Pick something you don't like, and choose to accept it. Think of something in the world, or about your neighbor or partner, that you don't particularly like. Now choose to accept it. You don't have to like it of course, but can you accept it and find something else to focus your energy on?
Bonus: Can we choose what we accept and what we don't? What determines why? How do we know if accepting a truth about the universe (e.g. that we will die) is healthy for us, or condoning something we could possibly change if we refused to accept?
me to accept it to save my sanity. Some days it's a good thing!
I seem to have a very narrow perspective, but I believe in possible changes, and the thing I have accepted and lived with that I don't approve of it is unprofessional co-workers. What I now realize is that people who have found their comfort zones don't really find the need to get out of it.
But what irks me more as I now know is that its very easy to resign to fate and say people can't change so I'd rather join them as I can't change them, but it something to fight for, although I don't really bother myself with what others do anymore!
O que mais gosto, é estar ligada com vocês escrevendo repartindo os meus sentimentos, para mim é tudo de bom e o melhor ter os nossos professores.Sempre com idéias novas, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadoro o meu blog.
Na idade em que estou nada poderia ter sido melhor na minha vida!
At times I often baffled why people complain about their position. But this is obvious. I was once in an organisation where every body were asked to sow a native dress which I don't like but I have to accept it because it is a must.
I feel that one should face life expecting the worst possible outcomes in the secret hope that reality is not always dissapointing.In walking in to an interview I feel one should walk in expecting the post to be well and truly filled,in all bank transactions one should expect that all the money's gone already so that the meager deposit does not dissapoint , in meeting someone you should expect to face criticism so there is hope for greater familiarity and fortunately once the hiccups are well and truly over, you can be the real you that only you know you are.In acceptance lies one's real strength not in contrivance and guile.
I can't stand my boss, but I choose to stay at my job – so I guess I have to accept her, grudgingly. It seems to be too much to ask to actually have some bosses appreciate what you do rather than abuse you. Basically, I get punished for doing my job well by being grossly overworked.
Eu sunt o fiinta foarte trista cand ma uit la lumea in care traim,la partea ei de culoare neagra.Mai sper pentru copiii mei ca vor gasi drumul bun pe care sa mearga in viata asta trecatoare.
It is difficult to accept a dear, close,loved family member chooses not to have any contact with most of the family. I have dealt with it by choosing not to lament over their choice and think lovingly of them. Is this easy? NO…but it is better than a way I would have thought about it in the past. Let go…and if they choose not to return, just wish for them to find peace. I have learned that my life can't be put on hold. I have so many days, months, years given to me and I want to enjoy them and give what I can to others who can accept.


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Q: Electric potential for half-grounded sphere I have a sphere where the upper half surface has a potential of $V_0$ and the lower half is grounded and I have to find the potential everywhere (using the Laplace solution for spherical coordinates). But when I try to equate $\Phi(R,0)=V_0$ (for $r=R$ on the surface and $\theta=0$ for the top of the sphere) and $\Phi(R,\pi)=0$ for the lower end, nothing much comes out for the $B$ terms of the multipole.

A: You need to keep $r^l$ terms for $0 \le r \le R$ and $r^{-l-1}$ terms for $R \le r < \infty$.

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WEST GLACIER, MT. – New evidence has been found that is believed to be related to a 2008 incident of a missing hiker. In August of 2008 Glacier National Park Rangers and many other individuals and organizations were involved in an extensive search effort for a missing hiker, Yi-Jien Hwa, a native of Malaysia.
The search effort began August 21, 2008 after receiving word from Hwa's family that he was three days overdue from a lengthy and arduous planned hike in the park's backcountry. After more than 2,500 hours of searching in difficult terrain and challenging conditions, the intensive effort was scaled back in early September of 2008. Since then, park rangers have continued to respond to new leads and analyze new information related to the investigation, including a report of suspected evidence earlier this summer.
On July 3, 2011, a hiker found a portion of two items of clothing matching the description of clothing identified in the initial search efforts, and was able to pinpoint the location of the items in steep cliffs off the Floral Park Route, Hwa's intended route. Rangers have returned to the site a couple of times for further investigation, with assistance from members of the Flathead County Sheriff's Department and Search and Rescue Team.
Numerous pieces of evidence have been found, several of which closely match the items identified in Hwa's equipment list. The evidence also includes some bone fragments that are being analyzed for DNA identification by the Montana Department of Justice's Crime Laboratory. Rangers believe the evidence was transported down slope from the cliffs above by water and snow avalanches.
Deep snow and steep terrain are extending the recovery efforts which will continue as weather conditions allow or definitive proof is found. Park rangers are in contact with Hwa's wife and mother.


