text:
Voici la liste des 110 villes-arrondissements (kreisfreie Städte, pluriel de kreisfreie Stadt) d'Allemagne. L'expression "kreis-freie Stadt" veut dire une ville qui n'est pas intégrée dans un arrondissement (Kreis), une ville de manière « libre ».

La plupart sont des grandes villes.

Dénombrement par État fédéré (Bundesland)
La législation concernant les communautés est établie par les États allemands, les  États fédérés (Bundesländer).

Nombre de villes-arrondissements pour chacun des 16 États fédérés, y compris 3 Villes-États (Stadtstaaten):
 État de Berlin : 1
 Ville libre et hanséatique de Hambourg : 1
 Ville hanséatique libre de Brême : 2
 État libre de la Bavière : 25
 État libre de la Saxe : 3
 État libre de la Thuringe : 6
 État fédéré de Bade-Wurtemberg : 9
 État fédéré de la Basse-Saxe : 10
 État fédéré du Brandebourg : 4
 État fédéré de la Hesse : 5
 État fédéré de Mecklembourg-Poméranie antérieure : 2
 État fédéré de Rhénanie du Nord-Westphalie : 23
 État fédéré de Rhénanie-Palatinat : 12
 État fédéré de la Sarre : 0
 État fédéré de Saxe-Anhalt : 3
 État fédéré de Schleswig-Holstein : 4
 TOTAL : 110

Liste des villes-arrondissements des États fédérés

Villes-États ("Stadtstaaten")

Il existe en Allemagne deux villes-arrondissements qui constituent chacune à elle seule un État fédéré (Bundesland) de l'Allemagne : Berlin et Hambourg. Certaines anciennes communes de l'agglomération auparavant indépendantes sont aujourd'hui intégrées dans ces villes et en forment des quartiers. Ces collectivités ont les compétences à la fois d'une municipalité urbaine (Stadtgemeinde), d'un arrondissement (Kreis) et d'un État fédéré (Bundesland). Ces deux entités officielles sont donc:
 Land de Berlin (Land Berlin)
 Ville libre et hanséatique de Hambourg (freie und Hansestadt Hamburg)

Du point de vue historique, Brême et Hambourg ont une longue tradition comme « ville libre » et ville hanséatique. Berlin ne fut jamais une ville libre jusqu'à la Seconde Guerre mondiale, mais faisait partie du Brandebourg-Prusse.

Le land de Brême, officiellement la Ville hanséatique libre de Brême (freie Hansestadt Bremen), est lui aussi un cas particulier historique : il comprend deux villes qui forment deux parties séparées géographiquement :

 Commune urbaine de Brême (Stadtgemeinde Bremen)
 Commune urbaine de Bremerhaven (Stadtgemeinde Bremerhaven).

Villes-arrondissements des autres États fédérés
Pour distinguer les « autres » États fédérés des Villes-États, on les appelle parfois "Flächenstaaten", « états de surface ».

Le nom Bundesland pour un « État fédéré », avec sa désignation courte et précise: Land (État), provient du mot das Land, qui signifie le pays, la campagne. Les États fédérés sont des États de leur propre loi, beaucoup d'eux existaient avant la fondation de la République fédérale ().

Il y a des États qui s'appellent Freistaat (État libre), mais "Freistaat" est seulement un titre. Cette désignation historique ne signifie pas de différences avec les autres États fédérés.

Bade-Wurtemberg (Land Baden-Württemberg)

Basse-Saxe (Land Niedersachsen)

Bavière (Freistaat Bayern)

Brandebourg (Land Brandenburg)

Hesse (Land Hessen)

Mecklembourg-Poméranie antérieure (Land Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)

Rhénanie-du-Nord-Westphalie (Land Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Rhénanie-Palatinat (Land Rheinland-Pfalz)

Sarre (Saarland)
Il n'y a plus de ville-arrondissement en Sarre :
 L'ancienne ville autonome de Sarrebruck (Saarbrücken) est depuis le  une partie du Stadtverband Saarbrücken, qui est une communauté urbaine faisant office d'arrondissement. Ce qui signifie que les villages autrefois réunis dans la ville-arrondissement ont réacquis leur autonomie par rapport à la ville-centre qui n'est plus que le siège du centre administratif de la communauté dont la collectivité est séparée de celle de la municipalité de la ville-centre.

Saxe (Freistaat Sachsen)

Saxe-Anhalt (Land Sachsen-Anhalt)

Schleswig-Holstein (Land Schleswig-Holstein)

Thuringe (Freistaat Thüringen)

Ancienne villes-arrondissements en Allemagne
Dans le Mecklembourg-Poméranie-Occidentale (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) : Les villes suivantes ne sont plus des villes-arrondissements mais se sont regroupées dans un autre arrondissement proche, auquel ces villes ont adhéré en y abandonnant leur autonomie :
 Greifswald
 Neubrandenbourg (Neubrandenburg)
 Stralsund
 Wismar

En Rhénanie-du-Nord-Westphalie (NRW, Nordrhein-Westfalen):

Par une réforme de 1974, la ville de Wanne-Eickel a été fusionnée avec la ville de Herne. La même année, Wattenscheid a perdu le statut de ville-arrondissement et le statut de ville ; la ville a été annexée par Bochum.

Notes et références

Article connexe
 Liste des arrondissements d'Allemagne

Villes-arrondissements d'Allemagne, liste des


So lately I have created a GoFundMe Page to raise money to get the supplies needed for my jewelry business. I know everyone has this type of page to fund what there interested in but this is for me a way to keep prices low while getting new customers & getting my business out there….
The other day I bought these products & didn't pay a lot. I have some I carry with me. I will have to say I like Elizabeth Arden Sunflower perfume. I do purchase oils that I get from different vendors.


text:
Untold Midterms Story
Voters Weigh Ballot Measures to Unrig the System
Unprecedented wave of political reform most since Watergate
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (September 25, 2018) – Political reformers across America are paying close attention to key midterm elections in November, but they do not involve candidates or political parties. Their focus is on more than two dozen state and local ballot measures to unrig the system, the most since Watergate.
"This election we have the chance to unrig the system and usher in a new era of politics," said Josh Silver, director of RepresentUs, the nation's largest, nonpartisan anti-corruption group. "We can make the system work for regular people and their families, not just a handful of special interests and billionaires."
There are more than two dozen political reform measures on state and local ballots in November, more than there have been since Watergate. According to NCSL, there were 4 ballot measures in the category of Ethics/Lobbying/Campaign Finance in 1972, 4 in 1974 and 2 in 1976.
"We're seeing a wave of political reform that is unprecedented in modern history," said Silver. "Americans are suffering because special interests and lobbyists have rigged the system against regular people, and they're ready to fix the corrupt political culture that has left them behind."
Voters on the left and the right say corruption in Washington is the "most important" topic for 2018 candidates to discuss, according to a Kaiser Health poll. The issue was also popular for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who regularly slammed the "corrupt campaign finance system" in his presidential bid and President Donald Trump's who campaigned on draining the swamp. A Rasmussen poll this month found 71 percent of likely voters still agree with that statement.
"Special interests, lobbyists and career politicians have rigged the system for their own self-interest," said Dan Krassner, political director of RepresentUs. "It's why healthcare is so expensive. It's why middle-class jobs have disappeared. It's why so many people in America are in prison. It's why the American people are being left behind, and we've had it. That's why we're working together, putting country over party to pass laws that put the people first. We're winning, passing state and local anti-corruption laws and showing Washington how it's done."
This strategy has worked in the past: major federal reform on a range of issues has come after state laws paved the way first. 27 states passed laws giving women the right to vote before it passed federally. 34 states legalized interracial marriage before it became federal law. The list of examples goes on, and the takeaway is clear: passing state laws is an essential catalyst to winning sweeping federal reform on fundamental issues.
Here are highlights of the more than two dozen state and local political reform measures on the November ballot:
Voters Not Politicians (Michigan)
In Michigan, an anti-gerrymandering measure is on the ballot after Voters Not Politicians gathered more than 425,000 petition signatures with only volunteers within just 110 days. The measure creates an independent redistricting commission for congressional and state legislative districts to fix Michigan's broken redistricting process.
Fair Maps Colorado
Initially, there was a possibility of multiple competing anti-gerrymandering ballot measures, one from a group with significant Republican backers and one from a group with significant Democrat backers. Thankfully, these groups came together to form Fair Maps Colorado. They were able to convince the legislature to refer two anti-gerrymandering measures to the ballot – Amendment Y (Congressional) and Amendment Z (Legislative). These measures prohibit gerrymandering and create fair and competitive congressional and legislative districts.
Better Boundaries Utah
Better Boundaries led the petition drive to gather more than 150,000 signatures to quality anti-gerrymandering Proposition 4 for the ballot. Proposition 4 will fix the broken system by creating an independent citizens' redistricting commission and new rules to govern the process.
Clean Missouri
Clean Missouri led the petition drive to gather more than 340,000 signatures to quality Amendment 1 for the ballot. Amendment 1 is a comprehensive anti-corruption proposal that requires legislative records be open to the public, requires politicians to wait two years before becoming lobbyists, eliminates almost all lobbyist gifts, lowers campaign contribution limits and ensures that neither political party is given an unfair advantage when news maps are drawn.
North Dakotans for Public Integrity
North Dakotans for Public Integrity led the petition drive to gather more than 38,000 signatures to quality the North Dakota Anti-Corruption Amendment for the ballot. The Amendment increases transparency, roots out conflicts of interest, restricts lobbyist gifts, bans foreign money from elections, prevents personal use of campaign money, closes the revolving door from public official to lobbyist, and holds public officials accountable.
Represent South Dakota
Represent South Dakota led the petition drive to gather more than 50,000 signatures to qualify the South Dakota Anti-Corruption Amendment for the ballot. The Amendment restricts lobbyist gifts to politicians, bans campaign money from unions and corporations to candidates and political parties, bans foreign money, stops politicians from using public office for personal gain, toughen ethics law enforcement and protects voter-approved laws from legislative meddling.
Additional November 2018 Ballot Measures to Watch
Ethics advocates are backing New Mexico's Constitutional Amendment 2, the Independent Ethics Commission Amendment and Florida's Amendment 12, the Lobbying Restrictions Amendment, to close the revolving door between government and lobbying.
Campaign finance reform advocates are backing a range of measures in Massachusetts, South Dakota, Denver, Phoenix, Baltimore, and Portland, Oregon. But in Colorado, Amendment 75 could increase campaign contribution limits in some elections. The state legislature in Arizona is attacking the clean elections system there with Proposition 306, Clean Election Account Uses and Commission Rulemaking Measure.
Term limits could be shortened in Arkansas with Issue 3, State Legislative Term Limits Initiative, but term limits could be increased in Memphis.
A voter-approved instant runoff voting system is under attack Memphis with two related measures referred to the ballot by the city council. While Fargo voters will consider adoption of an approval voting system.
Voting rights groups are advocating for Florida's Amendment 4, Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative, Maryland's Question 2, Election-Day Voter Registration Amendment, and measures in Michigan and Nevada to make election systems more secure, block ineligible people from voting, and make voter registration more convenient. Golden could be the first Colorado city to lower the minimum voting age to 16. But some states are attempting to make it harder to vote, including Arkansas with the Issue 2, Voter ID Amendment and North Carolina's Voter ID Amendment.
9 Major Wins Already in 2018
The movement to unrig the system already has 9 wins so far in 2018. Here's a look back at this year's major reform victories:
March: Automatic voter registration passed in Washington. Tempe voters passed a dark money disclosure ballot measure.
April: Maryland and New Jersey passed automatic voter registration.
May: Ohio voters passed anti-gerrymandering. Connecticut joined the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
June: Maine voters protected ranked choice voting.
July: Alaska passed an anti-corruption law.
August: Massachusetts passed automatic voter registration.
12 Major Wins in 2016
There were a dozen major reform wins at the ballot in 2016 including:
Automatic voter registration in Alaska.
Anti-corruption in South Dakota.
Lobbying reform in San Francisco, California.
Campaign finance reform in Missouri, Berkeley, California, Howard County, Maryland and Multnomah County, Oregon.
Ethics reform constitutional amendment in Rhode Island.
Ranked choice voting measures in Maine and Benton County, Oregon.
Calls to overturn Citizens United in Washington and California.
"2018 is poised to be a historic year for political reform and the beginning of the end for politics-as-usual," said Silver.
RepresentUs is the nation's largest grassroots anti-corruption group, bringing together conservatives, progressives and everyone in between to pass anti-corruption laws in cities and states around the country.
About RepresentUs
RepresentUs posts
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Could Be One of the Biggest Grifters in US History
Supreme Court Won't Block Dark Money Ruling
The 2018 Election Proves Americans Want to End Corruption
Bipartisan Ballot Measures
America's criminal justice system is a for-profit business. It's broken on purpose.
Big Tech Donates to Congress
Country Divided
Lobbyist Spending on the Rise
Big Money Donors Influence Both Parties
Movement Updates
Bulletin.Represent.Us is a project of Represent.Us Education Fund - Copyright 2018

