I've been blessed in my career to narrate books by dozens of bestselling authors, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd ever get to work on a book by Janet Evanovich. Because she does such a magnificent job on the Stephanie Plum series, I thought Lorelei King would have all the Evanovich fun. Then one day, two years ago, while recording a book at Random House in Los Angeles, I got called into Dan Musselman's office. "Hey, you just got picked to do Janet Evanovich's latest book," he told me, and I was so stunned I just stood there staring at him, mouth agape, completely speechless.
What so surprised me was that I had no idea I was even being considered…! In the audiobook industry, you'll sometimes find that you've auditioned for something without having actually done so directly; quite often a publisher will provide their author with a number of audio samples by different narrators, samples of previous books those narrators have worked on, without any input from (or knowledge of) the narrators themselves. So this wasn't the first time in my career that I found myself chosen for a series I didn't even know I was being considered for, but it absolutely was the first time it happened with such a massive, bestselling author.
All this was two years ago, right before starting THE HEIST, Book 1 of the Fox and O'Hare series. The series follows international criminal Nick Fox doing his dastardly best to outwit FBI Special Agent Kate O'Hare, hot on his trail. The complication? There's an overabundance of sexual tension between the two. Just how badly does Kate want to catch him? And does Nick really want to escape?
What I love about this series is its sense of humor. Janet Evanovich has always been known for her cracking wit, and teaming up with Lee Goldberg has only sharpened it. I got to meet Lee a year ago when he stopped by Random House while we were recording THE CHASE, Book 2 in the series, and he had us in stitches pretty much the whole time. For me personally, I really respond to humorous books. I'll never forget working on my first book by Nelson DeMille, THE LION'S GAME. When I realized just how hysterically funny it was, I felt as though I'd come home.
Which is exactly how I felt reading Evanovich and Goldberg. And what's wonderful, not just for me but for all of you out there listening, is that the third Fox and O'Hare book just came out.
THE JOB begins with a fiendishly clever thief impersonating Nick Fox, and Kate O'Hare wants to know why. Her search for the real culprit leads them all into the clutches of an international drug lord and his global smuggling empire. With the help of a machete-wielding Somali pirate, a self-absorbed actor, an Oscar-winning special effects artist, as well as Kate's father, a retired Special Forces operative, they chase their mark from the streets of Nashville to the back alleys of Lisbon, from the rooftops of Istanbul to the middle of the Thames. Nick and Kate are on the run, and we are all the better for it.
What really strikes me about this series is the way it reminds me of one of my favorite TV shows as a kid, Hart to Hart. While the premise is certainly different, it's still got that "romance in the midst of a heist" kind of flair to it. So if you love thriller writers like Nelson DeMille who have a crackling good sense of humor then do yourself a favor and check out the adventures of Fox and O'Hare.


text:
Anxiety and depressive disorders in people with epilepsy: A meta-analysis
Epilepsia. 2017 Jun;58(6):973-982. doi: 10.1111/epi.13769. Epub 2017 May 3.
Amelia J Scott 1 , Louise Sharpe 1 , Caroline Hunt 1 , Milena Gandy 2
1 School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
2 Department of Psychology, eCentreClinic, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
DOI: 10.1111/epi.13769
Objective: Comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders in people with epilepsy (PWE) are highly prevalent and associated with various adverse outcomes. However, the prevalence of anxiety disorders in PWE across studies is highly variable. Our aim was to estimate the prevalence and moderating factors of anxiety and depressive disorders in PWE.
Methods: Following prospective registration (PROSPERO; CRD42015027101), electronic databases were searched for studies that reported the prevalence of both anxiety and depressive disorders in samples of PWE up until July 2016. Data extracted included the prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders, and moderators of interest (e.g., method of diagnosis, prevalence of drug-resistant epilepsy). Meta-analysis of the overall pooled prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders was conducted.
Results: The search yielded 8,636 unique articles, with 27 studies meeting final inclusion criteria (3,221 PWE). The pooled prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders was 20.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 15.3-26.0%) and 22.9% (95% CI 18.2-28.4%), respectively. Method of diagnosis significantly moderated anxiety disorder prevalence (Q statistic with one degree of freedom [Q1 ] = 36.29, p < 0.0001); the prevalence of anxiety disorders based on unstructured clinician assessment was 8.1% (95% CI 5.7-11.4%), compared to a prevalence of 27.3% (95% CI 22.1-33.3%) based on a structured clinical interview. There were no significant moderators of depressive disorder diagnosis.
Significance: Findings suggest the prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders in PWE are equivalent, and variability in prevalence of anxiety disorders across studies can be attributed partly to the method of diagnosis. These findings also challenge widely held assumptions that psychiatric comorbidity is more common in people with drug-resistant epilepsy. Future research should aim to improve the detection and management of these comorbidities in PWE, particularly anxiety disorders, which have remained relatively neglected.
Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Epilepsy; Meta-analysis; Psychiatric disorder.
Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 International League Against Epilepsy.
Anxiety Disorders / diagnosis
Anxiety Disorders / epidemiology*
Depressive Disorder / diagnosis
Depressive Disorder / epidemiology*
Epilepsy / diagnosis
Epilepsy / epidemiology*
Sampling Studies

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I am thinking it would be great fun to gather for a special class devoted to making cookies for the holidays! I would like to make it an all day affair on a Saturday and set aside 2-3 hours in the afternoon to kids, who accompanied by an adult – could come help make and decorate sugar and ginger cookies! Cookie Boxes are wonderful and there are more than enough varieties to choose from – in fact half the fun is deciding which cookies to put in the box. I usually bake at least 6-8 kinds and toss in some rum balls or chocolate covered brandy cherries to boot! Pretty boxes, pretty cookies, wrap them up as a taste treat. In addition I would like to offer a Sunday class devoted to Biscotti. Hmmmm…..so much holiday fun and baking ahead.


This is my second home when travelling in Germany in this region. Very relaxed atmosphere and great service. Hotel is very central to lots of activities and great restaurants. The rooms are spotless and very comfortable.
Does the hotel have parking for a motorbike?
Sure. You can park at their own private car parking.
"Ask for a room far away from the church, opposite side of the hotel, maybe a ground level room"
"Main building is only one with views of the Dom."
"Comfort room worth extra much bigger with aircon"
"On our first stay we had a 'comfort' double which is well worth the extra ££."


This shawl is part of the Gawain's Shield shawl collection, based upon the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Piety involves a knight's religious ideals, and Avalon—although often seen as a pagan place—can also represent the religious Christianity of knighthood. Indeed, a small church once stood on Glastonbury Tor, thought to be the location of Avalon. The stitch pattern on the border is fairly simple and not flashy, allowing the beauty of the merino/silk yarn to be the star of this shawl.
The crescent shape of the shawl is created by using German short rows and garter stitch. Then, the lace border is worked using the knitted-on border technique. When blocked, the shawl measures 45" (114.3 cm) long and 7.5" (19 cm) at widest section. The shape makes it wearable both as a narrow shawl as well as a scarf.
The sample was knit all in one color; however, the body and border can be knit as two different colors. If you want to work the shawl with two colors, you'll need 321 yds for the body and 321 yds for the border.
Thank you to my test knitters, JustAndi and dragonfairies, who provided valuable feedback.


