Huang (third from right) with some others wishing the guests a Happy New Year.
SARIKEI: Construction work on the much awaited Jalan Sarikei-Tanjung Manis road is expected to start sometime this year, said Repok assemblyman Datuk Seri Huang Tiong Sii.
Huang said this at a Chinese New Year gathering, drawing applause from the more than 5,000 people who were present at the event which included a wide variety of performances.
Locals in this pineapple producing town and also Bintangor, had been asking for the road for the past 10 years.
Presently, without this 18km road, they spend up to one hour to reach Sibu first before going to Tanjung Manis Halal hub, which takes them another one hour.
With the new road, it will take them only about 25 minutes to reach Tanjung Manis.
He said the tender documents for the project were in the process of being drafted.
He said funds for the project, from the state government, would amount to hundreds of millions.
On whether the project would be ready before the next state elections which is due by May 2021, he said it may take longer.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg had acknowledged the importance of the project, saying it will greatly benefit the people of Sarikei and Bintangor as they could market their produce and also find employment in Tanjung Manis.
Abang Johari said the road together with other proposed feeder roads in Sarikei would involve a total construction cost of RM450mil.


text:
Menandro C. Valerio, D.V.M.
Dr. Menandro C. Valerio specializes in the area of Dog and Cat. Our veterinarian is particularly interested in the Clinical/Surgical procedures.
Our veterinarian practices mainly at the Valerio Vet Clinic in Malabon City, Metro Manila. Our doctor's clinic schedules are found below.
Valerio Vet Clinic
13 Burgos St., Concepcion
Malabon City, Metro Manila
Monday 9:00 - 12:00 2:00 - 6:00
Tuesday 9:00 - 12:00 2:00 - 6:00
Wednesday 9:00 - 12:00 2:00 - 6:00
Thursday 9:00 - 12:00 2:00 - 6:00
Friday 9:00 - 12:00 2:00 - 6:00
Saturday 9:00 - 12:00 2:00 - 6:00
Harvin Lawrence T. Reyes
Jeanette D. Sebuco
Barfy Animal Clinic, Malabon City, Metro Manila
Albert C. Barrera
Jocelyn M. Miranda
CVMAS-DLSAU, Malabon City, Metro Manila
Diane Erica M. Fernandez
Joshua Kenneth L. Sy

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


At RabbitView we have an experienced team of camera operators and editors that have completed a wide spectrum of projects including: corporate, political, health and fitness, entertainment, professional speakers, events, music, sports, and real estate. Our production team shoots in 4K video and employs drones, steadicams, and gimbals, and has experience with all sorts of set-ups and lighting conditions. The goal is to achieve striking visuals to match compelling content. Our editing team is detail-oriented and focused on employing these appealing visuals to create intriguing story-lines that are complemented by well-suited graphics and music.


In a ruined world, what's worth fighting for?
When young Jarek Slater escapes the daily struggle of surviving a barren, post-apocalyptic world, this is the question he has to answer. With the help of his cheeky AI companion, Jarek must decide what to do with the power of the exosuit left to him from a lost technological generation.
Because if he doesn't, someone else will.


text:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE entry SYSTEM "SamplesInfo.dtd">
<entry>
  <name>simpleCUFFT_callback</name>
  <cflags>
    <flag>-dc</flag>
  </cflags>
  <description><![CDATA[Example of using CUFFT. In this example, CUFFT is used to compute the 1D-convolution of some signal with some filter by transforming both into frequency domain, multiplying them together, and transforming the signal back to time domain. The difference between this example and the Simple CUFFT example is that the multiplication step is done by the CUFFT kernel with a user-supplied CUFFT callback routine, rather than by a separate kernel call.]]></description>
  <devicecompilation>separate</devicecompilation>
  <includepaths>
    <path>./</path>
    <path>../</path>
    <path>../../common/inc</path>
  </includepaths>
  <keyconcepts>
    <concept level="basic">Image Processing</concept>
    <concept level="basic">CUFFT Library</concept>
  </keyconcepts>
  <keywords>
    <keyword>CUDA</keyword>
    <keyword>CUFFT</keyword>
  </keywords>
  <libraries>
    <library>cufft_static</library>
    <library>culibos</library>
  </libraries>
  <librarypaths>
  </librarypaths>
  <nsight_eclipse>true</nsight_eclipse>
  <primary_file>simpleCUFFT_callback.cu</primary_file>
  <required_dependencies>
    <dependency>callback</dependency>
    <dependency>CUFFT</dependency>
  </required_dependencies>
  <scopes>
    <scope>1:CUDA Basic Topics</scope>
    <scope>2:Image Processing</scope>
  </scopes>
  <sm-arch>sm20</sm-arch>
  <sm-arch>sm30</sm-arch>
  <sm-arch>sm35</sm-arch>
  <sm-arch>sm50</sm-arch>
  <sm-arch>sm52</sm-arch>
  <supported_envs>
    <env>
      <arch>x86_64</arch>
      <platform>linux</platform>
    </env>
    <env>
      <arch>x86_64</arch>
      <platform>mac</platform>
    </env>
    <env>
      <arch>ppc64le</arch>
      <platform>linux</platform>
    </env>
  </supported_envs>
  <supported_sm_architectures>
    <exclude>3.7</exclude>
    <include>all</include>
  </supported_sm_architectures>
  <title>Simple CUFFT Callbacks</title>
  <type>exe</type>
</entry>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Charles R. Hale
Charles R. Hale was born, raised and educated in New York. A descendant of New York City's Irish famine immigrants, Charles is a former partner of a NYC based consulting firm Hale, Borenstein Ltd., which specialized in succession planning for family-owned and closely-held businesses. He has a Masters in cultural history and has had a number of his family and ancestral history essays published in literary magazines. Charles, a resident artist of The Cell Theatre, has written a number of historically-themed shows, including "The Musical History of the Lower East Side," "New York City: A Shining Mosaic," and "Jazz and the City: The New York Connection," which are currently being performed in NYC. His film Walls: We Are Not Forgotten, about the life of singer Judy Collins, was presented at the 2012 Eugene O'Neill Award ceremony, which honored Ms. Collins work in the arts and humanities. In 2013 Charles was honored by the City University of New York for "Outstanding Service to New York and Irish America."
"I've always been inspired by the flowering of artistic achievement, which often arises when cultures come together. Jazz is one of the great examples," Charles says. As a result, he was inspired to create a dynamic environment that allows for and promotes cultural collaboration and artistic achievement.
Niamh Hyland is a singer/songwriter, entrepreneur, and executive raised in Co. Leitrim, Ireland. Niamh graduated from the University College Dublin with degrees in business and law. She is a member of the New York Bar and is currently an executive at Purpose, a global public benefit corporation dedicated to solving the world's toughest issues.
Niamh toured globally as the lead singer of the original rock band Lily Sparks.
Niamh Hyland
Notable band and solo performances include The Ourland Festival at LincolnCenter, Wheelan's in Dublin, Webster Hall and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Her love of the arts and her desire to help others find and reach their potential motivated her to co-found Artists Without Walls. Most recently, Niamh was invited to speak at TedxStormont in Belfast, Ireland, her topic: "Resurrecting Your Dreams", https://youtu.be/0GGxZwWkAw4.
What Niamh loves most about AWoW is that "it creates a laboratory where people can experiment with their ideas in a safe space and collaborate with their peers in new untapped ways."


