to stop and give it a listen.
To run a successful ad campaign, it's best if you convert your profile into a business account. You will get all of the same features, plus some extra ones, like analytics, which will allow you to track how the audience is responding to your content.
6. Promote Yourself
If you are worried you are tooting your own horn on Instagram a little too much, don't be. That's the whole point of social media for musicians, especially for those who are just starting to make a name for themselves. Aside from flooding your followers feeds with your posts, everything else is fair game. This means you shouldn't shy away from promoting new songs, albums, or even new gear, such as guitars or amps. In order to get noticed, you will need to post regularly, so self-promotion comes with the territory.
If there is anyone who knows about promotion on Instagram, and self-promotion for that matter, it's DJ Khaled. It even spills over into his songs and guest appearances, what with the yelling out "DJ Khaled" in just about each one of them. Musical preferences aside, his Instagram game is on point. He has over 15.5 million followers, and most of his posts are about him.
Here's a shot of his with his certified gold album:
And here is another one:
Now, he might have gone over-the-top with his larger-than-life persona if it wasn't for a good dose of humor in each post. But, you get the idea. If there's a good enough reason to share something with your audience and promote it, don't hesitate to include it in your posts.
7. Go Live
Going live and streaming one of your gigs or providing your followers with a behind-the-scenes look at your creative process is an incredibly effective way to connect and engage. Not to mention it's a creative way to market your new single, album, or tour.
You can provide a more interactive experience for your fans by organizing a Q&A session or making a big announcement regarding future plans. Also, addressing your fans by their name is something that will definitely go a long way toward establishing you as someone who cares about your audience. And if you can do all of this on a regular basis, you will be able to see your fan base growing steadily.
As you can see, if used right, Instagram can be a very powerful tool in your arsenal for promoting your music and connecting with the people interested in hearing it. Start implementing these tips today and get the word out. Good luck!


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We're beginning to see the signs of spring which has included longer periods of daylight and spring training in Major League Baseball also in full swing. And although that NASCAR got their season going last month, it is time for the men on IndyCar to show what they can do behind the wheel. Last year's IndyCar season came down to final race of the year at Sonoma where the title was won by Scott Dixon as he edged by Juan Pablo Montoya. Dixon and Montoya finished tied for the points lead, but Dixon won more races (three), than Montoya's two. And aside from the battles on the race tracks and street courses of large metropolises around the United States and Canada during the spring and summer, there will be some fierce competition between the team owners who are seeking to undue the dominance of Chip Ganassi Racing.
Since 2008, Chip Ganassi Racing has taken home six IndyCar Titles as they've become the envy of the circuit. And with Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Charlie Kimball, along with rookie Max Chilton racing under Ganassi's banner for 2016, this team will once again be a force to be reckoned with. But it won't be all about Ganassi as Roger Penske has once again fielded a quartet of sharp drivers. Of the four drivers that will be driving for Penskie in 2016, Montoya, Will Power, and Helio Castroneves all finished in the top five of the driver standings last season and they should all once again be reckoned with this year.
For Montoya it is simple as he will need to finish this time around. Montoya was in the catbird's seat for the entire season in 2015 until a pair of bad finishes at Iowa and Mid-Ohio late in the year opened the door for Dixon to take the top spot as he would finish in the top ten in each of the final three races of the season which included winning the final race at Sonoma. And this should help to add even more intrigue to the circuit over the coming months.
Power took home the IndyCar Title in 2014 and after a mid-season struggle in 2016 which included taking 22nd at the Milwaukee Mile that sidetracked him, he rallied to finish strong and he is looking to carry that momentum over to 2016 while Castroneves is at the other end of the spectrum as he started 2015 strong, but faltered down the stretch.
For Kanaan, he finished 2015 eighth in the driver standings, but he played an integral part in Dixon winning the title. In the final race of the season, it was Kanaan that held off Montoya from finishing in the top five which then sealed the title for his teammate Dixon. But make no mistake about it that Kanaan wants to win his second IndyCar Title in 2016; especially since he never got to the winner's circle last year.
But 2016 won't simply be defined by the drivers for Penske or Chip Ganassi Racing. Andretti Autosport has a pair of strong drivers in Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti with Hunter-Reay having already won the IndyCar Championship in 2012. In each of Josef Newgarden's four years on the IndyCar circuit, he has improved in the driver standings which was highlighted by him winning in Alabama and Toronto last spring with 2016 possibly being the season that he cracks the top five of the standings for Ed Carpenter Racing.
Graham Rahal continues to add to family legacy on the track. Rahal runs for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing where his father and former driver Bobby is a part-owner. Rahal took the next step in his racing career least season when he finished fourth in the driver standings and he won a pair off races which included winning at Mid-Ohio which is right in his backyard being that he is a native of Columbus, Ohio.
And then there is the case for a pair of Colombian drivers in Carlos Munoz and Gabby Chaves. Munoz and Chaves have been the last two respective IndyCar Rookie of the Year winners and now each is not only looking to push Montoya as far as being the top Colombian driver on the circuit while also attempting to at least finish in the top ten of the driver standings to show that they are for real.
So when the Indy drivers hit the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida this Sunday afternoon for the first race of the year, there should be an electric atmosphere along with the drivers now operating in safer vehicles following the unfortunate death of Justin Wilson last summer. Last year came down to the final race of the year and 2016 should be another fun filled time on the Indy circuit.