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text:
Carlton Leach  is an author, occasional actor, and a former criminal.

Early life

Leach was born in Canning Town. A fan of West Ham United F.C., he became involved in the Inter City Firm, a gang of hooligans who followed the East London club. Leach was the original model for the cover of the Strength Thru Oi! album.

Criminal career

Leach started work as a bouncer in East London, where he became involved with Tony  Tucker, then Pat Tate, both of whom worked as large scale dealers in ecstasy during the rave era in the late 1980s. Tate, Tucker and Craig Rolfe were shot dead in December 1995 in a Range Rover on a farm track in Rettendon, in the Rettendon murders.

Later career

In 2003 Carlton Leach wrote a memoir about his criminal exploits, entitled Muscle. In 2007 a film based on the book was released, entitled Rise of the Footsoldier and starring Ricci Harnett as Leach. In 2015, Leach worked with Harnett to organise another film about his life, Reign of the General, but after losing a legal battle over copyright, the film was taken over by the owners of Rise of the Footsoldier and released. The same people went on to make a third film in the franchise in 2017. Leach claimed to have no part in the film, and commented on Twitter that it was fictional and no longer his story. In 2021, Carlton decided to release what he called his last (autobiographical) book. Co authored with Jason Allday, the book Titled,"The Final Say" went to number 1 on Amazon's best seller list within 24 hours of release. It has been said that the book is, "more than Essex and the same old......" as it covers Carlton's life from childhood until now; including references and contributions from his family and friends.

References

Living people
English memoirists
Organized crime memoirists
People from Canning Town
English criminals
Association football supporters
Former hooligans
Year of birth missing (living people)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Sheila Carapico (chair), Marina de Regt and Erika Cortes.
Since I first started my career as an anthropologist, I've been drawn to and engaged with issues regarding human experiences in armed conflicts, forced displacement, and life in vulnerable situations in a broader sense. But the three-month fieldwork and writing process for my Masters thesis at the VU were a pivotal point in my still short but already moving and exciting career.
I went to Turkey (Gaziantep and Istanbul) to do research on the narratives and experiences of Syrians that had been forced to migrate and were trying to survive the crisis across the border. During these three months, I spent most of the time living and experiencing the city-spaces with the persons who participated in the research. Participants, kind and amazing people from different parts of Syria, shared with me their more deeply rooted thoughts, their feelings of despair, their hopes or lack of hope. We built strong bonds and I will always be incredibly grateful to all of them.
When you are treated with such kindness and when you are welcomed into someone's life, especially a life filled with uncertainty and anguish, you acquire a responsibility with them. Keeping engaged and in contact with the people who have participated in your research is not always easy, or even possible in some cases. But continuing to engage yourself with the topic, sharing and updating your research isn't only possible but useful, gratifying and sometimes necessary.
After finishing my Masters and coming home to Colombia in 2014, I've talked in various and varied academic spaces, both home and abroad, sharing different aspects of the Syrian crisis and the experiences and narratives of the Syrians who participated in my research. In November 2016, I had the wonderful opportunity to be part of an all-women panel at the Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) in Boston. Dr. Marina de Regt, my thesis supervisor at the VU and dear friend, co-organized the panel, which discussed feelings, frustrations and obligations while doing fieldwork in the Middle East. In my presentation I focused on the emotional implications of fieldwork with people in vulnerable situations as well as issues of well-being and personal experiences, and how being from Colombia also shaped my point of view and way of addressing the field. Marina spoke about the difficulties of keeping in touch with her friends in Yemen, not only because of the obstacles of communication but also because of the emotional effect on herself. The audience was touched and came up with many similar issues based on their own experiences working in the Middle East. This was a very heartfelt panel, and it made it far more clear how important it is to continue discussing and sharing our work with the world.
Erika Cortes is alumna of the Master in Social and Cultural Anthropology at the VU. She is currently working as consultant at the Bogotá Office of the High Counselor for Victims of the Armed Conflict.


Our search engine shows those routers in the search results whose description corresponds to all the keywords entered in the search field.
58 router(s) corresponded to the "openvpn" search term. The search results are sorted according to the routers' popularity.
You can search for not only the router's name and type, but the router's characteristics as well. For example, the "Linksys 2014" search term shows the Linksys routers released in 2014.
If you can't find the router you're looking for in the search results, then come back in 1-2 days. We update our pages several times daily.


text:
Caffeinated drinks affect students
Many students and staff drink them, but how many understand the addiction they are exposing their bodies to?
According to an article in the Journal of School Nursing (TJSN) October 2010, caffeine is a stimulant that affects the body, jolting the central nervous system.
Fast food, vending machines and convenient stores; three suppliers of caffeine whom are easily accessible to any age.
"Caffeine is the world's most commonly used stimulant and it's cheap and available so people can maintain their use of caffeine quite easily," Roland Griffiths, professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Johns Hopkins said.
TJSN stated that the energizing effect comes from caffeine's ability to block adenosine from signaling the brain that the body needs rest.
"Kids who are drinking caffeinated drinks are the ones who have sleep deprivation," psychology teacher Matt White said.
While students use sources of caffeine to pull an all-nighter or wake up, many barely know the side effects of consuming these drinks. Jared Crevling, senior, consumed four energy drinks before third period came around.
"I usually crash hard by fourth period and just sleep," Crevling said. "I know if I don't drink them before third, I get headaches."
Higher doses of caffeine cause anxiety, dizziness, the jitters and aggravated heart problems, according to the website sponsored by The Nemours Foundation.
It may also affect your sleeping patterns if you take high doses of caffeine. In American Sign Language class, teacher Kara Harris, had a student OD on energy drinks. The student came in with a dripping forehead of sweat with shaking hands. He lived, but was hospitalized.
"I see kids that drink something with caffeine in it on an every day basis," Karen Smith, the school nurse said.
Approximately 35 percent to 45 percent of adolescents and young adults report that they drink at least one energy drink per day (TJSN). They enjoy the burst of energy, but it never really assists them.
"I just like the taste of them," Crevling said.
Drinking caffeinated beverages such as energy drink have a negative effect on their attention according to the senior English and debate teacher, Sarah Sherry.
"Kids with energy drinks are usually the ones squirreling around the class," Sherry said.
To have less than 300 milligrams a day of caffeine is healthy in a person's diet. However consuming more than that is when the body reaches an unhealthy limit according to a website sponsored by the National Council on Strength and Fitness.
The founders of the Family & Parenting Company have a few tips in order to substitute for caffeinated beverages. One is to eat an apple. Reasons being "fructose increases the blood-sugar and creates high alertness similar to caffeine's energizing boost."
"More and more kids are turning to caffeinated drinks as breakfast," Smith said.
To change that, she recommends eating breakfast every morning and exercise to maintain focus throughout the day.
Without exercise, it can cause an individual to drag.