Multi-carrier package tracker - simple, fast and reliable.
Keep track of all your deliveries at a glance with "Deliveries" for Android!
Track all your TNT shipments wherever you are with Track & Trace by TNT Express.
Package Buddy is a package tracking app.
Kemudahan untuk check tracking number semua servis kurier di Malaysia.


Indeed I am alive. I hope everyone is doing well. I missed you to pieces & hope you can find it in your heart to forgive my unprecedented absence from blogging. Thanks for the encouraging emails, y'all are sooo sweet. All is well with me. I just needed a break from glamming. During my hiatus I squeezed in a few weekends w/ my family, caught up with old friends, fulfilled some bridesmaid duties, and believe it or not… I even went on a few dates, LOL! But what is a Sham without her Glam?
You were sorely missed however, we all news to take some time for ourselves. Congrats on the dates, lol. Can't wait for the new installments!
I was wondering where you were! Glad to see you're back!


Anyone who has ever played a euro board game knows that they tend to use abstract victory points as a win condition. Whoever has the most of them wins at the end of the game. These victory points (or VP) also tend to be useless during gameplay, only mattering at the end of the game (this is why money in Monopoly is not a type of Victory Point). They usually come from multiple different sources in the game (which makes the game more interesting as you can choose to pursue any of these sources), and they rarely go down; usually they just count up.
It's a natural desire to know how you're doing during the game: to want to see how many Victory Points you have versus how many VP your opponents have. While games can do this well (and I will discuss them below), public VP has one huge drawback - is the disengaging problem. As we've mentioned before, one of the designer's major jobs is to make sure no player disengages during the game, and the biggest contributor to a player wanting to quit is being sure that they are going to lose. Obviously, when you can compare your score to your opponents' scores at any time it's easy to lose heart.
The easy solution to visible scoring problems is just to hide players' scores to their opponents. This can be done pretty easily by having players store their VP chips face down, or behind a screen, or yield Victory Points based on meeting conditions on hidden cards - the player can check her total at any time, she just doesn't know how many points her opponents have. Hidden scoring is not without its issues, either, however. The biggest problem is players feeling lost, as they have no idea how they are doing compared to their opponents. This usually matters most for new players, as they don't have previous play-throughs to use as benchmarks (for example, I know that 10 victory points a turn in Small World is pretty good, so I don't need to see my opponents' score increases to know I'm doing well). The second issue with hidden scoring occurs when players cannot see their opponents' score totals, but they can see how many points those same opponents are getting every turn (which happens in almost every game that has hidden scoring). This doesn't bother everyone, but it bothers me, because I feel like if I were better at the game or more motivated I would memorize how many points my opponents have gotten and thus know their totals. I dislike the cognitive dissonance that this produces.
There are a whole bunch of "solutions" for this problem that work in practice, but I find fairly inelegant design. For example, the method of having visible score, but trusting that the math to calculate or predict final score in the middle of the game is daunting enough to keep people from figuring out how many points their opponents have.
It's worth mentioning, before I go on to the elegant solutions, that a game that has purely visible score, a game that has hidden score, or a game that uses an inelegant solution is not necessarily a bad game; many good games use one of these methods effectively! That said, it's good design practice to consider whether your game could benefit from one of these more elegant methods of controlling players' knowledge about scoring.
Nearly all the elegant solutions are a play on a central concept: visible base score, with a reveal occurring at the end of the game to yield players a potentially large bonus of points. This archetype solves both of the core issues with pure visibility and pure hidden scoring. Players can get a sense of how they are doing with the base score, but they needn't worry if they're behind early in the game, as the reveal could end in a massive swing in their favor.
Players' scores change in every game. Duh. In some games, however, the players have enough choice that predicting major score changes becomes nigh on impossible. In The Year of the Dragon is one of these games. As I've mentioned before, the game is based a series of events where players usually make choices to either prepare for the events properly ahead of time, or sacrifice the characters they've recruited, or some mix of both. Players accrue points purely visibly throughout the game, but at the end players get additional points based on how their engine is built. Because the events make players engines change drastically throughout the course of the game, the core problem with visible scoring is nullified; since it is basically impossible for players to predict the state of their opponents' engines two turns in the future, they can't be sure how their opponents are going to do during the end game scoring.
This kind of changeability can also be seen in games where points shift around very easily, and where every point matters. Catan's Longest Road card is an example of this because the points gained from it matter so much and it's so easy to steal, it can make the game a toss-up, even when one player has more points currently on the board than others.
Anyone who has ever played Catan knows that this jerk makes or breaks games.
A clever way to solve my cognitive dissonance problem with hidden scoring is to use a "grab bag" method sometimes when players get points. Instead of getting, say 5 points and taking 5 VP chips and placing them face down, a player might get 5 random chips out of a bag where 75% of the chips are 1 VP and 25% are 2 VP. Using a method like this, player cannot know how many points their opponents have, even though they see their opponents take the chips. This can be done as the sole scoring mechanism (although I haven't seen it done), or can be done in conjunction with other mechanisms, as in Settlers of Catan with Victory Points provided from the development deck. When drawn, these cards typically grant powers that are useful during the game. Occasionally, however, they are just Victory Points. This means that at best, I can only calculate my opponents' approximate scores, +/- the number of dev cards in their hand.
Of course, this solution has other issues, like the increased role of randomness (if the chip point spread is high, and predictability if it's low).
Perhaps the best of these methods is the "hidden goals" method in which each player has several cards that denote goals that will give them substantial VP bonuses at the end of the game, on top of the visible Victory Points they already have. Ticket to Ride exemplifies this method with the "Destination" cards. Each player tries to place the longest train lines throughout a continent. The longer the line, the more points it is worth. As in ITYOTD, players have a handy dandy VP track to help keep track of the points accrued from basic train lines. Up until this point, score is purely visible. But on top of this, players start with several secret Destination Ticket cards that challenge them to connect specific cities with big VP bonuses at the end of the game if they've done it. This dual nature of the Victory Points, one visible and one hidden, allows players to fall behind in train line points but still believe they have a shot at winning from the Destination Tickets! Many games utilize this method of design to great effect.
There is a problem with this method, though - since there are finite possible goals, players learn which goals there are over time - which is fine in a veteran vs. veteran game (in which each player can deduce what the others are going for), or in a newbie vs. newbie game (in none of the players know what the others want), but is problematic in a newbie vs. veteran game where this asymmetry can cause the veteran to win over and over and over, simply based on memorization of the cards.
So there you have it! Some design options so that you needn't have purely hidden scoring or purely visible scoring and the problems that come with them.
Thank you for this article! I totally agree that having hidden but calculable (or memorizable) scoring is inelegant, and it gives me the same feeling you have, that if we were playing this game at the highest level, we would keep track of the points, and that not doing so is a kind of laziness.
I prefer games with fewer victory points, like Catan, Commands and Colors, and Battle Line.
Another interesting example is Innovation, which groups victory points (influence points are converted to dominations). In some ways, this is similar to the scoring of tennis, where winning points leads to winning games, which leads to winning sets, which leads to winning matches. I wonder if more board games could be scored in this "nested" way.
I was recently thinking about buying Ra, but it seems like a lot of my energy would just go into doing the arithmetic to figure out what my score might be, and that doesn't sound like fun.


text:
Q: VBA keep changes in comment box Wright now, I am keeping the last changes of data from a cell, in a comment, with this function:
Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Range)

    val_before = Target.Value

End Sub

Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Range)

    If Target.Count > 1 Then
        MsgBox Target.Count & " cells were changed!"
        Exit Sub
    End If

    If Target.Comment Is Nothing Then
        Target.AddComment
        existingcomment = ""
    Else
        existingcomment = Target.Comment.Text & vbLf & vbLf
    End If

    Target.Comment.Text Text:=Format(Now(), "DD.MM.YYYY hh:mm") & ":" & vbLf & Environ("UserName") & _
        " changed " & val_before & Target.Address & " from:" & vbLf & """" & val_before & _
        """" & vbLf & "to:" & vbLf & """" & Target.Value & """"

End Sub

original answer here: VBA Last Change Method
But I am trying to change it, to keep a maximum of 5 history changes in the comment box, and when a new change is made, to delete the oldest one. And I was thinking to do the following operations:
'count the : (double dots-from the time), when is bigger then 5, compare the date and time of the changes, delete the oldest one and log the new one(6th) for example.
Has anyone a better idea? I am new to VBA and also to programming.