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Built To Sell: How Your Trade Industry Company Can Have Buyers Drooling
Mike Persinger
Kevin Comerford, president of Service Champions North, has been where a lot of owners in the skilled trades want to be.
His HVAC business has more than 250 employees in Northern California, and thousands of five-star reviews. And a few weeks ago, he became the flagship location on the West Coast for the Wrench Group after going through the sales process and being acquired.
Comerford joined a ServiceTitan webinar recently to talk about the process. He was joined by ServiceTitan's Chris Hunter, whose Hunter Super Techs was recently acquired by Turnpoint Services, and Kyle Berkman and Jeremiah Mann of Intrepid Investment Bankers, based in Los Angeles.
Hunter started out as a technician in Ardmore, Okla., before building Super Techs with a specific purpose, instilled by mentors: Start with the end in mind.
"I was thinking, 'Why in the world would I want to start with the end in mind?'" he says. "And they said, "Well, here's the thing. You're going to exit your business. One way or other you're going to exit it. You might as well prepare for that now."
I was thinking, 'Why in the world would I want to start with the end in mind?' And they said, "Well, here's the thing. You're going to exit your business. One way or other you're going to exit it. You might as well prepare for that now."
Chris Hunter
Principal Industry Advisor
Comerford agrees with that philosophy.
"I'm a believer that no matter what all great things are going to come to an end," Comerford says. "No matter what, all great things. And so when I read the book, The E Myth, early on in my career, one of the quotes in there that Michael Gerber goes through is the only reason you should be in business is to sell your business.
"And so that over the years has just stayed in my mind. The only reason I should be in business is to sell my business. You don't really understand that at first."
Comerford has grown his business. From his start in 2003 as a technician starting his own company to today, when he expects to finish with more than $50 million in revenue with between 235 and 250 employees, that has been evident.
And, he says, the company has maintained 15 to 20 percent growth annually for the past three years as an HVAC-only company.
That only begins to explain why investors were drooling over Service Champions North.
But first, here are the 12 steps to preparing your home services company for sale:
1. Build a sales and marketing company instead of a trade company.
Comerford says his company grew from one truck in 2003 to $15 million in revenue in four years. "We were a sales and marketing machine," he says. "Never be ashamed. These businesses are sales and marketing machines, and that's the driver. And we just happened to be in the heating and air conditioning business. I never put the trade in front of the sales and marketing piece."
2. Decide when the timing is right.
This is largely dependent on your personal plans, but give yourself a sufficient runway. Leave time for your business to be prepared for market to ensure a successful process. "For a lot of entrepreneurs, the right time to sell is a very personal decision," Mann, managing director of Intrepid, says. "And it's based on what your goals are in life, what's going on outside of the business."
3. Build a plan and a timeframe for your goal.
Comerford says he had a three-year plan. "And by creating that plan, and just in my mind, knowing where I wanted to be at $65 million in three years," he says, "the universe just kind of put all these things together."
Sometimes, it goes more quickly than expected.
"About 12 months into my three-year plan, that's when I got connected with Jeremiah and Kyle, and then it really accelerated for that six months," he says. "And by 18 months into my plan, I had sold my business."
4. Don't be distracted by the process.
Comerford said some of the best advice he got was to keep running, and growing, his business and let the investment bankers handle the details.
"The best thing you can do is run your business," he says. "You can't get distracted because you're going to be valued all the way up until the point where you sell this thing. They're watching all along and your value can change if they see you dip."
5. Hire an investment banker.
Comerford says he was "a little bit unsure at first" about this step, because of the cost. That, he says, was wrong. "Bottom line, it is worth every single penny for two reasons," he says. "No. 1, it allows you to stay focused on your business. No. 2, these guys are pros. They know what they're doing with regards to getting you the most value for your business. …
"They're the value builders for our clients to be able to pay a higher value for my business, for our product. They cost a lot of money. But by the same token, it is worth it, over and over again."
6. Keep the process confidential to all except a small number of people.
Comerford involved his controller, chief operating officer, marketing person and, later, the head of human resources in the process. He encourages owners to keep the group small.
"The last thing you want is for it to get out in the marketplace, as you can imagine, or even get inside your own company, which is worse, that you're looking at doing this," he says.
7. Bring in an investment banker.
Kyle Berkman, vice president of Intrepid Investment Bankers, helped Comerford through the sales process, providing a different kind of expertise—contacts with private equity, experience structuring deals, and skill in the value documentation potential buyers need.
"It's one thing to build a great business for decades or with lots of desirable characteristics and value attributes," Berkman says. "We have tremendous respect for entrepreneurs that have climbed that entrepreneurial mountain like Chris and Kevin, and to really make things happen.
"Conveying those value attributes to investors is a different skill set than building a company. Telling that story is all we do, day-in and day-out. We're translators who speak the same language as investors, but we also speak the same language as business owners and superstar CEOs like Kevin."
That story, told effectively, can produce a better valuation for the company.
"We're kind of offensive lineman protecting our quarterback CEOs," Berkman says. "We run interference with the investors and counterparties to allow Kevin to focus on running the business."
They also protect companies from below-market valuations.
"In a vacuum left to their own devices, a lot of investors might be tempted to try to get away with below-market terms, and they know when we're involved they just can't get away with that."
8. Leave some meat on the bone.
What you don't want, Mann says, is to sell as things are leveling off in your business. The valuation a buyer pays is a multiple of your EBITDA, based on historical growth and expected future growth.
"A buyer is going to pay a higher multiple if we can tell a really compelling growth story than if everybody is kind of gassed after this long run and you start flattened out," Mann says. "When to sell is personal, but it's also looking at the track record of the business and making sure you've got a good year or two of additional high growth years ahead of you."
9. Get your management team in order.
When buyers purchase a company, what they're really buying is the team. If that team is largely the owner, buyers won't be as excited.
"If you have a team that has a good operations person, a good salesperson, a good marketing person, really all the key players, as the company grows you can be focused on strategy rather than having to worry about every little detail of the day-to-day operations," Mann says.
That will also clarify who should step into the owner's shoes, if the owner won't be involved as Comerford is, once the company changes hands.
Those key players, especially the ones involved in the sales process, should be paid well, Mann says. "It's important that they feel like they're being compensated beyond just their salary and their bonus for the work that you put into it," he says.
10. Hire the help you need, even if it's temporary.
Mann suggests hiring a temporary CFO or controller if a strong one isn't already in place, and get legal counsel experienced in these sales. An estate planning attorney could also be helpful.
"Typically, our clients before going through a process have been working with a general counsel," Mann says. "Maybe it's a small firm or a one-man shop who's probably done a great job for general contract and lease review but doesn't have the sophistication to run a process."
11. Get your processes, data and financials in order.
Buyers will ask lots of questions and dig deep into financials. It's important to separate out personal expenses going to the business, for example, because that's common in privately held businesses. For some companies, audited or reviewed financials lend credibility and aid the buyer in their analysis.
A robust business software package such as ServiceTitan can help here, Mann says. The cloud-based system makes scalable, repeatable processes and robust data reporting easier.
"Are you tracking the right KPIs? Do you have dashboard and reporting packages going out to the key managers in your organization so they can manage effectively?" Mann asks. "Quite frankly, in this industry, it's things like, are you on ServiceTitan?
"Because Kevin was on ServiceTitan when we were working with the Wrench Group (which also uses ServiceTitan), rather than having the Wrench Group give Kevin a list of 50 different reports they want, Kevin was able to actually download his ServiceTitan database onto their platform and let them slice and dice everything exactly the way they wanted it.
"I will tell you, I've never had a situation where the entire operational KPI side of the diligence list is basically one question and I think because Kevin and Wrench were on the same system, they were able to do that.
"In this industry, I would certainly recommend looking at that as a key value driver and certainly something that will make diligence easier if you're looking at selling in the next few years."
12. The bottom line … and what has buyers 'drooling'
So, when is it time to sell? The decision is personal, but the bigger the business, the more options an owner will have. In general, companies below $5 million in EBIDTA could be targeted by consolidators, but will have fewer options and lower multiples.
The options expand as companies get to between $5 million and $10 million in EBITDA. They could be targeted as assets that add scale, or as a platform to grow by acquisitions of other businesses. North of $10 million in EBITDA is rarified air, and most of those companies in the trades have already been snapped up.
But at any size, a company's growth potential, and the expansion story the company can tell, are key.
Growing by acquisition, Mann says, is perfectly acceptable. And growth potential is what had investors drooling over Service Champions North.
First, there is Champions University, an in-house academy that deployed 26 new HVAC technicians before the busy summer season.
"(Investors) loved that story," Comerford said. "Why? Because that's growth. I know it's a cost. I know it's an investment, it's a well-worth investment."
And another factor in Comerford's growth story? Service Champions North was bringing in $50 million in annual revenue despite being all HVAC.
"The final thing for us was the interest that these private equity firms have in going to a multi-service platform," Comerford says. "They look at my business, straight HVAC, and they're drooling.
"They see plumbing opportunity, they see electrical opportunity. Why? Because I have these lists of customers who are already in my MVP maintenance program, who if I could just go and bolt on electrical or plumbing, I've got customers built right in.
"To me, that's the future."
And it's built on growth.
ServiceTitan is a comprehensive HVAC business software solution built specifically to help service companies streamline their operations, boost revenue, and achieve growth. Our award-winning, cloud-based platform is trusted by more than 100,000+ contractors across the country.
Ready to learn more about what ServiceTitan can do for your business? Contact our team to schedule a demo today.
Electrical, Guides, Industry Insights
Electrician Schools in Pennsylvania: The Ultimate Guide
Pennsylvania is ranked tenth among states in the nation for the most electricians, and yet even more are needed to keep the Keystone state running. Fortunately, Pennsylvania h...
Plumbing, Guides, Industry Insights
Plumbing Schools in Pennsylvania: The Ultimate Guide
There's a lot to learn if you want to be a plumber. The Keystone state has many options for training in this incredibly important field.

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Minnesota Men's Basketball
Michigan comes to the Barn for Senior Day, a loss
By GopherNation Mar 6, 2009, 5:45pm CST
Share All sharing options for: Michigan comes to the Barn for Senior Day, a loss
So many storylines and so little time. Senior day, NCAA tourney bid probably on the line and PLAYING FOR THE JUG! What? That's only for football? How will we ever get it back? Maybe Rich Rod will be to Michigan football what Billie Gilispie is to Kentucky basketball!
Enough taking shots at Michigan and the Gopher football team's inability to win the Jug.
To begin with let's take a brief look at the seniors. Both have seen the teams they play on get more competitive as they progressed through their careers but they also saw the significance of their respective roles diminish.
Jamal Abu-Shamala - JAS is one of us and as a senior at Shakopee won a state title before deciding to join Dan Monson and be a Golden Gopher. JAS is known for his three point shooting and it is fitting that his first collegiate basket was a three against NDSU his freshman season. JAS put him self into the hearts of Gopher fans with a 14 point game which included 3/3 from behind the arc in a win over Arizona State his freshman year. During his career JAS took some enjoyment playing Northwestern. His last three meetings he did not see much time on the floor (avg'd 4 min/gm) but prior to that he notched games of 16, 19 and 15 points scored and 4,5,4 three made respectively. His career has been highlighted by shooting .431 from behind the arc his sophomore season (2nd best single season mark in Gopher history) and away from the Barn JAS was able to earn a spot on the Jordanian national basketball team and had some success. There is a reasonable chance that we will see JAS playing in the 2012 Olympics. A fine career and the co-captain should be proud of what he accomplished as a Gopher.
Jon Williams - Another Minnesota kid who stayed at home to play for Monson. The big man has always been counted on to back up big men in front of him on the depth chart. Not the most glamorous spot to be in but it is honorable that he stuck around and played his role as best he could. There is no way to really prove this out but I would make the assumption the freshmen big men have acclimated to Big Ten basketball as well as they have because of guys like Jon Williams pushing them in practice. Williams finished his career with two double-doubles, one as a freshman in a loss at Iowa and a second as a sophomore in a home win over Penn State. And even as his career is winding down and seeing fewer and fewer minutes he played well in some valuable minutes in the win over Wisonsin on Wednesday. Just 2 rebounds to show for it but Iverson and Sampson were fresh in the second half because of the eight minutes Williams gave in the first.
Hats off to these men, a thank you for what you gave to Gopher basketball and best of luck in the future.
Now on the the game at hand. There are some among us who believe this is a must win for the Gophers and there are some who believe we can afford a loss as long as we win our first round Big Ten Tourney game. How about we not worry about our Tournament fate and take care of business by winning the game. I promise you all that if we win this game we are IN, I'm wrong I'll start writing for BHGP.
Personally I believe this is a bad match up for the Gophers. Last game Michigan toyed with us and did whatever they wanted on offense. For a while they drained wide open threes on us. Then when we were too aggressive to the arc, they back cut us for layups. Then they made threes again. It was painful to watch and one of the few times I felt we were outcoached.
This is a chance to redeem ourselves and prove once again that we can play perimeter defense and assert ourselves as the better team on the floor. I'd like to see more offensive rebounds and I'd love to see Michigan's shot percentage come down to 40 or 41%.
Michigan is playing for their tourney bid, a loss tomorrow would effectively send them to the NIT, so you can expect some passion from the Wolverines. If we can match their intensity and execute I like our chances, but are too relaxed following the Wisconsin win (remember what happened @Northwestern?), then this may be a frustrating afternoon for the fans.


