Everyone knows you can use simple math equations to calculate whether you'll make or lose money on your blog. But doing this in reality is more intimidating that it seems!
I finally decided it was time to create a budget that I could use and also share with others.
This budget took a lot of thoughtful consideration to create....because bloggers at different stages and different types of blogs have different needs. For instance, what a beginner blogger needs is different from what a professional blogger needs. And what a food blogger needs is different than what a lifestyle blogger needs.
I spent a LOT of time in Excel thinking and tweaking this blog budget, and I believe I finally designed a spreadsheet that considers various stages & styles of blogging!
What resulted was an Excel spreadsheet with multiple tabs - including instructions + a resources page - and three versions of the base budget depending on what level of detail you need.
I've also included a tab called Blog Startup Budget for those who are trying to budget for the very beginning of their blogging journey.
Wherever I could, I put explanations beside each expense line item so you could get an idea of the base cost for each type of expense. This is to help make your decision process easier and also for you to understand why each line item was included.
Any lines you don't need, you can either zero out or delete the line altogether (I show you how in the video).
The training video explains how to use the spreadsheet (down to the process of checking formulas to make sure you didn't screw anything up and which version of the budget you should use).
The last tab of the spreadsheet is a list of recommended resources for bloggers. It's a great starting point if you're researching solutions, such as which email service provider to use or course creation platform is best.
These recommendations are based on the services that I personally use to run my blogs WhatMommyDoes and Adventures in Blogging + recommendations from blogging friends I trust.
Get Ready to Control Your Blog Finances Like a Pro!
With the right tracking system you can predict and plan for the typical blogging expenses you'll need for every stage of your blogging journey.
This easy-to-use Excel spreadsheet will help you keep track of all the important information you need. Track and plan your expenses like a CPA!
How would you feel if you could easily see if you could afford that piece of equipment you've been wanting? OR if you'll need to up your income to offset some annual payments that are coming up?
This spreadsheet is for bloggers who want to feel ON TOP of their blog expenses and prepare for the future growth.
I hope you like it, and please let me know if you have any questions!
Due to their downloadable and easily stolen nature. We do not offer refunds for digital products.
I have been blogging on WhatMommyDoes for nearly 6 years and writing online since 2008. I also LOVE teaching. I was also an online course instructor for the University of Phoenix for 7 years (teaching business writing & accounting) and only left because I had to as my family AND blog grew!
Adventures in Blogging is my return to teaching, while still maintaining my own blog and using it as an example in many of my lessons.
In addition to teaching, I worked in a corporate job as a CPA before quitting to become a stay-at-home-mom in 2007, and after a while at home, I wanted something to call my own.
I built up my blog piece by piece over the years, slowly adding content as I had time during nap times and preschool hours and at night, and now I am a full time blogger. I really can't believe the amazing opportunities we have as bloggers. I am so excited you decided to join me on my blogging adventures!


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text:
December 19, 2012 Nonfiction
On Seeing
Kreg Abshire
It's the 26th of September 2007. I'm driving from work to pick up my daughter at school. On the radio Melissa Block is telling me that "From NPR News, this is All Things Considered" and that she is, in fact, Melissa Block. Robert Siegel jumps in to say that he is really Robert Siegel. Mr. Siegel is now talking about birds. At first it's background noise: "The ability of birds to migrate, to find their way year in, year out to the same locations, is one of nature's great wonders. Scientists know that the birds possess an internal magnetic compass." But then out of nowhere he is telling me that "The garden warbler, a common migratory bird in Europe, passes information about the Earth's magnetic field to the brain through the eye. And that suggests that in some way birds can see the magnetic field."
Then Henrik Mouritsen, a neuroscientist at the University of Oldenburg, is confirming Mr. Siegel's claim, though Professor Mouritsen's German accent makes his statement much more believable. Yes, it's true: "the birds may perceive the compass direction of the Earth's magnetic field as a virtual image."
By spring I'd be divorced. I can't see shit.
That December, back in Southeast Texas for Christmas, I'm watching my daughter ride her pushbike on the patio behind my parents' house. I'm here with my parents, brother, sister, and nieces and nephews while my kids' mom, my wife, is at her parents in the next town over; and I'll stay here when they go over with her to see another set of grandparents and aunts and uncles. By now I can see a little: this is the divorce Christmas. But I don't think that's the point. Nora Grace is tracing figure eights on the patio, wearing a red, snowflake sweater, pretending as one does in Southeast Texas that Christmas feels like it would in New England, not really New England but an image of New England you'd find on a Christmas card. And like an image, a reproduction, the color wasn't right. It was like an old photograph, not sepia; no, it was like the saturated color from one of those Russian plastic cameras or the color in old super 8 home movies. It was not a reproduction, though; it was just my kid on a bike moving across concrete in front of my eyes. But at the moment I am watching, it was already an image, a memory, then and now at once.
Years before, I'm in Wellesley, Massachusetts; it's the fall of 2003. I'd heard that some unusual solar flare activity would interfere with wireless devices and make for an opportunity to see the aurora borealis. My wife is in South Carolina, and she is seven-months pregnant with our daughter. My son and I, wrapped in a blanket, sit on a hill waiting. We see something, but it could just be searchlights from a car dealership. But the light isn't moving across the sky; it's running through it, tracing pink ribbons in the dark. Only when we realize what it is we are seeing can we really see it. Only then: "Hey, look. That's it."
Annie Dillard and I disagree about this type of moment. But I can't say she's wrong to insist that "Hey, that's it" often hastens "But where did it go?" In Pilgrim at Tinker Creek she writes about a mountain that "folds and pleats itself like living protoplasm" as she watches, but then it vanishes the moment she becomes aware that there is something to watch and that she is watching it. Awareness makes the wonderful, beautiful thing in front of her disappear: named, verbalized, made subject to her consciousness, captured, it's lost. "Catch it," that presence, that present, she advises, "if you can."
Sometimes, however, knowing that the thing in front of us is a chapter marker in the narrative of a life, a memory in the making, or a light that's not like the other lights may be necessary to the seeing. But maybe that's just another way of saying that we see what we want to see. And that's not really so very far from running the air conditioner, putting on a sweater, and lighting a fire to celebrate Christmas in the warmth of Southeast Texas.
But it can't all be pretense. Sometimes it's a matter of seeing through expectation and normalcy and routine. When I was a kid my dad would tell me to "look here now" if he thought I needed to slow down and be careful. It was a warning. He could have just as well told me to stop being a punk-ass kid or I'd regret it shortly. That would have been too many words for him, though; and he really did want me to stop and to look hard, seeing myself as I was in that precise moment. But we don't often look here now. Instead, we tend to look for and expect little from the world around us. "Move along: nothing to see here." And we do.
I understand that there's a great deal I can't see. My eyes are very selective, and the visible portion of the spectrum of electromagnetic energy is tiny. Our rainbow consists of waves roughly 400 nanometers to 800 nanometers in length—please note: a nanometer is one billionth of a meter. We ignore infrared and ultraviolet light, and we don't even consider X rays or microwaves, gamma rays or radio waves to be light at all. They're too big or too small for us to see.
But birds see the magnetic field. Actually, what they see is light: their eyes convert magnetic forces into what appears to be a bright band in their field of vision. Looking to the north, a garden warbler sees, well, what he would normally see, that is, what we would see: people, buildings, cars, cats. Unlike us, though, he sees stretching across this view to the north a bright band of light that arcs from a peak corresponding to the magnetic north down evenly toward his left and right, his west and east. The same warbler facing south would see a similar band of light turned upside down, arcing up from due south toward the east and west. Depending on the season, he would simply fly north or south by keeping the top or the bottom of the arc straight ahead.
Inside the eyes of this warbler, a type of protein called cryptochrome reacts with toxic superoxides enabling him to translate magnetic forces into electrochemical processes that travel down the optic nerve from eyes to brain, that is, into visible light. We have cryptochrome and superoxides in our eyes but not much, not enough to see the magnetic field, not enough to be harmful. Migratory birds evolved to see the magnetic field, sacrificing a long lifespan in the bargain—the two types of migratory parrot are endangered and live on average about two years, but a sedentary parrot can expect to live twenty or more years. As did most parrots, we evolved to live longer and see less, lasting and enduring.
Every now and then the light gets through; in those moments we get a hint of what is out there all around us. Energy flies off the sun and hits our atmosphere in such a way that light appears within our narrow window. The light from the sun is bent by gas rising from the swamps to the east of my hometown or the refineries that encircle it. It doesn't happen often, but it happens.
We stay together too long, telling ourselves that it's for the kids. As a result we ensure that they will see the same thing over and over. In other words, we'll work to help them see less. We'll sacrifice vision for safety. Until we break.
Outside my daughter's preschool, I've been sitting in the parked car for a few minutes now. Robert Siegel is thanking Professor Mouritsen for talking to us. I lean forward, looking up and to the north. I squint hard, trying to get a closer look through the bird shit on the windshield. I wait and watch, and I will the sky to rend itself asunder, spilling light out of the fissures. It doesn't. Not yet.
Kreg Abshire's essays have appeared in Lost Magazine, You are Here: The Journal of Creative Geography, Columbia Journal of American Studies, andColby Quarterly. He earned a B.A. from the University of Texas and a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina. Currently, he chairs the school of Arts & Sciences at Johnson & Wales University, Denver, where, when possible, he also teaches English and Film.
image: Andromeda Veach