A: First off, that's a pretty cool idea :)
Ideally, you would have an array variable with the max. of 5 comments and you would use that array to populate the Comment from scratch each time. However, I can see how that would get a bit complicated, since you're aiming for a general solution supporting all cells. I'm assuming you probably also want the history to persist after closing the worksheet.
A database would of course also be a pretty good application for something like this, but I'm guessing establishing a database connection would be too much work for your purposes.
Having said that...
Your suggested approach isn't all that pretty or reliable, but I like it for your purposes. The following need adjustments, though:

*

*Don't count the colons ("double dot", :). You're definitely going to have more than one of these per comment. Instead, I would probably add a dividing line or something at the end of each comment, like
Target.Comment.Text = Target.Comment.Text & vbCrLf & "--------------" & vbCrLf

or you could just count for the two vbLf in a row (that you currently have)

*Instead of counting I would probably just split the comment like so:
comments = Split(Target.Comment.Text, vbLf & vbLf)

That gives you an array (comments) of all the comments that you can then loop through like this:
For i = 0 to UBound(comments)
    ' do stuff with comments(i) here
Next

Hope that helps, let me know if something's unclear or you have other questions.

A: This is how I would have done it - I assume that the worksheet event is trivial enough, thus I am making a sub-routine, that takes the value from a cell and adds it to the comment, as far as this is the important part.
The allowed number of comments is a constant, defined as NUMBER_OF_COMMENTS. The deliminator is also a constant, DELIM = " >> ".
Once the value in the range is entered, then the sub takes it and adds it to the comment with a loop. I am "entering" in the cell the text Test 00N. It is better seen than explained:
This is how the comment looks like, after inserting 100 values in the cell, keeping only the last 5 in the comments:

As you see, only the last 5 values are taken. If we change NUMBER_OF_COMMENTS to 12, this is what we get:
:
This is how the code looks like:
Public Sub TestMeCaller()
    Dim cnt As Long
    For cnt = 1 To 100
        TestMe cnt
    Next cnt
End Sub

-
Public Sub TestMe(counter As Long)

    Dim rangeWithComment        As Range
    Dim commentText             As String
    Dim commentArray            As Variant
    Dim cnt                     As Long

    Const DELIM = " >> "
    Const NUMBER_OF_COMMENTS = 12

    Set rangeWithComment = Cells(2, 2)
    rangeWithComment = "TEST 00" & counter
    commentText = DELIM & rangeWithComment
    rangeWithComment.ClearContents

    If rangeWithComment.Comment Is Nothing Then
        rangeWithComment.AddComment
        rangeWithComment.Comment.Text (commentText)
        Exit Sub
    Else
        commentArray = Split(rangeWithComment.Comment.Text, DELIM)
    End If

    For cnt = LBound(commentArray) + 1 To UBound(commentArray)
        If cnt >= NUMBER_OF_COMMENTS Then Exit For
        commentText = commentText & _
                      IIf(cnt = 1, vbCrLf, vbNullString) &  DELIM & commentArray(cnt)
    Next cnt

    rangeWithComment.Comment.Text (commentText)

End Sub

This code will be broken, if you start entering values like " >> " in the cell, but this is something you can probably live with.

A: So, this is my working version:
Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Range)

   If Range("A" & Target.Row).Value = "" Then GoTo EndeSub
   If Target.Row <= 2 Then GoTo EndeSub
   If Not Intersect(Range("C:JA"), Target) Is Nothing Then
     On Error GoTo EndeSub
     Application.EnableEvents = False
     Range("B" & Target.Row) = Now
   End If

    Application.Volatile
    Dim CommentBox As Object
    Set CommentBox = Range("B" & Target.Row).Comment
    Dim CommentString As String

    If Not CommentBox Is Nothing Then
        If CommentBox.Text <> "" Then
            CommentString = CommentBox.Text
            Range("B" & Target.Row).Comment.Delete
        End If
    Else
        CommentString = ""
    End If

    Dim CommentTemp As String
    CommentTemp = CommentString
    Dim LastDoubleDotPosition As Integer
    LastDoubleDotPosition = 0
    Dim LongestName As Integer
    LongestName = 0

    If InStr(CommentTemp, ":") > 0 Then StillTwoDoubleDots = True

    Do While InStr(CommentTemp, ":") > 0

        If InStr(CommentTemp, ":") > LongestName Then LongestName = InStr(CommentTemp, ":")
        CommentTemp = Right(CommentTemp, Len(CommentTemp) - InStr(CommentTemp, ":"))

    Loop

    count = CountChr(CommentString, ":")

    If count >= 5 Then

        LastDoubleDotPosition = Len(CommentString) - Len(CommentTemp) - 1
        CommentString = Left(CommentString, LastDoubleDotPosition - 13)

    End If

    'insert comment
    Dim FinalComment As String
    FinalComment = Format(Now(), "DD.MM.YYYY hh:mm") & " " & "by" & " " & Application.UserName & vbCrLf & CommentString 'newComment and the oldcomment
    Range("B" & Target.Row).AddComment FinalComment

    Set CommentBox = Range("B" & Target.Row).Comment

    LongestName = LongestName * 5
    If LongestName < 150 Then LongestName = 150

    With CommentBox
        .Shape.Height = 60
        .Shape.Width = LongestName
    End With

EndeSub:
    Application.EnableEvents = True

End Sub

'counter
Public Function CountChr(Expression As String, Character As String) As Long

    Dim Result As Long
    Dim Parts() As String
    Parts = Split(Expression, Character)
    Result = UBound(Parts, 1)
    If (Result = -1) Then
    Result = 0
    End If
    CountChr = Result

End Function

Requirements were changed and I keep in the comment box only time&date of changes and the user name.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


This PlayStation campaign from BBH New York includes three films featuring familiar video game scenes that take unexpected turns when the characters become distracted by the details of their environments, demonstrating the incredibly detailed gameplay on PS4 Pro with dynamic 4K. This "Missed Details" campaign accentuates how the PS4 Pro delivers a core "feature" that gamers care about through PlayStation's irreverent and fun brand.
This ScreenWork selection, "Armor," features two medieval knights who decide to strike up a conversation about armor patterns while hammering each other in a brutal sword fight.
Campaign spots--the latest in PlayStation's ongoing "Greatness Awaits" platform--were directed by Tim Godsall of Anonymous Content.


