The Monkeys and I were on a mission. Early to the farmers markets and then home again before it got too hot.
With Monkey Boy on the scooter, Little Monkey in the pram and me running, we actually got there in reasonable time. The sun was out, the sky was blue. Talks about turtles and all their merits while we ran and scootered along. A good start to the morning.
I had chevre on my mind, so once at the markets I set out for the Willowbrae stall. Eeeek, it wasn't there! I scan again, sigh, there will be no goat cheese to be had this week for us.
To my right I hear a cheery "Bonjour", it seems I have paused outside the French Patisserie stall…these things happen sometimes. The very friendly Malik entices Monkey Boy with a brioche. His eyes light up, eyebrows raise, as he starts to nod enthusiastically.
"Actually Mama, Little Monkey can have that one, I'd like a chocolate croissant instead." He says eagerly.
ACTUALLY, I want that one Mama!
Snapped back to reality I am back in the markets, Monkey Boy is pestering me for his croissant and Pierre, his brioche and cafe au lait are gone.
I do instead have the very friendly Malik. Malik has a cake or pastry for every palate that comes through the markets I'm sure of it. Starting his family run business 8 years ago, he saw a gap in the market for really great French patisserie goodies. He divides his time between 3 lots of farmers markets within Sydney, as well as supplying various retailers throughout the city. He is also soon to open a shop in Abbotsford, that will include some of their organic range produce as well as those dream enducing brioche.


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Home :: Statements
2020 YEAR-END STATEMENT of NEDA Acting Secretary KARL KENDRICK T. CHUA
PR Dec 19, 2020 252 views
2020 YEAR-END STATEMENT
KARL KENDRICK T. CHUA
Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary
#AskNEDA 2020 Year-end Press Briefing
December 17, 2020 | 11:00 A.M.
Dear friends from the media and colleagues from NEDA, let me first greet you all a merry Christmas.
Despite this whirlwind of a year, we started 2020 with a strong foundation and the country was likely to become an upper-middle income country this year if not for COVID-19. Between 2015 and 2018, poverty rate fell from 23.5% of the population to 16.7% of the population in 2018. This means we have lifted some six million Filipinos from poverty. This was our target for 2022 but we achieved it in 2018, four years in advance.
Over the past four years, GDP growth averaged 6.6 percent, placing the country among the fastest growing economies in the world. We recorded low and stable inflation, which averaged 3 percent from 2016 to 2019, well within the government's target range of 2 to 4 percent. This was supported by the passage of foundational reforms such as the Rice Tariffication law (RTL).
In 2019, we had the highest revenue-to-GDP ratio in decades at 16.1 percent and the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio at 39.6 percent- enabled by the comprehensive tax reform program and other fiscal measures. Had we not done crucial reforms like the rice tariffication, tax reform, universal healthcare, and national ID, we would have had a more difficult time dealing with what lay ahead.
However, we did not anticipate what can only be described as a series of unexpected events which has affected almost every aspect of our economy and our very own lives.
This year brought enormous challenges, not just to the Philippines, but also to all economies around the world.
In the first quarter of 2020, the Taal volcano eruption affected livelihoods and led to a decline in tourism. By March, COVID-19 became a global pandemic and we made the difficult decision to implement the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) to buy us time to strengthen our healthcare system, but this came at a huge cost to the economy. We saw a significant contraction of our economy by 16.9 percent and a significant increase in the unemployment rate at 17.6 percent in the second quarter given the closure of businesses and the loss of income during the ECQ.
In the second half of 2020, our health system improved significantly, allowing us to relax the quarantines. However, as we gradually reopened the economy, we faced several typhoons: Ofel, Nika, Pepito, Quinta, Rolly, and Ulysses and the accompanying floods.
This has not been an easy year but in every crisis, there is also an opportunity to move our country forward, as our past experiences show.
OPPORTUNITY IN CRISIS
At the start of my term as the Acting Secretary in April, I was given the marching orders by the President to focus on three priorities: fast-track the national ID, accelerate the infrastructure program, and craft an economic recovery program. Building on the work done by my predecessors, we have made significant strides in these priorities despite contending with a pandemic and other challenges this year.
More than 9 million Filipinos in 32 targeted provinces have already completed the step 1 registration to the Philippine Identification System or PhilSys or the National ID. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), as of 14 December 2020, a total of 9,004,546 went through step 1 registration, that means the collection of demographic data, exceeding the 9 million target for 2020. We aim to register more than 10 million individuals for step 1 by the end of this year.
We thank the PSA, our partners in government and civil society, and the registration officers on the ground for their tireless efforts in ensuring a safe and efficient registration for all despite the quarantine and the pandemic. The work continues next year as we aim to register at least 50 million individuals in 2021.
The national ID aims to address one of the major barriers to financial inclusion, which is the lack of an ID. Among the 9 million step 1 registrants, 89.3 percent said they do not have bank accounts. The Land Bank of the Philippines (Land Bank) will co-locate, with the PSA, in step 2 registration centers to allow registrants to open a bank account. This is an opportunity to provide accounts to all 20 million low-income families by the end of next year.
We are also exploring how the national ID may assist the government in the efficient distribution of vaccines.
Infrastructure program
Despite the pandemic, the government is committed to pursuing its infrastructure program. In the 2021 GAA, some 1.1 trillion pesos, around 5.4% of GDP, is allocated to infrastructure. We estimate that around 1.7 million direct and indirect jobs would be created by the infrastructure program in 2021. This highlights the infrastructure program's pivotal role in reviving the economy given its high multiplier effect.
In response to COVID-19, we have also reassessed and reprioritized our infrastructure program to include more projects that are responsive to addressing the challenges brought by the pandemic.
The revised list of infrastructure flagship projects now includes 104 projects under the sectors of health, information and communications technology, power and energy, transport and mobility, urban development, and water resources.
Economic Recovery Plan
NEDA also played an active role in the Inter-Agency Task Force Technical Working Group for Anticipatory and Forward Planning (IATF-TWG for AFP) and released the 'We Recover as One' report, detailing how we can enable the economy to recover and transition to the new normal, and this formed the basis of the 2021 National Expenditures Program. An immediate action plan for economic recovery was also formulated, called Recharge PH, which became the basis of the National Action Plan (NAP) Phase III.
To really recover, the key is to manage risks, not to avoid them. All economic indicators reveal that with the safe relaxation of the economy, incomes and jobs come back, while with more restrictions, the reverse happens.
With significant progress in the health system against COVID-19, the focus now should be on striking a better balance to also care for all those who are jobless, those who have lost their income, those who are hungry, those who are depressed, and those who are at risk of dying from non-COVID diseases.
This Christmas season, the government has been proactive in advising people to be more careful so that we do not reverse the gains we painstakingly worked for this year.
Our main intervention is to open up the economy safely so that we can recover faster. Public transport has already been opened significantly and, following experts' advice, we will also start pilot face to face learning in MGCQ or low risk areas starting January 2021.
We also aim to gradually relax age group restriction, especially with the children, with the approval of the local government units (LGU). Up to 50 percent of sales in malls and food establishments are driven by families. If we keep the children at home and don't allow them to go out, even for school, then a big part of the economy is still effectively closed, given our very young demographic profile.
The government will also avoid reversal to more strict quarantine. When NCR reverted back to MECQ last August, it created a lot of uncertainty for consumers and businesses. Instead, we will prioritize localized quarantines and enforce better the minimum health standards.
To support our recovery, we saw significant progress in legislation. Congress already passed the 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST) Act to help businesses in need of liquidity support. Congress also extended the Bayanihan II and the 2020 budget, which add room to our fiscal support.
The Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) bill is now at the bicameral conference committee. Once enacted, this will contribute to the stimulus package, benefiting mostly MSMEs that comprise 99 percent of businesses and employ over 60 percent of Filipino workers.
All these form a coherent package that provides us with ample fiscal and financial support to help the economy recover.
85 YEARS OF NEDA
As NEDA celebrates its 85th anniversary this year, we reflect on our role in this crucial crossroad of Philippine development. Building on the achievements and vast experiences of NEDA over the decades, we sought the guidance of former NEDA secretaries last month on how NEDA can effectively perform its growing mandate amid scarcer resources.
This effort is in line with our initiative to strengthen the NEDA institution towards more effective and active policy formulation, planning, programming, monitoring and evaluation through both legislative and executive action.
This continuity in objective and direction has characterized much of our economic policy over the past decades and is also the very reason why the economy has remained resilient despite headwinds and shocks.
As we move towards 2021, NEDA remains guided by our principle of placing the Filipino people in the center of our plans or as our maxim says: 'sentro ang tao sa ating plano.' In this regard, NEDA is conducting another Consumer and Employee Survey to determine the general confidence of the people in opening up the economy. This is a follow-through of the earlier surveys earlier this year and we enjoin everyone to participate. Please visit the NEDA website and share the link to our friends and family members.
To conclude, we will strive hard to ensure that we do not let this crisis go to waste. The challenges are immense, but we are determined to build back a better future our people and our children deserve. We look with optimism to the future as we do our work so that, together, we can reach our Ambisyon Natin 2040 vision of a matatag, maginhawa, at panatag na buhay para sa lahat.
Again, thank you very much and I wish everyone a merry and safe holiday season.
Ref: https://www.neda.gov.ph/2020-year-end-statement-of-acting-socioeconomic-planning-secretary-karl-kendrick-t-chua/
JOINT STATEMENT OF THE DUTERTE ADMINISTRATION'S ECONOMIC MANAGERS ON THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMIC PERFOR