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
A new way to target flu virus
26-Jul-2018 - Rice University
Xingcheng Lin/Rice University
An evolutionary conserved residue known as Thr59 disrupts the repeating pattern formed by a trimeric protein as it refolds while helping a flu virus infect a cell. Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine used a complex computer simulation to study the mechanism and look for new targets for drugs to stop the flu.
Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine researchers used computer simulations to study the process by which hemagglutinin helps viruses invade and infect cells. The researchers believe the protein's stem domain unfolds and refolds into a different configuration when triggered, but pauses to release a hidden fusion peptide that binds the virus to the target cell.
A simulation by Rice University biophysicists detailed the free energy profile that dictates how a protein that helps the flu virus infect cells carries out its mission. The simulations predict how a protein will fold based on the intrinsic energies of each atom in the system. The proteins form loops and coils as they seek their lowest, most stable energy states (blue). In the domain the researchers studied, they found a hitch that slows the folding process that allows binding to the target cell to happen and also presents an opportunity for new vaccines to attack the flu.
There's a hitch in the swing of a protein that delivers the flu virus. Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine researchers believe this mechanism may be a useful target to stop the virus from infecting cells.
The Rice-Baylor team led by biophysicist José Onuchic and biochemists Jianpeng Ma and Qinghua Wang delves further into a glycoprotein complex it began to define in a 2014 paper.
That protein, hemagglutinin, sits on the surface of flu viruses and helps them attach to and transport through the protective membranes of target cells.
The paper begins to define the mechanism that allows the protein to unfold and refold in a snap, changing its form to expose a peptide that attaches the virus to a cell and begins infection. The researchers believe therapeutic drugs can use this mechanism to shut the virus down.
"This protein starts in a folded state and goes through a global transformation, refolding in a completely different state," said Onuchic, co-director of Rice's Center for Theoretical Biological Physics (CTBP). "But there's a small part in the center that evolution has conserved."
That single conserved amino acid residue is the hitch that makes the protein pause in the process of refolding. It allows a fusion peptide buried inside to bind to the target cell and begin infecting it. Without the pause, the refolding would be too quick for binding to take place.
Lead author and Rice postdoctoral researcher Xingcheng Lin modeled that part of the protein, the B-loop of the HA2 domain. HA2 sits beneath another domain, a cap known as HA1 that mutates to escape past defenses. Lin explained that HA1 is a common target for flu medications because the exposed cap domain is more accessible than the protected HA2 domain.
The problem is that HA1 mutates constantly to resist drugs, he said. That influences how effective flu vaccines are every year. Lin and Onuchic said HA2 presents a better target for drugs because the mechanism is highly conserved by evolution.
"If a drug targets HA2, the domain cannot escape by making mutations because the mutations themselves would make it nonfunctional," Lin said. "That kind of drug could become a universal vaccine."
HA2 is a trimeric structure that, when triggered by acidic conditions in the environment near a target cell, transforms itself from a random loop to a coiled coil. Even with the pause, it unfolds and refolds in a fraction of a second, far too fast for microscopes to see. But a computer simulation of the process can be slowed down.
That happens to be a specialty of the CTBP, which uses programs that analyze the energy landscape of proteins to predict how they will fold. Onuchic and his colleagues are pioneers in the theory that folding proteins follow an orderly, "funneled" process that depends on the intrinsic energy of every atom in the chain, each of which constantly seeks its lowest energy state. If all the atomic "beads" can be identified, it's possible to simulate the complex folding process.
The Rice researchers often use coarse-grained models of proteins, a subset of atoms that represent the whole, to predict how they will fold. The new study was much more ambitious and set out to predict the complex unfolding and refolding by using not only every atom in the chain but also every atom in its liquid environment, Onuchic said.
Lin modeled 40 microseconds (millionths of a second) of the HA2 domain transition that represents the entire process, which takes 1.4 milliseconds (thousandths of a second) to complete. Even that shortened process took two years of computer time to deliver results, he said.
"The simulated domain is about 3,000 atoms, but when the environment, including water, is accounted for, the total simulation incorporates around 100,000 atoms," Onuchic said. "It's still an enormous simulation that required state-of-the-art techniques."
Previous theories based on crystallographic images of the before-and-after proteins put forth the idea of a spring-loaded domain that appeared to attach to the target cell after the cap's removal. Onuchic said the complete model of HA2 supports a different mechanism.
"We figured out there's a bunch of energy that makes the final state of HA2 much more stable than the initial state," he said. "But with the spring-loaded mechanism, most of the energy would already be wasted by the time it forms the coiled coil and binds the cell and viral membranes. It wouldn't leave any energy to pull the membranes together.
"That's why we decided to do a full calculation of the system - all the atoms of the protein and all the water," Onuchic said. "It was a gigantic effort."
The conserved hydrophilic (water-attracting) residue, known as Thr59, is of particular interest to the researchers not only for the way it disrupts folding and allows the virus to attack, but also because it has a twin.
"In the full evolutionary tree, these viruses fall into two groups, and the difference appears to be this residue," Onuchic said. "They split 1,500 years ago and somehow, after this separation, they're fully conserved. They haven't been able to change that residue no matter what, and we believe that makes this residue important."
The current research focused on the group that incorporates Thr59 and causes the H3N2 strain responsible for the Hong Kong flu, Lin said. The other residue, Met59, appears in the H1N1 strain that caused the Spanish flu.
"We still have a long way to go to understand the entire protein," he said. "Here, we only studied one domain of one protein, and there are several others that are very important to its function."
"But what Xingcheng has already done is a computational tour de force," Onuchic added. "He showed how this particular residue breaks the helical symmetry of the domain and makes it unstable enough to give the peptide time to grab the membranes."
Xingcheng Lin, Jeffrey K. Noel, Qinghua Wang, Jianpeng Ma, and José N. Onuchic; "Atomistic simulations indicate the functional loop-to-coiled-coil transition in influenza hemagglutinin is not downhill"; PNAS; 2018
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Winters Friends of the Library Tree Sale on March 4. Find out more at wfol.org. Photo by Pierre Stephens.
Save Saturday, March 4th to do all of your tree shopping.
The Winters Friends of the Library will be holding its annual fruit tree sale in Winters at the parking lot at Railroad Avenue and Baker Street.
Doors open, rain or shine, at 9 am to the general public. Members can enter at 8:30, and you can become a member at the door. (Click here to read more about membership.) Sale ends at noon, or earlier if all trees are sold.
Bare root fruit and nut trees are $10 each and citrus are $25 each.The Master Gardeners of Yolo County will be there to give advice on tree planting.
Proceeds benefit the programs and collections at the Winters Library. For more information or to volunteer, call Linda Springer at 795-5001.