Automatically charges you after 3 days!
I downloaded this and it advertises *145 practice questions with explanations* and I cannot seem to access them through the app. Oh well.
Twenty bucks for a brief description of each arrhythmia with no way to quiz yourself. What am I paying for?
Thank Christ they give you a trial for the premium membership. The app is completely lackluster. It gives good explanations on some typical EKGs but with very few examples. It overlooks others such as Brugada syndrome. Absolutely the biggest problem with the app is the lack of quizzes. There are no options to test yourself on random 12 lead EKGs and at $20, you'd expect thousands of examples. Needs a hell of a lot of work or needs to be completely free.
Well, I am expecting an organized well presented ECG with corresponding interpretation and treatment. It looks like a lectured type in a MS Word style. It's not worth of your $20. Unfortunately, I just purchased it after seeing a well presented layout with causes, s/sx for each for free. I want a refund.
Can't even use the app without giving your email address or using Facebook. That's a shame.


text:
Health Starts With You
Out of Hours cover
Currently the Strachur Medical Practice is opted in to providing 24 hour medical cover 365 days a year. It is only one of two practices in the area that still carries this responsibility.
As I've mentioned before on the practice blog, this 24 hour responsibility is a huge burden. This is not in any way the fault of the patients in Strachur, who rarely call except in a genuine emergency. I think patients living in rural areas understand that the GP cannot always be immediately available. If a patient had a medical emergency, and called the surgery only to discover that I had gone to Glasgow shopping with my family, then I think they would understand. In the past, the doctor would leave word and would either see the patient on his/her return, or the patient would go to the hospital in Dunoon.
However, my contractual and professional obligation is to be immediately available within the practice area at all times for emergencies. We only have three calls per week in Strachur on average, yet I cannot take my children to Benmore gardens for a walk. A meal in the Loch Fyne Oyster bar is fraught with danger because of the poor mobile phone signal. What if someone dies because I was not able to be contacted?
If a patient were to complain, I would not face a sympathetic hearing. I would be judged by peers who have never worked in remote general practice or as singled handed GPs. Judged by their standards, a trip to the shops in Dunoon could easily lead to me losing my practice, having registration as a doctor taken away by the GMC, or being sued in court.
The Health Board currently pays the practice around £20,000 per year towards the costs of the on call. However, to get a locum doctor to cover the practice costs between £1000 and £1600 per weekend and £100-£200 per night. Were I to be incapacitated for a period of time, the cost of out of hours locum cover alone would be around £110,000 per year. Recently, a friend of mine (a single handed GP on one of the small islands) became very unwell and had to be admitted to hospital. Her Health Board helpfully told her that she was in breach of contract leaving the island and should not have allowed herself to be admitted to hospital until she had organised a locum doctor and waited for them to arrive on the island to take over from her.
Also, it is increasingly difficult to get locums who have any experience of this kind of out of hours. Recently, I have had locums who were worried because they have always worked in Out of Hours centers which had receptionists to answer the phones, nurses to help with patients, and a driver to drive them to visits at night and weekends.
So, reluctantly, I've decided to ask the Health Board to allow me to opt out of the responsibility for providing 24 hours medical cover.
I have submitted a bid from our limited company to continue to provide out of hours cover from Strachur with more locum doctors at the market rate of pay, and they are considering this option. It is expensive, and works out at around £400 to £600 per call.
I have also said that I will always be happy to respond to medical emergencies in the area when I am here even though it will no longer be part of my contract and I will not be receiving any payment for it. Dr Wright has said the same, as has Dr Tittmar. That is part of living in a rural community. If we are unavailable (or the call is not an emergency) then the Health Board will have an alternative system in place for patients to use.
Actually, I think this is the system that most people think we have at the present anyway.
Download leaflet (pdf)
Strachur Medical Practice is an NHS GP practice in the Cowal Peninsula, Argyll, Scotland.
We provide care to around 900 patients. We are also a dispensing practice, which means that our patients can receive their medication from the practice dispensary.
download a copy of our practice leaflet
Regular Clinics
Approaching from the north, as you arrive in Strachur the medical practice is on the left just after the Creggans Inn.
Approaching from Dunoon, drive straight through Strachur heading north and the practice is on the right just before the Creggans Inn.
Approaching from Tighnabruaich, pass the post-office turn left at the T-junction and the practice is on the right just before the Creggans Inn.
There is always a GP on call for emergencies: 24hrs a day, 365 days a year.
To contact the On-Call Doctor dial
If the doctor is not in, you're call will be diverted to NHS 24 operators who can contact the on-call doctor for you.
In dire emergency dial 999 and ask for 'ambulance'.
Patient Information Videos
A Day in the Life of a GP
Chest Pain Advice
British Heart Foundation information video: may not be suitable for young children.
Stroke Advice
Parents - get free Calpol and Nurofen on prescription from the dispensary
Health Board estates department not meeting its responsibilities?
Health Board appoints Out of Hours contract to Tighnabruaich
Health Board takes over Out of Hours
BASICS Ambulance Doctor Car
Welcome to the Strachur Medical Practice weblog
I take it all back
Repeat prescriptions by email
Quality and Outcomes Framework (QoF) points 2008/9
Archive of Items
Our Practice Leaflet
NHS Highland
Argyll Community Health Partnership (CHP)
BASICS Scotland
Scottish Ambulance Service
Lochgoilhead Medical Centre
Patient UK - Patient Information Leaflets
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Most Bolians have two names, one family name and one given name. Bolians from the largest continent, Rasara, only take a single given name. In the case where two names are used, the family name often refers to the original head of the family's profession, which has then been passed down through the ages and has spread throughout the extended family to thousands of descendents. In either case, names often end in a double consonant that can be followed by a suffix to denote a special meaning. Examples are presented below.
Traditional Bolian names are often monosyllabic, and end in a double consonant.
This practice is used for both male and female names.
In Bolian society, twins, triplets, quadruplets and larger groups of children born at the same time are regarded with a high level of respect. After all, these Bolians even undertook the process of being born as a group. Such children are granted suffixes for their names as shown below.
Towns are named similarly, following a name and suffix formation. In this case, the suffix denotes the size of the town as demonstrated below.
In Federation standard, the suffixes for these locations are sometimes omitted.
Suffixes are an important part of Bolian grammar, and the different suffixes used to denote plurals, parts of speech, importance, tenses etc. account for approximately 5% of Bolian syntax. There are very few prefixes used, as grammatical rules allow for multiple suffixes to be added where required, in precise order.
This page was last modified on 27 December 2017, at 09:53.


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Geometry helps solve the mystery of Mars' water
By Nola Taylor Redd Space.com Contributor | Space.com
The central portion of Osuga Valles on Mars resembles features found in the arid deserts of Arizona, rather than those formed by emerging groundwater in Florida. (ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)
The Martian surface is crisscrossed with what looks like the scars of running water cut into its dusty dry surface. For years, researchers have argued over the source of this water, whether it was fed by rainwater falling from the sky or from ice melting beneath the surface. By taking a statistical approach to the features, a trio of researchers now argue for rivers of rainwater.
The team studied all the mapped river valleys on Mars, measuring the angles where they divided from one another. These angles are determined by how dry an area is and whether water has emerged from the ground, among other things. They found that the angles are comparatively low, allowing them to rule out the influence of groundwater as a major formation process for the channels.
The narrow angles of the valleys bear a stronger resemblance to those found in Earth's arid landscapes, such as in the deserts of Arizona. In Florida, where groundwater re-emerges, the river networks have much wider angles between their tributaries. [Amazing Mars Rover Curiosity's Latest Photos]
According to lead author Hansjörg Seybold, this implies there must have been a similar hydrological environment with sporadic heavy rainfall on Mars over a prolonged period. The rainwater would have quickly run off over the surface, shaping the network of valleys.
Amazing Mars Rover Curiosity's Latest Photos
Seybold, a physicist at ETH Zurich, worked with terrestrial geologist James Kirchner, also at ETH Zurich. Edwin Kite, a planetary specialist at the University of Chicago, was the third team member. Their research was published June 27 in the journal Science Advances.
Although Mars is dry today, scientists think it once held an ocean of water in much of its northern hemisphere nearly 4 billion years ago. The thicker atmosphere it used to have kept the liquid on the surface. As water evaporated, it would have condensed around the volcanoes in the highlands south of the ocean, then rained down, carving out the river valleys.
"Recent research shows that there must have been more water on Mars [in the past] than previously assumed," Seybold said in a statement.
But the Red Planet's wet period was short-lived, lasting only a few hundreds of millions of years. The atmosphere was lost to space, and any liquid on the surface quickly disappeared, leaving scientists to ponder where the water went.
"It's likely that most of it evaporated into space," Seybold said. "But it could still be in the vicinity of Mars."
"This is a question for a future space mission," he said.
Originally published on Space.com.