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Israeli USB stick inventor bets on TV, Medical Devices
Israeli high-tech pioneer Dov Moran, whose company M-Systems invented the USB stick and expanded the use of flash memory that today drives most electronic devices, is turning his sights to television and medical equipment.
"We are at the beginning of a new era. We will be more computerised, better connected and healthier," said Moran, 58, considered a founding father of Israel's high-tech sector, one of the country's main growth drivers.
Health treatment is going through a radical change as smart sensors and monitoring will enable people to stay at home rather than go to hospitals, he said.
Education will become more personalised and interactive, enabling a better connection between teachers and students while personalised e-commerce with more accurate data is in its initial stages, he said.
"I believe that the three screens – TV sets, tablets and phones – are going to play an important role in these trends," he told Reuters at his technology complex on the Yarkona farming cooperative, where scientists and entrepreneurs regularly visit for consultations.
One of Moran's main investments is Comigo, which he founded in 2011. He invested $10 million in the company, whose set-top box allows viewers to watch programming on TVs, tablets and mobile phones, switching between the platforms.
The Internet-based system adds socialising services. Viewers can invite friends to watch a soccer match with them, order game-related merchandise, place bets and order pizza.
M-SYSTEMS
Moran is known in Israel, where technology accounts for nearly half of all industrial exports, for founding M-Systems. The company invented the USB stick, a memory device enabling the quick transfer of information from one computer to another, as well as other flash products, including the DiskOnchip used in mobile phones.
M-Systems went public on the U.S. Nasdaq exchange in 1993 when it had revenue of $2.7 million, raising $4 million. It had annual sales of $1 billion when it was sold to SanDisk for $1.6 billion in 2006. Moran's stake then was worth close to $100 million.
Moran failed to repeat the success of M-Systems with his next venture Modu, the maker of the world's smallest smartphone, which raised $120 million. Many attributed Modu's failure to the rise of Apple's iPhone but Moran blames himself.
"The company failed since I took a couple of bad decisions. iPhone was a marketing obstacle, but a good CEO must overcome obstacles and hurdles," he said.
After Modu failed to raise more money, Moran closed it and sold its patents to Google for $4.9 million. Eight of Modu's 80 employees joined Moran when he set up Comigo in a converted mushroom greenhouse, surrounded by orange groves.
Comigo's customers include mobile operators seeking to expand into TV in Germany, Russia, Central America and southeast Asia.
Moran believes Comigo can help operators compete with Google and Apple in the up-and-coming market for Internet TV.
The two main players in the United States are Apple TV and Roku, both of which allow streaming content to TV sets.
Comigo is targeted at TV service providers, which offer more content and the ability to bundle TV with other services. Comigo also offers social capabilities and features.
Moran is chief executive of Comigo, which has 40 employees and expects sales of $3-$3.5 million in 2013 after it began shipping to customers at the end of the year. Based on existing customers' forecasts, Moran estimates sales will rise to $15-$20 million in 2014, before accounting for any new clients.
Comigo's competitors include Arris Group, Cisco Systems and Echostar Corp.
Silicon Valley is full of entrepreneurs who succeed and then never create another company of the same calibre and many turn to seed investing. Moran himself is invested in about 15 start-ups, several of them in medical devices.
He established a company developing a blood glucose meter after he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and had to test his blood sugar daily.
"The fact is that in 2013 you test your blood sugar but no one knows your results, no one knows whether you did the test or not," Moran said. While his meter aims to resolve this problem he declined to disclose details.
Diabetes in the United States alone affects 25.8 million people, according to the American Diabetes Association. The global blood glucose monitoring devices market is expected to reach $12 billion by 2018, according to market research firm Global Industry Analysts.
Moran also invests in other people's ideas, such as one brought to him by a former employee of a venture capital fund invested in Modu. The company, Consumer Physics, developed a miniature spectrometer for smartphones that can determine the ingredients and quality of food.
China, where food quality tests are performed less frequently, would be a big market for the product, Moran said.
He provided the seed money for a former M-Systems employee whose firm Sensible Medical makes a lung fluids monitor for heart patients that is in advanced stages of commercial usage. Investors in the company include Boston Scientific.
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tutorial|How to Make Ringtone Using 3uTools?
How to Make Ringtone Using 3uTools?
Do you want to make a special and personalized ringtone for your iPhone? Apple users can easily make a ringtone for their iDevices using 3uTools. What's more, 3utools provides a lot of online ringtone for you to download. This tutorial is mainly introducing how to make ringtone using 3uTools.
Step2: Click "Toolbox"→ then click"Make Ringtone".
Step3: Now you need to choose a music file from your PC or from you iDevice. (We choose"From iDevice"here).
Step4: As shown in the following picture, you can cut out your favorite part via slide the pointer. Click"Set Starting Point"so as to start making ringtone. Besides, if you want to finish making ringtone, please click"Set End Point". What's more, if you are not satisfied with this ringtone, you can make it again by clicking"Reset".
Note: Your ringtone's length should be kept within 40 seconds.
Step5: After a ringtone is chosen, you need to click"Generate Ringtone"and 3uTools will show you a reminder"Succeeded to generate ringtone". In addition, if you click"Import to iDevice", 3uTools will automatically import this ringtone to your iDevice, you just need to wait until this process is finished.
Step6: Open the "Settings"of your iPhone→click"Sounds"→click"Ringtone", then you can find this ringtone.
How to Download and Set Ringtone Using 3uTools? How to Manage Ringtones Using 3uTools? How to Download Ringtones Using 3uTools? How to Set "Reflection" Ringtone As Ringtone on Any iDevice Using 3uTools?


Strong stainless one handle fine-grained tea filter for loose tea, fruit & herbal infusion.
We firmly believe in this quote. It reminds us that we should go for the real product but that Mother Earth, gives us. But it teaches us more than worth this loose tea experience! It says that we shoul listen more to what Mother Earth tells, shows us. Amen to that. Live, love and believe!


Our reputable and highly professional recruitment agency-based client is seeking to recruit a Trainee Recruitment Consultant to join their team due to strong growth.
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* To shortlist and telephone interview candidates to ascertain their suitability for a specified vacancy.
* Format CVs and write interview reports ready for sending to our clients.
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We are looking for tenacious self-starters who are looking for a career that will reward you for the work you put in, both financially and with job satisfaction.
Our client offers comprehensive training to all new starters and all our Resourcers are given the opportunity to study for their CertRP exams after a qualifying period.
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So the summer is here and its been getting HOT HOT HOT, that means we have more skin on show. To have my skin glowing from within, I love to enjoy this salmon niçoise salad a couple of times a week to keep my skin looking great all summer long.
If you didn't know, salmon packed with omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D and B vitamins, protein, antioxidants and the list goes on. Salmon is amazing for your body, in so many ways from weight loss or keeping your skin looking great. So here is my variation on this salad.
As I said before this is my variation and the first difference you would see is the salad dressing I chose to do a vegan dressing using roasted garlic and cashews. I have posted about this before on my Creamy Chicken & Sweet Potato Pasta post. What you have to do is overnight soak 100g plain cashews, or until they are soft. Roast a large head of garlic, add some olive oil and dash of red wine vinegar.
Add this to a blender and blend until smooth.
If it is still too thick just add water until you get a dressing like consistency them I second it with some salt, parsley and onion powder. let that sit to one side while to assemble the salad.
On a tray, I squashed some new potatoes and halved some cherry tomatoes seasoned them with some salt and parsley and let that roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
Now its time to get chopping and bolling.
I chopped up some cucumber, black olives and edamame beans I prefer to use black olives instead of anchovies and edamame beans rather than green beans. That is just for my personal reasons but if you like those you can just use them. On the side, I had two eggs boiling for 6-7 minutes. Allow them to cool then peel and cut them into quarters.
Once everything is done roasting and boiling and chopped its time to put it all together. To save time i used tined salmon but if you want to back or fry your own feel free to do so. First, I stat with my basic salade then add the cucumber and beans, then I layer on the potatoes and tomatoes lastly I sprinkle the salmon and dressing then I had one On the side, I had two eggs boiling for 6-7 minutes. Allow them to cool then peel and cut them into quartered egg and season with extra pepper if you like.
This is a fully loaded salad its the main meal and it's delicious.


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Death toll from Indonesia boat that sank while crossing river in Borneo now stands at 19
JAKARTA, Indonesia – An official says the death toll from a boat that capsized last week while crossing a river in central Indonesia has risen to 19.
The number of missing and dead has been revised several times, partially due to the lack of a boat manifest.
A disaster official in East Kalimantan province said Monday that three men and 16 women died in Wednesday's accident. Another four passengers may be missing.
The official, Tuaf Hakes, said in addition to the lack of a manifest, some survivors were double counted earlier due to different name spellings.
It's now believed that about 44 people were on board when the boat went down in the Mahakam River in Borneo.
Boat accidents are common in Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago nation.