We welcome future investors to join our funding collaborative currently comprised of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ascendium Education Group and The Kresge Foundation, with Education Commission of the States as our coordinating intermediary. Becoming a funder provides Strong Start to Finish (SSTF) with additional resources that can fundamentally change each student's journey on the path to earning a meaningful postsecondary credential.
Contributing Funds Isn't the Only Way to Join the Movement.
In addition to direct philanthropic support, you can invest your knowledge or collaboration in SSTF. We are always growing our network of like-minded individuals and organizations. Your insights can help us better understand return on investment and interventions that succeed among your students. Engage with us in the support of historically underserved student populations and help us dramatically improve their success rates.


text:
#ifndef OBOE_LATENCY_TUNER_
#define OBOE_LATENCY_TUNER_

#include <atomic>
#include <cstdint>
#include "oboe/Definitions.h"
#include "oboe/AudioStream.h"

namespace oboe {

/**
 * LatencyTuner can be used to dynamically tune the latency of an output stream.
 * It adjusts the stream's bufferSize by monitoring the number of underruns.
 *
 * This only affects the latency associated with the first level of buffering that is closest
 * to the application. It does not affect low latency in the HAL, or touch latency in the UI.
 *
 * Call tune() right before returning from your data callback function if using callbacks.
 * Call tune() right before calling write() if using blocking writes.
 *
 * If you want to see the ongoing results of this tuning process then call
 * stream->getBufferSize() periodically.
 *
 */
class LatencyTuner {
public:

    /**
     * Construct a new LatencyTuner object which will act on the given audio stream
     *
     * @param stream the stream who's latency will be tuned
     */
    explicit LatencyTuner(AudioStream &stream);

    /**
     * Construct a new LatencyTuner object which will act on the given audio stream.
     *
     * @param stream the stream who's latency will be tuned
     * @param the maximum buffer size which the tune() operation will set the buffer size to
     */
    explicit LatencyTuner(AudioStream &stream, int32_t maximumBufferSize);

    /**
     * Adjust the bufferSizeInFrames to optimize latency.
     * It will start with a low latency and then raise it if an underrun occurs.
     *
     * Latency tuning is only supported for AAudio.
     *
     * @return OK or negative error, ErrorUnimplemented for OpenSL ES
     */
    Result tune();

    /**
     * This may be called from another thread. Then tune() will call reset(),
     * which will lower the latency to the minimum and then allow it to rise back up
     * if there are glitches.
     *
     * This is typically called in response to a user decision to minimize latency. In other words,
     * call this from a button handler.
     */
    void requestReset();

    /**
     * @return true if the audio stream's buffer size is at the maximum value. If no maximum value
     * was specified when constructing the LatencyTuner then the value of
     * stream->getBufferCapacityInFrames is used
     */
    bool isAtMaximumBufferSize();

    /**
     * Set the minimum bufferSize in frames that is used when the tuner is reset.
     * You may wish to call requestReset() after calling this.
     * @param bufferSize
     */
    void setMinimumBufferSize(int32_t bufferSize) {
        mMinimumBufferSize = bufferSize;
    }

    int32_t getMinimumBufferSize() const {
        return mMinimumBufferSize;
    }

    /**
     * Set the amount the bufferSize will be incremented while tuning.
     * By default, this will be one burst.
     *
     * Note that AAudio will quantize the buffer size to a multiple of the burstSize.
     * So the  buffer sizes may not be a multiple of this increment.
     *
     * @param sizeIncrement
     */
    void setBufferSizeIncrement(int32_t sizeIncrement) {
        mBufferSizeIncrement = sizeIncrement;
    }

    int32_t getBufferSizeIncrement() const {
        return mBufferSizeIncrement;
    }

private:

    /**
     * Drop the latency down to the minimum and then let it rise back up.
     * This is useful if a glitch caused the latency to increase and it hasn't gone back down.
     *
     * This should only be called in the same thread as tune().
     */
    void reset();

    enum class State {
        Idle,
        Active,
        AtMax,
        Unsupported
    } ;

    // arbitrary number of calls to wait before bumping up the latency
    static constexpr int32_t kIdleCount = 8;
    static constexpr int32_t kDefaultNumBursts = 2;

    AudioStream           &mStream;
    State                 mState = State::Idle;
    int32_t               mMaxBufferSize = 0;
    int32_t               mPreviousXRuns = 0;
    int32_t               mIdleCountDown = 0;
    int32_t               mMinimumBufferSize;
    int32_t               mBufferSizeIncrement;
    std::atomic<int32_t>  mLatencyTriggerRequests{0}; // TODO user atomic requester from AAudio
    std::atomic<int32_t>  mLatencyTriggerResponses{0};
};

} // namespace oboe

#endif // OBOE_LATENCY_TUNER_

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Explore the daily mysteries of life, a new mystery is solved every day!
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text:
Q: I'm looking for a book series about a Queen that time travels to save her people I'm looking for a book series about a Queen that time travels to save her people. What I remember from the books was a girl that lived in the "highlands" came down to a festival where she was taking a bird, a falcon or a hawk, she had trained for a competition. The ruling king didn't want to be beat, so he killed her bird and when she complained he threw her in a jail/dungeon.
Somehow she breaks free and a rebellion of some sort tries to start. There is a part about a "wizard" or what everyone thinks/calls a wizard who ends up being some kind of time traveler that has a portal in a wall high up in the mountain, and he lives a really long time and has been searching for this girl, and the "magic" is really technology and it is a computer set in a wall. This wizard somehow gets with the bird girl and he tells her he is going to help her and she is a queen and she isn't sure she wants to be, and she ends up in love with some guy, but because she travels to different points of time that are crucial battles in time to help rally her people, it doesn't seem to work out if I remember right.
There is also something I remember about a sword she is given that is part of how people know she is "their legend queen" that she has when she is young and old when she appears, and there are portals of some kind.
I also vaguely remember something about smaller villages of "highland and lowland" type origins that are clans that come together and have a competition to see who's fastest/strongest etc, where some guy throws a large stone, and there is some guy that was part of the clan or is part of the clan that lives apart in this hut in the woods.
I also remember a waterfall emptying into a pool or something like that.
I think the title of the first book had the word red and maybe stag or hawk and maybe queen, but googling those has come up with no results.
I think it was two or three books in total, but I could be wrong. I'd like to read them again, but I just can't remember a title or author or much else about them. Any help would be great.

A: This sounds like Ironhand's Daughter by David Gemmell. It's part of the Hawk Queen duology.

*

*Ironhand's Daughter (1995)

*The Hawk Eternal (1995)

The armies of the Outlanders crushed the highlanders at the battle of Colden Moor–killing their finest warriors and breaking their freeborn spirit. The highlanders are now a conquered people, ruled by the brutal Baron Gottasson.
  Prophecies speak of the coming of a new leader, a descendent of Ironhand, mightiest of the highland kings. A leader who will throw off the Outlander yoke. But only one highlander carries the blood of Ironhand: Sigarni, a wild and willful teenage girl who cares for nothing save her own concerns. Until a fateful encounter thrusts her onto a path of rebellion. Now, hunted by the baron's soldiers and stalked by an evil sorcerer, Sigarni will be forced to fulfill her destiny . . . or perish.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
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Miley Cyrus Back on Top! Beyoncé in Dubai! Rihanna & Lady Gaga Oscar Nods! The Week in Pop News
Justin Timberlake performs onstage during his "The Man Of The Woods" tour at Air Canada Centre on March 13, 2018 in Toronto. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation
Between iHeartRadio Music Festival day 2 performers Justin Timberlake, Carrie Underwood and Imagine Dragons and Daytime Stage sets from Logic, Dua Lipa and 5 Seconds of Summer, there's a lot to keep up with on Saturday (Sept. 22) in Las Vegas. Thankfully, whether you'll be in the desert or not, you can still watch all the action live.
It all starts at 2 p.m. ET with the Daytime Stage. In addition to Logic, Dua and 5SOS, you can also catch Lil Uzi Vert, Bad Bunny, Leon Bridges, Bazzi, Dustin Lynch and more braving the Vegas sun for the outdoor afternoon concert (see the full lineup below). Tune in to HondaStage.com at 2 p.m. ET for the full daytime live stream.
Then at 10 p.m. ET, the T-Mobile Arena stage lights up for day 2, where fans can catch JT, Underwood, Imagine Dragons, Luke Bryan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kelly Clarkson, Shawn Mendes and another set from Logic. You can tune in to the day 2 live stream starting at 10 p.m. ET via CWTV.com or The CW app.
Iggy Azalea, Sabrina Carpenter & Boyz II Men to Present at 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival
In addition to all the day's performances, morning radio host Elvis Duran will be backstage for exclusive artist interviews that will air on iHeartMedia radio stations across the country and on the iHeartRadio app.
See the full Saturday night lineup below:
And here's the full Daytime Stage crew:
Dustin Lynch
Bobby Bones and The Raging Idiots
Evvie
The 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival kicked off Friday night with performances from Mariah Carey, Childish Gambino, Fleetwood Mac and many more.


The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) is seeking a Senior Communications Officer, Fundraising to undertake an integral role in the engagement and stewardship of donors and stakeholders through the development and delivery of the NGV Fundraising department's communications strategy.
Managing, guiding and supporting the Grants and Projects Officer to generate philanthropic revenue and achieve organisational strategic objectives. Generate exceptional grant applications to philanthropic trusts and corporate foundations, both locally and globally, and develop a comprehensive schedule of approaches, submissions and acquittals.
Conceptualising, developing and implementing the NGV's internal and external fundraising communications plans to achieve organisational strategic objectives and promote fundraising initiatives and donor recognition across a full range of platforms.
Developing and executing a communications strategy which will encompass all phases of the NGV Contemporary campaign. This will include the development of collateral as well as the promotion of the campaign via a variety of platforms and events.
Working collaboratively with internal stakeholders to cultivate and solicit support for NGV wide priorities, including acquisitions, exhibitions, programs and events. Develop and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders to maximise outcomes, strengthen relationships, and enhance the NGV's reputation.
To be successful you will be tertiary qualified and experienced in the fields of fundraising, communications or a related field. You can prepare and deliver complex reports and you ensure written communications contain the necessary information to achieve their purpose. You are influential in idea delivery and negotiations. You plan ahead based on priorities, are detailed focused, and adaptable in fast paced environments. You actively seek out useful partnerships with people through trust building and cooperation.
Please quote in application: Senior Communications Officer, Fundraising via Pro Bono Australia.


