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Spreading the Job Wealth
Ed Lightsey,
Hot job prospects are in evidence throughout the state, as demographic shifts and changes in the economy help brighten the employment picture
By Ed Lightsey
From Columbus to the coast, from the industrial corridors of North Georgia to the small, retiree-friendly cities in South Georgia, the best job bets for the immediate future are hiding in plain sight.
They're in health care, public safety and the construction trades, where opportunities are expected to expand and salaries to rise.
The manufacturing sector will see more changes in job descriptions but job growth will likely remain flat, experts say. In occupations as familiar as the corner cop and as exotic as a programmable logic controller, a wide array of possibilities awaits the eager graduate or the 40-something opting for a new career.
Jobs that didn't exist a few years ago have become a comfortable part of the language. "Who the heck ever heard of homeland security before 2001?" asks Michael Vollmer, commissioner of the Department of Training and Adult Education, the managing agency for the state's technical colleges.
"It's not only terrorism threats," says Wayne Melton, director of certification and administrative hearings for the Police Officers Standards and Training Council, the organization responsible for qualifying law enforcement officers for duty. "The public safety arena is expanding and it's not just limited to enforcement officers like police and sheriffs. You have 911 operators, epidemiologists, forensics experts and computer scientists. We are certifying about 2,000 brand new law enforcement officers each year, and every year there are about 12,000 law enforcement positions available. Every police chief you talk to will tell you they are in need of good qualified people."
The shortage in law enforcement candidates became so critical that in 2004 police officers from Atlanta went to Michigan on a recruiting mission. "They're going all over the United States trying to recruit people," Melton says.
Man- and woman-power shortages in the ranks are exacerbated by Georgia's aging police forces, the demands of a growing population and the lure of increasingly better paying security jobs in private industry, he adds. Experienced corporate security chiefs can earn six-figure incomes, with an average Metro Atlanta police officer earning $36,239, while a rookie cop's salary in many Georgia rural areas is in the $18,000 range.
Georgia manufacturing, long a high-paying hope for many less educated job seekers, has seen employment decline by about 1.5 percent in each of the last three years as lesser skilled jobs go overseas, says Dr. Jeff Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.
But experts note that even as the number of manufacturing jobs has declined, the productivity of the state's factories has increased. "The fact of the matter is that manufacturing is alive and fairly well," says DTAE's Vollmer. "But it is a different kind of manufacturing than most of us are familiar with. I'm 55 and I'm accustomed to seeing people on an assembly line putting stuff together with their hands. But there is a true revolution in manufacturing and the low wage and low skill jobs have either left our country or are leaving.
"Manufacturing is transforming into high tech. People are moving from putting stuff together to repairing robotic arms and using computers to operate machines. An 11th grade education is no longer good enough to get a job in manufacturing. We are talking about [the need for] a change in the culture of the state."
To meet the shifting needs of manufacturing plants, Gov. Sonny Perdue established the Center for Innovation in Manufacturing Excellence at Lanier Technical College in Gainesville. Vollmer believes the 20,000-square-foot, $3.2 million training facility makes a statement to industry prospects. "It says we are very serious about jobs in manufacturing," Vollmer says. "We want to have a training center for manufacturing employees where they can come to learn new technology."
Understanding that technology can be a real earnings booster. An Internet want ad soliciting applicants for a production supervisor position at one Georgia high tech manufacturer lists a starting salary that can reach $70,000 a year, depending on experience.
"If Georgia is going to go out and recruit for these industries, then we have to rev up our training in these areas," Vollmer says. Right now, some of those areas are begging for people and taxing Vollmer's resources.
"We have a list of approximately 10,000 people waiting to get into some of our health care programs," Vollmer says. "There is a huge demand for health care workers and for training health care workers and all of that is going to expand over the next few years because of the aging population."
Part of that need is due to the aging population of present health care workers themselves, many of whom are reaching retirement, Vollmer says.
In fact, older Georgians and the growing number of retirees from Florida arriving in the state are an almost silent economic force, one that will gain in strength over the next decade and become an important part of the state's economy, experts say.
"We don't think about retirees as being an industry, but they are," says Michael Thurmond, Georgia's labor commissioner. "And they are a growing political force. Retirees from Florida are selling their homes and moving to Valdosta, and it is becoming a retirement haven. They bring wealth with them, and there is a really hot real estate market in the Valdosta-Lowndes County area right now."
Other metro areas in Georgia, particularly in the southern third of the state, are quietly benefiting from the senior exodus from Florida, according to students of such demographic phenomena. "Retirees tend to settle in areas that have a good health care industry," says UGA's Humphreys. "I think Albany is a regional center for health care and that weighs strongly in its favor. In terms of jobs, I think the best and brightest developments in Albany and Thomasville are going to be attributed to the spillover growth effect from Florida. The economic effect of retirees is there and it is felt, but it happens gradually. It's not like a big plant opening up and you're hiring 600 people. It's off the radar screen." Retirees fuel jobs in health care, retail sales and real estate, Humphreys says.
The aging population's link to jobs creation in health care is particularly powerful. Seven of Georgia's projected top 10 fastest growing occupation sectors over the next six years are in the health care field. Medical assistants (Georgia average hourly wage, $12), medical records and health information technicians ($13.37), home health aides ($8-$10) and respiratory therapists ($19.40), are among the workers that will be in the most demand, according to data supplied by the Georgia Department of Labor (DOL).
In recent years, as health care industries and their allies scrambled to supply the demand, distress signals were going out. " … by 2010, our state will need over 140,000 new and replacement health care workers ? nearly 30,000 new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2010. Considering that the state presently has some 90,000 registered nurses, the challenge is daunting. Similar statistics exist for other critical programs [in health care]," health experts write in a 2003 report issued by the Georgia Department of Community Health. The report states that even with increased graduation rates among students in health care studies, " … the demand will continue to outstrip the supply."
The plentiful job openings in health care are not just limited to the next several years. "I think health and allied services will clearly be one of the hot spots well into the middle of the 21st Century," says the DOL's Thurmond. "The biggest beneficiaries of this health care job boom will be the health care centers in metro areas with major hospitals. But I think there will also be activity in smaller hospitals because of the retirees and the aging population. And too, there just seems to always be a shortage in health care."
According to figures supplied by Thurmond's office, employment growth in health care will double, and in some categories even triple the state's projected 1.8 percent annual increase in new jobs among all occupations over the next seven years.
The Columbus Boom
For most of the next decade, the Columbus area is going to be the hottest growth spot in Georgia, both in population and new jobs. " … [the growth will be] like adding a city the size of LaGrange," says an October report on the population explosion expected from the expansion of the mission of the Army's Fort Benning. The report from Fort Benning Futures Partnership says the coming demands on educational facilities and the additional student load "is like adding the University of Georgia … " to the community.
"I think Columbus is going to see the fastest-paced growth in the state because of the 'R' in BRAC [Base Realignment and Closure]," Humphreys says. He is referring to Fort Benning and the Pentagon's decisions not only to keep the base open, but to expand its mission as well.
"The number of military employees, contractors and civilian employees will grow by 10,000 over the next four years," Humphreys says. "And in addition to that there is going to be another 15,000 spouses and children. So you get multiplier effects on their direct spending. This will mean literally thousands of additional jobs in the off-base economy as all of these people spend their money in the Columbus area."
Humphreys says a construction boom further brightens the jobs picture in Columbus. According to the Fort Benning Futures report, new construction on- and off-base will total $3.2 billion over the next four years, attracting 3,000 contractors and spreading jobs and wealth throughout the area. New jobs in education, health care and the construction trades will spring up in all of the nine counties around Columbus, the report predicts.
"You are seeing a major restoration and replacement of the existing stock of on-base housing," Humphreys says. "That is really benefiting the construction sector, which will become important as mortgage rates go back up. And, too, the troop rotation in Columbus is going to be seven years instead of two years and that makes it much more likely that military personnel are going to buy a house or otherwise invest in the community."
Longer stays on base will also create stronger emotional ties to Columbus among service personnel, which could prove a key factor in the local economy, Humphreys says. "That potentially gives more support than has been true in the past for retiree-based development," he says, all of which contributes to jobs creation.
Georgia's hospitality industry has shown an ability to weather the many storms that buffeted the state's economy following the 2001 recession, recording marked improvements from 2003-04. During that period, the state's hotel revenues rose to $2.5 billion, an increase of more that 9 percent. At the same time every travel region in the state showed gains of at least 6 percent in tourism revenues, according to a 2005 report from the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
Port Prosperity
One sector of the state's economy that seems immune to downswings is the revenue generated by Georgia's ports. The ports of Savannah and Brunswick continue to set new records for growth in every year thus far of the 21st century.
According to a 2005 report from the International Trade Association (ITA), a part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, 15 percent of all the state's manufacturing jobs depend on exports. More significant, according to the ITA study, is the fact that 83 percent of the 9,320 companies exporting from Georgia locations were of small or medium size, with fewer than 500 employees.
"If I had to pick a second place finisher [for economic and jobs growth] it would be Brunswick," says UGA's Humphreys. "We have the port doing very well, but Brunswick is not running on just one cylinder. It not only has retiree-based development and that growing port, but it also has a very successful tourism industry. Savannah is third with that robust port, one of the five fastest growing in the world and a rapidly growing logistics and transportation sector and a lot of activity in retiree-based development, second homes and tourism."
The Savannah and Brunswick ports have become centers of multi-modal transportation and the cargo and vehicles coming off the ships have spread jobs throughout the trucking industry.