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


In active directory schema, it is allowed to add custom attributes. In organizations, there are situations where this option is useful. It is most of the time related to application integration requirements with active directory infrastructure. In modern infrastructures, applications are decentralizing identity management. Organization's identities can sit on active directory as well as applications. Some may in in-house infrastructures and some may even in public cloud. If these applications are integrated with active directory it's still provides central identity management but it's not always. Some applications have their own way of handling its user accounts and privileges. Similar to active directory attributes, these applications can also have their own attributes defined by its database system to store the data. These application attributes most of the time will not match the attributes on active directory. As an example, HR system uses employee ID to identify an employee record uniquely from others. But active directory use username to identify a unique record. Each system's attributes hold some data about the objects even its referring to same user or device. If there is another application which required to retrieve data from both system's attributes how we can facilitate such without data duplication?
One's a customer was talking to me regarding similar requirement. They have active directory infrastructure in place. They also maintaining a HR system which is not integrated with active directory. They got a new requirement for an employee collaboration application which required data input in specific way. It has defined its fields in the database and we need to match the data on that order. Some of these required data about users can retrieve from active directory and some of user data can retrieve from the HR system. Instead of keeping two data feeds to the system we decided to treat the active directory as the trustworthy data source for this new system. If active directory need to hold all the required data, it somehow need to store the data comes from HR system as well. The final solution was to add custom attributes to active directory schema and associate it with the user class. Instead of both system operate as data feeds, now HR system pass the filtered values to Active directory and it exports all the required data in CSV format to the application.
In order to create custom attributes, go to active directory schema snap-in, right click on attributes container and select create attribute.
Tip – In order to open active directory schema snap-in you need to run command regsvr32 schmmgmt.dll from the Domain Controller. After that you can use MMC and add active directory schema as snap-in.
Then system will give a warning about the schema object creation and click OK to continue.
It will open up a form and this is where we need to define the details about custom attribute.
1) Common Name – This is the name of the object. It is only allowed to use letters, numbers and hyphen for the CN.
2) LDAP Display Name – When object is referring in script, program or command line utility it need to call using the LDAP Display name instead of the Common Name. when you define the CN, it will automatically create the LDAP Display name.
3) X500 Object ID – Each and every attribute in active directory schema has unique OID value. There is script develop by Microsoft to generate these unique OID valves. It can be found in https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/Generate-an-Object-4c9be66a#content it also can directly run using following PowerShell command.
4) Syntax – It define the storage representation for the object. It is only allowed to use syntaxes defined by Microsoft. One attribute can only associate with one syntax. In below I listed few common used syntaxes in attributes.
Along with the syntax we also can define the minimum or maximum values. If it's not defined it will take the default values.
In following demo, I like to add a new attribute called NI-Number and add it to the User Class.
As the next step, we need to add it to the user class. In order to do that go to classes container, double click on user class and click on attributes tab. In there by clicking the add button can browse and select the newly added attribute from the list.
Now when we open a user account we can see the new attribute and we can add the new data to it.
Once data been added we can filter out the information as required.
Note – To add the attributes to the schema you need to have schema administrator privileges or enterprise administrator privileges.
There are different ways to review Active Directory service related logs in a domain controller. Most common way is to review events under Event Viewer mmc.
We can review events using server manager too.
We also can use PowerShell commands to review event logs or filter events from local and remote computers without any additional service configurations. Get-EventLog is the primary cmdlet we can use for this task.
Above command will list down the details about the log files in your local system including the log file name, max log file size, number of entries.
We can further filter down it by listing down evens according to entry type.
Above command will list down first five "errors" in the Directory Service log file.
We also can add time limit to filter events more.
Above command will list down the events with error type 'error' with in last 24 hours under Directory Service log.
We also can get the events from the remote computers.
Above command will list down the first five log entries in Directory Service log file from REBEL-SRV01 remote computer.
We also can extract events from few computers in same time.
Above command will list down the log entries from local computer and the REBEL-SRV01 remote computer.
When it comes to filtering, we can further filter events using the event source.
It also allows to search for the specific event ids.
Above command will list down the events with event id 1000.
System Center Operation Manager (SCOM) is the Microsoft solution to monitor application and systems health in detail. It applies to Active Directory monitoring as well. Using relevant management packs, it can monitor health of active directory services and its activities. Microsoft introduced Operation Management suite to bring monitoring to the next level with advanced analytics technologies. SCOM was more in to monitoring applications, services and devices running on-premises. But OMS work with on-premises, cloud only or hybrid cloud environments.
Minimal Configuration and Maintenance – If you worked with SCOM before you may know how many different components we need to configure such as management servers, SQL servers, Gateway Servers, Certificate Authority etc. But with OMS all we need a subscription and initial configuration of monitoring agents or gateway. No more complex maintenance routings either.
Scalable – Latest records from Microsoft shows OMS is already using by more than 50k customer. More than 20PB data been collected more than 188 million queries been run for a week. With cloud based solution we no longer need to worry about the resource when we expanding. Subscription is based on the features and the amount of data you upload. You do not need to pay for the compute power. I am sure Microsoft no-way near running out of resources!!
Integration with SCOM – OMS fully supported to integrate with SCOM. It allows engineers to specify which systems and data should be analyze by OMS. It also allows to do smooth migration from SCOM to OMS in stages. In integrated environment SCOM works similar to a gateway and OMS do queries through SCOM. OMS and SCOM both uses same monitoring agent (Microsoft Monitoring Agent) and there for client side configuration are minimum.
Note – Some OMS components such as Network Performance Monitoring, WireData 2.0, Service Map required additional agent files, system changes and direct connection with OMS.
Frequent Features Updates –Microsoft releases System center version in every four years' time. But OMS updates and new services are coming more often. It allows Microsoft to address industry requirements quickly.
In a hybrid environment, we can integrate on-premises system with OMS using three methods.
Microsoft Monitoring Agent – Monitoring agent need to install in each and every system and it will directly connect to OMS to upload the data and run queries. Every system need to connection to OMS via port 443.
SCOM – If you already have SCOM installed and configured in your infrastructure, OMS can integrate with it. Data upload to OMS will be done from SCOM management servers. OMS runs the queries to the systems via SCOM. However, some OMS feature still need direct connection to system to collect specific data.
OMS gateway – Now OMS supports to collect data and run queries via its own gateway. This works similar to SCOM gateways. All the systems do not need to have direct connection to OMS and OMS gateway will collect and upload relevant data from its infrastructure.
What is in there for AD Monitoring?
In SCOM environment we can monitor active directory components and services using relevant management packs. It collects great amount of insight. However, to identify potential issues, engineers need to analyze these collected data. OMS provide two solution packs which collect data from Active Directory environment and analyze those for you. After analyzing it will visualize it in user friendly way. It also provides insight how to fix the detected problems as well as provide guidelines to improve the environment performance, security and high availability.
AD Assessment – This solution will analyze risk and health of AD environments on a regular interval. It provides list of recommendations to improve you existing AD infrastructure.
AD Replication Status – This solution analyzes replication status of your Active Directory environment.
1) Valid OMS Subscription – OMS has different level of subscriptions. It is depending on the OMS services you use and amount of data uploaded daily. It does have free version which provides 500mb daily upload and 7-day data retention.
2) Direct Connection to OMS – In this demo I am going to use the direct OMS integration via Microsoft Monitoring Agent.
3) Domain Administrator Account – in order to install the agent in the domain controllers we need to have Domain Administrator privileges.
3) By default, AD Assessment solution is enabled. In order to enable AD Replication Status solution, click on the tile from the solution list and then click on Add.
3) Go to Settings > Connected Sources > Windows Servers > click on Download Windows Agent (64bit). it will download the monitoring agent to the system.
4) Once it is download, double click on the setup and start the installation process.
5) In first windows of the wizard click Next to begin the installation.
6) In next window read and accept the licenses terms.
7) In next window, we can select where it should install. If there is on changes click Next to Continue.
8) In next window, it asks where it will connect to. In our scenario, it will connect to OMS directly.
9) In next window, it asks about OMS Workspace ID and Key. it can be found in OMS portal in Settings > Connected Sources > Windows Servers. if this server is behind proxy server, we also can specify the proxy setting in this window. Once relevant info provided click on Next to continue.
10) In next window, it asks how I need to check agent updates. It is recommended to use windows updates option. Once selection has made, Click Next.
11) In confirmation page, click Install to begin the installation.
12) Follow same steps for other domain controllers.
1) After few minutes, OMS will start to collect data and virtualize the findings.
2) To view the data, log in to OMS portal and click on relevant solution tile in home page.
3) Once click on the tile it brings you to a page where it displays more details about its findings.
4) As I explain before, it not only displays errors. It also gives recommendation on how to fix the existing issues.
3) In the box, you can search for the relevant log file name and add it to the list. We also can select which type of events to extract. Once selection is made click Save.
4) After few minutes, you can start to see the events under log search option. In their using queries we can filter out the data. Also, we can setup email alerts based on the events.
I believe now you have a basic knowledge on how to use OMS to monitor AD environment. There is lot of things we can do with OMS and I will cover those in future posts.
If you are maintaining healthy AD infrastructure it is very much unlikely to see lingering objects in AD. Let's assume a Domain Controller has been disconnected from Active Directory environment and stayed offline more that the value specified tombstone lifetime attribute. Then it was again reconnected to replication topology. The objects which were deleted from Active Directory during the time that particular domain controller stayed offline will be remain as lingering objects on it.
When object was deleted using one domain controller, it replicates to other domain controllers as tombstone object. it contains few attribute values but it cannot be used for active operations. It remains in Domain Controllers until it reaches the time specify by tombstone lifetime value. Then tombstone object will be permanently deleted from the directory. Tombstone time value is forest wide setting and depend on the operating system running. For operating systems after windows server 2003, default tombstone value is 180 days.
The problem happens when the Domain Controller with lingering object involve with outbound replication. In such situation, one of following can happen.
• If the destination domain controller has strict replication consistency enabled it will halt the inbound replication from that particular Domain Controller.
• If the destination domain controller has strict replication consistency disabled it will request full replica and will reintroduced to the directory.
Events 1388, 1988, 2042 are clues for lingering objects in Active Directory Infrastructure.
Active Directory Domain Services Replication encountered the existence of objects in the following partition that have been deleted from the local domain controllers (DCs) Active Directory Domain Services database. Not all direct or transitive replication partners replicated in the deletion before the tombstone lifetime number of days passed. Objects that have been deleted and garbage collected from an Active Directory Domain Services partition but still exist in the writable partitions of other DCs in the same domain, or read-only partitions of global catalog servers in other domains in the forest are known as "lingering objects". This event is being logged because the source DC contains a lingering object which does not exist on the local DCs Active Directory Domain Services database.