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In:Resources
Challenges in The Nigerian Water Sector – If the Problem is not Lack of Comprehensive Regimes, then what is it?
Chambers Umezulike June 2, 2017
Photo Credit: Water Aid
Water is life and sufficient water supply is central to life and civilization. Water is part of the five basic human needs and plays a key role in the other four. Nigeria is abundantly blessed with water resources. However, as at 2015, only 69% of Nigerians have access to improved water supply with 57% of them being of rural population. During the oil boom days of the 1970s and early 1980s, the country invested hugely in water resources development, primarily in the construction of multipurpose dams which were meant to control flood, provision of water for domestic and industrial uses, the environment, hydro-power generation, control of riparian rights releases and for fishing, inland waterways, livestock and irrigated agriculture amongst others.
The responsibility of water supply in Nigeria is shared between three tiers of government – federal, state and local. While the federal government is in charge of water resources management and state governments have the primary responsibility for urban water supply through state water agencies; local governments together with communities are responsible for rural water supply. To improve manpower supply for the water resources sector, the National Water Resources Institute, Kaduna was established in 1979, running certificate, remedial and National Diploma and Higher National Diploma and professional post graduate courses in water resources. Preceding this was the establishment of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources (FMoWR) in 1976 with the mandate of developing and implementing programs, policies and projects that will lubricate sustainable access to safe and adequate water to meet the cultural, economic development, environmental and social needs of all Nigerians. The FMoWR has 12 River Basin Development Authorities under the Ministry, responsible for developing and planning irrigation work, water resources, and the collection of hydrological, hydro-geological data.
The National Water Supply and Sanitation Policy was approved in 2000, encouraging private-sector participation and provides for institutional and policy reforms at the state level. However, little has happened in both respects. As at 2007, only four of the 36 states and the FCT (Cross River, Kaduna, Lagos and Ogun States) have introduced public-private partnerships in the form of service contracts. While the federal government has a decentralization policy in this regard, little decentralization has happened. In addition, the policy also lays emphasis on rural water and sanitation through community participation. It targeted to increase water coverage from 43% to 80% by 2010 and 100% by 2015. This was not met. In addition, the capacity of local governments to plan and carry out investments, or to operate and maintain systems with respect to rural water management has remained low despite efforts at capacity development. As a result, the FMoWR and the river basin development authorities have been directly carrying off water facilities provision such as boreholes in rural communities.
In 2003, a Presidential Water Initiative: Water for People, Water for Life, was launched by then President Olusegun Obasanjo. The initiative had ambitious targets to increase water access (including a 100 percent target in state capitals), 75% access in other urban areas, and 66% access in rural areas. However, little has been done to implement the initiative and targets have not been met. The National Water and Sanitation Policy was also launched in 2004 with emphasis on water management and conservation. Nigeria was also not able to reach the Millennium Development Goal for water and sanitation. In June 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari approved a Water Resources Roadmap (2016 – 2030) with the goal of reaching 100% water supply to Nigerian citizens by 2030. The roadmap encompasses several priorities including: the establishment of a policy and regulatory framework for the sector; development and implementation of a National Water Supply and Sanitation Programme to attain the Sustainable Development Goals 6; identifying alternative sources for funding the delivery of water supply and sanitation through improved collaboration with development partners, states and local government authorities, communities and the private sector [Partnership for Expanded Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (PEWASH)] etc. It's hoped that this does not go down history as one of the country's numerous policies in the sector that was not thoroughly implemented.
There have been enormous contributions of several external partners with respect to water supply in Nigeria, rural water provision especially, and the Nigerian government welcomes such contributions. These partners include the African Development Bank (ADB), the EU, JICA, UNICEF, USAID, WaterAid, Action Against Hunger and the World Bank. The ADB and the World Bank provide loans to the federal government; the EU, JICA and USAID provide grants to the government; the UNICEF and WaterAid receive donations from the public and grants from governments to implement their projects in cooperation with, but not through the government. Even many domestic NGOs all have programs on the provision of rural water supply to counter the water crisis in many of such communities.This is through direct project implementation and advocacy. This is where Connected Development comes in, using its Follow The Money program to track governmental expenditure on rural water provision in rural communities to facilitate service delivery and provision of clean water. The program also advocates for governmental intervention to address the aquatic needs of most of these communities.
At this time, what is key is the provision of financial resources from all concerned parties to finance the Water Supply Section of the PEWASH Phase I (2016 – 2020) of the FMoWR's which is at the estimate of NGN 108 billion. There are also key challenges with respect to the management of water facilities around the country. In many rural communities, water boreholes are abandoned and cannot be maintained over the lack of a preceding regime for the funding and maintenance of such water facilities. This has continued for sometime and has to be checked. Thus, it is imperative that the government encourages user participation in the management of water facilities especially at the rural level with realistic water tariff structures. In addition, there is a need for proper coordination between the different levels of government and the public. Ultimately, a recurring challenge is the unavailability of adequate and reliable data upon which planning, analysis, and water management can be based. Data on characteristic patterns in hydrological and meteorological changes over time need to be monitored with utmost sense of duty. This is exceedingly important for efficient planning and service delivery.
Chambers Umezulike is a Programme Manager at Connected Development and a Development Expert. He spends most of his time writing and choreographing researches on good and economic governance. He tweets via @Prof_Umezulike.
Action Against Hunger African Development Bank Federal Ministry of Water Resources JICA National Water Resources Institute Partnership for Expanded Water Sanitation & Hygiene (PEWASH) the EU UNICEF USAID Water Resources Roadmap (2016 - 2030) WaterAid World bank
AboutChambers Umezulike
Maiduguri Hosted the Biggest Community Meetup for Follow the Money Enthusiasts as Hope Gets Higher in North East RegionJune 2, 2017
The Community, The Change and the ChangemakersJune 12, 2017
In:PublicationsResources
CODE Annual Report 2017
Follow The Money 2017 Impact Stories in Rural Communities Download the report here CODE Annual Report 2017
Enabling Greater Transparency, Accountability and Participation in Nigeria
It is widely accepted that transparency in government leads to the generation of government accountability since it...
BabaTunde Adegoke
Well written and informative article.