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Q: SQLException when executing a callablestatement I am trying to call a Procedure from a package from my java application but receive an error. The code is set up like so...
------Java-----
Connection = conn;
String call_code="{? = call MY_PROCEDURE.Process_vale(?,?,?)}";
CallableStatement Process_cs=conn.prepareCall(call_code);

String bValue= "12345";
Process_cs.setString(1, bValue);
Process_cs.registerOutParameter(2, Types.INTEGER);
Process_cs.registerOutParameter(3, Types.VARCHAR);
Process_cs.execute();

The Procedure is setup like:
PROCEDURE Process_value (bValue VARCHAR2, PN_CD OUT NUMBER, PN_MSG OUT VARCHAR2).....

The Error I see is:
java.sql.SQLException: Missing IN or OUT parameter at index:: 4
I am curious as to why it mentions an index of 4, when the Procedure only has 3 parameters, I believe I am missing a critical fact here.

A: You have done some serious mistakes here. First Since you are calling a procedure you wont get any return value, only functions can have return values. So you have to call the procedure as follows.
String call_code="{call MY_PROCEDURE.Process_vale(?,?,?)}";

You could be successfully execute this if your procedure first parameter is IN type and other two parameters are OUT type.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Across the decades, trends in appearance have come and gone but full, long lashes have always been considered desirable. The options available to achieve long, luscious lashes have grown over the years. Cosmetic enhancements including mascara, stick-on false lashes, eyelash tinting and individual eyelash extensions provide a wealth of options within the beauty industry. As the aesthetic specialty grows, however, individuals are realising that they now have options to enhance their own lashes, rather than relying on artificial methods. With the option to avoid clumpy mascara or to have temporary stick-on options reapplied, I have seen the demand for eyelash enhancers to increase the length and thickness of the lashes grow. As they are becoming more widely available, they are also becoming more affordable and aesthetic practitioners may now find patients are requesting them from clinic. This article aims to equip practitioners with the knowledge of what agents work, the clinical evidence behind these products, as well as how to use them safely in your practice.
The periorbital area plays an important role in a person's overall appearance. When communicating with others, eye contact is a large part of our interaction; and hence the periorbital area is often the most noticed and scrutinised area. The eyelashes have an important role in framing and enhancing the appearance of the eyes and, in many cultures, are considered to enhance attractiveness.1,2,3 It is therefore no surprise that the eyelashes play an important role in our overall aesthetic appearance.
In 2008, Allergan then launched Latisse, a 0.03% bimatoprost ophthalmic solution, licensed in the US for the treatment of inadequate lashes. Allergan was already the manufacturer of Lumigan, which is the same bimatoprost solution approved for use as an eye drop for the treatment of ocular hypertension and glaucoma.6 Lumigan and Latisse solutions are composed of the same formulation (bimatoprost); the difference being that Latisse is supplied with specifically designed applicator wands. However, this particular product isn't licensed or available in the European market.
Other cosmetic eyelash serums are available on the market and may contain a range of non-pharmacologically active ingredients such as peptides, vitamins and conditioners. Whilst these may have a conditioning effect on your lashes, the data supporting their effect on eyelash growth is lacking.
There have been numerous studies citing the effect of prostaglandin analogues on eyelash growth. The pivotal phase 3 trial that led to the FDA approval of Latisse was carried out as a multicentre randomised controlled trial.9 Many of the UK suppliers of bimatoprost 0.03% solution also quote the results from this trial when discussing efficacy claims for their product.
Considering these potential adverse effects, eyelash serums containing prostaglandin analogues should prompt a patient consultation to discuss the potential risks and benefits, as well as considering the above factors that may influence your patient selection.
The recent option of prostaglandin analogue-containing eyelash serums offer a pharmacologically active and clinically proven way for patients to enhance their own lashes, unlike mascara or artificial lashes. Like any drug, they should be used with caution and with appropriate counselling of the patient with regards to the risks and benefits. They offer another potential treatment modality to aesthetic clinics which can be a popular, affordable way for patients to further enhance the appearance of the periorbital area.
4. Law SK. Bimatoprost in the treatment of eyelash hypotrichosis. Clin Ophthalmol. 2010;4:349-58. Published 2010 Apr 26.
10. Wester ST, Lee WW, Shi W. Eyelash growth from application of bimatoprost in gel suspension to the base of the eyelashes. Ophthalmology. 2010;117(5):1024-31.
11. Smith S. Eyelash growth in subjects treated with bimatoprost: a multicentre, randomized, double-masked, vehicle-controlled, parallel-group study. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2012 May;66(5):801-6.
12. Zaheri et al. Successful use of bimatoprost in the treatment of alopecia of the eyelashes. Clinical and Experimental Dermatology (2010), 35: e161–e162.
14. Wirta D, Vandenburgh AM, Weng E, Whitcup SM, Kurstjens S, Beddingfield FC. Long-term safety evaluation of bimatoprost ophthalmic solution 0.03%: a pooled analysis of six double-masked, randomized, active-controlled clinical trials. Clin Ophthalmol. 2011;5:759-65.
16. Pillunat LE, Eschstruth P, Häsemeyer S, et al. Preservative-free bimatoprost 0.03% in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension in clinical practice. Clin Ophthalmol. 2016;10:1759-65. Published 2016 Sep 12.


You're going to love the 2010 Toyota Corolla. This 4 door, 5 passenger sedan is still under 75,000 miles! It features a standard transmission, front-wheel drive, and a 1.8 liter 4 cylinder engine. Toyota paid particular attention to efficiency and practicality with the following features: a leather steering wheel, a trip computer, an outside temperature display, front bucket seats, front fog lights, power door mirrors, and more. Safety equipment has been integrated throughout, including: dual front impact airbags, head curtain airbags, traction control, brake assist, anti-whiplash front head restraints, ignition disabling, and ABS brakes. Electronic stability control ensures solid grip atop the road surface, no matter how challenging the driving conditions. It also arrives with a Carfax history report, providing you peace of mind with detailed information. Our aim is to provide our customers with the best prices and service at all times. Stop by our dealership or give us a call for more information.


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Q: How do I convert a string into safe SQL String? I'm generating some sql insert statements from a bunch of text files.
These text files are generally user input data. I would like to sanitize this data so that it's not going to break the insert statement.
For example, some of the input data, people have used the word Don't. The "'" in don't will lead the sql statement to think the string has ended and therefore cause an error.
Is there any .NET method I can call to kind of convert all of these characters to either escape codes or safe characters?

A: There is only a single character you have to escape: ansi 0x27, aka the single quote:
safeString = unsafeString.Replace("'","''");

A: Don't sanitize your strings. Use parameterized queries instead, as they handle all sanitization.
You don't specify which database you are using, so I assume it is MS SQL Server. Microsoft has an article on the official ASP.net website about this. Also see MSDN for SqlCommand.Parameters and the AddWithValue method.