The urge for a solo mooch around the Golf Course with the .22lr (Mauser 201) overtook me at the weekend. As well as having permission to shoot there I must clear it through the course before hand and then get an incident number from the local Police before arriving. I've touched on this before, it doesn't matter if you think it's a good thing or not, it's the procedure I must follow to benefit from this patch, I can see things getting even tighter for everyone in the not-to-distant future.
Stupidly I hadn't realised how little wind there was and when I started my stalk I had to reduce to Ghost Walking in order not to give my presence away. Still, much better than the other option of watching Midsummer Murders.
Once my eyes had adjusted to the gloom after about 20 minutes I could see some rabbits just edging out of some of the long grass (rough) at about 80 yards and chasing around which can be indication of either relaxed, over-sexed or younger rabbits, I took them to be relaxed and kept on inching forward but not directly towards them, your size increase even over 10ft is noticeable, I was taking an indirect route.
Just to my front was a small pond surrounded by reeds and Iris, I was making towards the left-hand edge where I knew the distance to the rabbits was 45 yards. Once I had reached the pond I stood still and continued to observe in total silence for two minutes. I made sure that the gun light pressure switch was where it should be, shouldered the Mauser and took a step forward – that's when it happened.
As soon as I had moved the water in the pond next to be exploded and showered me with cold water, the vegetation parted with a crash and out shot a Muntjac about 3ft from me. It sped past and onto the middle of the fairway where I'd now got the light, the Doe looked over her shoulder at me, blinked and took off again into the long grass.
I don't scare easily but that did make me jump a little (lots actually, it was the cold water) and I then wondered if I had managed to get that close to the Doe unheard or she had me spotted all along and bolted at the last minute. The Rabbits where not in the same 'relaxed' mood now and had disappeared.
Slightly wetter than anticipated I headed off in another direction to where I knew rabbits fed on Bramble leaves and very helpfully had to stand up to eat.
Ghost walking again, I was in a small corner of the fairway and could see half a dozen rabbits – that's when it happened! An owl shot upwards from right under my foot with a hint of downdraft across my face. I think it was a Little Owl, it made no noise to give me any further clue. Ever closer to some kind of Cardiac arrest I decided to stomp loudly back to the car and have a coffee.
Midsummer Murders now seemed quite appealing and I remembered my dear Wife had done me an advent calendar with a different bottle of beer for each day – In my mind I was already reaching for the bottle opener!


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April 9, 2018 January 5, 2006 by admin
An article by Linda Bladholm, of the Miami Herald. Published, Janurary 5 , 2006.
Chef Miroslav Dusek holds his breaded pork schnitzel. Linda Bladholm/For The Miami Herald
The American Czech-Slovak Cultural Club is hidden in a three-acre compound along the Arch Creek River in North Miami. Every Sunday the members-only club is open to the public for supper serving up sumptuous Old World feasts with many types of Czech beer, shipped in giant kegs.
Now that the weather is cooler, this is the perfect time to go for Chef Miroslav Dusek's roasted duck, schnitzel the size of a plate, and roast pork encrusted in horseradish, served up with sides of sweet-sour red cabbage, sauerkraut and dill-flecked potato salad.
The clubhouse resembles an enlarged two-story cabin, with a quaintness that comes from a structure that was built in the 1920s and added on to over the years. It was originally known as the Sorenson farm, owned by a Norwegian. In 1949 the area had many Czech immigrants, and several started meeting in a restaurant with the idea of forming an entertainment and social club.
Within three months, 77 members had joined. They pooled their bonds to buy the property, and the club soon became the hub of the growing community. Today there are about 160 members from all over the United States and Europe. The core members reside in South Florida and keep the traditions alive, even if it's just a quick parky-pause (sausage and beer break) in the bar.
Czech people quaff more beer than anyone in the world — possibly because they make Pilsner, considered by beer connoisseurs to be the best lager in the world. The light-bodied, blond brew has a unique bitter bite to the finish with a slight buttery flavor and strong hops aroma. It was first made in Plzen in what is now the western half of the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia). Back in 1295, when the country was known as the Kingdom of Bohemia, King Wenceslas II granted the citizens of Plzen the right to brew and sell beer, and the boom began.
Until the 1800s, most beer was dark and murky. That changed when a monk smuggled some bottom-fermenting lager yeast out of Bavaria and it ended up in the hands of a Bohemian brewer. The combined yeast, soft water, native Saaz hops and home-malted barley gave birth to Pilsner Urquell (meaning "original source"), also called the golden brew. You can try this on tap in the club as well as Radegast, named after a Moravian king, and Staropramen, an old Prague lager.
All go well washed down with the huge servings the kitchen dishes out. The menu is limited, scrawled on a board by the entrance. The prices are very fair considering you can bring half home to make another meal. The food reflects the diversity of the Czech-Slovak region with influences from Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungry and Ukraine. Half chickens and ducks are roasted until bronzed, then served with boats of gravy and beds of huskove — large, cloud-light dumplings, made from yeasted dough, boiled and cut with a string into bread-like slices. Rizek, as schnitzel is called in Czech, is breaded pounded pork tenderloin fried up greaseless and crisp, served as an entree or in a smaller portion as part of the sampler platter. This also includes the daily special — hope for chicken paprikash in a sour-cream sauce; roast pork; hulusky, a type of spaetzle; plus a helping of communally served tossed salad, soup of the day (possibly cream of carrot or mushroom potato), dessert and coffee. Don't forget the beer. Dobrou Chut! (Bon Appetit!)
American Czech-Slovak Cultural Club Restaurant, 13325 Arch Creek Rd.
Dinner on Sundays noon-5:00 p.m. 305-891-9130.
Food: Unapologetically fattening, but good.
Atmosphere: Old World, in more ways than one.
Price: $10-20 for dinner: soup and salads, entree and dessert.
Categories News	Post navigation


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Jan 28, 2011 ΞComments are off
How Far Would You Go For A Free Car?
posted by Kurt Ernst
Filed under Automotive, Media, Mini
Mini logo on your leg? Not far enough. Image: J3kidford
If your name was Andreas Muller and you lived in Germany, you'd get yourself tattooed in the most uncomfortable of places to win a free car. Mr. Muller, it seems, really wanted to win a new Mini Cooper being given away by a local radio station, so he agreed to have the word "Mini" tattooed on his junk. That was enough for a win, and the local station broadcast live from the event; as you'd imagine, there was a fair amount of screaming involved. It goes to show that "Jackass" isn't purely an American phenomenon, and I wish Mr. Muller a speedy recovery. His mom must be so proud.
That said, there are certainly cars that I'd get Mr. Happy branded for. I hate to brag, but "McLaren MP4-12C" would fit nicely, as would "Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera" (although, admittedly, you'd have to use a smaller font for that one). A friend suggested "Hummer", which would have added benefits beside a free car, but I don't want to drive a Hummer. I think "Porsche GT2 RS" would fit nicely, and I'd be more than happy to man up (literally and figuratively) if Porsche wanted to lease some, um, advertising space.
Source: Autoblog
More from Automotive Addicts to Check Out
2015 Mini Cooper S Hatchback Quick Spin Review
In Our Garage: 2015 Mini Cooper S Hardtop
2014 Miami International Auto Show First Ever "Cars Meet Art"
Guy In McLaren MP4-12C Spyder Really Has to Go (To The Bathroom): Video
2012 MINI Cooper S Coupe Review & Test Drive
Bizarre Funny Mini Cooper


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Q: Twitter bootstrap - list of widgets / panels that can scroll horizontally What would be the ideal way to implement:

*

*A list of widgets / panels . I am looking for widgets like in
iGoogle or heft.me. A possible solution would be to use the css
from the heft.me site, but I would like to know if there is a
twitter bootstrap way of doing it or are there any extensions
available ?

*Once I achieve rendering widgets, I will be adding widgets
dynamically. I would like these widgets to be horizontally
scrollable. One possible solution is that I should tweak the
carousel plugin that comes with twitter-bootstrap, but again I would
like to know if there is a better way ?