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EMPICS Sport Trainer Paul Nolan (file pic).
# Reaction
Irish handlers back decision to continue racing behind closed doors
Paul Nolan was pleased by the HRI call, but has underlined the need to be vigilant.
Mar 19th 2020, 9:48 AM
MULTIPLE GRADE One-winning trainer Paul Nolan was among those to back Horse Racing Ireland's decision to let the sport continue behind closed doors despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The British Horseracing Authority announced the suspension of all racing in the UK until the end of April on Tuesday, but the ruling body of Irish racing has decided to keep the show on the road, albeit with strict protocols in place.
Nolan, who was narrowly denied a winner at last week's Cheltenham Festival with stable star Latest Exhibition beaten just a neck in the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle on Friday, feels HRI have made the correct call.
He said: "It's obviously good news if we can keep racing, as long as everybody is mindful of the situation and is conscientious in washing their hands and doing everything they can to keep people safe.
"You see what's going on worldwide and obviously the main thing we need to do is keep everybody safe and well.
I was racing in Wexford on Tuesday and it is a little bit strange. There was obviously no public there and jockeys had to come out of the weighing room one by one and a certain distance apart.
"It is going to be a little bit different, but it's not that hard to do all these extra things and if it stops of the spread of the virus and keeps us all racing, then it's definitely worth it.
"If you don't feel great, you should stop and go home and if you feel OK, then you should work away for now and see how it goes."
Ado McGuinness is a regular visitor to Ireland's sole all-weather track, Dundalk, and is also looking forward to start of the Flat turf season at Naas on Monday.
"I'm delighted. They've done a very good job regarding safety so far and with people not interacting," said the Dublin-based trainer.
"There might be no atmosphere, but we are racing and keeping people in work. It's an industry and if we don't race for six or seven weeks, jobs will go.
I'm happy we're still going, but we're being very cautious. There are big spaces on racecourses, which help, and if nobody in the industry comes down with it, I see no reason why we can't race.
"A big difference between the UK (and Ireland) is that we use private ambulances and the Government wanted us to keep going, which was a big plus. I'm sure people will disagree, but it's great for our industry."
McGuinness acknowledges the situation could change in a matter of days, adding: "If we can't race for two months, with a recession likely to come, it's great that we can stay racing, but it could change in two days' time.
"We haven't got many runners at Dundalk on Friday as we were giving a few a break, thinking of the new turf season, but as long as we're racing, we're happy.
I was at Dundalk last week, having to take our own food and drink, but the fact it's switching to the day time will make it easier for everyone I think.
"There's no owners allowed, so they need a lot of thanks, because if they weren't there we'd have no sport.
"Hopefully we can stay going – it was a big relief when I could tell my yard racing was going ahead."
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS BRITISH HORSERACING AUTHORITY CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL HORSE RACING HORSE RACING IRELAND IRISH HANDLERS LATEST EXHIBITION PAUL NOLAN REACTION
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Additionally there are also combined English and internship programs offered in London, England UK.
Comments: The programme helps you develop your communication skills so you can enjoy and benefit from your work placement. It is addressed to EU nationals and for Working Holiday Visa holders. Students need to take a minimum of 4 weeks of language course before work placement. Unskilled jobs can be part-time or full-time and can last from 3 to 6 months.
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I've been playing MMO's for 12 years now. I guess that answered the question in the title. You can leave now. Or you can stay to see why I feel like a noob.
Pets in WoW don't act like Companions in SWTOR do. They don't just hitch for a second and then teleport to your side if you jump down a cliff. Pets in WoW take the scenic route, scouring what seems like the ENTIRE DUNGEON pulling every conceivable mob, running up to their oblivious master, and plopping them at your feet like a happy golden retriever puppy with a dead bird.
Since I've spent most of my time leveling up either in Battlegrounds or in dungeons, I learned this wonderful fact pretty early on. Ever since, I've been careful to not pull the dungeon when jumping off a cliff.
Except for the other day. The other day I failed.
I pugged into a Blackrock Caverns at level 81, which is fun for me, since I play Hearthstone, and any references that have been made have been lost on me this whole time. So I am enjoying the references in the reverse direction from anyone else.
Halfway through the dungeon is a a drop that didn't look like a drop because the terrain made it look like a ramp. Before I could do anything, my pet had gone off in the other direction, pulling a group just as the tank pulled the next boss. It didn't end well.
Then, not 10 minutes later, I swing a bit wide in the same stupid dungeon, just not paying attention, and I face-pull another group. I'm surprised I didn't get kicked right then and there. Could have been my profuse apologies. Or my begging for forgiveness. Or maybe they could sense how embarrassed I was.
Oh yeah, and I move a lot even when I do dungeons, because it is a twitchy habit I learned from PvPing. This caused me to die to a debuff that did more damage the more I moved. Lovely.
Looking like a noob aside, I really don't like dying. I had to be rezzed three times. That is almost more than I've been rezzed in the entire time I've done dungeons in WoW put together. I think the tally before then was five times total.
Did I mention I was embarrassed?
So yeah, even though I feel like a old, wizened pro at this point, sometimes you can still have bad days and off moments.
What about you? Have you had any facepalm moments that made you question your noobiness? Let me know on Twitter or in the comments below!
Will "Galactic Starfighter" be an actual expansion for SWTOR?
Idiots are everywhere. Politics (both sides), grocery stores, toll-booths, police cars (sometimes in the front, sometimes in the back), movie theaters, and at the Rockettes Christmas Special in the seat right next to me whistling with the music (whistling? REALLY?!?). The last place I want to see idiots is in a group with me when I am in a Warzone.
Unfortunately, I like to play for the Republic.
You see, on the Imperial side, I think there are people that really love PvP. They spend a good amount of time there, they focus, and they use strategy. They learn the playing field. I think I've seen more Imps go straight for a health pickup than I have Lightsiders. They use teamwork and determination to excel at whatever Warzone they are in.
More on point, last night Chipchops and I were playing with our smugglers in an Alderaan Civil War. We haven't played together before, but we are both pretty experienced in PvP. When we started off, we had a fairly decent plan: take left and right turrets and hold them. Simple, easy to remember. The middle turret is too difficult to take and hold, due to its proximity to the respawn areas. Chipchops and I go secure the left turret, and where is everyone else? In the middle, getting their butts handed to them by the sorcerers. When asked why they weren't going for the right side, they responded with some interesting quotes.
I think they MIGHT just have been trying to insult me.
So LazyGuy starts emoting at people at the left turret, and I get fed up with holding it, like a good sniper should. I decide to go get my piece of the action because the Imps are comfy just killing the one or two stragglers that aren't at the left turret. I died several times, but I still got up to the turret and was in the process of using it when I got mobbed. A little backup and we probably could've taken it. But it was too late anyway.
One, I would clean their clocks at Texas Hold 'Em.
Two, I feel that by queuing up for a Warzone, you are signing a contract saying "I will fight for the Republic." By doing nothing, you are making it impossible to win for those that want to win. Yeah, it is just a game, but a Warzone has an inherent competitive factor to it. You want XP? Go level. Don't PvP.
I don't think it is unreasonable to expect my teammates to try to win in a competitive game. I come from LOTRO; we play nice there, but we still expect people to pull their weight in a group. If you don't want to play by the rules, why are you playing?
Rewards for winning Warzones have been increased.
Warzone completion rewards have been decreased.
Maybe this will solve the "I don't have to try to get good rewards" syndrome with which we on the Republic side seem to be plagued. One can only hope.


text:
U-Hill Elementary Walks and Rolls through Spring
This May, U-Hill Elementary walked and rolled its way towards a more healthy, safe and active community. During the celebration, which was a joint partnership between UTown@UBC and the University Neighborhood Association, students and parents were encouraged to walk or bike to school.
The Walk'n Roll to School Celebration Week led to the organization of five neighbourhood walking school buses, led by parent volunteers clad in yellow "Walk'n Roll" t-shirts and hats. To get students in the swing of things, they were encouraged to walk to school along a supervised designated route. To record their walking, students received a "walking passport" and got a sticker each time they walked or rode to school.
In total roughly 50 students took part each morning and numerous others biked independently and gathered stickers in their passports.
On the last day, the school and its parent volunteers held a celebration rally, with free healthy snacks, where all the students who participated throughout the week turned in their walking passports for the chance to win prizes, including a new bike.
"The students seemed to really enjoy collecting the stickers and were definitely looking forward to the prize draw!" said Gabriella Scali, one of the program's coordinators.
Scali says the support from the U-Hill school community was key to the event's success.
"The support from Kathy Pickford and her staff at U-Hill Elementary School, as well as the U-Hill Elementary PAC has been tremendous, and really helped to make this event such a success," she said. "Many of the teachers even chose to wear yellow for our theme day and some PAC members were actively involved in leading our walking school bus in the morning."


Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who presented the Union Budget today, provided a relief to senior citizens by giving significant incentives. He increased the exemption on interest income on deposits with banks and post offices from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 50,000 and TDS shall not be required to be deducted on such income, under section 194A. This benefit shall be available also for interest from all fixed deposits schemes and recurring deposit schemes.
Limit of deduction for health insurance premium and/or medical expenditure for senior citizens has also been increased from Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 50,000, under section 80D. All senior citizens will now be able to claim benefit of deduction up to Rs. 50,000 per annum in respect of any health insurance premium and/or any general medical expenditure incurred.
Further, raising the limit of deduction for medical expenditure in respect of certain critical illness from Rs. 60,000 in case of senior citizens and from Rs. 80,000 in case of very senior citizens, to Rs. 1 lakh in respect of all senior citizens, under section 80DDB has also been proposed.
These concessions are expected to give extra benefits of Rs. 4,000 to senior citizens.
Over and above that, Jaitley also proposed to extend the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana up to March 2020 under which an assured return of 8% is given by Life Insurance Corporation of India. The existing limit on investment of Rs. 7.5 lakh per senior citizen under this scheme is also being enhanced to Rs. 15 lakh.


text:
from api import app

app.run(debug=True)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Two fantastic PER-LUX round fog lights, like the ones used in American trucks.
Manufactured by Czech Truck Model in 1/24 scale with reference CTM24177.
Package measures 80 mm x 110 mm x 1 mm (width x depth x height), weighting 3 g.


text:
Arizona PHA Reverses Eviction of Tenant with Disabilities, Pays Fine
HUD recently announced that it has approved a Conciliation/Voluntary Compliance Agreement between the Housing Authority of Maricopa County, in Mesa, Ariz., and one of its residents who has a mental health disability. Under the agreement, the housing authority will pay $10,000 to the tenant and provide fair housing training for its employees who work with the public. The housing authority will also vacate the tenant's eviction and waive the $3,516 eviction judgment that had been entered against her.
One level deeper: The agreement resolves claims that the housing authority failed to fulfill a reasonable accommodation request to provide the tenant's brother with copies of all correspondence sent to the tenant, resulting in the tenant failing to respond to a recertification notice and being evicted.
The tenant also alleged that the housing authority violated Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by recipients of federal financial assistance. As a result of the housing authority's failure to provide the tenant's brother with her recertification notice, the tenant lost her housing.
What you need to know: The Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits housing providers from discriminating against people with disabilities, including refusing to make reasonable accommodations in policies or practices when such accommodations may be necessary to provide persons with disabilities an equal opportunity to use or enjoy a dwelling.
In other words, changes in the way things are customarily done that enables a person with disabilities to enjoy housing opportunities is a reasonable accommodation. Since rules, policies, practices, and services may have a different effect on persons with disabilities than on other persons, HUD says that treating persons with disabilities exactly the same as others will sometimes deny them an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.
One takeaway: Remember to carefully consider each reasonable accommodation request you may receive. When you get an accommodation request, it's up to you to evaluate whether the person is entitled to a reasonable accommodation because of a disability and whether the requested accommodation is reasonable and necessary.


text:
import redis

rd = redis.StrictRedis(host='localhost', port=16379, db=0)

f = open('dictionary')

def parseRawCrosswikisRow(row):
    """Parses the fields from a row in dictionary.