Please be advised that on 8 May 2018 the bankruptcy division of the Danish Maritime and Commercial High Court commenced bankruptcy proceedings against Alpha Insurance A/S.
The bankruptcy court appointed Attorney Boris Frederiksen, Vester Farimagsgade 23, 1606 Copenhagen V, Denmark, as the trustee.
The company carried on insurance and reinsurance business in non-life insurance.
As for the notice, I note that the bankruptcy was made public in the Danish Law Gazette on 11 May 2018.
Attorney Sarah Willatzen at sawi@kammeradvokaten.dk. The bankruptcy estate will then make a decision on the assumption of the contract/agreement immediately.
Please lodge any proofs of claim with alpha@kammeradvokaten.dk with the headline "Proof of claim".
Your proof of claim must also include information about your CVR no.
The subsequent distribution of dividend, if any, is conditional on the trustee having received the Danish company's CVR number, see section 7G of the Danish Tax Control Act.
If you lodge proof of your claim later than four weeks after 8 May 2018 there will be no sanctions, but it is possible to start the closing of the bankruptcy estate after that and any proofs of claim lodged after the process of closing the estate has started will be covered by any funds not yet distributed to the shareholders.
As soon as possible after the receipt of your proof of claim you will receive confirmation of such receipt.
Please consult the bankruptcy estate's website www.alphagroup.dk for further information. The website is regularly updated.


Peridot is the August birthstone. Peridot can range from yellowish-green to deep olive to brownish green, and it is one of the only gemstone to be found in only one color. The most valuable shade of peridot is a rich, lime green. The gem is said to bring happiness, attract love and foster friendship.
The word peridot comes from the Greek word, "faridat", meaning "gem". Peridot today is mined Australia, Brazil, Burma (Myanmar), China, Congo, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, USA (Arizona, Hawaii and New Mexico) and Vietnam, and it is sometimes found in meteorites.
Peridot has significant meaning amongst Judeo-Christian belief as well. The stone decorated church treasures for centuries, especially after the crusades, and it was also one of the 12 stones on Aaron's breastplate and mentioned in the book of Revelations.
Large peridot, totaling more than 200 carats in weight, adorn the Shrine of the Three Magi at the Cologne Cathedral. Today, many Catholic Bishops still wear a peridot ring as a sign of purity and morality.
The love affair with Egypt and peridot dates all the way back to 1500 BC, when the people referred to the gemstone as "the gem of the sun". Ancient Egyptians discovered huge resources of peridot at Topazo Island (St John's Island) in the Red Sea and mined the stones so that the pharaoh and other nobles could ward off evil with amulets. These stones were also commonly found in tombs and were perceived to offer the deceased some benefit in the afterlife.
Peridot was also commonly ground into a powder and ingested by Egyptian priests during ceremonies, particularly when honoring the goddess Isis. It was believed that this drink would bring the priest closer to nature.
Many historians and archaeologists believe that Empress Cleopatra's vast emerald collection included a substantial amount of deep green peridots (some even accuse all of the stones of being peridots). Today, peridot is still the official National Gem of Egypt.
Roman citizens wore peridot to attract lovers, strengthen the eyes and provide them with protection from enchantment, melancholy and illusion. It was perceived to aid in friendship, free the mind of envious thoughts and protect the wearer from the evil eye.
In order to expel evils of the night, it was most popular for the gemstone to be set in yellow gold (the metal of the sun) and pierced, with the hair of a donkey strung through it. He says the stone is dull by daylight, but glows like a hot coal by night. The quality of glowing at night led to peridot being known as the "evening emerald". According to Roman historian Pliny, the stone works its best magic when worn on the right arm.
The Ancient Hawaiian people viewed the goddess Pele as being a destructive goddess, but capable of creation as well (much like the creation of their own island chain). Peridot is said to be the hardened tears of Pele, which is one of the many gifts the goddess presented to the people of Hawaii.
Peridot was one of the most important stones to spiritual leaders of ancient times. It was believed that a peridot with a carving on it would assist a person with a skill or prophesy. Dreaming about the stone was said to be a sign of impending danger, and it is said that in order to protect the wearer from evil spirits.
For darker magicians, engraving a totem or vulture on the gemstone allowed for the stone to have control over the winds and various demonic spirits.
Peridot has been used to treat conditions relating to the eyes, stomach, liver, gall bladder and asthma. It is believed that only the sound of mind is capable of embracing the power of the stone, and it is worn best set in a necklace at the base of the wearer's throat. Placing it under the tongue was once seen as a viable solution to reduce fever. It is most commonly worn to calm nerves, dispel negative emotions and promote articulation.


Councils are calling for people with a background in business or the voluntary sector to get involved in shaping the Edinburgh and South-East Scotland City Region Deal.
Applications are now open for individuals working in the private and third sectors to join the city deal's regional enterprise council (REC).
The council will advise the decision-making body overseeing the city deal, the joint committee, on aspects of the deal.
REC members will engage with their own networks to capture views and provide a consensus from their sector based on their industry knowledge.
They will also act as champions for the city deal nationally and internationally to encourage investment.
The REC will be made up of 12 members from different sizes of organisations that are representative of the region's economy and demographics.
All local authority areas will be represented by at least one member with significant operations in that area.
Anyone working in the private or third sectors in the region covered by the deal can apply.
City of Edinburgh Council leader Adam McVey, chair of the Edinburgh and South-East Scotland Leaders' Group, said: "The Regional Enterprise Council will be a pivotal part of the governance structure for the city region deal.
"This is a fantastic opportunity for individuals from the private and third sector who are passionate about the place they live and work to contribute to a better future for all.
"They will support the delivery of the deal's ambitious plans for sustainable and inclusive growth that benefits everyone across the capital and the Lothians and from Fife down to the Borders.
The city region deal will see £1.3bn invested in infrastructure over the next 15 years with aim of accelerating economic growth across the south-east of Scotland.
The city deal is being funded by the UK and Scottish governments and run in partnership with six local authorities, Edinburgh, East Lothian, Fife, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian, as well as universities and colleges and the private and third sectors.
Councillor Shona Haslam, leader of Scottish Borders Council, said: "The REC will play an important role in the city region deal and we want a group of members that not only represents all the region's key sectors but also all sizes of business and every geographic area.