I am proud to announce that my first course for Pluralsight which is titled, "Getting Started Building SPA's with Lightning Component Framework" was released last night.
I strongly believe that component frameworks like Lightning really are the future of web-based development. All of the major vendors, such as Google (with Polymer), Facebook (with React), Twitter (with Flight) and Mozilla (with Brick) are investing in component frameworks.
So, if you do not know about Lightning and want to find out more, I hope you take the time to check out my new Pluralsight course. And, I would love to hear what you think about it.
Next The Next Generation of Programmers, Listen Up!
Thanks Sara. This would be of a great help to me. I am a silent follower of your blog and i enjoy all the articles you share.
I just listen to the intro butit is bed time now so I'll pick it back up over the weekend. Looking forward to it.
I'm in the midst of the course, and love it — thank you so much. It was exactly what I was looking for to understand and get developing Lightning components.
Thanks for the kind words Deanna. I am so glad you like it. Thanks for reaching out.
Awesome work on this course, particularly on pilot software. I'm having a problem adding the newRace component to the lightning page – the listRace deploys fine – any suggestions on a workaround?
Thanks for the kind words. I have to admit I did put an awful lot of work into that course.
What is the problem you are having? Are you getting an error message adding the component in App Builder? If so, what is the message exactly?
Awesome Class – can only imagine the work you put into this.
Oh yes, they have started including it with the orgs now I think. I noticed that too the other day. It should be automatically available to components running in Lightning Experience or the SF1 mobile app. But you are doing a stand-alone app (since you are following my class), which means you will need to go here and follow these instructions to add a custom scope to the CSS in your static resource.
I reviewed your course and it looks very good. I had a question. If I have to a build a multi-page app (unlike SPA) – kind of like a wizard, how you would do that with Lightning components? Do I have to still VF pages with embedded lightning components?


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DataLight, a startup that analyzes all kinds of crypto-oriented data, has recently focused on the Twitter activity of the main coins. The biggest players remain in the lead – TRX, MCO, and BNB performed surprisingly better than other altcoins.
As of Jan. 16, BTC is still at the top of its game with 67,998 likes and 16,788 retweets. For comparison, XRP, Bitcoin's closest competitor, only managed to score 39,199 likes and 9,270 retweets. ETH trumps XRP by the number of tweets (22,617 vs. 13,697), but it lags behind when it comes to likes and retweets.
While the top 3 were absolutely predictable, TRX unexpectedly takes fourth place despite only being the ninth biggest coin by market capitalization. Tron's semi-triumph shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who knows how engaged their Twitter community is. Meanwhile, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and EOS (EOS) only occupy ninth and 15th places respectively when it comes to Twitter reacts.
MCO, however, has become the ultimate dark horse on this list – the 91st coin by market capitalization takes seventh place by Twitter activity. Was it just a flash in the pan? Stay tuned for more updates from DataLight!