    Args:
    row: A row from dictionary as a string.

    Returns: A tuple of the form (anchor, cprob, entity, info).
    """
    tabParts = row.split('\t')
    anchor = tabParts[0]
    middleParts = tabParts[1].split(' ')
    cprob = middleParts[0]
    entity = middleParts[1]
    info = ' '.join(middleParts[2:])
    return (anchor, cprob, entity, info)

def printExample():
    try:
        smallset = open('smallset')
        for line in smallset:
            (anchor, cprob, entity, info) = parseRawCrosswikisRow(line)
            print '===================================================='
            print 'anchor', anchor
            print 'cprob', cprob
            print 'entity', entity
            print 'raw=', line
    except Exception:
        print 'you forget to generate smallset'

def index_redis_crosswikis():
    out = open('out', 'w+')
    for line in f:
        (anchor, cprob, entity, _) = parseRawCrosswikisRow(line)
        try:
            anchor = anchor.decode('utf8').strip()
            anchor = anchor.replace('\"', '')
            anchor = anchor.strip()
            rd.zadd(anchor, num(cprob), entity)
            print anchor
            out.write('anchor: %s, cprob: %0.2f, entity: %s'
                % (anchor.encode('utf8'), num(cprob), entity.encode('utf8')))
        except UnicodeDecodeError:
            pass

def num(s):
    try:
        return float(s)
    except Exception:
        print 'converting error:', s

index_redis_crosswikis()