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Home News & Analysis MENA When Diplomacy Loses: Are Israel and Iran On The Path to Escalation?
When Diplomacy Loses: Are Israel and Iran On The Path to Escalation?
Mauro Lubrano
A 2-ship of Israeli Air Force F-16s from Ramon Air Base, Israel head out to the Nevada Test and Training Range, July 17, 2009 during Red Flag 09-4. Red Flag is a realistic combat training exercise involving the air forces of the United States and its allies. The exercise is conducted on the 15,000-square-mile Nevada Test and Training Range, north of Las Vegas. Red Flag is one of a series of advanced training programs administered by the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center and Nellis, through the 414th Combat Training Squadron. Flying for Red Flag 09-4 begins July 13 and ends July 24. U.S. aircraft will come from Nellis and Creech in Nevada, South Carolina, Idaho, the United Kingdom, Washington, Oklahoma and Ohio. Aircraft types will include F-15s, F-16s, E-3s and KC-135s. In addition to U.S. aircraft, the Israeli Air Force will be flying F-16C Falcons.(U.S. Air Force photo/ Master Sgt. Kevin J. Gruenwald) released
Iran has been ratcheting up the rhetoric while Haaretz warns of the consequences of Iran's ambitions in Syria. It all started back in February, when an Iranian drone and an Israeli F-16 were shot down at the Syria-Israel border. More incidents and additional quarrels over the Iran Nuclear Deal could lead to more grievous confrontations between the parties involved.
The drone and the F-16: the incident
On 10 February, the Israeli Air Force (IAF – Heyl Ha'Avir) intercepted and shot down an Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that was flying within its borders. Soon after, the IAF dispatched its F-16I jetfighters in order to destroy the UAV control vehicle in Syrian territory. However, as the F-16Is engaged their targets, an intense barrage of anti-aircraft fire welcomed them. One F-16I was eventually shot down, while the two pilots managed to eject and landed on Israeli territory. In retaliation, Israel conducted surgical strikes against at least twelve Iranian targets within Syria.
A series of new developments
The events of 10 February represented a number of unprecedented developments. First, this was the first time that an Iranian drone penetrated Israeli airspace. Previously, Iran's proxies – such as e.g. Hezbollah – usually carried out these tasks. This marks an upgrade in Tehran's presence and involvement in operations against Israel. Also, the retaliation unleashed by the downing of the F-16 represented the first Israeli strike against manned Iranian bases. Hence, similarly to the Iranian counterpart, Israeli forces are not steering clear of a direct confrontation with their regional competitor.
Moreover, the IAF losing an aircraft is news in itself. Indeed, Israel had not lost a single jetfighter in a combat operation since the time of the Lebanon War at the beginning of the '80s. It is not clear what anti-aircraft weapon system brought the jetfighter down. IAF F-16Is are equipped with electronic countermeasures that give them an advantage against many anti-aircraft systems. There are, however, sophisticated systems in Syria – such as the Russian-made Buk-M1-2 or S-400 – that could successfully engage advanced jetfighters like the IAF F-16Is.
The loss of the jetfighter is noteworthy in another regard as well, as it could change Israel's course of action. Indeed, Israel has been ceaselessly conducting airstrike in Syria throughout the Civil War, targeting Hezbollah's supply chain as well as Syrian and Iranian strategic military facilities and bases. This line of conduct might be subject to change in light of these recent events; as an Iranian official commented, "the era of hit and run is over" and his words might ring partially or entirely true.
Leaders send warning from Munich
Displaying a piece of the UAV downed over the skies of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran from the stage of the Munich Security Conference to not "test Israel's resolve". Netanyahu asserted that Israel would not let Tehran proceed with their plans against Tel Aviv, stating that his country is ready to wage war against Iran or its proxies to defend itself.
While Iran rejected all accusations brought forth by Netanyahu, Israel's Prime Minister might find additional reasons to reinforce his anti-Iranian foreign policies in recent domestic developments. The Israeli police recently claimed to have enough evidence to charge Netanyahu with corruption. Faced with this accusation, the Prime Minister might be strongly motivated to show resolve against Israel's arch-enemy in order to deflect attention from himself – more so as if he can count on the Trump administration's unconditional support and even on the assistance of countries equally worried about Iran's rise, like Saudi Arabia.
Also in Munich, Lebanon's Defense Minister Yaacoub Sarraf reacted to Netanyahu's words. Commenting on the Israeli Prime Minister's promise to go after Iran's proxies, Sarraf asserted that the government in Beirut is ready and willing to defend its territory against external aggression. Any Israeli operations taking place on Lebanese soil would, therefore, prompt an armed reaction against it. Sarraf's pledge may well prove empty, as it is hard to imagine Beirut conducting military operations against Tel Aviv. Nevertheless, Israel will feel forced to gauge potential reactions from other neighbouring countries besides Syria. Meanwhile, there have been further revelations about Iran allegedly having up to 10 military bases in Syria, two of them near Israel's border.
The Nuclear Deal as the final straw?
The year 2018 will see an increase in tension between Iran and Israel. This could potentially lead to a limited, regional conflict between Tel Aviv and Tehran's proxies. Yet, while the anti-Iranian front tightens, a more direct confrontation might arise from the Nuclear Deal. Indeed, the dissatisfaction of Israel and the USA grows, since they believethe Deal is incapable of preventing Iran from getting nuclear capabilities.
At the same time, Iran's resentment towards the US is increasing. In particular, Iran accuses the Trump administration of meddling in its business with other countries in order to counter the positive effects that the lifting of the sanctions ensued. Under such circumstances, the Nuclear Deal does not pay off and Iran would benefit from withdrawing. In this regard, Tehran warned its competitors that the world "would face another nuclear crisis, which would be very difficult to be resolved", if the Nuclear Deal was to be scrapped.
If this is going to be the case, Iran will surely re-embark on its nuclear endeavour with renewed vigour. Simultaneously, Israel, the US, and the rest of the regional powers worried about Iran's rise, might push for more aggressive solutions in order to deal with the prospects of a nuclear Iran once and for all. If diplomacy loses this round, the probability of a direct confrontation between these parties will increase dramatically.
Mauro Lubrano is an Analyst at Global Risk Insights. He holds a Master in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, a M.A. in Peace and Conflict Research from the University of Frankfurt am Main (Germany) and a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Perugia (Italy). Article as originally appears https://globalriskinsights.com/2018/03/israel-iran-conflict/
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If you have been injured in an accident of any kind, it is vital that you retain a Fresno personal injury attorney as soon as possible. With few exceptions, the California Statute of Limitations requires that any lawsuit to pursue compensation for injuries be filed within two years of the date of the incident; otherwise, there is nothing you can do. You may be thinking "Where do I find a personal injury lawyer?" or "How do I know if an attorney is right for me?" These are valid questions. Sawl Law Group can answer those questions and any others that arise. Contact Sawl Law Group today.
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Although it is possible to represent yourself in a personal injury case, it is highly unlikely that such action will help you obtain maximum compensation for your injuries and suffering. Only a personal injury attorney with years of training and experience will know how much you deserve and will have the knowledge and skill to fight for that amount. At Sawl Law Group, we care for each of our clients and for the outcome of their case. We give our full attention, dedication and energy to each case we handle. Retain our firm today and rest assured that the personal injury attorneys at Sawl Law Group will give their all for you.
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Advent is all that and more.
And the Old Testament readings of Advent in two of the three lectionary years are almost completely from Isaiah.
Isaiah, too, is all that and more.
The context of the book of Isaiah spans two centuries of Israel's history – before, during and after their time of exile. It describes rocky relationships between Israel and Assyria then Babylon, and between Israel and God.
Throughout Israel's history, certain people were set apart as mediators between Israel and God (think Moses in the wilderness); they were called prophets. When Israel moved from a federation of tribes to a monarchy, the kings and prophets were conversation partners. Prophets reminded kings - and the nation - of God's plan for them, and subtly, or not so subtly, reminded them that God was in charge. In today's words, prophets provided "checks and balances" to the monarch and/or they "spoke truth to power".
And the truth spoken by Isaiah is that God's people had gone too far. You might say that they couldn't put the genie back in the bottle; consequences for their rebellion were unfolding and could not be avoided. But Isaiah also offered hope. Hope of a compassionate God. Hope for new beginnings. Hope for peace and justice to guide them. This word of hope was given to God's people at that time. This word was also passed along through generations so God's people of the future could experience hope.
The early Christians felt that hope when they met Jesus. They read those powerful words from Isaiah with new eyes and realized how God's compassion had reached out over the centuries to them.
This coming Sunday, 12/4/16, Gloria Dei's Advent Lessons and Carols service focuses on passages from Isaiah. And at each of our mid-week Advent services (Thursdays at 6:30 pm) we will hear a reading from Isaiah. God's compassion still reaches out over the centuries to us.