Small detective agencies are mushrooming all over the place in India. This spurt in numbers is never good for an industry where 'quality is everything'. In fact, most of these companies are known for doing unethical things and not delivering results at all. They make lofty promises, wrongfully claim to be the leader of the industry and find new ways to dupe clients. Such agencies often take small cases, do unrealistic commitments and offer low prices to mislead clients. Worse still, some even take money but don't do any work at all. Naturally, the industry gets a bad name and big players suffer for the deed of a few players. So, it's important for people/clients to should show caution before hiring a detective agency.
First of all, clients must check whether the detective agency is registered with the Government of India. Although there are no special or separate license issued to detective agencies in India but clients can still check if the agency is registered with the Registrar of Companies, Government of India. They should also check whether it's registered with goods and service tax, and has a valid GST number. If the agency does not meet all these criteria, it may be a fake company and should not be trusted.
We at Sleuths India are registered with the Registrar of Companies and with Central Excise, and we deliver invoices under our proper GST number. We have clearly stated objectives in our Memorandum & Articles of Association which has been passed by the Registrar of Companies, Government of India.
2. Check whether the Company is filing its Income Tax Returns, GST Returns & TDS Returns.
There are many companies which are duly registered yet still working dubiously. Registration alone should never be taken a surety while judging the authenticity of a detective agency. So, clients should check them on some other filtration as well to verify their legitimacy.
Clients should know that, a genuine company doing ethical business will always advise customers to pay through bank transfers. These companies always file their Income Tax Returns and GST Returns consistently, so a client can always visit the detective agency's office personally to see and check if they have filed their income tax and GST return properly or not. A genuine company will never refuse to show their returns to the clients under the garb of maintaining secrecy.
We at Sleuths India are very ethical to our clients, to our employees and to the government of India, and we have consistently been filing our income tax returns, GST returns and TDS returns. Any client who wants to go through the returns filed by us can personally peruse the same by visiting our Head Office. We are not only one of the heaviest income tax payers but also among the highest GST payers in the detective space in India.
Well before hiring a private detective agency, a client should always try to visit the company's office personally and see the kind of infrastructure it maintains in reality. Such a visit can help check many things, including the number of people working there on their payrolls (by going through their payroll registers to check total strength of the company), whether the office is well-equipped, the resources available at the office, and how professionally the management addresses to your queries.
We at Sleuths India always encourage clients to personally visit any of our offices mentioned on our website and check the authenticity of the above parameters. Our offices are fully equipped with proper Human Resource, Infrastructure, Technology, Equipment and Apparatus.
A lot of detective agencies dubiously claim to have Army Officers, IB Officers or Police Officers working for them. They lie because clients generally prefer a company supported by an excellent management. Such bogus claims must be verified as it's the management that is always the difference between good and bad detective agencies. That's why, clients should always personally check the profile of the management whether it's displayed on the website or not.
We at Sleuths India have Senior retired Intelligence Bureau Officers, Police officers, Army Officers and RAW Officers actively associated with the company and their detailed profile can be checked anytime on the Management page of our website.
It's always helpful to peruse the company's previous reports submitted to clients to know the way it works and solves cases. Such reports will give a peek into the methods and tools already employed by the company in cracking cases similar to yours. A genuine company would never refuse to show such reports under the garb of maintaining secrecy. It however will always hide the names of the clients and the names of the subjects while showing the reports to its future clients to maintain a complete confidentially of the client.
We at Sleuths India will be happy to show to our clients the reports that have been submitted to our past clients to demonstrate the quality of service provided by us. We will be able to show the report only after hiding the client details and subject details from the report so that the complete confidentiality of the clients is maintained at all times. But to see the report, the client will have to visit our offices.
Before hiring a detective agency, a client should always check the kind of recognition it has gained over the years in the form of awards by various associations and government dignitaries. A strong media presence is also a sign of a good detective agency, although there are a lot of small-time companies who have somehow gained media presence and hence, it should not be the only judging criteria.
We at Sleuths India are perhaps the most awarded investigative agency in India, we have won so many awards, including Awards by the President of India (The Young Entrepreneur Award in 2012), by MoS, Ministry of Home Affair (Investigation Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2014), by Minister of Tribal Affairs (Investigation Leadership Award in 2017). We have a heavy media presence with regular mentions in the Doordarshan, Economic Times, the Times of India, Deccan Herald, DNA, The Outlook, The DD News, ZEE News, Mint, Dainik Jagran etc. We have the maximum coverage of branches in India.
Checking the membership of the company with various prominent associations will give a good idea about their authenticity and reliability. Normally, these associations conduct a detailed background and integrity check of the company before granting the membership. The membership is also a testimony to the corporate excellence achieved by detective agencies. Fake agencies generally don't have the membership to these prestigious associations.
Sleuths India has been a member to India's top associations. We're currently an active member of APDI, WAD, ASSOCHAM, PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry, CII (Confederation of Indian industry), NASSCOM, DMA (Delhi Management Association). You can visit the Membership page of our website to get details of the membership.
A lot of companies often claim to work for various big corporates in the country and they also mention several high-profile names on their website. They obviously do this to win the trust of clients, get business, and make money. And clients are generally not able to know whether the client list displayed on the website is genuine or not. So, they may get duped in the process or fall prey to false claims.
However, it's easy to check the authenticity of the client list displayed on the website by any company and avoid being cheated. This is done by checking the form 26AS of the company where the clients have deducted TDS, where the names of the clients are mentioned who have deducted TDS while making the payment to the detective agency.
Sleuths India has been catering to India's Top high-profile clients, celebrities, Politicians, Bureaucrats & Corporate Houses etc. To check the authenticity of the client list mentioned on the website, you may always reach our Head Office and peruse the form 26 AS of the company. This form can give a complete detail of the taxes deducted by any client or taxes paid to the government by any client mentioned on the website.
There are a lot of companies who claim to have multiple offices in various cities of the country. Some agencies even also brag to have presence outside the country. Unsurprisingly, most of these agencies have mentioned fake addresses of their offices on their website as they know a client can obviously not visit each and every office mentioned in different cities. However, anyone can easily check the authenticity of these offices and be sure about the claims of the agency.
To do this, clients can check if the detective agency has mentioned the landline numbers of their offices in each city against the address mentioned by them, and also the names of the people who are handling their branches. And the clients can always ask for the names and mobile numbers of the local representatives of the detective agency in each city. A genuine detective agency would always mention the names and personal mobile numbers of their local representatives in each city. Ask the agency how you can talk with local representative to make their claims verified.
Any of offices mentioned on the Sleuths India website can be checked either personally or telephonically. All our contact details and address can be verified, and you can verify details of each branch.
Some people make the mistake of hiring a detective agency near to their location. This may not be a wrong decision if the company is already verified on all above parameters. However, the focus should always be on hiring a genuine company whether it's near or far. Location may provide some convenience in the short run but it never helps with cases in any manner. Plus, a good company can't open branches everywhere as it choose locations strategically.
We at Sleuths India may not have offices in every nook and corner of all cities but we cater to the clients across the country and we provide our services to virtually key every region.
Whenever you hire the services of a detective agency, make sure you get the Tax Invoice of the company with the receipt of the payment. A genuine company will never have any problem in issuing the receipts against the payment.
We at Sleuths India always give proper receipt and invoices in lieu of the payments made to us. This is a clear demonstration of our commitment to our clients and to the government.
12. Don't get influenced by Online Reviews.
It would be a big mistake to hire any detective agency based on the reviews on their website. Online reviews must never be the sole criterion for selecting a detective agency. Because, it's easy to fake reviews and any company can do that to impress clients and gain business. Clients should rather use their judgment to check whether the reviews are genuine. Whether reviews look authentic or fake, it's always better to judge any agency on other more important criteria before availing their services to avoid being duped.
Some clients think that hiring only a female detective agency can help them more for their cases. They believe that female detective can extract more information which is a wrong assumption altogether. People should know that investigation is a team effort where both the sexes play an equal role in cracking cases. Neither male alone nor female alone can do much with cases as either has utility according to merits of the case. So, it would be a mistake to prefer female only detective agency.
We at Sleuths India have a committed team of both male and female detectives. We have a full-blown team of male and female investigators in an approximately equal ratio. Both the sexes work collectively with each other's assistance and deliver best quality results to clients.
A lot of detective agencies promote themselves by showing pictures/images clicked at receiving certain awards from various government authorities. The pictures may or may not be fake but their context in most cases is deliberately twisted to gain undue advantages. In fact, most of those awards displayed on their website are actually not for any achievement but they are merely presented as the mementos of participation. They are not the winner of real awards, so don't trust them.
On the other hand, top agencies would always explain the award presented to them in a detailed manner. They would clearly mention the reason for the award, who presented it, who were the members of the selection committee of the award, the members comprising the jury, and the parameters to choosing the company for the award.
We at Sleuths India have explained all the awards presented to us in a detailed manner on our Awards page. Plus, all the trophies presented to us are displayed in our Head Office at Delhi.
There are lot of companies who try to woo clients by quoting them low professional fee. Clients however should understand that conducting investigation is a very detailed exercise which involves a lot of brain storming, human resources, man days, and equipment. So, it's surprising how companies that charge low fee will be able to maintain quality. You can thus imagine the worth of the services provided by them. In most cases, these agencies initially charge less just to get clients and later on, either try to get more money, or don't deliver the results. And then clients get harassed and start blaming the whole industry.
We at Sleuths India make very clear commitments to our client with transparency. We maintain total clarity and always clearly tell what we do and what not. Our charges may sound more than the industry but are very reasonable as for as the quality of services is concerned.
An investigation agency is only as good as the tools and equipment it uses. Can you expect a small company to solve complex cases involving the use of up-to-date snooping devices? So, what purpose would it serve to hire a team that does not have the latest spy gadgets, sting operation cameras, and surveillance system? Small agencies often lack quality apparatus and equipment so they can't be trusted for all type of investigation and situations.
We at Sleuths India are equipped with all the latest investigation devices and equipment to solve cases of any complexity. In fact, we are easily the most resourceful investigation agency in India on the back of our outstanding tools and gadgets. We have high-end & imported spy gadgets, our surveillance cameras are easily the best in the domain, we use exceptional quality sting operation cameras and our audio devices are of top-notch.
Most small-time agencies don't give anything in writing to clients before starting the work. So, clients never know the commitments, pricing and other things regarding their work. This is a bad practice, and also unprofessional on the part of any agency that does the same. However, good and reliable agencies would always provide a written proposal either through email or offline, and it thus becomes quite easy for clients to know the things they can expect with their investigation work.
We at Sleuths India always encourage clients to ask written proposals from us before hiring our services to check pricing and our commitments. We do this to maintain transparency and professionalism as we never believe in keeping anything secret with our clients.