*Will it be advisable to maintain a list of horizontal scrolling
widgets for smaller devices like mobile phones or is better to
render them differently on mobile devices, may be accordion panels
or something of that sort ?
BTW I am using twitter-bootstrap 2.0.4

A: Based on this answer and this jQuery plugin
Here is a working solution : jsfiddle.

div.myClass {
    overflow-x: hidden;
    white-space: nowrap;
}
div.myClass [class*="span"] {
    display: inline-block;
    float: none;
}

$('.myClass').dragscrollable();

I don't know the plugin fiability, but you should be able to retro-engineer it if you want your own version of it.


The market police station has booked as many as 25 persons, which also includes women under sections 143, 147 and 153 (A) sub-section 149 of the IPC in connection with the alleged chanting of religious slogans on the court premises here on December 19.
The group shouted slogans when the 23 youths were sent to police custody in connection to the Khadak Galli stone pelting and communal violence incident.
Belagavi Bar Association had complained to the principal district and sessions judge R J Satish Singh, claiming that the incident was an insult to the court. The district judge instructed city police to take action.
Obey law of the land. . Nothing is more bigger….


"He is exceptionally intelligent and deeply committed to the craft of acting. What sets him apart in my mind, however, is his personal commitment to each student who comes under his care. He understands that it is his responsibility not only to guide them as a group, but to assist them in their individual journeys.... Actors flourish under his care, in part because Charles not only gains their trust, he nourishes their trust in themselves."
"Charles is the most profound and insightful resource I have! A master teacher with an invaluable talent and supreme dedication."
Christopher Perfetti, winner of the 2012 Theater World Award for Sons of the Prophet.
"In the New York actor's tool kit, Charles is the essential secret weapon. There is no kind of audition, stage or tv or film, for which he cannot prepare you: the best graduate acting programs have Charles to thank for several of their students, as do scores of professional productions. He knows everything. He's seen everything. He unites his incisive insights about text with the actor's unique impulses to create audition performances that are always smart, always funny, but most importantly, always deeply personal to who the actor singularly is. When Charles has coached you, you walk into your auditions ripe with the confidence of being 200% prepared. If for none of these reasons, you will want to work with Charles for the pleasure of spending an hour in his warm, hysterical, delicious company."
"Despite the fact that I have not been a student of his for over five years, I feel as though I never left his classroom. Charles has remained a constant mentor, reminding me to keep growing, keep pushing myself and always to fall in love with the work in front of me - just as he did from the moment I walked into his first-year acting class. He is unparalleled in his love for the craft of acting and the nurturing of people who love to act."
"Charles is the most passionate skilled and dedicated teacher I've ever had the priviledge of working with in my training as an actor."
"Charles has an artistic eye and taste which I trust implicitly...study with him!"
Love Actually, Kinsey, Squid and the Whale, The Big C among others.
"In my opinion, Charles Tuthill is, hands down, one of the very best acting teachers in New York City. He is especially good with young actors. I have worked in tandem and in the classroom with Charles. He nurtures actors into taking risks, discovering connections, finding form and freeing themselves. He is really good at it."
"He is easily as demanding of his students as any in the Conservatory, and yet when the students seek guidance, even after they have advanced past his year, it is more often than not Charles to whom they come. To me the reasons for this are clear: from him they have learned to be demanding of themselves – both of discipline and courage; from him they have learned to be responsible to themselves, to their choices and to the texts they hope to serve; and finally it is from him they have learned to engage with others – their classmates, which is the 1st step to their becoming both the artist they want to be and the adult who faces and embraces that responsibility."
"Charles is a unique teacher. He is always clear, direct, and inspirational. Students know when they work with Charles they will be challenged to do the best work they possibly can. He expects students to be disciplined, prepared, and professional."
"Charles creates a nurturing environment in which any actor could flourish. I continue to work with him whenever I can because I know, inevitably, my auditions will be better."
Drama Desk Nominee for Violet, and seen on Broadway in Follies, 1776, and The Heiress.


This off-the-ground design accommodates larger birds and helps reduce debris in the feed. Metal legs fold down. Free-spinning reel on top makes it difficult (if not impossible) for chickens and other birds to roost on this feeder.


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The Silent Treatment
It has become traditional for Lung Ha Theatre Company – Scotland's principal theatre group for people with learning disabilities – to present at least one large show every year that gives a role of some importance to every member of the ensemble. This is by no means an easy task, requiring both a script and a performance space capable of supporting nearly 20 performers of varying abilities and mobility. Nevertheless, such has been the quality of Lung Ha's recent work, under the nuanced guidance of Artistic Director Maria Oller, that the company now finds itself welcomed on some of Scotland's most important stages, including Glasgow's Tron Theatre and Edinburgh's Traverse.
While a few performers' movements are somewhat stilted, Janis Claxton's choreography overall is effective, with several cast members excelling in their own little character-defining moments.
The quality of Lung Ha's work also attracts some of the most innovative and exciting theatre talent in Scotland; in the case of The Silent Treatment, this is playwright Douglas Maxwell, whose recent successes include Yer Granny – an adaptation of Robert Cossa's La Nona – for the National Theatre of Scotland, and the innovative Fever Dream: Southside for Glasgow's Citizens Theatre. With Lung Ha, Maxwell appears to have taken on the challenge of writing a play with, for the most part, little or no dialogue; for some of Lung Ha's most experienced performers, this takes their seemingly innate talent for comedy into a far more physical realm than ever before.
Set within a sponsored silence in a school hall, in a remarkably realistic set designed by Jessica Brettle, the action launches with Nicola Tuxworth's Billie being ejected after six minutes for unthinkingly saying "Bless You" when her boyfriend Arthur [Lung Ha stalwart Stephan Tate] sneezed. She decides, in anger, to undermine the whole endeavour – despite the fact that the sponsored silence is actually intended to raise funds for her own ill mother.
What follows is essentially an hour of physical escapades in which Tuxworth and a lone accomplice attempt to ruin friendships and frustrate relationships by stealing people's hats, lottery-winning scratch cards, and packets of biscuits. Further confusion is caused by the repeatedly unexpected arrival of four workmen [led by Mark Howie, sadly denied his usual opportunity to land a few verbal punchlines], distinctive in their high visibility jackets and bowler hats. Their presence in the room at first appears somewhat arbitrary and sometimes meandering, though (of course) this proves not to be the case later on.
While a few performers' movements are somewhat stilted, Janis Claxton's choreography overall is effective, with several cast members excelling in their own little character-defining moments. Everyone, however, is aided by M J McCarthy's almost hypnotic score, with its continuous, clock-based rhythms and overt tonal shifts to denote characters and mood. The result is an entertaining hour that, while not necessarily crystal clear in its dramatic intent, at least avoids the innate cruelty of slapstick and concludes with an upbeat moment that leaves a smile on everyone's faces.
Ssssh!
No, but seriously Sssssssh!
A sponsored silence is on; so whatever you do you have to keep it zipped, keep it buttoned, keep it together – even when one of the group is doing all she can to break you down.
And how can you, could anyone, stay silent when one of the team has just won wads of cash; and what about those builders who just keep popping in and out, surely something has to be said to them?
Renowned playwright Douglas Maxwell, composer MJ McCarthy and the Lung Ha Theatre Company performers take you on a (quiet) journey where silence is golden - but there are many ways to overcome silence when there is just so much to be said.
Lung Ha Theatre Company aims to be a leading theatre company for people with learning disabilities, in Scotland and beyond.
Directed by Maria Oller
http://lungha.com/production/overview