Banting Diet Plan With Food List and Banting Recipes.
So, have you heard of the 'Banting Diet' before? If not, you might be surprised to know that this particular diet plan consists of food items that are Low in Carbohydrates and High in Fat! Yes, High in Fat! The Banting Diet is more commonly known as Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) Diet too.
In typical diet plans, the very mention of the word 'Fat' is considered a taboo, whereas if you follow Banting Diet Plan, you will constantly intake high fat foods. Although it sounds very different, almost opposing, to other popular diet plans that we encounter every day, it is widely accepted among circles of people who are conscious about their physique and fitness. And that is so because there is considerable evidence that such a diet works wonders and is more effective than the traditional, low fat diet plans.
Now, you might be wondering of the theory behind this diet plan! What is Banting? Where does 'Banting' come from?
The word 'Banting' became famous because of an undertaker, a royal undertaker who had proudly taken over the job of his forefathers. Like many of his fellow Londoners, Banting was a fat man for reasons that he shared with other obese people; the intake of loads of sweet and sugary foods. After retiring from his prestigious job in 1862, he was very depressed because of his increasing obesity and grave health conditions that included hearing and site problems. He could not get up the stairs on his own and was suffering from a ton of health issues.
He himself is reported to have written in his diary that fat is man's "insidious creeping enemy". At the time, the awareness about obesity being linked with new harmful diseases was also rising. Therefore, determined Banting left no stone unturned to lose weight and get rid of his obese body.
After unlimited efforts and practices such as walking, riding on a horseback, avoiding fatty foods, he got in contact with a doctor, William Harvey, who suggested a novel plan for Banting. Although Banting showed much resistance to his diet plan that included foods rich in fats, the doctor kept on insisting him to eat butter, milk, potatoes, bread and etc. Banting followed his doctor's diet for all three meals in a day very regularly and so, bore amazing results. The outcome of Banting Diet was just unbelievable.
Banting discovered the remedy for his illnesses and lost 46Ib!
Now, he could go up the stairs on his own. His defected hearing and sight improved a lot. Hence, he found a solution to his Big Fat Problem. Later, he published a brief pamphlet telling his story, which spread throughout Europe and so, by 1866 much of Europe was caught by Banting-mania!
Banting remained the standard treatment for almost a century after it was discovered, until 1959 when it went out of fashion all of a sudden. After that, it was no more published in medical or nutritional textbooks and was ironically replaced by its polar opposite, the now in fashion, 'heart healthy' diet, with low fat and high carbohydrate content.
A set of guidelines were published by the US government in 1977. According to these guidelines, it was decreed that everyone ought to have six to eleven portions of grains daily and that it was perfectly fine to add sugar to anything. This new diet plan spread throughout the world very rapidly and so, a variety of low fat and high carb food items hit the shelves of markets.
This new scheme brought with itself catastrophic effects. Later in 1980's, the incidence of both obesity and diabetes rose rapidly. It could not have been a coincidence! Such rocketing statistics were a direct result of the high sugar food products that were being used by the general population.
Did Banting find anything new? No. In fact, he only found out what humans were meant to eat and what they used to eat centuries ago. Esteemed biologists, geneticists, paleoanthropologists and theorists believe in the theory that human genes have barely changed since the time human beings started off their journey on this planet. It is believed that if the whole human history were to be put into one day, humans have been eating grains for only five minutes and sugars for five seconds. This is, without doubt, a very brief amount of time in our existence. Therefore, it can be argued that the human anatomy has been designed to have a proper intake of fats in the form of meats, seafood, dairy products and nuts.
Around 2000,000 years earlier, man did not have access to starch-rich foods such as processed flours and breads, potatoes, pastas and etc. These sorts of foods have only become available to people from around five to ten thousand years ago. This is a very small amount of time for the human body to adapt to novel foods and eating habits. With the arrival of the industrial age, it got even easier to manufacture such highly-processed foods, rich in sugar and starch such as white flours, on a large scale. These products have fast absorbed pure carbohydrates thus, making them unsuitable for human consumption because mankind has not had enough time to adapt to high sugar diets.
The common false impression is that including fat in your diet is harmful for your health. Fat is thought to be the main reason behind high blood pressure ratios, cardiac diseases and obesity. This claim does not hold any authenticity because it was hinged on a faulty study by Ancel Keys in 1953. The truth is quite the opposite; a diet rich in carbs and sugar are the major cause of obesity, diabetes and other chronic illnesses. Although we are told the exact opposite, vegetable (seed) oils and their derivatives (margarine) are also a causative factor to heart diseases.
Of all the three macronutrients in our diet, only carbohydrates are not necessary for human life and body development. And this is so because our body can convert proteins and fats into glucose easily. As a matter of fact, we cannot function properly for more than a few days without having fat; without an ample protein intake we suffer from protein-calorie malnutrition in a matter of few months. On the other hand, avoiding carbohydrate has no short- or long-term effects on humans, other than the (most preferred) effect of weight loss, especially in those who are quite obese. While we do need a steady supply of glucose, it can be met with the conversion of fat and protein into glucose by the liver. Therefore, we do not need to ingest carbohydrates in our regular diet.
"What about my cholesterol?" This would be many people's first concern as soon as they learn about the Banting Diet Plan. There have been researches conducted out that prove the fact that cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease. It will only adhere to a 'leaking' artery wall which has already been damaged by inflammation in order to protect you. Due to excessive intake of carbs and sugar, those arteries stay inflamed. Sugar is one of the most inflammatory things you can include in your diet. It will keep on robbing you of perfect health. Grains are converted into sugar by the body's own mechanisms. Therefore, a diet rich in sugar will promote inflammation. There are high chances of inflammation in both arteries as well as all other principal organs of the body including, the brain and the liver that can ultimately lead to 'incurable' chronic illnesses. Many people have reported relief from all the above in a short period of time after following the Banting lifestyle.
Banting provides some solid outcomes in the form of achieved goals. The same cannot be said for many other popular diet plans that many people are following blindly. There are numerous proofs and testimonials that prove the efficiency of Banting Diet Plan.
After following an LCHF diet, athletes claim to have greater endurance levels.
Additional carbohydrate supplements such as gels and pills are not really necessary.
Athletes sometimes face the problems of fatigue and very low blood sugar levels due to rapid energy burnouts in physical activities. Banting Diet Plans have shown significant improvements in treating this issue.
Banting Diet aids in controlling blood pressure.
Such a diet plan helps Diabetes Type II patients by regulating blood insulin levels.
It helps actualize every athlete's dream of losing weight. Moreover, at the same time, there is no reduction in power, stamina or energy levels.
There are almost no additional weight gains because of low carbohydrate intake.
Banting results in lesser hunger cravings because fats fill the stomach faster. They also stay for a longer time than carbohydrates do.
Static insulin levels aid in burning more fats and maintaining an even blood pressure.
If there is higher fat content, there will be longer breaks between meals!
There is only loss of fat. No loss of health or nourishment.
At start, losing a few kilos is perfectly fine. It has been found later; Banters usually reach a exasperating weight plateau, where they stop shedding any more weight. The solution is not to get disheartened, but rather use this as an opportunity to listen to your body. Weight loss differs from person to person.
Analyzing your diet closely may give you insights about what you have previously missed. There might be a food with hidden carbs that you are eating regularly or you might discover new allergies to something that you did not know before. You have to experiment with yourself- take out the time to get real with yourself and with your eating habits.
Following is a list of the 10 principles that you should pay proper attention to if you are willing to lose weight.
Eat enough animal fat. This is very vital for Banting. Animal fat doesn't make you obese, and you have got to eat it. Small amounts of fat fill your stomach and stop you from overeating. Try to remember that animal fat does not make you fat, so don't stop yourself from eating that beautiful fat!
Have a substantial intake of vegetables. Your bulk-food must be vegetables. In other words, you need to have vegetables in every meal because of their high fiber content. Green vegetables are the best because they are full of nutrients, but have low sugar content. There is a variety of different vegetables available to most of us. Make sure that you have added a variety of them in your diet.
Don't snack! For the first week or so of Banting, you may have the temptation to have a snack from time to time. Try to make sure to have Banting-friendly snacks at hand; you can easily find them in both literature and on online resources. Note that it is really essential to have a good breakfast to start off your day with. If you are still having hunger pangs, raise the amount of animal fat in your diet.
Don't lie to yourself. Having carbohydrates that seem like proteins such as legumes and peanuts would destabilize your Banting efforts. There are comprehensive Red and Orange lists of food items that you can find online. Focus on the Red list – the prohibited foods. Simply put, a red-listed item is either poisonous or will cause weight gain. Foods from the Orange list must be eaten in moderation, while carefully managing their carb content. Counting carbs might get a little time consuming so, things have been made easy for you. Now you can find tools specifically for this task on the Internet. These meal trackers and carb counters will help you Bant with ease.
Don't over- or under-eat. In the start, people might overeat during mealtimes because they are not sure of how much to eat. Nothing to worry about this! If there is enough fat in your diet plan, you will soon get effortlessly to moderately-sized meals which will help you through to the next meal. Never try to eat forcefully. As soon as you get full, stop eating! If you don't want to have a meal, it's up to you.
Don't eat too much protein. It needs to be stressed enough- Banting is not a high-protein diet.You should not eat more than 80g or 90g of meat or fish in one meal. Keep in mind that the main driving force of Banting is to limit the carbs from your diet and augment your fat intake. Protein consumption shall remain unaffected or can be reduced, as you like.
Be alert! Many allegedly 'healthy' products and ready-made meals are rich in carbs. Before you buy something, check the label. Five grams of carbs is the limit. If the carb content is higher, don't get it. Also, try avoid any product that claims to be 'low-fat' because it is highly probable that it will be loaded with carbs to reimburse for the inevitable loss of flavor. You will realize why it has been very difficult to lose weight in the past once you start looking at the product labels. You need to learn to decipher food labels and find the Best for yourself.
Avoid eating too many fruits and nuts. Fruit is full of natural fructose (the sugar that makes it sweet). Fructose is seen to be 'good sugar' but for a Banter there is no such thing. Sugar is sugar! And so, its consumption needs to be strictly controlled. Among all fruits, berries are the best but even their intake needs to be checked. The nuts on the Green list (the list of Permissible Food Items) are low in carbs and are great snack foods, but one must not overeat. It is always better to choose raw nuts rather than the commercial roasted nuts.
Control your dairy. Dairy is good but it also contains carbs and can be a faltering barrier for some people. After starting Banting, you should avoid large intakes of dairy and dairy products. Simply said, minimize eating cheese as much as you can. Use whole milk. Try to have double cream yoghurt rather than having low fat choices. Have your coffee with cream. Butter is always considered to be good, so have a substantial butter intake.
Be strong! You have got to be as firm as a rock to see the outcomes. The duration, until you start seeing changes in your body, may vary from one person to the other. Therefore, the key is to not lose hope and continue following the routine in order to achieve the final goal. Just don't give up!
Green List– this list consists of things that you can eat without worrying at all. It is an all-you-can-eat-list and therefore, has everything with a carbohydrate content of between 0 to 5g/ 100g.
Orange List– This list enlists items that are to be taken moderately. Orange is made up of ingredients containing between 6g and 25g of carbs per 100g (6% – 25%).
Red List– Red will contain all the foods to avoid as they will be either toxic (e.g. seed oils) or have high carbohydrates (e.g. potatoes). It is strongly recommended to avoid these items because of the reasons mentioned above.
If you are thinking of going on Banting, then this weekly diet plan is meant for you. It acts as a guide for someone new who wants to try this diet plan, with an introduction of low-carb and high fat food items. One interesting thing about this diet plan is that apart from being Banting friendly, it is also gluten free which makes it even healthier for you! Besides maximizing health benefits, this diet plan will you become slim and feel young.
Note: This diet plan excludes the intake of all dairy products since it is advised to reduce dairy consumption if you are facing problems in losing weight.
Breakfast: Take 2 poached eggs with a few rashers of tomato and bacon.
Lunch: You shall eat a large salad with any of your favorite protein (chicken, steak, etc), with a little cottage cheese.
Snacks: You can eat apple. In addition, you can use almond butter.
Dinner: Pork, cooked in a slow cooker, with vegetables such as pumpkin and spinach are the best for you. Pumpkin and spinach are less sugary than butternut. If you are still hungry, you can have Greek yoghurt!
Lunch: Sautéed vegetables, pre-made and re-heated, can do the job.
Snack: Have a can of tuna (rich in proteins).
Dinner: You shall have steak with green leafy vegetables, cauliflower and broccoli.
Breakfast: If you like, you can have eggs and bacon again, otherwise, for a change, you can make coconut milk smoothie or have banana pancakes in the morning.
Lunch: For lunch, you ought to have soup. It should be re-heated.
Snack: Take some Greek yoghurt.
Dinner: You can make Roast Chicken (BBQ free range chicken) which you can complement with a Greek salad.
Breakfast: Have some mixed nuts and berries with some coconut milk, followed by some Greek yoghurt.
Lunch: You should have BLT wrap with lettuce instead of normal bread wrap.
Snack: Take a couple of hard-boiled eggs.
Dinner: Grill some fish and you can have it with spinach and pumpkin for your dinner.
Breakfast: Like usual, you can have eggs with a piece of steak.
Lunch: Cold cut meats and vegetables is what you need for the lunch. They should be snack-like but filing.
Snack: Take avocado. It is high in good fat that will refuel your energy reserves for the rest of the day.
Dinner: You ought to grill chicken breasts (free range chicken) and have it with some fresh vegetables.
Breakfast: Take a few eggs and sweet potato hash browns.
Lunch: Try to have a sandwich with bell pepper slices instead of bread slices.
Dinner: For dinner, you can have a meatloaf enfolded in bacon.
Breakfast: You can have scrambled eggs with meat or vegetables.
Lunch: For lunch, you shall eat dinner leftovers!
Snack: Try to have some blueberries and almonds.
Dinner: Have beef or chicken, stir fried in olive oil. Do not use Sunflower oil or any vegetable oil.
Not in the mood to have Meals? Try low-carb snacks.
If that is the case, you can find these food items in your fridge and treat yourself with both yummy and healthy foods.
Water: If you are following the Banting diet plan, you ought to have a large intake of Water, apart from being essential for living, is good because it fills the stomach and thus, you feel less hungry and therefore, can fasten the process of losing your weight.
Tea: Tea is a very beneficial drink if taken in appropriate amount with the right content of caffeine. Make sure to have tea at least once in a day.
Coffee: Similar to tea, coffee is also a revitalizing drink that can give a boost to your energy level, therefore, it must be taken once a day.
While this meal plan gives you the opportunity to start over a low-carb Banting diet with an ease, it is also really easy to get fed up with the same routine of preparing and having the same meals over and over again.
Such a situation creates boredom and makes you a victim of a phenomenon known as "diet fatigue" that usually makes people revert to their old unhealthy eating habits. We all know that burgers with crispy chips are more tempting than chicken and vegetables!
The most effective way to help you keep away from slipping back into convenience eating habits is to have an extensive diet plan that has been complemented with plenty of tempting LCHF Banting meals and recipes. In this way, you would make it easier for yourself to keep on going for at least a month or two while keeping your diet plan appealing & exciting.
Here are a few Banting Recipes that you can try at home. They are not only healthy, but will also help you keep your diet plan exciting for you so that you do not get bored of eating the same stuff again and again.
First of all, preheat the oven to 220°C.
Take a baking tray and line it with some baking paper.
Remove the stems from all eight mushrooms.
Slice or cut the blue cheese into bite-size pieces. Place a little on each mushroom.
Spread the chives on top and evenly season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Enfold each stuffed mushroom in a piece of bacon and put it on the baking tray. Sprinkle a bit of olive oil and roast for 15 minutes.
To make a slider, take two mushrooms and put a basil leaf and the poached egg in between.
You can have it in breakfast with LCHF bread. Or you can make it for lunch or dinner by adding a salad and cauliflower rice.
NOTE: The bacon can be replaced with some Parma ham or Spanish ham. Because they are cut into thinner slices, they will cook much quicker. Therefore, keep an eye on them while they are being cooked.
Always use fresh eggs and add a splatter of vinegar to your cooking water while makimg poached eggs. Try to ensure that it comes up to a gentle simmer. Crack the egg into a cup or a bowl and smoothly slide it into the water. Cook about 3 eggs at one time, as you shall not overcrowd the pot. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes for soft poached eggs, 4 to 5 minutes for medium poached eggs and 6 to 7 minutes for a hard poached egg.
Set the temperature to 180°C and preheat your oven.
Take a baking tray and line it with a piece of foil. Place the ribs, garlic, fresh thyme, lemon juice and stock. Season it really well.
Cover with a second sheet of foil. Seal the edges of the foils together by crimping it to form a parcel.
Take out the baking tray from the oven and later, get rid of the covering foil.
Increase the oven temperature to 220°C. Return tray to the oven and roast the ribs until they turn crispy and golden.
For the herb sauce: Put the herbs and spring onions in a bowl. Stir them in the lemon juice and then whisk in the olive oil. Season well.
To serve: Serve ribs hot, garnished with herb sauce and complemented with lemon.
Take a pan and heat it over medium heat for the mince. Add oil, mince (that you've prepared) and garlic in the pan.
After frying for 5 minutes, you should add chili, coriander, cumin, paprika and salt.
Fry for a further 5 minutes.
Mix in the tomato purée and cook for around 5 more minutes. Later, put in the coriander leaves and spring onions.
In order to prepare the salsa, stir everything together and season it to taste.
For making tacos, first of all, preheat the oven to 180°C.
Take a baking tray and line it with a non-stick baking mat or baking paper. Oil it with a little cooking spray.
Grease two or three wooden spoons (preferably long-handles spoons). Balance them on top of mugs. Then, put the cooked cheese on the handles so that they can form the taco shapes.
You will prepare the tacos in two batches. Put the first batch onto the baking tray. Leave a little space in between each piece.
Cook them until they all get golden-colored. It will almost take 10 minutes.
Quickly lift and fold the cheese over the greased wooden spoon handles using a palette knife. The cheese will harden and form a taco shell. Allow them to cool down.
Repeat the same procedure with the remaining cheese.
To assemble, put a layer of the mixture of lettuce, salsa, mince and a little sour cream in every taco. Dress up with micro herbs, if you like to.
NOTE: Provolone cheese is an Italian cheese that is available at many superstores or most Italian delis. Instead of Provolone cheese, use normal cheddar cheese for the tacos.
It can be a little tricky if you are making these tacos for the first few times because they get hard really quickly after baking. Therefore, it is better to bake off 1 or 2 tacos at a time if you think you are not being able to work fast enough once they come out of the oven.
You can easily surf the Internet or go through books to find out many new and innovative Banting friendly recipes. Do look for them and try them as much as possible in order to increase your eating options.
In today's era, when life is very busy, work and work-related chores have surrounded us to such an extent that we do not have time for ourselves. We do not find enough time to do the exercises that our bodies need in order to stay fit and healthy. Therefore, we need a simple-to-follow diet plan to maintain a healthy body and get rid of obesity.
Considering these time management issues, Banting Diet Plan can be a perfect way to improve your dietary habits. It is equally beneficial for athletes looking for improvements in their performances, diabetes patients aiming for natural control measures and any regular person who wishes to shed off some extra weight.
At first it may pose problems for you since you may not be acquainted with a few of the food products or it may take a little extra time to set up your plan for the next few weeks. But you need to stay strong and be well-planned. Without doubt, you will have to invest some time before adopting this new diet plan for yourself. Follow the banting diet food lists and stay motivated. You have to go little by little and you would definitely get to the top and achieve your goals!
Banting diet is another low carb style diet. What is banting? We review this diet with the banting diet food list and banting recipes.
I disagree… Animals have the intelligence to "NOT WANT TO "COMPARE or liken THEMSELVES to us HUMANS. I guess that's why they, the animals are far superior to any of us … We in fact learnt from them, not vice versa ?? Nig Sed ?