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Timeline gold: How 5 brands are using social data creatively
July 19, 2016 | By Grace Caffyn
In the age of ad blocking, brands are racing to create content that will get users opting in rather than out.
Personalization is a crucial part of this. And brands are mining users' social feeds — be it Twitter, Facebook or Instagram — to create more meaningful, and tailored, campaigns.
"They're prepared to flex their brand to fit with you and your interests; that's how they get around the ad-blocking conundrum," Jed Hallam, head of digital strategy at Mindshare, told Digiday.
By taking user-generated content and spinning it into a branded experience, the aim is to connect on a "macro level," he added.
Here are five brands aiming to do just that.
John Frieda's "Shades of Me"
Earlier this month, haircare brand John Frieda launched a campaign, "Shades of Me," which serves users a personalized video based on their Instagram uploads. The tool scans their photos using a custom-made algorithm to find their most-used color. Then, it assigns the user several words related to that shade (blue is "mysterious," for example).
This is combined with their hair color to create a 15-second video for them.
Create a bespoke film like @millsmackintosh & see what your shades say about you https://t.co/KZoLdtfxYK #shadesofme pic.twitter.com/rDMAqK7UnL
— John Frieda (@JohnFriedaUK) June 20, 2016
Created by the agency Brave, the campaign is running for six weeks. According to John Frieda's digital marketing manager Alex Bradbury, it's part of a wider push within the brand to make all communications personalized.
"Everybody wants something that nobody has; that's the crux of it," shen said. "They want something that's tailored to them, something that gets a layer deeper."
Hallam thinks the campaign is an effective one. However, having to leave the platform and go to a microsite can weaken the customer experience even as it allows the brand more functionality.
Dove's "Speak Beautiful"
Dove delved into users' Twitter timelines for its latest #SpeakBeautiful campaign — another in its long line of body-positive activations.
According to Dove's research, 72 percent of girls receive negative comments weekly, but 80 percent of women's body-shaming tweets are about themselves.
Those who retweeted the brand's message (below) were given a custom report about their own emotional state on the platform. In this report, they could see the percentage of positive vs. negative tweets overall and on the subject of beauty.
Women everywhere are learning about their #SpeakBeautiful Effect. RT this Tweet to get your custom Twitter analysis! pic.twitter.com/CbeiyJGHai
— Dove (@Dove) March 12, 2016
Callum McCahon, a senior strategist at agency Born Social, said the campaign was effective as it is tech-driven without being gimmicky. It's also consistent with the brand's body-positive image.
"The promise of social media was always that you don't have to do a one-size-fits-all campaign like TV," he said. "Incentivizing user-generated content gives people something they want to share, which is the richest tool for engagement."
This is similar to Snapchat's geofilter function, which gives users something functional to create their own content without being overtly branded.
Virgin Atlantic's "One Day"
Virgin Atlantic tapped into users' Twitter archives for its riff on making dream holidays happen (i.e., making "one day" today).
The airline used tweets from users' Twitter feeds to display on its out-of-home billboards. Those who saw their own tweet — where they had pondered flying somewhere exciting — in the 30-second spot could then claim a prize with the brand.
Once claimed, the Twitter user would be contacted with the destination chosen for them and details of their flight.
Roztayger's style advice
The luxury bag retailer is using the artificial intelligence of IBM's Watson to analyze users' social feeds. From this information, Roztayger can match each user with five designers on the site according to their personality type. All the software needs is their gender, a social feed and an (optional) 200-word bio about them.
Leo Burnett's futures director Chris Walts says we'll see more tools like this pop up. For him, they represent a "second wave" of the 2010-era Facebook campaigns which plugged into users' images and profile data like the "Take this Lollipop" video.
"We'll see more personalized campaigns, whether that's 'passive' tweets or product recommendations based on selfies," he said. "What's really exciting is the passive nature of it, as you don't have to plug in too much info."
How to be Single's "My Squad"
Warner Brothers Pictures teamed up with social video-maker EchoMany earlier this year to create a trailer that can be personalized to its viewer.
Users who tweeted the film's handle with the details of their friendship group, or squad, received a video that drew their information into the title sequence, including their name and the Twitter handles of their friends.
@AlexaCz you and your besties have your very own #HowToBeSingle trailer! #MySquad pic.twitter.com/SYlxuVA1wo
— How To Be Single (@HTBSSquad) February 3, 2016
The campaign follows Fox's #BringHimHome campaign for the film "The Martian" last year, which created customized trailers ahead of the film's release.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Monday, April 1 (Noon – 1:00 pm) Disparities and Access to Healthy Food in Nashville. A panel of community leaders and Vanderbilt experts will discuss healthy food in Nashville and the disparities many populations face while trying to provide not only food but healthy food to their families. Lunch will be provided to those who RSVP by March 29, 2019. Location: MPH Classroom #2600, Village at Vanderbilt, 1500 21st Avenue South.
Wednesday, April 3 (Noon – 1:00 pm) Speak Up for Yourself: Self-Advocacy in the Public Health Workplace. This panel of public health practitioners and a trained communicator will discuss how to advocate for resources, protect your time without feeling guilty, and strategies for challenging conversations including negotiation techniques.Lunch will be provided to those who RSVP by March 29, 2019. Location:MPH Classroom #2600, Village at Vanderbilt, 1500 21st Avenue South.
Thursday, April 4 (1:00 pm – 4:00 pm) Open Table Nashville Service Activity. Open Table Nashville is a homeless outreach nonprofit that disrupts cycles of poverty, journeys with the marginalized, and provides education about issues of homeless. Volunteers will participate in a camp cleanup to help pick up trash and other debris.
Friday, April 5 (Noon – 1:00 pm) Gentrification in Nashville: The Challenges of Development, Displacement, and Public Health. Community partners leaders and Vanderbilt University faculty will discuss the public health effects populations are facing due to gentrification in Nashville and what the next steps are to improve the lives of those effected. Lunch will be provided to those who RSVP by March 29 Location: Light Hall #208, 2215 Garland Ave.
Parking:Free visitor parking is available; please click here for more information.


Two new Newfrontiers books on the poor will be released at the TOAM Conference this coming week!
This has been been written by an international Task Team of theologians and practitioners from Newfrontiers churches who worked together for two years to combine an understanding of the theology of the poor with 'good practice' in ministry.
"Those who want to follow the apostollic mandate to 'remember the poor' will find in this book a series of helpful articles and testimonies from people who have been at the forefront of Newfrontiers efforts to demonstrate the love of God with the gospel in one hand and practical care in the other".
"I have written this book from my passion to see ministry with the poor carried out to a high standard. It is a manual of Good Practice with three sections on 1) the Key Characteristics which should be included in a ministry, 2) Planning and 3) a Ministry Health Check. In this last section I have provided all the necessary tools to carry out such a check on your own ministries with the poor.
These two books complement one another and, during the conference, will be available together at a special combined price of £12.00!


The Shepherds Hide is a luxurious shepherds hut for two people, nestled in the trees by the mill pond. It has a very unique and secluded location on our family farm that is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Not far from all the services you may need but you still feel a million miles from anywhere. Watch the ducks and birdlife and walk this part of the Essex coast all from the Hide. Reconnect with nature and yourselves at this special place.
The Shepherds Hide is perfect for short breaks, romantic getaways, a rural retreat or for longer self-catering holidays in the countryside with excellent bird watching and walking on site and a range of tourist attractions nearby.
Our shepherds hut for two adults is located on our family farm where a warm welcome awaits you. Hidden away in a wooded area adjacent to the mill pond in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Surround yourself in nature, forget the outside world and relax and enjoy this hidden gem. We can offer you a really unique setting and the best glamping experience.
Our farm, known as Mill Farm, is about 55 acres of a mixture of arable, grassland, salt marsh, tidal creeks, inland waters and is the home of the only fully restored tide mill in Essex. Here you will find so much wildlife and birdlife to watch and listen to as you relax at the Hide. You'll feel more like you have come to a nature reserve than a farm and it's yours to enjoy in private.
All linens are included. You will be welcomed with a breakfast basket full of local and seasonal goodies.
Walk from the Shepherds Hide to Wivenhoe and enjoy a tasty lunch at The Black Buoy Public House.


With a population of over 13,000, Brainerd, MN, is one of the largest cities in the Central Minnesota region. Allied Van Lines has dedicated agents who serve the Brainerd area. Since they work with trusted local movers who are used to working in harsh temperatures, you can relax while they do all the hard work. Our licensed and bonded agents are accredited by the BBB, and they're dedicated to treating all their customers with the traditional Minnesota friendliness.
Whether you're moving as a family or business, our local agents will do everything possible to ensure a straightforward relocation. A variety of customizable services are available, including dedicated packing services, furniture disassembly, vehicle transportation, temporary facilities for personal storage and a lot of freedom over how hands-on you want to be in personally handling your belongings. Are you planning a cross-country or international relocation? We can handle long-distance moves as well. Contact one of our agents today to arrange for an estimate.
The thought of relocating everything you own to your new home in Brainerd can sound like a tall order, and choosing among moving companies for quality service is crucial. The right moving company can ease your stress as you relocate to Brainerd. Allied Van Lines is a Brainerd moving company that will bring competence and experience to your relocation.
Our Brainerd agents at Allied Van Lines understand the many challenges associated with relocation, and as we arrange for skilled movers, you can choose from a list of moving services that can be tailored to suit you perfectly. We know that each relocation is unique, and we are ready to do what is needed to help you complete the major task of relocating your items to your new Minnesota home. Call us today to request a customized quote from Allied Van Lines and to get information about our services and availability.
Brainerd is among the more populous towns in central Minnesota, with approximately 14,000 residents. It is the seat of Crow Wing County, and it is both a tourist destination and a commercial hub for residents in the region. Sitting along the Mississippi River not far from the Crow Wing River, the area has stunning natural beauty as well as a friendly vibe that you may love.
Brainerd was founded in 1870 as a logging and fur community, and the economy has become significantly more diverse over the years. The town is home to Brainerd International Raceway, which hosts a large event each August. Popular tourist areas are also commonly enjoyed by local residents, and some of these include the Paul Bunyan State Trail, the Northland Arboretum and the Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area. As a regional center for the heart of the state, Brainerd also is home to fabulous retail centers, great restaurants, medical facilities and more.
Making the right choice among Brainerd moving companies can seem confusing until you take a closer look at what Allied Van Lines has to offer. There is more involved with moving than just loading up a truck, and we offer all of the services you need to make your relocation easier. Before the big day arrives, we can provide packing supplies and skilled assistance in packing your things safely into boxes. Our services include transportation for everything from your furniture to your cars or even a boat, and we can further assist you with our short-term storage options. There are other Brainerd moving companies to work with, but we are the one that covers all the bases for you. Call Allied Van Lines as your Brainerd moving company today to make arrangements with our friendly, skilled agents.


This Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA) ROF Qualification (500/9758/1) is a new course that came to replace the old A1\2 and D32\33 assessor qualification.
Upon successfully completing this course, this qualification will provide sufficient evidence that you have gained the skills and knowledge to assess within vocational and training abilities using a range of assessment methods.
No previous experience or qualifications are required to enrol on this course; it is available to all students who are least 19 years of age.
During this course, you will be required to secure a placement in a relevant environment; the team at West London College can advise more on this.
For the second and third assignments, you will need to secure your placement or position which will allow you to have access to the assessment to nationally regulated qualifications (for example: NVQ units, RQF Qualifications, etc.) for one visit per unit.
Unit 1 will be assessed through a variety of assignments.
Unit 3 will be assessed through you producing work products and audio visual evidence after you assess learners in a classroom or training environment.
On completion of this course you will receive the VTCT Level 3 (RQF) Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement qualification. This qualification is listed on the RQF (Qualification Number: 500/9758/1). This course has also been assigned 15 credits.
VTCT, Vocational Training Charitable Trust, is a Government-approved awarding organisation which has awarded world class qualifications since 1962 and has been at the forefront of developing the vocational system of qualifications in the United Kingdom ever since. Our full qualification package includes Hairdressing & Barbering, Beauty Therapy, Complementary Therapy, Sport & Active Leisure, Hospitality & Catering, Business & Retail and Learning & Development.
As this qualification is a distance learning course, you will study from home, allowing you to fit your studies around your family life around a full-time job. You can make the most out of the interactive materials we provide with open access to West London College tutors through email, phone and the online portal.
As you are studying from home, the amount of time you dedicate to your studies is entirely up to you so you must be able to allocate an appropriate schedule to your study time.


Whether you want lower fees or more convenient locations, you probably have more than one reason for switching banks. It's a big decision, but it doesn't have to be difficult. At Plains Commerce Bank, we make it simple to open an account—and we'll help you every step of the way.
Step 1: Open and fund your account.
Once you're ready to switch accounts, transfer your funds in stages. Keep enough money in the old account to avoid a minimum balance fee and cover automatic payments that haven't yet processed.
Step 2: Set up your direct deposits and automatic payments.
Make sure to update information for important deposits like your paycheck. Once you've set the date for your new account's first direct deposit, reschedule future bill payments through your new account. Have your old debit card saved as your preferred method of payment for online purchases? Don't forget to update this to your new account as well.
Step 3: Close your old account.
Our bankers will help you close your old account and finalize the process. Make sure everything has been transferred from your old account to the new. Consider getting a written statement from your old bank to confirm the account has been closed.
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Great news! We do not charge any fees to transfer your account to Plains Commerce.
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Plains Commerce has multiple locations throughout North and South Dakota. Check out a map of our locations to find your nearest bank.
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To update Automated Clearing House (ACH), you would need to sign a new ACH agreement for all and any changes each time you have a change.
If updating payment information for something like a utility bill, loan payment, cable, etc., this is typically done through that particular merchant so a visit or phone call to that party would be necessary.
Do you have to have a checking account and a savings account, or can I just have one or the other?
You can choose whichever you prefer. While having both checking and savings is an added convenience, it is not a requirement. Some exceptions apply, contact a banker for full details.
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You'll receive a free starter box of checks when you open any type of checking account.
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We do not pull credit when applying for a checking or savings account. We do use a system which will show us if other banks have reported account abuse, write-offs, or other pertinent information.
When is a good time to switch banks?
No matter what barriers are holding you back, if your current account isn't living up to your needs, it's time to switch. And whenever you're ready, we can help!
We're always here to help. If you have questions about opening your account, call us at 1-877-227-7548 or contact us.


TFT had interesting rules for sustaining spells. The wizard had to concentrate on sustaining the spell and to spend a specified number ST points (which were strength, HP, and mana all in one) per sustaining round. I think being hit for damage broke concentration.
But the wizard could also PRETEND to be sustaining a spell…which could for instance make his opponent think an "image" (which costs 0 ST to sustain) was a much more dangerous "illusion" (which costs ST to sustain, and which the opponent might waste effort trying to disbelieve or fight) or a real summoned creature (which costs more ST). Or pretending might make the opponent think the wizard was casting a defensive spell like Stone Flesh or Reverse Missiles, and that deception would hold off arrow fire. So the decision to sustain a spell was a tactical gamble for all players.
In a D&D-like system one might consider requiring a save or attribute check every round or turn a spell is sustained.
Perhaps some sort of concentration check during stressful situations might be good. I don't think I'd like to do something like rolling every turn, as that would be a lot of rolls. My first attempt at this will probably just be "sustained until another spell is cast" for simplicity. My only concern here is that at very low levels it might feel strange, when magic-users only have one spell slot.


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Highlights from Federalist Society's 2015 National Lawyers Convention
by Stephen Klein | Nov 16, 2015 | Political Speech | 0 comments
Mid-November is always a special time for liberty-loving lawyers, as the Federalist Society hosts its annual National Lawyers Convention here in Washington, D.C. The convention offers many insightful panel discussions on a variety of legal and political topics. I was honored to join a panel on anonymous speech with Andrew Grossman from the law firm Baker Hostetler, Paul S. Ryan from the Campaign Legal Center, and Hans von Spakovsky from the Heritage Foundation. We debated anonymous speech in the context of political contributions and sources for news reporters. I argued in favor of strong protection for confidential news sources, and then joined the discussion for political contributions.
Watch the panel here:
The Free Speech panel was not the only one that ties in with our work here at Pillar. The Criminal Law group discussed the criminalization of politics, with help from former prosecutors and, notably, Prof. Eugene Volokh of UCLA and founder of the Volokh Conspiracy blog:
Finally, I thought the most impressive showcase panel of the convention was the final one, which included Prof. Rick Pildes from New York University School of Law and former Rep. Howard Berman from California:
In an interesting parallel, one of my arguments on the anonymous speech panel for journalistic privilege was that FOIA and other document-based government transparency laws are losing some effectiveness because some government agencies are just not producing as many documents subject to FOIA. So, to get inside information journalists will have to cultivate sources, and anonymous ones can speak far more frankly. At various times throughout the final showcase, panelists commented that there should be more secrecy within government—that is, within the legislative process. Again, I believe this supports the notion that citizens should be able to cultivate government sources with the full protection of a free press, subject only to subpoenas when compelling interests come into play (such as national security) and there is no other plausible way government can identify the "leak."
The Lawyers Convention is always a marathon of Madisonian excellence. I look forward to next year!


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Composed by David Bowman and Paul Terry. Book with CD. Edition Schott. Softcover. 52 pages. Schott Music #ED13534. Published by Schott Music (HL.49043965).
Practice Tests for the London AS and A2 Music Listening Papers based on The Essential Hyperion 2. Composed by David Bowman and Paul Terry. Sheet music. Edition Schott. Instruction, Collection, Classical. 96 pages. Schott Music #ED12730. Published by Schott Music (HL.49014935).
Composed by Various. All That Jazz. Jazz. Student book. With Lead Sheet notation. 63 pages. Carl Fischer #ATJ0303. Published by Carl Fischer (CF.ATJ303).
A Student's Guide to Aural Perception at Advanced Level. Composed by David Bowman and Paul Terry. This edition: Paperback/Soft Cover. Book with CD. Schott. Edition with 2 CDs. 180 pages. Schott Music #ED12430. Published by Schott Music (SD.49003188).
For Three C Trumpets and Piano. Composed by Eric Ewazen. Premiered at the ITG Festival, Bangkok, Thailand, at the inaugural concert of the Thailand Philharmonic; Shuichi Komiyama, conductor; Jens Lindemann, Paul Merkelo, and Joseph Bowman, trumpet. Contemporary. Soli parts with piano reduction. With Standard notation. Composed 2005. 20+8+8+8 pages. Duration 10 minutes. Theodore Presser Company #114-41531. Published by Theodore Presser Company (PR.114415310).
Selected papers from the Fourth International Symposium on Assessment in Music Education. Composed by Timothy S. Brophy. Edited by Hsiao-Fen Chen. Music Education. Music Education. 448 pages. GIA Publications #8826. Published by GIA Publications (GI.G-8826).
Recorded live. By North Texas Wind Symphony. Release date: 2016. Mark Records. Listening CD. Published by Mark Custom Music (MK.52027-MCD).
Advanced Tests in Aural Perception. Composed by David Bowman and Paul Terry. This edition: Saddle stitching. Book with CD. Edition Schott. Edition with CD. 64 pages. Schott Music #ED13534. Published by Schott Music (SD.49043965).
21 Works for Treble Recorder with Piano. Composed by Various. Edited by Peter Bowman and Gudrun Heyens. This edition: Saddle stitching. Sheet music with CD. Edition Schott. Classical. Edition with CD. 96 pages. Schott Music #ED13324. Published by Schott Music (SD.49018399).
A Supplement to Fun & Games with the Recorder. Composed by Various. Edited by Peter Bowman. Arranged by Peter Bowman. This edition: Saddle stitching. Sheet music. Classical. 56 pages. Schott Music #ED12911. Published by Schott Music (SD.49016690).
Practice Tests for the London AS and A2 Music Listening Papers based on The Essential Hyperion 2. Composed by David Bowman and Paul Terry. This edition: Paperback/Soft Cover. Sheet music. Edition Schott. Instruction, Collection, Classical. 96 pages. Schott Music #ED12730. Published by Schott Music (SD.49014935).
A Student's Guide to Aural Perception at Advanced Level. Composed by David Bowman and Paul Terry. Recording mediums. Schott. 2 CDs. Schott Music #ED12430-50. Published by Schott Music (SD.49030376).
Composed by David Bowman, Paul Terry. Book Only. Beriato Music #MUSRHG333. Published by Beriato Music (BT.MUSRHG333).
Composed by Paul Terry, David Bowman. Book Only. Composed 2009. Beriato Music #MUSRHG304. Published by Beriato Music (BT.MUSRHG304).
3rd Edition. Composed by Paul Terry, David Bowman. Book Only. Composed 2009. Beriato Music #MUSRHG305. Published by Beriato Music (BT.MUSRHG305).
Composed by David Bowman. Theory. Book Only. Composed 2009. 826 pages. Beriato Music #RHG500. Published by Beriato Music (BT.RHG500).