text:
A 99-Year-Old Yale Law School Graduate Died with No Survivors, What Could We Do?
Synagogue members and yeshivah students step up to ensure a proper Jewish burial
NEW HAVEN, Conn.—The message on our shul's WhatsApp group announcing, in caps, a MITZVAH OPPORTUNITY caught my attention. I admit to sometimes skimming or even ignoring such messages during a busy week, as they are usually about an upcoming class, a special Kiddush, or a kosher restaurant from out of town making a special delivery this week to our community. But "mitzvah opportunity" sounded important and even a bit time-sensitive.
Nonetheless, I ignored it for a day or two. I was sure one or two of the retirees would find the time for this 10 a.m. erev Shabbat mitzvah—not the best time to do anything but prepare for a Shabbat that comes in at 4:09 pm. But the text of the message kept playing over and over again in my mind:
Hi, all. Help is needed for a minyan for a funeral this Friday morning. Leonard Dipsiner, who was raised here in New Haven, just passed away at age 99 and has no immediate survivors other than his niece in NYC. His great niece is a friend of ours. The family would like to ensure that there is a minyan at his funeral. Can anyone assist?
When: Friday, Dec 10, 10:00 am
Place: B'nai Jacob Memorial Park (near SCSU)
If you can help with the minyan, please let me know
I began to picture this Jewish man—one who graced this earth for nearly a century—going to his final resting place without the proper respect, the kavod hamet, owed to everyone.
At our shul's daily minyan midweek, I asked Len, a retired journalist and editor whose wife, Sue, had committed him to attend (via her response on the WhatsApp group), if he knew how the minyan was coming along. He had no idea.
Unsure that there would be a quorum at the gravesite, I reposted the "mitzvah opportunity" again on the WhatsApp group. This time, Aniko indicated that her husband, Andy, who survived the Holocaust in Hungary as a child, would be there. No other replies, though a few more details emerged:
…He was raised here in New Haven but spent most of his life in Atlanta, but the family plot is here
David, the friend kind enough to post this request, also wasn't sure how the minyan was shaping up and suggested I write to the great niece, Rachel.
Reaching out to Yale and yeshivahs
In the meantime, others got on board. Someone from the shul posted a message on the board of another shul. A Yale graduate student, Miriam, shared the request within the Yale community. Ben, a young physician completing a fellowship at Yale quickly replied that he would come. Another wrote, "I will message a few people."
The niece, Rachel, was relieved when I explained that I work part time at New Haven's Yeshivas Beis Dovid Shlomo and would be willing to reach out to mesivta's menahel, Rabbi Yosef Lustig. The busy menahel replied within seconds to my WhatsApp. Without hesitation, he said he'd have three students waiting downstairs at 9:40 a.m. for pick up in my old blue Ford Windstar minivan.
As I was driving to the yeshivah to pick up the students I received a nervous call from the niece, Rachel. She was concerned that we might not have a minyan. Due to a miscommunication, she was under the incorrect assumption that the other Chabad school in town had also been contacted.
As a result, I had told two people that we didn't need them. Nevertheless, both were willing to be "on call." Ronnie, the Yale mashgiach (kosher food service kosher supervisor) was willing to come with 10 minutes notice if needed on this busy erev Shabbat on campus. Another Yale student had offered to miss class to attend the funeral of a stranger—I had told him we'd be ok without him. Now I wasn't so sure.
As Rachel drove up the Merritt Parkway to the cemetery, and as I drove from home to the yeshiva, we both did a quick calculation and realized we may indeed still be short. My first thought was to call the two "standbys"—until I realized that I was two minutes from the Chabad yeshiva!
I suggested to Rachel that I call Rabbi Lustig and ask for "two more." We quickly did the math again and agreed that six post bar mitzvah males in my car (five students and me) plus the officiating rabbi plus two men from the shul plus a cousin of Rachel's mother would bring us to 10. Rabbi Lustig agreed—as long as I could give the two additional students five minutes to get ready.
A Meis MItzvah
In the car, while waiting for our final two, I asked the three students—from Baltimore, New Jersey and Florida—if they knew what we were going to be doing. They answered, "A levaya." A funeral. When I asked if Rabbi Lustig had provided additional details, they said no. "It is a funeral for a 99 year old man with no family." "A meis mitzvah!" one exclaimed, referring to the Biblical imperative to attend to the remains of a dead person—especially one with no relatives.
The other two boys boarded the car and we drove to the cemetery, less than 10 minutes from the yeshiva, nestled between buildings of Southern Connecticut State University, and at the foot of West Rock Ridge. On this short Friday, the students would also go out in the community as they do every Friday—on mivtzaim (missions/visits)—to offices, stores, senior citizens housing, offering to wrap tefillin, sharing words of Torah, and wishing fellow Jews they encounter a good Shabbos. And this packed day was after being up until 4:30 am for a farbrengen. They made sure I knew it was the 5th of Tevet.
On this date in 1987, a United States Federal Court judge issued a decision in favor of Agudas Chassidei Chabad ("Union of Chabad Chassidim") regarding the ownership of the library of the 6th Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn. The Rebbe urged that the occasion be marked by purchasing, repairing and studying sefarim, Jewish holy books. For this reason, the yeshiva students were up from 11:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. the night before, learning words of Torah from their teacher, Rabbi Yosef Rivkin, the yeshiva mashpia.
When we arrived at the cemetery, the guys surveyed the landscape. We walked past the makeshift podium and under the tent erected by the funeral home. Without being told, they instinctively knew to remain standing, leaving the 7 seats for elderly guests. A local rabbi officiating the funeral chanted some Psalms and shared some details of the long life of the deceased. He noted that the person who knew him best would soon share more details. A 40ish man with a slight Irish accent began his remarks by noting that he referred to Mr. Dipsiner as Uncle Len.
After Yale Law School, Dipsiner served as an aerial combat photographer during World War II before opening antique shops in New Haven and Atlanta. (Credit: Howard Blas)
A Yale Graduate and Military Photographer
"Uncle Len was my godfather. He never married. He never learned to drive. He went to Yale Law School, then opened an antique store in New Haven. My brother and I loved the many cool objects in his store. When we were little, he bought us Legos. When we got older, the gifts became school tuition, car payments, help with houses. Uncle Len moved to Atlanta to be close to his closest friend, our father, Ralph."
The crowd was intrigued A man with such a rich life story. And few blood relatives. The only non-Jew in the crowd knew the most about the deceased. "He used to tell us Chucky stories when we were growing up, which seemed part fiction and part autobiography. As I got older, I wanted to learn more. And I kept asking."
Morgan's persistence paid off. He learned that Mr. Dipsiner had been an aerial photographer during World War II, stationed in Belfast, Ireland—just 100 miles north of Dublin where Morgan now practices law and works as a musician. "He would lean out of the underside of planes and photograph enemy camps." Morgan sensed there must be more. And he kept asking. Years later, Mr. Dipsiner shared the story of how he and fellow American soldiers went to Dachau after the liberation of the camp on April 29, 1945, by the 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions and the 20th Armored Division of the US Army. They liberated approximately 32,000 prisoners. Mr. Dipsiner was responsible for chronicling what they saw in both photographs and videos. This was not an easy or pleasant undertaking. According to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum website, "As they neared the camp, they found more than 30 railroad cars filled with bodies brought to Dachau, all in an advanced state of decomposition. In early May 1945, American forces liberated the prisoners who had been sent on the death march."
Morgan asked Mr. Dipsiner if he still had any photos or video. He did. Morgan suggested he donate them to the Jewish Historical Society of Greater New Haven. He did. Ironically, the museum is no more than half a mile from his final resting place. Morgan looks forward to the day when he can share this important first person account with his now 8 year old daughter.
As the rabbi was concluding, his niece asked to speak. She wished to thank the people who came out today to help a stranger have a proper send off. She thanked the older shul members but especially the yeshiva students. "This is true chesed shel emet, an act for which you can never be repaid," she said.
The rabbi concluded with the kaddish and explained the custom of beginning to shovel dirt on the coffin to assist in the burial process. After a few minutes, the attendees walked to their cars. But not the yeshiva students, who wanted to finish covering the deceased with dirt.
They were told that they needed to wait until the tent and chairs were broken down, all cars were moved and the cemetery crew could come to hoist the very heavy cover on the gravesite. They waited patiently. One quietly asked if I could call the yeshiva to make sure there was water to wash their hands upon return to school. Two others sensitively asked the niece for the Hebrew name of the deceased. "He has no family to say kaddish. We will arrange for kaddish to be said at the yeshiva." She promised to get it to me. The boys now know that Leibel Moshe ben Ephraim Fishel will never be forgotten.
The cemetery crew delivered two additional shovels. The five boys and I stayed another half hour. We shoveled and shoveled. The boys discussed the halacha (Jewish laws) of burial. "Which direction is the head? We need to make a mound with the dirt so it is high in the middle and slopes down. We need to use every bit of dirt. Let's pick up the boards to make sure all of it goes in the grave."
As we left the cemetery, I expressed my gratitude. They were already on to the next important mitzvah—fanning out around New Haven with pre-Shabbat business to conduct. One is a regular on my street. I will never forget these boys. These teenagers and their teachers have a lot to teach the community through their actions—about the importance of showing up and answering with a quiet and unhesitating "yes." Thanks to them, I am sure 99 year old Mr. Dipsiner can rest in peace.
Chabad, Yale Law School, Yeshivas Beis Dovid Shlomo