MARLTON, NJ--(Marketwired - October 27, 2016) - eMaint, a Fluke company, will be showcasing its Computerized Maintenance Management Software (CMMS) solution and presenting two sessions at the National Facilities Management & Technology (NFMT) Conference at the Mirage Events Center, Las Vegas, NV.
NFMT is a trade show and educational conference for facility professionals responsible for the management, operations, maintenance, renovation and construction of nonresidential buildings.
At booth #514 and #516, eMaint and Fluke representatives will be demonstrating their ground-breaking asset reliability platform that helps organizations increase uptime with a seamless integration of maintenance devices, data and systems.
"NFMT Las Vegas presents the first opportunity for eMaint and Fluke to showcase our products side-by-side," said eMaint President Brian Samelson. "It's an exciting beginning to a new partnership, and a new era of connectivity." Fluke acquired eMaint on September 23, 2016.
On November 1st at 1:00pm, Frederic Baudart, Product Application Specialist at Fluke will present a Quick Fire session on the power of The Fluke Connect® in "Condition Based Maintenance Solutions." Greg Perry, CRL, Senior Consultant at eMaint, will follow with the "5 Hottest Trends in CMMS" at 1:30pm.
Then, at 4:10pm in the St. Thomas A room, Perry will host the breakout session "How to Pass Compliance Audits With Your CMMS." During this session, attendees will learn how to automate and streamline maintenance processes with a CMMS solution to ensure compliance with internal and external audits.
As the leading provider of Computerized Maintenance Management Software (CMMS) and Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) solutions, eMaint, a Fluke company, improves the way over 50,000 users worldwide manage, monitor and control assets.
eMaint's diverse and global client base consists of small, midsized and enterprise organizations in industries such as manufacturing, facilities, services, fleet, energy, government and education. The company has been recognized by Top Ten Reviews as the #1 Maintenance Management Software, the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America, and the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list. For more information, please visit www.emaint.com.
Founded in 1948, Fluke Corporation is the world leader in compact, professional electronic test tools and software for measuring and condition monitoring. Fluke customers are technicians, engineers, electricians, maintenance managers, and metrologists who install, troubleshoot, and maintain industrial, electrical, and electronic equipment and calibration processes. For information on Fluke tools and applications, or to find the location of a distributor, contact Fluke Corporation, P.O. Box 9090, Everett, WA USA 98206, call (800) 44-FLUKE (800-443-5853), fax (425) 446-5116, e-mail fluke-info@fluke.com or visit the Fluke Web site at www.fluke.com.


text:
Q: Android Plural Strings with multiple Parameters In Android strings, you can define plurals to handle translations depending on the actual number supplied to the string as described here.
Strings also allow for specifying multiple positional parameters similar to what sprintf does in many languages.
However, consider the following string:
<resources>
    <string name="remaining">%1$d hours and %2$d minutes remaining.</string>
</resources>

It contains two numbers, how would I transform this to a plural in Android? All examples always work with a single parameter only. Is this even possible?

A: Previous answer uses string concatenation which is incorrect from an i18n point of view. For the original string "%1$d hours and %2$d minutes remaining." using string concatenation would force the translation of "remaining" to the end which mightn't be appropriate for some languages.
My solution would be:
<resources>
     <string name="remaining">Time remaining: Hours:%1$d Minutes:%2$d.</string>
</resources>

Or perhaps with "Time remaining" as the heading.
This solution is mentioned in http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/resources/string-resource.html#FormattingAndStyling

It's often possible to avoid quantity strings by using
  quantity-neutral formulations such as "Books: 1"

A: getQuantityString has an overloaded version that takes a String id, the quantity and a varargs of object that you could use to format your string. Even though seems possible to use plural, it sounds strange to me for time. You could use the helper methods contained in DateUtil, which are already localized and take care of singular/plural and then complete your string with the results of these helper methods. E.g. getRelativeTimeSpanString
<plurals name="number_of_emails">
    <item quantity="one">%d email</item>
    <item quantity="other">%d emails</item>
</plurals>

<plurals name="number_of_messages">
    <item quantity="one">%d message</item>
    <item quantity="other">%d messages</item>
</plurals>

and then you can use getQuantityString to retrieve the two pieces and combine it in one.

A: strings.xml
<plurals name="lbl_items_selected">
    <item quantity="one">%d item out of %d items Selected</item>
    <item quantity="other">%d items out of %d items Selected</item>
</plurals>

Kotlin File
resources.getQuantityString(
    R.plurals.lbl_items_selected, //plural from strings.xml file
    size, //quantity
    size, //var arg - first parameter
    allItemCount //var arg - second parameter
)

this will return :
if size = 1 : 1 item out of 10(allItemCount) items selected
if size = 2 (or more) : 2(given size) items out of 10(allItemCount) items selected

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


As explained under Polygon Coordinate System, the Matrix Extrude tool, for example, orients itself to this coordinate system, which refers to the order of the points A, B, C and D of a given polygon. This sequence of points is what the Change Point Order command lets you change. More information is available in the Matrix Extrude tool's documentation.
The Move Down Sequence was applied to the selected polygons on the left before all polygons were extruded using the Matrix Extrude tool.


text:
Euro Tour drops tourney requirement for Final Series
By Ryan Lavner
@WebbSimpson1: Getting stretched. #oneeyedWebb @cknighttherapy -
The European Tour bowed to player criticism and announced Monday that it has made two changes to its end-of-season Final Series.
Members will no longer be required to participate in two of the first three events to be eligible for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship. Also, the bonus pool, which increased from $3.75 million to $5 million, will now be shared by the top 15 players, not 10.
With the changes, there is an incentive for players to tee it up in as many Final Series events as possible because it gives them a more realistic chance to win the top prize, which was claimed last year by Henrik Stenson.
Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els and Charl Schwartzel were among the players who said last fall that the requirements of the FedEx Cup-style series were unfair.
Said Garcia, "I'm very happy to see we have reached a middle ground which should help make us all happy."
Hammer, Riley advance to Western Am semis
BY Golf Channel Digital — August 03, 2018
Two down with five holes to play, co-medalist Cole Hammer rallied to defeat Spencer Ralston and advance to the semifinals of the Western Amateur.
San Francisco receives NCAA probation
BY Golf Channel Digital — April 17, 2018
The University of San Francisco's men's golf program last week received a one-year probation last week after the NCAA determined that two former head coaches engaged in recruiting violations over a four-year period.
Equipment Insider
PXG inks equipment deal with six college programs
BY Golf Channel Digital — September 20, 2017
Six top-tier college programs have inked an equipment and club-fitting deal with PXG.