text:
Motion for a resolution | Doc. 12633
Austerity measures – a danger for democracy and social rights
Motion for a resolution | Doc. 12633 | 06 June 2011
Mr Andrej HUNKO, Germany, UEL ; Mr Lokman AYVA, Turkey, EPP/CD ; Mr Gagik BAGHDASARYAN, Armenia, ALDE ; Mr Mario BARBI, Italy, ALDE ; Ms Delia BLANCO, Spain, SOC ; Ms Marie-Louise COLEIRO PRECA, Malta, SOC ; Ms Blanca Judith DÍAZ DELGADO, Mexico ; Mr Paul FLYNN, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Ljubo GERMIČ, Slovenia, ALDE ; Ms Angelika GRAF, Germany, SOC ; Mr Andreas GROSS, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Jean HUSS, Luxembourg, SOC ; Mr Tiny KOX, Netherlands, UEL ; Mr Bernard MARQUET, Monaco, ALDE ; Ms Liliane MAURY PASQUIER, Switzerland, SOC ; Ms Carina OHLSSON, Sweden, SOC ; Ms Marlene RUPPRECHT, Germany, SOC ; Mr Marc SPAUTZ, Luxembourg, EPP/CD ; Mr Stefaan VERCAMER, Belgium, EPP/CD ; Mr Jordi XUCLÀ, Spain, ALDE
This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.
When adopting its opinion on "Over-indebtedness of states – a danger for democracy and human rights", the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee decided to suggest that a new, separate report be prepared by it in order to deal with the austerity measures currently being implemented by a number of Council of Europe member states. In the Committee's view, these measures may pose as grave a danger to democracy and human rights (in particular, social rights) as the indebtedness of states they are designed to combat.
While it is necessary to balance the budgets of over-indebted states in the medium and long term, it is important that this be done in a manner which is respectful of citizen's democratic and human rights (including social rights): governments should give citizens a say in if, how and when the state debt should be cut and should honour member states' international commitments and obligations. Budget cutting alternatives which do not directly threaten social rights and the European welfare state should be privileged over common, short-sighted austerity measures which disproportionately affect vulnerable groups.
At the same time, it is necessary to learn the lessons of the financial and economic crisis which is at the origin of much of the current indebtedness of states – and thus the resulting austerity measures, and further improve regulatory mechanisms at all levels (national, European and international) in order to avert new crises in line with Parliamentary Assembly Resolution 1673 (2009) on "Challenges of the financial crisis for the world economic institutions".
The Assembly thus recommends that the governments of member states take the necessary measures to face the consequences of the economic and financial crisis in a fully democratic way which does not violate citizens' human rights, including their social rights.


Iranian English-language Press TV released a statement with regard to the detention and imprisonment of its anchorwoman Marzieh Hashemi in the United States.
A female African-American international journalist, a mother and a grandmother, Ms. Hashemi has traveled to the United States to visit her family members, including her brother, who is suffering from cancer. She was, however, arrested at St. Louis Lambert International Airport in St. Louise, Missouri on January 13, 2019 by US police, and transferred by FBI agents to a detention center in Washington, D.C.


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Rail 411: Memo to new ministers: early action needed on the railway
Rail Magazine / June 13, 2001 October 26, 2014
It's the day after the general election and an extract from a memo to incoming transport ministers sent by Sir Richard Mottram, Permanent Secretary at the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions, has been 'accidentally' e-mailed to RAIL. CHRISTIAN WOLMAR shares with readers the exclusive insights which the memo provides into the minds of the ministry mandarins as they ponder the future of the industry under the new administration.
What has been referred to as the 'rail crisis' by your predecessors is probably the most immediate and pressing transport problem that requires ministerial direction.
To recap on recent events, the railways were privatised by the Conservative administration by breaking up British Rail into 100 different companies. The key elements were the flotation of Railtrack, the sale of the rolling stock companies and the franchising of the train operating companies.
In the immediate aftermath of this highly controversial privatisation, the railway performed relatively well and your predecessors, soon after the 1997 election, decided not to implement any radical changes to the structure of the railways. Instead, the Strategic Rail Authority was created to give direction to the industry and to take over the powers previously held by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising.
However, a number of events have intervened which may mean that ministers will wish to reconsider this decision. First, there has been a series of very high-profile accidents on the railways which has pushed rail safety up the political agenda. Two of these disasters, Southall in September 1997 and Ladbroke Grove in October 1999, were caused by drivers going through red signals and this has raised public pressure to ensure that similar future accidents can no longer occur. The third, Hatfield in October 2000, was caused by a broken rail and has not only raised a series of issues about how the railway is maintained but also the speed restrictions imposed in its aftermath led to the rail crisis mentioned above.
Secondly, the performance of the railway had deteriorated markedly even before the Hatfield crash, raising questions about its ability to cope with the growth which your predecessors have envisaged for the network.
Thirdly, the SRA has run into a number of difficulties in its refranchising programme and some of these decisions will require ministerial action in the near future.
Finally, the targets in the Ten Year Plan, which envisaged more than £60bn of investment in the railways, over half from the private sector, are in danger of not being met because of the difficult climate for rail investment and the collapse of Railtrack's share price following the Hatfield crash.
Taking the issue of rail safety first, ministers will be presented with the Cullen report into the Ladbroke Grove disaster within the next few weeks. This is likely to make a series of far-reaching recommendations about the management of safety on the railway. It will also put the blame for the accident on the train operating company concerned, Thames, which is owned by GoVia, and, to a lesser extent, on Railtrack. This may pose problems for ministers as GoVia has been awarded the SouthCentral franchise and Railtrack has received the support of your predecessors despite its recent problems.
There is another matter already on your desk. The joint inquiry by Professor Uff and Lord Cullen into the accidents at Southall and Ladbroke Grove has already reported and recommends that all 100mph lines should be fitted with the European Train Control System to prevent trains going through red lights by 2008. The trains should all have the equipment by 2010. The cost of this exercise is currently reckoned to be between £2bn and £3bn but ministers should be warned that such estimates tend to rise when the project leaves the drawing board. Moreover, there are doubts about the costeffectiveness of this expenditure, which will all have to be borne by the taxpayer, as, according to risk assessment calculations, ETCS will only save one or two lives per year.
While your predecessors expressed broad support for the Uff-Cullen recommendations, it is clear that the rail industry will be unable to deliver this improvement in the timescale envisaged and without the diversion of much-needed investment into this scheme of dubious merit. Ministers may well wish to draw up a form of words which conveys vague support for the ETCS concept but which does not commit them to this huge level of expenditure.
Secondly, the performance of the railway is now beginning to show improvement after the Hatfield débâcle thanks to the rail recovery plan in which your predecessors took an active part. While there is little that government can do to influence performance in the short term, it is an issue which has important ramifications in terms of public opinion. The number of complaints about rail travel has been running at a high level for several years and shows no sign of abating. Ministers may well wish to consider an action plan in this regard.
The performance of the SRA has not lived up to expectations. While your predecessors did not entirely manage to ascertain the reasons for this, indications are that there has been a reluctance on the part of the organisation to take decisions and to understand the needs of the private sector in order to lever in the maximum investment. Sir Alastair Morton's term of office as Chairman ends early next year and it is expected that he will want to step down before then. Therefore, a list of potential suitable candidates is attached for early ministerial consideration.
A brief on the state of the refranchising process is also attached. As ministers will note, there has been little progress and as yet no deal has been signed. Ministers will wish to consider whether there are structural problems in terms of the approach of the SRA which are delaying progress, in particular whether 20-year franchises are the appropriate solution. The situation with the East Coast Main Line requires particularly urgent attention in view of the likelihood of the losing party seeking a judicial review.
Finally, the problems involving investment. The Ten Year Plan is the centrepiece of the Government's strategy for the next Parliament but there are fears about its deliverability, particularly in relation to the railways. The Department is also very concerned at the increased demands from Railtrack for Government grant and the company's simultaneous withdrawal from its long-term investment commitments. The cost of existing schemes such as the West Coast Main Line and Thameslink 2000 has escalated without proper explanation from the company. While the SRA has drawn up plans for investment in the railways to be delivered through Special Purpose Vehicles, these have so far proved difficult to construct and may add further complexity to the structure of the railways.
There are two clear options for progress on railways which require ministerial consideration: 'do nothing' or 'structural review'.
The advantage of 'do nothing' is that events can be allowed to run their course without any further Government-instigated upheavals in the industry. The disadvantage is that public pressure has been increasing over the problems on the railways and these will be heightened should anything further go wrong, either a major accident or a series of closures/ delays as a result of the failings of the existing system. It is worth stressing that the experience of the past four years shows that the public expects the Government to be involved in the railways irrespective of the fact that they are now in private ownership.
The railway as currently structured appears unable to deliver the improvements which ministers are seeking and, moreover, the amount of subsidy is set to increase with little expectation that the money is being well spent. The Treasury has recently been taking a close interest in rail matters and may well try to recoup some of the allocation to rail unless it can be demonstrated that we can achieve value for money. While 'do nothing' may appear to be the lesser political risk, in practice this may not be the case.
The advantage of 'structural review' is precisely because the railways seem incapable of functioning efficiently with the current set-up. Ministers will be seen to be doing something to tackle an issue that has been perceived as a failure during your predecessors' term of office. There are a number of schemes for possible restructuring of the railways which have been drawn up by advisers both within and outside the DETR. However, this strategy also poses risks. The railways have suffered from an unprecedented period of upheaval, first as a result of privatisation and more recently because of the Hatfield accident and its aftermath. There is also the possibility that a suitable structure cannot be found without renationalising part of the railways, a policy that was ruled out by your predecessors. However, as mentioned above, there are political risks associated with either option.
In summary, the railways pose one of the problems which need ministers' most urgent attention. Early decisions are important because the rail industry's capital-intensive nature means that the impact of any changes will take time to filter through sufficiently to affect public opinion. Your predecessors went against departmental advice in not taking action on the railways by introducing legislation earlier in the last Parliament. Ministers may well wish to consider an alternative approach during this term. Ministers will also wish to consider the problem posed by traffic congestion as this has also been an issue on which public pressure is mounting…(rest of document missing).
For e-mails to Christian Wolmar, accidental or otherwise, please go to the Contact page!