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At Gold Hill Dentistry, it is important that our patients have a positive dental experience from the moment they walk through our doors. Our office is equipped with a plush environment, entertainment in every treatment room, WiFi access and a fresh coffee, beverage center to enjoy while waiting. Our dentist uses local anesthesia and also offers sedation dentistry to keep our patients, relaxed, comfortable with no pain while receiving restorative dental care.
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The grey dove of peace
2014/06/24 - 20:21 • More
Yesterday, on June 23rd, a completely unexpected event happened. I am talking about the dialogue between Kuchma and Medvedchuk which happened in the city of Donetsk.
Several random people where invited to the talks, who aimed to bury the significance of what was happening and make the event more scandalous – Shufrich and Tsariov. There was also a protocol figure – the ambassador of the Russian Federation in Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov. And a representative of the government who controlled that the talks would be held and held according to protocol – a special OSCE representative Heidi Taliavini.
Before the talks, Mr. Tsariov, whose task is to cluck like a hen and flap his arms amusingly, held a briefing for Lifenews journalists, during which he named seven (!) conditions to begin the talks process with the government of Ukraine.
Immediately after this briefing, in light of the fact that none of Tsariov's seven conditions were met, the talks started without delay. Just so everyone understands Tsariov's level of influence on the processes. Judging from the photographs taken on location, Tsariov did not wear a clown hat at the event. Looks like diplomatic protocol does not necessitate this.
We remind you that Mr. Tsariov at the event represented the movement "Southeast," so some sort of political power which aims to present the interests of the PRD and PRL in the legal field. Like Boroday, but not Boroday, but a real politician, though an idiot.
We note that Boroday is not happy about the talks that happened. As he noted wisely, the people that came to Donetsk have no official status. Boroday is so unhappy that he quickly managed to organised an entire protest against the high standing officials that came to reach an agreement to Donetsk.
In general we understand what happened in the sense the Poroshenko's plan, which we have written about earlier, has come to pass too starkly, and Putin understood that Poroshenko intends to tango alone.
In light of the fact that the US intends to impose third-level sanctions starting next week, for which they don't need anybody else in the world including the EU, because it is enough for them to impose sanctions in the financial sector, that within a month Moscow will howl so loudly it will be heard even in the mountains of Dagestan, Putin cannot allow Poroshenko to tango alone. His life depends on jumping into this departing train.
Meanwhile Gubarev reports directly how Igor Girkin attacked the Ukrainian army on June 22nd at 4 a.m. sharp, which as a side that proclaimed a ceasefire, allowed him to attack without retaliating. This puts Putin in very uncomfortable position. He has to hurry up and play the dove of peace.
And he, having done some relative calculations, is doing the same he had always done – sending his real and powerful representative to the talks. The same as always. No, not Zurabov, of course. Viktor Medvedchuk. Who is traditionally considered to be a specialist in Ukraine and a venerated politician there in the Kremlin. But Medvedchuk is not considered such anywhere else but the Kremlin. It is enough the Medvedchuk is silently empowered to represent Putin personally.
And Kyiv is making steps toward Putin. Because of a number of reasons. First, because he called himself a peace-keeper – come inside, start talking. Second, because the EU is watching this closely. Third, because even without the EU they will not be able to fight well if the Kremlin continues to increase its presence in Donbas, and it will. The US can take away Russia's dollars but not its tanks. And the Russian Federation without dollars may understand that all the worst has already happened, the tanks can already be sent in mass, it cannot get any worse, only better. Therefore the US may win this but only after Ukraine loses.
This is why Kyiv is sending Medvedchuk's old friend and companion to the talks, as well as unofficial but respected person, Leonid Kuchma, the old dove of peace. 10 years ago Kuchma said that he would also like to see Ukraine without Kuchma. And now it is great moment for him to say: "I saw and I didn't like it, daddy's home, daddy will fix it." On the other hand Kuchma is an unofficial person. Kyiv called him its representative at the talks, but this doesn't mean that should the talks go sour Kuchma will not be replaced for the next unofficial person.
Nonetheless the talks, as we see it, went well. In the sense that Kuchma and Medvedchuk came to an agreement. It would be strange if they didn't, they are old friends and can talk without any Tsariovs, directly. So if the meeting was held it was only for these guys to sound their positions and shed light on the talks.
The testament to the fact that the talks happened is the fact that Putin proposed to the Federation Council to abolish the order of March 1st regarding the usage of the Russian army on Ukrainian territory. As we see it, it is not customary to refuse Putin in the Federation Council, so it is more of a statement than an order.
This way two candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize appeared: (Poroshenko and Putin) Kuchma and Medvedchuk.
The PRD and PRL this way have to face a sour fact – guys, we decided everything for you. You can shoot a little, and then we will declare you traitors unable to agree from the Kremlin, and you will never get anything more complex than Prosvirin's flying camera from us. And you can stop shooting, agree to everything, and then you will face, depending on your merits before our join Donetsk motherland, either a solemn retirement, emigration to the RF and a secret merit medal from Putin, or a post in the bodies of executive government in the construction which Putin, based on the local powers, will try to build in Donbas. Mr. Khodakovskiy, the commander of "Vostok," may be declared our Ukrainian Stirlitz who skilfully infiltrated the PRD structure and conducted two successful special operations to destroy the terrorists: in Donetsk airport and at the Marynivka border checkpoint. He will receive the Hero of Ukraine merit, become head of the Donetsk oblast SSU. He will work on all sides at the same time, as is customary in the SSU.
Overall, they propose that we evaluate how much bad piece is better than a good argument. And you know, so far it is difficult to say for sure.
This doesn't mean that war is over, this means that a new phase is starting. From Vasiliy Zaytsev's movies we are moving to movies about Gleb Zhiglov. "The punishers of the junta" will be re-qualified in the "junta polizei." But to hope that Donbas will start "living anew" and will feel the Maidan ideals is pointless in any case. The artillery war may be approaching its end but the ideological war is far from being over.
Source: petrimazepa
Translated by Mariya Shcherbinina
Tags: Eastern Ukraine, Peace Plan
Euromaidan Press Staff
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Ways to recover deleted WhatsApp messages
by Seth Grace October 20, 2021 Technology
When a WhatsApp user sends a message, it is stored on their device. But after sending the message by the users, it is deleted from the company's server. So when users delete that message, it flies off their device as well. As a result, once users delete a WhatsApp message, it is very difficult to recover it. But there are many ways to recover deleted messages.
using the cloud
An important feature of WhatsApp is that users can back up their messages to the cloud. Users can also upload their messages to Google Drive for Android phones and iCloud for iPhones.
As a result, their messages remain secure even if the phone is lost or damaged. By installing WhatsApp on the new phone, that message can be found again. This cloud backup service is the best way to recover deleted messages from WhatsApp for smartphone. It is possible to back up messages. As a result, even if you delete a message, it will come back.
using the phone
In case of Android phones, WhatsApp messages are saved as a local backup. In such a situation, users do not use the cloud backup service of WhatsApp, but the message is saved as a local backup. It is possible to recover deleted messages.
(Dhaka Times/20 October/AZ)
See also 'Blue light' on the Pacific island of Nauru seen from the space station. Space | Technology | International Space Station -ISS | Science | Science news | Malayalam technology news
About the author: Seth Grace
"Social media trailblazer. Music junkie. Evil student. Introvert. Typical beer fan. Extreme web ninja. Tv fanatic. Total travel evangelist. Zombie guru."
View all posts by Seth Grace »
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People approach me asking me what smartphone I think they should buy. What they normally want me to tell them is a yes or a no. I usually go a step further to explain to them why I think a particular smartphone is good for them after they share with me what their primary use for the smartphone will be.
What has the Samsung GALAXY S5 got to offer?
How does it compare to other phones in its category?
Should you upgrade from your present phone to the Samsung GALAXY S5?
I'm going to try to answer these questions. I have had the Samsung GALAXY S5 with me for two weeks now. This is not the first Samsung GALAXY phone I'll be using. I've used the Samsung GALAXY S2, S3 and S4.
I know that many Samsung GALAXY S4 owners will be interested to know what makes the Samsung GALAXY S5 different from the GALAXY S4. I'll share a bit of that too.
The design style of the S4 and S5 are pretty similar. But the back of the S5 is matte, while that of the S4 is glossy.
The camera and a sensor that measures heart rate is at the back of the Samsung GALAXY S5 (GS5). The volume controller is on the left of the phone.
There's the home button at the base of the phone, unlike on the S4, where the home button can be pressed for a few seconds to see the apps that are running at the background. On the GALAXY S5, to see the apps running at the background, you'll have to push the physical tab to the left.
Long pressing the home button on the S5 launches Google Now. While the power button is to the right of the phone. The power button can also be used to wake up the phone when it is asleep or in lock mode.
The Samsung GALAXY S5 spots a 16 megapixel camera. That's one piece that makes the Samsung GALAXY S5 stand out of the pack. The camera at 16 megapixel isn't just packed with pixels, but the camera sensors do justice to all I throw at it. I am going to share more about the power of the Samsung GALAXY S5 camera later.
The Samsung GALAXY S5 uses a micro SIM. If you're coming from an iPhone 5/5s, you'll have to do a sim swap because the sim in the iPhone 5/5s is nano sim.
This is where I sometimes wonder why phone makers can't just agree to one sim standard.
The GS5 has 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB internal storage (there's a 32 GB version, but I have not yet seen that anywhere in the Nigerian market). There's room to expand the external storage of the GS5 up to 128 GB! That's huge. You can allow the SD card to be the default storage of your pictures and videos.
You can't move apps to the external SD card. Even when you're in Application Manager and you see that some apps are in the SD card, it is rather referring to the internal storage, which is 16 GB in this case.
You do not have all the 16 GB available to you, some of the 16 GB internal memory have already been used to store some Samsung default apps that you cannot uninstall like TouchWiz, S Planner, Email App and the others.
The battery of the GS5 is user replaceable. That means that unlike the HTC One M8, you can extend the battery life of your phone by buying an extra battery. However, there's one feature of the GS5 that might make an extra battery useless. I'll tell you about that in a moment.
GS5 runs a modified Android 4.4.2 OS. When modified by Samsung, the user interface (UI) of the Android is different, and that UI modification by Samsung is called TouchWiz.
The version of TouchWiz on the GS5 is different from that of the GS4 and other previous Samsung GALAXY smartphones. It doesn't look as chaotic, but smooth and clean.
the Samsung GALAXY S5, pictured above.
The camera of the Samsung GALAXY S5 has so many features. All I want to do is shoot a picture in automatic mode and post to Twitter or Instagram.
But the camera can do much more than that. In addition to the Auto mode, there's the Beauty Face Mode, Shot and More, Panorama, Virtual Tour and Dual Camera.
The 16 Megapixel camera on the GS5 is good. In a previous post, I had mentioned that it is not about the pixels, but about the quality of lens and the sensor that is placed in the smartphone camera.
The HTC One M8 and the Samsung GALAXY S5 are often compared as they were both released about the same time and they are both top of the tier smartphone.
I found myself initially agreeing with the argument that HTC put forward about the 4 ultra pixel camera that is installed on the M8 that each enlarged pixel captures over 300% more light than most leading 13 megapixel camera.
After comparing the S5 and the M8 camera together in many instances, I concluded that the S5 is miles better than the M8.
I went visiting Germany for the first time during the last two weeks and shot all my photos exclusively with the Samsung GALAXY S5.
I never missed or thought about going with a real DSLR camera. The S5 was sufficient. You can see some of the pictures I shot in full resolution here.
The Samsung GALAXY S5 packs 1080 by 1920 pixels in a 5.1 inch display. The display is very bright and doesn't impact the battery so much. I found that the battery lasts longer than the Samsung GALAXY S4.
It has a 2800 mAh battery that is designed to last 21 hrs (talk time). While I used it, I got a full 9 hours of social media, web browsing, email, a few phone calls and instant messaging.
As I don't usually like my phone to die totally on me, I usually turn to ultra power saving mode when the battery is at critical stage.
any other app that I select.
The Internet is active only when the screen in on. Once the screen goes to sleep, the data connection goes to sleep at this mode. Imagine being out late and you need to call a taxi on your phone or you need to make an emergency call.
The GS5 is both dustproof and waterproof. I need not immerse the one I was loaned into water, but I was at the Samsung launch and I captured on video on my Instagram page where the phone was being placed in a bucket of water. When the phone was brought out, it was still working.
The charging port of the GS5 uses USB 3.0. That means that your phone charges faster and you'll be able to transfer documents to and from the phone at a faster speed too.
Should you upgrade from the S4 to the S5?
There are few reasons you might want to upgrade to the Samsung GALAXY S5 from your S4.
One of the reasons will be if you want your battery to last several days on a single charge. Here, you do not have to carry a spare battery. All you have to do is to activate your ultra power saving mode.
The camera on the S5 is sharper (than the GS4) and comes with some newer features.
Another plus is that you can take the Samsung GALAXY S5 to the bathroom with you and not be afraid of water flashes or it falling in a bucker or pool of water while you're bathing.
The Samsung GALAXY S4 lacks the waterproof feature. Other than these, you're better of with your S4.
You might want to wait for the GS6 before you switch. These three useful features — battery that last days on a single charge, improved camera and dustproof plus waterproof — listed above are strong points to consider for non Samsung GALAXY S4 smartphone owners.
They provide ADH warranty (Accidental Damage From Handling).
The ADH Warranty has been in place for some time now and previously enjoyed by Samsung GALAXY S4 and Note 3 users. But with the Samsung GALAXY S5, Samsung has introduced the ADH Premium.
ask me what my phone was doing in the shower.
But I have to look for the nearest HTC repair center in Africa or look for a local repair man to fix it for me and I will have to pay for it, as HTC is not officially open for business in Nigeria (I asked a friend in London and she told me an HTC official told her it would cost between £150 and £200 to fix).
If it were the S5 that got broken that way, Samsung is going to take the phone from me and give me a new one (as long as I register for the ADH under 30 days of purchasing the phone).
Does the Samsung GALAXY S5 impress you well enough to buy one?