It has been too long since this machine last replicated with the named source machine. The time between replications with this source has exceeded the tombstone lifetime. Replication has been stopped with this source. The reason that replication is not allowed to continue is that the two machine's views of deleted objects may now be different. The source machine may still have copies of objects that have been deleted (and garbage collected) on this machine. If they were allowed to replicate, the source machine might return objects which have already been deleted. Time of last successful replication: <date> <time> Invocation ID of source: <Invocation ID> Name of source: <GUID>._msdcs.<domain> Tombstone lifetime (days): <TSL number in days> The replication operation has failed.
In any infrastructure, users are using different applications, services, file shares in order to get their work done. each of these components may have periodic changes. In order to maintain integrity, provide faster IT support and identify risks, it is important to track all the changes against these components. Maintaining inventory (software level) will help engineers to verify if systems are running as expected with relevant software and services. Change tracking and inventory process can be done using software or workflows.
Operation Management Suite (OMS) provides solution called "Change Tracking" to capture changes in cloud only, hybrid or on-premises only environments. It can track changes on Files, Registry Entries, Software, Windows services and Linux Daemons.
Microsoft recently release "Change tracking and Inventory" solution which can implement in Azure VM level. However, this is not replacement for OMS solution. OMS can track changes on any environment whiles this new solution is just for cloud only servers.
1. Easy to implement – with few clicks this feature can be enable in VM level.
2. No Agents – It doesn't need agents to track changes or maintain inventory.
3. No need to log in to VM – It is not required any user interaction or system credentials, in order to use these features. Engineers can view visualized data without login to VM.
Please note this is still in preview mode, there for not recommended to use in production environment. But it is not too early to try its capabilities.
Let's go ahead and see how we can enable and use this feature.
1. Log in to Azure portal (https://portal.azure.com) as Global Administrator.
2. Go to Virtual Machines and click on the VM you like to get this feature enabled.
4. Then it will load up detail window, click on purple color bar like in below image to enable the feature.
5. Then it will load up new window with information such as log analytic workspace id and automation account id. Click on Enable to proceed.
6. Once feature is enabled we can see following window. It will take while to populate data.
7. It also enables the Change tracking (preview) feature.
8. After sometime you will be able to see data under Inventory (preview) and Change tracking (preview) windows. Let's start with Inventory (preview). When I load the window, first it lists down the software installed in the system.
9. This includes information about windows updates and all other third-party applications. If it's a software, it displays the version number and publisher's info. As an example, I install acrobat reader and I can see its info as following.
10. Under the Files tab we can see the files details. By default, it doesn't scan for any files. In system, there are thousands of files, it is no point to add all those to inventory. Instead of that users can define what folders and files to monitor and add to inventory. If its folder, it will list all these files under that particular folder automatically. In order to do that, click on Edit Settings Option.
11. In next window, click on Windows Files tab.
12. Then click on Add in next window.
14. Once its added it will show under Windows Files tab. If you need to disable inventory and change tracking for a file or folder all you need to do is click on it and click on false button under Enabled.
15. If it's a Linux system, files and folder paths can add using Linux Files tab.
16. When we add files here, it is automatically enable change tracking for those files and folders. So, you do not need to add it again under change tracking feature.
17. Under Registry Files tab we can enable registry files tracking and inventory as well. It does have pre-defined registry path but at the moment I can see a way to add custom path. To enable feature, click on registry entry, then click on True under enabled. In the end click on Save.
18. This also enable tracking for windows registry files under change tracking feature.
19. Under Windows services tab, it lists all services in the system. It also shows its current status and startup status.
20. This is just for one VM, if you need to view multiple VM inventory data, you need to click on Manage multiple computers.
21. In new window, it lists the machines which has this feature enabled.
22. If you need to add new VMs to the list, it can be done using Add Azure VM option. Then it will allow you to enable inventory feature.
23. There is option to add non-azure virtual machines too. but that will lead you to OMS.
24. All other windows are familiar, only change here you can see if the same event is repeated in different computers.
25. All the events in here also can view using log analytics. In order to access that, click on Log Analytics option in main window.
26. Then it will load all the events and we can find relevant info using queries or just browsing through filters.
27. Now we done with inventory feature and let's move in to Change tracking (preview) feature. In order to access the feature just click on Change tracking (preview) option under operations.
28. As soon as login it shows the changes for last 24 hours. It is shows as graph as well as a list.
29. Using Time Range dropdown, we can define the time range for data.
30. Using Change Types dropdown, we can select which type of data to view.
31. The graph itself really useful to narrow down a change quickly. All you need do is move mouse over the timeline and then select the area you like to dig in to by dragging the cursor. Then it simple list down the results for that particular time.
32. Using Manage multiple computers option we can view changes for multiple computers in same window. It works same way it works in inventory feature.
33. Edit Settings option also same as in inventory feature. So, I am not going to cover it here.
Keeping your operating systems up-to-date is critical as it will be the first step towards protecting your systems from emerging threats. it will also help to improve efficiency and user experience. Simplest way to update your windows operating systems to use "Windows Update" feature comes with every operating system. But this is not enough for corporates as it is important to manage windows updates in control manner. Microsoft has tools such as WSUS, SCCM to manage windows update in infrastructure. when it comes to hybrid or cloud only environment it is important update your virtual machines running on cloud as well. Microsoft Operation Management Suite (OMS)'s "Update Management" is a great way to manage updates in any environment (on-premises, cloud only or hybrid). It detects and report missing updates in your environment. It also allows to deploy those using Azure automation.
However, if you running an azure environment, now Microsoft have another solution which will help to manage updates for Azure VMs. This is NOT a replacement for OMS update management even though it works similar. it helps to manage updates in individual VM level or as group. This feature "Update Management" still in preview mode but it is not too early to try its capabilities.
There are few things I like about this feature.
1. No Agents or additional configuration – This feature can enable under a VM with few clicks and it doesn't require any additional configuration inside the VM. It doesn't need any agent installation or any other configuration such as firewall changes. It's simple and efficient.
2. No need to log in to VM – This is ideal for MSPs as well. In order to manage updates, you do not need to log in to VM at all. No need to define passwords to install updates either.
3. Reporting – It list down missing updates and categories those based on type. It lists info about failed deployments. So, everything been logged and visualized in easy way to understand.
Let's see how we can get this setup.
1. In order to enable this feature, you need to log in to Azure as global administrator.
2. The click on Virtual Machines to list down VMs.
3. Then click on the VM which you choose.
4. From left hand side panel, click on Update Management (Preview).
5. In next window click on purple bar (as in following image) to enable the feature.
6. Then it will load the page to enable to feature. As we can see it is also creating log analytic workspace as well as automation account. Click on Enable to proceed.
7. Once it is enabled, it will take 15-20 minutes to gather information about updates. Once it is finish we can see new data under Update Management (Preview) panel.
8. In Missing Update section, it shows update name, classification, published date and link to see more details about updates.
9. If we click on one of missing updates it will bring to us to the log search window and in there we can see more details about update.
10. In Update Management (Preview) panel, lets click Manage Multiple Computers Option.
11. In that window, we can see all the computers which have this feature enabled and their compliance status.
12. By clicking on each computer in list, we can see more detail about it using log search window.
13. We also can add Azure VM to update management. To do that click on Add Azure VM option in Manage Multiple Computers panel.
14. It will list the VMs in account and click on the relevant VM you like to add. Then we can enable the feature under it.
15. Now we have list of missing updates. Next step is to schedule update. In order to do that go back to Update Management (Preview) panel and click on Schedule update deployments option.
16. In new window, first thing is to define name for the job. Under Update classification we can select which updates to consider for the schedule.
17. If need to exclude any updates, we can do that using updates to exclude option. In there we need to define relevant KB numbers.
18. Under the schedule settings we can define the time to apply updates. It can be either one time or recurring job.
19. Using maintenance window option we can set how long it should be in maintenance mode.
20. Once it's done click on Create to create the schedule.
21. If you use the same Schedule update deployments option under Manage Multiple Computers window, we can create schedule for multiple computers.
22. Once schedule is created we can see it under Scheduled update deployments tab.
This marks the end of the blog post and hope it was useful. If you have any questions feel free to contact me on rebeladm@live.com also follow me on twitter @rebeladm to get updates about new blog posts.
In my demo setup, I have two VM running. One is created using Azure Managed disks. In part 01 I explained how to add additional disk. It is currently having a 100GB additional disk attached.
We can't increase the disk on a running VM. Not even a data disk. So first we need to deallocate the VM. We can do it using.
in above command –resource-group defines resource group VM belongs to. –name defines the VM name.
once it is completed we can increase the disk sizes.
in above commands, –resource-group defines resource group disks belongs to. –name defines the disk's name.
once VM is up we can go in and expand the disk in OS level.
the document itself for Linux vm but expand part work same way.
We also can take snapshots of disk as quick recovery option. It is full copy of a disk in the time it's taken. It can keep as a backup or attach to another machine for troubleshooting.
in above –source defines the disk id and –name defines the snapshot name.
if required we can convert vm with unmanaged disks to managed disk. To do that first we need to deallocate the VM.
once process is finished it will start the VM.
We also can create, manage and delete blobs using Azure CLI.
az storage container create --name datastorage01 --connection-string "DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;EndpointSuffix=core.windows.net;AccountName=rebelstorage01;AccountKey=xxxxxxx/ixi+FKRr3YUS9CgEhCciGVIyI9+6CtqjTIiPvbXkmpFDK9sINE28jdbIwLLOUZyiAtQ3Edzx2y89RPQ=="
in above –name defines the container name. AccountName specify the storage account name and AccountKey specify the auth key for the storage account.
az storage blob upload --file C:\myzip1.zip --container-name datastorage01 --name myzip1.zip --connection-string "DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;EndpointSuffix=core.windows.net;AccountName=rebelstorage01;AccountKey=xxxxxx/ixi+FKRr3YUS9CgEhCciGVIyI9+6CtqjTIiPvbXkmpFDK9sINE28jdbIwLLOUZyiAtQ3Edzx2y89RPQ=="
in above, –file defines the local file path. –container-name defines the container name it is uploading to. –name defines the blob name once it is uploaded.
az storage blob list --container-name datastorage01 --output table --connection-string "DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;EndpointSuffix=core.windows.net;AccountName=rebelstorage01;AccountKey=xxxxxx/ixi+FKRr3YUS9CgEhCciGVIyI9+6CtqjTIiPvbXkmpFDK9sINE28jdbIwLLOUZyiAtQ3Edzx2y89RPQ=="
az storage blob download --container-name datastorage01 --name myzip1.zip --file C:\myzip2.zip --connection-string "DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;EndpointSuffix=core.windows.net;AccountName=rebelstorage01;AccountKey=xxxx/ixi+FKRr3YUS9CgEhCciGVIyI9+6CtqjTIiPvbXkmpFDK9sINE28jdbIwLLOUZyiAtQ3Edzx2y89RPQ=="
in above, –file defines the path and name it will have when downloaded to the local storage.
az storage blob delete --container-name datastorage01 --name myzip1.zip --connection-string "DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;EndpointSuffix=core.windows.net;AccountName=rebelstorage01;AccountKey=1WzgTd/ixi+FKRr3YUS9CgEhCciGVIyI9+6CtqjTIiPvbXkmpFDK9sINE28jdbIwLLOUZyiAtQ3Edzx2y89RPQ=="