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Q: Download the output of a command line program using PuTTy/WinSCP I have ssh-access to a linux server. My account is running out of free space and I am forced to remove some data from the server. I would love to download my mysql database (and delete if afterwards) but because I have no more space I can not dump my database using mysqldump to my ~.
Is it possible to download the stdout of a remote linux system using PuTTY/WinSCP on my windows 7 machine? So I could directly download the output of mysqldump without saving to the harddisk of the remote system? Or is there any other way?

A: The full PuTTY package has plink, although I'm not sure how well it works with password prompts:
plink -C user@host "mysqldump -uroot -p db1" > C:\Backup\db1.sql

plink user@host "mysqldump -uroot -p db1 | gzip" > C:\Backup\db1.sql.gz


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The Congress will be held at the National Convention Centre Canberra, the Welcome Function in the majestic ANZAC Hall at the Australian War Memorial and the Congress Dinner in the Great Hall of Parliament House – all wonderful Canberra venues.
The National Convention Centre (NCC) is the main Congress venue. The NCC will host all Congress sessions, as well as the trade hall and vendor demonstrations. The NCC is located at 31 Constitution Avenue, in the heart of Canberra's CBD. The Centre is conveniently located 7 km from the airport, a short 2 minute walk from a range of accommodation options, 3 minute walk to the city centre, and with easy access to the very best Canberra attractions. There is a public pay parking area across the road from the Centre. Current rates are $12 for the full day (weekdays) and free on weekends. In addition, there is undercover pay parking for 260 cars under the Convention Centre – accessed from Constitution Avenue. Rates are $18 per full weekday til 5pm or $3 on weekends – pay by card on exit. There is a lift from the top level of the car Park to both levels of the Centre.
Recognising the importance of food and wine to every event, the Centre presents fresh and innovative menus that combine irresistible flavours and exquisite presentation. The team works closely with clients to create tailored menus, partnering with local and regional partners to provide a true Canberra experience.
ANZAC Hall at the Australian War Memorial is the venue for the Welcome Cocktail Party.
The Hall holds some of the Memorial's most significant large objects, including the Avro Lancaster Mk I Bomber 'G for George' 460 Squadron, RAAF and the famous midget submarine, assembled from sections of two of the three submarines that raided Sydney in 1942.
The Great Hall of Parliament House is the venue for the Congress Dinner and what a spectacular and unique venue this is. As you come into the building you will experience a journey symbolic of Australia's history. The Forecourt, with its featured mosaic dot painting, recognises the long history of Aboriginal culture in Australia.
Pre dinner cocktails will be served in the main Foyer with its wonderful use of marble and timber to provide a link to the arrival of Europeans to Australia. Dinner will be in the Great Hall with its rich Australian timbers and the Great Hall Tapestry which makes reference to the settlement and cultivation of the land.


Did you install a lot of carriage hardware to your garage door? This can have a quaint, authentic appeal for some, giving the door an antique feel. But as time wears on, that carriage hardware can get a rusty rundown look that can sometimes make the garage door look trashy. Or perhaps you're just tired of the hardware and would like a simpler door.
Fortunately, removing the hardware isn't very difficult, but you are left with gaping holes where the screws and nails used to be. Don't worry! These holes are fairly easy to fill in so that you never even knew they were there.
First, buy a product designed to cover up holes. Everbilt Screw Covers from Home Depot or Elmer's Ultimate Nail Hole Filler work pretty well.
Make sure you have matching paint. Hopefully, you've kept an extra can lying around from the last time you painted your garage, or you know the exact shade you need. If not, you might want to consider a brand-new paint for your garage door so that everything matches.
Take off the hardware you are looking to remove. You'll want to trim the holes down with the tip of a drill. This will remove any excess fiber so you have a smoother feel to the surface. This will help the screw head covers provide a flatter surface against the door.
Paint the screw covers with the paint, or use the nail hole filler and repaint that area of the door. Apply a decent amount of heavy sticking epoxy to the screw covers, so they are secured tight against the door. Shove them in the holes. Paint across the new area to provide a natural blend.
Take a look at the newly repaired garage door. Does it look natural? If done well, there should be no sign the original carriage hardware was even there. Your garage door should look as good as new!
Like most other household items, the cost of a new garage door can vary by a number of factors — quality, type of material, size, and the amount of insulation. Let's assume you need an average size door of 16×7. An aluminum garage door typically costs between $1,500 and $2,000, depending on insulation. Steel garage doors can range anywhere from $750 to $3,500, depending on thickness, insulation, and weight. Wooden garage doors tend to be the most expensive, anywhere fro $1,200 to $4,000. You can get the same natural appeal for cheaper with a composite wooden door, which is around $1,200 to $2,200, on average.


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123 Jets acts as an agent for private air charter services on behalf of our clients. 123 Jets does not own or operate any aircraft nor is 123 Jets a direct or indirect air carrier. All charter flights booked with 123 Jets will be operated by FAR Part 135 air carriers "Operators" or the international equivalent, who will maintain full operational control of charter flights at all times.


Unfortunately, National Lottery has now closed and therefore not accepting any more players. Follow the link for alternatives to National Lottery.
National Lottery operator Camelot have today announced plans to give the Lotto game an overhaul. From the autumn there will be changes to the prizes on offer but the price of playing the game will double from £1 to £2. That could put off people playing, but Camelot are hoping the cash prize changes will soften the price increase.
The prize on offer for 3 balls will increase from £10 to £25 guaranteed, whilst the 4 ball prize will go up from £60 to £100. If you match 5 numbers then there's bad news for you as the cash prize drops from £1000 down to £500. There's also a drop for players who get 5 numbers plus the bonus - their winnings will be £50,000 down from £100,000.
It's expected that the price rise will also see the jackpots increase to an average of £5million for the Saturday game and £2.5million for the mid-week one. A lotto raffle game will also be added to proceedings and this is expected to generate 50 x £20,000 winners on each game.
According to Camelot the revamp is because their studies suggest players want more ways to win more money. However, the odds of winning the lottery aren't changing and the only new way to win more is through the raffle. That's obviously a nice 'extra' but is it worth the extra £1 a week.
The price change could be good news for bookmakers and bingo sites as they can surely capitalise on these changes in a positive way. A couple of pound is quite expensive per lotto game and it could be used to buy cards on big jackpot bingo games or simply just to bet on lotto number results. We expect to see some serious advertising campaigns and promotions from lotto competitors when the new price changes come into effect later this year.
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Are Lucky Bingo Names Just Pants?


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Community defines Woods Hole film fest
By Olivia W. Burnsoburns@capecodonline.com
One day in July 1991, a small group gathered in Woods Hole to watch five short films.
The whole affair didn't take longer than an hour.
"We were thinking, 'Hey, if they can have Sundance, then we can have Woods Hole,'" says festival co-founder Judy Laster, who says she and co-founder Kate Davis created the festival, in part, to show their own work.
Twenty-six years later, Woods Hole Film Festival – held each year from the last Saturday of July through the first Saturday of August – has grown: The festival will screen 46 full-length features and 117 short films during its eight-day run, with many filmmakers and filmgoers' returning to the small coastal village of Falmouth. There will also be parties featuring local musicians, and panel discussions on topics that include independent film and "science and storytelling" from the science-centric village.
It's the festival's sense of community and connection to place that sets it apart from others, Laster says.
"We really do try to connect what we do with where we are, and we're proud of how closely we work with the Woods Hole community," says Laster.
The festival's screenings take place in spots across town, from the old Woods Hole Fire Station to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Many of the films are local to Boston, Cape Cod and the Islands – even Woods Hole itself. The town's drawbridge, for example, lies at the heart of Marnie Crawford Samuelson and Shane Hofeldt's documentary short "Keeper," which will screen on Saturday.
"The film is really about place, and this place in particular, and the people who love this place. Showing the film to a Woods Hole audience is intriguing and meaningful," says Crawford Samuelson. "Keeper" explores how the drawbridge pauses movement in Woods Hole each half hour, tempering the fast pace of busy, modern life.
The local theme continues with Martha's Vineyard resident Liz Witham's film "Keepers of the Light," a documentary film about the island's Gay Head Lighthouse and the people who have kept its lights on. Falmouth resident Betty Hindley, who Witham believes may be the last person alive to live at the lighthouse, will be at Saturday's screening of the film and the Q&A to follow.
Forensic psychologist, creative writer and filmmaker Maryanne Galvin explores the innovative ways three young Boston professionals commute to work in "How We Roll: The Last Milers," a documentary short that will screen before the full-length documentary film "Return to Mount Kennedy" on Thursday.
In 1965, Jim Whittaker led former U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy on a trip up the then-unexplored mountain named after his late brother, President John F. Kennedy, who has been assassinated two years before. "Return to Mount Kennedy" brings Bobby Kennedy's son Christopher and Whittaker's two sons back to the mountain to retrace their fathers' steps. The film also brought filmmaker Eric Becker to Hyannisport to film at the Kennedy compound, and into Whittaker's archives for never-before-seen 8mm footage of the trip.
"I became addicted to finding these archival gems. Even today, they're still coming out for the first time … little pieces of the climb are being told to us," says Becker.
The film festival – the oldest on the Cape and Islands – received nearly 1,000 submissions this year, and will host world premieres of five feature-length movies and 28 shorts. Almost everything has changed since the beginning 26 years ago, Laster says, especially the means and the methods of consuming media, says Laster.
But not everything. "Ultimately, the festival is about people gathering to watch films on a screen," she says. "It's a shared experience, and that's one thing that hasn't changed."