7th July 2018, artist's studio near Bath.
Taking part: Sarah Greenwood, Robin Greenwood, Anne Smart, Anthony Smart, Noela James, Alexandra Harley, John Pollard, Richard Ward, Charley Greenwood, Shelley Latham, Hilde Skilton, Mark Skilton.
15th July 2017, the artist's studio near Bath.
Taking part: Anne Smart, Anthony Smart, John Pollard, Alexandra Harley, Robin Greenwood, Sarah Greenwood, Hilde Skilton, Mark Skilton, Noela James, Shelley Latham.
Brian the Boa Constrictor, 2016, steel, 203x192xH160cm.
9th July 2016, the artist's studio near Bath.
Those present: Hilde Skilton, Mark Skilton, John Bunker, Anne Smart, Anthony Smart, Alexandra Harley, Nick Moore, Robin Greenwood, Sarah Greenwood, Charley Greenwood, Emyr Williams, Shelley Latham.
Pompous Pomegranate, 2013-15, steel, H.222x303x202cm.
1st August 2015, at the artist's studio near Bath.
Those present: : Hilde Skilton, Mark Skilton, Anne Smart, Anthony Smart, John Pollard, Alexandra Harley, Sam Cornish, Nick Moore, Robin Greenwood, Sarah Greenwood, Noela James, Patrick Jones, Shelley Latham, Andrew Barrs.
23rd August 2014, the artist's studio near Bath.
Those present: John Bunker, Anthony Smart, Anne Smart, Robin Greenwood, Sarah Greenwood, Mark Skilton, Hilde Skilton, Noela James, Nick Moore, Saul Greenberg, Sam Cornish.
3rd August 2013, the artist's studio, near Bath, Wiltshire.
Those present: Hilde Skilton, Mark Skilton, Anne Smart, Anthony Smart, Robin Greenwood, Sarah Greenwood, John Bunker, Alexandra Harley, Nick Moore.


This year, we've been having a lot of bad days in fishing, but i just wanted to share with you, what we have caught during 2009 from jan-april.
We're gonna fish this weekend at our usual place commencing sunday 26th April 2009, etd 0500hrs, eta 0600hrs at location time, udang aku booking arah cikgu besar sekolah k, hehehehe...... mimpi bebatik ku udah semalam ni.....!
We'll have a great time this weekend!


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As I watched the yellow and orange leaves falling from the maple tree outside my kitchen window this afternoon , it definitely looked like fall. Even though life on the dairy farm is always busy, we have managed to enjoy fun times together. One of my favorite fall and Halloween memories with our boys was pumpkin carving. From selecting the pumpkin to cleaning up the mess, I'm thankful for fun times together as a family and the memories that will last a lifetime! Are you making some fun fall memories with your family?


Kerman Police need your help in identifying a thief who broke into a propane tank storage locker.
KERMAN, Calif. (KFSN) -- Kerman Police need your help in identifying a thief who broke into a propane tank storage locker.
Security cameras captured a man stealing 19 propane tanks on August 15. The robber has tattoos covering both arms and appears to be wearing an ankle monitor. It also looks like he has tattoos on his upper chest and neck area.
The thief arrived in a dark colored Dodge four-door sedan with custom rims.