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How many books have you started reading in English?
And how many books have you finished reading in English?
I'm guessing that these numbers are not the same.
I remember reading an English second-hand book I bought from a shop in Istanbul. There were Turkish notes in the book — clearly someone had been using the book to study English with.
But after 2 or 3 chapters, the notes stopped. The person who bought the book had given up reading it.
This is an incredibly common problem. I've seen it so many times.
And you start reading, making notes on new words and phrases. It's exciting — you're learning English and reading a proper English book!
Then after a week, you start losing your love for reading it. It's hard work. It's boring. It feels unnatural.
So you quit reading and sell it to a second-hand book seller.
Maybe a few months later you buy another book and try again… Only to give up again after a few chapters. So you sell that one, too.
The bookseller's happy, but you're not because it seems that you just can't read a single English book.
But why does this keep happening?
You've chosen a book that's too difficult.
You've chosen a book that's not very interesting to you.
You're a strong visual learner and you don't like reading very much — even in your first language.
You either don't have enough time to "get into" the book or you have a short concentration span.
So how do we solve these different problems?
The best way is by choosing the right book.
Below, I'm going to recommend two books that will help you overcome (get past) each of these problems.
This is probably the most common reason why we give up on reading books, and the solution's easy — find an easier book.
For a lot of learners, the natural choice here would be a graded reader.
What's a graded reader? It's one of those English books that are designed for English learners. The language is simpler, it's shorter and it's much easier to read. These books often contain vocabulary explanations and sometimes some exercises to help you understand the story.
But I don't strongly recommend them.
Don't get me wrong: I think that reading anything at all is always good practice, especially if your level's on the low side.
But here's some good news — if you're reading my posts, your level is not on the low side and I think you can happily manage a regular book.
This is a very popular choice for English learners. Not only is the language in this book easy to read, but the story is very interesting and thought provoking (it makes you think about things).
This means you are much less likely to give up.
The story is told from the point of view of a teenage boy with Asperger's syndrome (a condition that means you see the world in a very different way). The language is very simple and direct and it's fascinating to "get inside the mind" of the main character.
Again — this is a popular choice for language learners and many teachers recommend it.
I've chosen Animal Farm out of all of Orwell's books simply because all the characters are different animals and this makes it especially easy to follow and to "see" the story happening in your head.
But really, any George Orwell will be a good choice.
That's because Orwell (along with Ernest Hemingway) is the "king" of simple writing.
Never use a long word where a short one will do (will be enough).
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous (uncivilized).
There are some strange people out there.
I've met quite a lot of people who seem to believe that you have to suffer to learn. They really think that if it isn't difficult, it isn't working.
If you're enjoying yourself, you're going to learn quicker.
That's why I never understand it when I see English learners picking up a Charles Dickens book as their first English book.
Seriously? Dickens? The first book you're reading in English?
Again, don't get me wrong. I love Dickens. But it's challenging at times — even for me. The main reason isn't so much the language (although his English definitely isn't simple).
It's because he's writing about people who existed over 100 years ago. People without smartphones or laptops. People who only travelled about 50 miles for their big holiday, or people who never even had holidays. People who didn't read blog posts or go to cafés. People whose hairstyles and clothes probably meant that they spent at least five hours a day getting ready to leave the house.
In short — people very different from us.
When you're reading about people completely different from you, you have to make a little extra effort.
And why do that when you're trying to learn?
You want to read stuff that takes little effort, right? Books that make you want to keep turning the page and never stop reading.
I have a strange relationship with Dan Brown books. The intellectual inside me looks down on them. They're "trash" and unintellectual.
But then I start reading one.
Within a few pages, I can't stop reading. I can't put the book down. I just have to find out what happens next.
That's why Dan Brown has sold over 200 million copies of his books and has made $178 million. That's almost the GDP of the Marshall Islands!
It's because he writes books that are so exciting, interesting and real that you just can't put them down.
But the first book I read in a foreign language without using a dictionary was the first Harry Potter book in Turkish.
I didn't understand everything. In fact, in some places I could only understand about 40%. But I kept on going and I realised that you don't need to understand much to be able to enjoy the story.
And despite the fact I didn't really like Harry Potter stuff, I really enjoyed reading it. Perhaps I only enjoy Harry Potter in Turkish. Who knows?
I've written about this before, and this was probably the most effective solution for me when I was learning Turkish.
I think I made the most progress with my vocabulary and grammar through a Belgian journalist called Tintin and a prehistoric French chap called Asterix.
They are conversational. (Almost) everything is based around conversations, so you can really get access to natural language.
They are designed for adults as well as children. This means that a lot of the jokes and themes will actually be interesting for you!
There have been some worrying moments in the Tintin series. The first book, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, was clearly just pro-Soviet propaganda, and the second book, Tintin in the Congo, was unacceptably racist.
But as time went on, it seems that the writer, Hergé, changed and began accepting a more diverse view of the world.
Politics aside, these books are highly enjoyable with exciting stories and beautiful pictures.
Just don't read the racist one. You'll be sick!
Much like Tintin, Asterix was written for both children and adults.
It's very easy to relate to the different characters in the book and the stories are always highly creative.
In the story, Asterix and Obelix compete in the Olympic Games and although it takes place over 2,000 years ago, there are a lot of modern themes. The most obvious one is the theme of performance-enhancing drugs (like steroids) in sports.
Even with serious themes like that, the story is light and fun.
The best thing? You'll want to understand it all and you'll want to finish it all.
"Bathroom books" are books that some people (like me) like to put in the bathroom so that when people are taking a bath or using the toilet, they can have a quick read at the same time.
These books are usually full of short bits of information because no one takes a bath long enough to read a full book. So you can pick them up, read from any part of the book for a few minutes, then just put it down again.
And they're perfect for people who only have a few minutes at a time to read and for people with short concentration spans.
This is especially useful if you're interested in English culture, but it's still a good read even if you don't ever want to go to England in your life.
As you can probably guess from the title, this is the (fictional) diary of a teenager growing up in a working-class household in the middle of England — an ordinary boy with an ordinary life.
Although it's a teenage diary, this book is not aimed at teenagers and is both funny and enjoyable for adults.
It's very easy to read because it's in diary form. Most days are only a couple of paragraphs long, meaning that you can read a whole day in a couple of minutes. If you have problems with one, it doesn't matter — you can just move on to the next. Remember: you should be reading for enjoyment!
What if I told you that the tallest mountain in the world wasn't Mount Everest?
And that the sky in ancient Greece wasn't blue?
And that we had more than five senses?
This book is probably the most interesting one in today's post. You read it and learn how much you've got wrong about the world.
Each fact only takes up (consists of) a few paragraphs.
This means that it's very easy to read and you don't have to concentrate for a long time. It's also incredibly interesting and as a bonus, you'll be able to impress your friends with the fascinating facts you learn.
So which of these books interests you the most? Don't wait! Get a copy and start seeing your English improve while you learn and enjoy yourself!
Because this post is all about other people's books, I haven't had much opportunity to create many of my strange pictures.
I know a lot of readers enjoy my weird visual style, so here's that bookseller again.
Remember, don't sell him your book until you've finished it!
Actually, I'd like to thank you very much for your efforts and the information you kindly provided also your priceless advices and directions about reading in general.
Thanks Abdullah. I'm happy you find it useful!
Thanks you for your help, this information Will be very useful for me.
Great! Which book are you planning on reading by the way?
Gabriel, I just love your blog! Every single post I find extremely interesting and useful. Thank you for that!
That's great to hear Ranata. Are you planning on reading any of these books?
This is by far, one of my favorite posts. While I was reading your post, I was searching on Google every book you were going recommending us, and I downloaded three of them: Animal Farm, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Red Hackman's Treasure.
P.S: I'm Harry Potter series fan and I'd like to download the first one in English, but I've all of them in Spanish, of course and I've not finished them yet.
Thanks for this posts, I'll share it with some of my friends, who also love learning English.
Great choice of downloads! My favourite is probably Red Rackham's Treasure. Such a fun book!
If you like Harry Potter, you should definitely get into reading them in English. I don't even like Harry Potter, but I still enjoyed the experience of reading them in a foreign language.
And thanks for the shares!
Reading will definitely help you with everything (reading, writing, listening etc.) It's especially good for picking up vocabulary and for understanding grammatical concepts better.
If you want to use your reading to improve your speaking, try implementing some strategies. You could, for example, try to use new words or grammatical concepts that you've learned from reading directly into your conversation. If you're reading something that's quite conversational, like a novel or a comic book, remember a few of the useful conversational phrases ("That's nice," "what about it?" "that's the gist of it") and throw them into conversation when you have the chance. It doesn't matter if it's not quite the right thing to say at the right time — learning takes a while and mistakes are a great way of learning.
Hope that helps and thanks for the positive feedback!
Great and useful post but moreover I'd like to add , even well written !
Thanks to you I've finally understood why I rarely I've finished reading an English book , because you're completely right , it's happened to me many times…..
I'd opt for bathroom books and I'm really drawn by " the book of General Ignorance"….sometimes I feel I'm so ignorant!
Haha! Yes — that's the one problem with that book: it makes you feel that you know NOTHING!
But thanks for your kind comments, Marco. I'm hope you find the book you need to help you enjoy reading again.
should I mention once again that you are the best? I will try to read at least one of the above books but I must confess I face all four reasons you showcased!
Just my two cents…videos work better for people like me. It will be great for your readers to present some YouTube channels in this respect. Folks, do you agree with me?
YouTube channels are also a great way to go for this (instead of just recommending films). Thanks for the suggestion Daniel and I'm super-pleased you enjoy the post. Sometimes I feel like I suffer from all four reading problems.
Great. Good luck! And let me know when you've finished it, yeah?
Thank you for posting informations like those above . i really enjoyed reading everything you said . I hope I can read at least one of those books , it will be useful for a beginner learner like me. thank you again .
Hi Reda. It seems that you're more than just a beginner. But if you feel like reading a whole book can be difficult, perhaps you should try a Tintin or an Asterix first. Take the time to read it and try to enjoy it as much as you can!
Thanks very much for your recommendations . I believe it's very helpful .I Will try to read them all.
Don't try to read them "all." Try one by one first!
I've already read Animal farm, The daVinci code, Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone (and the other six HP books).
I found my next book to read: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It seems very interesting.
I read this in the blog of a Hungarian polyglot: you have to keep your grammar book in the bathroom. You don't need more time to learn grammar rules.
Yeah — Dickens is challenging, even for so-called Native Speakers.
I hope you enjoy The Curious Incident.
And I love the Hungarian polyglot's advice. I often recommend toilet books in the way that I did in this post, but perhaps he's onto something: grammar for the toilet, fun reading for all other times!
I would like to tell you, I read The Curious Incident and I really enjoyed it!! Very good book, thanks a lot for the tip!!
I'm reading Insomnia from Stephen King now, I've read it already in my mother tongue and also in German, I like this book too.
Finishing a book in a foreign language feels good, doesn't it?
Stephen King is a great writer for second-language English speakers, too. It probably falls under "the page turners" category I guess.
Wow! Im not that bad in english but im trying to learn with a friend listening & writing also to improve my speaking skills. Actually this article is perfect & very useful! Thank you so much! Keep going in this!
Thanks so much Hanadi. The same to you: keep going and don't give up! Cheers.
I would like to start by thanking you for the site then I want you to give me some suggestions about books or novels that may help me improve my level in English , because I really love it !
Hmm… are you saying that you'd like more recommendations for good books other than the ones on this post?
I mean the sort and simple books or novels . I'm not very good in English !
And thank you for your reply .
If you want simple, check out recommendations 1 and 2 from this post. Recommendations 7 and 8 are made up of short parts, so make it easier to take in.
If you want short AND simple, you can check out some of Ernest Hemingway's short stories. They're great reads.
thank you , you realy help me : ) .
Thanks so much for your recommendations. Though I must admit I was expecting some of Roald Dahls´ among them.
I´d love to have your expert opinion.
There are, of course, a lot of writers and specific novels that I couldn't mention in this post. The ones here are just a guide to get you started, really.
I remember that they were very clear and well-written and would fall into the "comfortably simple books" category.
Roald Dahl, definitely, and his Revolting Rhymes and Dirty Beasts, likewise Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes by Harry Graham (aka Col. D. Streamer), Cautionary Tales and (More) Beasts by Hillaire Belloc… but I'm a poem-nerd (like that ) of course.
Btw, have you read Vintage Stuff by Tom Sharp? It's one of my favourite, especially performed by Stephen Fry.
Ooohhh… Good calls. Dahl is great fun. I'm not familiar with Graham or Belloc — I'm not big into poetry.
Yes — it's unsurprising Animal Farm was banned in the USSR. It's important to remember that he wasn't just criticising Sovietism, but that the warnings about how totalitarianism can creep into ideology were more universal.
Tom Sharp? No — but I'll check him out… If Fry likes, it, I probably will, too!
Well, it's not dull (Duhl) anyway.
As for what you should not be reading (and watching)… maybe without a supervising at least, I also have the examples: here and here.
And what about Radio? Iggy Pop is right, of course (the quote from "In The Death Car"), but I mean BBC Radio Dramatization. Do you like 'em? I certainly do.
Oh yes! The Tim Burton was fantastic! Good share!
And of course you can't go wrong with Dahl. Also yes — TV is nonsense. Usually.
And of course radio is a great source of what to listen to. Have you found my post on BBC's "listening project" yet?
Oh yes, I see it often! It's great to have a love of the classics, but perhaps not while still working on improving your reading skills.
In fact there's a lot of research out there that shows reading can be improved more efficiently if you read stuff that's below your actual level. Just for fun — but a lot of it.
Either way, it's helps a great deal to enjoy what you're reading. In any language.
From https://goo.gl/MDevLZ">this blog? Yes, I have, and it's not my cup of dried leaves boiled in water, sorry — I acquired very peculiar interests since I'd discovered them. I've got, in fact, their archive (pdf plus mp3 files) from britishcouncil.org AND even the deleted poem with the original audio from 2009, my favourite actually. And yes — I edited out all ads in audio with Audacity.
Haha! Audacity is definitely a useful tool at times!
The poem is really cool — I hadn't seen it before.
And fair enough — the listening project isn't for everyone.
Let me know how the reading goes!
I was wrong exactly as you said. One of the first books I wanted to read in my beginnings was "The Scarlet Letter"! This is the frustration itself.
Thank you very much for you awesome website and for every thing you taught us.
Yes! a 19th-century novel is probably the worst place to start!
Thanks for the positive feedback and I'm glad you're learning more and more!
Hi, Gabriel. Would you please explain how come there's past tense is used in sentence "the tallest mountain in the world wasn't Mount Everest", but there is present one in case with "And that we have more than five senses"? Although both are related to second conditional, aren't they?
The 5 senses sentence should be in the past for the sake of consistency.
I'll change that later today.