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PSLS • News • PS4 News, Trophies, Reviews, and More • Reviews
Sonic Mania Plus Review – A Mighty Ray of Hope (PS4)
Paulmichael ContrerasTuesday, July 10, 2018
Sega's blue hedgehog mascot has been busy lately, with a new racing game deep in development. But there's always time for a new 2D adventure, where it all began for the blue blur. Sonic Mania released last year, and most everyone quite enjoyed the homage to Sonic's older games. Fast-forward 11 months, and we have Sonic Mania Plus. Featuring stages both new and remixed, the return of two classic characters, plus local multiplayer options for up to four players, is this an improvement to an already solid entry? Time to find out in our Sonic Mania Plus review.
Refreshed Levels
Where to begin? Well, for starters, let's go with the lengthy campaign. There are 13 zones to explore again, with two acts for all but the first – 25 acts total. The zone names may be the same, such as the classic Angel Island and Green Hill Zones, and culminate with a final boss battle in Titanic Monarch Zone, but the individual acts have been remade in a new Encore mode, with special areas for this entry's new characters. When visiting classic zones such as Hydro City, while classic sections remain intact, they are interspersed with new areas to uncover secrets from – nothing is ever truly left alone, perhaps with the thinking that if you wanted to play the old stages exactly as they existed before, you could simply play an older Sonic game. Each zone has a transition cinematic of some sort, where the player and partner are controlled by the computer and make some sort of jump, leap, or run to the next area. The entire campaign technically takes place in one long camera shot, then. Pacing isn't as stellar as in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, where multiple acts per zone were followed by three lengthier single-act zones, all leading up to an epic, multi-stage final battle aboard the Death Egg – in Sonic Mania Plus, things just kind of end after a drawn-out final fight, much like Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Still, this campaign will run the average gamer 3-5 hours on their first run, and much less time for those speed freaks out there, so there is a lot of game to run through.
Two old characters have been resurrected for Sonic Mania Plus: Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel. Mighty could easily be confused with Knuckles the Echidna, since both are red. But Mighty's color shade is different, and his hair is more in style with Sonic's. Mighty's ability is a downward slam, like Sonic's Mania ability, except holding the jump button in mid-air only causes Mighty to move downward, and does not result in a spin dash being automatically performed. Furthermore, and arguably more useful, if Mighty is attacking (that is, in ball form), he is impervious to damage, even from (non-squishing) obstacles. This means that jumping onto spikes does not cause the player to lose rings or die. It's a new tactic that can come in handy in boss battles, and Mighty may become some players' favorite character just due to this option.
Live Differently
Ray looks like a cousin of Tails at first glance. His special power is a glide ability. It is similar to Knuckles' glide, but noticeably different in execution. By holding back on the directional pad while gliding, Ray will pull back and begin to glide up, more slowly than his usual glide. Pressing forward will cause Ray to lean forward, gliding much more quickly but consequently losing more altitude in the process. Whereas Knuckles can glide to and then climb walls to reach higher ground, in the right hands, Ray could simply glide high enough to avoid having to climb altogether. Ray might take more time to master compared to Mighty, but the investment will pay off in the ability to reach more places more quickly than other characters.
Two new characters bring us to a grand total of five when added to Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. This also brings us to the new maximum number of lives that can be collected by the player. Only two characters can be active at once, in any combination. If playing alone, player one can press Triangle in most situations where both characters are on the screen at the same time to switch which character is leading. If the lead character dies, their partner takes over wherever they are on the map, if possible. Otherwise, the player is returned to the last checkpoint, or the beginning of the level if one was not passed to this point. The order of characters can be seen in the bottom-left corner of the screen, which is where the lives indicator normally sits in previous games. If all five characters die, a game over is immediately encountered. This is in stark contrast to most other Sonic games, where extra lives could be stashed away to all but ensure that a game over scenario couldn't occur. In Sonic Mania Plus, extra lives cannot be earned – only characters can be added to the team, with one life each. In addition, a bonus stage in the form of a three-level pinball game is used to earn each missing character back, as well as to earn continues for every 10,000 points. This bonus stage is fairly easy to exploit for as many extra continues as is desired, though it does take some time to build up the points. This bonus stage is a nice homage to past times we've seen Sonic in pinball form but gets extremely repetitive after the first few encounters with it (unlocked by running past a checkpoint with 50 or more rings).
Grab That UFO!
The special stage from Sonic Mania makes a return in Plus. The player is tasked with chasing after a UFO before the timer reaches zero or they run out of the arena, collecting blue spheres to increase their speed and rings to increase the timer. Catching the UFO releases a Chaos Emerald, and collecting all seven before finishing the campaign rewards the player with unlocking a Super version of each character.
Graphically, things remain much the same as they were in Sonic Mania. Stages have had their colors remixed, and while layouts have changed, it's still the same general style as before. If you're familiar with Sonic games circa mid-1990s, then you know exactly what to expect here. It's a wonderful celebration of the look and feel of Sonic games past, but with all-new surprises just around the corner which will help to recapture a sense of exploration for fans of the series who by now have played the originals countless times. The PlayStation 4 Pro is also supported again, which is a glorious way to see Sonic and friends rendered in 4K, 60 frames per second glory. There was no noticeable slowdown at any moment during the campaign, either, and split-screen also works smoothly.
Complementing Sonic Mania Plus' pleasing aesthetics is an equally pleasing soundtrack. Crisp chip tunes mix with synths and other effects to produce a soundtrack that once again sounds like it was ripped straight out of the '90s. New sound effects for Mighty and Ray feel right at home in this new yet retro setting.
Sonic Mania Plus Review (PS4) | PlayStation LifeStyle
Also Grab a Buddy or Three
Co-op is only here in the base Mania mode. Encore mode, with its reliance on the ability of the player to change characters whenever they'd like (or it is strategically advantageous), does not offer co-op. Competitive mode also makes a return in Plus, but this time supports up to four players on the same system. This may be the best competitive Sonic game option ever offered simply for that fact alone. Competition is much like it was in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, where players compete in multiple categories as they attempt to clear campaign levels in the shortest amount of time, while also scoring the most points, collecting the most rings, finishing with the most rings, and collecting the most items. Some modifiers allow players to change item pickups, or turn them off entirely, as well as set the round length.
A special mention goes to the physical edition of Sonic Mania Plus. For only $29.99, quite a loaded package is offered. The traditional PS4 jewel case is wrapped in a holographic stock, featuring Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles on the front, and Mighty and Ray on the back. Inside, the sleeve cover can be reversed, to show off the game as if it were released on the Sega Genesis, going so far as to include the official Sega seal of quality that was all the rage in the '90s. Yes, a reference to "blast processing" is also included in this alternate reality cover. To top things off, a 32-page collector's art book is stuffed between the case and its holographic cover, showcasing early concept art as well as final pieces. Sonic fans should at least pick up this base physical edition of Sonic Mania Plus to show their support for such a dedicated launch offering. Otherwise, the Encore DLC is available for purchase for existing Sonic Mania owners for $4.99, which is also a great bargain.
Somehow, Christian Whitehead and team have made the definitive version of Sonic even more definitive. The genuinely challenging stages are chock-full of secrets, and will require multiple playthroughs to find everything they have to offer. The lengthy campaign may not have as stellar pacing as Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but it provides both nostalgia and fresh experiences. The limited lives make each death significant, though the bonus stages can easily be exploited to gain enough continues to render the threat of a true game over moot. These are small issues, to be sure—Sonic Mania Plus is the best Sonic game you can buy today.
Sonic Mania Plus review code provided by publisher. Version 1.04 reviewed on a PS4 Pro. For more information on scoring please see our Review Policy here.
A refreshed, lengthy campaign
Silky-smooth presentation
Four-player competitive mode!
Bonus stage gets repetitive
Abrupt ending
Tags: Christian Whitehead, Headcannon, PagodaWest Games, Sega, Sonic, Sonic Mania, Sonic Mania Plus