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Man attacked with machete at WB gas station
Cayman News | 19/11/2021
Hell Gas Station (from social media)
(CNS): A 36-year-old man from West Bay has been arrested in connection with a serious assault at the Hell Gas Station, West Bay, on Thursday afternoon. The RCIPS said that officers were dispatched to the location around 2:00pm after a 911 call reported that a man had been attacked by another man armed with a machete.
When the police arrived at the scene the injured man was conscious and appeared alert. An ambulance arrived and EMTs administered first aid before transporting him to hospital. He was treated for what were said to be serious but non-life-threatening injuries and has since been discharged.
The suspect remains in custody pending further investigations.
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Ludington Area School District is still looking for community feedback on its facilities. The district has actually put out a survey online that allows you to give your input. According to the district "Teaching and learning look much different today than when our school buildings were constructed and renovated." The survey will take about 10 minutes to complete and it can be found on through the LASD.net website.
Paper copies of the survey are also available at each of the district's buildings. The surveys can be completed and returned back to one of the district's buildings or the Central Business Office. The deadline for completing the survey is November 1st. In the districts attempt to get as much community feedback as possible,there will be another community forum which will be held on October 10th at 6:00 P.M. in the Ludington High School Library.
A hole in one is a very rare event at a golf course. It's even more so rare at an amateur golf scramble. That's just exactly what happened yesterday at the Manistee National Golf Club.
Jeff Urka of Ludington sank a hole in one on the #9 hole at 164 yards. The hole sponsorship was made by Parkdale Auto in Manistee. Urka was golfing with Dean Schultz, Jake Bielski (beel ski) and Steve Castonia.
The occasion was the Paul Butterfield golf scramble in memory of the fallen state trooper. The one shot was worth $10,000! Half of the money will go to Jeff Urka and the other half goes to the memorial scholarship fund.
LUDINGTON ORIOLES FOOTBALL FANS!!! The O's are back home after two weeks on the road and will take on long-time conference rival Muskegon Orchard View this Friday. Ludington faces their homecoming opponent after a thrilling 28-14 comeback victory last week at Muskegon Heights.
If you can't make it out to Oriole Field, then tune in to WMOM 102.7 FM with the kickoff set for 7 p.m. and listen in as "The Voice of the Orioles", play-by-play man Todd "Scoop" Hansen and color commentary man, Adam Zelek bring you all of the exciting and hard-hitting action!
The Pre-Game Show begins right around 6:40 p.m. at www.wmom.fm/live with the Western Land Services kickoff set for 7 p.m.
The Orioles are 3-2 overall and 1-2 in the Lakes 8 Conference while the Cardinals are 1-4 overall and 1-1 in the Lakes 8 Conference.
The Ludington Area Schools/WMOM Oriole Player in the Spotlight will be Preston Keely. Preston wears jersey #50 and plays inside linebacker on defense and is an offensive lineman on offense. His interview will air at halftime.
LET'S GO O's and remember folks ... that's Friday night on WMOM 102.7 FM! Always Listen to your Mom!


We spent our last day in NYC enjoying the West Chelsea Art Gallery district of Manhattan.
Years ago, the NYC contemporary art galleries exhibiting living artists were located densely around Soho.
In recent years, they moved out of the pricy Soho area and moved into the West Chelsea area.
Most galleries in the West Chelsea district are spread in a large rectangle between 10th and 11th Avenues and 16th and 29th Street blocks, right above the old meatpacking district.
The relocation of the art galleries encouraged a wave of real-estate developers to buy, design and renovate some upscale contemporary residential buildings in west Chelsea, which once was just a cheap area filled with car garages and parking structures.
Now, because West Chelsea has already gotten filled with high end art galleries, upscale stores and trendy expensive residences, the art galleries are moving yet again to the Lower East Side of Manhattan…. In their ongoing search for larger spaces at lower cost.
I love to see what other living artists are doing.
I enjoy looking at the development of art and trends, and I respect and appreciate many forms of art, even if I do not relate to some with my own aesthetics.
Many living artists today are doing AMAZING art.
I admit that not all the contemporary art is ground breaking and fabulous.
There are 250 galleries in the Chelsea area, and we only devoted one day to this district.
I assured him that this was not the case.
I did not go into some galleries, because I could see from the windows that the work was not so exciting.
Since we had limited time to explore such a large area, I simply skipped the work that did not inspire or touch me.
I am glad to report that there were PLENTY of galleries that I was delighted to enter and truly admire the work.
We had a memorable Japanese creative Kaiseki meal at the newly opened "BrushStroke" restaurant on Hudson street.
The restaurant is beautifully designed with reclaimed barn wood, and the service was almost overly attentive.
The food was pure artwork.
Every dish was a symphony of flavors, colors and textures.
It was a true celebration to be dining there.
We also had a fabulous lunch at Devi, which is a creative Indian place with some of the best non traditional Indian food we ever had.
We walked for miles in NYC and saw so much…. Did so much…. And we boarded the night flight on Air Maroc to Casablanca.


Come walk around with me, talkin' chemistry, and let me hold your hand. Walk up and down with me this city's hilly streets, I'll help you understand that out beyond your skull, this world is beautiful. It spins around the sun as if it found someone.
Come take a bus with me, just place your trust in me. I'll take you anywhere. Come and discuss with me all the cool stuff we see from the window we share.
Come start a band with me, ride in a van with me, jump from town to town. Fan insanity, rock 'n' roll fantasy, the love comes raining down.