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You are here: MacNN Forums > News > Mac News > Streaming music services are highest revenue source for Warner Music
Streaming music services are highest revenue source for Warner Music
MacNN Staff
Music streaming services have become the largest source of revenue for Warner Music Group, the record label has confirmed. In its second quarter financial results ending March 31, streaming from services such as Apple Music have overtaken both physical sales and downloads from iTunes and other online stores to provide the most recorded music revenue in the quarter, marking the first time a major record label's revenue sources have changed in this way.
Digital revenues for the label increased by 21 percent year-on-year, with Recode noting streaming revenue increased by $72 million in the quarter, half stemming from outside the United States, and seemingly correlating with reports from other industry bodies. While digital helped total revenue for Warner increase ten percent compared to the same period last year, it wasn't helped by losses in both download and physical sales, reduced by $17 million and $6 million respectively.
"These impressive results were driven by outstanding music from our artists and songwriters, the expansion in our global footprint, our leadership in the industry's digital transformation, and excellent execution globally," said group CEO Stephen Cooper. "We are now the first major music company to report that streaming is the largest source of revenue in our recorded music business, surpassing our revenue from physical formats. And this new milestone comes only four quarters after our streaming revenue first topped our download revenue. "
Despite being the highest earner for the label, Warner is still wishing to continue the fight with streaming services to increase royalty payments, especially online venues such as YouTube. "It is imperative that we ensure a fairer correlation between the massive consumption of music via services built around user-uploaded content and the value generated for artists, songwriters, and rights holders," said Cooper in an earnings call. "We have made our views known through our submissions to the European Commission and the US Copyright Office."
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bobolicious
Mac Enthusiast
"They're the brains that create the songs you love, but don't expect songwriters to be able to make a living by writing hits that get millions of plays on streaming services."
www.cbc.ca/1.3567947
I just say no, and still buy CD @ shows, or lossless bandcamp, supporting the content creators as directly as possible...
( Last edited by bobolicious; May 6, 2016 at 03:47 PM. )
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Charles Martin
Location: Maitland, FL
Not a bad plan there, boblicious, and a good way to support the artists you already know you like. I see streaming as a good way to discover other artists, but yes: people should continue to buy CDs or iTunes/bandcamp/et al, if for no other reason than to directly support the artist and to have a "permanent backup" of the music.
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MacNN Forums > News > Mac News > Streaming music services are highest revenue source for Warner Music


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Home Sin categoría A Texas woman is facing felony charges for failing to return a...
A Texas woman is facing felony charges for failing to return a VHS tape from more than two decades ago
Can you recall VHS tapes? After a particular tape came back to haunt her over 20 years later, one Texas woman now knows for sure.
Caron McBride, a former Oklahoma resident, was charged with felony embezzlement in 1999 after failing to return a VHS tape of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" to a movie rental store in Norman.
McBride told KOKH-TV that she heard of her Cleveland County charges after attempting to change her name after her Texas marriage. McBride said, "I feared I was going to have a heart attack."
"They informed me that I had a problem in Oklahoma and that I needed to call this number, which I did. "In the meantime, I'm a wanted felon," she said.
McBride was charged with felony embezzlement of leased property in March 2000, according to court records. According to KOKH, the venue, Movie Place, closed in 2008.
McBride claims she has no recollection of renting the film and assumes it was rented by an old roommate. "He had two children, ages eight, ten, or eleven, and I'm guessing he went and got it and didn't return it or something. I've never seen the display in my life; it's simply not my cup of tea."
McBride also claims she might have been fired from various positions in the 21 years after the charges because the crime appeared on a background search.
After her story appeared on local news, the Cleveland County District Attorney's Office dropped the charges. To clear her record, McBride will need to get her conviction expunged, according to the district attorney.
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Study2Compete Sundry Essays Failures Are The Pillars Of Success
Failures Are The Pillars Of Success
March 24, 2020March 24, 2020 0 Comments
Essay No. 186:
Failures Are The Pillars Of Success: Failures dishearten man who comes under the pall of depression. He remains in a state of depression for quite some time. Failures either pull man down or create in him a new wave of determination to carry on his struggle with renewed vigour and valour. Those who are cowed down by failure lapse into a state of quietism and are not able to face the hard realities of life.
Men who do not surrender to the forces to defeat, give a bold front to adversities of life. Life demands action to fight against setbacks and failures to chart ones course to attain success. Success does not come easily to man to clear steer his way out of stumbling blocks.
Failures have their own causes. Man should dispassionately analyse the cause of failure he meets in a particular project. Once the causes are objectively identified, it then becomes comparatively easy for man to make a conscious effort to avoid them in the next attempt. Failures are a necessary component of success. History is replete with instances to show that the past kings, warriors many a time met failure, which was the result of certain factors.
The warriors did not lose heart over their failure in certain wars, but with proper organization and removing the constraints associated with pervious effort, were able to emerge victorious the next time. Man should thus be ready to accept defeat first before expecting to be blessed with success.
Essay No. 181: The Golden Age Is Not Behind Us But Before Us
Essay No. 182: It Is Better To Have Fought And Lost Than Never To Have Fought At All
Essay No. 183: Newspapers
Essay No. 184: Power Without Love In Dangerous
Essay No. 185: To Rob Peter To Pay Paul
Certain CSS candidates are dampened in their spirits if they do not qualify the CSS examination in the first attempt. Some feel frustrated while others rise to the occasion and get through the examination successfully. Man's story of advance runs largely in terms of failure and success. Failure opens up vistas of new energy to man. Failures are a stepping stone to success.
Failure and success are alternation phenomenon in life. Failure of today is success of tomorrow. Man should court failures valiantly. He should not be run down by failure, which are meant to arouse the spirit of action in man. Failures are thus stepping stones to success. Man should thus all the time be prepared to face failures, which would later on smoothen the way of man to success.
One should thus not remain in a low key when one encounters a failure in a particular field. Rather one should grid up one's loins to adequately deal with unfavorable circumstances through vision, planning and determination.
Is Democracy Possible In Third World Countries?Is Democracy Possible In Third World Countries?
Essay No. 151: Is Democracy Possible In Third World Countries? Before answering the question, it may be remarked that nothing is impossible in the world. The untried appears impossible. Once that is tried with a will, it becomes possible. Nothing is impossible in the world. Once man shows his determination to ------------
He Most Lives Who Thinks Most, Feels The Noblest, Acts The BestHe Most Lives Who Thinks Most, Feels The Noblest, Acts The Best
Essay No. 142: He Most Lives Who Thinks Most, Feels The Noblest, Acts The Best: Basic three functions of man's life are beautifully summed up in these lines. These are interrelated to one another. Three functions form a sort of chain. Each is linked to the other. We pick up the ------------
The Fault Dear Brutus, Is Not In Our Stars, But In Ourselves That We Are UnderlingsThe Fault Dear Brutus, Is Not In Our Stars, But In Ourselves That We Are Underlings
Essay No. 259: The Fault Dear Brutus, Is Not In Our Stars, But In Ourselves That We Are Underlings: One of the characters in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, rightly points out the weaknesses of man, who sometimes is ill at ease in facing the realities of life. Man, who cannot boast of ------------