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10 Best Fonts for Closed Captions and Subtitles in Video
Today, there are billions of hours of video content. This content more readily available to the public than ever. While this is amazing for consumers, it can be a double-edged sword for video creators. More videos floating around means that each video a creator produces really has to stand out.
Everything from the shooting to the editing to the presentation has to be perfect and meticulously crafted. This includes subtitles and closed captioning as well. In the age of social media, closed captioning and subtitles have become more critical than ever for video content creators.
Why are captions and subtitles important?
Captions and subtitles are one of the easiest ways to distinguish amateur video creators from professionals. It also has major search engine optimization (SEO) benefits. A study from Statista found that, as of March 2022, over 60% of the digital content audiences in the United States were reported to watch videos on their smartphones while 85% of people who watch videos on Facebook do so with zero sound. This makes subtitling and captions more important than they've ever been.
Content creators never know how or when a consumer will be watching their videos. Do they have trouble hearing? Do they have headphones on? Are they in a crowded area? It's best to ensure that a video can be watched and enjoyed regardless of environmental or personal impairments. When it comes to marketing and advertisements, this step is critical in ensuring that viewers don't click off the video. It can even be used artistically as a way to draw audiences in.
This process isn't for everyone though, and subtitling and captioning each of your videos can be a very time-consuming process. There are, luckily, a lot of quick and easy ways to get your video captioned and subtitled.
Simon Says is an extremely versatile extension that does all the hard and tedious work for you. You can use it to caption and subtitle your videos in over 100 different languages with burn-in options as well as SRT download options for greater integration with YouTube, Facebook, and a wide array of NLEs.
In addition to choosing the best captioning solution, it's also important to find the most effective fonts for your videos. Below, we will look at some of the best fonts for captions and subtitles.
How to pick a font for captions and subtitles
Choosing the right font for your video is a lot like choosing the right transition or the right effect. The font type in a video should blend in. It should complement the material, not take away from it and appeal to your target audience. A good subtitle or caption is something that's invisible to the person watching.
Of course, that's much easier said than done. With hundreds of thousands of fonts readily available online, the question will always be: what are the best fonts for subtitles and captions?
Best fonts for captions and subtitles
Helvetica is a tried and true font in the captioning world and one you'll see as number one in most top ten lists. It's a sans serif font and was developed by Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann in 1957. Helvetica was the default font Apple used for Mac OS and IOS up until 2015. It's a very simple font with easy legibility while also still being pleasant to look at.
It's no surprise that Helvetica has been used for a wide array of documentaries. While there is a surprising amount of controversy surrounding the debate of Arial vs Helvetica, it ultimately comes down to personal preference given how close they are in appearance.
Helvetica is a bit rounder and perhaps a bit more pleasant to look at depending on who you are. It's very popular in the art community as well given its aesthetic nature.
2. Arial
Arial is an easy number two just because of how much of a resemblance it has with Helvetica. While not as visually pleasing as Helvetica, Arial is great since it's another very neutral sans serif typeface, allowing for excellent readability. In 2005, the creator Robin Nicholas was even quoted as saying that "it was designed as a generic sans serif; almost a bland sans serif".
Designed in 1982, Arial was originally used (and still is) as the default font in every Microsoft windows based device. While Arial might be bland and even a little boring, that's what makes it so great for subtitles. Not everything in the video world has to be flashy, and Arial is the best font for getting your message across in a way that blends in.
3. Roboto
Roboto was originally developed for Android by Google, Roboto is a much different font style than the previous two on this list. Roboto is much more blocky and geometrical than some fonts you might find.
This font allows for a very pleasant reading experience because of the construction of the letters.It also has a very clear and distinguishable design that's easy to spot out. Roboto allows for a great viewing experience, and it's no wonder that it's one of the most popular fonts.
4. Verdana
Verdana is another very popular font that's no stranger to most top ten lists. It's easy to see why. Verdana is a humanist sans serif typeface that was originally designed to be viewed at small sizes on low-resolution computer screens.
Verdana has been used amongst popular brands such as Ikea and is a great choice if you know your content is going to be mainly viewed on small screens. Its wider proportions and looser letter spacing make it very easy and simple to read as a subtitle and caption font.
5. Glimmer
Glimmer is a geometric sans serif typeface with a lot in common with serif style fonts such as Futura. With a bubbly and stylish look about it, Glimmer is excellent for reading at a distance at the bottom of the screen. Its fun design also makes it a great on-screen subtitle font that's sure to catch your viewer's eye.
6. Times New Roman
Times New Roman is a serif typeface most people are familiar with. It's a standard font in most computers as well as writing apps and is a very common font for subtitle text. Times New Roman follows Arial and Helvetica as being one of the most popular fonts for video subtitles. Times New Roman is extremely influenced by Baroque printing and has a sort of elegance to it because of its classical style. It also offers great italic and bold options.
7. Tiresias
Tiresias is a TrueType typeface and the standard font for BBC subtitles. Tiresias Screenfont is the typography most commonly used for television subtitling and on-screen user interfaces. In short, it's great for broadcasters and incredibly easy to read for those who might be slightly hard of seeing.
8. Tahoma
Tahoma is another very popular Microsoft-created font. Tahoma is very similar to Verdana in terms of appearance. The biggest difference between the two is that Tahoma is much more narrow. The letter spacing and overall body of each letter are very tight. Tahoma is the standard amongst many apps today still, especially those in the Windows world.
9. Antique Olive
Antique Olive is an incredibly artistic font perfect for cinematic video content. It was designed by Art Director Roger Excoffon and got its name from the letter "O" resembling an olive. Antique Olive is best for content that you know is going to be playing on larger screens. It has a classical style to it that helps it stand out from the pack and makes subtitles unique and pleasant to look at.
10. Lato
Lato is a more modern typeface that is used on more than 9.6 million websites. Lato is the perfect font for transcription and was originally designed for corporate-level projects because of its simplistic and easy-to-read proportions.
Lato is the third most popular font on Google fonts as well. Lato is the best of both worlds in the font world containing a rounded yet geometrical design that has nicely spaced lower case and upper case options.
Tips for readable captions
The best captions are the ones that are seamlessly integrated into your video. The size of your subtitles is important since they need to be big enough for most people to read while still being small enough so they don't become distracting. They also need to convey emotion and convey the best bits of your story. Displaying things such as sound effects or even music in subtitle form can go a long way in captivating your target audience.
When it comes to alignment, always make sure that the subtitles never cover up important pieces of on-screen information. While captions are most commonly placed on the bottom of the screen, they can also appear at the top of the screen depending on what the framing of the content looks like.
Coloring is something that is always best to keep basic in the captioning world. Subtitles are most commonly black or white depending on what reads better on screen. A lot of captions contain a black rectangular backdrop with white lettering. This helps it stand out and makes it easy to read regardless of what's on screen.
All of these choices can be incredibly creative though. A lot of marketing videos play around with this format to entice viewers. Some captions can be incredibly large with colorful text and quick pacing while others chose a more stylized and slower approach. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the type of content you want to produce and what your target audience is.
Video Editing is an incredibly creative process with so much room for customization. Things such as subtitles and captions often get overlooked, yet, they are probably one of the most important elements in ensuring your content can be viewed and enjoyed by a plethora of people around the world.
Picking the right font is both a creative and practical decision that goes a long way in helping viewers comprehend your work. In an age where most social media content is viewed without audio, subtitles and captions have become more important than ever.
Creating the right subtitle doesn't have to be a chore though. As a video editor, you have bigger things to worry about than subtitling and captioning. Simon Says is a perfect way to caption and subtitle your work, doing all the hard stuff for you. When it comes to captioning, it's sometimes best to leave it to the professionals in order to take your content to the next level.