text:
Civilization II MGE User Interface Additions (CIV2UIA)
Thread starter FoxAhead
The Royal Guard
This isn't a bug that is hidden behind some randomness (MGE Attitude), or only occurs in specific locations (double tile working over dateline), or requires somewhat unusual circumstances to trigger (ship disband bug). This is something that is trivially noticeable to anyone who asks the question "do the angry citizens work as we intend them to?"
Have you seen the algorithm provided by FoxAhead? It is anything but simple. Numerous errors in descriptions provided with the game ensure me that the production of Civ2 was chaotic and the product is filled with bugs which we learned to love. E.g. power of howitzer is ridiculous because they were playing with HP and firepower (and I guess never properly tested the unit). Costs of bribing a city is laughable and just a fraction of the cost of bribing units garrisoned in that very city (even though we would need to de-stack those units). Courthouse in Communism does nothing because the gov probably had some corruption during testing. Etc., etc. Still, the game is great but if we can patch some issues (especially as obvious as the happiness quirk) why not?
Thematically, it seems reasonable that citizens who are "angry" about being in a large empire might change their minds if they actually receive some economic benefit from it. From a gameplay perspective, it encourages the use of luxuries from tax rates, but gives substantially smaller happiness boost when using entertainers.
Really? You have discontent people who will strike and they are not convinced but the very most radical group jumps from angry to happy?
"Victi vincimus"
Realistic experience from ancient to future era, based on RFC
Thorvald of Lym
A Little Sketchy
A Palace north of Oslo
LuKo said:
Courthouse in Communism does nothing because the gov probably had some corruption during testing.
I always thought it was an in-joke that the judiciary was captive to the ruling party.
That said, courthouses increase bribe cost so they're not totally redundant.
"Much good work is lost for the lack of a little more."
- Edward Harriman
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Double A: with his dying breath, the last of Tyo's fire wizards cursed [Tani Coyote's] games to be doomed to failure
The most important thread you will ever read on CFC.
Reactions: Bestbank Tiger
Buck2005
Costs of bribing a city is laughable and just a fraction of the cost of bribing units garrisoned in that very city (even though we would need to de-stack those units).
I agree, this is really an obvious flaw in the game.
Most games in CivII multiplayer usually introduce a special house rule that prohibits bribing a city because of the ridiculously low cost. However, I don't think this is a bug in the game, the low cost of bribery is most likely deliberate. Apparently, this is due to insufficient testing of the game before release. Testers considered diplomats and spies as a minor support unit. Bribery of the city - as a single almost random event. In real gameplay, these units are weapons of mass destruction much more powerful than the atomic bomb. A couple of years ago, there was even a pbem game on this forum, where this was once again clearly demonstrated.
Among the real bugs of the game, I would also include urban specialists (scientific and commercial), who are not subject to corruption. You can have a city at the maximum distance from the capital. In this city, the production of shields and trade will be practically non-existent due to corruption. However, if you convert residents to specialists, they will produce exactly the same amount of science and money as in the capital city. This clearly resembles a developer error.
Buck2005 said:
Yeah, for me it's debatable if it is a bug - I can see arguments it is just a balancing issue (the cost seems right at the very beginning when buying a single city requires a real effort). I just presented these "semi-bugs" as an illustration that the game is not as polished as my nostalgia and Prof. Garfield's posts seem to believe. This way I hope to reach consensus that the most obvious bugs should be considered as bugs.
And here I can see argument that it can be done on purpose - the less effective is your government the more you want to have distant cities to be agrarian with just centrally-appointed specialists doing their job to benefit the central government. Then again, in the perfect world we should have fixes available for all bugs and semi-bugs which could be toggled on or off based on our preferences. Having that said I feel that FoxAhead already done job ten times better than I hoped in my wildest dreams so I hope that this discussion will not be ever read as me being ungrateful.
Reactions: Buck2005
I'm not sure why you chose Communism as opposed to Fundamentalism for your courthouse example. Communism can experience one or two arrows of corruption in the standard game if the city has enough trade, and can experience a lot by changing the communism palace distance. The police station is also a worthless building for most governments, too. All of the examples you give are of balance issues, not bugs. I could add the the massive caravan delivery bonus imbalance to the list. Testing for balance is much harder than looking at the happiness calculation chart and seeing if it does what you expect. I can believe that the Shakespeare's Theatre interaction with the angry citizens could have been missed (or ignored as a minor issue), and might therefore be considered a bug, but your argument for the black hats being "bugged" in general is that the game developers didn't shake out some balance issues, or that they made some changes that didn't make it into the documentation.
My primary argument that it works as intended is that they built an extremely easy way to see the calculation. My secondary argument is that they fixed the airbase bug for ToT, so why not this even more obvious one as well. You didn't address the second argument. As far as I can tell, your counter argument to 1 is that they didn't balance mechanics which took years of gameplay by talented people to realise they were completely busted, and that the code is complicated. I'm not sure why you think the happiness algorithm is complicated, or, indeed, why it being complicated would mean they would have left an obvious bug in. The "normalization" procedure is a few simple loops, that they could have changed if they wanted, and the rest of the algorithm is a bunch of if-else statements. If this was code that they could only validate by going through line by line, I could see how they could miss this, but they have a calculation window.
In the real world, we see discontent and angry people after the government gives out (or allows people to get) luxuries, etc. So, naturally, the people who are still left out aren't likely to be easily bought off. However, there is another interpretation of the black hats. They are people of local power and influence. If they're brought into the empire's upper class, they use their power to help maintain the status quo. If they're not bought off by the empire, they turn their influence either to rebellion or to interdicting resources intended for the central government.
If you want a mechanic that makes no sense, it is the distance component of the caravan delivery bonus, which suggests things become more valuable as you transport them further away. This is exactly backwards. Goods are transported long distances if the good is more valuable in the distant location than at the source.
I haven't been arguing that the game as a whole is polished. "Double unhappiness" was explicitly programmed in, with its own artwork. There is a happiness calculation window. As far as I can tell, your argument is that quality control was so lax that they didn't spend five minutes to check that the happiness window worked with that art, and performed the calculations correctly. I don't see how they could actually produce a functioning game if their quality control was that lax. Hence, I believe that 2 luxuries makes a happy citizen was either deliberate, or seen and accepted as a reasonable mechanic.
EDIT: I think this discussion has hijacked this thread a bit too much. Someone else can have the last word here. If my further participation is desired in this conversation, someone should start a new thread for this topic in the General Discussion forum, and I may choose to respond there.
It seems there was a misunderstanding. I agree that black hats are deliberate choice and a mechanic that makes the game more interesting. I just think the normalization which benefits cities for having angry citizens is buggy. I agree that we hijacked the thread too much - I pinpointed the bug in the thread prepared by FoxAhead regarding the happiness mechanics so the issue can be discussed there.
CmmdrHolst
Awesome, this let me run it in vanilla Win 11, and brought the AI down from being so aggressive. Great work!
tingtingting09
FoxAhead said:
This is Mixed Mode CD. The first track is used for storing data which you can observe normally in explorer. Other tracks starting from the second contain audio tracks which are not observable as files but can be "seen" by some media software like Media Player, AIMP or some special CD-software like EAC, Nero, UltraIso etc.
The only reason which I could find in google is using some "user mode file system driver" like Dokan or WinFSP. Although I don't know what it is.
Thanks for this Civ2 MGE patch and UI addition. I just installed with the same CD image (bin 699M, 12 tracks) and the game works on Win10 1903.
I copied the Video folder from the CD to the hard-drive (installation folder) and can see the wonder movies play, even with Disabled CD Check selected.
I'm wondering if there is a similar way to get the music / soundtracks copied to the hard-drive (installation folder). I found all the mp3s here
Civilization II Complete (Windows) (1996) MP3 - Download Civilization II Complete (Windows) (1996) Soundtracks for FREE!
Download Civilization II Complete (Windows) (1996) album to your PC for free as MP3. Free Civilization II Complete (Windows) (1996) soundtracks, Civilization II Complete (Windows) (1996) MP3 downloads. Browse our great selection of Civilization II Complete (Windows) (1996) music.
downloads.khinsider.com
Would the UI addition have the ability to run the soundtracks off a folder of the above mp3s?
Is there a way to reduce the pace of technology being researched? I'm aware that RULES.TXT has a method of slowing it down with the Tech Paradigm, but it turns out that has a pretty apparent cap, and isn't even as slow as the Tech Stagnation setting inside Alpha Centauri.
I only ask this because I enjoy playing on massive maps (yes, I'm aware of how much time of my life that wastes hahaha), and would love to play games that are much more focused on diplomacy and spying to get new techs when they appear, rather than just outright research.
This would probably also end up tying into asking about options for reducing the return on science trade gets. At least the retirement year can be extended!
Don't worry, I'm not begging for an increase to the Civ cap. You've well explained in this thread the absolute nightmare doing so is, and I use to talk with the Alpha Centauri patchers a decade ago about the same subject... and learnt the horrifying reality there too.
This is a fantastic patch, and you've helped so many people with it. Thank you so so very much for your hard work. It makes our lives so much better.
Reactions: Thorvald of Lym
duplj
Flygon said:
There is a small flaw that limits this value in the range of 3-10 for Tech Paradigm, I can send you the corrected file in it the limit is between 3-127
civ2.7z
488 KB · Views: 6
I only just got to test that patch out - it has been a busy week. It seems it works in combination with the UIA patch. Much appreciated!
Of course, it will work with the UIA patch, because only one value has been fixed there, and the file itself is original after applying the latest patch 5.4.0f, and a patch for compatibility with x64 systems has also been used
Caesar-007
played one complete game with UI patch and it's just WOW! Thank you for a your work!
Some questions possible additions recommendation:
1. play movies encoded in H264/H265 (for AI upscaled versions)
2. add FLAC ripped music to game folder and use it as instead of CD one
3. add more AI players to the game - for example - 10 or more AI players for a extra large map.
Glasgnopolis, Grottland
Caesar-007 said:
That is the holy grail that we seek, unfortunately, the way the game is made makes it seemingly impossible to do
I am not delusional! Now if you'll excuse me, i'm gonna go dance with the purple wombat who's playing show-tunes in my coffee cup!
I didn't notice until now, but I am having issues loading games that aren't autosaves, that aren't from the same launched instance of Civilization II (ie. I shut down my PC and launched it the next game). The game stalls and locks up..
This's in combination with that tech paradigm patch posted in this thread earlier.
FoxAhead
Please, attach RULES.TXT and your save file.
Civilization II 64-bit Editbox Patcher - New patcher for MGE and ToT fixes crashes on 64-bit OS including latest Windows 10 build 1709
Civilization II MGE User Interface Additions - Launcher with set of features, fixes and enhancements
I tried to reproduce the bug before sending it, and somehow it's not happening now.
I'll try to keep track of what I was doing when it wasn't working. I did all the steps I remembered doing (including the hard shutdown-and-bootup, rather than just a regular reboot), but now the application just works properly instead..
This is the worst type of bug to diagnose.
I'm sorry for the alert.
AC2 Co-Owner
I don't like when a howitzer, or any two-or-more-move unit, automatically attacks the second time. In the original, and the first version of the mod I installed, I had the choice not to. That was better.
A suggestion for a future edition---
The game begins with the windows like this:
And I waste about a minute each time arranging them like this:
I bet everyone does.
-And it's frustrating, while maximizing the size of the main window, that you can't move two or three border pixels off the top of the screen and twelve off the bottom. (The right column is, other than the top three pixels, fine, as the worldmap doesn't display at a useful size any smaller than I have it, so the Status box taking up more room than it needs seems unavoidable.)
So how about a Maximize Windows button in the View menu? No borders to the windows at all...
Many thanks, in advance. You rock, Fox.
AC2 - a Civ-family forum for adults, where respect runs in all directions. -Pleasant OT conversation w/ pleasant folks in Recreation Commons.
JKStudio - Masks and other Art
Buster's Uncle said:
about the attack of ground units, then in the original game on the last patch everything works like this, ground units can attack several times if their hit point (green bar) allows them, also an air fighter can attack several times, what you want is not difficult to do, but you need to edit the game code
I don't have the same graphics problem.
It was a change in unit behavior in the last update of the MGE UIA mod that I installed - "need to edit the game code" doesn't follow.
Multiplayer Only Slow - Civ2 UIA.v.15.0.67 MGE
camvant
Civ 2 on Windows 11?
jdjnj
[Civ2] Civilization 2 Opponents Capital city size
klindegron
Game going on while nobody's playing
Kaloszay
[GS] I lost my scrolling. Help.
saamohod
standingwolf