text:
Q: How to add scroll on highcharts multiple drilldown
Im using highcharts that now we have so much item, i need something to make it readable and scrollable, i have added zoom property but it doesnt meet requiriments, any idea?
this is my code :
Highcharts.theme = {
    colors: ["#7cb5ec", "#f7a35c", "#90ee7e", "#7798BF", "#aaeeee", "#ff0066", "#eeaaee", "#55BF3B", "#DF5353", "#7798BF", "#aaeeee"],
    chart: {
        zoomType: 'x',
        backgroundColor: null,
        style: {
            fontFamily: "Dosis, sans-serif"
        }
    },
    title: {
        style: {
            fontSize: '16px',
            fontWeight: 'bold',
            textTransform: 'uppercase'
        }
    },
    tooltip: {
        borderWidth: 0,
        backgroundColor: 'rgba(219,219,216,0.8)',
        shadow: false
    },
    legend: {
        itemStyle: {
            fontWeight: 'bold',
            fontSize: '13px'
        }
    },
    xAxis: {
        gridLineWidth: 1,
        labels: {
            style: {
                fontSize: '12px'
            }
        }
    },
    yAxis: {
        minorTickInterval: 'auto',
        title: {
            style: {
                textTransform: 'uppercase'
            }
        },
        labels: {
            style: {
                fontSize: '12px'
            }
        }
    },
    plotOptions: {
        candlestick: {
            lineColor: '#404048'
        }
    },
    scrollbar: {
        enabled: true
    },
    // General
    background2: '#F0F0EA'
};

i have been added zoomType: 'x' for now, but i need to work with scrollable too. what property i should use? i already try highstock but it doesnt work with drilldown charts.

A: Use can use scrollablePlotArea property. Also, drilldown works with Highstock: http://jsfiddle.net/BlackLabel/9ap2sj7k/
chart: {
    scrollablePlotArea: {
        minWidth: 1200
    }
}

Live demo: http://jsfiddle.net/BlackLabel/b0f2dq3g/
API: https://api.highcharts.com/highcharts/chart.scrollablePlotArea


text:
Home Jazz Big Band Seating Placement
Jazz Big Band Seating Placement
Instrumentation, aesthetics, ensemble size, stage dimensions, and musical considerations have contributed to a variety of stage set-ups since the big band's inception in the 1920s. Rather than cataloging and weighing the favorable and unfavorable characteristics of unconventional configurations (like Stan Kenton's inverted "V" or Thad Jones' separating the bari sax and bass trombone), this article will explain the reasoning behind the widely-accepted "traditional block" formation, which helps to achieve maximized lines of vision, listening, blend, and balance.
Lead players (alto sax 1, trombone 1 and trumpet 1) should be in the middle of their sections, in a direct line with one another. Unlike the concert band, the lead players should never be seated on the end of the section. For the trumpet and trombone players, the most common configuration is 2-1-3-4, from the director's vantage point. Seating for the saxophone section is slightly different than the brass sections, and the optimal saxophone section sound and balance is achieved with the following arrangement:
Tenor 1 •Alto 2 •Alto 1 •Tenor 2 •Bari
The rhythm section sets up as a unit, to the left of the wind instruments, from the perspective of the director.
In the diagram above, a short riser is utilized, on which the trumpet players stand and the trombone players are seated. One player per stand is compulsory for all players in the jazz band. Insist upon a low, flat stand directly in front of each player. Student trombonists might argue the benefit of having a slanted stand at the side, but this isolates the player from blending with the section. With the set up in this diagram, a narrow pathway between the winds and rhythm section allows soloists to walk out front when the music permits.
Two guiding principles have been achieved with this seating arrangement: the lead players are in the middle, and the primary soloist chairs (tenor 1, trombone 2 and trumpet 2) are closest to the rhythm section, thereby creating a combo-like setting during solo passages that will help them hear the chord changes as they improvise their solos.
When an arranger has assigned trumpet solos to the 4thtrumpet chair, one might use a trumpet section configuration of 4-3-1-2, which keeps the lead trumpet in the middle, while bringing the soloist closer to the rhythm section. However, many directors prefer keeping all the lowest parts to their far right when facing the band. Correspondingly, the baritone sax and bass trombone are on the right side of the big band, opposite from the string bass. Cases have been made for grouping these three low register instruments together on the left, but ultimately more sonic depth is achieved with the aforementioned configuration.
When setting up the rhythm section, aim to facilitate unobstructed visual communication between each player. In addition to being in close proximity to one another, the bassist and drummer should have clear sight of each other's hands and faces. This will assist them in synchronizing their beat. Whether the bassist is situated beside the hi-hat or ride cymbal is a matter of personal preference. Some argue that being in close proximity of the hi-hat helps lock in the groove. Others might site a pairing such as Ron Carter (bass) and Tony Williams (drums), as an example of the bassist standing with the ride cymbal directly in his left ear, for time alignment. In the latter example (not represented in the above diagram), the bassist is positioned in the crook of the piano, between the piano and drum set. In this way he/she functions as the rhythm section's "glue," in terms of both the harmonic foundation and the time. The guitarist is most often seated next to tenor sax 1 in the row of saxophones. The guitarist and pianist need a clear line of vision with each other, to facilitate non-verbal cues.
A small stage or rehearsal space might necessitate putting the rhythm section on the right side of the band. This is fine, however, NEVER divide the rhythm section with some of the players to the right and some to the left of the band. They are reliant on each other for listening and seeing each other as they strive to establish to play a solid groove.
Common Questions Asked by Directors
With the conventional big band set up now addressed, some variations do occur from time-to-time with set-up and also with instrumentation due to the number of players in the jazz big big band. In this next section, let's consider some practical questions and variations I often encounter by music educators:
Q: I'd like to carry five trumpets. Where should the fifth trumpet sit and what part should they double on charts written for 4 trumpets?
A: For five trumpets, I like the 3-2-1-4-5 configuration, and suggest doubling the 4thpart. NEVER double the lead part in any section.
Q: I have a 'REALLY big band,' with 2 players on each chair in most sections. How do you suggest we set up?
A: In contrast to marching bands, bigger is not always better. If possible, start a second feeder band. The students will feel better because their individual roles become more important, and you will be able to teach and have the students experience correct sectional balance and blending. Under no circumstances should you double rhythm section parts. Two pianists should not share one bench. If you have two bassists or guitarists, have one unplug while the other plays. As in sports, everyone has a specific role, and sometimes even the best players must take a turn sitting on the bench; otherwise, the playing field becomes a cluttered mess.
Q: Where should amplifiers be placed?
A: It's crucial that the guitar and bass players put their amps behind them so they can hear and adjust.
Q: I realize this is out of the scope of the traditional set up, however, I have students who play non-standard jazz instruments in my jazz band (flute/clarinet/bassoon for example), because the students are either highly motivated, or help to fill out a section that is lacking in players, or both. Where should these players be situated and how can they best be utilized?
A: Be guided by your musical intuition and the above outlined principles when making such decisions. I can imagine seating a highly-motivated bassoonist, French hornist or euphonium player within the trombone section, because of not having enough trombone players. But if their instrument is a different transposition, provide them with a transposed part. Don't leave this responsibility to the student.
Should you opt to add a flute, give some careful thought as to what lines will be doubled. Use the flute selectively, as an added unison/octave color. Simply handing them a lead trumpet part, and telling them to play down a major 2nd isn't a good option, as it will negatively impact overall intonation. When the guitar is assigned written melodic lines, I might consider doubling these on flute, and having the flutist sit next to the guitar. Within the same part, I might occasionally have the flute double a muted trumpet part, as well. Although I have seen supplementary woodwind sections seated to the side of a big band, I wouldn't suggest going this route unless the music calls for it and/or you are willing to rewrite and re-orchestrate the music.
If the students are truly exceptionally motivated, and there are holes in your big band's core instrumentation, consider encouraging those players to pick up a secondary instrument. It's certainly easier to achieve acceptable balance between four trombones than two trombones, a bassoon and a bass clarinet.
Further equipping instrumental music educators with the skills and knowledge to become increasingly comfortable in directing big bands was the motivating force behind writing this article. Setting up in a manner which achieves overall musical unity through maximized lines of vision, listening, blend, and balance, will provide a solid foundation.
Feel free to send me additional questions on this topic, or anything else jazz-related, via e-mail.