Topic Whiz allows you to post a topic to everyone for people to post their views and opinions. You simply create an account with your email and custom password to post a topic or useful comment on someone else's. Have a blast!
This application is the final example application in a React Native tutorial course developed and created by its author David Katz. This applications teaches authentication through Firebase.


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Mitsubishi's Product Plan: Kill Galant, Endeavor, Eclipse; Develop Pickup with Nissan
Andrew Petersonwriter
After watching its sales steadily decline for years, Mitsubishi saw a glimmer of hope in 2010 as it eked out a meager three-percent sales increase. Encouraging, but president Osamu Masuko knows the company direly needs new products -- and a new product plan, unveiled this morning, prescribes exactly that.
The first step apparently involves killing the present crop of U.S.-built Mitsubishi models, including the Galant sedan, Eclipse coupe and spyder, and Endeavor SUV. Each of these three models are presently manufactured within Mitsubishi's plant in Normal, Illinois, but will apparently fade into history by 2014, at the very latest.
The Normal plant won't, however, be abandoned, as the company does plan on building a new model within the U.S. An inside source tells us the new model will likely be based upon Mitsubishi's GM platform, which underpins the likes of the Lancer, Outlander, and Outlander Sport models. We haven't heard the details on what the U.S.-built vehicle would be, but our source wagers the vehicle will likely be a SUV-like model.
Despite cutting the four models from its local U.S. lineup and not replacing them immediately, Masuko predicts that Mitsubishi's sales will continue to increase as production ramps up. Importing more vehicles from Japan and other manufacturing centers should fill the void until the plant begins rolling out cars.
"Our sales in North America will increase," Masuko said when he revealed the business plan. "We'll still be selling cars brought in from Japan, and we'll be adding the Global Small Car as well."
We've yet to see the Global Small car in its production form, but a thinly disguised concept will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Small cars, like the B-segment GSC, will play a large role in Mitsuibishi's future product plans, and the automaker plans on forging relationships with both Nissan and PSA Peugeot Citroen to expand development of such vehicles.
Predictably, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles will also play an increased role in Mitsubishi's future. The automaker says it plans on launching no less than eight PHEV or EV models by 2015, and had previously noted it aimed to engineer each new model with the capacity for such a variation. The egg-shaped I finally makes its U.S. debut later this year, but a plug-in hybrid crossover -- modeled after the PX-MiEV concept -- and another PHEV are due to launch in 2012. 2013 will see the introduction of another EV and PHEV, while two plug-ins and an additional electric model are slated for the 2014-2015 timeframe.
Despite the emphasis on small cars and electric vehicles, Mitsubishi's product plan does take one curious turn: apparently, the automaker is quite interested in developing a new, 1-ton pickup with Nissan. The release says nothing more about the proposed truck other than the company will "deliberate on 1-ton pickup development/production corporation with Nissan," and that if built, it would be in a Thai factory. Even if the proposed truck does come to fruition, there's virtually zero chance that it would be imported to America, especially considering the Chicken Tax on imported trucks.
Despite the market collapse of 2008 and a rather sluggish economy, Mitsubishi notes it actually managed to achieve most of the goals it set in its previous business plans. Masuko has no plans on backing his company away from the U.S. market, and seems determined that this new agenda will allow the automaker to succeed. Only time will tell.
Source: Mitsubishi
Rest in Pieces – Cars that Bit the Dust in 2011
Christian Seabaugh| Dec 29, 2011
Mitsubishi Mirage Slated for Canada, Should it Come to the U.S.?
Karla Sanchez| Apr 30, 2012
2011-2012 New SUVs, Trucks, and Minivans: The Ultimate Guide, Part 3
The Editors Of Motor Trend| Sep 29, 2010