Churches and pastors that hold to a teetotaling position about alcohol because they believe that the use of alcohol is off limits for Christians are going to have an easier time dealing with this issue. For the record, I don't believe that "easier time" is a justification for holding to such a strict position regarding alcohol. But my purpose here is not to convince anyone that it's okay to drink beer. However, for churches that believe that drinking alcoholic beverages is not prohibited by Scriptures the discussion about the recreational use of marijuana is going to require a little more thought.
We can extend this basic argument (and John pretty much does) to a lot of drugs where it's hard to use just a little and stay in the "not severely intoxicated" stage. Well said. It is perhaps plausible for someone to say "well, I just put this much in a whole batch of brownies and I never get that far", but I have to admit that, given my love for chocolate, it wouldn't be entirely plausible for me to avoid ending up like Maureen Dowd and Dom DeLuise combined.
What about a woman who suffers from debilitating migraines and the doctor offers to prescribe her medical marijuana, and no other treatment option has worked, and she's been suffering for nearly 10 years, and her friends tell her it's worked for them?
My response to Tyler's question above. Really, if we wouldn't fault someone with serious back pain or terminal cancer pain for using painkillers to cope, painkillers far more addictive and dangerous than THC, why would we tell the person suffering from migraines that she couldn't have a nibble of Maureen Dowd's candy bar? I know that I sure appreciated the painkillers (including morphine) that I was given when my gallbladder acted up in 2007! And yes, coming out of surgery, I was probably "stoned", coming in and out of lucidity. It wasn't anything where I said "wow, this is great, let's do it again", but my mind was altered at the time and I'm really glad I didn't say anything TOO dumb!
The use of the word "recreational" in the title and throughout the post is intentional.
I know, and saw the distinction. I just thought I'd ask the question, because someone else would bring it up sooner or later.
Well, in that case, I'll let others fight it out over the medicinal use of marijuana. There is too much information and data that I haven't looked at regarding the medicinal use of marijuana for me to feel comfortable publicly sharing my half-formed opinions about it.
I was with him till he dismissively assumed that you can't use cannabis without getting to the point of drunkenness as prohibited by God's Word. As one who smoked/vaped half a gram of high-grade bud a day for six years, I know better.
I haven't used any for a couple of months, since I no longer need it for pain relief (I used it to get off oxycodone, which I took for three years after back surgery). I've lost 150 lbs this year with diet and exercise, much decreasing my pain. But at first, the pain was excruciating every time I started walking on that treadmill. Thank God for cannabis! I smoked/vaped immediately before going into the gym, and it helped me push through the pain.
And as I walked on that treadmill for an hour every morning, I did it while reading a reasonably serious book propped up in front of me. Is that what you would expect from a drunkard? Discipline? Hard work? Cultivating the life of the mind?
This gentleman may have been a drunkard in the way he used cannabis, but I assure you that he doesn't speak for every cannabis user. Not by a long shot.
A regular user with a stabilized tolerance can reliably smoke/vape 0.1g of high-grade cannabis without becoming any more intoxicated than he would by drinking one beer, if that.
This is amazing! And congratulations!
1 gram of weed is enough to roll one joint with. Assuming normal physiology, someone recreationally smoking an entire joint will get high. Full stop.
Now, that being said, I chose my words very carefully, as in "recreational" and "normal physiology." Your explanation for why you were ingesting marijuana removes you from what I wrote about.
I almost put an addendum predicting responses like the one provided by Todd Mitchell. Every time I write or speak about this, no matter the words I use, people who didn't/don't ingest for recreational purposes and didn't/don't have a normal physiology chime in and say, "he's wrong."
When I described it to my physician and mentioned 0.1g, he replied, "Oh, so just a one-ie." Call that a joint and you'll get laughed at by anyone who knows better.
I rarely smoked joints. You know why? They were a pain to put out and save the smelly thing for later -- because even a small one was enough for at least three sessions. Definitely too big to smoke in one session responsibly!
To suggest that my physiology is abnormal takes your argument from anecdote into a wholly speculative direction, no matter how loudly you say, "Full stop."
And to dismiss my experience as being medicinal simply 1) begs the question of what recreational use might be 2) ignores my argument because it is damaging to yours. At issue is the effect of a microdose of cannabis, not the intent of the user.
If YES pass to next test?
If NOT prescribed then the next "test"
Is this a liberty issue?
Does one's church have a covenant he has agreed to abide?
But there is a church that does not have it in its covenant!
Are you actually arguing for the use of 1/10th of a gram? I thought that was a typo.
Did you stop reading my article before you finished it in order to make a comment? Because I'm pretty sure that 1/10th of a gram fits within my two to three drags. I don't remember how many drags it took me to finish a joint, and frankly I never kept track. But 20 to 30 seems about right, if not high (no pun intended). And that raises the question, recreationally speaking, what's the point of smoking 1/10th of gram?
I'm not ignoring your argument, I'm saying it doesn't apply to what I wrote because I simply did not write about the medicinal use of marijauna. And if you don't understand the difference between medicinal use and recreational use, I don't know how to break it down for you other than the one (medicinal) is for, well, medicinal use - pain management, for example. The other (recreational) is because the user wants to ingest marijuana for no other reason than they want to because they enjoy it.
I'm not assuming that your physiology isn't normal. Your back surgery, subsequent pain, and narcotic use alters physiology. That's not my fault. How and to what extent, I don't know, which is one of the reasons (just one of the reasons) why I stay out of the medicinal use argument.
Look, dude, I'll grant you that you know far more about the medicinal use of marijuana than I do. But I don't think you know very much about the "recreational" weed culture. Using the words "smoke in one session responsibly" in reference to a single joint will get you laughed at.
So, all recreational use results in drunkenness, because if it doesn't, it's not recreational?
I'm a member of NORML. In earlier life, I spent 10 years as a street cop in the Twin Cities. I've been around the block, and I've seen plenty, too -- enough to know better than to attempt the kind of categorical syllogisms you are peddling.
There is a tiny amount that a person can smoke recreationally that won't get them high. I acknowledged that in the article. My question is, why would they? In other words, if a person isn't using it for medicinal reasons, what's the purpose of smoking weed if not to get high? Especially since it takes so very little of it to get a person high.
For the same reason one might consume alcohol in moderation -- to gladden the heart without getting drunk.
Todd, I gotta be honest with you. The fact that you are a member of an pro-marijuana advocacy group means that I'm done arguing with you about this online. If you're ever in DC and want to pick it back up, let me know. I'll be happy to do it in person.
For everyone else, I encourage to Google 1/10 of gram of marijuana. I'm pretty confident that you'll conclude that most (all) people who want to smoke weed recreationally are not smoking that small of an amount. The question remains, why smoke weed recreationally if not to get high?
Having been told I'm allergic to the stuff, it's presumably academic to me, but let's assume someone could use that small amount without getting seriously high. Should we care? "Ifs and buts, if they were candy and nuts, boy what a party we'd have" and all that, but again; should we care?
The next question I'd ask if trying to formulate things with a user is "what would be the attraction of that level of usage?" For a good beer or wine, I get it--many enjoy the taste, and in low doses, it's a convivial feeling of well-being that the Germans call "Gemuetlichkeit". What would it be for marijuana?
Do you believe that buzzed falls under the Bible's prohibition against drunkenness? And are there levels of buzzed? Generally, weed users classify the experience in three colloquial stages - buzzed, high, and baked/stoned.
For starters, the buzz from weed happens way sooner than it does from alcohol, and its intensity increases much quicker. Once again, for me, as I argued in my article, it comes down to the scale - it takes so little to reach a level of buzzed/high with weed that the recreational use is rendered out of of bounds for Christians. Unless there is another reason to smoke it recreationally than reaching a level of intoxication, that is. And then, unless you're using really cheap, bad weed, you could only take 2 to 3 drags, if that and if you're okay with saying that the Bible allows for being buzzed. Much more than that, and you'll quickly cross into high.
How are we defining "buzzed"? What effects are we talking about? What is the dosage that would lead to it for, say, a 200 lb man?
To draw a comparison, the state police here are telling us that "buzzed driving is drunk driving", which would imply that they're saying their experience is that when a person reports feeling "buzzed", they're at 0.08 or higher and have seriously impaired motor function and perception. If you're using about the same kind of thing, I'd have to say that if someone were to use marijuana (or any other drug) responsibly, they'd have to come in somewhere below the "buzz" level.
And yes, that would bring up the question of "what's the point, then?"
How are we defining buzzed?
The reality is that it takes very little weed to get an adult buzzed to the point where they should not be operating a motor vehicle. So very little, in fact, as you recognize, "that would bring up the question of 'what's the point, then?'" if we believe and teach that Christians should not get buzzed.
Take a look at Colossians 2:20-23. What do we see in these man-made regulations but a complete lack of power to restrain sensual indulgence? Plus, I can think of a drug that put a college friend in the hospital that's abundant in every church I've ever visited. It can be lethal.
I can go with John's argument--that it is virtually implausible that one would be able to use marijuana recreationally without getting high--but let's not go beyond what Scripture says and call it "godliness". It's not. It's Pharisaism, trying to put boundaries around God's Word to avoid transgressing it in one area--and inevitably transgressing it in another as a result.
We have reached a critical nexus; a perfect storm - alcohol and marijuana in the same thread. The space-time continuum may not be able to handle this. I must leave now.
I really liked Jim's bullet pointed decision tree and David Brumbelow's position statement as well, although I would add 1 Corinthians 6:12 (yes, I know the immediate context is not drugs or alcohol) and probably Romans 14 as well.
That being said, we have a huge problem with opioid addiction in my area, and I have to think that cannabis use is preferable to opioid drugs for medical reasons. It's not a situation that I've had to counsel for yet, but a lot of the prescribed drugs seem to have far worse side effects and habit-forming consequences than marijuana. It's something that I need to look into. I've seen some evidence that marijuana can do a lot of things to help alleviate pain and suffering when used wisely.
But aside from medicine, I think abstention from alcohol and marijuana is the best, wisest, and safest route for believers.
You've given me an idea for a post - on church covenants and the making of lists and regulations.
I've been working on this because our church is looking at this section of our covenant. It's an older-style constitution that states that those who agree will neither use or sell alcohol, for example, but doesn't deal with addictive drugs, prescription drug abuse, etc.
I think we are headed for a statement closer to what Dave has laid out.
I understand Bert's concern that we cannot legislate morality, but are we to ignore it instead? Does it not reach a point where a church should counsel someone caught in such a problem? It does deal with medical situations (per Todd's concern) and could use more on the side of restoration.
Steve, my concern is not about you can't legislate morality; every law is an attempt to do the same, and a well crafted church Constitution will have some comments that give members guidance on what kinds of behavior is, and is not, appropriate in the church.
Rather, my concern is that Colossians 3 clearly states that the rules of men have no value in restraining sensual indulgence. None, zero, zip, nada, bupkus. So if a clause is put into the church constitution that does not clearly derive from Scripture, it is in that category. Extra-Biblical asceticism makes you think you're doing something when you're not, and that tends to end up in disaster.