On 24 Oct 2016, a delegation from the Network & Educational Technology Center, Jinan University led by Deputy Director Shuhua Zhu visited ICTO.
The delegation was warmly received by Stanley Seak, Head of IMS, Antony Si Tou, Head of ACTS, and Jack Chan, Acting Head of IUS, ICTO. Stanley shared with the guests the organisational structure, the history of I.T. development at UM, and latest updates on the development of administrative applications. Antony Si Tou shared with the guests about the smart card development project, I.T. in teaching and learning, the private cloud and High Performance Computing. Jack Chan shared about the network infrastructure at the new campus and the latest network and communication developments for the growth of University. The delegation also shared their recent development in Jinan University.


Still, I'm feeling good, and ready to crack on with a batch of updates for the last few days. And I'm off work for ten days, which gives me a bit of time for this... I think I'm also going to revisit a couple of the earlier games and give an update as to how I'm getting on.


NY GOLD; There is difference between Mr. Trump and Mr. Reagan; Mr. Trump is much friendlier for Gold?
Today is about NY Gold.
We reported "NY GOLD Daily; following 1980's, the price will challenge 1200 point over and will fail; if the 1130 point around will work as support condition will change" in 1/11/2017.
We think this market trend seems to have already changed.
Mr. Trump's office is filled up with Gold objects.
We can see he must be friendly for Gold.
The trend direction changed in this year.
We reported the range is "From 1100 point to 1000 point in 1/2017" in 11/23/2016 but the price is upper than about 100 point.
The similar point between 1980 and 2017 is support point.
1130 point will be "Iron Plated Support" in future.
USDJPY hourly; 115.20-40yen is resistance and 114yen low is support.
Our conclusion is cutting 115yen middle will be a start of rally.
We need to notice the report written in 1/21/2017.
Green line worked well and cutting green again will be good opportunity.
But 115.40yen worked as resistance and we cannot take big price range.
Cutting blue line will be a chance; taking a dip will be good opportunity.
We need to watch the gap will work well or not.
115yen middle is resistance point and 114yen middle is support.
This is similar conclusion to other analyzing method and the resistance and support will be reliable story.


This 42-page book with a soft cover contain numerous photos, data and descriptive information, including personal accounts, about the "glory days" of the famous Black Diamond train. Excellent photos of the lavish interior of the passenger areas.
Price-$9.43+.057 tax. Total 10.00 plus $3.00 shipping and handling.