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The Facelift of Global Security and Non-State Actors
Article co-authored with Svetlana Izosimova, Master's student of International and European Relations at Linkoping University, Sweden.
Since the two World Wars and the end of Cold War, the concept of international security has become more complex and wide. Back then, international security was largely focusing on such fields as national-state security policy, strategic studies, defense studies, military studies, war studies, etc. The era of globalization created a context for the transformation of the international security studies arrangements. Today this field includes an increasing number of studies on economic security, human security, environmental, resource security and HIV/AIDS as a security issue.
Globalization and International Security Studies
The notion of the state as the primary unit of interest has similarly changed. Globalization may exert influence upon global security through different means: producing economic changes, technological development (particularly involving communications and transportation) and border reduction (reflected in trade flows in goods, cross-border travel). Reaction to globalization may lead to a reassessment of key security threats and bringing in new actors.
More specifically, economic disparity and inequality cultivates social polarization and ends in protests and social unrest, international terrorism and civil wars. Cheap and fast access to advances in computers, communications and software leads to cybercrime and diffusion of power. The elimination of geographical borders, once heavily guarded, moved such dangers as organized crime and the possibility of weapon proliferation to the new level.
Source: [email protected]
Globalization transforms patterns for interdependence and cooperation by changing the environment under which nation-states operate. The key point is that globalization reduces the ability of states to unilaterally protect themselves in terms of responding to specific security threats which result from greater openness. The need for states to cooperate in managing the threats increases.
Change in the quality of threats
Traditional state-centric views of military security are challenged by globalization responsible threats. Almost none of these contemporary security threats are "new." Concerning terrorism, proliferation, and civil war, they have existed as national threats since the 1940s.For example, in the nineteenth century, terrorism was used by anarchists and transnational revolutionaries who killed half of the heads of state. In the twentieth century, World War I was triggered partly by such a terrorist-turned-assassin. It can be argued that with the spread of globalization and interdependence not only has the amount of transnational threats increased but they are of a new quality and type.
The ability to cross national boundaries with little hindrance undermines the security idea established by a system based on sovereign nation-states. All of the mentioned threats, from civil war, terrorism, transnational crime, the proliferation of small arms, to HIV/AIDS are transnational. Using the same technologies and means of transport that have benefited globalization, these transnational security threats in fact do not target states but societies and individuals.
Source: Erwin [email protected]
Another main feature that illustrates the quality change among security threats is the probability. In comparison with interstate war, civil conflicts have not only been on average about five times more frequent but the number of internal conflicts has also been steadily increasing since the end of World War II, while the occurrence of intrastate war has been relatively stable.
In addition, the new security threats are more diverse in terms of their scope and intensity. Intrastate wars can last for decades and might not involve a clear beginning and end point. Many such conflicts start with very low levels of violence, or they might involve long periods of low violence where it may seem that no war is taking place. The recently ended intrastate conflict in Sri Lanka, for example, lasted for over 25 years. Many such wars therefore are very ambiguous in terms of measuring precisely when they start or finish, or how they might shade into acts of terrorism, insurgency, genocide, organized crime, violence, or even interstate war.
Emergence of new actors
Globalization provides international actors with additional tools for enhancing their interests and power. More actors which assume the shape of threats are actively and directly involved in everyday international affairs. That is why extremist and terrorist ideological groups for example achieved the ability to manipulate an audience by cultivating fear on the global scale. Rebel or resistance movements, warlords, criminal organizations, local militias, ethnic groups, and many other forms of armed opposition act on both national and international levels. The preferences and interests of these groups can vary widely from political goals to profit-making.
Nevertheless, non-state actors have not only contributed to the emergence of new security threats such as terrorism and transnational crime but they also play an important role in conflict managing and provision of security. Non-state actors included into patterns of interstate relations can be grouped into the categories of private actors and intergovernmental organizations. The former includes such actors as private companies, charities, local pressure groups, as well as national and international NGOs. The latter refers to multilateral institutions formed by sovereign nation-states.
Source: Massy [email protected]
What makes the mentioned actors "new" in contemporary security is that they are challenging the role of the nation-state. States no longer own the 'monopoly' on the legitimate provision of security. Moreover, some of these actors lay claim to a higher legitimacy than states because they are not operating in the interest of a single nation. With the increased complexity of the international system, the task of providing security became complicated. A system based on national sovereignty can be rather ineffective when it comes to tackle transnational challenges. Thus, non-state actors appear to be more suited for addressing contemporary threats because they can operate across boundaries by building on multilateral cooperation.
To be more precise, sovereignty is not lost but transferred from national to other levels: supranational and regional. States still play the central role in providing security. The changing nature of the global arena requires though a reconsideration of a exclusive state-centric approach in international security. This reconsideration can be observed in the fragmentation of political authority among governmental and nongovernmental actors.
The fragmentation of political authority is characterized particularly by the delegation of security functions from the state to such organizations as NATO and the European Union on the regional level, and on the global level to such actors as the United Nations or to private actors such as NGOs and private security companies. The functions and policy-making arrangements can be spread between all the actors. For instance, in the conflict with former Yugoslavia the United Nations and NATO provided military security, while NGOs dealt with humanitarian aid, and private security companies offered logistical support.
Source: Medien [email protected]
For the last decades non-state actors have proved their significance and expanded their contribution to security policies. NGOs have become key actors in the provision of human security during conflicts. Private military companies increasingly offer military support services for national armed forces. International organizations, such as NATO and the European Union, have extended their functional and geographical scope and address a new range of security threats.
Globalization posed a new challenge to international security studies. During the recent period the meaning and nature of primary national and international security threats have changed. A multitude of threats, such as terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, civil war, HIV/AIDS danger, ethnic conflict together with an increase in the number of non-state entities characterizes the world today. The state as the central focus of security studies found itself in the complex interdependence with various other international actors. While states continue to play a central role at the national level, they have to share authority in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of international policies, rules, and regulations with international organizations, NGOs and multinational corporations at the regional and international levels for the purpose of achieving international security. Moreover, the changing nature of threats and actors is making the concept of security more profound and wide by bringing it from the level of the state to societies and individuals and shifting from military to non-military issues.
Kapitonenko, Mykola. Globalization, Nation-state, and Global Security, Arrangements. Europolis, 2009, Issue 6, p585-603
Krahmann, Elke. New Threats and New Actors in International Security. Gordonsville, VA, USA: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005
Nye, Joseph S. The Future of Power. New York: Public Affairs, 2011
Smith, Michael E. International Security: Politics, Policy, Prospects. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010
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Is there such thing as cyberwar?
Alexandra Goman
Two decades have passed after Arquilla and Ronfeldt in 1993 warned the public about an upcoming. They were also the first to introduce a concept of cyberwar and give an elaborated opinion. They referred to a conduct and preparation of military operations using information-related principles and also invoked a link between intelligence (the collection of information for political or military purpose) and cyber operations. Now, the scale of intelligence has significantly expanded.
Interestingly, before cyber appeared, there was a radio which was used for intelligence purposes and was weaponized later in the World War II. From that time on, electronic warfare became standard characteristics of a modern conflict. Despite this, there is a key difference between electronic warfare and a cyber one. Traditional electronic warfare aimed to guide, target, or protect weapons systems (Ibid., p. 24). In contrast, cyber makes today's weapons and military systems smarter but also more vulnerable for an attack.
At the moment everyone still wonders what the whole idea of cyberwar means. There is no accepted interpretation or definition. Furthermore, many experts even say that such war does not even exist (or cannot be referred to the notion of "war"). Perhaps, it is due to the fact that a war in cyberspace has not yet happened. To make it clear, cyber capability has not actually killed anyone and a code has not been used as the use of force.
Similarly, the dangers of a nuclear bomb were recognized only after its use, the same goes to the notion of "nuclear war". Although there have been many cyberattacks, none of them have been raised to the level of war because none of them, in fact, caused the level of damage which could be adhered to the level of a large-scale conflict.
Cyber warfare has derived from different aspects of conventional warfare and traditional definitions of war. It usually involves organized units within nation-state in offensive or defensive operations which are part of a war or a conflict.
In general, since cyber study is relatively new, there are many competing terms and definitions to explain cyber phenomenon. The following concepts – the revolution in military affairs, electronic warfare, information warfare, and cyber war – have been all offered to describe the new emerging area of conflict. Experts do not agree on any particular term, more often using different notions when talking about cyber issues. Nonetheless, it is vital to understand the facts of the 21st century similarly to the need that rose along with the invention of atomic reaction. A major concern now is no longer weapons of mass destruction, but weapons of mass disruption. (2009, p. 47).
One of the central elements to define a cyberwar, is that it has to meet the same criteria, applied to any other type of war. Vandalism or spying is an act of crime, but they do not start wars. So, assumingly, there has to be physical destruction and casualties in order to declare a war.
Therefore, a cyberwar should have real world damage similar to a conventional war. For this matter, it should probably take place in a digital world. What is not clear, however, is whether it should be fought exclusively in cyberspace or it can accompany a conventional attack too. This aspect is quite interesting, because cyberattacks can easily be used in combination with a kinetic attack and can multiply the force and power of the attacker.
In this case, it does not make sense to create a new term "cyberwar" as it falls down under the same definition of war. It is the same example when aerial bombings supported the attacks on the ground during the World War I, but in the end we called it a war, not a particular type of war. Consequently, cyber introduction resembles more a revolution in military affairs, rather that a new emerging type of warfare.
What is clear, though, is that the difference in definitions complicates the matters of regulating cyberspace and prevents achieving a common ground on cyber issues and/or developing new treaties and agreements between the states. So far there is no international agreement on the cyber principles, despite some attempts of the states to engage into negotiations (Budapest Conference on Cyberspace, the World Conference on International Telecommunications). There is, however, the Convention on Cybercrime, the first international agreement that addresses compute crime, adopted by the Council of Europe. Interestingly enough, Russia (as a part of the Council) neither signed nor ratified the agreement, whereas US (not part of the Council) recognized it and ratified it.
Apart from these difficulties in defining cyberwar, there has been a hyperbolic use of the word itself, mostly by media and tabloids (e.g. The Washington Post, "We are at cyberwar and we are our own enemy"; The New York Times, "How to prevent Cyberwar"; Zdnet, "Cyberwar: a guide to the frightening future of online conflict"; Komsomolskaya Pravda, "Are we expecting the First World Cyberwar?" etc.). They do not usually give any concrete information but are eager to use this term and apply it randomly to different cases just because it sounds good. All in all, uninformed public use of the word has enormously contributed into the heat surrounding cyber implications.
Futher, cyberattacks are too often discussed equivalently, regardless of its impact. In this sense, minor cases like ransomware or phishing might be raised to the level of an armed attack (especially if they affect multiple computers worldwide). Yet, these cases are good examples of cybercrime, and crime is not a war. When individuals engage into this type of activity, they do not engage in a war. The same goes for espionage in cyberspace. Catching a spy on one's territory will certainly put pressure on bilateral relations, but it would not start a war.
This exaggeration of cyberattacks can be explained through securitization theory. The notion offered by the Copenhagen Security School describes how a certain concept can be politicized and securitized to the extent that it becomes a threat to national security (See Buzan, 2006).
To conclude, it should be mentioned that there is no guidance for the conduct of "cyberwar". There are no internationally agreed definitions and, to that extent, the whole idea of cyberwar so far seems unrealistic. At this moment technology is not sophisticated enough to ensure a military conduct entirely in cyberspace. Besides, any cyberattack of such scale would presumably result in a physical destruction, which consequently might provoke a conventional retaliation attack. This, in result, would cause a war we know for years, so there is no need to introduce a particular type of war. On another note, using cyber operations to support a conventional war and/or conflict is the way to go, but in this case it is just a revolution and modernization in military affairs.
I would be interested to hear your opinion about that in the comments below.
For further information see:
1) A movie "War Games" (1983)
2) Arquilla, J. and Ronfeldt, D. (1993). The Cyberwar is Coming! RAND Corporation, [online] Available at: https://www.rand.org/pubs/reprints/RP223.html
3) Cetron, M. J. and Davies, O. (2009). Ten critical trends for cyber security. The Futurist, 43(5), pp. 40–49.
4) Stiennon, R. (2015). There Will Be Cyberwar: How The Move To Network-Centric War Fighting Has Set The Stage For Cyberwar. Michigan: IT-Harvest Press.
On the issue of cyber security of critical infrastructures
There is a lot of talk in regards to cyberattacks nowadays. A regular user worries about its data and tries to secure by all means necessary. Yet, no one really thinks whether the power plants or nuclear facilities are well secured. Everyone assumes that they should be secured.
The reality, however, differs. According to many reports of cyber security companies, there is an increased risk of cyberattacks, targeting SCADA and ICS. Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) is used for the systems that control physical equipment – power plants, oil and gas pipelines, they can also control or monitor processes such as heating or energy consumption. Along with Industrial Control Systems (ICS) they control critical elements of industrial automation processes. Exploiting vulnerabilities of critical infrastructures can lead to the consequences of unimaginable scale. (These types of attacks are actually used in a cyberwar scenarios and hypothetical military settings).
Source: Fortinet, 2015
There are many reasons why these systems are vulnerable for attacks. First of all, the main problem is that these systems have an old design; they were built before they were connected to any networks. They were later configured to connect via Ethernet, and that's when they became a part of a larger infrastructure. The more advanced SCADA system is becoming, the more vulnerabilities are these to exploit. The updates should be regular and on time. Secondly, there is a lack of monitoring. New devices that are connected allow remote monitoring, but not all devices have the same reporting capabilities. There are also authentication issues (weak passwords, authentication process), however, this is supposed to restrict unauthorized access (See Common SCADA Threats and Vulnerabilities at Patriot Technologies, Inc. Online).
In these scenarios, there is no certainty to know what is going to backfire because of the complexity of communications and power networks. This is also called a cascading effect of attacks. Not knowing who is connected to who may cause major disruptions. The example of the US East Coast power blackout in 2003 proves this point (a failure in one element of the grid spreads across other electrical networks). However, given this, it is also complicated for an attacker to predict consequences, if an attack executed. This kind of attack can easily escalate into more serious conflict, so it might not be the best option for states to employ such methods.
Moreover, there is a risk to damage a critical infrastructure unintentionally. That is if a virus or worm did not intend to target SCADA but happen to spread there as well. The uncontrollability of the code may seriously impair the desire to use it, especially when it comes to nation-states. For instance, in 2003 a worm penetrated a private network of the US Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station and disabled a safety monitoring system for 5 hours. In 2009, French fighter jets could not take off because they were infected with a virus.
Indeed, a scenario where an attacker gains access to a SCADA system and manipulates with the system, causing disruptions on a large-scale, might be hypothetical but it does not make it less possible in the future. However, the only known case so far, which affected an industrial control centre, is Stuxnet. It did not result in many deaths, yet it drew attention of the experts on the plausibility of future more sophisticated attacks. These potential upcoming attacks might cause the level of destruction, comparable to that of a conventional attack, therefore resulting in war.
Bradbury, D. (2012). SCADA: a Critical Vulnerability. Computer Fraud & Security, 4, p. 11-14.
Briefly about the Russian Political Discourse
As you may have noticed, the recent international discourse has been rotating around Russia and its relations to other countries for a long time. Needless to say that after the events in Georgia/Ukraine, this discourse is far from friendly. Some even say that rhetoric of the Cold War has returned. What makes people abroad wonder is why Russia chooses to respond to its foreign partners in this particular way? Why is it the way it is?
To begin with, there are several reasons that shape Russian rhetoric. First of all, they are historical and cultural values. Russia sees itself as a defender of its rights and identity and someone who is not going to follow someone else's rules. Back to the 13th century, the grand prince (rus. knyaz) Aleksander Nevsky only accepted submission to the Golden Horde to protect the Russian culture and belief, therefore depriving the West of the opportunity to take over its territories. This mentality still governs the minds of people. Today, current political rhetoric is doing the same by refusing the Western pressure and external interference into its business.
After the Golden Horde, Russia has managed to maintain its unity. Back then, the East saw the country to be an heir to the great Byzantine Empire. Meanwhile, the enormous size of the country was rather intimidating; and even more, when it started acquiring new territories (remember reaction to the situation with Crimea).
On the one hand, Moscow tries to present itself strong when it communicates with the Europe; on the other hand, the Western neighbours seem to use the same old-fashioned strategy to isolate the big neighbour. Since the time of Ivan the Terrible, no one really has wanted strong and stable Russia and there were steps before to prevent the unity of Eurasia.
The long history of Russia plays a big role in forming the modern mind of the citizen and current political rhetoric. Russian people and the government would not admit defeat and would do anything possible to prevail, even if it means to live in humble circumstances for some time (think of the continuous sanctions).
The tough policy of Peter the Great, the emperor of Russia, has brought the country to a new level in comparison to others. At that time already, all the international questions were only resolved with the help of Russia. In the following years, the power of the country kept growing only to solidify during the rule of Catherine the Great. The famous grand chancellor of Russia and the chief of foreign policy Bezborodko used to say, "I don't know how it will be at your time, but at this time not a single gun is allowed to fire without our permission"[1]. Now, Russia tries to achieve similar influence.
The period after the World War II proved to be fruitful for the development of the European countries. While the US and USSR were competing, Europe was free from deciding on serious issues, so it could absorb and enjoy the time of quiet development.
Nonetheless, there has been a clear confrontation between the two ideologies, Nazism and Communism. Even though the USSR did not try to exterminate the nations, the scary ghost of the USSR keeps frightening the rest of the world. The impression of "evil USSR" flying over the international relations is still there and penetrates the minds of the people.
After the collapse of the USSR, there was a chance to promote peace and peaceful coexistence. Russia has repeatedly expressed its interest in it, yet the Western partners have chosen another way: NATO enlargement to the East (which is believed to be a broken promise). Interestingly enough, George Kennan, the so-called creator of containment policy of Soviet expansion, considered the NATO expansion a tragic mistake.
All in all, abovementioned factors play a significant role in shaping the Russian political discourse. Cultural and historical values, national pride (and therefore negative feeling towards the Western sanctions) as well as the use of state symbols to unite the country are the most important rhetoric tools in the Russian language arsenal. Its constant and regular transmission through the media and other communication channels make this rhetoric influential and persuasive.
[1] [URL: http://www.istmira.com/istoriya-rossii-s-drevnejshix-vremen-do-nashix/290-kakovy-itogi-i-posledstviya-vneshnej-politiki.html] [дата обращения: 20.05.2016]