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Bring Power to the Edge
John Sviokla
The four fundamental principles of the agile, "edge-based" organization are situational awareness, skills, values, and decision rights.
For instance, special forces teams are able to deal effectively with the most complex and dynamic situations because they have been designed to be able to be extremely agile. In other words, these troops are able to dynamically adjust to their predicaments so well because they share information broadly, train their people how to use that data appropriately, imbue them with the right values so that they act with integrity, and allow for them to take action — by giving the rights to make decisions to the very skin of the organization. The idea is to deal effectively with an asymmetric and dynamic set of opponents. This thinking has been articulately documented in many places including the excellent book Power to the Edge by David Alberts & Richard Hayes.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that both our governmental and commercial organizations are also facing a more dynamic and volatile environment, in the main our approach has been to create more monolithic, centralized institutions — whether it is the Department of Homeland Security as a response to 9/11 or the new, super-powerful Federal Reserve as a response to the global financial crisis. Faced with dynamism, we have answered with bigger bureaucracies.
I believe it is time to rethink our networked world. What we need is a modular, self-synchronizing system to deal with crises at the edges — as they happen. It needs to be more like the internet and less like the old Bell system.
As is, our economy and government are extremely rigid and easily disrupted because we have a largely centralized "hub and spoke" approach. We are the heirs to the perfection of Fordism — specialization and hierarchy. These type of systems are extremely easy to disrupt because all you need to do it take out a few of the hubs, or the top of the pyramid. (Watch the pattern of reported cyber-attacks on the US — such as the attempts to hack into the electrical grid — and I think you will begin to see some indicators that America's enemies are already executing a strategy that goes after our fragilities. )
Think about the recent H1N1 virus. Its effect was bad enough, but if it had been as virulent as the flu of 1918, we would have had a much bigger problem even than we did then — today's world is vastly more interdependent and interconnected. A flu as powerful as the one my grandmother lived through would have created significant problems with food, water, power, and communications. These systems are largely centralized, and there is no provision that I know of for restarting these capabilities on a local level.
Due to our ruthless quest for efficiency we have squished out many of the buffers that could help blunt the propagation of bad effects on food, assets, and other supplies. We don't notice if we have gone too far until we really need those buffers. Remember how hard it was to get basic food and communications in New Orleans after Katrina? What would happen if we had 10 "Katrinas" at once? We are doubly fragile.
But what, exactly, should we do differently? Well, for one thing, if I were running Homeland Security, I would create a fleet of local, mobile vehicles that had power-generating, water-purifying and mesh network capabilities (a mesh network allows each node to communicate to many others, creating a robust, "mesh" of communications capacity), able to transport some local food supplies (which I think we do already have). These mobile "nodes" could be created for the price of a fancy pickup truck or less. With such a Lego-like approach it would be possible to roll a new modular infrastructure into a needy community — with communications, power, and some water — in minutes or hours.
More importantly, I would create a governance mechanism which would allow towns and cities to take over local authority for these core capabilities — quickly and seamlessly — the way the special forces does when they are in battle. This means that we first need to start with an edge-based approach, then train and equip for such a decentralized solution, and most of all, reinforce the values of communal spirit and concern.
My worry is that in our exurban-super-individualistic-iPod-listening-video-game-playing culture, we have lost the local fabric of self-synchronization, and although the spirit may be there to help each other, the mechanisms to make that spirit effective in practice are lacking. The private sector has not done any better.
We need to reinvent what it means to put power to the edge both for our communities and our companies — before the next major disruption hits.
John Sviokla is an executive, investor, and board member and a former professor at Harvard Business School in marketing, MIS, and decision sciences. His passion is making sense of what technology means for people, commerce, and society.
This article is about CRISIS MANAGEMENT