text:
Medical Devices – Intrathecal Drug Pump Therapy for Chronic Pain
Drug pump therapy is an advanced treatment option for chronic pain patients who haven't achieved enough pain relief with other treatments. Drug pump therapy is known by many other names, such as pain pump therapy, intrathecal drug delivery, spinal drug delivery, infusion pump therapy, intraspinal drug therapy and spinal analgesia. Drug pump therapy is also used to treat severe spasticity.
What is a Drug Pump?
A drug pump is an implanted medical device that delivers medication directly into the intrathecal space, the space inside the spinal canal that contains the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which surrounds the spinal cord.
The device consists of a pump with a reservoir and a catheter:
The reservoir is the space inside the pump in which the drug is stored. The pump has a reservoir fill port via which drug is removed or refilled using a needle.
The catheter is a thin, flexible tube through which the drug is delivered. It is inserted into the intrathecal space along the spine.
The pump delivers the drug from the reservoir to the catheter and thus to the intrathecal space. Pumps may be mechanical or battery-operated.
Mechanical pumps, also known as fixed-rate pumps, deliver a continuous amount of drug at a consistent flow rate. The pumping action is completely mechanical. It is driven by a gas pressure chamber and does not require a battery/electricity to operate.
Battery-operated pumps, also known as variable-rate pumps, are electronic pumps that can be programmed so that the amount and timing of drug delivered can be adjusted. The daily drug schedule can be programmed to suit each patient's specific daily requirements and their changing needs. Some newer drug pumps also allow patients to self-administer a controlled dose of drug for breakthrough pain attacks. Battery-operated pumps need to be replaced once the battery runs out of charge.
What Drugs are Used?
Morphine is the gold standard for the treatment of chronic pain and the only opioid approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for intrathecal therapy.
Hydromorphone is a commonly used alternative to morphine, though it is not FDA-approved.
Ziconotide is a synthetic form of a peptide found in the venom of the marine cone snail. It is FDA-approved for intrathecal treatment of severe chronic pain and may be used in patients who can't tolerate intrathecal morphine.
Baclofen is an FDA-approved intrathecal drug for the treatment of severe spasticity, muscle spasms, and neuropathic pain.
There are other medications used for intrathecal drug pump therapy, however they are not FDA-approved.
How Does Drug Pump Therapy Work?
The spinal cord is surrounded by three layers of protective tissue (see the diagram below). These are the dura mater, the arachnoid mater, and the pia mater. The intrathecal space is the space between the arachnoid mater and pia mater, which contains the CSF. The CSF delivers nutrients to the spinal cord and removes waste products. Drugs delivered into the intrathecal space can easily diffuse across the pia mater and move into the spinal cord.
[Cross section of the spinal canal showing the spinal cord in the middle (grey) and the intrathecal space containing the CSF (blue)]
The spinal cord contains various receptors that are involved in pain signalling. Different drugs will bind to different receptors.
Opioid drugs (i.e. morphine and hydromorphone) bind to opioid receptors, which are found on neurons (nerve cells) within the spinal cord. Activation of opioid receptors causes the neurons to stop releasing neurotransmitters and therefore blocks the transmission of pain.
Ziconotide
Ziconotide is a powerful pain suppressor. It works by reducing the release of pro-nociceptive neurotransmitters in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, which is where sensory nerves enter the spinal cord, and hence where pain signals are transmitted to the central nervous system.
Baclofen is a muscle relaxant that binds to the GABAB receptor. It is used to treat painful muscle spasms, such as those caused by spinal cord injury.
Drug pump therapy may be appropriate for carefully selected patients with severe chronic pain, including cancer or non-cancer pain, neuropathic or nociceptive or mechanical pain. Drug pump therapy is also used to treat severe spasticity. Patient suitability for intrathecal therapy requires an in-depth medical assessment.
The Polyanalgesic Consensus Conference (PACC) lists the following conditions for intrathecal drug therapy:
Indications for Drug Pump Therapy
Axial neck or back pain; not a surgical candidate
Multiple compression fractures
Discogenic pain
Diffuse multiple‐level spondylosis
Failed back surgery syndrome
Abdominal/pelvic pain
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
Trunk pain
Postherpetic neuralgia
Post‐thoracotomy syndromes
Cancer pain, direct invasion and chemotherapy-related
Analgesic efficacy with systemic opioid delivery complicated by intolerable side effects
Drug pump therapy is also useful in patients who are taking high doses of opioid medications, but who are not getting enough pain relief, and/or are experiencing significant side effects with these medications. Because the drug is delivered directly to the intrathecal space, the same level of pain relief can be achieved with much smaller amounts of drug delivered intrathecally, compared to oral administration. This also means that side effects are minimised and any systemic (whole body) side effects that would be caused by oral administration are avoided.Usually, intrathecal therapy is recommended for patients who have tried a number of medications and other treatment options, but have not achieved enough pain relief. Drug pumps may be recommended for patients who are not suitable for spinal cord stimulation, or who have not achieved adequate pain relief with spinal cord stimulation (trial or implant).
Trialing
Before a drug pump is permanently implanted, intrathecal therapy may be trialed. In some cases, the doctor may decide not to do a trial and proceed straight to implant.
There are different methods of trialling intrathecal therapy. The simplest method is a "single bolus injection" trial, in which a needle is used to inject a single volume of drug into the intrathecal space.
Some patients will need repeat injections (multiple bolus trial). For this, a temporary catheter may be placed into the intrathecal space and drug injected externally via the catheter. The catheter is inserted directly into the intrathecal space through a spinal needle inserted into the back of the spine. Under x-ray guidance, the catheter is threaded through the needle and positioned at the level in the spine that corresponds to the patient's area of pain.
A continuous infusion trial is where drug is infused via catheter over a specified period of time in a day surgery setting.
After the trial, the doctor and patient will discuss whether the trial was successful (i.e. did it provide enough pain relief, did it help with physical function and activity, were there any side effects) before deciding whether to proceed to implant of a drug pump.
Implantation of the drug pump is a minor surgical procedure that is performed in an operating theatre under general anaesthesia or local anaesthesia with sedation. The catheter is inserted into the spine as described in the trial procedure. The pump, however, is usually implanted into the lower abdomen. An incision is made and a "pocket" is created for implantation of the pump between the skin and the muscle tissue. A "tunnelling tool" is then used to move the loose end of the catheter from the back, where it was inserted, around the body internally and into the abdominal pocket. The catheter is then connected to the pump, the pump is implanted, and all surgical incisions are closed.
Pump Refills
Drug pumps are usually refilled every 3-6 months, although this will depend on the drug schedule. Refills are performed in the clinic, with or without the use of medical imaging (i.e. X-ray fluoroscopy or ultrasound). The pump is accessed externally. A needle is inserted into the skin at the implant site and directed into the pump reservoir fill port. Any remaining drug is removed via needle and syringe before the pump is refilled with new drug.
As with any invasive therapy, drug pump therapy comes with risks associated with surgery and having an implanted device. This makes drug pump therapy unsuitable for some patients.
The side effects of the drug itself will depend on which drug is used. For intrathecal morphine, the most common side effects are lethargy, fatigue and sweating.
If required, a drug pump can be switched off or removed (explanted).
Genesis Research Services conducts medical device clinical trials for various chronic pain conditions. To view currently recruiting studies, click here or call us on (02) 4985 1860. If the current studies aren't suitable for you, you may register your interest for future studies by clicking here.
References & Resources:
"About Neurostimulators and Drug Pumps: Chronic Pain" Medtronic (accessed 10/10/2018): https://www.medtronic.com/uk-en/patients/treatments-therapies/drug-pump-chronic-pain.html
Bagnall D. "The use of spinal cord stimulation and intrathecal drug delivery in the treatment of low back-related pain". Physical medicine and rehabilitation clinics of North America 2010; 21(4): 851-858. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20977968
Bolash R & Mekhail N. "Intrathecal Pain Pumps: Indications, Patient Selection, Techniques, and Outcomes". Neurosurgery clinics of North America 2014; 25(4): 735-742. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25240660
Deer TR, et al. "The Polyanalgesic Consensus Conference (PACC): Recommendations on Intrathecal Drug Infusion Systems Best Practices and Guidelines". Neuromodulation 2017; 20(2): 96-132. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ner.12538
Deer TR, et al. "The Polyanalgesic Consensus Conference (PACC): Recommendations for Trialing of Intrathecal Drug Delivery Infusion Therapy". Neuromodulation 2017; 20(2): 133-154. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ner.12543
Deer TR, et al. "The Polyanalgesic Consensus Conference (PACC): Recommendations for Intrathecal Drug Delivery: Guidance for Improving Safety and Mitigating Risks". Neuromodulation 2017; 20(2): 155-176. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ner.12579
Ghafoor VL, et al. "Intrathecal drug therapy for long-term pain management". American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy 2007; 64(23): 2447-2461.
https://academic.oup.com/ajhp/article-abstract/64/23/2447/5135084
Hayek S. "Methods of Trials for Consideration of Intrathecal Drug Delivery Systems". American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (accessed 17/09/19): https://www.asra.com/page/222/methods-of-trials-for-consideration-of-intrathecal-drug-delivery-systems
McDowell GC. "Intrathecal Drug Delivery For Spasms or Chronic Pain". International Neuromodulation Society 2018; last updated 26 February 2018 (accessed 16/10/2018): https://www.neuromodulation.com/fact_sheet_intrathecal_drug_delivery
Pope JE, et al. "Clinical Uses of Intrathecal Therapy and Its Placement in the Pain Care Algorithm". Pain Practice 2016; 16(8): 1092-1106. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/papr.12438
Saulino M, Kim PS & Shaw E. "Practical considerations and patient selection for intrathecal drug delivery in the management of chronic pain". Journal of Pain Research 2014; 7: 627-638. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4234284/
Sheth S. "Intrathecal or Intraspinal Drug Delivery (IDD)". International Neuromodulation Society 2016; last updated 30 May 2018 (accessed 10/10/2018): https://www.neuromodulation.com/pump
Smith HS, et al. "Intrathecal Drug Delivery". Pain Physician 2008; 11: S89-S104. http://www.painphysicianjournal.com/linkout?issn=1533-3159&vol=11&page=S89
Spine image by BruceBlaus [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons.
Intrathecal pump image adapted from: Bhatia G, et al. "Intrathecal Drug Delivery (ITDD) systems for cancer pain". F1000 Research 2013; 2: 96. [CC BY 3.0 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3892916/)].
November 19th, 2019|