Finding an opportunity to study abroad is relatively easy when you're an Arts & Humanities major. For example, English majors can explore the land of some of their favorite authors in Ireland. History majors will find that most of Europe will fulfill any of their interests. And, of course, the classics major mecca is in Greece and Rome. Studying abroad offers the chance to indulge in the rich culture we often only get to experience in the pages of our textbooks.
But what do you do when you're an engineering student?
While no major outweighs any other in importance, it's safe to say that engineering is no easy task. Engineering students often take on immense credit loads and multiple labs, leaving little time to study abroad for a whole semester and graduate on time. Fortunately, short term concentrated programs offer an opportunity to briefly enjoy all the benefits of studying abroad.
Meet Betsy Long, a senior mechanical engineering student at the University of Maryland. Betsy wanted to study abroad, but she knew she wouldn't be able to fit a semester-long program into her four year plan. However, after declaring a minor in International Engineering, she knew she had to go abroad somehow. This past January, she had her chance. For three weeks, she studied in Sydney, Australia through the UMD-Winter: Australia: International Business Cultures in Engineering and Technology program.
1. Why did you choose to study abroad in Australia?
I chose to study abroad in Sydney because I felt that it would be a place I might never get the opportunity to go at any other point in my life. Australia is so far away, Therefore, it's expensive to go and takes a long time to travel to. Once I graduate and begin working, it may be easier to travel financially, but it's more difficult to just get out, go, and leave work behind. January was the perfect time to go because it's summer and Australia! I'd always wanted to travel to Australia, and I'm so glad that I did.
2.What are the top 5 sites to see?
Sydney Opera House: This probably sounds generic and cliche, but it's beautiful. On one of our first nights in Sydney, we passed by it on a cruise, and it really hit me that I was finally there.
Featherdale Wildlife Park: You have to visit the kangaroos and the koala's. We got to get up close and personal with them. (Fun fact: Though often called the koala "bear", this cuddly marsupial is not a bear at all. Koala's fingerprints are similar to human fingerprints.
Bondi Beach: Visiting in January meant that it was summer time in Australia. I kind of enjoyed knowing everyone was freezing back home, but I was relaxing on a beach just 4 miles East of the Sydney Central Business District. Bondi is the home of Australian surf-lifesaving. The Bondi Life Saving Club , formed in 1906. You can see more stunning beaches nearby by taking the coastal walk to Tamarama, Bronte and Coogee.
The Rocks: This is one of the oldest areas of Sydney. A 19th Century village hemmed in by Sydney Cove. The building It looks like a small old-fashioned town hidden on top of a hill, and it overlooks the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Great views!
The Royal Botanic Gardens: a beautiful garden and park located close to the opera house. It feels like you're not in a city, and it's absolutely gorgeous. Plus, if you walk out to the furthest point, you can get the postcard worthy picture of the opera house and bridge!
3. How did you live like a local in your study abroad city?
I was only in Sydney for 3 weeks, so the time we had to acclimate to the city had to be condensed. My apartment for the trip was very close to the central metro station, which we used almost every day. Quickly learning to navigate the transportation made me feel like I was one of the locals and allowed my group to explore places we probably wouldn't have if we stuck to a guidebook. My group and I learned about local markets, found our favorite restaurants and places to go out, and after our time in Sydney, really felt like locals.
4. What was the most amazing cultural experience you encountered while studying abroad?
One was learning to let go of conceived notions. The best cultural experience was probably getting a tour of "the outback" from an indigenous woman. After hearing the term indigenous woman, I was expecting her to be in some sort of tribal gear and completely different from me, but I was very surprised how similar she was. She was very modern, was well educated, and lived just outside the city. The the was she spoke about her culture was very enlightening, and she was obviously passionate about it and the history. It made me realize a lot about the way I view the world.
Making the most of the warm January weather.
5. How has this Study Abroad impacted on your personal growth?
I thought that being in college had made me a very independent person and able to do things without help. I didn't really understand doing things on my own until I traveled to another continent on my own. I have gained a whole new sense of independence, and feel confident that I could live on my own and travel independently of my parents.
6. What advice/tips would you give to yourself before you went abroad?
I would tell myself to look more in depth to restaurants, local sites, etc. Our instructor gave the group a schedule of the places we would be visiting, but I wish I would have researched some other places that we didn't go as a group ahead of time, rather than researching while I was there because I was very busy.
Note: A Billabong is a small lake/pond, near a river, that has become secluded, due to the changing of the land and environment around it.
This was a great article Courtney. I love the idea of an interview!