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Home » Termites » How Big Are Termites? (Size Guide)
How Big Are Termites?
Written By Dan Edwards on November 16, 2018
How Big Are Adult Termites?
How Big Are Termite Larvae?
How Big Are Termite Eggs?
Termites can be a major problem when it comes to your home or property. Despite this well-known fact, some people have problems actually identifying termites. Many people think that all termites' sizes are the same. Making this mistake means we might place the blame for an infestation on some other troublesome pest.
This can be a major error since termites are one of the peskiest insects on the planet when it comes to property damage. Because of this, learning how to deal with them properly is useful. With that in mind, this article will talk about termite sizes, from egg to adult.
Typically, adult termites range from ¼ to ½ of an inch, although some species can grow to be bigger. It might not seem like that big of a difference, but when it comes to bug sizes, an effective doubling in length can mean an awful lot.
The size of an adult termite can also help you to identify the specific species of the infestation. This is because each species is a different size.
Take the three most common species of termite that we normally come across: the dampwood termite, the drywood termite, and the subterranean termite. While they all fall in the ¼ inch to ½ inch range, their sizes are specific to each species.
The dampwood termite is about twice the size as the subterranean termite. The sizes of adult drywood termites fall somewhere in the middle. However, some dampwood termites can grow up to one inch in length.
Obviously, there are a vast number of things that can change the size of an adult termite. These are factors such as food, age, and other environmental conditions. A termite who holds a coveted position as queen or king in the colony will also be larger. In fact, these individuals often grow to over an inch in length.
With regard to width, the size of a termite is again dependent on which specific species of termite that it belongs to. It also slightly depends on the quality of the food supply, although this doesn't affect termite sizes as much as people might assume. Typically, the width of a termite will be relative to its overall length.
Furthermore, some termites have pinched waists, while others do not. Whether or not they're flying termites will also have an impact on their overall width, due to the addition of wing pieces. Therefore, it is better to identify a termite by its length and other means rather than width, which is variable.
In terms of their actual shape, most termites are typically relatively long and skinny, almost like a stick shape. This is the case across most breeds of termites, although some can seem to be a little fatter than others due to their relative shortness. Like its size, a termite's shape can also be affected by whether or not it's a flying termite.
The presence of termites normally means that there's also going to be a lot of termite larvae. However, that doesn't mean you can't find the larvae without finding the termites themselves first. How do you identify termite larvae, and how big is it?
Termite Larvae
As you'd likely expect, termite larvae are very small. In fact, they are so small that it's almost impossible to spot a single larva. Since adults termites rarely grow to beyond ¼ to ½ an inch in length, most termite larvae will be only around a tenth of an inch long, depending on the species. That being said, there's very only a very small difference in the sizes of termite larvae across the species.
Even though termites and ants flying can appear very similar when adults, their larvae is remarkably different. The termite larvae look like worker termites, albeit much smaller. They also have identifiable heads, arms, and legs, from very early in their development.
Termite queens lay thousands of eggs every year. Termite eggs are just about visible to the naked eye. However, you will need to have very good vision to spot them. Similarly to termite larvae, it is rather difficult, if not impossible, to spot one that's all by itself.
This is because the eggs tend to be hidden away under the ground or inside wood, depending on the species. However, if you use a magnifying glass and know what you're looking for, there's a slight chance you will find them.
As an approximate guide, a full stop (period) on your computer screen would be just slightly smaller than your typical termite egg. This is regardless of the species of termite.
Of course, a termite egg won't stay this size forever. After three full weeks of being minuscule, the egg starts to grow. This happens because the developing termite inside is growing bigger too.
By the time the egg hatches, it will be about 30 percent bigger than when it was first laid. While this is still small, it is a considerable jump in size over the period of a few weeks. This seems to be the case across all species of termite, with the timelines of growth being roughly the same for each, give or take a few days.
Termite sizes can fluctuate an awful lot throughout their lifespan. From the egg and larvae stages, right up to their final days. Because of their relatively similar sizes and colors, they can easily be mistaken for similar creatures, most often ants.
A slightly closer inspection, even one just limited to size, can tell you a lot about the type of termite you have in your home. If you identify termites in the house, you will need to act fast to get rid of an infestation. While these insects may be small, an infestation of termites can be extremely dangerous to your property.
With that in mind, knowing your termites' sizes can prove to be extremely helpful. Recognizing which species of termite you've found can save you precious time when taking action to eradicate the colony.
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Termites In The House: Signs, Treatment & Prevention