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TECHNOLOGY AND GLOBAL MARKET LEADER IN MIXING AND BLENDING TECHNOLOGY
EKATO GROUP VIDEO
Your trust is what inspires our enthusiasm and fascination to work on innovative mixing technology every day!
In the past 85 years EKATO has developed to world market leader in mixing technology and offers today optimized mixing technologies for all process-oriented industries.
EKATO has been family-owned since its founding in 1933 and is represented worldwide with subsidiaries in Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, South Africa and the USA as well as a network of trading partners.
At the ultramodern research and development center at EKATO headquarters, more than 1,000 m2 of laboratories and testing facilities are available for an analysis of customer processes.
CORE COMPETENCE
Development and manufacture of customized industrial agitators, complete plants and seals for the process industry.
Employees approx. 800 worldwide
Turnover approx. 200 million euro
Export > 85%
R&D quote approx. 7%
Trainees 7%
EKATO Headquarters
EKATO Rühr- und Mischtechnik GmbH, Schopfheim, Germany
Large agitators for complex mixing processes as well as high-quality mechanical seals and supply systems
EKATO SYSTEMS GmbH, Schopfheim, Germany
Vacuum processing units and systems for mixing and drying of solid and semi-solid products
FLUID Misch- und Dispergiertechnik GmbH, Lörrach, Germany
Modular industrial agitators with short delivery times for cost effective mixing technology
History of the EKATO GROUP
Bottom entry agitator ALRD with mechanical seal, LaborMix - one of the first products created by EKATO
The company was founded in Düsseldorf in 1933: Erich Karl Todtenhaupt, whose initials gave the brand ist name, launched products such as the LaborMix, drum agitators, single-paddle mixers and homogenizers on the market with his plant construction company.
The first production site of the EKATO GROUP
As early as 1950, EKATO recognizes the challenge of safely sealing rotating shafts and consequently develops own mechanical seals for agitators. To this day EKATO is the only agitator manufacturer offering in-house mechanical seals and supply systems. The internationalization of operations began immediately after the Second World War, when EKATO developed its own agitator seals for Swiss chemical companies and relocaded to Schopfheim, a southern Baden town close to the border.
As of 1970, EKATO offers opimized impellers for special process requirements. At present Ekatos portfolio includes a wide range of agitators with industry-specific designs and holds a variety of patents.
1974, the first foreign subsidiary takes up operations in France. More milestones include the market leadership 1970 in Germany and 1990 in Europe. In the 90s EKATO expands towards Asia and Australia. Since 2004 EKATO is the world market leader in blending and mixing technology.
The expansion creating the EKATO GROUP starts 1982 with the founding of FLUID Misch- und Dispergiertechnik, followed by the founding of ESD GMBH EKATO Sicherheits- und Dichtungstechnik in 1988. 1994 EKATO takes over the company Haagen + Rinau Mischtechnik GmbH (EKATO UNIMIX) located in Bremen and creates the basis to enter the business sector of process plants.
For the 80th company anniversary in 2013, new Headquarters with an attached state-of-the-art Research and Development Centre is inaugurated – a declaration of belief in the location Schopfheim made by owner family Todtenhaupt.
EKATO Mission Statement
The EKATO Mission Statement
"It is our top priority to consult our customers beyond the expected demands also in auxiliary fields, never to persuade them, and to exceed expectations by means of the deliveries made."
Company founder Erich-Karl Todtenhaupt
KEY MESSAGES OF THE STATEMENT
"It is our top priority to consult our customers ...": It is all about the customer.
"…beyond the expected demands…...": We offer high level of expertise and engagement.
"...also in auxiliary fields...": We cover a broad consulting competence.
"... never to persuade them...": We focus on customer's needs.
"... and to exceed expectations by means of the deliveries made": We have high quality standards for the product and daily conduct.
EKATO Code of Conduct
Why a Code of Conduct?
Throughout its history, EKATO has developped into a company with an excellent reputation - we provide peak performance at a high level of sophistication. We all bear the responsibility for maintaining and further building on this reputation.
1. Basic guidelines
Compliance with applicable laws and regulations is obvious in our company. Our employees are required to comply with the legal regulations and provisions applicable to their area of activity.
In particular, our company observes national and international laws governing the import, export or domestic trade of goods, technology or services, as well as the handling of certain products and the movement of capital and payments. Our company also complies with national and international embargo and export control regulations.
Any form of bribery is forbidden in our company, whether from public officials or in business dealings. Our employees are prohibited from claiming, promising or accepting money or valuables as compensation for the purchase of products or other services. Any material or financial contribution to employees or agents as compensation for preferential business dealings is prohibited.
Our company is committed to ethical, fair and open competition. Our employees are prohibited from making arrangements that influence competition in an improper manner. National competition laws must be adhered to and enforced by all employees of our company.
2. Handling information and intellectual property
Our company is fully committed to the protection of intellectual property and third party copyright. We do not use dishonest methods to obtain the trade secrets of our competitors or to obtain company-internal and confidential information about them. We do not participate in the unauthorized use, duplication, distribution or modification of software or other intellectual property.
Our employees are required to maintain secrecy about company and business secrets and other internal matters. This applies to information about contractual partners and customers that is not publicly available, even after termination of the employment relationship.
Our house ensures compliance with data protection regulations. Any type of processing of personal data must be in accordance with applicable data protection law. Documents containing personal information about employees are kept confidential and protected against unauthorized access.
3. Environmental protection and sustainability
Our company complies with applicable environmental laws, regulations and standards.
Our company is always committed to the responsible use and procurement of natural resources in the manufacture and distribution of our products and services.
4. Social responsibility
Our company is committed to equal opportunities and a supportive work environment characterized by respect and tolerance, recognizing the value and dignity of each, and treating each other with courtesy, honesty and dignity. Harassment, bullying and intimidation are prohibited.
The prohibition of child labor and forced labor is respected in our company.
Our company respects the diverse cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds and is committed to the principle of equality, regardless of nationality, race or ethnic origin, age, disability, appearance and other physical constitution, skin color, sexual orientation, gender, religion and belief or any other protected characteristics by law. Personnel-related decisions must be made free of any discrimination. Our company does not tolerate any discriminatory behavior towards employees or applicants.
Our company respects the dignity and personal rights of our employees and third parties with whom we have business relations.
Occupational safety and health at work is ensured under national provisions. Our company adheres to the legal regulations for the protection of fair working conditions including remuneration, working hours and privacy.
5. Compliance with the Code of Conduct
The Code of Conduct must be handed over and followed by every employee of our company.
Our company will comply with the core values contained in the Code of Conduct in all business areas by implementing all appropriate organizational measures and appropriate policies and processes.
Violations of the Code of Conduct and legal regulations may, depending on their gravity, result in labor and liability consequences.
EKATO Code of Conduct (EN)
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EKATO. THE BOOK
Handbook of mixing technology
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EKATO GROUP Portrait (EN)