A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tradition of cultural or religious significance. Holidays may be designated by governments, religious institutions, or other groups or organizations. The degree to which normal activities are reduced by a holiday may depend on local laws, customs, the type of job held or personal choices. The concept of holidays often originated in connection with religious observances. The intention of a holiday was typically to allow individuals to tend to religious duties associated with important dates on the calendar. In most modern societies, however, holidays serve as much of a recreational function as any other weekend days or activities.


When our life is packed with too much activity, and there is no room for pause; it leaves no space to receive the universal flow of wisdom, love and creativity. When we take a pause, a moment in time, we give space to ignite the flame within.
Notice what comes up for you in this space and what your body can teach you.
Pause. Breathe. Notice. Repeat. Got it.
Reaching for it today. Spent lots of time outside, taking care of me, breathing in the beautiful day!
Ah, yes, delicious pauses. Thanks for the inspiration to create more space, Karen!
I love this poem and haven't seen it in years. Thanks for bringing it back and for the reminder to breathe. Four deep breaths and I can feel the difference in my body.


text:
Tag: Project Lakhta
Twitter and Reddit Suspend Accounts Run by U.S.-Sanctioned Russian Propaganda Site
Russian troll factory-linked news site USA Really is struggling to connect with American voters ahead of 2020 election
For the second year in a row, Twitter and Reddit have suspended accounts belonging to sanctioned Russian propaganda website USA Really, one of a number of shady news outlets allegedly funded by Robert Mueller-indicted catering oligarch, Yevgeny Prigozhin aka "Putin's Cook."
It's the latest setback in a series of misplaced attempts by the site to cultivate an American audience.
Launched in May last year as a U.S.-facing adjunct of Russia's Federal News Agency, the site initially presented itself as a homegrown, independent news and storytelling platform. However, the site quickly gained notoriety when its calamitous efforts to stage a flash mob at the White House fell flat.
In December, the site, its parent company, and its founder, bumbling Kremlin policy adviser Alexander Malkevich, were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in connection with Project Lakhta, a massive social media influence campaign that allegedly sought to "sow discord" in the lead-up to the 2016 election.
Alexander Malkevich (source)
Under Malkevich's leadership, USA Really "engaged in efforts to post content focused on divisive political issues but is generally ridden with inaccuracies," the Treasury Department said in an accompanying statement, which mirrored reporting first published by this blog.
In February, as U.S. tech companies severed ties with USA Really and the site's American contributors fled, Malkevich resigned his editorship. Under current editor Leonid Savin — who previously edited the pro-Putin think tank Katehon — the site has continued to publish politically contentious content.
Leonid Savin (source)
In July, the site quietly registered new Twitter and Reddit accounts in a seeming attempt to mount a second social media influence campaign ahead of the upcoming 2020 election. The site's reappearance highlights how propagandists and other bad actors are easily able to thwart even the most vigilant of social media platforms.
Asked to comment, Twitter quickly suspended the new account, which USA Really had been using primarily to post links back to its site.
After multiple inquiries, Reddit also removed USA Really from its platform, putting an end to a racist, sexist, and homophobic commenting campaign that appeared to follow Russian troll factory directives for posting online.
"The account in question has been banned in accordance with our site-wide policies," a Reddit spokesperson said in a statement.
The intentionally offensive comments were posted across at least 25 different hot-button subreddits, including r/progun, r/republicans, r/SandersForPresident, r/conspiracy, r/WikiLeaks, r/Feminism, r/MensRights, and even r/gaybros, a support group for "those of us who are gay and trying to leave the parTy scene."
In other words, exactly what you might expect from a Russian troll account.
Equally unsurprising was the site's targeting of Democratic congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, known for her advocacy of progressive policies such as the Green New Deal.
In July, someone posted a video of Tlaib heckling Donald Trump on the r/republicans subreddit. The video soon caught the attention of USA Really, who, using the handle "usaUNreally," wasted no time firing off a disparaging comment.
"She need a better bra," wrote usaUNreally, in perhaps one of the most childish examples of professional trolling ever published to the Internet.
Last month, usaUNreally struck again when a commenter on the r/Conservative subreddit asked why the House of Representatives had not opened a sexual misconduct investigation into Tlaib's friend and colleague, Somali-American congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
"[It's] because she is only capable of incest," replied usaUNreally, alluding to an unfounded rumour that she'd married her brother.
Ilhan Omar (source)
On the r/Conspiracy subreddit, usaUNreally turned to the topic of immigration, playing up xenophobic claims that illegal immigrants had secretly invaded a Californian town on a fleet of buses.
"Democrats," wrote usaUNreally, "buy votes, but insolently bring 'electorate' from abroad. What we have in line … Reparations, bribery of Jewish communities, satisfaction of other ethnic minorities, gay voices will be valued twice as much as a heterosexual white man. Welcome aboard!"
In a race-baiting rant on the r/PublicFreakout subreddit, usaUNreally just stopped short of using a racist expletive.
"the question is as old as the sea," usaUNreally pontificated. "but explain why white people shouldn't call African-Americans a n-word (they always say this to each other), but black can use the word "white" (snow white)?"
Elsewhere, usaUNreally defended using violence against women.
"I'm not protecting this exact guy," explained usaUNreally, referring to a video in which an alleged batterer gets his comeuppance. "But sometimes women behave as men, so if they demands the same attitude to themselves they should handle what they deserve."
DivestTrump, an online disinformation researcher who outed USA Really's attempts to infiltrate r/The_Donald subreddit last year (as reported by Newsweek, BuzzFeed News, and NBC News), said that despite the site's lack of success this time around, the end goal remained the same.
"Their traffic plummeted after the previous bans and they're clearly trying to rebuild an audience," DivestTrump tweeted from an undisclosed location. "Their endgame hasn't changed. They exist to heighten divisions, sow distrust in our own government, and push a Russian agenda in America."
USA Really's editor did not reply to a request for comment.
Dean Sterling Jones Law and Politics Leave a comment November 22, 2019 August 10, 2020 4 Minutes
Maria Butina Pens Article for Russian Think Tank Run by U.S.-Sanctioned Kremlin Policy Adviser
The article appears to be the first in a regular column published by the Foundation for the Protection of National Values, an obscure Russian think tank run by sanctioned Kremlin mass media policy adviser Alexander Malkevich
Maria Butina is teaming up with a Russian think tank whose founder allegedly has close ties to the Kremlin's infamous disinformation apparatus.
In collaboration with the Foundation for the Protection of National Values (FPNV), Butina has penned an article titled "Oh please, make me a tool of American propaganda!" lambasting the American press and judicial system. The article, which claims to mark the beginning of a broader collaboration, comes just a few weeks after Butina was released from the Tallahassee Federal Correction Institution, where she served a 15-month sentence for acting as an unregistered agent of the Kremlin.
Recounting an interview she gave 60 Minutes while still in prison, Butina described her sentence as "a shameful deal for the US prosecutor's office, with an investigation in which they had to recognize my legitimate status as a student, apologize for sexist charges and, in order not to hit the dirt in the face and justify the money spent by American taxpayers on me, appoint me a prison term ?!"
Maria Butina (source)
The most scathing comments, however, were saved for interviewer Lesley Stahl, whose "little dry American face," Butina wrote, "doubled in the grimace of surprise and clear misunderstanding of my words."
On returning to Russia, Butina claimed she "was barely alive from lack of sleep and stress," but nevertheless "remained true to my promise to the women who sat with me, still imprisoned in the mortal arms of the American penitentiary system … not to be silent about all violations of their rights…"
Butina went on to thank FPNV founder Alexander Malkevich, who, "having experienced the bullying of American law enforcement officers himself," had "systematically helped" her during her prison term.
Readers of this blog will remember Malkevich as the former editor of USA Really, a Russian propaganda site allegedly funded by Robert Mueller-indicted catering oligarch, Yevgeny Prigozhin aka "Putin's cook." Both Malkevich and Prigozhin are currently under U.S. sanctions for their alleged involvement in Project Laktha, a massive social media influence operation that allegedly sought to "sow discord" in the American political system in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election.
At least four of Malkevich's current employees — three of whom he reportedly shares with Prigozhin's infamous troll factory — were recently accused of attempting to meddle in African elections. Malkevich has denied the claims.
In May, Malkevich launched a crowdfunding effort in Russia to help pay Butina's legal bills. In an interview with this blog, he said he intended to pay the money through a third-party in Moscow in order to circumvent financial restrictions placed on him by the U.S. Treasury Department.
"Of course I am not paying [Butina's lawyers] directly because I am under sanctions," he told Shooting the Messenger at the time. "But I am the producer of this crowdfunding."
Malkevich with Butina (source)
When Butina returned to Moscow last month, Malkevich met her at the airport with a bouquet of flowers. Following that appearance, I again asked Malkevich about his involvement with Butina. This time he said he'd made an offer for Butina to work for FPNV as its vice president.