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Fancy a family trip to the seaside? Wanting to see the finest uninterrupted views and dramatic landscapes? The Norfolk Coast has both the answers to these questions; just a small part of the reason why it was recognised as an Area of Natural Beauty an incredible 50 years ago. Just find a spacious seaside cottage to rent and you're set for a wonderful few days in Norfolk.
View seaside holiday cottages in Norfolk
With golden sands and sensational scenery all year long, Brancaster Beach is just one of Norfolk Coast's most iconic beaches and a family favourite for kite flying and for walking the pet pooch. Craving an adventure? Young and old pirate enthusiasts will love looking at the shipwreck of the SS Vina that is partially buried in one of the many sandbanks dotted around the area. A must see for Johnny Depp fans everywhere. It's certainly a pirate's life for you on the Norfolk Coast!
Coastal Nature Reserves in Norfolk - bring your binoculars on holiday
Just beyond the remains is one of Norfolk's 32 nature reserves, Scolt Head Island. As an idyllic home to an array of beautiful birds including the Sandwich and Little Terns, this reserve is now owned by the National Trust and Norfolk Wildlife Trust. RSPB Snettisham is another nature reserve that is a bird watching haven, where Pink Footed Geese and Knots are particularly rife in the winter months. An incredible sight for all winged watchers! Now surely that's worth a priceless photo and a long-lasting memory…
Everyone knows the Norfolk seaside resort of Cromer
Cromer is one of the many traditional seaside towns in North Norfolk and has welcomed happy families and stunningly designed sandcastles for centuries. With plenty of fun filled attractions to enjoy, it's a wonderful place to visit at any time of the year. Cromer Pier, a Victorian landmark and an engineering masterpiece is just one of these attractions. Consisting of an all-weather lifeboat station and Pavilion Theatre, home to the UK's last variety show in Europe, the pier once incredibly withstood a government attempt to blow it up during World War II. Snorkelling is also a popular activity on these shores, especially on the Cromer Shoals Chalk Bed, also known as 'Britain's Great Barrier Reef'. The chalk bed which is the longest in the world at a vast 20 miles long, is also highly attractive for swimmers, eager to see the hidden secrets of Norfolk's seas. Did you know that since January 2016, it has also been designated as a Marine Conservation Zone? A fantastic accolade for this extra special Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty!
Great holiday seafood in Cromer
Wanting to taste the local seafood delicacies? Cromer crabs are so popular with the village's citizens that they have annual festivals to celebrate its maritime heritage; Cromer Carnival and the Crab & Lobster Festival. The Crab & Lobster Festival celebrating the local seafaring heritage, active fishing community and delicious produce served up in the area. For those not too keen on seafood, why not make a trip to The Anchor Inn in Morston, a former smugglers cove with a friendly atmosphere and a roaring fire on hand for those brisk winter days? A pioneer for quality local produce like Norfolk Dapper cheese and meat supplied by award winning and well-respected family run business Rutland Butchers, the Anchor Inn also offers an impressive selection of real ales, such as Woodforde's and Adnam's, as well as being named recently as one of The Guardian's 'UK's 50 best Sunday lunches'.
Walk the Norfolk Coastal Path
Need to work up an appetite? The Norfolk Coast Path, a walking hotspot, runs for 62 miles from Hunstanton in West Norfolk to Sea Palling on the North-East Norfolk Coast and showcases views of the Wash, one of the largest estuaries in the UK, as well as the gorgeous Lincolnshire coastline. Legs gone a little weary? How about grabbing a lift on the CoastHopper bus to take you on the ride of your lives along the rest of the scenic coastline? Walking on the Norfolk Coast is no walk in the park…unless it's at Sheringham Park, a personal favourite of its designer and successful landscape gardener Humphry Repton. A thriving woodland paradise with 1000 acres of lavish landscapes, let's see who's first out of you and the family to spot the wonderful wildlife like deer roaming around the rhododendrons and azaleas in the parklands.
Stay near Blakeney with its harbour and colony of grey seals
Alternatively, if you want to do more than your 10,000 steps, a leisurely but active 4-mile stroll along Blakeney Point is ideal for families wanting to explore a plethora of unusual plants such as horned sea poppies and shrubby sea blights but also see large numbers of grey and common seals. Did you know that this winter, 2,700 grey seal pubs were born making Blakeney the largest seal colony in England? That fact certainly gives the Norfolk Coast a real seal of approval!
With all these incredible things happening every day along the Norfolk Coast, tourists are forever drawn to the many attractions in this coastal paradise. If you are interested in wonderful wildlife, the healthy countryside walks or the amazing stretches of sand, why not explore all three, along with many other secret treasures and join us down here in the East of England today?
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This modern baby quilt is made using linen fabric that was hand dyed with avocado pits and tulip petals. The quilt top has been hand stitched to the cotton batting and linen backing using cotton thread. A truly one of a kind, heirloom piece for the little one in your life.
Machine wash gently in cool water. Tumble dry gently on low or hang to dry. Keep out of direct sun when not using. Some fading may occur over time.


Literature References: The more active of the two isomers that constitute the principal alkaloidal fraction of seeds from several Erythrina spp. In contrast to curare, q.v., it retains its ability to block neuromuscular transmission even when administered orally: K. Unna, J. G. Greslin, J. Pharmacol. 80, 53 (1944); K. Unna et al., ibid. 39. Prepd by catalytic hydrogenation of b-erythroidine or a salt of b-erythroidine: Folkers, Koniuszy, US 2370651 (1945 to Merck & Co.). Structure: Boekelheide et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 75, 2550 (1953). Configuration: Hanson, Proc. Chem. Soc. London 1963, 52.
Properties: Crystals from anhydr ethyl ether, dec 85-86°. [a]D25 +102.5°. Soluble in ethanol. Alkaline hydrolysis yields sodium dihydro-b-erythroidinate.
Properties: Crystals from abs ethanol, mp 238°. [a]D25 +124.7°.
Properties: Crystals from abs ethanol or abs ethanol + abs ether, dec 242°. Bitter taste. [a]D25 +106-107.5°. Soly in water 0.8 g/ml; in ethanol 0.5 g/100 ml.