Welcome back to another TOTB Designer Team blog hop. . . it's so great to have you back, I was busy last month so missed our hop but I saw how incredible the projects were and got really inspired. So this month we are doing the Easel Top Matchbox off the page project!
You may be starting the hop with me or perhaps you have checked out Barb Stewart's amazing project this month - I love Barb's creativity it's always stunning!
I followed the basic principles in Anya's YouTube tutorial which gives a quick overview but of course I made the card and the box as 6"x 6"square. The matchbox base is made with 12"x 12" Whisper White Card, Lined with Basic Black and matted with Smokey Slate Card. The drawer is Basic Black card lined with Smokey Slate card.
The easel card is standard, made using Smokey Slate, lined with Basic Black card and mounted with Silver Foil Card. The inside is lined with Basic Black and Whisper White card.
The match box is very simple and straight forward. First I made the drawer to be certain that the whole project could actually be 6" square. The square of Basic Black Card is 19cm square of 71/2" square. I scored the card on each side 2.22cm or 1" from the edge. I cut into the four corners to the 90 degree point and trimmed the edge so that it could be folded without problems and adhered with tear and tape.
The cover or outside of the drawer was equally as easy.
Literally the two scored lines closest to the centre of the card are scored at the 15.3cm or 6" mark and then the next line out was 2.2cm or 1" from the first score lines. You will appreciate that the sides of the card don't meet because it will need to be a lot longer than 30.6cm or 12". So I cut a faux base which is simply a 15.3cm or 6" square piece of Whisper White Card.
I folded the base card and adhered the faux base using tear and tape to keep it sturdy. The lined the base with a square of Basic Black and a square of Smokey Slate. The two exposed edges were also lined with the same matting.
The front of the drawers was lined in the same way but of course only with the Smokey Slate. I also stamped the liners for the drawer front and back with the filigree stamp from Timeless Textures in Smokey Slate ink.
The easel card itself is decorated using stamps from Angels on Earth, Post Script and Dandelion Wishes.
I love the Pressed Tin Dynamic Textured Embossing Folder and think it will be the all time favourite from the Holiday catalogue this year. I embossed the Silver Foil Card and daubered it roughly with Whisper White Craft ink to give it an oxidised look.
The next layer up is a square of Whisper White that I heat embossed with the diamonds design from the Gallery Grunge set in Silver. I then daubered the edges of that card with Smokey Slate ink. Next layer is a rectangle of Gold Glimmer Paperand a strip of Silver Glimmer Paper running at right angles.
The largest square of card under the image is Soft Suede. I stamped the corner filigree from Angels on Earth stamped in Soft Suede; you will see that the edges are daubered in Smokey Slate but it looks a bit like zinc - you can get this effect by putting Whisper White Craft ink on your dauber first then Smokey Slate ink next - it makes the colour more opaque. Layered on top of this is a piece of Chicken Wire Elements.
Next Smokey Slate rectangle stamped with the Post Script background stamp in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, edges daubered in Smokey Slate. I punched out some leaves in Vellum card stock using the Leaf Punch and poked them under the corners.
The angel is stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. I stamped it twice so I could cut out the wings and dimensionalise them. I coloured the wings slightly using Smokey Slate ink and Wink of Stella and then I used Wink of Stella and Gold embossing powder so to heat emboss the wings - I haven't heard of anyone doing that before me so its a new technique I think. I also coloured the angels hair and embossed it the same ways as the wings.
I coloured the gown in Cherry Cobbler ink and Wink of Stella and added a touch of Blushing Bride to the cheeks and collar bones using an aqua painter.
The timber element is from Frames Elements. I lay it on the Versamark ink pad then heat embossed it with Gold. The pearl jewels are to add a touch of luxe and contrast for the gold.
The easel card stays open using the word celebrate from the Celebrate You Thinlits in Silver Glimmer Paper. It's a neat way to keep the card opened.
You can see how well the wings are dimensionalised and how the project has a heap of layers. I have made it for my daughter who turns 14 in a couple of weeks time and I plan to put some Fenty makeup in the drawer along with some makeup brushes.
The knob on the front of the drawer is a silver rose from the Share What You Love Embellishment kit to marry in with all of the silver and also the antique feel of the project.
I hope that you have been inspired by all the incredible projects this month and that you give this unusual box card a try. Don't leave us just yet though as we have an amazing project from Yoshiko- she is so incredibly talented!
As always, you've created a stunning project! I just love all the beautiful texture, details and touches you've used!!
Gorgeous! Love the embellishment on the drawer to make it look like a handle. Thank you for sharing.
Such a beautiful box. LOVE it.


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Changing attitudes, Doctrine/Theology
by Bob Rees • June 22, 2014 • 3 Comments
During a recent trip to the Philippines on behalf of the Liahona Children's Foundation, I found myself in a car with some Philippine saints as we were travelling across Manila to screen children to ascertain their levels of malnutrition. We spoke of a number of things and then somehow the subject of homosexuality came up. I spoke of the work in which I have been engaged on this subject and mentioned the positive statements on the Church's new website, www.mormonsandgay.org, which no one in the car had heard of. The brother sitting next to me, someone who held a responsible position in his stake, turned to me and said in all sincerity, "I heard that Brigham Young said that Satan was gay and that his plan is to convince as many mortals as he can to be gay in order to frustrate Heavenly Father's plan for families.
I was stunned and then, without thinking, responded, "That's nonsense! Brigham Young said a lot of crazy things, but that's not one of them!" The conversation continued along these lines:
"Well then what explains them?"
"Do you mean gay people?"
"No one can make someone gay any more than they can make someone heterosexual. I assume you are heterosexual."
"Do you think someone could make you into a gay man?"
"Do you think you could will yourself to be gay?"
"No. Why would I?"
"That's the same question one would ask any gay: 'Why would you choose to be gay in a culture that is hostile to gays?' . . . Do you believe Satan made transgender people?"
"Are there really such people?"
"Yes, of course."
"That doesn't make sense. God only made men and women."
"There is much we don't understand about human nature and biology, but what we do know is that there is a range of sexual identity and orientation not only in humans but in other animal species as well."
"What about the next life. They can't be gay there because of the teaching about eternal families."
"Let's focus on this life. As for the next, sometimes I feel like Alma, who said, 'Now these mysteries are not yet fully made known unto me; therefore I shall forbear'" (37:11). Do you believe that everyone who comes into mortality who does not fit the norm is the way they are because the Devil made them that way?"
"Do you think blacks were made by Satan?"
[Silence]
"John Taylor taught that blacks were created "because it was necessary that the devil should have a representation upon the earth as well as God." Such a belief was based on the worst kind of mythology, prejudice and intolerance, just as is the idea that Satan created gays. These are destructive ideas that do terrible damage to people. We are called by Christ to love everyone and are taught that we should consider everyone we meet, male and female, black and white, bond and free, gay and straight, as children of Christ. Please don't spread the idea that Satan created gays, because it will cause people to hate them and try to hurt them and punish them for being who they are."
I was so astonished by this brother's belief that I wondered how wide-spread it is. I Googled "Satan and gays" and discovered that it is indeed widespread and in fact is taught in other religions–Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim. For example, Daniel Avila, a policy advisor on Marriage and Family for the Catholic Church, described homosexuality as a "'natural disaster' caused by Satan invading the wombs of mothers of LGBT children; . . . whenever natural causes disturb otherwise typical biological development, leading to the . . . beginnings of same-sex attraction, the ultimate responsibility, on a theological level, is and should be imputed to the evil one, not God." Similar expressions are found in teachings of some other Christians and Muslims.
What a terrible distortion of Christ's teachings this is and what a terribly dangerous and destructive idea! Satan has no creative powers and he certainly has no power over human biology. To believe otherwise is to believe in a God who is not in control of the universe. It is, however, not difficult to believe that Satan, "the Father of Lies," is responsible for implanting such beliefs into the hearts of people who have not bothered to understand Jesus's teachings or to learn of his universal love and infinite atonement, teachings that will ultimately defeat Satan and destroy all of his lies—and lead us to a more enlightened and compassionate understanding of the lives of our LGBT brothers and sisters.
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A Difference of Opinion →
3 comments for "The Devil is in the Details"
Great post, Bob. We don't often talk about the social justice work yet to be done in the far reaches of Mormondom. Thanks for having and sharing these conversations with others.
i served my mission to the Philippines, it is one of my most cherished experiences. at the same time to understand Filipino's one must understand there are massive amounts of cultural misunderstandings, mythologies, and superstitions that are very, very pervasive and very negative.
Much of it, I chalked it to a poor educational system, while more of it is directly linked back to cultural traditions handed down by colonial and religious powers of years past. Of course, within the LDS settings, there are some sociological conditions that exacerbate the problem. there is a massive deferential treatment towards people who are white; and that is compounded when these outside leaders are placed on pedestals of power, even more so than what is experienced along the Wasatch Front.
It took me sometime, while living there, to understand that I was dealing with a cultural mindset that is not unlike the early western industrial mentality. where education was still infancy and where 'magic' and 'superstition' still explains natural phenomena.
from an anthropological viewpoint, it will be interesting to see how matters relating to both policy and doctrine play out in these developing world.
Very "common sense" post with meaningful comments. Having had many coworkers and friends from the Phillipines I have found Sean's words to be accurate according to my experience and knowledge. Hopefully we here in the US will be leaders in changing the way LGBT people are regarded and treated ( as opposed to followers who are late to the table).