"Yes, I offered Maria Butina to become a part of our foundation for national values protection, and I will be happy if she will agree to become a vice president of our fund, of our foundation," Malkevich said in an audio recording. "About her possible acceptance, you know that I heard that she expressed interest in our joint work. But you know that nowadays she is in Barnaul in her native city in Altai region, and I think that for week or maybe for two weeks she has to have a rest among her family, with her father, her mother, with her friends. So we are not in a hurry. We are not in a hurry."
Butina did not reply to multiple requests for comment.
I also asked Malkevich if he was excited to see himself back in the American press.
"I can't say that I was excited to see myself on CNN because a lot of American media wrote about me and are still writing something about me," he said. "Maybe that first time I was a little bit excited when I found myself in New York Times, and really big article with photo about me and so on."
He added that his next project will involve compiling the various definitions western news outlets have used to describe him and his activities. You can learn more about that project via the SoundCloud link below.
Dean Sterling Jones Law and Politics, Media and Advertising 1 Comment November 18, 2019 March 26, 2020 3 Minutes
Head of Russian Propaganda Site USA Really Calls It Quits
Alexander Malkevich and his website USA Really were sanctioned for "attempted election interference" last year
Alexander Malkevich, founder and Editor-in-Chief of Russian propaganda website USA Really, has quit the project after he and his site were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in December.
Malkevich, who currently leads Russia's Civic Chamber of Mass Media, from which he advises the Kremlin on media policy, said he left USA Really at the end of last month to focus on his work in Russia, including writing "several books" on U.S. elections.
"I decided to turn into my numerous projects in the field of civil society both in Russia and abroad," Malkevich explained in an e-mail. "I have also plan to write and publish several books about the US elections and about the history of elections in the Russian Federation. This year I also have to finish my doctoral dissertation in the political sciences so I have too much work and I don't have time enough for the USA really.
"I would like to mention that Leo Savin [a Russian political analyst and former editor of pro-Putin think tank Katehon] will be the next face of this media outlet," he added.
USA Really HQ (source)
Malkevich's exit comes just a few months after U.S. prosecutors accused USA Really's parent company, the Federal News Agency (FAN), of being involved in Project Lakhta, a Kremlin-backed, multi-million dollar social media disinformation campaign allegedly intended to "sow discord in the U.S. political system."
USA Really's alleged role in the campaign included "efforts to post content focused on divisive political issues," according to a statement by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). "In June 2018, USA Really attempted to hold a political rally in the United States, though its efforts were unsuccessful."
In November, Malkevich was briefly detained by the F.B.I. during a trip to the U.S. as "a public observer" of the midterm elections. During that same trip, he gatecrashed an election night party at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., where he later claimed he was physically accosted by celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti's entourage.
"This never happened and I don't travel with an entourage," Avenatti told Shooting the Messenger. "Putin must be so proud of this nonsense."
Michael Avenatti with Alexander Malkevich (source)
Since December, USA Really has faced a number of setbacks after the Treasury Department prohibited U.S. individuals and businesses from transacting with the site.
In January, the site's security certificate and PayPal account were revoked, restricting its ability to operate and do business within the U.S. Last month, Google followed suit and yanked the site's analytics account, blocking its ability to access reporting data on its readers.
The sanctions also appeared to take their toll on USA Really's American contributors, at least three of whom have since left the site, fearing possible legal repercussions. OFAC guidelines state that "fines for [violating sanctions] can be substantial" and "in many cases, civil and criminal penalties can exceed several million dollars."
Despite those setbacks, Malkevich appeared resolute in comments last month to The Daily Beast, describing the sanctions as a "WITCH HUNT" and insisting that "ALL ANERICANS [sic] CAN WRITE ANYTHING FOR US."
USA Really did not reply to a request for comment regarding Malkevich's exit from the site.
Shooting the Messenger has followed USA Really since April last year, and in June scooped Malkevich's involvement in the site.
Via POTUS Press Pool with Julie Mason, Sirius XM, April 19, 2018:
For those of you who are looking for a job, there's a Russian troll farm that's recruiting English-speaking journalists. Uh, you know, need a few extra bucks? It's called the Federal News Agency, which—Federal News Agency used to be the name of, like, a transcription service here in Washington DC, so when I first saw that I was, like, "wait, what?" Anyway, Federal News Agency, a pro-Russian website linked to the Internet Research Agency, has been recruiting English-speaking journalists to work on its "Wake Up, America!" campaign. This is according to Shooting the Messenger. Here's the ad—I'm going to read aloud from the ad:
"Due to the growing political censorship imposed by the United States, there remains less and less of information sources that are not under control of the U.S. authorities. In this regard, U.S. citizens cannot receive objective and independent information about events occurring on the territory of America and throughout the world."
What!? Come on. "Under control of U.S. authorities"—Russia, come on, be smarter than that. Be smarter than a Russian troll, Russia. Anyway, so they are hiring. If you dream of working for a Russian troll farm, you can check it out.
Via "New Russian Media Venture Wants to Wage 'Information War' in Washington, D.C." by Lachlan Markay, The Daily Beast, June 10, 2018:
A Russian government adviser who aims to wage an "information war" in the U.S. and Europe is running a new media venture a block from the White House that cybersecurity experts say has ties to the country's infamous disinformation apparatus.
In April, Russia's Federal News Agency (FAN) announced the creation of an American outlet called "USA Really." Its website and accompanying social media pages sprang up in May and quickly began promoting a mid-June rally to be held in front of the White House in protest of "growing political censorship… aimed at discrediting the Russian Federation…"
USA Really's "flash mob" protest was initially scheduled for June 14, in what it says was a recognition of Flag Day and President Donald Trump's birthday. But rather than applying for a rally protest with D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), which oversees such events, it asked the city's film and television office for a film permit, the type that movie studios obtain before taping scenes on D.C. streets.
The FAN posted a copy of an email from the film office, which referred USA Really to the MPD. "Your permit application is denied," the email read, "since we've determined that this is a rally more so than a filming…"
MPD told Dean Sterling Jones, [an] investigative writer who's followed the USA Really case for weeks and first reported Malkevich's involvement, that it had received no requests for a rally permit from the group.
Dean Sterling Jones Law and Politics 17 Comments March 8, 2019 March 26, 2020 4 Minutes
Head of Russian Disinfo Website Sanctioned by U.S. Treasury
In June I scooped a story about attempts by Russian government media adviser Alexander Malkevich to set up a troll factory-linked propaganda website in Washington, D.C. Yesterday Malkevich was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for "attempted election interference"
Since April, I've been doing original reporting on USA Really, a now-infamous disinformation website aimed at U.S. readers.
USA Really was created by Moscow's Federal News Agency (FAN), which U.S. federal prosecutors recently linked to election interference campaigns carried out by the Robert Mueller-indicted Internet Research Agency (IRA), better known as the Russian troll factory.
USA Really EIC Alexander Malkevich (source)
In a press release yesterday, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned USA Really and its Editor-in-Chief Alexander Malkevich for their alleged involvement in Project Lakhta, a Kremlin-backed social media influence campaign which, according to prosecutors, aimed "to sow division and discord in the U.S. political system," and which both FAN and the IRA allegedly participated in.
Today, [OFAC] designated several entities and individuals related to Project Lakhta, a broad Russian effort that includes the IRA, designated previously under E.O. 13694, as amended, which has sought to interfere in political and electoral systems worldwide…
Within weeks after the designation of the IRA, the Federal News Agency LLC — an entity utilized by Project Lakhta to obscure its activities that was also designated today — announced that it was creating a new Russian-funded, English-language website called USA Really. USA Really, which is operated by Alexander Aleksandrovich Malkevich (Malkevich), engaged in efforts to post content focused on divisive political issues but is generally ridden with inaccuracies. In June 2018, USA Really attempted to hold a political rally in the United States, though its efforts were unsuccessful. As of June 2018, Malkevich was a member of Russia's Civic Chamber commission on mass media, which serves in a consultative role to the Russian government. Based on this activity, USA Really was designated pursuant to E.O. 13694, as amended, for being owned or controlled by the Federal News Agency LLC, while Malkevich was designated pursuant to E.O. 13694, as amended, for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, USA Really.
The press release mirrors my earlier reporting on USA Really and Malkevich. You can read more about that via my 2018 round-up by clicking here.
Update, December 22, 2018: The Kremlin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, has denounced the "illegal" sanctions in a statement in support of FAN and USA Really.
Dean Sterling Jones Law and Politics 1 Comment December 20, 2018 March 26, 2020 2 Minutes


I am a graduate students who is trying to record spontaneous EPSCs from primary neuronal cultures obtained from chick ciliary ganglion (E8 i.e.e 8 days eggs post fertilization). These neurons are abundant in nicotinic receptors. my cultures look great but when i record using silgard coated pipettes i do not see events. Here's the protocol that i use. Any help whatsoever, would be deeply appreciated because i am in a very difficult situation.
1. Acid wash the coverslips (Fisher, No 1, 12 mm) for 72 hours with Nitric Acid, then wash 20 times with Fisher boxed water, and twice with 95% ETOH (see seperate sheet), then dry. Put coverslips in the 24 well-dish before use.
2. Coat the coverslips with poly-L-Ornithine (Sigma, P-3655, 2 mg/ml stock stored at -20 C) (300 ul/coverslip (0.2-0.4 mg/ml), dissolved in 0.133M Borate Buffer, pH=8.4. The coating period has been suggested to be betwwen 2-24 hrs. P-DL-O (P 0671, Sigma) is used in Dr. Margiotta's lab.
3. Wash coversliops with sterile Fisher Boxed water for at least 5 times, dry them and coat the coverslips with (300 l/coverslip, 10 - 40 g/ml in MEM) Laminin (Gibco, Cat#: 23017-015, stored at -80 C, ) for at least 1 hour(Again, it has been suggested to be between 2-24 hrs).
4. Wash the coverslips 3 times with MEM (Gibco), drain the MEM and put about 300 l culture medium (MEM, Glu, P/S, horse serum (Gibco)) to the wells, and put the plate in the CO2 incubator waiting for plating of cells.
5. Figure out the number of ganglia you need. For physiology, QNai use 2 ganglia/12 mm coverslip.
6. Dissect the ganglia under sterile condition, put them in sterile ice-cold Ca++ free Buffer eg. DF0 or MPG, in a 35-mm dish. Clean the nerve root and debris on CGs (as clean as possible). Then transfer the CG into another dish containing ice-cold DF0 or MPG. Make sure to pre-wet the transfer pipette, other wise the CG will stickto the glass wall. Cut CG in half or more times. Transfer these CGs into a clear tube containing ice-cold DF0 or MPG (Try to avoid debris in the Buffer. If you include debris in your culture, you will see quite a lot wierd noneuronal cells living happily together with your neurons. People using the cultures may not like to see that). Remove DF0 or MPG and add 1ml MEM++/hs/ 3% eye extract (MEM, Glu, P/S, hore serum and eye extract).
7. Pick a #9 pasteur glass pipette with smooth tip and flame the tip to ¼ or smaller of the original size. Pre-wet the pipette that you just made with culture medium for some times. Then trituate these CG until no big chunks are left (Trituate less than 20 times and avoid bubbles. Do not overtrituate the CG).
9. Add more culture medium to the volume you want. You may want to put 200 l medium including dispersed CG neurons to the 300 l medium already in wells.
10. The neuron might be evenly distributed in the well without extra treatment. If not, you may try to move your plate in a '8'style (like a bee, Ha).
11. Leave the plate in the hood for about 15 min to let the cells settle down, then transfer it the CO2 incubator.
1. MEM with Earle's salts (1x, Gibco, Cat. #: 11090), should be kept at 2 to 8 C, and protect from light.
2. Penicillin-streptomycin (Gibco, Cat#: 15140), should be stored at -5 to -20 C.
3. L-glutamine (Gibco, Cat#: 25030), kept at -5 to -20 C, and protect from light.
4. Horse Serum (hs, heat inactivated, Gibco, Cat#: 26050-088), kept at -5 to -20 C.


text:
SERIAL thief jailed over south Essex shoplifting spree
JAILED: Damien Barnes
A SERIAL thief has been jailed for eight weeks after admitting a string of shoplifting offences across south Essex.
Damien Barnes, 33, from Eden Green, South Ockendon, stole five lamb joints worth £38 from Lidl in South Ockendon on August 15.
In October he stole various items from Co-op and Savers stores in South Ockendon worth a total of £80.
This month he stole goods worth £33, including steaks, from the Co-op in South Ockendon, and three bottles of Baileys alcoholic drink from a Tesco in Basildon.
Barnes also admitted failing to to up to an earlier court hearing on October 1.
At Basildon Magistrates Court he was jailed eight weeks for each offence, to run concurrently, and was ordered to pay compensation totalling £112 to some of the stores.
Barnes made national headlines last year when Essex Police issued CCTV of him during and appeal for the whereabouts of him, partner Cheryl Wilkins, 32, and her two children.


Laetitia de Allegri and Matteo Fogale is a design studio based in London.
Laetitia grew up in Switzerland and graduated in Industrial design from ECAL 'Ecole Cantonale d'Art de Lausanne'. Matteo was born in Uruguay and moved to Italy where he graduated in Industrial design at IUAV Facolta' di Design e Arti in Venice. They both met in London where for several years worked as designers for internationally acclaimed studios before joining forces to found their own studio and workshop.
de Allegri & Fogale is lead by a design approach that considers honest, premium and un-conventional materials as well as functionality and longevity of the products. Laetitia and Matteo's work celebrates the combination of industrial process and fine craftsmanship, finding inspiration in nature as well as day-to-day environments.
They work across disciplines and industries on a variety of projects from industrial products, bespoke commissions, interiors and installations combining deep understanding of materials and making techniques as well as patterns, textures and colours.


One of the best looking setups among major pairs can be seen on AUDUSD, where we have a beautiful reversal pattern, and according to price action rules, we should soon see a further rise. We are talking here about the setup on the daily chart, which only adds credibility (setups on daily and weekly charts are always the most powerful).
Since the beginning of September, AUDUSD has been creating an inverse head and shoulders, so a strong bullish reversal formation. In our case, everything has gone according to plan, and on Friday buyers managed to break the neckline (grey) of this structure. At the same time, that resistance was at the 23.6% Fibonacci of the main yearly downtrend. The new week is starting out with a small pull-back, which is rather typical for this kind of price action. Simply put, the broken resistance is being tested as a support.
We will have a strong buy signal if the price closes the day above the grey area. On the other hand, if the price comes back deep below the neckline, we could have a false breakout, which could spell trouble for the bullish dreams for a long time. There is one rule when it comes to trading on false breakouts – you do not mess with them.


IJL 2017 opens its doors at Olympia, London on 3 September 2017 for three days of inspiration, innovation, education and networking opportunities. Jewellery trade visitors who register online before 30th June will be entered in a prize draw to be in with a chance to win a case of Thienot champagne.
Pre-registered visitors will avoid the registration queues thanks to their fast track entry tickets. They will also be able to plan their show visit with the help of the Essential Guide which details news about the seminars, daily catwalk shows and all the special events and features planned at the show. Both guide and tickets will be mailed out in July.